This portrait of Phoebe was painted this morning in Open Studio at Southgate Studio and Fine Art. I tried something different this morning. Not having taken time to stretch a new canvas, I pulled out an old painting that I didn't like and painted over it. The previous painting was very dark so it was hard to get the skin tones bright enough. I was afraid that it would get too chaulky if I used much white to lighten the skin tones. I used yellow to lighten wherever I could and I think it turned out okay. That's what weekly Open Studio is for - to experiment and see what happens. It's like practicing the scales on the piano but lots more fun. I think I'll try painting over old portraits again. I have miles and miles of canvas that could be recycled this way.

FINAL PORTRAIT OF ANDREA

ANDREA

THE FIRST PORTRAIT

ANDREA

THE FINAL PORTRAIT

The first portrait of Andrea was painted three weeks ago. With a little help from a friend and a lot more adjusting, the final portrait was completed. With just a little more tweaking I softened the line between her right cheek and hairline. The dark hair color was lightened slightly and pulled into the neckline so those values would be a little closer. One little spot on her forehead at the hairline was lightened so it would indicate the forehead continuing on up to the hairline. All those changes were small ones but they made a big difference. No one said this would be easy. I remember a comment made by my first teacher, Michael Shane Neal. He said, "Talent is only 10% of a good portrait. The other 90% is desire and perserverance."

I am pleased to report that my painting entitled "Requiem" was selected for exhibit in the juried Central South Art Exhibition to be held at the Tennessee Art League from May 3 to June 24, 2011. A reception for the artists will be on Saturday, May 7, 2011 at the Art League, 808 Broadway, Nashville, TN.

The Central South Art Exhibition is in its 46th year and is one of the oldest and most prestigious art competitions in the South and in the nation. Joseph H. Sulkowski was the juror for this exhibit and is a graduate of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and is a Life Member of the Art Students League of New York. Mr. Sulkowski is a resident of Nashville.

"Requiem" was painted in memory of Charles G. Southall, my son-in-law, and is a scene on his farm in Primm Springs, TN.

Painting At Cummins Falls

This is the path down which I saw Kevin Menck and Kay Farrar walking toward what was supposed to be a mile long hike to the bottom of Cummins Falls. They reappeared in record time and were elated to have found a shortcut that no one else knew about. I was very interested in going down there myself until I learned that they practically had to rappel over the edge of the cliff. At my age and having never been very well coordinated, I decided that would not be a smart thing to do. Hence the painting of the path instead of the Falls.

The painting on the far left was done on site. The day was cloudy and overcast and I realized that the painting done on site looked as though it was a sunny day. The corrected painting on the right is more representative of the actual light conditions. I used a reference photo taken at the time of the original painting to correct some of the composition errors.

The day was very cold. There were about 15 painters from the Chestnut Group that braved the low temperatures. The Tennessee Parks and Greenways staff had already prepared a nice bonfire for us and supplied hot coffee. We were made to feel very welcome. Cummins Falls is indeed a wild and beautiful natural area. I will return later in the week to paint the falls. The next time I will bring my husband and his 4 wheel drive truck so I won't get stuck in the mud like I did today.