Monday, June 18, 2012

go lightly

This was the first study I did yesterday at Nancy Franke's workshop.  The workshop was one of the most fulfilling, fun and educational workshops I have done.  Nancy was a hoot and a holler.  If you do not speak southern that means gregarious.  She is a pint sized ball of energy and I wanted to put her in my pocket and take her home.
The focus of the workshop was painting children.  Not portraits. She uses a limited palette of white (lukas) and a cool and warm of each of the primary colors. I thought it would be harder for me to trim down my palette but I really liked it. She emphasized finding direction in your composition, the s shape in most human forms, getting the children's proportions right, not over working brushwork, high key color palette and the importance of edges.  Lots more.  I have one more  painting that I will post tomorrow and will try to think of other thoughts.  I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to take from Nancy and to get to know some other artists at the workshop.  It was a great time!
This study was painted on an 11 x 14" linen panel.sold

Nancy's first demo piece.  Odd how much the picture I brought to paint looked similar to Nancy's .  This is one of Nancy's grand daughters.

13 comments:

  1. Oh Carol, I knew that you would love, love, love, Nancy! I would take workshops again and again from her. In fact, I plan to take another workshop with her next year. She is indeed a dynamo! You painting is fabulous! Great movement going on with this one! :) Yay!

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  2. So glad you loved Nancy and I think I feel the same way about tucking her in my pocket and taking her home. I love when I hear her in my head! Nancy is one of the best teachers and I just love everything she paints. I can see the influence she has had on your work already and adore the painting you did! I love big strong brushwork and dynamic compositions and this one is amazing! Yay for you! Hope we get to be in a Nancy workshop together next time!

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  3. Carol, these are such sweet paintings. They have a nostalgic quality to them. And Thanks for the feedback on your workshop. It sounds like you had a wonderful time.

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  4. I love both of these!! I am going to have to check out her workshops!
    Beautiful work Carol, as always!!

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  5. Love your loose brushstrokes and the energy from the little girl. Your palette is nice, too ..... perfect for painting a child. Nancy sounds wonderful and I have admired her work for a very long time. I hope to take one of her workshops one day. I'm looking forward to hearing more of your experience. :-)

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  6. I have always enjoyed your figure paintings, and I love how you share!!! Sounds like a fabulous workshop. Your little girls here just come alive under your brush!

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  7. Great post! And thank you for sharing. You do figures so well...the workshop sounds great.

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  8. Your experience sounds wonderful Carol, I love this little piece. Thanks for sharing your workshop experience!

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  9. carol...what a wonderful experience. This is a fab "study"...can't wait to hear more.

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  10. Je découvre avec émerveillement vos études... j'aime le mouvement dans chacun d'elles. je sens que vous vous faites plaisir que de participer à cet atelier.

    Gros bisous à vous.

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  11. These are great, Carol. I don't know Nancy Franks' work, but if you don't already, you should be giving workshops, too.

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  12. So are these your paintings Carol? or Nancy's? Either way, I love them and am reminded of the art in a wonderful children's book.

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  13. You are so right about her! I have taken from her twice and will do it again anytime I get the chance. She is that good and that fun too! Love your painting and can't wait to see more!

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