My Art Class Friends, Part 2

Christine, a member of my art group whose intricate pencil drawings you saw in my recent post HERE, is struggling with her first ever oil painting. Of course, Christine picked a rather difficult subject... trees! 

Another member of our group, Jo, brought in a finished painting of... you guessed it... trees! Christine was so happy that she could see how Jo painted the leaves, the branches, and the trunks. 

16x20 oil on canvas
by Jo Griffith

Christine wanted to see the details of Jo's painting so I took these close up photos with my phone.

I love all the colors of the leaves. Do you notice how Jo outlined some groups of leaves to make them appear as branches?

The trunks of the trees have details of light and dark bark. Look at those leaves floating in the water... so pretty!

The background foliage is sometimes the hardest part. Jo painted the small bushes in the foreground lighter. The ones that are more distant are darker and less distinct. That makes them look farther away... a cool trick that good artists know!

pencil drawing by Jo

Jo does both oil paintings AND pencil drawings. Her trees are spectacular! Here you can see her working on one with a reference photo beside her work. Be sure to check out her blog JoGriffithArt.com to see more of her work that is for sale!

Another member of our art class is Anita. Like me, she paints mostly for her family and friends. We might be a lot slower than Jo. Knowing Christine, I think she might be joining us in the slow section of our class, but there's nothing wrong with being slow... our art just takes a bit longer, that's all!

unfinished 36x24 oil on canvas by Anita

This painting is for Anita's daughter. In class this week, she was painting candles... hundreds of them! The intricate details take a lot of patience and time but the painting will be beautiful when it's finished!

unfinished 30x30 oil on canvas by Peg

I'm still working on my colorful steer. Sometimes a photo of your work can help you see areas that need more work...  his knee, his neck, and rear legs. It's a work in progress for sure! I'm not satisfied with the background either. Lighter, darker... it's time to experiment! I'll get it finished but I'm in no hurry. I'll just keep working until I'm happy with it!

Addendum: I just found this wonderful blog post at Things That Inspire featuring the art on display at the 2013 Artists Market in Atlanta. There are so many "things to inspire" artists... take a look HERE!