Carol Marine - "Vibracolor Apples"

Carol Marine - "Vibracolor Apples" - 6x6in. - nfs

Recently I did an experiment with color where I put down random colors instead of the ones I saw. What I found is that as long as I kept the values accurate, I could make the colors whatever I wanted! This is something I had been wanting to try for a quite a while but something in me just couldn't let go of "reality".

Carol Marine - "Good Times Roll"

Carol Marine - "Good Times Roll" - 6x6in. - sold

This is the sort of thing I did when I first started painting small still life studies. Before I started buying panels, I was cutting up small peices of pre-primed canvas and taping them to a larger peice of plywood. I threw most of them away. I think that's a great, cheap way to paint when you're starting out and/or just want to experiment without feeling the weight of expensive materials and the fear of failure that comes along with it.

Carol Marine - "Standout"

Carol Marine - "Standout" - 6x6in. - buy, $100

Recently my friend Qiang Huang, another daily painter, gave me several sheets of thin blue plastic that I taped to the front of my "daylight" spotlight lamp (a fairly yellow light, even though it's called daylight). This turns the light almost completely white - near enough - which I am really enjoying! If this is something you'd be interested in, Qiang's 10-yr-old son is selling them - just go to Qiang's blog and click on North Light Filter.

Carol Marine -

Carol Marine - "Olive Shot"

Carol Marine - "Olive Shot" - 6x6in. - sold

I have to admit I hate olives. But I LOVE painting them! Color-wise, I tend to be drawn to complimentary colors a lot, but also often colors near each other on the color wheel, like the green of the olives and the turquoise background. I particularly like this combination.

Carol Marine - "Escaping"

Carol Marine - "Escaping" - 6x6in.

I found this simple leafy plant growing in my new yard out in the country. Unfortunately it drooped rather quickly under my lamp, so I had to paint the leaves and shadows first and fast, and took my time with the rest. I felt the redish underpainting would look nice under the mostly turquoise color scheme.

I will be in Sedona this next week teaching a workshop at the Sedona Art Center. I am really looking forward to it as I've only been in Sedona one other time and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Carol Marine - "In Line for the Tub"

Carol Marine - "In Line for the Tub" - 6x6in.

I am in Westford, MA at the moment, teaching 2 back to back workshops. The first day I was here there was a snowstorm, which for this Texas girl was a bit of a shock! I just finished with the first workshop which went really well, and I start the next one tomorrow. I did a little snowscape today from my window on my own and wanted to post it here but ... it's very difficult to get a good photo outside when there is snow everywhere, and I don't have my special lights with me. Alas.

Carol Marine - "Looking Up"

Carol Marine - "Looking Up" - 6x6in. - SOLD

This started out as a challenge to myself. I wanted to see if I could do a high key, mostly white painting with relatively few strokes - all deliberate. I ended up getting a little more fussy than I wanted, but I really like the result.

Carol Marine - "Peeking"

Carol Marine - "Peeking" - 6x6in. - SOLD

I recently went through a bit of an artists block. I am going through a period in my life where I am so incredibly busy I never have time to just sit down and ponder. I think sometimes we push ourselves and push ourselves until we lose the inspiration we started with. The other day I forced myself to sit down for several hours and just sketch and think and do nothing else. Of course it was enjoyable - the forcing came from the need to attend to other responsibilites. I came out of this time with new ideas and new things to try. Sometimes we have to MAKE time for this sort of re-energizing or re-inspiring. Unfortunately it isn't productive in the short-term, which is what makes ME hesitate to do it, but the long-term benefits are huge!

Carol Marine - "Obsession"

Carol Marine - "Obsession" - 6x6in. - SOLD

One challenge of doing a painting every day is coming up with things to paint. Most of the time I really don't have this problem as I see endless possibilities for combinations of fruit and flowers and color. But whenever I tire of my usual subjects for a day I look around me for something a little different. And to my right, brushes! It goes to show, you never know where you're going to find your next inspiriation, so don't ever stop looking around you.

Carol Marine - "Chocolate Bunny"

Carol Marine - "Chocolate Bunny" - 6x6in. - bid

I started the practice of painting daily just over 2 years ago. I painted this same general composition for my 20th painting, and again here, for #706. I see such a huge improvement between the two and I chalk it all up to painting every single day. Click here to see the original bunny. (this is actually a black, ceramic bunny - here it looks chocolate because of the yellow light).

Carol Marine - "Grazing"

Carol Marine - 6x6in. - oil on panel - "Grazing" - bid

Someone asked me today if I use a palette knife. I don't. But what I do ... do, is use crisp, flat brushes. I buy good brushes (lately Silver Bristlon brights - the flats are too long for me) and every time I wash them I wrap them up to keep them flat. Here is a photo of the process. I used to put each brush up in the ... crack of a folded piece of cardboard and clamp the whole thing, but I realized after a while that I get the same results with just the paper towel. I fold the end down so it stays closed on its own.

Carol Marine - "One Hot Mama"

Carol Marine - 6x6in. - oil on panel - "Wide Open" - bid

After 3 days recently of not painting (because life does happen), I came back into my studio only to find that ... I had forgotten how to paint! This has happened many times, and somehow, after a bit, I always remember again. This time it was easier, and I'll tell you why. After the first bad one, I wiped it off. After the second one, ditto. The third one was easier. By the fourth I was back in the swing of painting and loving it (this given I had a whole day to paint). The idea here is not to struggle over paintings that aren't working, but to move on, and keep moving on, until things click again. I recommend it.

Carol Marine - "Pig at Breakfast"

Carol Marine - 6x6in. - oil on panel - "Pig at Breakfast" - bid

I've been trying to slow down a bit and consider each and every stroke a little longer. It's too easy to feel the pressure and turn into a painting machine, epsecially with the economy the way it is. I paint so much better when I can relax, and I end up enjoying myself so much more.

Carol Marine - "Gabbing Cherries"

Carol Marine - 6x6in. - oil on panel - "Gabbing Cherries" - bid

I have 3 lights in my studio that I currently alternate between for lighting my subjects. One is an authentically "white" light that I got from a specialty light bulb store. It is especially good for flowers. I also have a general "daylight" bulb (more yellow than the first) that you can get anywhere. I also have a "daylight" spotlight bulb. Yesterday I used the first bulb. It is a soft light, and not very directional. Today I used the spotlight. It tends to light up fruit like this that is in any way translucent. It makes the shadows crisp, and generally makes a more dramatic scene than either of the other two. I really enjoy experimenting with all 3.

Carol Marine - "Cooped Up"

Carol Marine - "Cooped Up" - 6x6in. - bid

I got these cool peppers in the last batch from the organic farm we get veggies from. They have oodles of personality. I love them. On another note, my husband has been in Houston the past couple of days which leaves me a bit cooped up in the house, with a 3 yr old. I love him to death but he's driving me batty! So that's him inside the cup, in time out, and that's me, outside the cup, trying my hardest to be patient. : )

Carol Marine - "Big Red"

Carol Marine - "Big Red" - 6x8in. - bid

I've been doing a series of these beautiful, red flowers. I particularly like the red/turquoise color scheme and find myself using it for most of them. Red and turquoise are compliments according to the Munsell Wheel, which I first learned about in the Harley Brown book, "Eternal Truths for Every Artist" (no longer in print). It's a very interesting wheel.

Carol Marine - "Line for the Show"

Carol Marine - "Line for the Show" - 6"x8" - oil - bid

I got these peppers from a farm share deal we participate in here (Austin). The taste is a bit zingy but they are great to paint! I really loved the colors, especially the bits of blue in the shadows. I get that effect from shining a spot light on my setup that has a yellow cast to it (even though it's a "daylight" bulb), and then having a bit of "white" light bouncing around, lightening up the shadows a bit and turning them blue.

Carol Marine - "Getting On?"

Carol Marine - "Getting On?" - 6x6in. - bid

I am in Santa Fe at the moment teaching a workshop. Today is the last day and so far we have had a blast! I've got a great group - very enthousiastic. Check out my blog for photos.

Robert Burridge - Make Things…

Every year I am involved in the Central Coast Wine Classic, held in California. The event is very supportive of the arts and I wanted to create an image that would accomplish three things: 1) Be a painterly painting 2) Include wine imagery without be a typical still life and 3) Convey an uplifting message. I was happy with the results. I have been using stenciled lettering in some of my paintings for the last few years. I find that people respond to my narrative text. I like it because it keeps me focused. After good response, I decided to create a "Make Things" series of works. This one is 22 x 22, acrylic on paper, mounted on a canvas.