Are We Really in August

This summer is certainly going fast. Last lesson in our intro into oil painting. Our mentor Ariel Asseo,  How to layout the colors on our palette, the importance of putting out all our colors, 2 of each primary, 2 whites and a brown. How to read a reference landscape photo and lots of other tips along the way.

I brought a few photos and chose, in the end, one of the rolling fields of Heval Lachish that I shot. Really miss these views. Views that I see traveling back from Hamai Yoav Spa.

Again working on a heavy gessoed paper that I painted a foundation of burnt sienna in acrylic. I am really enjoying working on gessoed paper.

Oh How I Miss You Hevel Lachish

Oils on Gessoed Paper

20 x 13.75 "

Next week we have a month of "Mixed Media". Not the kind that you are used to like collage, drawing, and painting etc. Asked to bring in unconventional supports. Will keep you informed!

Liberate Your Art Postcard Swap 2016

First, a HUGE THANKS to Kat... It was a fabulous event and saw so many inspiring cards. All the best to ALL. Keep up the creativity, and keep LIBERATING !!!!

It all started way back in January when I was taking part in Leslie Seata's 30 paintings in 30 days . I learned on  Sheila Delgado's blog about the Liberate Your Art Postcard Swap. I was very excited about joining and thought this a good way to spread my art and meet new artists.  I already had at hand 30 new small daily paintings to choose from, find a printer and I was on my way. All original oils painted on 6 x 8 " cardboard or on pieces of collages also 6 x 8.

No regular printer does postcards here and the pros, my daughter works at a local printer, wants minimum 50-100 cards.So I decided to make my own.  Printed my cards at a photo printer and pasted with double sided tape to hard stock and drew the back of the postcard by hand. Not so professional looking but c'est la vie!!! Printing also was a problem because of the standard sizes here are different than in the states.

Finally, I shipped them off to Kat... Didn't decorate my envelope but Kat showed it because stamp and postmark from Israel in Hebrew,

Received envelope with

Postmark from Israel

My cards before shipping

My side swaps

Top left found a home with 

David Wolanski

Top right with Sheila Delgado

Bottom right went to my artist friend Meredith 

middle yellow landscape found a home in Australia with Diane McWhirter

bottom left found a home with my sister Debbie, Revere Beach Ma

Side swaps I received  L-R

From   David Wolanski    Sheila Delgado

Side swap from 

Diane Mcwhirter

Pencil drawing

Sadly I have only seen one of my cards on the FB event page. My  Potted Plant found a home with Megan Osborn from Arlington,Washington.

Although I am a bit disappointed at not knowing where my cards landed I am glad I took part and will take part next year.  I am a bit of stickler for internet etiquette and can't really understand  not letting the person who you received a card from that it arrived. I know that not all love FB,  including myself, but that is the event platform. I did put the URL of my site and there is a contact link. My they got lost/damaged or they weren't liked....don't want to go there,,,

I love all the cards I received. Still awaiting 1 card. and 1 side swap.

Top  L-R Amy Irwin  Chandra Lynn

Bottom L-R  Elizabeth Ann Dorman  

Linda Richards

Last but NOT least I received Kat's card!!!

Well, finally I received my last card. It traveled from Oregon to Jamaica and then on to Israel.

Alas, its anonymous a beautiful card of a mosaic bird.. 

The label was clear to go to Israel

Zip code not like any in Jamaica

Go figure!!!!

An InLinkz Link-up

Watching

This simple collage was inspired by one of the photos I took at a lookout in Moshav Amirim.
It was an overcast morning so no sunrise... white sky.
Part of my experimentation with collage especially newsprint with added drawing and painting,

Newsprint collage on cardboard

Graphite drawing plus wash

5o x 35 cm

First Plein Air

I recently joined an Art Association [Hebrew]for my area. One of the activities is going out and painting or sketching in Plein air.  This was my first painting done in an open field near the Yahud cemetery.

Flatlands around our area.  I may tweak this in the future to put more contrast in the trees.  I am really not good at tweaking and it usually ends up worse than it is.  I liked how the tree silhouetted against the sky.

Oils on canvas wrapped on cardboard

30 x 40 cm

September 30 x 30 Final Collage

September 30 x 30   Final Collage

At the end of each 30 x 30 Challenge we make a collage of all the works.. I use Photovisi for my collages...easy/simple and very user friendly

A months work.. 30 new sketches that some will hopefully be the basis of some paintings..  They all look great altogether... Thanks Leslie for the opportunity to challenge my self and share with so many great artists.

Photovisi collage

September 30 x 30 # 30 Street in Oxford

September 30 x 30 # 30 Street in Oxford

Reference fro RIL at WetCanvas... Back-lit figures in a street in Oxford. Loved the diagonal lines and of course the patterns.  These last three sketches were done very quickly and if I want to capture the essence of any scene I have to do it quickly...

Really feel that this challenge has been a big help.. felt that my pencil was traveling over the paper sometimes with a will of its own....

Pencil sketch 5 x 7

90 grm Canson Sketchpad

September 30 x 30 # 29 Market Stalls

September 30 x 30 # 29 Market Stalls

This is from the same reference as the post #28... did some close cropping....

Pencil sketch 5 x 7

90 grm Canson Sketchpad

September 30 x 30 # 28 Market Street Scene

September 30 x 30 # 28 Market Street Scene

This has been a real challenge this month.  As I stated on the post for Day 1 this month is really crowded with events so I decided from the beginning I would do mainly quick sketches  in pencil on a small format 5 x 7 in my 90 grm Canson sketchpad... so I have succeeded in doing the 30 sketches by the 21st of September!!!

By the time this post will be published I will be traveling in Morocco hopefully doing some sketching and of course lots of photos. I still have a fear of sketching in public places which I hope to overcome. Keep telling myself this is a once in a lifetime experience... but also since its a group trip don't know how much time I'll have...

Because this month there are all the High Holidays + Shabbat etc lots of shopping/food preparing/family gatherings along with shopping for my trip which leaves day after Yom Kippor.. So I started early and today finished the last three sketches... scanned and ready for blogging and scheduling... I have mixed feeling about these last sketches but I have to distance myself from them for a fresh view.  Tried to capture the essence of the scene and the tonal patterns. The references for these last sketches are from RIL library at WetCanvas, a really great source for reference images,

Pencil sketch 5 x 7

90 grm Canson Sketchpad

September 30 x 30 # 27 Old Window

September 30 x 30 # 27 Old Window

The reference was from Pinterest tightly cropped and changed.  There was a cat on the ledge between the pots...but it really looked a bit corny so hid him behind another pot inside .

Pencil sketch 5 x 7

90 grm Canson Sketchpad

September 30 x 30 # 26 Sora Bird

September 30 x 30 # 26 Sora Bird

This reference is also from Kay's [Kreative] WDE . An interesting bird in a dry bird bath.
Found her feathers interesting.. see the shadow under her body?

Pencil sketch 5 x 7

90 grm Canson Sketchpad

September 30 x 30 # 25 Star

September 30 x 30 # 25 Star

The reference for this piece was from this week's WDE Hosted by Kreative 
This beautiful cat caught my eye.. so regal.

Pencil sketch 5 x 7

90 grm Canson Sketchpad

September 30 x 30 # 24 Bottles

September 30 x 30 # 24 Bottles

The was from a reference  from WDE ... I think it was a picture in the house of Matisse hosted by Crispur
Found the patterns of blocks and lights interesting.

Pencil sketch 5 x 7

90 grm Canson Sketchpad

September 30 x 30 # 23 Plastic Bottles

September 30 x 30 # 23 Plastic Bottles

This screenshot has an interesting story.  A 3 part series from the BBC Welcome to India.  Films about how to survive and prosper in a crowded urban surrounding... what better than India .. what ingenuity.
The story of Johora that makes her living sorting plastic bottles that people throw away.

I started this sketch over a  wax crayon colored layer. had a hard time added some highlights. it did however make an interesting abstract patterns.

Pencil sketch 5 x 7

on crayon colored background

90 grm Canson Sketchpad

September 30 x 30 # 22 Train and Tree

September 30 x 30 # 22 Train and Tree

Another screenshot from a film about the Trans Siberian Railway.. Didn't scan before adding the color which doesn't really enhance it.... some make it some don't...

Pencil sketch 5 x 7

90 grm Canson Sketchpad

September 30 x 30 # 21 Out of the Box

September 30 x 30 # 21 Out of the Box

Random doodling boxes and circles... just an exercise to get "out of the box" A bit confusing but some parts maybe the start of some future abstract work.

Pencil sketch 5 x 7

90 grm Canson Sketchpad

September 30 x 30 # 20 Cat Walk

September 30 x 30 # 20 Cat Walk

I think this is Ludwig crawling on Tamara's shelf.  Taken quite a while ago  with very little lighting. Was attracted to the huge huge shadow and the play of light.

Pencil sketch 5 x 7

90 grm Canson Sketchpad

September 30 x 30 # 19 Face at the Window

September 30 x 30 # 19 Face at the Window

One of my own reference photos with a tight crop and some Photoshop filters.

Pencil Sketch 5 x 7

90 grm Canson Sketchpad

September 30 x 30 # 17 Cat on the Ledge

September 30 x 30 # 17 Cat on the Ledge

A few weeks ago my daughter went o a weekend seminar in Ein Kerem at a Monastery. This is a crop of one of her shots.. I liked the interaction of the various textual patterns.

Pencil sketch 5 x 7 

90 grm Canson Sketchpad

September 30 x 30 # 16 Museum Guard

September 30 x 30 # 16 Museum Guard

Tel Aviv Museum.... Museum Guard

Pencil Sketch 5 x 7

90 grm Canson Sketchpad

September 30 x 30 # 15 Shadow

September 30 x 30 # 15 Shadow

Viewer at an exhibition. See her shadow on the wall!!

Pencil sketch 5 x 7

90 grm Canson Sketchpad