Author: Cheryl

weekend-retreat

En Plein Air

Cheryl
EN PLEIN AIR Summer is here, and up from the grass /  Spring lots of easels, painters having a blast. /  If they’re actually painting, or just soak in the sun, /  Plein air painters sure have lots of fun. /  So don’t be suprised, when the painters are gone, /  By orange, red or turquoise blades of grass in the lawn. /  Cheryl O (I know, I should stick to painting 😉 
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6 Fun Ways to Explore Colour

Cheryl
Sure you have your favourite colours to paint with. That’s a good thing. However, maybe you are ready to change things up and try some completely different colour combination. Here are some ways to explore – the idea is to use the colours, but not with the same subject: 1. Check out your favourite multi coloured shirt or scarf. What colours are in it? Paint with them. 2. Go for a walk and choose some colour combinations from nature to paint with. 3. Look at your favourite famous painting. Use those colours in a painting – of a completely different subject. 4. Google “Hubble telescope images” and choose the colours from a part of one of those photos. 5. Go for another walk and find a stone with colours you like – paint with them. 6. Choose a favourite photo and use some of the colours in it to paint a different subject. Possible colour combinations are endless, and each has it’s own unique impact and mood. Have fun exploring! 
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Van Gogh – Up Close!

Cheryl 2 Comments
Just back from a wonderful 1 week holiday in Ottawa! Spent time at the National Gallery and at the special exhibit “Van Gogh: Up close”. There are over 40 van Gogh paintings plus some of his drawings! My favourite was “View of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer” with lavender fields in the foreground and town with castle in the distance. It was also wonderful to see the famous “Almond Blossom” up close, and I was quite taken by a painting called “Wheat Fields with Sheaves” that I had not seen before in any of my books. The tree trunks in “The Large Plane Trees” were stunning. Although there were a number of his lesser works that were not quite as interesting, there were more than enough fantastic paintings to make this trip worthwhile. Here’s the link to information about the show at the National Gallery in case you have the chance to go van Gogh! 
FruitBowl432

Rest

Cheryl
“Take a rest; a field that has rested gives a beautiful crop.” Ovid –  Don’t you love good advice that comes from the 1st century B.C.? And in keeping with this good advice – I will be on holidays from June 16 through to June 24, and taking a rest from the blogosphere too. The next blog post will appear on June 25. Hope you have a good week, and that you have some rest time planned for this summer too! 
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The Quest for Meaning

Cheryl
Setting aside the search for great composition, colours, and all that goes into a well created painting, at times I stop and ponder the larger meaning behind my art. I think it comes down to this for me – I hold beauty in high regard. Beauty has been a long time theme for me, and one that can be applied to any subject. I hope to delight the viewer with lovely lines, shapes, and colours. More recently, I have also wanted to include a sense of mystery so that the viewer’s imagination can participate in the art. This is accomplished by leaving some things within the painting in an unfinished state; soft edges, understated colour, layers of shapes that merge and re-emerge. You can watch for this theme in my art as I plan to work on this aspect of painting more this summer – beauty plus mystery. Since art is a language, there are as many different potential themes as there are different individuals. What about you? Do you have any overriding themes for your paintings or for the art that is on your walls? 
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Lakeside Painting

Cheryl
Painting at beautiful Brentwood was sooo good this weekend. The weather was perfect – only a bit of rain first thing Saturday morning but it cleared up beautifully and we had lots of sunshine and a gentle cool breeze off the lake. As well as lots of creative painting time, we simply had a lot of fun together! We had a campfire at the beach under the brightest stars ever, and fantastic food at every meal. Thank you, Brentwood, for hosting this art retreat. What a delight – we’ll be back! 
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Dream Big

Cheryl
“Some men see things as they are, and ask why. Other men see things that never were, and ask why not.” George Bernard Shaw –  It’s paint and canvas, or pencil and paper, or notes in the air, or words on a computer screen. Whatever your creative endeavors – dream big! Cheryl O