Palms on the Beach, painting by Everglades artist Jo-Ann Sanborn

Palms on the Beach, 2013, Jo-Ann Sanborn

acrylic on canvas, 16x12

 

 

Today's painting has a nice liveliness to it.  I've gone a step father than yesterday's small painting by paying more attention to the palm trunks.  It's a little larger, so easier to control the painting knife.  I've used a brush for the background, except for a bit on the wave, and like how the simple background doesn't compete with the color and texture of the palms.  

Light on Forms, and Orange Crush painting by Everglades Artist Jo-Ann Sanborn

Orange Crush, 2012, Jo-Ann Sanborn

acrylic on canvas, 16x12

I've started teaching again, which always keeps me on my toes.  I love to see what and how my students are working on, and get as much from the class as I hope they do. 

This series of classes is about light in the landscape.  We started by talking about how light moves around the most basic of forms, a cone, cylinder, a box and a circle.  Most forms in the landscape can be made with these simple shapes. 

I brought flashlights with both warm and cool bulbs, and a red and white ground, and the shapes.  I think the most surprising thing the students discovered was how much red light bounced from the ground and onto the form.  It was a good lesson in reflected light, and they'll be more ready to see it in the landscape when they go outside.

They did a great job of painting balls, getting lots of roundness using a warm and cool palette.  It was a nice start and they are terrific! We'll work on atmospheric progression next week.  

Orange Crush, today's painting was a lot of fun to do.  I love the sherbet colors.  Some of the oranges are a favorite right now, and exploring them in the landscape, for me, anyway, required some balance.  It all has to do with a commission I'm working on.  More on that later.   

Everyone needs a little Sunshine, 2012, Jo-Ann Sanborn

Acrylic on Canvas, 16"x12"

Every now and then I return to abstracting.  This painting came easily in the early morning hours as the sun rose, covering the start of a painting that was going nowhere. 

Sometimes, completely changing the focus of a canvas works to get the creative juices to flow.  The prior buildup of paint becomes the background for both inspiration and transformation. 

We've become so afraid of the sunshine that most of us are not getting the Vitamin D we need for good health. If you don't get out for a couple of hours a week without any sunscreen, check with your doctor to be sure you're not Vitamin D deficient. 

Everyone needs a little sunshine, whether you get it from a beach walk or a pill!