Artist by Association

Over the past weekend, several members of my art class were featured in the Artist by Association fine art show in Nashville. The artwork they exhibited was outstanding! Even though we paint side by side each week, seeing their finished and beautifully framed paintings and drawings was inspiring to me.

Here's Jimmie with her goats on a haystack. She told me she saw them by the side of the road and made her husband stop the car so she could take a picture!

Saundra does wonderfully detailed pencil drawings. I especially admire her ability to draw, something I've been reluctant to try.

Jo does both drawing and oil painting. This horse is one of my favorites. She painted it on board and used a technique called glazing with more than 40 coats!

Laura has serious eye problems. Even though she can no longer drive, she continues to paint so beautifully. These apples were on a tree in her back yard.

I hope you enjoy some of their art below. I wish I had better photos to share, but I only took my iPhone to the exhibit!

The show was wonderful and I am so proud of their effort! I'm also thrilled that I get to paint with such talented artists. I hope a little of their technique and skill rubs off on me in class. Maybe I'll become an "artist by associating" with them!!

Anita's Beer Batter Bread with Bacon

We had another fun painting session yesterday! Fellow artist Anita brought along the BEST beer bread. She says it's an easy recipe that only has five ingredients so you can try adding bonus goodies. Yesterday she mixed in bacon and apples... and OH MY, it was wonderful! Anita was nice enough to send me the recipe too... enjoy it below along with her funny comments! Nobody said Peg Paints is an "art only" blog, you know!

I was too busy eating the bread and painting, so I didn't take any photos.
Here's a picture of Anita and her huge painting... she's still painting all those candles!

Anita's Beer Batter Bread

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease a 9 x 5 loaf pan.  I also use a strip of parchment paper or Reynold Wrap Pan Lining Paper (combination of foil and parchment paper) to line the bottom and ends of the pan.  You can lift the loaf right out by the ends of the paper!  Stir together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt.  Open the beer and add it all at once:  it will foam up.  Stir briskly just until combined.  It will be slightly lumpy (like me!).  Pour into pan and drizzle with melted butter.  Correct, this is not health food.  :}  Unless, of course, we're talking health of your tastebuds and soul!

Bake until the top is crusty and tester comes out clean, 35 - 40 minutes.  If you have added goodies it might need another 5 minutes.  The guide says serve it warm or at room temp on the day it's baked.  No Problem Here!!  Also they reccommend slicing thick and serving with plenty of butter.  That would be up to you....the fat factor is totally your call.  I will not take responsibilty for that!

Okay, now for ingredients:
3 cups all purpose flour
3 Tbsp. packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
4 Tbsp. melted butter
1 12oz. bottle room temp beer  (this is when the fun really begins - I've used blueberry beer & fresh blueberries (tossed gently in the flour mixture) Red's Apple Ale with the addition of one finely chopped (more or less) apple, and if you want it, 5 crumbled slices of crisp bacon, Chili Beer and chopped green chilis, or dried chilis, or smoked dried chilis (which is a little bit of heaven right here on earth) and a 1/2 cup of shredded cheese.  If you are a fan of a little heat, use pepper jack cheese,  yumm!  But cheddar works, or whatever your favorite is.  I'm going to put cheddar in the next loaf of apple bacon....ooooh, can hardly wait for that!  Anyway, you get the picture.  This recipe lends itself to playing in the kitchen, which if you didn't get it, is my personal favorite place to play!


Well, that's it.  This looks long because of commentary.  It's actually only 5 basic ingredients plus your imaginative input.  Enjoy!!

I'm linking this post to Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farm! Be sure to check it out today. Not only will you find links to great recipes but you'll get to see Michael's wonderful new kitchen too!

Art Class at a New Location

This summer my art class has moved to a new location... the studio of our instructor, Charles Brindley, in tiny Adairville, Kentucky. It's a bit of a drive, but the scenery along the way is worth the trip. We passed by fields of tall corn, soybeans, and tobacco, peppered with weathered barns and stately farm houses.

Then we arrived at the studio in a lovely restored Victorian house, complete with white gingerbread on the wide front porch. Three tall-ceilinged rooms are equipped with easels, tables, and good lighting. There was plenty of room for all the members of our class.

Coffee was waiting in the quaint old kitchen,

along with a silver tray filled with big cookies.

Chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, M&M, and sugar... yum!

Charles works with Faith, a member of our class who brought along her granddaughter today.

Charles' wife, Jennifer, teaches a summer art class for children.

You can see some of their creations on the studio wall.

I'll bet she put the hydrangeas in the kitchen window too.

Jennifer makes castles like the one on the sideboard in the dining room.

Charles is not the only artist in the family!

Jimmie's lovely rural landscape is not finished but isn't it beautiful!

We loved painting in a relaxed, peaceful setting.

As you can see from the painting above, we are inspired!

Nosy Rosy

And a Workshop on Perspective

My weekly art class takes a month-long "spring break" in March, but our instructor, Charles Brindley,  held a workshop at his art studio in Adairville, Kentucky. It was all about perspective, a subject that has sometimes baffled me. We discussed two kinds of perspective, atmospheric and linear. 

"Nosy Rosy"
16x20 oil on canvas
SOLD

Atmospheric perspective describes lines and objects as they move deeper into the picture. In other words, things in the distant background (like the grass in the painting above) will be less distinct.

Linear perspective, the kind that gives me fits, is absolute; it never changes. You find "eye level" in an object or scene. The further above or below your eye level, the more the horizontal lines slant. Lines above eye level slant down as they move into the distance; lines below eye level slant up. Eventually, all the lines meet at a vanishing point. Confused? So was I! The good news is that you don't have to have perfect perspective in a painting. Just have an understanding of the concept to make things "look right."

I painted Nosy Rosy several years ago and sold her at a local art show. In light of my recent lesson, I think the painting illustrates perspective. "Eye level" is somewhere between Rosy's eyes and nose so the wooden fence slants down as it moves farther away to the right. The wire below eye level slants up as it moves into the distance.

Clear as the mud Rosy was standing in???

Okay, I admit it... that grass in the background was NOT there in the reference photo, but Rosy and I like it better in the painting. Could we be hoping for spring soon?

I'm linking this post to Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday because R is for Rosy! 

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!

My Art Class

I've been painting for about seven years now, but I don't always paint alone. I still take an art class every week and I LOVE it! We are a group of mostly retired people who encourage and inspire one another. Among the group, you will find a couple of watercolorists, several ladies who do intricate drawings in pencil, and painters using acrylics and oils.

The watercolor below was done by one of the quickest members of the group. Jeanne can crank out a beautiful painting in nothing flat! A native New Yorker, she often does scenes from the city and was kind enough to GIVE me a copy of this one. I had it framed for my daughter who will be moving from NYC soon; it will be a nice memory for her.

8.5x11" watercolor by Jeanne

While Jeanne is a speedy artist, Christine takes her time... and then some! She worked for months on this large, handsome drawing of her grandfather holding the reins of two horses. Meticulous, but oh so worth the time she spent!

"Doc and Maude"
pencil drawing by Christine

Christine won "Best of Show" in a regional art competition with this drawing of her grandparents. She worked from a small black-and-white photo... such patience she has! But recently, she's decided to hop over into painting and try out oils. She's started three large paintings. Do you think she'll whip out each one in a day? Me, neither!

"Grandma and Grandpa"
pencil drawing by Christine

A former member of our art class who is getting ready to move out of state... Boo Hoo!... has an upcoming art show in Nashville. Monica has artistic patience too. First, she makes a beautifully detailed drawing of her subject. When that's finished, she paints the same thing in oils. This is my very favorite example of Monica's work. It is of her now-grown daughter sleeping on the couch. The skin and hair are fantastically beautiful!

Monica's oil on canvas of her sleeping daughter

Art class is great fun; we laugh and talk and share creative ideas. There are many other wonderful artisits including some beginners with great potential. We help one another and that's the best part of being together. We give our teacher a hard time too!

Our teacher, Charles Brindley from his website

Charles Brindley is a wonderful artist. You can see his work HERE. Known for his intricately detailed drawings of trees, he also creates fabulous works in oils. However, in our class, he is known for being encouraging and patient! Charles has the ability to look at your work-in-progress and help you see how to improve it. Always calm, philosophical, and extremely kind, he is a wonderful teacher. You can read about his classes and workshops HERE and HERE and HERE.

If you have ever wanted to try your hand at art, I strongly encourage you to take a class. Art is not just for the talented. Almost anyone can learn to draw or paint and an art class is LOTS of fun. I've met some very good friends there! From time to time, I hope to share more of their work on this blog soon.