Painting #4 ( 30 paintings in 30 days)

Dress Spur in Umber

After a strenuous day of hanging photography for the gallery's upcoming exhibit, I still needed to go grocery shopping and fix supper, eat, let the dog out....all before I could ascend the steps upward to the studio.

Usually, I would just wimp out and tell myself ":you can get to the studio tomorrow". With this bet with Kristen Dukat though, I am not caving in!!! Shoulder pain or not, I managed to choose a subject that I could get into; the spurs my hubby bought for me while we were in AZ recently.

With new paint, new panels that arrived in the mail, I was ready. After choosing my palette of earthtone pigments, I chose to tone the panel with raw umber, then proceed to draw using it without thinning it.
I liked the look so much that I just chose to continue and do a monochromatic rendering of one spur. I rather like it.

Thanks, Kristen for "spurring me on"!!!

Painting #3

After working a full 8 hr day and cooking a quick supper, I drug myself up the narrow stairway to my studio. This is the discipline part. I really wanted to wimp out, as I was certainly not feeling creative. I was just plain tired....excuse #????

So I painted..............it was not a waste of time or paint or canvas.............as it showed me my weaknesses. It is so very much different from my normal method of slow, involving all the smallest details. But this is how we learn.  ( so they tell me!)

Here is tonight's attempt.............maybe tomorrow will be a little easier.

Art by Ruth Ann Sturgill: Painting #2 poor lemon

Art by Ruth Ann Sturgill: Painting #2 poor lemon

Painting #2 lemon w shadow

Guess I am making lemonade today in the studio, that is, after I paint it! I was planning to make a needed trip to a gallery in Dayton to pick up some of my paintings, so I never quite got into the right brain. Add several distractions, well, you know...

Hopefully, I will get a chance to redeem myself tomorrow, after I work on installing the photography show at Artspace/Lima.

30 Paintings in 30 Days!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012!!!

Meeting interesting people is a big bonus to traveling and enjoying the incredible world we live in! I was blessed with a particular one recently at a painting workshop. Her name is Kristen. We challenged each other to paint 30 paitings in 30 days. In order to make sue we stuck to it, Kristen warned me that if I missed a day, she got a free painting of mine! It is on!

Allowing myself just over an hour, by setting the alarm on my phone, here is what painting #1 looks like. I am such a detail person, this is really going to be a huge challenge. I am hoping it will train my eye to observe better; all the little nuances of change in value and temperature.


I also needed a place for them to dry and to be able to isolate them in my cluttered chaos I call "Studio", so I gathered scrap from the garage and made something along the line of what Carol Marine said her husband, David, made for her new studio in Oregon. Thanks, Carol!

I would rather that it was darker and more nuetral but the price was right so it will do for now. I knew I didn't dare take precious time from painting , like I normally do, and then never seem to have time to paint!

Today was a HUGE success, in the fact that I showed up and did the work. ( a friend told me I have a million excuses, so I am trying to ignore them)

I have so much to learn and so little time left, so I need to focus. I would love hearing how many of you manage your time better to actually do things that bring you pleasure and joy!

Work in progress; 'last of the litter'

Recently, I was away from home on an artist residency and trying to paint outdoors
, ie plein air. The weather took a major turn for the worst just as I got into painting mode. For those of you who know me, this takes awhile for me to make the transition, so I was really upset about the weather. Luckily, I had brought along some reference photos that I had planned to paint, when time allowed. I decided to pack it up and try to paint in the back of the van. Good thing, for just as I climbed in and shut the door, the sky opened up and the wind joined in!

I find the wind very disturbing, yet even though the van was constantly moving in the storm, I had connected with my muse, so I was able to paint away and joyfully so! This little fella belongs to my dear friend, Ann, who owns/operates a hunting reserve. We were sitting in the pen, playing with the pups and this was the only one that wasn't sold. I so wanted to take it home with me, as those sweet, begging eyes just made me want to hold and cuddle her!

It is a work in progress and I will fine-tune it as soon as I finish up some pressing obligations;

Thanks for viewing...........

Michael Chesley Johnson workshop

Michel started the workshop with a demo of a simple tree in the backyard and then a more complicated view for the next. He chose thebeautiful bridal veil spirea bushes in the shade to contrast against the warmth of the sun dancing along the grass and up the tree. It was a great play of light as cool and warm played it out. I am happy to say this one is now in my personal collection!

After the rain chased us to shelter, Michael had many requests to demo a palette knife technique, then we proceeded to attempt to capture some lilacs , using only a knife. Here is my 45 minute attempt....