December 13, 2014

It's our last class of the year and, as you can see, we're all in the holiday spirit. Just look at us—don't we look happy and festive? We had a wonderful day. It was an impromptu Christmas party with gifts and treats—and our very own Santa, too. What better way to end the year?

Happy holidays from all of us!

We begin with an eagerly-awaited tradition—Ken's annual Christmas card. No cats this time, just a tree, gifts and stars (plus warm holiday wishes, of course).

Susan's also in the holiday spirit as she paints a beloved Christmas memory from her childhood. (Do you recognize Susan as a little girl?)

Mark's Christmas painting is all about the shopping.... and the red shoes. There must be a story behind those.

Madeleine begins a painting of boats in a harbor. We love the colors and are especially enamored of the structural lines at the bottom.

Also in harbor mode, Tony finishes his wintry painting of Montrose Harbor. There's an overwhelming sense of serenity and quiet about this.

And while Lorado Taft's sculpture below is called Eternal Silence, the mood in Greeta's painting is very different than Tony's quiet harbor. It's autumn in Graceland and the feel is crisp and stark.

Greeta's revisits summer and her fruits perfectly convey the feel of the season. Notice how perfectly she captures the textures... the patina on the copper, the dark granite, the glistening blueberries and cherries. Not to mention the perfect paper bag. This would be the envy of any of our beginners on Paper Towel day.

Bill's abstract has a light party feel, despite the grey graphite base. It feels like a confetti shower!

We're also strangely attracted to greenery. Maybe it's because we all were wearing red and need some relief...complimentary color style. At any rate, Bill combines a red pot with a green plant in a favorite corner of a room.

And here, he zooms in even closer, zeroing in on the plant itself. In the process, he highlights the textures of the dirt, the glossy pot and the carved wood support.

Steve's bromeliad study moves even closer. He concentrates on the plant alone, with deft touches that add to the sense of depth and the feeling of reality. We are completely blown away by this. It feels utterly real, yet embodies classical botanical illustration. Here's someone who knows his bromeliads.

... in rather the same way that Sara knows her trees. Here she's in her element, doing a softly colorful house portrait, attractively framed by a tree and foliage.

Ken, too, is painting buildings, but his are distinctly urban. This painting marks the end of his series. While we are sad to see it end (we are fans of these paintings), we look forward to the show and the opening party. Come back next year for your invitation! We are also interested to see what his next series will be. If you have any suggestions, feel free to comment!

Having considered the flora, we move to the fauna. Our fascination with birds continues. Mohammed adds a background to his painting; the yellow and blue/red/purple rays are the perfect complement to the colorfully stylized birds.

Abla's latest birds on a branch are more realistic, but equally beautiful. In this winter scene, two birds are puffed up against the cold as they perch on orange tree branches, symbolizing perseverance against adversity.

Alan, too, is on a bird kick. But he's also using his painting of an "owl in a towel" to experiment with Yupo, the fabled plastic paper. Alan is a big fan in this, his first attempt. And no wonder, he seems to have a natural affinity for it.

Elaine is also experimenting, but with paint, not paper. Here she's reversing her usual order and underpainting the shadows. Come back next year to see how this portrait of Molly the beagle comes out.

Ellen missed last week; she was busy painting with her granddaughter. Unfortunately, we didn't get photos of those paintings (you'd have loved them!), but we did get Ellen's homework. She makes use of spatter technique and inspired brushwork to produce this wonderful work. It's full of action and life and movement. You can just feel the muscles of the horse and see the dirt flying as he runs.

Today, she started a painting of a violin. Again, you can feel the movement as the virtuoso plays. We also admire her bold brushwork and rich colors.

Do you remember how we mentioned gifts and treats? Oh, yes, we had both! No pictures, unfortunately. We descended on the treats so quickly, there was no time for photos. We know we'll have to diet in the new year, but today we feasted!

We began with deliciously decorated Dunkin' Donuts, courtesy of Bill and Madeleine. Then, we moved on to Greeta's homemade kolacky (prune and apricot) and pretzel/chocolate/caramel/pecan treats, finishing up with scones from Taste of Heaven, thanks to Susan.

And as if that weren't enough, Susan also gave each of us a 2015 calendar, featuring her series of Philippine paintings in honor of her 40th anniversary (Congratulations, Susan and Tony!). Yes, it was truly a wonderful day for us.

So we leave you with best wishes for the holiday season and the new year, as well as a final picture. Sure, it's blurry (we're calling it "artsy"), but if you look closely, you'll see Santa Ken and Pat, dressed as a Christmas Angel tree-topper.

All our best! See you next year!