March 2012: Still Life With Dark Field

Jean Nelson

Sylvia Young

I taught a still life workshop in February, and the group created three arrangements to work from.  After a series of thumbnail sketches, each artist settled on one to develop further into a finished piece of art.

Still Life on Dark Drape

Good luck to you all with this painting challenge!  Remember to follow the "Rules of the Road" on the right and send me your images as an attachment to your email.  The April challenge will be posted on April 1, 2012.  Thanks to everyone who participates, and good luck.   Happy Painting!

June 2011 Challenge: Bearded Iris

Submittal Deadline:  Sunday, July 3, 2011

11:59 PM MST

A 4-Week Challenge

Catherine Hale

Charlotte Tanner

Nancie Johnson

Loretta Sampson

Sylvia Young

William Cook

 Helen Eaton

Sue Harrell

Jean Nelson

Horst Hittenberger

Ann Hyde

Great job on the sunflowers, everyone!  Now we are turning to what's happening in our garden.

We had a very rainy  May, so all of our perennials are about a month late.  Our bearded iris were very happy to receive so much moisture this spring, and now they are proudly on display.  For this challenge I am presenting three photos for your inspirations.  Two photos are close ups, and the third is a group shot of several iris in our garden.  Have fun!

Beverly Sills

 Iris in the Garden

 Purple Iris

You will have four (4) weeks to work on this challenge.  Remember to follow the "Rules of the Road" on the right and send me your images as an attachment to your email by July 3, 2011, when you also will be able to see what I have in store for you for the July challenge. Thanks to everyone who participates.

Happy painting!

May 2011 Challenge: Sunflowers

Submittal Deadline:  Sunday, June 5, 2011

11:59 PM MST

A 5-Week Challenge

Catherine Hale

Ann Hyde

Rebecca Wang

Maria Soto Robbins

Millie Nguyen

Horst Hittenberger

 Helen Eaton

Nancie Johnson

William Cook

 Murilo S. Romeiro

Sylvia Young

Jean Nelson

 Ann Hyde

Ann Hyde

Bernie Victor

 Charlotte Tanner

 This month's challenge comes from last fall's discovery of a massive sunflower field in the country north of Denver.

Colorado Sunflower Field

I'm certain I had sunflowers on my mind when I chose this photograph because I watched my favorite Dr. Who 11 episode over the weekend - Vincent and The Doctor.  Need I say more?

You will have five (5) weeks to work on this challenge.  Remember to follow the "Rules of the Road" on the right and send me your images as an attachment to your email by June 5, 2011, when you also will be able to see what I have in store for you for the June challenge. Thanks to everyone who participates.

Happy painting!

December 2010: Flowers in Glass Vase

Submittal Deadline:  January 2, 2011

11:59 PM MST

A 5-Week Challenge

Nancie Johnson

Catherine Hale

Linda Popple

Angela Sullivan

Sheryl Chew

 Sherry Thurner

Sylvia Young

Horst Hittenberger

Hi, folks!  Thanks for all of your great paintings of the apples.  We had a lot of submittals this time, and I'm pleased that so many of you were inspired by the photo.

Now, on to another still life, but this time a vase of flowers.  This photo has a little different perspective - looking down on the vase, so the top rim and the bottom of the vase where it meets the table are those ellipses we have seen before (March 2010  Challenge:  Malibu Fountain).  They are from different angles, though, so they should look different if you choose to render them correctly.  However, if the prespective makes you crazy, and you prefer to paint from a more "head-on" view, go for it!

This setup has both a complementary color scheme and a strong light/dark pattern.  I'm eager to see what you all can do with this subject.

 Flowers in Glass Vase

You will have five (5)) weeks to work on this challenge (extra time for winter holidays). Remember to follow the "Rules of the Road" on the right and send me your images as an attachment to your email by January 2, 2011,  when you also will be able to see what I have in store for you for the January challenge. Thanks to everyone who participates.

Happy painting!

October Challenge: A Public Landscape

Submittal Deadline:  October 24 2010

11:59 PM MDT

A 4-Week Challenge 

Rodica Voicu

Jenni Twidle

 Karin Naylor

Nancie Johnson

 Yasha Sharma

 Marilyn Russell

Marie Sautier

Sylvia Young

 Jean Nelson

Byannick

Charlotte Tanner

I was delighted to received so many submittals on Garden of the Gods.  I love everyone's interpretations and am humbled that the picture inspired more than one of you.  Thank-you for these gifts!

From the gods' garden to one of man's creations, this month's picture shows a median strip near a local office building.  I was surprised one late and HOT Saturday afternoon by the vibrant hot pink flowers and how wonderfully healthy all of the plants were.  Being without my camera at the time, and with poor lighting, I returned Sunday morning to be rewarded with no traffic and with morning light that gave lovely shadows.  Two lessons were learned here:  1)  even a lowly median strip can be made to look beautiful, and 2) don't leave home without a camera!

You will have four (4) weeks to work on this challenge. Remember to follow the "Rules of the Road" on the right and send me your images as an attachment to your email by October 24, when you also will be able to see what I have in store for you for the November challenge. Thanks to everyone who participates.

Happy painting!