Monday morning artists

Welcome to another Monday morning in my studio

Not to be biased or to choose one painting over another but I do have to say this painting would be so perfect hanging in the studio!  I keep waiting for the artist to not only finish painting it but to donate it to the newly formed "student gallery", where it can continue to inspire all of us.  I'm quite sure she's considered this but is waiting until she's received the official nod from the group that the painting is wall worthy and can be signed before she surprises me with her gift!  So I'll continue to admire it and bide my time...

Anyway...since this is a pretty informal setting as far as art classes go, I am never quite sure who will show up each week.  Some of the ladies have been pretty regular in attendance since my first class, some have come and gone, some are brand new to painting and some surprise us by popping in every now and then.

Sara, working on a sketch of her brother, has been on a wee hiatus and surprised all of us when she walked through the door this morning.  For her new piece. Sara has painted the background with a light coat of green to compliment the red in her brothers shirt and has lightly sketched in graph lines to help figure out the positive and negative shapes of the portrait when drawing it.

Meanwhile Shelley, one of our newest members, continues to work on the seaside portrait of her daughter.  Last week she finished the sketch and is now working on the background color scheme, which from the looks of her palette, seems as though it will be in the cool color family of blues, purples and green.

Julia added more depth to her oyster shell with a thin line of white paint around the edge of the shell.  This, and darkening up the blue around the base of the shell for an added shadow effect, creates a nice contrast and helps push the shell forward.

Caroline is just about finished with her South Carolina row house painting.  A few more touches of highlights and shadows on the flowering tree and a bit of color on the sidewalk and doorstep and the painting should be ready to sign!  I can also see this piece making it's place in my newly formed student gallery.

After two weeks off, Mimi resumed painting her herd of gazelles. Taking time to paint the unique colors and contour lines of each member of the herd.

Virginia arrived to class with this delightful close up composition of a zebra which will be hung in her daughters bedroom, along with the hibiscus painting that she was working on last week.  The zebra is receiving a tropical coat of color that will eventually be enhanced with whimsical collage pieces and a feather boa border.

As the class progresses so does Sara's portrait as she works out each shape with a light coat of paint.

It shouldn't be too much longer before Cindy is finished with this lovely still life painting which, I believe I may have mentioned previously, would look really fabulous hanging in the newly formed student gallery!