Negative Space

Been super busy with commissions lately.  This is a demo I did a couple of weeks ago for my class. I was explaining negative space, which is the space between things.  In this piece it is the 'air' inside the cup handle.  It was a rough, quick demo, just to give them an idea.  They got it, all right. I think I must have super-geniuses in my class - look at their pieces below.  These guys have only had the feel of the brush in their hands for LESS than 4 months.  They were painting my husband's great grandfather's lunch pail.

Grampy Croft's Lunch Pail, 6x6 Oil

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I'm trying to get my 'Challenge' painting done before I go to Texas next week. See how I said 'next week'? Well, I accidently bought tickets and packed and loaded up the car this past Tuesday. Uh, oh. Saved by a phone call from my friend and hostess, Amy (who has a very cool blog, too). I called my other friend Debbi (also a cool blogger) to be SURE that Amy wasn't pulling my leg! Nope. So after treating my incredibly nice husband to a delicious dinner out, I came home and re-booked my plans for next week. *sigh*

Anyway, this month's 'challenge' is for us to paint something from our grandmother's kitchen. My grandmothers had been gone for over 25 years when I was born, so I 'borrowed' Tim's grandmother. This is her husband's lunch pail. I think he worked in one of the mills in Fall River, but I'm sure I'll be corrected if I am wrong! This one painted itself. I was outside with Paco. Almost serious. ;)

Below is a couple of photos from my workshop this past weekend at Oceanside 17. Really talented painters, they did a fabulous job in the small format.

And here is what's going through my head... foam. Like the bubbles that waves make when they reach the shore. These are oils, but I've been doing them in acrylic, too. Close ups on my Studio Blog. Also, Paco's blog is being updated!