Painting Notes

I am excited to have been chosen to exhibit at the 28th annual Scottsdale Artist School "Best and Brightest" juried national fine art show and sale. The Scottsdale Artist School showcases the very best art created by its students in its annual Best and Brightest show from January 5 to March 25. This show features paintings, drawings, and sculpture from both professional and as-yet-undiscovered artists.

The show will start at the Scottsdale Artist School on January 5, and travel to the Scottsdale Celebration of Fine Art on January 14 thru March 25th as a special exhibit. Further information is located on my website under the "Events" section.

Happy New Year to all my clients and blog followers!

I recently returned from a workshop in Fredericksburg, Texas where I studied with award winning artist Nancy Bush. Nancy's painting style follow the Tonalist Movement which started in the late 1800's with the French Barbizon scool in France and the Hudson River Valley painters in America. During the workshop we studied painters such as George Inness, James Whistler, William Morris Hunt and Jean-Baptist-Camille Corot. Our week focused on learning the secrets of their techniques.

American tonalist painters tended to use a neutral palette of predominantly cool colors: green, blue, mauve, violet, and a delicate range of intervening grays, carefully modulated to produce a dominant tone.  Preferred subjects were scenes of dawn or dusk, rising mist and moonlight in which the enveloping atmosphere is evocative of poetic and meditative states.

My paintings have always had the color palette, mood and emotional quality of the tonalist painters which comes very natural to me.This workshop really helped me to refine and focus my techniques for my 2012 painting collection. Nancy's website can be viewed at www.nancybush.com.

If you're intersted in learning more about Tonalism, google "Tonalist Movement" or the artists mentioned above for additional information on this exciting era in art history.

After a wonderful show season-and some great painting trips to California and Oregon to gather reference images-I am now busy working in the studio till Spring. You can assume I'm a bit fair-weathered for outdoor painting. However, I may try to get out on a few mild days.

Not only have I been working in the studio, but on it as well. My husband and I spent the last week doing some repainting and rearranging for my winter hybernation. You can see my easel on the right and sitting area on the left. I have north facing windows for natural daylight with additional lighting above the easel. I thought it would be fun for everyone to get a glimpse of my studio space. If you're interested in viewing "what's on my easel" click on the link below the image. I currently have more than 20 paintings in progress.

I returned last week from my painting trip to the San Luis Obispo area. I had a great time painting, photographing and traveling around the area. There are many wonderful areas to paint in Morro Bay, Los Osos, Avila Beach, Pismo Beach, Cayucos, and the Paso Robles wine country. I especially loved the old California barns and farm areas around Los Osos. The barns set in the vast pink foothills are weathered and very fun to paint. I also enjoyed painting the tall eucalyptus trees-especially in the morning when the refreshing scent of them lingered in the country air.

The weather on the coast changes often. Even in the rain I ventured out to paint thinking it would change any minute-and it did. I drove to Pismo Beach in the pouring rain thinking I was a bit nuts. However, the weather changed as I approached the beach with the clouds moving along the coast so fast with traces of bright blue sky. I knew I couldn't get my easel out and set up fast enough to catch this wonderful changing scene, but I captured some amazing photos that will serve as reference images for my large oil paintings for 2012. A very rewarding trip!

My 2011 show season has come to an end. It has been a wonderful show season as I have made new friends and added many new clients to my collectors list. I have decided to drop some shows that I have done in the past for my 2012 season and focus only on the top fine art festivals in the West and Northwestern US. Shows will be posted in May 2012.

I am excited that with the show season over, I am able to travel and paint outside. I will be leaving for the Oregon coast this weekend. Painting sites will include Cannon Beach among other areas along the coast.

In October I will be painting in Morro Bay, California. I am excited to see this area as it is a favorite painting location with many artist friends.

And of course, I will be painting all around Idaho and the Boise Area!

I'm sorry to announce that I have to cancel the 2011 Art in the Pearl Arts Fair in Portland, Oregon held September 3-5 over Labor Day weekend 2011. My recent show in Bellevue was a near sell-out and I won't have enough work available to justify traveling to Portland, Oregon. However, I am still scheduled for Jackson Hole, Wyoming August 19, 20, 21 and Boise Art in the Park on September 9, 10, and 11.

I hope my local Portland clientelle will enjoy this year's Art in the Pearl Art Show. There are many gifted artist booths to visit, and I hope to be among them in 2012!

Hope everyone is enjoying the summer! I've been so busy preparing for my art show season, and haven't had a chance to post anything in a while. After returning from my recent workshop in California, I was all ready to get outside and commit to painting about 2 days a week in the field. Unfortunately the 90 + heat in Boise has kept me mostly in the studio.

I am excited that Boise Magazine chose to do a story on me and my paintings for the Summer 2011 issue. The 6 page article "Sherri Carter, A Work in Progress" was wonderfully written by Doug Copsey who interviewed me in my studio earlier this year. The issue features 5 images of my recent paintings. I will try to have a link to the article posted on my site soon. Thank you to everyone at Lake Fork Publishing!

I just returned from several weeks in California. First, I went to Sonoma and the Napa Valley region in Northern California. Although I had hoped to spend a lot of time plein-air painting, the weather didn't cooperate with several pretty wet and windy days. I did attend the Sonoma Plein Air event during the last week of May. I enjoyed meeting many of the artists and even purchased a couple of paintings. 

Next, I attended a plein-air painting workshop with Elizabeth (Libby) Tolley in Fallbrook, California. Fallbrook is located about 45 miles north of San Diego. Libby is the author of  "Oil Painters Solution Book-Landscapes" which is one of my favorite books on landscape painting.  I wanted to further refine my skills on painting with transparent glazes, so I registered for her workshop for some hands-on training. The workshop was fantastic and Libby's enthusiasm for painting en plein air was contagious. I'm so excited to get out of the studio and paint!

I just got back from a workshop in Scottsdale, Arizona. I spent a week at the Scottsdale Artist School where I took a class from renowned artist Marc Hanson. http://marchansonart.com. Marc's painting style is somewhat influenced from the Tonalist Movement which started in the late 1800's, yet still has some impressionistic qualities. This class focused on 2 days of plein-air painting with the rest of the week in the studio doing larger paintings from our field studies. Marc did several demonstrations for us and was very enthusiastic to answer any of our questions. The class spent Thrusday night at dinner and then attended the weekly Scottsdale Art Walk at the local galleries. I have taken several classes at the Scottsdale Artist Scool over the last few years and have enjoyed all of them. The instructors, course and hospitality at the school are wonderful. I'll be looking forward to another trip next year when the spring fever in Idaho sets in!

I am pleased to be invited to participate again this year for my 4th year at the "Valentine for Aids" benefit in Boise. I have donated a framed original painting this year for the silent auction. This piece "Country Road" was painted on location in the Teton Valley of Eastern Idaho this past August and is one of my favorite pieces.

There are many local artists that participate in this wonderful event, so come check out the show, have a cup of the best coffee in Boise, and support this great event!

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season, and I'm sure you are all back to your normal routines. 

Even though I took a couple of weeks off from painting in December, I have been generating quite a few new pieces for this year. Currently, I have 22 pieces in the works. As most of my clients know, I work in multiple layers so I need to have several pieces going at one time. "Cityscapes" will be a new theme this year along with "Seascapes" which depict people in my paintings. The figures are small in scale and provide a wonderful contrast to the vast landscapes which they are portrayed in.

I will also have a wide range of "Big Sky" landscape paintings which have some beautiful cloud formations. I'm having a blast painting these! Old Barns are also one of my favories and seem to be the number 1 item requested from clients so there are a few of these coming up. There are also a couple of fall and winter landscapes underway which has been quite challenging.

My workshop this year will take me to the Northern San Diego area in Southern California. I will be away for 3 weeks in June.

Thanks for visiting my site, and I wish everyone a wonderful 2011!

Hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful fall colors in the Northwest. Recently, I've been out painting painting along the Boise River, and in Sun Valley where the aspen trees were spectacular in their rich golden colors. Unfortunately, it seems as though rain is moving in for the next few days which will keep me working in the studio.  Then, on to Jackson Hole and the Teton Valley for a little painting. May be a bit late in the season for fall foliage, but willing to give it a shot and see what nature provides!

I am pleased to announce that I have selected the Mountain House Gallery in McCall, Idaho to exhibit my work.

I met owners Ken and Carrolyn Jacobsen when they approached me to display in their McCall gallery during the fall of 2008. They currently have several of my original paintings in the gallery which can be viewed at 402 South 3rd Street in McCall, Idaho. Gallery phone: 208-634-7710; email: MountainHouseInc@gmail.com.

Thanks to the patrons who supported all the artists at your local fine art festivals this year. We appreciate your loyalty and encouragement to continue to bring high quality fine art to your local venues.

I just returned a couple of days ago from my "10 day Intensive Painting Workshop" with Scott Christensen in Victor, Idaho. This was a wonderful workshop in a beautiful setting 20 miles from Jackson, Wyoming. I enjoyed painting with Scott and about 25 other students around Victor, Driggs and other areas of the Teton Valley. My favorite subject was the cottonwood trees along the streams and the striking cloud formations. One of our artists was chased by a Moose painting on the creek! A great experience, and I made some new friends with artists coming from all over the US and Canada.

After the 10 days ended, I was invited to extend my study and work at an advanced level for an extra 3 days with Scott and 2 other students. The extra time to study more closely with Scott was a very educational and and worthwile experience.