Creative Spirits Soar!

Study of Monet's Sunflowers

Creative Spirits and Painting with Susan painting classes were interrupted this spring as we complied with the CDC recommendations for social distancing. But that doesn't mean we can't continue to paint! Please enjoy these videos of the study of Monet's Sunflowers.

Many of you have reached out to me with offers to help at this time when my main income stream has abruptly halted. Please know this video is offered to you at no charge. If you feel like you get value from the lessons taught here and want to contribute to my 'rainy day fund' to help me through this dark time, it will be most appreciated. You may send a donation via Venmo to @susan-jones-346 or to my PayPal account at susan@susanejones.com.

Thank you for your consideration! Artists are the best!! Enjoy this and every video on my YouTube channel.

Susan

Reference Photo with Grid and Notan

 

Acrylics Palette :  Cad Red Medium, Cad Yellow Medium, Ultramarine Blue, Phthalo Turquoise, Dioxizine Purple, Cad Orange, Burnt Sienna, Black, White.   For the complete list, click here. 

 

Instructional Videos

Step One - The Block-in

Step Two - The Underpainting 

Step Three - The Local Color

Step Four - The Detail and Sign your Name 

 

Side by Side Comparison

Early Spring Daffodils

It happens every year. 

I love autumn. In fact I love  autumn, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Elvis' birthday, Groundhog's Day, the Superbowl, my birthday, even Valentine's Day. But then I'm done with gray days, cold weather and well, winter. I'm ready for Spring Break, Mule Day, Easter, plein air painting, sunshine and warmth!!

We are entering the SAD days. The Eagles sang it best, "the sky won't snow and the sun won't shine. It's hard to tell the night time from the day." Many years I simply head south. Several friends live in Florida and are happy for a short visit and offer a guest bedroom for a few days, but this year I can't do that so I'm doing the next best thing.... painting spring. 

 

My own daffodils are just ready to burst out of bud into glorious blooms. I can't wait. 

So I painted my own....

 

I painted this one in Acrylics yesterday, and I like how it turned out, but I want to paint it again in oils and deconstruct some of the edges. It's hard to do that in acrylics since they dry so quickly. 

Today I pulled out my Lukas Berlin water-mixable oils. I like these best because they clean up easily with water. No stinky turpentine needed. I'm allergic to turp and have to wear gloves when I paint in traditional oils, but not the water-solubles. 

It may be a little too chromatic, but I love the looseness of the lowest blossom, especially. 

Hold on a few more weeks. The Groundhog predicted spring is just around the corner.

Illustrated Watercolor Peach Pie Recipe

As much as I love painting studio and plein air works of art, it's Illustrated Watercolor Journaling that brings me pure joy. The hobby started with an Illustrated Nature Journal. Shortly after it began, I went on a scenic, painting trip to Owl's Head, Maine, with a few friends, so the journal evolved to an Illustrated Nature and Travel Journal. But I also love to cook and to eat! And I love history and historic and family recipes. And guess what? The illustrated watercolor journal as evolved to involve these loves, too. 

To see the 30 minute demonstration, click here.  To see the sped up 60 second version, click here. 

The watercolor set you see in the video is the Winsor & Newton Professional Sketchers Watercolor Box.  It's a bit pricey for the first time watercolor painter.

My oldest and most used set is my Winsor & Newton Compact Watercolor set for travel. I love this one because it is small, compact, holds your brush and wash water well, and the lid can be used as your palette for mixing. The half-pans easily pop out and can be replaced with any Winsor Newton half-pan watercolor, and it's practically indestructible. I've taken it on many trips. And because there is no liquid involved, they can be pack in your pocket or purse to carry on an airplane. 

 

However, I also have a set of Uloochi Watercolor pens, and love them. My students were unable to find Uloochi and purchased Arteza Watercolor brush pens, and I can't tell the difference. They are both easy to use, have beautiful color, and are convenient. If you go this route, you'll want to also purchase a watercolor brush to move color around with water. Sometimes the pens dispense a lot of color, so it's best to lay down a small amount of color from the pen and then use a clean, wet brush to extend the color where you want it. 

White Daffodils

Today I'm getting ready for an art show at the Parthenon in Centennial Park in Nashville, Tennessee. 

I plan to go there tomorrow and paint en plein air. This painting was created using a photo I took for reference. I drove to the Parthenon on a beautiful, early spring day in March. And though it was bright and sunny and the daffodils, forsythia, and cherry trees were in bloom, it was very cold and windy. Best I could do was take reference photos for studio work later. White Daffodil is just one of those paintings.

And here is the second... White Daffodils. Ok, so I'm not so creative when it comes to naming paintings. 

Illustrated Nature Journaling

Winter and spring have both been unseasonably cold. We even had a frost yesterday with 33* morning temps. So I had to create my own spring and dream of warmer weather. Specifically I've been working on a new class for all ages.... Illustrated Nature Journaling for Beginners. We'll meet in the garden at Rippavilla Plantation.

The side garden, that is. 

  But there are so many wonderful places to observe flora and fauna on the estate.

   Like in the courtyard...

  And on the lawn....

  And that doesn't even count the back of the property. 

At Rippavilla, there is even a "Witness" tree, an old tree that was standing during the Battle of Spring Hill.... 

  

Illustrated Nature Journaling is fun!

What other activity is uses Science, Language Arts, History, Architecture, Poetry, and Art?

And shows Gratitude and Appreciation for our planet and conservation, and historic preservation?

What other activity can be done in a party or alone and still be fun?

What other activity can be done on location on a pretty day or at home at the dining room table when the weather doesn't cooperate?

What activity can be done on vacation or in your own back yard?

And is fun for ALL ages?

And is as much fun looking back on it as it is while doing it?

Illustrated Nature Journaling, of course. And I combine my journal with Illustrated Travel Journaling and a Gratitude Journal. 

Beatrix Potter, yes that Beatrix Potter, took her nature journaling very seriously. She loved to identify and sketch different types of mushrooms and other botanicals. 

 

 Plus insects and animals....

And she used her imagination to give personalities to these animals and write stories about their lives....

You may think that she was grown before she started her journals, but you would be wrong. 

Although Beatrix Potter was born and raised in London, she and her baby brother spent summers at their grandparents house in the country in Scotland. She loved her heritage and she loved the country, so much more than the city. And this is where her love of nature journaling began. 

If you will be in the Spring Hill, Tennessee, area and would like to participate in an Illustrated Nature Journaling class at Rippavilla, then join us!  Contact Rippavilla Plantation for more information. 

 

Kids and Canvas February Reference Painting

Don't want to leave out the youngest of artists, so I created a painting for us to celebrate George Washington's birthday. Did he really cut down a cherry tree and not tell a lie?

 

 

Green Apples, White Flowers and Semi-Private Lesson

This morning was spent with two lovely ladies and talented artists painting in a semi-private lesson. One of the artist had already painted a piece using a reference photo of white flowers and green apples, but the other artist wanted to try her hand at it. I suggested we paint it in a fresh, new way so that the first artist would learn something new and also have a slightly different painting.

Her first painting is lovely, and it sold immediately.

So we varied our process and started the new version with a cad red under-painting and neutral block-in. I suggested she hold her brush like a baton and paint very loosely.

And I love the results, especially the additional warmth from the red under-painting peeking through.

Artist #2 painted similarly, but with a bit of deconstructing at the end to loosen up some edges and then a simple finger-painting stroke or two of peach to pull in color from other places in the painting.

And I love the way this one turned out, too.

Many times I will paint several paintings using the same reference material. I learn something new each time I paint, and many times want to paint the subject again to incorporate a different approach. And if you are a painter, allow me to encourage you to paint the same reference a few times incorporating a different process, palette, or brush strokes and simply experiment. You won't regret it. And you might learn something.

Great job ladies!!

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Cherry Blossoms Class Demo

Cherry Blossoms Class Demo

12 x 16 acrylics on canvas, $100

 

Great class tonight. Exceptionally talented artists.

Feathering My Nest

Feathering My Nest

12 x 16 acrylics on canvas, $360

Study of Monet's Water Lilies

Recently I had the pleasure to teach a group of talented artists at the Centennial Club in Green Hills. We painted a study of Claude Monet's Water Lilies.  Above is my class demonstration painting.