30 in 30 Painting Challenge, Day One

Taos Gorge Overlook, 6" x 8", Oil

30 in 30 Painting Challenge Begins Tomorrow!

In my post on January 14th,  I announced that I had accepted 

 Leslie Saeta's 30 in 30 Painting Challenge. 

TOMORROW IS DAY ONE! 

If you have been following my blog, you are aware that this comes on the heels of 

Mary Gilkerson's 5-Day Painting Challenge. 

In the 5-Day Challenge,  I decided to do five 5" x 7" pastels of my favorite scene 

in New Mexico, the Taos Gorge Overlook. 

I will be continuing with the same theme throughout the 30 in 30 Challenge 

but will be working in oils and slightly larger, 6" x 8". The challenge I am presenting myself is to work in a different color palette each day AND to limit each painting to ONE HOUR. 

Some will be strictly palette knife paintings, some with only brushes and some with a combination of the two. I will also be trying a variety of painting surfaces, linen, cotton, gessoed board, some will be bare, some toned and some will be previously textured. 

I am looking forward to the challenge of creating 30 different oil paintings and to what I will learn from this challenge.  At the end of the challenge, I will post a collage of all 30 paintings. 

You are more than welcome to post comments or simply follow along.

Wish me luck!

5-Day Painting Challenge Recap

Here are all five paintings done in Mary Gilkerson's 5-Day Painting Challenge. All participants had between 20-30 minutes to complete each painting. The suggested size was 5" x 7" or 6" x 8". I elected to do mine in a series of 5" x 7" pastels featuring one of my all-time favorite places on earth, the Taos Gorge Overlook.  Here are all five together. I'd love to hear if you have a favorite. Thanks again for coming along on this short but wonderful journey. 

5-Day Painting Challenge, Day Five

Well, this wraps up Mary Gilkerson's 5-Day Painting Challenge. It has been so much fun! Did you have a favorite? I'd love to hear from you!

Taos Gorge Overlook, 5"x 7", pastel

5-Day Painting Challenge, Day Four

Day Four of Mary Gilkerson's 5-Day Painting Challenge. Popping some color on this one!

Taos Gorge Overlook, 5"x 7", pastel

5-Day Painting Challenge, Day Three

Day Three of Mary Gilkerson's 5-Day Painting Challenge. So much fun!

Taos Gorge Overlook, 5"x 7", pastel

5-Day Painting Challenge, Day Two

Day Two of Mary Gilkerson's 5-Day Painting Challenge. I am continuing with my chosen theme.  This series is being done on Clairefontaine Pastelmat. 

Taos Gorge Overlook, 5" x 7", pastel

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5-Day Painting Challenge, Day One

Today is the first day of  Mary Gilkerson's 5-Day Painting Challenge.  I am warming up for Leslie Saeta's 30 in 30 Challenge. Actually, I had signed up for Mary's first and decided it would be an excellent thing to carry out further so, I signed up for both. This particular challenge is to paint a small painting, 5"x7" or 6"x 8" in 20 to 30 minutes. When the timer goes off so do your hands. I have chosen to work in a series from a scene that I absolutely love, the Taos Gorge Overlook. 

Taos Gorge Overlook, 5"x 7", pastel

Challenge Accepted!

The Challenge

I have decided to jump on the bandwagon and do Leslie Saeta's 30 in 30, which is her Thirty Paintings in Thirty Days Challenge. An ambitious undertaking, I know, but I am convinced it will reap great rewards. I am a big proponent of doing studies so this challenge will be right up my alley. Participants are asked to post their first painting on February 1, so I have a lot of decisions to make before then.  Among the things to consider are the medium, the theme/subject, color palette, tools, surface and lastly, how large to work. None of these need be written in stone but I feel being consistent for these 30 days will yield the best results.  Another consideration is whether to not to set a time limit per painting and, if so, how long? Twenty minutes, an hour, three hours? It will depend on the size of the painting. I'm leaning toward an hour at the most because it will be a tremendous help in my goal of distilling a subject to its essence and will hopefully, result in something strong and beautiful in its simplicity.  It's a little scary making this announcement but I'm doing it to keep myself accountable. I'm not expecting any masterpieces but I am expecting this to be a very valuable and rewarding endeavor. I have a feeling it will reveal things that are presently hidden, which is both exciting and motivating. I plan to keep a record throughout the process and will share a recap of the experience upon completion. Along with posting on Leslie's 30 in 30 blog, I will also be posting on mine, gayesekula.blogspot.com. I invite you to subscribe if you would like to be notified as posts are made. It is a separate subscription from my newsletter. You have my word that unless I do another 30 in 30, you will never receive this many blog posts in such a short amount of time ever again! If you don't want to see them come day after day, you will be able to view them all at the end of the challenge.  Now off figure out what to paint..... Gaye

Holiday Wishes from Our Home to Yours

Wishing You a Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous 2018!

Autumn's Deeper Meaning

Pecos, New Mexico

It is almost the middle of November, the weather is cooler now and autumn leaves are falling. I used to dread this time of year but now it is my favorite season of all. It is a time to slow down and reflect. It has been an amazing year... I don't know when a year flew by so quickly. So many wonderful things happened one after the other, almost too quickly to savor fully.  The time has come for reevaluation and the setting of new priorities. I have taught Beginning Oil Classes for well over a decade. In recent years my focus has shifted to portraits, which led to teaching Portrait/Figure Classes, as well as starting a monthly Portrait Group. It was no easy decision to make the announcement that I would no longer be teaching my Monday morning class.  I still have many irons in the fire and will be using this time to put things in order of importance. Social media is something that has needed to take a backseat for quite some time. I will continue sharing announcements for art organizations and checking in from time to time but social media has become a dark, black hole that saps my creativity more than feeds it. It is time for a change. There will be no waiting for New Year's Day to make a resolution...I am beginning today, right now at this very moment to slow down and be more mindful. I will be in my sacred space, my studio, more often now and more mindfully present. It is autumn in more than just the time of year, it is also the autumn of my life and the timing is perfect.  Wishing you all peace in your hearts and in your homes this holiday season.

"Sydnie" was Selected as a Jury Favorite!

"Sydnie", was selected as part of the FAV15% (jury's favorite 15% of the entries) in the August 2017 BoldBrush Painting competition by Fine Art Studio Online (FASO). Thank you, FASO!!!

Click here to read more about "Sydnie". 

Face-Off in Fredericksburg!

You are invited to the RS Hanna Gallery in Historic Fredericksburg, Texas!

Please join us as eight Texas Members of the Portrait Society of America 

                                         "Face-Off" in Fredericksburg, Texas. 

"Sydnie"

"Sydnie" 11"x 14", Pastel

Sydnie is the daughter of one of the members of our portrait group. This was her first time to sit and she did a marvelous job.

Simplicity is my manta, which a limited palette suits perfectly. 

I used Blue Earth's Portrait Sample pastels and found the only colors I missed were orange and blue. Upon reflection, I am so happy they weren't included or the feel would have been very different. 

I am very pleased with Sydnie... the model and the painting!

Taos Hollyhocks

"Taos Hollyhocks" 10"x 8", Pastel

You may have noticed that I have been doing a lot of florals recently. I love flowers...in the garden and in a vase on my table, but they have not been something I cared much to paint. My passion is painting people and New Mexican landscapes. 

One of the lecturers at the Art of the Portrait Conference emphasized the importance of painting things you don't necessarily like to paint in order to strengthen your skills. I'm glad I took his advice because this has been a lot of fun. 

Kachina Lodge

Kachina Lodge, 8"x 10", Pastel

Last October I had the wonderful experience of taking a week-long workshop with the one and only Albert Handell. The workshop was held in and around Taos, New Mexico, my spiritual home away from home. 

Albert suggested that we set up as close as we could to his easel and paint along with him. He expresses his thought process as he paints so, whether one paints along or just listens, there is so much to learn. 

The group stayed at the Kachina Lodge, which was the subject of one of our lessons late one afternoon. I set up as near Albert as I could and tried to follow along. My results were less than stellar but I learned a lot by watching, listening and taking copious notes and photos.

Last week I decided to revisit one of the studies I did in the workshop and try it again. I started a new one of the Kachina Lodge, using the original as a reference and applied the things I learned.  I am happy to say that this one is a great improvement over the initial one and it went a lot better, too. I may end up doing several with somewhat different color schemes. 

NOTE: Things you are told in a workshop often take a little while to gel so be sure you always take notes and pictures, if at all possible. I suggest transcribing your notes when you get home. Seeing the demos, hearing the lectures, taking notes and then transcribing them will go a long way in committing the entire experience to memory. 

There Are Always Flowers...

"There Are Always Flowers", 8"x 8", Pastel

There are always flowers for those who want to see them. - Henri Matisse

In honor of the eternal optimist who looks for the good in everything.

Studying Degas #2

"Studying Degas #2", 7"x 5", Pastel

Another study of one of Degas' ballerinas. There is so much left to learn from him. He was a master of saying "just enough".  His color choices were wonderful, his compositions were perfect, the application of his medium...everything. He was truly a master!

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Studying Degas #1

Studying Degas #1, 7"x 5", Pastel

Last fall my husband and I made a special trip to see the "Degas: A New Vision" exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. Click here to read more about that wonderful experience. The inspiration of that day has never left me and in recent months, I have decided to concentrate more on pastels. Who better to study than the master himself, Edgar Degas? 

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Artist Focus Article, Western Art Collector, August 2017

The August 2017 issue of Western Art Collector magazine is now on sale at newsstands near you! I am very honored to have an Artist Focus feature article on page 112. 

Thank you, Western Art Collector!

Western Art Collector!

We all get those emails...the ones that attempt to stroke our egos with misspelled words and incorrect syntax. This was not one of those. It stroked my ego all right but it was well written which made me wonder if this was the real deal. Well... a box of August issues of Western Art Collector arrived today complete with my feature on page 112! This has been an amazing year. If it is a dream, please don't wake me.

"Abigail" is on her way to Park City, Utah!

"Abigail" 7"x 5", Pastel I am so excited to announce that my painting "Abigail" has been accepted in the American Impressionist Society's 18th Annual National Juried Exhibition. Thank you, AIS and jurors for this honor! Montgomery-Lee Fine ArtPark City, Utah September 28th - October 29th, 2017 Opening reception Thursday, September 28th

"Little Muse"

"Little Muse", 12"x 9", Pastel

I have painted this in oil, acrylic and now pastels. I am very pleased with how it came out. 

June Newsletter

"The Team", was awarded the honor of Outstanding Acrylic in the April Bold Brush Competition. The judge for the April competition was Fongwei Liu. Click on his name to see his beautiful works. The Team

"Pensive" was juried into the Discovery 2017 Show at the Milan Gallery in Fort Worth, Texas. The show runs through July 9. If you are in the area, please come by!  Pensive

The past several months have been very busy and very exciting. Along with teaching and maintaining my own art studio, I have the great honor of serving as the Portrait Society of America's Texas Ambassador. We had a great turnout in Dallas where Texas members participated in a Face-Off. There three more planned for 2017, one is Houston, one in Alpine and one in Bastrop. I am currently working on a big event for Texas members, which will be announced in the next few months. If you would like more information about the Portrait Society of America, please contact me at sekulastudio@gmail.com. UPCOMING CLASSES: The next class sessions begin August 7, 2017. Beginner to Intermediate, Monday, 9:00am to Noon. Cost: A six-week class is $153, plus studio fee. Portrait and Figurative, Intermediate to Advanced, Monday, 1:00 pm to 4pm Cost: A six-week class is $153, plus model and studio fees. All classes are limited to 10 students For more information please send an email to sekulastudio@gmail.com

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The Post Exhibit Blues

"Alexandra on the Volga" After Fechin

I had heard about artists experiencing the post exhibit blues but, since I was aware of the possibility,  I was sure it wouldn't happen to me. Well, being aware wasn't of much help. The only comfort was in knowing it was common, I wasn't alone and that it would pass...if I kept working.

I spent almost a year working on 50 Cowboys~50 Paintings.  For more information about this project click here.  I was very focused and disciplined, finishing one portrait before moving to the next. They are all monochromatic, burnt sienna and white,  and while I was working on them, I didn't allow myself to paint anything else for fear of losing my focus.

A year of complete and total focus...and now what? Will I ever feel that passionate about a project again? If I spend too much time worrying about all of that I won't get much done. The advice from those who had previous experience was to get in the studio and do something....anything....just get back in the studio!

I was excited to work on color again and love painting portraits so I determined to paint a self-portrait every day, using acrylic and not allowing myself to be overly concerned with the outcome. Note: painting self-portraits when you're down in the dumps should be approached with caution.

Abandoning self-portraits, at least for now, I painted others in oil, acrylic, and pastel then switched it up and painted landscapes and florals.

It feels like I am getting my footing again...YAY...I think I will go back to studying my favorite old, and not so old, masters. The first of which I present to you today..."Alexandra on the Volga" by Nicolai Fechin. Mine is a pastel version of his oil.