Last week was absolutely packed!  Jeff took the week off, so I cleared my schedule as much as I could to take advantage of our time to work on projects together.  We installed the picture frame molding and chair rail in both the sewing room and master bedroom and got a ton of work done in the yard.  We did a “family workday” on Saturday to get all of the big stuff done (hauling mulch, edging the beds, putting down weed-blocking fabric, etc.)  We have some small things to do when it cools off later this week, but the yard is really coming along.  I also still have caulking, priming, and painting to do in the master bedroom and sewing room.

I’ll be sharing my progress and process on these projects starting this week, but first, I wanted to post about the live art class from a couple of weeks ago and share what we’ll be painting this Friday.

A couple of weeks ago, we painted a still life with flowers and glass.  Several participants asked if we could work on those, so that’s what we did!  Flowers are not my forte, but the spirit of these live classes is to learn and grow together and to connect.  It’s not about me having all the answers.  This is the picture we painted…

I styled and took this picture, so I’m allowing my “students” to use it royalty-free.

Here is my version…

And here are the three versions of the video of the live class in case you missed it or would like to watch it again…

Here is the video directly on Facebook…

Here is the full class on YouTube…

Here is the 4-minute time-lapse of the painting for those who just want to see the process without watching the entire class…

Many of you have said how much you love seeing work from the people who participated in the class, even if you’re not that interested in art.  I agree that it is a highlight of these posts!  I love seeing all of the different styles and interpretations of the same thing.  I find something I like about each one and I also learn from studying their choices.

So fun!

I started these live art classes on a bit of a whim during the early days of quarantine and it has been such a rich blessing to me.  I have learned so much and loved connecting with my readers/followers in a new format.  I can’t continue doing these each week, sadly.  I have some large projects coming up and other commitments that require me to clear off my calendar.  I do plan to bring these back in the fall, though, in a more formal capacity.

But, before I press the pause button on these art classes for a while, we’ll paint one more thing together.  By popular request, we’ll paint a cow!

This is a royalty-free image I painted last year and I thought it would be a good one for us to start with.  The lighting is interesting and the fact that the cow is eating grass means we don’t have to fiddle with facial features too much!  We can focus on light and shadow, basic anatomy, and body shape.

This is the version I painted last year and I’m excited to see how my painting turns out this week…

Here is the supply list if you’d like to join us!  Additions/changes are in bold.

• Oil Paints – Buy the best you can.  This is where you want to spend your money, because artist-grade paints have more concentrated pigments, so you can mix the colors without making mud.  I like Windsor & Newton and Gamblin.  (See below for some alternatives.)
  • Titanium White – W&N Titanium White
  • Ultramarine Blue – W&N Ultramarine Blue Green Shade
  • Yellow Ochre Pale – W&N YOP
  • Burnt Sienna – W&N Burnt Sienna
  • Cadmium Yellow – Gamblin Cadmium Yellow Medium
• Gamsol (This is to thin the paint and clean brushes.  You can also use turpentine, paint thinner, etc.) – Gamsol 14 oz bottle
• Container for Gamsol/solvent (You can also use a glass jar with a screw-on lid) – Leak-Proof Solvent Container
• 8 x 10 canvas or canvas board.  If you are painting on something else, that’s okay, too!  You don’t want to go too small with this cow or it’ll be trickier to get in the details.  Going a little larger is better in this case!  
• Palette – I use a wood palette, but you can order a glass one (white or gray), a paper palette (again, white or gray), or use a paper plate, a piece of cardboard, or even a piece of glass in a cheap/old frame.
• Paper towels
• Ziplock bag
• Soap to clean brushes & hands – I use Murphy’s Oil soap to clean my brushes and baby oil to clean my hands.  You can also use an olive-oil-based soap or any soap that will clean off oil and grease.
• Easel – You don’t have to buy an easel, but could purchase an inexpensive tabletop easel.  If you want to get a little fancier, you can buy a pochade box that has an easel and palette built-in.  Really, though, you can paint flat or just prop your canvas up on some books or a cardboard box.  Don’t let the lack of an easel stop you from joining us!
• Brushes – The bushy brush I’ve been using is actually not an Eclipse, but a Master’s Choice Long Filbert No. 4.  You can get it HERE, too.  The stiff-bristled brush I use is the No. 1 Ivory Long Flat (you can get it HERE, too) both from Rosemary & Co.  Both of these shops (one in the US and one in the UK) are shipping to customers.  For animals, I like using a short filbert (aka “cat tongue” brush) and you’ll need a fine brush, like a thin liner.

If the paints are sold out or back-ordered, try Blick, Jerry’s Artarama, or Utrecht.

If you can join me this week, I’ll see you this Friday at 2:00 pm CST on my Facebook page!

Other live classes…

Under Painting & Still Life Pear

Still Life Pear

Mini Landscapes

Index Card Art | Seago Study

mixing color charts & books for beginners

landscape oil painting for beginners

painting clouds in oils for beginners