Upside down

Last weekend I decided to challenge myself with an upside down painting. I picked a photo I had taken looking down at the construction area at the new Austonian Building on Congress Ave. By painting it upside down it was impossible to focus on details. It was all shapes. But when I finally turned it right side up, I kinda liked the results.

This won first place in a Wimberley Valley Art League juried show.

Giclee prints available at http://connie-schaertl.artistwebsites.com/

Congressman

I used a glaze to push the background crowd back and to accentuate the Congressman.

This is our central Texas Congressman, Lloyd Doggett, who was holding a townhall meeting in this summer's scorching heat. He and many around him found a spot in the shade, but the heat was ferocious that day. (6X6 oil on wood panel)

Giclee prints available at http://connie-schaertl.artistwebsites.com/

Two tiny portraits (4" X 4") SOLD

I had a lot of fun doing both of these last weekend for the Teeny-Tiny Show at the Birdhouse Gallery during the East Austin Studio Tour. The subject of both is my daughter's best friend, Kevin Foote, Mr. Birdhouse himself.

SOLD. Giclee prints available at http://connie-schaertl.artistwebsites.com/

St. Paul de Vence

This was a problematic painting I took with me to the Masters Class in Color and Glazing given by Edward Povey in March 2011. With glazes it acquired more depth and architectural clarity.

I did some alterations on this. The version above is what it currently looks like.



I started this in St. Paul de Vence after schlepping all my equipment up the steep cobbled alleys and doing a bit of exploration. What a beautiful place the old walled city is, and filled with art galleries. I went back without my art supplies a couple of days later and visited all that were open. If we'd gone in the summer, the streets and alleys would have been wall to wall tourists, but at this time of year it was generally possible to set up easels and paint without being an impediment to foot or motor traffic.

Sea Wall at Antibes

This is another painting I was dissatisfied with. I think it benefited from some touch-ups and glazing.

I started this painting on a chilly morning in Antibes, racing the changing of the shadows. Finally, worn out and hungry, I packed it up and left it to be finished later. Since getting home, I've been working on it. Another look at it again tomorrow and I'll decide if it's finished. And yes, the Mediterranean is really that color.

Cote d' Azur trip

I just returned from a plein air painting trip to Cote d' Azur (beautiful) and wish I'd simply left the paints behind and taken more photos. With all the insistence that you HAVE to paint plein air to see the colors, I found that I actually had a hell of a time seeing the colors on my palette and canvas well enough to have any idea what I was doing. Had I worn sunglasses, all the colors would have been contaminated. Without them, I was simply blinded by so much light.

In 10 days, I started but did not complete, 4 paintings. But I had a great time and will finish at least a couple of the paintings from photos I took. So, no new paintings to post today.

Off to Monaco & the French Riviera to paint!

I'm hoping that the next time I log on I will have a stack of new work to upload!