Linda's Artstuff

Fourth Fridays at the Foundry

2010-03-20T13:29:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends,

Next Friday at the Foundry we're having a concert that I highly recommend. (See flyer below.)

With renewed enthusiasm and hard work from our new director, board, and the artists,

the Foundry Art Center is sponsoring the performance of Kim Massie. I saw her last year with

Jazz St. Louis and she was absolutely awesome!

This is the kick-off of our "Fourth Fridays at the Foundry" Concert Series.

Everyone wants somewhere to go on Friday night, so come enjoy some of the finer

things in life... fine art, fine wine and really fine music! Throw in some fine friends, too!

You can't beat it for the price.

Thanks,

Linda

Artists' Studios Open - 6:00 to 8:00 pm

Visit 23 artists in their studios, enjoy a special wine tasting by

Three Squirrels Winery on the bridge upstairs and

sample savory morsels before the concert!

Kim Massie serves up a platter of Jazz & Blues desserts with sweet sassy and

soulful sounds! She can Diva Dish it with “Better Than Love”, Delta Blues it in

“Come On Into My Kitchen”, take you to church with a “Closer Walk With Thee”

and rock you with Led Zepplin’s “Whole Lotta Love.” Kim is very well known in the

St. Louis Area. She is proud to have shared the stage with the St. Louis Blues

Greats of Oliver Sain, Johnny Johnson, Bennie Smith and Grammy Rock Star,

Cindy Lauper.

She is an exciting talent to launch the Fourth Fridays at the Foundry!

Fans love Kim; she makes them laugh, cry, reminisce and scream while she sings, hugs

and captures the rhythms of your heart!

Tickets may be purchased online at www.foundryartcentre.org.

Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students.

Foundry Art Centre

520 North Main Center

St. Charles, MO

636.255.0270

Figure, Oil Sketch

2010-02-14T19:31:00.000-08:00

This is a piece done recently, not framed yet. Beautiful model I just love to paint. She just makes it so easy, the work is a pleasure. Such fun! Looking forward to this weeks session, hope I can make it! I think we're supposed to have another great female model.

When doing these oil sketches, more than simply getting a likeness, I strive to create a good painting. Sometimes, in a group setting, sharing a model with other artists may mean that I don't have the exact view that I'd like to have. This means finding the best composition from the viewpoint I have for that session. But I don't necessarily have to paint the entire figure. I'm just looking for the best pattern of lights and darks, angles, etc. to lead the eye through the painting. Sometimes this is easier said than done but using a view finder (which is my favorite crutch) will certainly help.

Bag-o-Peppers, Do I really want to go there?

2010-02-06T20:24:00.000-08:00

I've been posting lately on Facebook so I thought I'd come back to my blog tonight.
Just a little study...don't care enough about it to redo larger. Sometimes a little bit is all you need to know you don't really want to go there.

A face takes me back.

2010-02-01T17:17:00.000-08:00

Doodling with paint on a 12 X 12 canvas brought out this face. Then I remembered, this is very similar to the first oil painting I ever did, way,way back in high school. Except that one was done, for some reason, all in reds. Then it was stolen. Maybe that was a good sign.

For Shoe Freaks, Old Shoes and New Shoes

2010-01-18T20:45:00.000-08:00

For the "Shoe Freaks" out there I just thought I'd post my 2 favorite shoe paintings. Jess's Shoes is a pastel, done last year, from my neices "collection" of shoes. The other painting, Pom-Pom shoes is a recent piece. I've been drawing a lot of shoes in my sketchbook and for some reason, I keep putting pom-poms on them. They just wanted to be painted.

Jess's Shoes • Pastel • 12 X 12

Pom-Pom Shoes • Oil • 8 X 8

Four Paintings, One Palette

2009-12-20T19:05:00.000-08:00

This was a busy week, with many distractions but I managed to paint right through all the visitors and conversations around me. Quite a feat! A few years ago I would never have thought I could do it. But being at the Foundry has taught me to breathe deep and persevere rather that pulling my hair out. These are small simple studies but they do seem to have a nice freshness about them. And I don't feel resentful as I do some weeks when I've wasted too much time.

Different Strokes Portrait

2009-12-03T20:00:00.000-08:00

This painting was done from a photograph provided on the blog "Different Strokes From Different Folks", where artists are encouraged to paint or draw their own interpretations. This month artists from all over did paintings of another randomly chosen artist. What fun! Check out the link by clicking on the post title above. It's interesting to see the interpretations. I'd love to do more.

Two Small Ones for the Week

2009-12-01T22:45:00.000-08:00

The plan was to do one hour paintings again this week, one as a warm to start each day and get me
in the zone to conquer larger pieces. Well, I just couldn't quit. So I spent 3 days on these two 8 X 8 paintings.

My daughter asked me for a Santa painting. So here it is Betsy.
Here's Santa • Oil • 8 X 8

This Thanksgiving once again I brought out and used my grandmother's china. It always brings back memories and makes me think of my loved ones who used these pieces. I love how the light hits and reflects and the way the shadowed curves accent the gold trim. It's part of the holidays.
Grandma's China • Oil • 8 X 8

Figure Painting

2009-11-12T20:26:00.000-08:00

Above are images of my last two weeks of figure painting. Just for a change, I've been doing them in oil at 12 X 12 inches.
What fun!

Different Strokes, Too Late!

2009-11-02T21:28:00.000-08:00

This is a small piece I did last week. It was done from a photograph provided on the blog Different Strokes From Different Folks, where artists are encouraged to paint or draw their own interpretations. Waited too long and missed the deadline but it's still a nice piece. I'll try to get the next one in in more timely fashion.

Chicago Street Scene

2009-10-23T21:27:00.000-07:00

Here's a piece done recently from a photo taken on our last trip to Chicago.
Every time I looked through my reference pics, remembering this little guy just got me.
Had to get it out. Titled it "Walk On By".

Wedding Pics at Linda's Art Studio

2009-10-20T19:24:00.000-07:00

Hi again,
Okay so the 1 hr daily paintings didn't last very long...I'll get back to doing them when my life slows down.
In the meantime...last week my freinds had a beautiful wedding in the Grand Hall of the Foundry Art Centre, where I also have my studio upstairs. They asked me months ago if they could take some photos in my studio the night of the wedding. I said "Sure", thinking that they were a little crazy. But the photographer came up and so did the wedding party and both families. The real pictures should be great. Here are a couple of shots I took through the window. Looks like it wasn't a crazy idea after all.

1 hr. Paintings

2009-09-20T20:40:00.000-07:00

Hi all,
This week I decided to start each day in my studio with a 1 hour still life exercise. I'm not going to commit to this forever and set myself up for failure. But for a while, we'll see how it goes. It really seems to get me going. Here are the first two.

Joyce Yarbrough, the Silhouette Lady

2009-08-21T18:11:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eIZCWnCzDU

My friend Joyce Yarbrough has a new video up on YouTube! She is quite accomplished and well known in her field. The work is simply wonderful. You have to see for yourself, but what I love about what she does is that it is classic. It is so graphic and simple that it has a modern feel. Yet it is also considered historical and traditional in style. She is a 21st Century Paper Cutter, the Silhouette Lady, an artistic treasure at the Foundry Art Centre.

New Still Life

2009-08-20T19:50:00.000-07:00

When I was in Augusta last April I walked through a wonderful antique shop. Everywhere I looked there was a still life all set up, waiting for me. I was rushed so just pulled out my trusty little camera, and shot away. These bottles were lined up on a window transom above a door.
Light Thru Glass and Time • Pastel • 24 X 12

Okay, So I Forgot!

2009-08-09T19:29:00.000-07:00

I've been pre-occupied with my new website...not to mention summer events and family stuff. So I forgot to post the other still lives. I was recently at a bridal shower for my beautiful niece. The shower theme was "The Perfect Pair". Everything there was Hot pink and Lime Green. We had "Peartinies" and there were pears all over the tables. So I pulled out my trusty camera as I had visions of pear paintings everywhere I looked. Here's the result. The frames are ordered and I'm anxious to see them up on my studio wall.
Pear Dancing • Pastel • 12 X 12 • $400

Pear Lineup • Pastel • 12 X 12 • $400

Yeah! I finally have a website going! Just click here!

2009-07-09T20:05:00.000-07:00

It's ArtbyLindaSmith.com. And it's been taking all my evenings for 2 weeks to figure it out and get things loaded. Did get a lot accomplished at my studio this week, finishing 4 paintings. But this one was a big surprise, even to me. I love it when playing in thick paint is totally productive! Tell me, what do you see in this painting? No one sees what I do.
Red Hot Flash Momma • Oil • 22 X 28

The others were 3 still lives, but I'll save them for next time.
See ya!

Good Week...a Figure, a Still Life and a Landscape!

2009-06-20T20:07:00.000-07:00

Well, this is a perfect example of the way I work. These pieces are from this week..
The figure sketch is from Tuesday figure group.

This still life is from a photo I took at an antique shop while in Augusta last April. I'm trying to loosen up the background.

This landscape was a Pastel Demonstration I did at the Foundry Luncheon on Thursday.

Thursday's Pastel Demo

As always they are all still works in progress. As I post I can see areas I want to fix in each piece. Busy, Busy! Taking the day off tomorrow for Father's Day, boating with our family. Hopefully I can get in some sketching on the river.
Thanks.

Working This Out!

2009-06-03T19:57:00.000-07:00

Still Evolving... I keep working while trying not to overwork, its a fine line. I'm not quite there yet. I think I'll title it "Cups of Time".

Jess's Shoes

2009-05-31T19:39:00.001-07:00

I loved doing this painting. My niece has more shoes than anyone I know. So of course, she was the one I went to for loaner shoes to paint.
Pastel 12 X 12

And here's one more
Oil 5 X 7

Artstuff from the last week or so

2009-05-19T20:57:00.000-07:00

This pastel sketch is from figure drawing tonight. You can see the clips on the sides of the board. We had a new model and really liked her.

This is from a photo I took in Apalachicola a few years ago.
Open Books • 12 X 16 • Oil

This painting was done from a photograph provided on the blog "Different Strokes From Different Folks", where artists are encouraged to paint or draw their own interpretations. It's a great idea. You can do it too. Click on the title of this entry above
to link to the site.

Patty and Larry Tebeau at Plein Air Auction in Augusta

2009-05-08T21:39:00.000-07:00

I always enjoy the Augusta Plein Air Event but this year was the best. Thanks to all the patrons, like Larry and Patty, who support us morally and otherwise, and to all the volunteers who fed us and made us feel so welcome. Augusta is a wonderful and beautiful community in so many ways. I was only able to get out there 4 days, hopefully next year I'll be able to do more.
Thanks again!

St. Charles Artwalk

2009-04-20T21:16:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!
This is a busy week. The St. Charles Artwalk is this coming weekend, Fri, Sat. & Sun..
Come down and have a great time roaming the cobblestones of Main St, St. Charles, sipping a glass of wine and
viewing great artwork...hope to see you there!
My painting "Picasso's On Main" was chosen as the Annual poster for the Artwalk. Limited edition prints may be purchased at Framations and George Denninger's Gallery.

Also the Augusta Plein Air Event Starts Wednesday, continuing for 10 days and we're expecting great weather.
I'll send out more information about Augusta next week. I can't wait!

Finally Finished "Seriously"

2009-04-07T21:33:00.000-07:00

Another of our favorite model, Becky
Seriously • Pastel • 12 X 24

Started these the other day
Ryan • 16 X 20 • Not framed yet

And another Abstract
Pinwheel • Pastel • 12 X 12

Some Small Pieces

2009-03-30T22:01:00.001-07:00

This past week there was a lot going on around me at home and at my studio. So rather not painting at all, I grabbed small pieces of time to do a couple of abstracts in pastel..
This one was taken from the most successful spot on an otherwise okay painting. I started with the basic movement of the composition and went from there to other color combos and textural expressions.

While watching TV last week, something with this "A" sort of design caught my eye. So I put it in my sketchbook. While at the Foundry over the weekend, in my studio, with a band blasting "Motown oldies" at an event below, I happily danced this design to paper with moody pastels.

This is a pretty little piece, done from a photo of the violets growing in my bathroom.

Now to frame them...ugggh!