Alive After 5 tonight in Roswell, GA

Alive After 5 kicks off tonight in historic Roswell, GA from 5pm - 9pm. For this fun event, the shops on Canton Street stay open late, there is typically live music, and various vendors set up tents all along the street. If you haven't had a chance to visit Galerie Matilda's new location in Roswell yet, this would be a great opportunity. Many of my "New Mixed Media" paintings are hanging there, so if you live anywhere nearby, please go and check them out.

While you are at Alive After 5, check out one of the many great restaurants on Canton Street. If you are in the mood for sushi, check out Zest next door to Matilda's - it is so yummy! When I take my kids, we love to eat at The Fickle Pickle - don't miss their fried pickles and homemade potato chips. Outside The Fickle Pickle, the Roswell Fine Arts Alliance will have many of their works on display and for sale.

Alive After 5 is held the 3rd Thursday of the month, from April through October.

Please check out my paintings at http://JenniferFerrisArt.com/

Painting in Italy...well, sort of...

Yesterday, in Maureen's class, we did an interesting exercise. Maureen set up a scene of an Italian hillside/seaside village on an overhead projector and we attempted to paint the scene quickly, as if we were actually painting in plein air. We listened to Italian music and had fun pretending we were actually in Italy. Of course we didn't have to deal with the many challenges of actual plein air painting, such as ever changing light, wind, or other undesirable weather conditions.

(The reference photo to the left is the courtesy of one of Maureen's students from another of her classes.)

I have only recently purchased a lightweight travel easel, and have yet to attempt actual plein air painting. I have to get organized with the rest of my plein air supplies, and, to be honest, I am just spoiled with having everything already set up and ready to go in my studio. But, I do hope to try it sometime this spring or summer. Although, my ideal scenario is expanding my studio and adding French doors to it, so that I can paint inside while feeling like I am outside. We are talking to an architect soon, so I "have my fingers crossed." In the meantime, if you have any tips for plein air painting, please leave a comment and share your tips.

Whenever we paint the same subject as a class, it is always so interesting to see how differently everyone interprets the reference and how varied are the paintings. Next time, I will have to remember to take photos of several different artists' paintings. I especially like the composition of Maureen's painting. She zoomed in on the buildings, so that they dominated the painting. And, she planned to have sky above the buildings, rather than more hills. I also loved how Lorra's painting was looking - somewhat abstract, and a beautiful palette. Despite our challenge to work quickly, I believe Jane is the only one who finished. She is by far the fastest painter in the class, and can usually sign her painting each week before she leaves. I have to say, I am very jealous:-)

Please check out my paintings at http://JenniferFerrisArt.com/

New Seagulls Painting

I have finished my latest painting in my Seagulls series. This one features 3 seagulls flying on a blue-gray sky that fades from dark teal to a lighter blue-gray. Sometimes it is so hard to come up with a title for a painting, especially when painting "in series". If you have any suggestions for a title, please leave me a comment and let me know - I would love any suggestions!!

Here are the other paintings in the series so far:

"Escape from Winter",

...which I painted during a cold, dreary week, and the following dyptich, "Beach Beauties":

Please check out my paintings at http://JenniferFerrisArt.com/

Latest Painting

After several weeks of minor revisions, I finally finished my triptych of the three girls walking on a city sidewalk. That is how my best paintings typically go – I am able to get them to 90 – 95% complete in the first session or two, and then I let them sit. I keep coming back to them and tweaking them for a week or two or more until I am completely satisfied.

As I have mentioned previously, the critique stage is so critical. I need to step back from the painting frequently to see how it “reads” from a distance. I will also look at it in different lighting. I don’t like to squint, so instead, I turn off all the lights inside and outside my studio except for the main overhead light, which has a dimmer switch on it. I study my painting as I slowly dim the light. Sometimes I will take an “in progress” photo of my paintings and study the printout and the thumbnail. There are so many different ways to view your painting and see it differently, to make sure the overall composition is strong and that the intended focal area is working.

I decided to title this painting "Headed for Adventure". This painting is based on a photo I took on my 40th birthday celebration trip to Austin, TX last year with a group of girls I have known since the 3rd grade. We had such a fabulous time, and on this particular day, we got to see a bit of the reason behind the phrase "Keep Austin Weird", as we attended the annual Eeyore's Birthday Party Festival. We also got to attend a great art festival that day - so much fun!

This painting is on three separate canvases, each one measuring 36"h x 12"w, for an overall dimension of 36" x 36". The edges are painted a dark brown, and so the group of paintings is suitable for hanging with or without frames.

Please check out my paintings at http://JenniferFerrisArt.com/

Paper Painting Workshop by Elizabeth St. Hilaire Nelson

"Elephant" by Elizabeth Nelson

I have just signed up for a Paper Painting Workshop by Elizabeth St. Hilaire Nelson, and I am so excited about it! My husband, Brad, and my two boys are going on a Boy Scout trip the same weekend, so the timing is just perfect. I had some other tentative plans for that weekend, but when I came across this workshop description, it just seemed like it was meant to be:-) It will be so much fun to immerse myself in painting with a group of people for two 6.5 hour days. And, Elizabeth's paintings are so gorgeous!!!

Of course, I already work with a type of collage to create the textured backgrounds for my newest acrylic paintings, but Elizabeth's technique is quite different. In Elizabeth's paintings, as well as many other collage/mixed media artists', you still see some of the original media (newspapers, etc.) in the finished painting. I have only done this to a limited extent in some of my paintings, such as "A Cow in Paris" to the right, but haven't really delved into the process of multiple layers of both collage and paint, or in using collage elements to contour the shape of an image. I don't know if I will incorporate any of this process in to my future paintings, but to learn the techniques will be so much fun.

I can't wait to share with you what I create in this workshop! Check back in early May for the photos.

Please view my paintings at http://JenniferFerrisArt.com/

Practice Painting in Big Sky

Well, I promised that I would post pictures of my paintings during our trip to Big Sky last week, so here goes. Of course, there is never as much time as you think there will be, and so I only started 3 small paintings, and did not complete any of them. But, they were fun practice. And, I took lots of photos, and have lots of ideas for a future series of paintings.

The first painting to the left is a quick abstract landscape that I did without a reference, and the colors were chosen based on what I had on my palette (totally breaking "the rules"). I did this painting as we were packing to go home. I needed to clean my palette and hated to waist the paint. I think it might be my favorite of the three - I like the loose, easy style, and the vibrant colors.

This next one is based on a photo I took on a previous trip to Big Sky during the summer. To finish it, I need to work on the fence (it is only quickly sketched-in at this point), add a little more definition to the trees, and finish the flowers and grass in the foreground.

And, the last one below has several areas that need work. First, I think I would remove the far rocky/sandy bank, as I think it is distracting and taking away from the overall composition. Once that is removed, it will be easier to see what else needs to change to make this painting really work.

Learning to critique your paintings is such a valuable skill for an artist. I think I have mentioned previously how much I have learned in that area from Maureen's classes. She is also always reminding us to step back from our paintings frequently, to "paint a little, and look a lot". I will usually come back to a painting several times over the course of a week or two, continuing to modify it as I notice areas that could be improved.

Please check out my paintings at http://JenniferFerrisArt.com/

Art and Decor

I think original artwork can add so much to the decor of a room. It can be the element that ties the room together, it can be that splash of color in an otherwise neutral room, it can evoke a certain mood or sentiment, and so much more. Maybe you purchased the painting as a souvenir from a special trip, maybe you have a connection to the artist, or , if married, maybe it is the one thing in the room you both purchased together. Whatever the reason, original artwork can really elevate the design of a room.

I have decided that one of my regular blog topics going forward will be "Art and Decor". I will feature original artwork, both mine and that of other artists I admire, placed within the design of a room, i.e. in "its home". As I am still in Big Sky, MT for Spring Break, I don't have the best decor pictures with me, but I will start with this one of my dining room. My dining room is still a work in progress. Since this photo was taken, I have acquired a new rug, but the chandelier needs to be replaced, and we need a larger china cabinet.

I am still undecided about the red paint. In our previous house in Buckhead, I had a red dining room, with white beneath the chair rail, very similar to this one. I had planned to do something different in our new home in Alpharetta, just for something new, but we ended up purchasing this house that already had a red dining room. So much of our existing furnishings worked with the existing paint colors and curtains, that I have been reluctant to make a change. But, to update the red, sage, and gold color scheme from my old house, I decided to change it to red, chocolate brown, and aqua for the formal living room, dining room, and foyer. One wall of the dining room is quite long, and so I decided to paint two large paintings, predominantly aqua on hollow core doors.

The paintings feature some of my dad's, Clarence Drummond's, poetry on flowers that are decoupaged and then painted over and around, with touches of chocolate and gold.

Please check out my paintings at http://JenniferFerrisArt.com/

Gallatin River Gallery

Yesterday, I took the day off from skiing (it looked way too cold - lots of snow and wind:-) and instead I got to visit one of my favorite galleries - the Gallatin River Gallery, which is here in Big Sky. It was so inspiring to see works by artists such as Paul Brigham, Holly Manneck, Randall Roberts, Diana Tremaine, and Nicholas Wilton.

The gallery was featuring some new works by Paul Brigham - some colorful landscapes that are just beautiful. Of Diana Tremaine's paintings, I especially love the ones where she has sketched her subject in charcoal over an abstract background that is painted in oil.

Holly Manneck's colorful mixed media works seem both nostalgic and contemporary at the same time. Every time I see Randall Roberts' bromoils, I am amazed at this historical photographic process. And then, there are Nicholas Wilton's oil and beeswax abstracts - I find them both powerful and soothing at the same time.

So, those are my inspiring artists for the day...let me leave you with my son Austin's jokes for today: "In which season would you not want to ski?" - "Fall" - "get it?" "In which season would you want to do ski jumping?" - "Spring" - "get it?"

"Live simply, Laugh often, Love deeply." - author unknown

Please check out my paintings at http://JenniferFerrisArt.com/

A Very Inspiring Place to Paint

Yesterday, we arrived in Big Sky, Montana. We are here for spring break to do some skiing. My in-laws are from Montana and have a house here, so we typically try and make the trip at least once a year.

It is so amazingly beautiful here, especially the drive along the Gallatin River on our way from the Bozeman airport to the house in Big Sky. Unfortunately, it was raining and we were in a bit of a hurry to get skis before they closed, so I didn't get to stop to take any pictures. I tried to ingrain some of the images in my head, so I can try and paint them this week-the red willow against the beautiful teal water and touches of white snow on the banks.

I plan to try and paint lots of small landscapes in oil while I am here this week. Please check back later this week for some photos of the paintings.

Please check out my paintings at http://JenniferFerrisArt.com/

Today's Inspiring Artists

Many mornings I spend (way too much:-) time online viewing the works of other artists. Today I spent my time on Huff Harrington Fine Art. There are so many amazing artists there, but I think my current favorite is Bonnie Beauchamp-Cooke. The image to the left is one of her beautiful horse paintings. I am always drawn to equistrian art, but I also love her sketchy paintings of women in long dresses. And, her color palette is fabulous. I have gotten to enjoy her work both at Huff Harrington and also at Trinity Spotlight on Art, an amazing annual artist market at Trinity School, which I have had the privilege of participating in for the past four years.

Another wonderful artist at Huff Harrington that I have followed for years is Liz Barber. When I first saw her work, she was painting these very ethereal, soft, abstract flowers - so beautiful. Now her work is even more abstract, and still maintains that ethereal quality. It is so interesting to see how artists' works evolve over time. If you would like to see some of my earlier works, visit my previous website at http://www.artbyjferris.blogspot.com/, which covers my works from 2007 until about August of 2010.

Please check out my paintings at http://JenniferFerrisArt.com/