"Grandma's Cottage" 8x10

"Grandma's Cottage"

8x10 oil on canvas panel

This is a house in the beautiful town of Franklin, Tennessee, just outside of Nashville. It is a plein air piece done in a workshop setting last fall with artist Anne Blair Brown. I have taken two workshops with Anne and enjoyed each one so much! She is a wonderful artist and has some good information to share about painting with others. I am not sure who lives there, but I like to think my grandmother does so I can go visit in this charming little cottage!

"Yellow House" 8x10

 

"Yellow House"

8x10 oil on panel

This house was painted in a plein air workshop with the fabulous artist from California,  Tim Horn. He came to Atlanta last fall for a workshop and it was a "dream" of mine since I found his work to take a workshop with him. I was not disappointed! He is not only a talented painter, but a really nice guy and good instructor also. I enjoyed his daily demo paintings and received very good advice and instruction at my easel when he came around to the students during the painting times. I always learn something at each workshop I take that I can apply to my own painting, and this workshop was no different. Tim's work is all about the "light" and it is something that attracts me so strongly to his paintings.

In addition to the wonderful workshop, I also met some really fun people at the workshop, which is something else I enjoy about taking painting workshops! Two of my new "art friends" that I met there are Jenny Schultz and Carol Carmichael. Both of these artists are very talented also and have some really amazing work! Check them out when you get a chance! 

And take a painting workshop if you get the chance no matter what your level of experience is. I think you will enjoy it if you go with an open attitude to learn something new and have some fun too!

"Vanity Stash #2" 6x6

"Vanity Stash #2"

6x6 oil on panel

This is another small painting of my new "collection" of nail polish and lipsticks and other cosmetics. Such fun colors and shapes to paint! I used the black ground again and am liking that a lot! A different way of thinking while painting and challenging at first, but easier the more that I do.

This painting is available for purchase in my Etsy shop, Denise Rose Studio.

"Vanity Stash #1" 6x6

"Vanity Stash #1"

6x6 oil on panel

I loved painting this! I had fun digging through all my old and unused cosmetics and a lot more fun shopping at Target for some other things that I wanted to add to the cosmetic collection for painting! I bought tons of funny colored things and they will for sure be making an appearance in my future still life paintings. The shapes and colors are just fun and they don't rot like fruit and veggies!

"Pink Roses" 6x8

"Pink Roses"

6x8 oil on panel

These roses were so fun to paint. I love flowers but they are difficult for me to paint because I tend to want to put in more detail than is needed. These will make another appearance or two in my paintings because they are artificial and still looking great in my studio! I set them up on a piece of glass to form a reflection and lighted so that it was in front of the vase.

This painting is available for purchase in my Etsy shop Denise Rose Studio

Daily Paintworks Challenge #2

Today I participated in a challenge on the Daily Paintworks site. The challenge was to pick a simple item and paint it 8 times (I only had time for 6!), with a 10 minute time limit for each one. When the timer went off, you had to stop and move on to the next one. I did this same exercise in Carol Marine's workshop back in December and it was still fun and a great learning tool. You have to paint fast and can't worry over small details. As you can see, my pears vary greatly, but I do feel it was a great thing to do to warm up for a larger painting or just to do for practice. See the Daily Paintworks Challenge Site for this and other challenges. This is only the second one, so pick one and join in!

"Greens On Purple" 6x6

 

"Greens On Purple"

6x6 oil on panel

I love Granny Smith apples and these were fun to paint. Purple and green are one of my favorite color combinations so this one almost painted itself. I also worked pretty fast so I didn't cover everything several times with layers of paint. 

I also want to share the link to an artist friend, Michael Chamberlain who does wonderful work and just started blogging this year like me. He has mostly concentrated on landscapes up until now but decided to branch out and try the small, daily painting format of 6x6 to expand his skills and put the brush to the canvas as often as possible. His work is fabulous so take a look! 

This painting is available for purchase in my Etsy shop, Denise Rose Studio

"This Way Please" 6x6

"This Way Please"

6x6 oil on panel

This is another painting with the batch of cherries I picked up at the market. I like putting different colors under the still life items I set up. It just adds some extra dimension and color to the overall design. The cherry in front wouldn't stand up correctly and "point" the same way as the others, so I came up with the title this way!

This painting is available for sale in my Etsy shop Denise Rose Studio