Pastel Society of El Paso Demo

What a fun time I had doing the demonstration for the Pastel Society of El Paso last Thursday.  About 20 people watched me create this 20 x 16" painting of a garden with red flowers:

I love painting in pastels.  They are so direct and have such a powerful punch of color.  They are also a very fast medium for me.  This painting took me about an hour, and that was while I was talking!

I had a terrific group of artists join me for my "Small Jewels" class on Saturday!  We each created between two and five paintings.  The artists learned that they could create powerful, colorful "jewels" of art on small formats in a very limited period of time in almost any medium.  These pieces encourage fluency of drawing, composition and painting, and result in lovely pieces that fit anyplace!  Remember--the more pieces of art you produce, the better you get!  Production is even more important than product.

My next class is Friday, May 11, beginning about 9:30 a.m. at the Hondo Iris Farm in Hondo, NM (east of Ruidoso, Hwy 7, Blue sign at Mile Marker 284, just off highway).  It is aptly about "Painting Irises".  See info at the right for details or go to my website:  www.SaraJChambers.com

Remember that early, discounted registration deadline for the "Creative Composition" class is June 1.  You save 10%!  Such a deal.

More Enchantment

The Land of Enchantment--sometimes I think that means all the airborne parts!  The wind has been pretty persistent this year--maybe even more than usual?

This is a 24x18 oil stick and palette knife that I painted plein air at the Hondo Iris Farm last week.  I finally repainted and finished it yesterday.  The composition was hopelessly busy--a limitation of being onsite, as I am tempted to put in too much information.  I've painted out the buildings above the garden.  The foreground irises also made a switch from violet to yellow (!), as I couldn't get them to "pop" with the violets.  I'm much happier now.

Iris Inspiration

The Hondo Iris Farm has been especially inspirational this year!  The garden has only recently reached its peak of color.  The blooms are fabulous and prolific, in spite of the wicked winds we have had this year.

I have been to visit three times already, twice to paint.  This 7"x5" oil was my first burst from the fairyland!  It captures the "feel" of the garden without being photo-representational.

The farm is open 10-5 every single day in May, so you still have time to go.

More Iris Farm Dividends

Our second trip to the Hondo Iris Farm this season was more prolific art-wise than our previous photography session. We spent several hours painting on site, as well as photographing and drinking in the beauty of even more hundreds of stunning irises.

No painting can truly capture what our senses reveal. My first feeble attempt at grasping the "feel" of the garden in the context of the Hondo Valley is here--a 5"x7" palette knife oil on black board, "Iris Spring."

I learned, once AGAIN, that I am much happier and more comfortable working on a dark ground as opposed to white. My second effort was painted on white linen and required far more struggle! More tomorrow.

I wonder if John Singer Sargent was right when he said, “Color is an inborn gift, but appreciation of value is merely training of the eye, which everyone ought to be able to acquire.” Maybe I have trained my eye; maybe not enough.

A Three Painting Day!!

New paints are always an inspiration! Having received four new Gamblin "Radiant" colors--Yellow, Blue, Turquoise, and Green--I couldn't resist doing entire paintings using only those, plus white and a red. The three images are today's fun results! Each is about 5"x7". The iris, which I call "Flash Dancin'," is done on black gessoed board. The sunset is linen on board, and the wildflowers are regular canvas (you can see a little puckering at the top--not stretched yet).

Of the three, I especially enjoy the results of the sunset and the iris. I feel I didn't achieve quite enough contrast with the wildflowers, which was the first effort. I'm pretty pleased with the photos of the paintings--not too bad for phone pics!

Using a limited palette and creating new effects is a great way to learn and develop as an artist! Plus, there's almost nothin' more satisfying for an artist than to have a three painting day!!!

Today's quote is by Francois de La Rochefoucauld: "Some beautiful things are more impressive when left imperfect than when too highly finished."

Hondo Iris Farm Beauties

Quote for today:

"To reach a port we must sail, sometimes with the wind, and sometimes against it. But we must not drift or lie at anchor." Oliver Wendell Holmes


As promised, I have posted several of the images of the fabulous irises at the Hondo Iris Farm that I took just over a week ago. They're even more gorgeous in person!!

I am returning Wednesday to see what other glorious surprises await. More later.

Spring Art Date

My friend Sue Parry and I went over toward San Patricio for a very fun art date recently. On a mission to garner new photo references at the Hondo Iris Farm, as well as saturate ourselves in beauty, we drove across the Mescalero Apache reservation, enjoying the fabulous spring day. Nearing San Patricio and spotting the sign for the Hurd Gallery, we took a little side trip to see the artwork of three members of the Hurd family: Peter, Henriette (Wyeth), and Michael.

The gallery is housed in a beautiful old ranch building. I failed to inquire re the origin of the place, but it has wonderful high ceilings with gable windows. Lots of natural light for the art.

The art director is Tiffany Owen, a charming and informative young woman, who gave us a colorful and informative history of the Wyeth-Hurd clan connections. We even had the pleasure of meeting and chatting briefly with Michael Hurd himself!

After viewing the remarkable and varied collection of Hurd family artwork, we pressed on to the flowers, only four miles further. We were not disappointed! I still have not downloaded the 100 plus pictures I took, from all angles and of many varieties. I'll try to share some soon.

Adding to the charm of the day was our visit with the owner of the Hondo Iris Farm, Alice Seely, plus her assistant Shawna and friend Carol. The irises are truly amazing and colorful, as is the owner!

I could not resist a quick watercolor study of one of the irises, which I'm told is called "Gyro." I called it glorious. This is a 10 x 7 watercolor pencil drawing with watercolor added. I couldn't possibly do the gems justice, but . . . Fun!