Hidden Corridor - Demo

Hidden Corridor, 7 x 10 workshop demo, L. Daniel © 2012

My workshop on St. Simons Island was called "Garden Vignettes En Plein Air", and it involved painting in various private gardens around the island. A garden is such a personal space and it's always a pleasure to be invited "in". This is the demo I did on the first day. One of my participants and fabulous painter, Claudia Hammer, took the following pictures that show my process. Thank you Claudia!

I began by blocking in my composition using a mix of French Ultramarine and Burnt Sienna.

Once my composition was established, I focused on all the darkest darks in the upright planes (everything vertical: bushes, trees, pottery, etc). Since there is no sky in this piece, the ground plane had the lightest lights which I saved until last (the actual ground, the tops of the hedges, everything parallel to the sky). 

The day began with an overcast sky, but the sun popped out just in time. It lit everything up and cast some great shadows through the garden that I was able to include in the painting. (I love it when that happens!)

After all the areas were massed in I painted back into them, breaking them up with subtle value and temperature shifts. At the very end I added the highest highlights. Btw - the marks below the painting are just little side demos that happened while I was painting and explaining my process. :)

Hidden Corridor, the final demo piece, 7 x 10, L. Daniel 

Stable View

Stable View, 12 x 9, oil on panel, L. Daniel © 2012

Available at the Anderson Gallery

On the North end of St. Simons Island, this tucked away stable is surrounded by lots of shade, draping spanish moss and lots of great barn ambiance. I spent a delightful morning here, painting and taking in all the sounds and activities of another world. 


To see all pieces in my current show, please visit my website. 

Cottage Light

Cottage Light, 9x12, L. Daniel © 2012, SOLD

This little cottage is one of several that remain from an early 1800's cotton plantation on St. Simons Island. When I arrived to paint at day's end, there was just a sliver of light on the cabin's end wall, leaving everything else dimly lit. It was a magical moment that I just happened to get in on. This painting was included in my show at the Anderson Gallery, where it sold before the opening reception! I was very pleased.  :) 


All paintings in the Anderson Gallery show can be viewed on my website.

Evening Pause and snapshots from the island

Evening Pause, 36 x 18, oil on canvas, L. Daniel © 2012

Available at the Anderson Gallery

This is another piece from my show that opened Friday night at the Anderson Fine Art Gallery in St. Simons Island, Georgia. It was a great party and a wonderful time with family and friends - both old and new! My heartfelt thanks go out to all of you who came! Thank you. For those of you on the opposite coast and sprinkled in between, please visit my website to see the complete body of work that is on display. 


And now I am enjoying a quiet Monday morning after several weeks of whirlwind activity! It is much needed rest if I do say so myself. :) Here is a glimpse...

Unloading paintings for the show after the long drive from Texas to Georgia... My husband is a packing genius, an "engineer of spaces" we like to say. There were also golf clubs, suitcases, and beach accoutrement squeezed in here (and we could still see through the back window! Amazing.)

A delicious week of painting with buddies from hither and yon...

Kelley, Mary, Kathy, Me, Carol

My fabulous workshop students and me... Here we are at the end of a long day of plein air painting and a mad dash to escape the rain! They are a great group of artists and we all had a blast! Thanks, guys!  

Mary Anderson and me... just before the opening reception

for my show at the Anderson Gallery on Friday night.

Thank you, Mary!

Glistening Sky

Glistening Sky, 40 x 30, Oil on canvas, L. Daniel © 2012

Billowy clouds, marsh reflections, and changing tides are all common sights in the Georgia low country... and they are anything BUT ordinary. The colors and shapes are infinitely compelling to me. This piece is in my upcoming show which opens at the Anderson Gallery on Friday night. If you are in town, please come by!!

Gardens by the Sea

Anderson Fine Art Gallery

3309 Frederica Road

St. Simons Island, GA

Reception Friday, May 18, 6-8 pm

Please visit my website to see the entire body of work that will be on display!

Dune Grass Beach - enlarged

Dune Grass Beach, 24 x 30, oil on canvas, L. Daniel © 2012

SOLD

This larger piece was inspired by a plein air study I did on Jekyll Island on the Georgia coast last year. The idea came full circle when this larger painting came back with me to the Golden Isles to be in my spring show that opens this weekend. The tall grasses bending in the sea breeze get me every time... and the clouds, of course.

Please check out my website for new work in my spring show at the Anderson Gallery in GA... opening this weekend: May 18, 6-8pm, 3309 Frederica Road, St. Simons Island, GA

Window Box

Window Box, 18 x 18, oil on canvas, L. Daniel © 2012 - SOLD

Have I mentioned that I love flowers? Yes, I do... on the ground, in a bucket or out of a box... and this box was dripping with them. 

Please check out my website for new work in my spring show at the Anderson Gallery in GA... opening this weekend: May 18, 6-8pm, 3309 Frederica Road, St. Simons Island, GA

Gladiolas on the Corner

Gladiolas on the Corner, 18 x 18, L. Daniel © 2012

SOLD

These fresh cut flowers for sale on the corner totally caught my eye. They made such a huge statement with their color and size and quantity, I couldn't drive by without stopping.  

Please check out my website for new work in my spring show at the Anderson Gallery in GA... opening this weekend: May 18, 6-8pm, 3309 Frederica Road, St. Simons Island, GA

Fruits of the Garden & Upcoming Exhibit!

Fruits of the Garden, 12 x 12 each, 12 x 36 overall, 

oil on canvas, L. Daniel © 2012 - SOLD

This week is a big one for me. I will be teaching a 3-day plein air workshop and then having an art show opening. Both take place in St. Simons Island, GA where I have been for a couple of weeks already, plein air painting (posts to come soon) and visiting with friends and family. Always a great time...

If you live anywhere nearby, please stop by the artist reception this coming Friday night. I would love to see you! Here is the info: 

"Gardens By The Sea"

Paintings by Laurel Daniel

Anderson Fine Art Gallery

3309 Frederica Road

St. Simons Island, GA

Opening reception Friday, May 18, 2012, 6-8 pm

Two Donations - great deal - important cause!

Dune Grass Study, 9 x 12, oil on panel, L. Daniel © 2012, SOLD

Summer Rains, 9 x 12, oil on panel, L. Daniel © 2012, SOLD

These two paintings are available in an on-line auction set up to raise money for Bev Boren, a painter friend of mine who is facing some serious health issues without insurance. Funds raised will go toward her surgery and treatment expenses. Please visit the auction site and place a bid. I will ship the painting to the winning bidder at the end of the auction (May 10). All proceeds go to Bev.

The bidding for these paintings starts at $200 (retail value $675).

Paintings are unframed, shipping is free. 

Details can be found at this FACEBOOK page: 

http://www.facebook.com/HeArtForBev

Click on "Photos", then click on "Auction Items Facebook"

Find picture and place your bid in the comment section.

THANK YOU FOR HELPING ME HELP BEV!