Two Birds of a Feather Flock Together

My most recent class was a Valentines Day couples class.  I have never had a couples painting class before and I just loved how fun it was with the students and their partners!  The subject they had to paint was a beautiful watercolor swan.  

I gave them 2 different blues and a green to mix for their water and they were able to find their own personal color mixture that they used to paint the water.  We even used some purple in the shadows on the swan, but for the most part we left the white of the paper show through for the body of the swan except for some shadows from the feathers.  Watercolor is so different than any other paint medium in this way because you don't use white paint, you just use the white of the paper instead which I love. 

I adore how they turned out!  Each couple painted their swan in the opposite direction from their spouses swan to form a heart when put together.  I love how each painting was different with their own personalities.  I definitely want to have more spouses attend my classes together in the future.  It is so great for couples to experience creativity together!  If you are interested in booking a class here in Akron with your favorite couples email me at taratories@gmail.com and we can set that up!  My March art class is now open for registration and I am really excited about it!  Click HERE for more information and to sign up!

I have this "Flying Swans" painting that I did on my residency in Wales that I am selling prints of.  The prints are 24X12 and cost $29 each.  I add gold leaf to every print along with a golden signature.

The swan print was inspired by my painting entitled "The Green Man's Daughter."  This original painting is available for purchase and I am also selling prints of it as well.  Print sizes: 11X14- $39 and 18X24- $69.  These unique prints also come with gold embellishments.  Email me at taratories@gmail.com if you are interested in purchasing any of these prints!

Critique: Wales Residency

This last week we had two new resident artists come to stay.  The girl on the left is Michelle Loa Kum Cheung and the girl on the right is Jessica Raby.  

Jessica is currently getting her MA in Aberystwyth and is studying film.  She collects things from nature and isolates outside of their natural environment to film and photograph.  This is her in her studio filming a flower she picked around the area while here.

Michelle is a painter and uses a unique technique where she burns into wood and uses oil paint to paint around and inside her burnt drawings.  Right now she is doing a commission for a restaurant which is a tetraptych (painting that has four parts).  Go to Michellelkc.com to see more of her work.

And there is me.  I focus mainly on using a combination of acrylic paints and colored pencils on canvas.  I have been enjoying exploring this mixed media technique more and more and have enjoyed focusing on people as my subjects. Since I have been in Wales I have been using Welsh folklore to tell stories in my paintings and I have had so much fun trying my hand at allegorical paintings!

This week we decided it would be fun to do a critique with each other in our studios.  I haven't done a critique since college and it was so fun to be a part of something like this again!  First we gathered in the attic and watched what Jessica had filmed so far on the projector.  

We loved the flower that she had filmed slowly spinning as it hung from her studio ceiling.  The light created beautiful shadows on it and I loved how mesmerizing it was to watch.  She talked about her work and we also took a look at some of her past films.  She appreciated our input and used it to help her plan out her direction for the rest of her stay here. If you want to see more of her work go to www.jess-raby.com.

Next we looked at what Michelle had painted so far on her panels and she talked about her process and how she got into pyrography.  She talked about what kind of subjects she paints and how she is drawn to landscapes but likes to play with scale in her paintings in a surrealistic way.

The time came for my critique. I talked about my different paintings that I have painted in Wales and how I incorporated Welsh folklore into them. We talked about some of the commonalities that the paintings have with each other and the parts of the paintings that worked better than others.

Discussing art with each other was so fun and we all benefitted so much from our discussions.  Here are a few more detail shots from another painting I did.

Anthropologie Holiday Window Display

Yesterday I spent the afternoon helping Anthropologie with their holiday window display that will be installed some time next month.  Right now the front window is looking very "fall", which will all change soon!  Due to the detail of the amazing window displays in Anthropologie, at times it takes a crew of people to come together to pull it off.

The display coordinator constructed this swan out of wood, cardboard, chicken wire, and crepe paper.  I think this guy is adorable and he will be featured in the holiday window with a wreath that will surround him.  One of the tasks at hand was cutting a TON of cardboard shapes that will come together to form the wreath.  

After that, we painted the cut out foliage with different shades of green paint.  This part was welcomed, because my fingers were really feeling it from using the scissors so long!

I can't wait to see all the pieces come together and to see the swan in his full glory in the window!!