Free Painting Demo This Saturday

This Saturday, April 2, 2011, is "National Demo Day" in the Grumbacher/Michael world.

"Red Gerber Daisy in a Painted Pot"

Painting instructors across this nation and Canada, will be holding free demonstrations at their local Michaels stores. The public is invited to stop in and see for themselves what goes on at the painting workshops.

I will be at King of Prussia's store from 10am till noon, then grab a quick lunch and race over to the Conshohocken store and do a demo from 1 till 3pm.

You are invited to join me. Maybe the rain will be over by then...?!
For location of stores, click on the link above-Painting workshops and scroll down to the store location.

Photoscape Escapade-Combining Images

I have recently downloaded Photoscape [photo-editing open source software] on my desktop computer and am enjoying the process of learning how to use it... well, mostly. As with most new software, there is always the occasional frustrating time when I am trying to do something that I know it should be able to do but I can't figure out how. Computers are awesome,... except when they are not working for you, but against you!

Combined image of "Kanto" (c) Jeanne Guerin-Daley

 

Anyway, there was hurdle which I just succeeded in jumping over. Combining two images into one.
 I wanted to scan a pencil drawing portrait  of our (now passed) German Shepard named "Kanto."
Problem #1: The original drawing was too big to fit on my scanner. So I scanned it twice: once scanning the left side of the drawing, a second scan of the right side. My printer,  Canon All-In-One (Pixma MX 850) can print, copy (reduce/enlarge), fax, and scan. I love it. It's a workhorse for my art business of which I take full advantage!

Anyway, Below I have posted the left and right side scans. The firat time to tried combining the two images, it seemed to work just fine, except for a big fat gray line down the middle. Apparently during the scan, each image included a shaded area along one edge. So first I had to individually crop that out of each picture.

Left side of "Kanto"

Right side of "Kanto"

Then I tried combining them. There was a little bit if overlap (notice how both halves includes Kanto's right  eye.) I thought the software would automatically detect the repetitive areas when combining, but it apparently didn't. So I went back to each individual image and again cropped, trying to crop at the exact point between any possible overlap and missing image. Then I again combined the two and viola! Kanto was whole again.

Upon scrutinizing the point at which the two halves met, zooming in very closely, I realized that there was a tiny bit of extra overlap still showing. For my purposes right now though, it's good enough though. I have other things to do...! (I did use the clone stamp tool on a couple areas to lessen the"stitched" area.)

BTW,
There's a reason why I was working on this particular piece of artwork.
Stay tuned for a pretty cool pet portrait offer coming very, very soon... !

Tip: If you are a subscriber to my newsletter, you will get advance notice. 

You can subscribe by clicking here.

Dragonfly Mural

Today I have been working on some preliminary sketches for a dragonfly mural in a baby's bedroom.

I have many reference pictures, supplied by the client. I never realized how very diverse they are! Dragonflies seem to come in every color of the rainbow!

This one is going to be fun.

MUSE Gallery Exhibit "Horne and Halbert" March 30 - May 1

As some of you know, I belong to a small group of women artists who meet monthly, host exhibits and have critique sessions. We are called ARTsisters. You can visit the ARTsisters website to learn more about who/what we are, how we got our name, etc., ...  My art has evolved and developed much more quickly because of my involvement in this group, to be sure.

The group goes through slight changes in membership from time to time. When I started, there might have been twelve or so? Now we are more than twenty and are considering a adding few more members.

Nancy Halbert was an ARTsister for awhile, then left due to having too many important activities to deal with. She paints and teaches, and keeps a very full schedule. I am glad, even if it was for a short time, that I got to know this fellow artist.

This morning I was delighted to read an article written by  her about her involvement in MUSE gallery, a cooperative gallery on Old City Philadelphia. In fact she is the Director of the gallery. As a busy person myself, I could totally relate to her concept of "30 seconds"!


Click the link below to read her article.

http://www.phillycreativeguide.com/guest/guest_columnist_20110301.aspx

And,

Click here to visit Nancy's Website

A Little Taste of the Show

"Max"

Here's a little piece of my latest pastel.

I used a photo of my dog Max as a model.

I also played around with Madeleine Kelly's underpainting technique which I learned this past Friday. She and I will both be participating in the upcoming DVAL show. (See post below for more about that.)

I hope to get this piece matted and framed tomorrow so I can include it in the exhibit.

Do you have a photo of a furry friend for me to paint? Get in touch! (See list at right for contact choices.)

Spring Show/Sale in Glen Mills, PA

DVAL Art Show opens this Friday!

I have been too, too busy....
Am finally finished my annual number-crunching job (tax return stuff) and can move onto other things.

Sorry for the short notice, beginning this Friday, March 18th, I will be exhibiting some of my artwork at the Delaware Valley Art League's annual spring Art Show/Sale.
This year it is at a new venue:
Crozer Medical Plaza at Brinton Lake
300 Evergreen Drive in Glen Mills PA. 19342

Show starts with a "Meet the Artist" reception this Friday.
($10 fund raising fee to benefit the Rotary club) 

All other days: free to the public:
Days/times...
Sat March 21: 11am-3pm
Sun (bldg closed)
Monday, March 21,
Tuesday, March 22, and
Wednesday, March 23, 9am-5pm

All the details are on the DVAL website:
http://www.delawarevalleyartleague.com/SPRING-SHOW.html

Come and see my latest pet portrait in pastel!

(Try saying that alliteration ten times fast!)

Madeleine Kelly

On Friday I watched a fellow artist, Madeleine Kelly, demonstrate how she paints an acrylic underpainting [on board]  first, then paints with soft pastels on top of that. If you are familiar with her work, I'm sure you will understand why I was so interested in seeing how she works. Her images are colorful, impressionistic delights, that keep your eye traveling on an adventure in the work. Very loose and free are her strokes, yet very specific and special is the feeling one gets regarding the sense of place in the work.

In her hand, simple pigment dust becomes the glassy reflection of trees on a roadside creek, bursting with colors that evoke a certain light,... makes me wish I was there!

It was a rare treat to watch her work.

CLICK HERE to see one of her beautiful landscape pieces.

OR, heck, just take a gander at her whole website! CLICK HERE FOR THAT

Make Your St Patrick's Day Sea-Green!

Start St Patrick's Day right!

Rock Crashers-Sunset - Jeanne Guerin-Daley

Learn how to mix some nice sea-green colors to create your very own [acrylic] painting of a seascape!


This image can be painted with a blue sky or a sunset/sunrise colored sky,.... oftentimes I see some nice bright greenish hues in sunsets....

March 17th
11 am to 1 pm, come paint with me in the classroom at Michaels' Conshohocken store!
(Same class is repeated that evening, but remember you must preregister at least a day in advance.)
For more details about the workshop click on the Painting Workshop link [see menu at top]

Basic Painting Kit Info

People have asked me about the kit... here's my answer...

The most cost-effective way to purchase your painting supplies for Michaels Fine Arts Painting class:

Get the kit! 

Then depending on the class, you may need to buy a couple additional colors. That's it! 

And here's the best part: using a 40% off coupon when buying the kit brings the cost way down, from $49.99 to $30!

Supplies for subsequent classes will be less expensive, since you will now have the tools,  and enough paint for several paintings!

Two canvas panels come with it too. 

(When you DO need another canvas panel, they are quite inexpensive, and you can buy three-packs.)

Rock Crashers Last Night.

Rock Crashers 9x12" Acrylic-Jeanne Guerin-Daley

Last night in King of Prussia, I had two students who both did a magnificaent job painting this image for the Michaels/Grumbacher Acrylic Painting Seascape class.

It always amazes me how different people will create a painting using the same image for reference, yet each person's result is totally unique displaying the individual style of each artist! I always have fun painting this seascape. Everyone's favorite part seems to be the water spray.  Once you learn the technique, it's not that hard to achieve a realistic effect. We alternate between two brushes to do it.

***If you missed it, your next chance at painting a seascape is next week at Conshohocken's Michaels store.

Don't forget, coming up this weekend:

Kids ONLY painting class! 

(See previous post for details and picture)

For more info on all classes, click the "Painting Workshops" link which you should see as one of the link choices at the top of this page. You can also just call me. 610-804-2888.

New class times! New Kids ONLY Class!

New class times for the Acrylic painting workshops!

This Saturday morning-March 12, 2011- (10am-12n), there will be a Kids Only class at the King of Prussia Michaels store. Kids aged 8 thru 14.
We will paint the banana 'n apple image. it is a simple but fun image with nice bright colors.

This Wednesday and Thursday evenings, class times are the same, 6:30-8:30pm

But,
Next Thursday, -March 17th, in addition to the evening class I will begin offering a daytime painting class at Conshohocken Michaels store, from 11 am to 1pm.
Maybe this timing will work for stay-at-home moms with school age kids, or retirees  who want/need a fun activity to fill their day.

Please remember you have to register for class in advance. See Michaels customer service desk at the store at which you are attending class. For more details and the full schedule of WHAT is happening WHERE, click on the Painting Workshops Link.

March First Friday, 2011-Ellen Abraham

(C) Ellen Abraham

Ellen Abraham, my friend and fellow ARTsister, who creates edgy, very unique and funny fine art, has some of her art on display in Firinji, a coffee shop in downtown Ardmore (on Rte 30 near Rittenhouse Place) for Main Line First Friday.

You can visit this link and scroll down to her name and this pic of her art:
http://www.firstfridaymainline.com/events.asp
There is also going to be some Irish Music playing there!
And on a related note...
This video is about FFML and Operation Angel Wings, a wonderful peace-encouraging project connected to Main Line's First Friday. Helping the troops in Afghanistan:



(Note: I watched this video, and found a little picture of myself! When they start browsing through First Friday pictures, there's me in a white skirt standing next to my husband at Merion Art and Repro from June 2006! How about that!)

But seriously, if you can come out and bring an extra coat you may have outgrown, what a terrific cause! I hope to be able to stop in with something (maybe before my mom-taxi-driver duties kick in. It's Spring Break time)

Painting Flowers

Spring is getting closer,... can't wait for Spring Flowers!
Of course, you don't have to wait for Spring to paint flowers!
Click on the Painting Workshop Link for more info.
I hope to have a lesson plan for the daffodil painting (see post below) developed soon.
until then, some images I can teach you white daisies, yellow day lilies, Red Gerber daisy...

A Daffodil for Dave

"Saint David's Day (Welsh: Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Sant) is the feast day of Saint David, the patron saint of Wales, and falls on 1 March each year. The date of 1 March was chosen in remembrance of the death of Saint David. Tradition holds that he died on that day in 589.[1] The date was declared a national day of celebration within Wales in the 18th century."

The above facts I had already known. Below, was new to me...

"In 2003 in the United States, St. David's Day was recognised officially as the national day of the Welsh, and on 1 March the Empire State Building was floodlit in the national colours, red, green and white. It is invariably celebrated by Welsh societies throughout the world with dinners, parties, recitals and concerts.
To celebrate this day, people wear a symbol of either a leek, or daffodil. The leek arises from an occasion when a troop of Welsh were able to distinguish each other from a troop of English enemy dressed in similar fashion by wearing leeks. An alternative emblem developed in recent years is the daffodil."



Here is a link to the source to the above info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_David%27s_Day



Unbeknownst to me at the time of his birth, my son Dave was born on this Welsh holiday.
 Someday maybe he will travel to Wales on his birthday. Must be cool to have a whole country celebrate with you on your birthday!

Here's a daffodil, just for you, Dave. 
Happy Birthday!

Petunias: work in Progress-Day Three

Last night I gave a bit more time to my watercolor.
I should have been crunching numbers but I needed a break!)

 

In Progress Petunias-Day 3

I added some light reds near the edges of the blossoms. Also mixed some very dark green, purple and almost black colors and placed them in the background in order to push the main areas of interest (the flowers) to the front.

Below the larger blossom I painted in some leafy images in dark green. Not sure I'm liking how they are looking right now though. They may get scrubbed out or changed in some other way. I could feel my muse getting tighter on them,... too tight. Wasn't flowing...

I think it might be time for me to spent more time scrutinizing before I paint on it more.

There is an ARTsisters crit coming up tomorrow. Maybe I'll bring it and see what my fellow ARTsisters have to say about it. Getting honest constructive feedback from fellow professional artists is an invaluable benefit I get from being in this group!

Note: for the detail-oriented viewer: This piece is approximately 15x11" and my camera has been missing. It's either lost or possibly was stolen : ( - not sure.
 Anyway, my only option is to photograph it using my LG cell phone, or scan it in halves, then do some photo-editing to combine. If you look closely you might be able to see a bit of a vertical line down the center. That is where the two images meet. I am just learning a new photo-editing tool (PhotoScape) and am learning on the fly here. So far, I'm liking it; but I'm still in the learning curve. Things are starting out slowly, but are gradually becoming faster for me as I learn it.

Now, I must get back to my numbers job,....