2012 Events

Plein Air Workshop: Effective Outdoor Painting in Oils
(16x20 oil by Karen Phipps)
Location: Taos, New Mexico
Dates: April 26, 27, 28, 29, 2012
Cost: $335.
For Advanced Beginners through Intermediate Oil Painters.

Join award winning artists and popular instructors, Karen Phipps and Susan Hong-Sammons, in this four-day plein air painting workshop. We will be painting in the beautiful setting of Taos. You will learn practical tips for setting up on location, working quickly and directly from nature, all with oil paints. We will cover equipment options to keep your gear simple and pared down, using a limited palette, focusing on big shapes, clean color, compositions, finding a focus and simple value patterns in order to capture the essence of the scene. The goal in this workshop is to learn how to take the scene before us, translate it into a simple and expressive composition, and then paint it quickly, directly, and confidently. After the 3 days of guided painting exercises and daily critiques, we will spend the 4th day painting more independently at a location with the group, followed by an afternoon critique and closing “wrap-up” session.
Compact supply list, syllabus, as well as recommended housing/B&Bs near to painting locations.



The Landscape of Riverside: Works Inspired by Nature
Oil Painters Karen Phipps, Susan Hong-Sammons, Ellie McDonald, photographer Sophia Soluri, and poems by Rachel Noelle will present new works inspired by the local landscape and nature of Riverside at the Riverside Public Library during the months of December and January. The show can be seen in the library's exhibit hall.
















Oil Painting with Expressive Realism
January 25 - March 7, 2012 9:30-1:30
Hinsdale Center for the Arts www.hinsdalearts.org

See the world with an artistic eye. Susan’s approach helps you to break down the process of producing a painting, in the studio, into its core components: design, main masses, mixing accurate color, value, and apply paint effectively all from direct observation. Individual and group critiques generously given daily.
Class supply list available at registration

Plein Air Oil Studies

Is the light warm or is it cool, paint the form/plains, don't copy keep to your concept, composition, where's the focal point!?!? so much to think about no wonder painting becomes this consuming task that's really done all in your head.
Last week I got several days just to paint from sun up to way past sun down without worry about laundry, my wonderful family, prepping for shows etc. We plein air painted through rain, cold, heat, and even under street lamp. The following is some of the studies.
(I've lost my list of blogs which I follow. Anyone out there know how to get it back?)
"Floyd's" 6"x8"
"Field of Dreams" 8"x10"
"Sunny Spot" 8"x10"
"Riveredge Lilly" 8"x10"
"First Blush" 6"x8"
"Grape Hyacinths" 6"x8"

"En Pointe"

"En Pointe" is a 14"x11" oil painting done from a photograph by Jodie Lagana. The tutu is created by www.tutuschic.etsy.com. Normally I can't work from photographs because I find it very boring. But the spirit of Lagana's photograph seemed paintable and I think it fell into place.

Spring Mist

Misty foggy mornings continue to fascinate me. I'm after capturing just the right value to express that unique quality of air.

(6"x8" oil, $175.)

"Garden Path"

Despite our cold spring (we woke to snow Monday morning) the spring colors are sprinkling our gray days with some beautiful colors. I stood on the sidewalk while painting my neighbor's flower beds.
6"x8" oil $145.

Plein Air Bluebells

I don't know if it is safe to say or not, but I think spring is finally here. Despite a drizzly morning I really wanted to paint the bluebells before they disappeared until next year. Of course part way through the sun came out. I'm not complaining. I'll take the rays even if it meant prematurely stopping on my little oil study. Next time, paint faster or rather with better accuracy. As always, this is another value study.
6"x8" oil painting sold

in-progress

It's been crazy busy in my studio which is always a good thing but, I haven't been able to keep up with visiting blogs or posting on my blog. So I'm posting an almost finished painting. I'm still tackling florals. (I also need to tackle documenting them accurately with my digital camera.) These large old fashion roses have a lot of transmitted light through their petals and getting them just right in oils is a huge challenge.
Thank you for all the nice birthday wishes. They helped make me realize it's no big deal particularly when you get to spend your days with a brush in your hands.

50's Nifty

I turned 50 during a record breaking blizzard which created one of my best birthdays. Dear friends send birthday greetings, dropped off flowers, wine, and Cds. Since the storm steadily increase to mammoth proportions I stayed tucked in my studio painting the bouquets (with varying success) and listening to Bach. Life is sweet

Delft and Milk Glass

I've committed myself to focus on portraits and florals during these cold winter months. No more plein air painting for me until the temperatures hit the upper 20s.
So with this painting instead of my favorite dark backgrounds I played with white on white with the additional challenge of trying to use natural light to create a dark, a light, a bright, a dull.

"mello yellow"

I love yellow tulips. I love their warm and inviting color. And I love how they remind me of spring. Unfortunately a few hours after receiving 2 dozen yellow tulips they began to bend and snap 4-6 inches along their stems. Maybe because their buds were large in comparison to their skinny stems??? The following morning I clipped them and put them in water goblets. I think maybe I should have used a different color cloth instead of this khaki green. Any suggestions?
"Mello Yellow" oil on linen 24"x12"

lost momentum

I started and worked on this painting for two evenings prior to a house full of Christmas guest and never got back to it until tonight. When I began the painting, I felt it was going in the right direction but having left it alone for so long I feel like I've lost the original idea. I can't see what I originally had in my head anymore. So I'm going to turn it towards the wall for a month or more and hopefully, once I look at it with a fresh eye, I'll be able to finish it. But if anyone has any suggestions I would appreciate the input.
(I prefer to paint on a linen canvas which I already painted on but never finished. In the first few images you can see the remains of a figure oil sketch.)

"Autumn Leaves" oil 6x8

One of my new year's resolution is to be more consistent with my blog posts. This oil study was painted before our first heavy snow. Fall is definitely my favorite time of year. I love the warm colors and cool temperatures. It was so nice to be inside the woods, standing on a thick cushion of fall leaves, and painting just as the afternoon was about to end.
Oil 6"x8" sold