Pick up that brush

A collage of my latest group of figure paintings

I have been having fun lately, just working on figures. 

I found a group on face book call One Hundred Figures,  a group sharing various styles of figure painting.  A wonderful artist Tina Naya'li Berendsohn share demos and everybody gives them a try.

When you find a site like this just have to "pick up that brush" and join in.

#onehundredfigures

Mary

#schirosart

Music and painting

"Three Cool Cats"  Acrylic 23 x 29 inches

                                                     Prints available at Fine Art America

   Finished this one today and love it!  Acrylic on a full sheet of watercolor paper.  Finished this while listening to the song "Three Cool Cats" by the Coasters, and yep the song is now part of the painting.  So much fun letting music be part of the painting process!

If you want to hear the music here is a youtube link to the Coaster's song

https://youtu.be/7P5Er_qU5FE

The Beatles also did a version, just a fun song to listen to.

Mary

Always Something to Paint

Acrylic on canvas 6 x 6 inches  Geranium 1

                                

Acrylic on canvas 6 x 6 inch Geranium 2

                                  Click to Bid

 The subject for these 2 paintings were a some Geraniums I pick outside a Holiday Inn I was staying at for a short trip I took this Fall.

  I was restless and  really wanted to paint something, so I took a short walk and noticed the flowers still in bloom outside the hotel entrance.  So, I helped myself to a couple of blooms and went back to my room, grabbed on of those cheap plastic cups and set the flowers up on a window sill and started painting.  The first painting was done in the room that evening.  The second painting I used the original painting as a starting point reference.
  The idea is if you love painting you can always find something of interest to work from.
Mary

Save your sketches

I know I have said this before, but it is worth saying again....Save you sketches!   Even those 1 and 2 minute drawing, sometimes those have the most expression.   When cleaning my studio this Winter,  I was tempted to pitch a bunch of old drawing.  But as I sat an looked at those old 1 and 2 minutes drawings, ideas started popping into my head.
   Instead of dumping the sketches I grabbed one and started redrawing it, focusing on what I liked about it.   The following ink and color paintings are some of the places I went with one rough sketch.

14 x 11 inches, Solitude" Acrylic on canvas

                                                     AVAILABLE AT DPWS

Emails and art

9 x12 inches, watercolor on Arches watercolor paper

                                                                        Available at DPWs

One of the best things about being a painter is sharing a bit of your self.  Every time I send a painting out, I am sending a part of myself out.  Some times a painting will go out and all you know is where it is headed, other times sending a painting out creates a new friendship.   It is a nice surprise when an email comes back about the painting.  I have had emails with pictures of the art hanging in a new home, and emails with simply interesting photos and information about buyers. 

Recently a new friend in CA sent photos of her pomegranate harvest.  This was really interesting to me, living here in MI there are no pomegranates growing, so seeing them fresh was pretty cool.  Having a new idea of what they look like growing gave me the push to try painting them. Thought I would share the new painting with you.

6 x 6 inches Oil on Ampersand clay panel

                                                                               Available at DPWs

And here is a photo of one of my paintings framed and hanging in a new home:

Mary
Schiros_Art