I  know that it takes some guts to share your work, especially if you aren’t on solid ground, but trust me when I say that you won’t be sorry if you do. This website is a place of supportive, creative incubation. I won’t let it be anything else!

-Marla

Enjoyed the conference this week. I'm still catching up.
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I had a problem again in the assignment painting with getting the field too dark then being unable to lighten it up. I think I will have to wait a few days until the painting dries to try again. I confess for the independent painting I went back to acrylic, but applied the same principles we were working with. I think the results are better in the second painting.
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I am getting more and more frustrated with painting wet into wet. This is my first oil painting class and I don't know enough about how to keep the colors clean, etc. How often to change out the Gamsol? How often to wipe the brush? Basic stuff, but that's where I am.
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Finally had time in the studio to get back to the lessons. I was glad for the pear excersise as I just purchased some oil paints and will be migrating back to that medium from Acrylic painting all these years. I am excited and really love working with them so far!
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It took me several tries to get the values of the shadow of the sphere in the yellow cube (dark yellow) and on the table (dark violet) to match up.
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I tried to stay more loose and abstract with this one. Not easy for me!
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This was a great challenge for me to return to basics. It's amazing how much concentration it took for this, and how I reflected back to my basic drawing days. I almost didn't do this assignment thinking I already knew this. But, why pay the bucks if I am not going to trust? Thanks for slowing me down to think and revisit the basics. Getting started late on this class but really having fun.
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I'm heading out east this week (helping mom after surgery) but wanted to get the course assignments completed. I'm only taking water colors! I want to work on the sky more... it is bluer than in the picture but needs to be brighter. Loved these assignments Marla. Learned a lot! And if I keep my current itinerary I will be able to catch the live session from the Portland airport!
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I let it sit over night and reworked it a bit. Still not totally happy with it but I will leave it for now.
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Loved working on the hill contours. I did make my highlights too symmetrical though. I would go back in and break up the pattern.
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I made my foreground too dark then had a heck of a time trying to lighten it up. Still needs more.
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So here is a good lesson in work the whole painting! Kept getting distracted by the roofers and contractor then coming back to it. I just wouldn't leave things alone and started picking everytime I came back to it.
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I admit I’m a bit frustrated with the “knitting” idea. I start out with cool tree shapes but by the time I’m done knitting, they’re weird. Then I end up working wet-into-wet anyways as I try to fix them. Anyone have any tips? Thank you!
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Continued to work on this one a bit. More pink in the foreground, mushed the mountain with the sky, new lighting on the trees, made a new tree shape in the foreground, but I lost my creek.
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Really had trouble with this one. I could not get that big dark shape on the right to look like anything. Tried several times and finally gave up.
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These assignments are great fun but so challenging! Trying to stay with you and keep moving and not get drawn into picking at just one area. Learning a completely new way of approaching a subject.
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Maybe could use a little more pink in the foreground.
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Another great exercise in trusting the process. I messed around too much with the mountain in the back and just had to stop!
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Still working back on the independent assignments. I had real trouble with this one keeping my brush clean and not mushing up the colors. I finally let the painting dry for about 5 days and just repainted the pears today. I am happy with it this time.
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I wish I had done this assignment before going plein air painting yesterday. Good exercise in using grays... which I figured out was missing yesterday!
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So hard to stay loose!!!
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This was instructive to do in these colors. I'm not sure I would have been able to do the color shift on my own without Marla's example. It was an interesting exercise.
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Harder than it looks. Still need to work on sky 1. The clouds are confusing and look like mountains. I need some practice keeping my colors separate and not contaminating them with my brush. Seems like I have mostly mush on my palette by the time I'm done.
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Umm. I don't see any other paintings yet. It's really hard for me to let go. I started a couple of years ago and was using too much paint going against fat over lean. I like Marla's approach/style. Looking forward to learning more.
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Videos

With each video, I invite you to consider an idea, an exercise, a musing to cultivate and enliven your painting process. If you are moved to share your results, that would be excellent! If they simply give you food for thought; wonderful! ​

I'm always looking for ways to motivate, tease, bribe, cajole myself to the easel, so I hope these videos help you to do the same!

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