Update: Demo this coming Friday 9/2

As part of the monthly Marietta First Friday Artwalk,  the Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art will be hosting my plein air painting demonstration, as well as a display of my recent paintings, this coming Friday, September 2nd , from 5pm to 9pm.  I plan to be out on the front porch, weather permitting. Please drop over and say hello, (and bring me a large iced tea!).  Also, if you have any inquiries about my upcoming classes, it's a good opportunity to ask questions and get an idea of my painting process.
Have a good labor day weekend!

Saturday painting 'demo'

Above is my 'demo' from this past Saturday, painted at Blick's Art Store in Roswell.

  I particularly enjoy painting scenes which are a combination of garden, landscape, and buildings. Buildings and homes , particularly older ones, seem to have a character or story about them; and combined with the natural world of plants and landscapes, they seem to stir some memories , or maybe offer implications, which you can't quite grasp.  At least that's the case for me.   

Thanks to the friendly staff at Blick's, and to those who came out to see the demo.  I appreciated your comments. 

It's looking like a busy September; I'll plan to post an updated event list soon.  Hope to see you around!

John

A painting of Providence Canyon State Park

Hello blog readers,

FYI....I've added references, on the right side, to some galleries currently carrying my work. I hope you'll drop in and visit sometime. They're both beautiful spaces, and you'll find the owners to be some of friendliest people you'd ever want to meet.

A recent event update......I'll be giving a painting demo this coming Saturday, August 20th, at the Blick Art Superstore in Roswell., GA.   I'll be there from 11am-2pm.  Please drop by and say hello!

All for now

John

painting outside (aka: plein air)

Here's the painting I started at Friday night's Marietta ArtWalk, (and finished there again last night, Saturday, in an additional half hour).  Friday, I was dodging back and forth with customers looking at my small display of paintings, with which I had some modest sales success, so it slowed my painting a bit. It was a pretty good turnout of friends, a nice former student, and quite a good crowd in general, on such a warm evening.  Okay, here's the bad part...I even hestitate to remark, since this sort of thing just 'bugs' me a bit.... but remember, I've mentioned before, often 'things' happen nearby when you're out painting.....Anyway, when I was finishing up the painting Saturday, (around 6pm....and i was just across the street from the Marietta Square , painting this scene)....a huge 'flash mob' occurred on the square... with at least several hundred people involved, singing and dancing to some dumb song.....(I learned later it was said to be for a good cause; helping support a charity);  but even so...i don't know.... I guess I'm a spoil sport, but I generally don't like mobs of any kind.......except those that flock to artshows, of course!

A reminder to any interested oil painting students......my upcoming classes are starting in September......(9/12 for the studio class, and 9/24 for the plein air class)......please feel free to contact me if any questions, etc.....

best wishes to you, and thanks again for checking out my blog. 

john

Yosemite Valley

When I was a kid, our family always went to Yosemite for summer vacations, and it's places like this (pictured) where we often had picnics,  and went air matressing on the icy cold Merced River. 

After posting this painting, I've now have noticed a few small corrections I need to make.....seems one can sometimes spot little problems in photos that you don't see when looking at the painting in person.  Oh well, it's always something. 

I keep forgetting to add my gallery info onto the blog-site....should be forthcoming soon.....

Take care

John

July days

I've always kinda liked the above scene, which I painted almost a year ago. The location is nearby and I was planning to paint it again this year, while the same plants were blooming. But I drove by the other day and saw that all the plants had been completely removed(!)  I suppose the owner got tired of the walkway being blocked by the plants. Didn't they know the overgrown yard was what made it artistically interesting!  Acting in sympathy to any potential artists driving by, I've let my own front lawn stay a bit ragged and unkept for a while, before I cut it. (that's my lazy excuse anyway). 

Am busy this week painting a large commission piece of a large old southern house, with kids playing in the front yard........almost done...... and hopefully will get that posted shortly.

...here's a few upcoming events that come to mind....I'll tell you more details as they become available...

8/5......Marietta Artwalk....i'll be painting at the Marietta square and will have a small display of paintings nearby

9/2......Marietta Artwalk......i'll be giving a formal demo at the Cobb/Marietta Museum of Art, plus a display of recent plein air paintings

9/12 and 9/24 .....my studio and plein air classes begin

9/17......Gainesville, GA.....annual Art on the Square.......10am-5pm ....I plan to have a booth again this year ....please come by and visit.!....this is a real fun and relaxing event , on the historic Gainesville Square.

9/28-10/1......3rd annual Great Chattahoochee River Plein Air Paint Out...(Roswell, GA)...This year they moved it from August to late September....what a relief from the heat!.......I'll be painting/competing with 50 or so top local painters......

Fare well,

John

A week in Cashiers, NC

I painted 'Summer Evening' during my trip to Cashiers NC last week.  There was a light rain falling at the time, and it sure was a relief from the hot weather the previous few days.  This is a very beauiful area, and right now, almost every roadside and forest area is covered with large flowering mountain laurels. Quite a sight.  I've included some photos, which I hope to use as references for some studio paintings.   I had a great week and was happy to sell five of my pieces painted during the week.

I sold a painting i did of this view, and didnt get a chance to photograph the painting, so I went back later and took this photo, hoping to paint it again at home. There was brighter sun and puffy clouds around when i painted it; here it's a bit overcast and not as colorful.

a couple local waterfalls, only about 5 minutes from town......Silver Run Falls,and   Slippery Rock Falls......as you could guess , Slippery Rock is essentially a natural waterslide........looked like fun...
Thanks for checking out my blog.  So long for now!