Well, we had our first cold snap today, placing us solidly in autumn and giving us a look at things to come. Most of us were painting nature—and, interestingly, seasons figure prominently in all of those paintings.
We start with a foretaste of winter. You can just feel the cold viewing Mohammed's frosty scene of ice floes, glaciers and the northern night sky.
In start contrast, Sara's summer garden is drenched in warmth, light and brilliant color.
Ellen revisits her hummingbird, set against a soft picket fence that evokes summer afternoon light.
Meanwhile, light glows through her trees. And even though they are backlit, they are still full of rich color.
Yes, it's autumn—perhaps the best season there is for painting. Oscar's lovely painting captures all the color, texture and crispness of autumn leaves. And this sophisticated interpretation of fall is just one of the beginner exercises. We can only imagine what we'll see when he advances to the ranks of "old master."
You may recall that Susan missed last week due to a prior commitment. Well, she was apple-picking! And here are the apples to prove it.
... as well as a painting of the farm she picked them at, which, coincidentally, also featured a pumpkin patch. It's officially fall now!
But Susan doesn't stop at that. Here, she's sketched and begun to paint the story of the effect of the recent typhoon on four towns in the Philippines. The finished painting will be part of a seminar/exhibition later this month about the typhoon. Susan is one of 15 artists exhibiting.
And then there are the rebels. Not content to join the crowd and paint nature, Ken continues his architecture series.
Although his fantastic colors and patterning take this far beyond the typical concrete jungle.
Elaine, too, is painting stone architecture, but with less exuberant color.
John continues to add to his interior, combining architectural perspective with organic shapes and elements of nature.
Abla, too, is concentrating more on drawing than painting today. Here she starts with a bridge in a woodland scene that will soon come alive with vibrant fall color.
And we are proud to announce that Vivian finished both her fantastical sewing machine/cat and her last piece of 300# paper today. Even if you don't sew or have a cat, this painting just makes you smile. It's a great concept, brilliantly executed. Is it any wonder talk turned to producing giclee prints of this?
Finally, Bill and Madeleine couldn't be in class today, but they brought their homework to share. Those are some dedicated students! Was it Susan's example from last week? Or was it the thought of Abla's baklava? Who knows, but we are glad to see these takes on one of our favorite assignments—the egg.
Yes, you heard that right! We had holiday baklava today. Thank you, Abla! It was a delicious surprise.
And we had a surprise guest today, too—although he arrived too late for the baklava. We're excited that Tony will be returning next term. All in all, we had a day full of pleasant surprises.
Artist of the day. There was not just one artist today. Ken brought a book on outsider art featuring many artists. We marveled at the variety of art we saw. Ranging from almost childish scrawls to richly decorative art with the most intricate detailing, there was a lot to see.
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