What to do... what to do...

Well... things have certainly changed in the last month... I am very blessed to be home and healthy with my family.  Being somewhat of an introvert, I find I am kind of used to spending time on my own, working on projects.  I do miss work, teaching the kids and getting out of the studio was a nice change of pace.  Hopefully we can all get back to our own 'normal' soon!

My attempt at creating a night time painting, with lights

I have been doing lots of cleaning, baking, homework nagging and a few paintings.  I have also been trying to improve on my 'weak' areas of painting - and it seems like there are several!  In doing so I have been sketching more and watching some instructional videos.  There are many great artists putting out instructional / on-line videos.  Streamline Art Videos have been my favourite so far.  Every day, they show a free 45 min to 1.5 hour portion of an instructors video.  If you like what you see you can buy and download an on-line full length version.  I had purchased Brian Blood, Shelby Keefe and Mike Hernandez in the past few years.  Today I downloaded Christine Lashley, to help me learn how to do night lighting effects.  Very informative! Although it may seem pricey - considering the cost of getting to a workshop is several times more expensive - I feel it is worth it.  I can pause and play it SEVERAL times, which I have done with all of them.  James Gurney is another favourite, he has tons of free stuff on his YouTube channel, including lots of outdoor - plein aire painting tips.  Happy painting and stay safe!

DIY Easel up cycling

This was a table top easel I got years ago fairly cheaply.  It has been  gathering dust for some time now since I graduated to the big girl stand up easel.  I had a brainstorm to take off the easel portion and find my lightest camera tripod, to adapt them into a nice light weight plein air easel set up.

I purchased a guerrilla universal tripod plate ($24.) from my local art store.  I had tried  to cheap out and find the hardware in the nuts and bolts section of the hardware store but was told they didn't have anything like what I was after.  However, I was given a big piece of FREE plywood from Ron at the hardware store since I only needed a small piece. I bought a  camera tripod attachment plate at the camera store ($16.)  I attached the plywood to the easel, which I had removed from the base.  Then on went the plate and now I can quickly attach it to my camera tripod. 

Because the easel had adjustable support arms when it was on the table top  easel, I left them on and they are perfect with two baby bungees to make the whole setup more stable in terms of blowing around.

This is what the tripod and easel look like and really is light weight compared to my guerrilla box, should I want to do hikes into the hills this summer.

in progress painting, the top arm can slide down snugly to hold it in place