Saturday, May 23, 2015

Flower Painting | Floral Still Life | Small Oil Painting | Daily Painting | Geranium Joy by Carol Schiff 8x10" Oil

What could be cheerier on a dreary day that a bright red flower painting?  Geraniums are always a favorite in my home.  This one is painted on stretched canvas and looks fantastic in a bold black frame.

Purchase here
150 + shipping


This will brighten up even the darkest, most boring corner of your home.

detail
My Etsy store
Follow me on Facebook

Once again, my goal was to keep my colors clean and bright and my strokes simple and bold. I think I achieved my goals in this flower painting.  Thanks for viewing my daily painting today.



www.CarolSchiffStudio.etsy.com
www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Friday, May 22, 2015

Friends

I sometimes think back to when I was raising a family, working in an office everyday, just rushing from one project to the next, trying to get everything done that needed to be done.
.trying to fit everything into the day, but instead of doing everything that needed to be done, I am doing everything I WANT to get done.

A large part of my life today is about art, and a large part of my art is about my friends, "Pieces of Eight".  We are eight women of a certain age, who found each other through our art.  We paint together every week at Ralph's Art Supply.

Our group blog

We do exhibitions together, we travel together, we paint together, and we never fail to support each other in good times and bad.

After a few hours painting and catching up with each other's week, we have lunch together.



We put the names of all the local eatery's in a bag and each week we draw a name and that is where we have lunch.  Why?  Have you ever tried to get 8 women to agree on anything?  Trust me, everyone has an opinion!


This was our luncheon view yesterday.....just in case we forget why we live in Florida!

These women are definitely a blessing in my life, and I just wanted to share it with you today.

Thanks for reading my blog.

 PRINTS




www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Small Floral Still Life, "Cindy's Geranium's" 6x8" Oil Painting SOLD

The weather has been rather dark and gloomy lately, so today I am posting a bright and cheery painting.  I hope it brightens your day!

SOLD



I was able to enjoy these geraniums last summer while visiting my friend, Cindy, at her mountain retreat.  The scenery was stunning from her balcony and every morning the sun would strike these flowers and make them glow.  The perfect place to sit and have that morning coffee.


I almost always show my paintings in a simple black frame.  I think it really allows the colors to pop and doesn't distract from the painting.  Since I also tone my canvases in black, it adds another dimension to the painting too.  What type of frames to do use on your work?


Monday, May 18, 2015

Daily Painting, Small Oil Painting, Fiddle Head Painting, Botanical print, 11x14x1.5 Oil

This small oil painting came about because of a trip I took to North Carolina in the spring. I live in Florida, so we don't get a lot of spring flowers, and when I saw this bed of ferns coming to life, I had to paint them.

purchase here
189.95 + shipping
I was surprised how quickly they grew, with obvious growth from day to day.

I decided to use a dark background to really highlight the ferns and keep my palette restricted to greens, blues and purples. I have been pleased with the results of this painting, which is a departure from my usual style. Blues are very difficult to photograph accurately and although the background color appears to be a deep blue, the actual color is close to a black,

This piece is available  at the link above as an original, or here as a giclee'  canvas print in the size of your choice.

Thanks for viewing my blog today.  I hope you take time every day,  to smell the roses.


MY PRINTS



www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Saturday, May 16, 2015

Floral Still Life Series, #2, Daily Painting, 6x8"

I have been working on a series of small floral still life paintings in the past week or two.  The images are all from small floral arrangements that I cut from my garden and photographed over the five years.  I never painted them, but always kept the images in my files.

$96 + 6.50



It's odd how you ignore something, something you may see many, many times, and then one day you look at it and magic happens.

When I noticed one of these little pictures last week, it was like the first time I had seen it.  The strong shapes drew me in immediately.


Since then, I have been in a floral frenzy.....painting one after another.  The common factor, other than that they are all flowers, is that each image had back lighting, sometimes strong, sometimes not so much.



So here is #2 in the series.  I will be posting them all, but not in painting order and probably not every day.

This week I am doing several portrait commissions.  After a few weeks of struggling with those projects, I will be ready to return to these simple and refreshing daily florals.


Thursday, May 14, 2015

Painting on Sale, Daily Painting, Small Oil Painting, "African Violets", 6x8" Oil

African Violets get a bad rap!  They are the "old lady flower", your grandmother's flower.  Maybe so, but I love the way they bloom all year long and the gorgeous range of colors.  What is more adorable than a mini planted in a tea cup?

purchase here
95 minus 20 refund

Now for the deal of the day.....Purchase at the link above and you will be charged $94.95 and shipping. You must write ART SALE on the order to receive the discount.  As soon as I receive your payment, I will return a credit of $20.00 to your credit card or PayPal account.

This sale is only for readers of my blog, so if you don't write ART SALE on the order, I won't know you saw it here and you won't get a rebate.  This offer expires at 12:01 a.m., Friday May 15th.

Thank you for reading my blog today!





www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Flower Painting, A GLASS OF SUNSHINE by Carol Schiff, 8x6" Oil

Everybody needs a little sunshine in their life..............I hope this flower painting brings some to you.



90 + 6.50 in USA





It's hard not to smile when you see a bunch of sunflowers, either in the fields or sitting on  a table.


Blogger is misbehaving today and doesn't want me to post more than one image.  Hopefully the next post will be more complete.

Have a great weekend and thank you for viewing and commenting on my blog.  By the way...please pin this!





www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Spring in the Mountains

We have just returned home from a few weeks in the mountains of western North Carolina.  Earlier this year, we sold our second home there and replaced it with a condo in Waynesville.  We have been working hard, getting moved into the condo, painting every wall in sight and making it feel like home.

One afternoon I grabbed my camera and ran outside to capture the beautiful spring day and this is what I found.

I inherited a garden in front of our new home, and everything was coming alive at once...



Fiddleheads were popping up


Dogwood was blooming everywhere I looked in both pink.....



and white blossoms.  Tulips, lilac and azalea were everywhere and the dats were filled with the music of songbirds.


A drive to WaterRock Knob, off the Blue Ridge Parkway, showed less color at the higher elevation, but still beautiful to see.

For an Ohio girl, who has spent most of the last 50 years in Florida, it seemed all my memories of spring were spread out before my eyes.  Don't get me wrong, I truly love living in Florida, but when spring or fall calls, I head to the mountains.

Stay tuned, to see these images interpreted in oil.

Thanks for stopping by today.





www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Monday, May 11, 2015

Flower Painting | Floral Still Life | Small Oil Painting | Rhododendron by Carol Schiff 6x8 Oil

Still painting flowers!  Hope you have not tired of them yet.  I will try to break up the flower posts with other subject matter, just to keep you awake.

$95 + 6.50


This petite bouquet of rhododendron blossoms grew next to my house in the Blue Ridge Mountains.  I snipped a few and placed them in a jelly jar on my kitchen window sill.  I love the effect of the darkened flowers with the bright light flowing in behind them.



My goal with these little works is to keep strong basic shapes and let the viewer's eye fill in missing pieces.  As you can see from this photo, the paint is thick and the strokes are few.

Happy Morning to you!



www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Saturday, May 9, 2015

Passion Flower Painting, Small Oil Painting, Daily Painting, Kathy's Passion Flower, 6x8" Oil

Passion flower is such a unique plant...it almost looks alien!  This passion flower painting is  from my friend, Kathy's garden.

purchase here
100 + shipping
 With it's weird shapes this plant looks like it has to be man-made, or at least, from outerspace....but no.  Nature is indeed amazing!


It has all my favorite colors, from red violet, to blue to purple. I felt I had to try to paint it because that's MY passion!

Thanks for reading my blog today.  I hope you have some passion in your life today.



www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Thursday, May 7, 2015

Painting on sale, Floral still life, daily painting, small oil painting, "Spring Flowers" by Carol Schiff, 8x10 Oil

Today is sale day!  I hope you like this floral painting of spring flowers.  It has been a big seller as a print on wood panels, but , so far, the original is still looking for a home.

purchase here
150 minus $25 rebate

Now for the deal of the day( and the PERFECT Mother's Day Gift.)  Purchase at the link above and you will be charged $150 and shipping. You must write ART SALE on the order to receive the discount.  As soon as I receive your payment, I will return a credit of $25.00 to your credit card or PayPal account.

This sale is only for readers of my blog, so if you don't write ART SALE on the order, I won't know you saw it here and you won't get a rebate.

This offer expires Friday May 8 at 12:01 a.m.


Tip for artists:  Instead of purchasing art books, I purchase paintings from my favorite artists.  I find it much more helpful for me to study technique and brushwork from an actual example instead of a book.  I have the added benefit of owning original artwork which I enjoy daily in my home.


Have a great spring day and take time to smell the roses.




www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Flower Painting | Floral Still Life | Small Oil Painting | Daily Painting | Geranium Joy by Carol Schiff 8x10" Oil

What could be cheerier on a dreary day that a bright red flower painting?  Geraniums are always a favorite in my home.  This one is painted on stretched canvas and looks fantastic in a bold black frame.

Purchase here
150 + shipping


This will brighten up even the darkest, most boring corner of your home.

detail
My Etsy store
Follow me on Facebook

Once again, my goal was to keep my colors clean and bright and my strokes simple and bold. I think I achieved my goals in this flower painting.  Thanks for viewing my daily painting today.



www.CarolSchiffStudio.etsy.com
www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Sunday, May 3, 2015

Small Oil Painting, Daily Painting, Flower Painting, Floral Still Life "Hydrangea and Goldenrod" 8x6" SOLD

Another of my "chunky" floral still life.  The idea on these is to keep detail to a minimum with color, brushstrokes and shape catching you eye.

SOLD


I quickly sketched in very basic shapes, not being fussy but trying to capture enough of the flower shape to be recognizable.  I massed in dark under colors and then worked a little with local color.  Of course, I  pumped it up.




I worked with big strokes and lots of paint.

Thank you for viewing my art today.



www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com