Postcards from the Lake: Art Camp -- The Art!

The purpose of art camp, of course, is to make art. But it's not the only thing we do. We read, swim, walk, talk (for hours), eat well, enjoy wine, visit the market. But mainly, we do art! (And talk for hours.)

We set up on the porch at the cottage. It's screened in on all sides, so you get a nice breeze when there is one (and when there is a windy day, it becomes a bit more challenging!) But our weather was perfect -- mid-80s, sunny and no extreme wind or rain so we could work in our own little "studio," clearing the table only for dinner.

We do our own thing and I'll share some of my stuff below. But Kate is a far more experienced artist than I and I always learn something from her. This time, she showed me some foolproof methods for painting clouds in watercolor.

 

And here on the right are my practice clouds and on the left, a practice "from life" freehand watercolor trying the cloud technique.

I wasn't happy with my water so I did a three-part youtube lesson with Chris Petrie on painting water scenes. The lower left corner is "waves" and my least favorite. I did much better with the waves and reflections after watching the video.

When it got super hot with the late afternoon sun coming through the screen, Kate moved to the back to do a little touch up.

But mostly, she worked on the porch. She's working on a page from her annual calendar here.

I worked on redoing one of my favorites that sold last year. Here it is in progress. I'll share the finished version later. The photo didn't come out well because of the lighting when I took it. But you can get the idea.

I also did a couple from recent photos.

This is my cousin's son Mark and his little boy when they were at the lake a few weeks ago. It was sunset and I'm not sure I got it right but it was such a moment, I had to try.

I'm not sure I like this one of my neighbor Rosie's garden. It's too cluttered. So is her garden, but it works better in the garden than on the page! I think I need to try it again, loosen up (not my strong suit in painting) and aim for less detail. This one might turn into bookmarks.

 

The photo that inspired this one was taken at the Pink House at Martha's Vineyard. Believe it or not, the pink was TOO pink (you might think it still is but it's pretty darned close to the original!) Kate showed me how to tone it down using pan pastels. The mat (which is only laid on top here) helps, too.

I've been trying to paint sheep for a bit and not satisfied with anything I've done. I'm pretty happy with this -- its eye is a little wonky but that's really how it looked in my reference photo.

And I did a few things I'm trying out for holiday cards. 

I spent a fair amount of time working on card ideas for Christmas and otherwise. 

The dotted package could be made in a variety of colors for Christmas or birthdays and as a framed piece or card.

And this guy will definitely show up again!

 

I've done the bee hive idea before but I like the border on this one, which I didn't do on the first. I might go back and add that to my first round.

And finally a little basket of blooms, suitable for many occasions.

I have one more art camp post coming, where we'll look at a surprise guest at art camp. And it wasn't human. Till then...

Stay go be creative!

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