Don't forget to message me your draft of a staement or bio if you signed up for next weekend's workshop.

A new project for us! Brainstormed by the community. Do you have a half done painting you've lost steam on, or are stuck with in some way? Wonderful!! We will trade paintings and complete each other's work. Providing challenges, new perspectives and solutions... and who knows what else we will learn!? I have marked the calendar to have this project commence Nov. 13th (You will provide your photo and reference if applicable by this date). We will each print up another painter's work and complete it on top of the printout. I'm thinking we could seal the paper with clear gesso, or put it in a plastic sheet protector, or affix it to a panel and seal it... I'm sure you have ideas too. The project will culminate Dec.13th in a live zoom where we examine all of our efforts in completing our peers' works. Does this timeframe sound good to you all? How to participate: 1. Find a half finished painting you are stuck on or which you've lost steam on. 2. Take a good quality photo of this painting and crop it so we only see the painting. 3. Add that photo (and reference material if applicable) in the comments here. 4. I will assign paintings to you on Nov. 13th. (I'm thinking Secret Santa style) 5. Attend the live zoom Dec. 13th with your completed trade. 6. Thanks Robyn for sparking this fun idea! This is one of many paintings I lost steam on.

Let's try this again. My thought is that we can have a challenge inspired by the Critique Club meeting each month. What I'm left with after today's meeting is a curiosity to hear more about Stephanie's dark, back, Fire Woods and the experience of making that pastel painting of them! The Challenge should you choose to accept: Post a painting to the community feed that was a profound experience to create and tell us the story.

Here are a couple drawings and subsequent painted responses. I am curious about a few things: 1. I love the directness of the drawings. There is a raw purity that gets lost when they are complicated by color and more detail. So can I pare paintings down to hold these qualities, or is it enough to allow the drawings to just be drawings? (side note, I don't usually thumbnail or sketch out anything before I paint - I was surprised by the drawings showing up as they did, and wanted to take them further - which I did in a mess of other drawings before going to the paint). 2. The doe painting seems closest to the drawings' qualities. I could probably simplify her even more, and yet I appreciate the distribution of marks across the whole surface - she has a sure-ity about her that I quite like. Perhaps this is something that requires another iteration. 3. The fawn painting might be over worked and too saccharine, but there's a certain magic she holds. I do want to try another version in a darker palette still, just to see if I can't make it a bit more foreboding. But also, after painting and drawing so many studies where fawn spots turn to moths, that idea now feels boring. The awe is gone. So another thing for me to think about is how to preserve that feeling of awe while working out the idea. 4. the first drawing on the crumpled paper is so intriguing - I am tempted to get out my oil paints and see what replicating/responding to this (including the page wrinkling and shadows) in oil might look like.

My calendar and I had another misunderstanding! I thought the local workshop I had booked a long time ago was Sunday, then realized it was Saturday—and double-booked myself. I’d even declined Sunday plans with my husband! In the scramble, I forgot to let you know I’d be watching our recording and not joining. Felicia’s three-day workshop in March sounds magical, like the fall one which delighted my soul and boosted my skills! but with Superfair the following weekend, I’m pausing a beat before committing. A small victory in my “calendar troubles recovery program.” 😂 I know the spots will fill fast so I won’t delay the decision for long. Sharing an 8 × 10 oil study for a larger painting, painted in one hour Saturday. I focused on one figure and practiced leaving the flaws alone. Calendar mishaps, overcommitting, overworking… I’m committed working on all three! Love you guys and this safe place to share my weaknesses—and hopefully a few strengths, too. ❤️