When I painted this painting a year ago, I was very happy with the way it turned out and the feel of it. I had so many compliments on it as well. It showed about every place I could think of.

As summer shows approached this year, I still had it. I have a nice frame for it but I didn’t want to drag it around for round two. So. A makeover was in order.

So who else likes attending face-to-face art workshops, raise your hand. Oh good, glad I’m not alone.

Real time art workshops are my favorite. I love being in the same room with the instructor, watching yummy demos, making new friends, and trying out new techniques in paint. I love workshops so much I could go to one every month. But a couple of not so smallish things stop me….can you say moolah….and, you guessed it, time.

Let’s imagine you are working on a new painting you are very excited about. You’ve done everything you can to prepare – i.e. editing your photo reference, doing a value thumbnail, maybe even a color study to choose your color palette. You have blocked everything in. You stand back to take a look, and……blah….yuck…..nothing. It is just not working! It is not what you imagined. You don’t even like it. Now what?

So far this year I have set a record for myself – the most wipers ever! By wipers I mean just what the phrase implies – wiping the paint off the canvas so as to start over. Ahhhhhh. Such a good feeling.

I went through all the steps for the wipers – i.e. value thumbnail, sketch on the canvas, and value under painting. But when the color was on and I stood back, the painting just did not work. Gah. I’m not sure what happened! I could have messed up the values when I added color, totally possible, but I just did not like the painting. So. Off came the paint.

My most recent master study is a painting by Alexei Savrasov entitled “The Sea Shore in the Vicinity Oranienbaum.” Oh how I loved painting this!

I like to take at least one great workshop every year and I have been considering several for next year but haven’t decided anything for sure. While I wait, my learning continues in my studio with the selection of several master paintings I want to study. You can read more about the ones I have chosen in this blog post.

I kicked off this series with Isaac Levitan’s “Sunny Day.” I started with this one because I think (I’m not sure though) it might be the hardest one. Why I do that, I do not know! Gah. I think it’s because my dad taught me to do the hard things first, and it is a lesson that has helped me so much in life. Thanks, Dad!

Lately I have been loving the work of a few master artists, long gone from us. Asher and Durand and John William Casilear were American artists of the Hudson River School era. Their landscapes are a wonder. I was lucky enough to see a John Casilear in person recently at the Denver Museum of Art. Wow. I will be studying both artist’s work in the coming months and sharing what I learn as I go.

This is the third in a series of posts about Taking Photos for Your Art. Here are the first and second posts.

Gridding Your Canvas

by Beth Cole

If I am painting something that really needs to be drawn well, like a portrait or figure, I always grid my photo and canvas.

Editing Your Photos

By Beth Cole

This is the second in a series of posts about taking photos for art, you can read the first post here.

Rarely does a photo come straight from the camera ready to paint. I have found that taking a little time to analyze and edit the photo makes for a stronger inspiration photo and a stronger painting.

Taking Photos For Your Art - Part I

by Beth Cole

This is a new series on taking photos for your art. I believe taking your own photos is a big part of the artistic process. When you use your own photos for painting you are already connected in a way to the scene you want to paint. It is always just a good policy to work from your own photos.

I believe paintings have a mind of their own, and sometimes we just need a little time to bring them to their better selves.

Case in point, here is a sunset painting I did about a year ago. I was inspired by spectacular cloud formations and what the light was doing as it sank down toward the horizon.

What I Have Learned About Teaching Online

by Beth Cole

Last spring I was asked to teach a painting class online. I had been thinking of teaching, but I hadn’t come up with a plan or a deadline. Being asked to teach gave me both! And I must say, it is amazing what you can accomplish when you have a plan and a deadline.

I wanted to write a little about the practical steps I took in order to get stuff done. I am not an expert! I am just sharing what I have learned so far.

This is the third post in a series about getting ready for art fairs. Here are links to the first and second posts.

Following Up With Collectors

By Beth Cole

So you’ve done all the hard work of painting, hauling and setting up your work and guess what? Someone buys a painting! Boom! Congratulations! Now what?

This is the second in a series of posts about getting ready for summer art shows. You can read the first post here.

Art Fair Checklist

By Beth Cole

The first time I went to an art show I was amazed at how much time it took me to get ready. Not only do you need to prepare your paintings well in advance, there are many other little details to consider before you can say “let’s go.”

Art fairs can be so much fun, but honestly – they are a lot of work!

My husband and I have been doing art fairs for a few years now, so I thought it would be fun to share a few of the things I have learned through the experience. I would love to hear about your experience as well, so feel free to comment.

This first post will be about the number and type of paintings to take, the second part will include an art fair checklist to help you remember everything, and the third part will be about relationships and following up after the show.

This is the fourth in a series of posts about painting outside. Here are links to the first, second, and third posts.

More great tips

by Beth Cole

Many of my newsletter readers are artists, so this last issue I asked them to share anything they had learned about painting outside. I got some great feedback so I wanted to share.

This is the third in a series of posts about painting outside. Here are links to the first and second posts.

Staying Motivated

by Beth Cole

If I’m going to stick with something, I need to have a good reason. You, too? After all, why should we drag around all this painting gear, circle the countryside looking for painting spots, battle the wind and the sun and the bugs? I have to constantly remind myself of the benefits, and there are many. Here are some that I see, I would love to hear yours, too.

This is the second in a series about painting outside, you can read the first post here.

Finding a Painting Location

by Beth Cole

Honestly, finding a place to paint has been one of my biggest struggles. I am a little shy and I feel self-conscious painting in a conspicuous place where it is not common to see people out painting, you know? The last thing I want to do is draw attention to myself. Maybe you can relate.

Painting Plein Air

by Beth Cole

Since the weather is getting warmer I wanted to write about plein air painting, a fancy term for painting outside. I think there are two acceptable pronunciations for the word “plein” – “plane” or “plen." The word comes from the phrase "en plain air" - in French meaning “in the open air.” And we do love the open air, don’t we?

This is the third post in a series about learning from the Masters. Here are the first and second posts.

So many of the master paintings I love have beautiful gray tones in them. Some colors are hard to name, they look a little brownish, or reddish or purplish but they are difficult to describe. These are the gray tones and they can really make a subtle and beautiful painting.