Tag Archives: ACEO

Christmas Come Early … And Often

November 5th, 2008 | By Carrie Lewis

One of the best things about being a gallery director is managing incoming exhibits. Every new exhibit is like Christmas for me. New works to see and enjoy. New visual gifts to open.

From November 4 through November 15, every day will be like Christmas as I unwrap the 2008 World of Small & Miniature Art show, scheduled to open Saturday, November 29, 2008 at the Carriage Factory Gallery.

And this year, Christmas has a truly international flavor. Roughly half of the entries received so far are from overseas and represent three continents.

Entries have also been received from Ohio, Texas and, yes, right here in Kansas.

Every delivery from FedEx, UPS, DHL and the USPS brings a welcome surprise these days. Even at this very early stage, it’s looking like an excellent show. I will be announcing when it goes live on line, so be watching for that. You won’t want to miss it.

And of course if you happen to be passing through Newton between November 29 and December 24, you’re more than welcome to stop in and see the exhibit in person.

I will be entering this year’s exhibit, as well, but have yet to make the final determination on which pieces will make that journey. The ACEO Morgan Portrait shown here is currently at the top of the list and is going to the gallery today. But it’s companion piece?

Ah, that’s the question!

One not-quite-finished piece is my favorite, but whether or not it gets to the show will depend on whether or not it is dry enough to frame for display when the time comes.

The ACEO portrait of Lockkeeper in colored pencil is complete, but still needs to be framed.

Any of a number of ACEO landscape paintings are also available. Decisions, decisions!

For those artists out there who might not have heard, the show is open and is non-juried. You can learn more about the show from the gallery’s web site. The page includes a link to a downloadable entry form in a PDF format.

Visit my ACEO Horse Paintings page to see the current collection.

©Copyright 2008 by Carrie Lewis. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Carrie Lewis’s website.

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ok, what’s this a photo of?

October 27th, 2008 | By Donna Ridgway

Believe it or not, I took this photo, this morning, on my very own lawn!

So what is it? And how did I do it?

Here are some clues:

This formation happened on it’s own, during the night.
It surprised me!
It surprised Robert!
I think it surprised Daisy and Pedro too!
It’s a common substance.
It’s not a mushroom or fungi.

That’s enough clues, now you tell me, what is it? Good Luck! First one to guess correctly wins a free aceo card original. Let me know by leaving a comment here on this post.
Donna Ridgway

©Copyright 2008 by Donna Ridgway. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Donna Ridgway’s website.

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A Perfect Day for Creating….

October 13th, 2008 | By Carrie Lewis

I sit here at the computer, writing this post, sipping tea and eating the first cookie from a batch of oatmeal/butterscotch chip cookies. The tea is hot. The cookie is still warm, the chips still gooey.

Outside, it is cool (about 66) and rainy. Temperatures are falling and so are the leaves of surrounding oak, maple and elm. It is, in other words, the perfect day for baking!

It’s been so long since my last baking session that it was almost like doing something new. The recipe is certainly a new one. I’m going to have to find the complete recipe because the cookies were baked from one of those mason jar kits that come with all the ingredients arranged like a sand sculpture in a large mason jar. These cookies are good, though, and I’m going to have to make sure we stay out of them because they are intended as snacks for this week’s Financial Peace University class (the students take turns bringing goodies and this is my week.)

It has been a good day. The laundry is in the dryer, the dishes are washed (even the mixing bowls and whatnot), my hands are that particular kind of nice that they feel after having been bathed in hot dish water, and I’m more than halfway through my to-do list for the day.

That to-do list includes five paintings.

I took a break from painting to make lunch and bake cookies, and now write a blog entry. One of two large portraits has been worked on and will probably see more work before the day is done.

Both of the small ACEO horse portraits (shown here) have been worked on and put up to dry. They are now officially in the color phase of work, as is the portrait.

Glazing colors can be both time consuming and slow. The two ACEO horse portraits, for example, were each wiped with a light color, then a darker color was blended wet-into-wet into the first color. One of them had white added, the other did not, so they will no doubt begin to separate into two different time tables because the white will take longer to dry.

There is one other miniature piece to work on and another portrait that has back stepped into the under painting stage. The portrait is the more important of the two, so it will be worked on today. The miniature may be worked on but only if I get the higher priority things done.

Besides, if I work on everything today, chances are good I won’t have anything to work on tomorrow because everything will still be wet!

Oops! There goes the buzzer on the last batch of cookies. Time to get back to work!

©Copyright 2008 by Carrie Lewis. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Carrie Lewis’s website.

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New Demonstrations On Web Site

October 10th, 2008 | By Carrie Lewis

This has definitely been one of those weeks during which I spend more time waiting for paint to dry than in putting new paint on canvas!

On Monday, I worked on four pieces. Two aceo horse portraits and two aceo horse portraits.

Both of the aceo horse portraits are in the under painting stage, so yesterday, I took them down to scan. They both have some areas that are almost entirely white, though, so they both still had wet spots. Back up on the drying shelf they went.

The larger of the two portraits also has some under painting areas, but the other has entered the color phase, with lots of blue. Blue dries slowly, so it will be Monday before that’s ready for painting.

So what does an artist do while waiting for paint to dry?

I don’t know about other artists, but I work on my web site. It has been a very good couple of days for web site work and I am very pleased to announce three new works in progress pages!

Aeropostale - Colored Pencil is an 11×14 inch portrait in colored pencil.

Lockkeeper - Oil is an aceo horse portrait in oils.

Windswept - Oil is a compilation of the work on my panel for the Mural Mosaic project.

The Mural Mosaic painting is the only one that is already finished.

I invite you to visit these new demonstration pages and to book mark them so you can follow progress as work continues.

Both of the unfinished paintings are available for sale, so inquiries are welcome.

I also welcome inquiries if you would like to order your own, custom designed horse portrait.

©Copyright 2008 by Carrie Lewis. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Carrie Lewis’s website.

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ACEO Lockkeeper Portrait, Day 5

October 4th, 2008 | By Carrie Lewis

ACEO Lockkeeper Portrait
3-1/2″ by 2-1/2″
Rising Stonehenge Drawing Paper, White

I am going to combine three days worth of work on this post because the progress in the first day is obvious and the progress in the second day is less obvious.

I worked on Lockkeeper this day because the background still looked done! Praise the Lord! In fact, the background is so deeply saturated with color, that it reflects light, just like an oil painting. Now that’s what I like to see.

So I moved on to work on Lockkeeper.

The colors I used were Goldenrod, Orange Ochre and Terra Cotta. Each was applied in random order throughout the horse, building color layers. Pressure was light to medium throughout.

The work that went into the painting this day involved both Verithins and Prismacolors. The Verithins were used first to establish as deep and even a layer of color as possible while using up as little tooth as possible.

The colors were Orange Ochre, Spanish Orange, Crimson Red, Orange, Peacock Green, Black, Non-Photo Blue and Goldenrod. In the first pass, the colors were used in that order. In subsequent passes, they were not necessarily used in the stated order.

When I had done all I thought I could do with those, I switched to Prismacolors and continued work. Burnt Ochre, Orange and Black were the three colors I used.

For the most part, I used a medium to heavy pressure, really forcing color down into the tooth of the paper to fill up every last space.

The next day, I followed pretty much the same procedure.

Verithins in Goldenrod, Orange Ochre, Crimson Red, Ultramarine, Orange, Canary Yellow and White (the last two colors were highlight and/or burnishing colors). They were followed by Prismacolor Burnt Ochre applied in light to medium pressure.

When I finished for the day, I came to the very pleasant conclusion that this painting is almost finished. If I didn’t want to do much tweaking, I could even consider it finished.

But the face isn’t as polished as I would like it and the shadow along the jugular ridge isn’t quite deep enough. I’ll have to get out my magnifying glass and check, but I think Lockkeeper’s eyes are darker than what I’ve shown here, too.

I may still do some tweaking on this one, but it is currently an active auction on eBay.

©Copyright 2008 by Carrie Lewis. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Carrie Lewis’s website.

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ACEO Lockkeeper Portrait, Day 4

October 2nd, 2008 | By Carrie Lewis

ACEO Lockkeeper Portrait
3-1/2″ by 2-1/2″
Rising Stonehenge Drawing Paper, White

One of the interesting things about colored pencil is that something can look finished one day and be clearly unfinished the next.

Conversely, a work can go from ‘nowhere near finished’ to ‘almost done!’ in the course of a working session. Oil paintings can, too, but are not as apt to do so.

I had worked quite a bit on the background in the previous session, but felt the need to add more color layers this time around. I used Dark Green, Olive Green, Indigo Blue, Apple Green, Dark Umber and Yellow Chartreuse to deepen the saturation of color all around. Lights were applied in light areas and darks in dark areas with enough overlap to avoid ‘pasted on’ value patterns.

I then used Yellow Chartreuse, Chartreuse, Light Green, Apple Green, Deco Yellow and French Grey 30% to burnish. It sounds a lot like the work described in the previous post and it is. Multiple layers of alternating color.

The result was a deep and rich color field that looked almost like it could have been an oil painting. It remains to be seen whether it’s finished or not, but I think it is. Again.

©Copyright 2008 by Carrie Lewis. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Carrie Lewis’s website.

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ACEO Lockkeeper Portrait, Day 3

October 1st, 2008 | By Carrie Lewis

ACEO Lockkeeper Portrait
3-1/2″ by 2-1/2″
Rising Stonehenge Drawing Paper, White

Work began this day with some final layers of color on the background. I used many of the same colors that have been used, but in the softer, thicker leaded Prismacolor line. Apple Green and Dark Green were used in the light and dark areas respectively, then I began using some lighter colors to blend and burnish a little bit. Peacock Green, Chartreuse and Light Green.

With the background complete (for now), I turned my attention to Lockkeeper.

Still using Verithins, the initial layers of colors were applied to the horse. Goldenrod in the lighter areas of his coat (around the eye and poll, for example. Orange and Orange Ochre as a base coat throughout the more medium range colors and Indigo Blue in the mane and forelock and in the darker shadows around his eye and muzzle.

In the next work session the following day, I continued that work with Verithins, building as smooth and even a color layer as possible. The texture and softness of Rising Stonehenge paper definitely assists in that effort.

I used Prismacolor Verithin Terra Cotta, Goldenrod, Orange Ochre. Dark Brown and Crimson Red to build coat color, carefully working around the highlights on shoulder, neck and face.

Black and Indigo Blue were also used to begin placing the very dark areas: muzzle, eye, mane and forelock.

But I also used some Prismacolors in those same colors to add a little vibrancy.

©Copyright 2008 by Carrie Lewis. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Carrie Lewis’s website.

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A Busy Day

September 30th, 2008 | By Carrie Lewis

It has seemed to be a long time coming, but I was able to get a lot of painting done today, in addition to the many other things that occupy a typical Monday.

Mondays are my usual day off, so it is generally intended to be a studio day.

However, since Monday is the only day I have to do housework, the studio work is usually either pieced in with house chores (either painting is a break from house chores or the house chores are a break from painting) or I do the house chores in the quiet of the day and any painting that gets done is done in the late afternoon and/or early evening.

Today was no different in some respects.

In other respects, it was very pleasantly different.

I got a late start because I was up until nearly 3 a.m. reading a novel co-authored by Hank Hanegraaf and Sigmund Brouwer. Shame on me, I know, but it was their first collaborative effort and I had been wanting to read it since it first came out a couple of years ago. I just couldn’t put it down. I read almost the entire 391-page novel in one sitting and read the entire novel in a little over 24 hours (I checked it out of the library after work on Saturday). The Last Disciple was riveting, to say the least. The next thing I need to do, I suppose, is look up the sequels.

Anyway, that meant I was late getting up the following morning and that meant I was a little bit slow getting started.

But after getting the laundry started, I went right to the studio and started painting, accompanied by Bro, my studio assistant, in his usual spot. By the time Neal came home for lunch, I had the under painting for a new at liberty aceo horse painting almost completed and by mid-afternoon, I’d finished work on that one AND a companion aceo. The results were very satisfying, although I later saw some areas on each one that will need to be corrected or adjusted before I move on to color.

After that, a break to cut back some house plants that will be coming back inside as soon as the weather gets too cool for them, more laundry, lunch dishes and work on the checkbook, then it was back to painting.

This time, the painting is a little bit larger; 5 by 3-1/2 inches. Huge by comparison! I had already roughed in the under painting on this one so the work today was all about placing details. I spent quite a bit of time on this one and by the time I finished with it this evening, I was wondering if I should just sign it and consider it done. The movement and lighting are almost exactly what I was looking for, so the notion was very tempting.

Instead, I set it aside to dry and decided to mow the lawn.

Since it was about 7 p.m. by then, I had the immense pleasure of mowing the lawns in gorgeous evening light, even if I did have to squint against the sun on every west-bound trip across the front yard. It felt good to do something physical and the yard sure looked good when I finished, campaign sign and all.

(Had I thought of it, I might have been tempted to break out some colors and a piece of canvas and paint outside, but I didn’t think of that until it was too late to do anything about it.)

Afterward, I made myself a hot tea, then sat down with the novel I set aside to read The Last Disciple and did some reading until Mom made her weekly call. After visiting with her, I went back to the studio and worked on the fourth painting for the day.

This one is the first oil study of October Skies, which I’ve been referring to as Buddy Study #1. It is at the color stage, but it’s been several days since I last worked on it. Tonight’s work was almost a personal dare. A case of ‘I dare you to mess this up!’.

I was very pleased to work several transparent washes over the existing painting, make some rather dramatic changes and realize that I hadn’t messed it up.

What’s more, it’s looking very close to completion. There are a couple of areas yet to be adjusted and the color isn’t quite right, but it’s looking like it could very well be completed by the end of the week, depending on how quickly this paint dries.

The only other painting I would have liked to have been able to work on is the current larger portrait project, but that 16×20 portrait is in the drying room. Monday marked the one-week point in the drying process, which usually takes two weeks. Most of the painting was dry to the touch when I looked at it, but there were a few areas that were still a bit tacky. So it was left alone. Next week, I’ll check it again and proceed from there.

©Copyright 2008 by Carrie Lewis. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Carrie Lewis’s website.

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ACEO Lockkeeper Portrait, Day 2

September 27th, 2008 | By Carrie Lewis

ACEO Lockkeeper Portrait
3-1/2″ by 2-1/2
Rising Stonehenge Drawing Paper, White

In this working session, I started adding colors. I am still using the Prismacolor Verithins in an effort to fill up as many of the paper ‘holes’ as possible without filling up the tooth.

The colors I used are listed below, but not in any particular order. In fact, many of them were used several times, alternating colors among the many layers I did throughout the day.

The colors I used are:

  • Dark Umber
  • Goldenrod
  • Terra Cotta
  • Apple Green
  • Grass Green
  • Olive Green
  • Peacock Green
  • True Green
  • Canary Yellow
  • True Blue
  • Non-Photo Blue
  • Ultramarine

Most of today’s work was done on the background. The background will affect the way the horse looks more than the horse will affect the way the background looks. They do each affect the other, but the background colors have more influence.

It would have been preferable to work both areas up at the same time, but I was scanning photos for the next exhibit at the gallery and was working on this while the computer worked. Lots of stops and starts. It was easier to work on an area that has a more random look, hence my decision to do the background.

©Copyright 2008 by Carrie Lewis. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Carrie Lewis’s website.

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You Could WIN a FREE ATC Print!!!

September 26th, 2008 | By Debbie Flood

Hi,

How would you like to win a FREE ATC Print from a painting of mine?!

Here’s all you have to do:

Sign up your email into my Google groups and each week you will have a chance to Win a FREE ATC Print!

Each week I post a cropped out puzzle piece from a painting of mine. It is then your job to find what painting it is from and report back to me through the email, the title of the painting. If you are the first one to reply with the correct answer, you WIN an ATC Print of that painting! You’ll also have the chance to invest in an upgrade, to an 8 x 10 of the same image. What a deal!

Where can you find the painting in question? On my Website www.debfloodart.com , Blogspot or on your walls! It’s that easy!

ATC Print: An ATC Print is an Art Trading Card Reproduction. It is in the size of 2.5 x 3.5 wallet size. They come with a Certificate of Authenticity and are sealed in a clear resealable sleeve.

They are great to trade with other collectors, or keep in a small photo album or put into a small table top frame and they are small so you can collect a whole lot more of them!

Enjoy! & I hope to see you signed up on my Google Group soon!! Come join the fun ! The sign up box is in the links to the right of this Blog.

The image above is what a puzzle piece might look like. That painting has already been guessed and we had a Winner! You could be next!

Debbie

Debbie Flood, Artist. Equine, Wildlife, and the natural world.
http://www.debfloodart.com

©Copyright 2008 by Debbie Flood. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Debbie Flood’s website.

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ACEO Horse Portrait, Part 6

September 25th, 2008 | By Carrie Lewis

ACEO Horse Portrait
3-1/2 by 2-1/2 inches

I thought I had this one finished. Then I photographed it and looked at the resulting photograph on the computer and spotted some areas that needed attention.

Most notably, the ear, or the lack thereof. That definitely needs to be attended to.

As for the painting process, the colors used in this session were Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna and Burnt Umber to bring the base coat color to completion or nearly so.

In the face, I also used Yellow Ochre and Titanium White to bring up the highlights and give the face and head a little bit more definition.

Ivory Black and Titanium White in the muzzle and chin and blending the two areas more smoothly into the coat color. The dark portions of the eye were painted using Ivory Black, then I used a little bit of Yellow Ochre to add some color to the iris.

The last thing for the day was the mane and forelock, where shadows were deepened and highlights emphasized a little bit more.

At that point, I thought it was finished and even contemplated putting on a signature. Usually, when I think a signature is appropriate, I wait another day and give the painting one more look. This time, I’m glad I did!

The good news is that it will not take that much more work to finish this painting. I’ll wait for this work to dry, then see what else I can find to tweak or correct.

©Copyright 2008 by Carrie Lewis. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Carrie Lewis’s website.

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ACEO Horse Portrait, Part 5

September 23rd, 2008 | By Carrie Lewis

ACEO Horse Portrait
3-1/2 by 2-1/2 inches

Time for color! This is when paintings really begin to come to life.

To begin the color phase, walnut oil was brushed onto the surface of the painting with with a sable flat brush. The application was kept light, since the purpose is to provide an ‘open’ surface for fresh paint. The excess oil was then wiped off with a clean, dry cloth.

The first color to be used was Titanium White and it was placed in the upper right hand corner, which will represent the light source. Cadmium Yellow Light followed that and was painted onto the rest of the painting except for the horse’s blaze and muzzle.

In the background, Burnt Sienna was blended into the left hand half of the background, then Ultramarine Blue was blended into the left hand side of the background, creating a wonderful gradated color and value range that moves from bright to dark in the opposite direction of the horse’s movement.

Ultramarine Blue was also layered over the dark portions of the mane and the deepest shadow areas of the horse and that was the conclusion of work for the day.

The following day, work continued even though the previous work was still wet enough to work into. The focus of the work the previous session had been the background. This time around, I worked the horse.

Raw Sienna was applied with a soft sable flat to the mid tone areas through the horse and into the shadow areas. The only places I didn’t paint with this color were the white marking and the highlights.

Burnt Sienna was then blended wet-into-wet into the Raw Sienna in most of those areas, but not all of them. That was followed by Burnt Umber in the darkest darks of the coat.

The mane, muzzle and nostril were then worked over with Ivory Black, which I’m using a little bit earlier with this painting than with the ACEO Morgan Portrait (search “aceo morgan portrait”). The reason is two-fold. I wanted to see what the effects were of earlier application of black in the overall painting.

This painting also has more dramatic lighting and needs sharper contrast. We’ll see if the black layered with other colors achieves that drama.

©Copyright 2008 by Carrie Lewis. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Carrie Lewis’s website.

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