Getting material for next projects in Canada (Quebec City, Montreal, and Ottawa)

We spent a little over a week in September driving through parts of Canada to get ideas, photographic reference material, and a feel of the landscapes in our Northern neighbor.

We drove to these locations starting from Virginia. So, this was somewhat of a grueling experience, but still enjoyable.

Probably the best place she got materials were in Quebec. There is a significant amount of old-world charm dating from the 1600s. The structures are well preserved and the landscapes are stunning in many areas with Fall just turning leaves.

Loved Quebec City's Old Town. The people speak French primarily but are mostly English capable, as well. We found it more French-speaking in the modern Quebec City (probably as it is more residential than touristic).

Wherever we went, we made sure to enjoy the coffee, which is practically a side hobby.

Definitely took time to visit the local artisans and fine art museums. 

Jill created a great watercolor course on UDEMY.COM

Jill spent the last four months creating a class on the foundations of mastering watercolor. As her usual self, she spent an enormous amount of time on attention to detail to ensure the message was clearly understood through the use of videos, animation and demonstrations.

The intent of the instruction is on the aspects of watercolor painting that is not commonly taught. Such as an in-depth understanding of what watercolor is from the technical/scientific aspects of water, pigments and binders, but doing it in a clearly understandable way with animations and demonstrations she's made.
Take a look at the curriculum to see the varied topics that would help students and also active artists in better understanding the tools they are using.

It is quite amazing how polished this class is. For anyone interested in looking at it, there are a number of free (previews) videos in the curriculum to get a feel of the instruction.

Click click here for a 60% discount for the class if you decide to take or preview it.

Overnight Expedition through Lewes, Rehobeth, and Dewey Beaches

Taking an overnight opportunity of visiting the surrounding areas after Jill's jurying, we perused the areas of Lewes, Rehobeth, and Dewey beach.

Dewey Beach

South Dewey Beach was a great walk and unpopulated for a busy area.
We stopped in a British diner-like place for some really good British food.

Town of Lewes

And walking around the town of Lewes, enjoyed the architecture and scenery. Of course, Jill took some reference photos.


Go Brit Restaurant

Jill juried the Delaware Watercolor Society Exhibit this week

Jill juried the Delaware Watercolor Society exhibition at the Nassau Valley Vineyards and Winery    on July 1st. She enjoyed the opportunity and we, both, took the opportunity to check the area as it is a well-known beach retreat/vacation spot with Lewes, Rehobeth, and Dewey beaches nearby.

Minimalist Painting Series and Abstract defined

In shaking things up a bit, Jill ventured on a minimalist type of painting series to test the waters as there appears to be a decent interest in this type of painting style. As she is more of a realist painter, this afforded her a challenge to loosen the reigns and be a little more impressionistic and in some case more abstract ~ which I've been pushing her to do more of :-)

Here are two paintings she just added (forgive the blue tint) onto her UGallery site:

These are smaller paintings than usual, but I find there is more play and expression afforded to specific objects here. She has a total of ten completed right now and is just feeling out its marketability. I hope these paintings encourage her to venture more into impression and abstraction as it seems a natural progression.

As an editorial point here, ABSTRACT artists should be skilled realist artists first as they THEN abstract from realism to form an art piece that can be appreciated and meditated on for its opaque to sublime message.

Pollack, J. (1952). Convergence [Painting].  Retrieved from
http://www.jackson-pollock.org/convergence.jsp#prettyPhoto

Jackson Pollack is a great example where, at first, as an amateur art eye years ago, I could not comprehend his work, but after years of learning through Jill's work and love of art, I am better able to contemplate this style. I will do background research if I'm fully confused as in Pollack's case, and it does help.

Jill's Videos

I realize I have not written much about Jill's videos. This is a recent and great additon to her portfolio of work that I thought I'd inject this brief post. You can see the videos here.

Here recent videos include:

Watercolor As A Fine Art
Emotion in Art
Demystifying Art Styles
The Evolution of Watercolor- A Closer look
The Evolution of Watercolor (Short Version)

Time for a Survey?

Jill put out a short survey a short time ago. If anyone is interested in participating, the information would be greatly appreciated/helpful:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/9W3ZLV3

It is just to help her get an idea of how the market is these days.

Eight Months Later....

Time Flies. Almost 8 months since the last post.  It's been a busy time, as well with all the holidays.

As custom, we revisit the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC when we get a chance as we did last month. Always fun just to roam and see anything different. This time was the first I saw students doing a class.










Jill has been working on a number of pieces. Some from the Colorado trip, others more local. The mountain paintings are both in oil and the tree in watercolor.These paintings are in their final phases to completion.

Her time has been mixed between painting and creating videos. Would recommend taking a look at her YouTube station for her new stuff.

 As I get warmed back up to blogging, I'll add more content. Just wanted to do a quick update.