Sand and Water

Sand and Water #1

Acrylic on Canvas

12"X12"

Hi All,

Here is a new piece in the beach series. I am using a new name for the next phase of the series, it will now be Sand and Water. I like the color and values on this one but do not know what else I will do with it yet. As always, your comments are welcome.

This coming Friday is our next First Friday Art Walk in Ocala, FL if you are anywhere near the area.

Peace and Love to you all,

Kelli

Go Green

Have you ever had a morning when you're startled awake at 5 a.m. for no apparent reason? That was this morning. I have no idea why, all I know is the headache that came with the sudden awakening wouldn't let me go back to sleep, so here I am......

So, happy St. Patrick's Day! Yeah, I know, I'm Puerto Rican, so what? In honor of the day I thought I'd post something green - as if that's different from what I usually paint :) This one is still on the easel so there's a few things left to be done. I'm working on two of these at the same time and hope to be done this week. It's a busy time - classes, workshop coming up this weekend and of course many canvases to paint. Ain't life grand!

Hope you have a great time today whatever you're doing,
Peace,
Carlynne

I really want to know...

Good morning! What a pretty day, finally some sunshine. We've had nothing but rain for the last few days and it was starting to get depressing. So, happy day and favorite things. Today I just thought I'd show you some of my favorite things - books. One of the first things I do when visiting an artist is check out the book shelf to see which art books they like to keep around. Here's a few of the shelves in my office. What are your favorite books? I'd really like to know, just call me nosy.

My own version of our book cover photo. These seem to be the colors I'm attracted to at the moment. Maybe I've been willing spring to come by using these colors all winter. Apparently I haven't done a very good job - this has been the longest, coldest winter we've had in Florida in many, many years!

Collage and creativity.... of course notice the 3rd book from the left. :D

Landscape and light.

Many colored pencil books of course......

Acrylic and abstraction.

Now all I need is a cup of coffee and my comfy chair - I'll get some inspiration and then unwrap those two new canvases I brought home yesterday. Hope you all have a lovely day!

Peace,

Carlynne

Studio Day

This piece is not new but I don't think I have shown it to you before. I am in the studio working, have been all day, thanks to the rain. And I have 8 pieces that are in various stages of progress at the moment. (Aren't you proud of me? I know I am) However, the ones I am currently working on are not very interesting yet, and while I am waiting for drying time, (you know what they say about watching paint dry), I was just looking at older work.

This is one that I was never sure I liked and couldn't decide if it was done. I tell students that a piece is done when they cannot do anything to make it better. Of course sometimes we need someone else to tell us that, it's not always easy to be objective, especially when you have been working on the same piece for awhile. Now, I have decided that I like this and I am calling it done. I hope you agree and I always welcome you comments.

Peace and creativity,
Kelli

Wednesday night.....

You've seen these canvases before but they didn't have as many layers of paint on them. When I walked in the studio tonight nothing was coming to me. I was feeling very ....... blank....... It happens. Just wasn't feelin' it. I sat and stared. I sat and stewed. I decided the thing to do is to just pick up a brush and sling some paint and where it takes me, it takes me. Sometimes that's what you have to do to get past a block. It may not even be a block but just a ...... blank...... spot in the brain. When that happens it's time to let the hands just take over. Let the tactile quality of the materials work on you and not think so much. Let intuition take over, so far that feels better........ I'll be back in the studio again tomorrow, we'll see how it feels then.

Hope you're having a good night,

Peace,

Carlynne

I'm feelin' it

I absolutely LOVE textures. Anyone that knows me knows that I can't keep my hands off of a cool looking textured surface. From the time I was a little girl I was fascinated with textures in nature - tree bark, veining in leaves, bird tracks in the snow (I didn't always live in Florida), the fuzz on new spring leaf buds, the indentations of raindrops in dirt, the bubbles of tar on the side of the road in the summer.

Of course the natural progression of things is that I would end up incorporating texture into my paintings. I play with textured papers, pastes and gels, sand, glass beads and rocks. There's nothing I love more in the studio than watching the fluid acrylic paint seep into the crevices of crackle paste and puddle around the bumps of glass beads. The nuances of color as it concentrates into a smooth valley or gets absorbed into a soft paper surface is just plain exciting! Call me weird.... I don't care!

So..... for the people out there like me, Kelli and I will be teaching a workshop on playing with these textures. Since the texture gels and pastes usually take overnight to dry we're going to prepare some panels ahead of time and then focus on what to do with paint and collage elements to enhance the textures and make them sing. The workshop will be in Ocala at Red Swan Paint & Art on Sunday March 21st from 1-5. Give us a holler if you want more info and contact us soon before the class fills up. mailto:andhershbergerhuff@hotmail.com

Now go touch something and feel the texture - you don't have to tell me what it is. :D

Peace,

Carlynne

First First Friday

We had a good time last night on Broadway in downtown Ocala, for our very first First Friday Art Walk. We had friends, family, students and brand new friends stop in to see us and the people at Bakers and Cooks. We sold some work and signed up a student for the upcoming workshop on March 21.

Our host, Marie, was so gracious, even giving us luscious chocolate cake. (In case you didn't know, Carlynne and I will do anything for chocolate.) Thank you Marie and everyone who stopped in to support us.

I have decided that taking one of the cooking classes or demos would be a wonderful way to relax and have fun. They have well known chefs from around the world visit their fabulous kitchen to teach. I think this would be a wonderful artist date and I believe that Julia Cameron would approve.

Peace, love and creativity,

Kelli

New Work

This is going to be a new beach piece, eventually, trust me, it will be. I know it doesn't look much like the other beach pieces yet, but this one is a little different than the previous ones in this series. And you will get to see the process as it goes through transformation several times.







Here is a close up of the textures. The color is a little warmer than this photo, it's actually more of a soft burnt sienna. (Wow, what's with me and burnt sienna? I even drive a Toyota sienna.) It already has about 6 layers on it, including raw sienna, iridescent medium and burnt sienna.

I'll keep you posted.
Peace and love and creativity.
Kelli

Remember This?

Remember this piece of slate with it's lovely textures and shape? I took photos of it before I did anything at all to it and now I have added a little more texture and some burnt sienna. (I really had no choice, it just cried out for burnt sienna.)

This is a close up of what it looks like now, I loooooooooooooooove the textures and color. HOWEVER, where do I go from here???? Heeeeeeeeeeelp meeeeeeee, pleeeeeeeeese.

Oh, and don't' forget, we will be at Bakers and Cooks this evening from 6-8 for the monthly First Friday Art Walk in downtown Ocala, FL. Be there, just off the square!

Peace and love,

Kelli

Lucky Us

Guess where we will be hanging out this Friday? Bakers and Cooks in downtown Ocala, FL. This Friday, March 5 is the First Friday Art Walk from 6-8 and we have a fun place to spend our two hours. Above is the exterior view of the store.

This is an interior view of the store and just a few of the lovely items they sell. I don't know about you, but I love kitchen gadgets and they have the best selection in our area. And we have been promised some good things to eat, yum, yum.

We will be offering special prices on some of the work you have seen on our Etsy shop and on the blog. So, if you are anywhere near our area this Friday, stop in and say hi to us and to everyone at Bakers and Cooks.

Peace and Love,

Kelli

Hubcap name game part 2

Name this......

and win this
Passage 70
5x5
Mixed Media

Just so you remember, the top photo is the flip side of the hubcap. If your name suggestion wins you get this original acrylic abstract painting. 2 sides, 2 winners, 2 prizes. If one person wins the name for both sides, that person gets both prizes!
The deadline is this Friday, March 5th at 5pm. There's some great entries so far. I should have you guys name all my paintings, Keep 'em coming, keep entering! Wow, such creativity! I love it.

Peace,
Carlynne

Name Game

Name this.......

and win this
Passage 63
5x5
Mixed Media

Come up with the winning name for the hubcap and get this little original abstract.
The media used on this piece are acrylic, handmade paper, garnets, copper leaf, tissue paper and crackle paste.

Deadline for name suggestions is 5 pm Eastern time on Friday, March 5.

Have a great day everyone!
Carlynne

Life's a Beach

Tide Pools #63

Hey Peeps,

We will be at the First Friday Art Walk in downtown Ocala, FL on the square this Friday from 6-8. We are setting up at Bakers and Cooks, one of our favorite stores. The name says it all. Come and visit us and the store. We would love to meet some of our friends out there in netland.

This is an 8X8 inch beach piece on canvas board. It's available for sale on Etsy. I guess I still haven't got the beach out of my system. The good news is that the next few beach pieces are going in a new direction. I will update soon.

If you can't get to the beach, or if your beach is covered with snow, just hang on a little longer and spring will be here. I am an optimist, but I do believe that is easier when you live in FL.

Peace and love to all,

Kelli

One hubcap, 2 paintings, no car

This has to be one of the most unusual projects I've done. When I painted the Horse Fever horse called Aggie it was quite a job. It was a challenge not only in size but shape - it's a horse! This time I was painting a hubcap. A lot smaller but still a challenge in shape. I'm so thankful I didn't get a hubcap with all the holes in it. The artists that did those had a bigger challenge.




If you saw the earlier post you saw the blue side almost done. I didn't do much more to it but I did add the copper acrylic for a warm accent. That made a big difference. The green side got a lot more layers, more color and tissue paper and then I added some iridescent glaze to the white shapes. So, now it's varnished and done. I just have to box it up and ship it back. Soon my hubcap will be on Landfill Art You really should check out what the other artists have done - I can't wait for the book to come out, it's going to be quite a collection!

I am missing one thing though, well 2 things actually..... a title for each side of the hubcap. Anyone have any suggestions? I'll give a prize to the person or persons that come up with the winning titles. I'll be mailing the painting(s) soon so I'll call the deadline for title submission Friday, March 5th at 5:00 pm Eastern time. Help me out here, my brain's tired and you might win a little prize!

Hope you're having a peaceful end to your Monday,
Carlynne