I tried something a little different in yesterdays painting in regards to color harmony.  I've been studying other artists color choices and thought I'd try a very limited color range on this one.  I rather like the neutrals but I feel the red is a bit too similar throughout.  It has been a good study though.  The neutral tones appeal to me, I think I'll try this again with something other than the red.

Red Mums in a Green Vase   20x20

A similar color scheme as the painting I did last tuesday.  I lightened the overall values in the piece.  I used different kinds of flowers, but so many of the fall flowers are yellows and golds.  I had a few Zinnias left from the garden and they added some real vibrancy to the focal point.  The copper tea kettle was fun!

Zinnias and Marigolds           20x24  o/c

Apples and Yellow Mums       24x30  o/c

I really focused on this one!  It is the largest still life I have done in a very long time.  I wanted to paint these mums but a smaller format just didn't seem to be making the statement I wanted them to make.  It was very tiring...I wanted to bring it as close to completion as I could while the paint was still fresh and workable.  I may decide that it needs some more work once I've stepped back from it...but I feel very satisfied with what I accomplished in a days time.  

This painting was a bit more involved than the smaller studies I have been working on recently.  It is 18x24 and was worked on over the course of several days.  I framed it in a very nice looking "beaten black" w/gold accents.  I tried pushing the atmosphere and exaggerating the soft edges.

Autumn Joy Sedum              18x24  framed o/c

Roses revisited...sometimes I find that when I look back on a painting I realize it just doesn't come off as well as I thought it did!  I have to decide then whether it is worth the time invested to try to "fix" it, or if it is just one for the scrap bin.  I felt this painting had something worth saving although it required some really major changes.  I cropped it from a 16x20 down to an 11x17, isolated what I felt was the strength in the piece and then began the process of basically repainting the painting!  I'm glad I took the time to find the painting that I felt was hidden under all the elements that just didn't work.
Here is the revised version and I am much happier with it!

Roses in a Little Purple Vase          11x17  o/c

ArtPrize is on!  The big art event in Grand Rapids started this week.  I'm thrilled that I have sold 2 of the grouping "A Season in Flowers".  All pieces are framed individually and for sale, although they cannot be taken until after the ArtPrize event is over on October 7th.  Please, if you are down to ArtPrize stop by City Art Gallery and check it out.  It is a wonderful Gallery, kind of off the beaten path but worth the effort. There are 37 ArtPrize artists exhibiting there.
I was interviewed this week by West Michigan Woman Magazine.....
Check it out!!
West Michigan Woman

Art as a Constant Companion

Thursday, 20 September 2012 14:59

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The opening of ArtPrize may have been yesterday, but the season of creative expression started months ago for artist Barb Schilling. With a dozen blank canvases and paints of varying hues, Barb painted the progression of spring and summer as flowers opened their petals in her garden. Now, all who visit the City Art Gallery at 1168 Ionia can see what she sees in her yard everyday, and that is a beautiful thing.

Barb started dabbling in art early on in life, then had to put the hobby on the back burner to pay the bills. She didn't stray too far away though. By day, she works atFrames Unlimited in Grand Rapids doing art restoration. On the weekends, she gets lost in painting.

"It's almost like going into a meditative state. You really do get lost in your own little world when you're painting. A lot of times, I truly forget to eat I'm so focused on what I'm doing. I become unaware of everything else around me," Barb says.

Sometimes she goes for twelve hours without breaking the hypnosis. For someone who has a home and immense garden to maintain, not to mention a full time job, Barb says she'll use any spare time she has to dive into her world and create.

Barb uses the unique alla prima painting style in which she works layers of wet paint into each other to blend and form depth in her work. This is one of the reasons she works non-stop, so that she can complete her vision for the piece before the paint dries.

"You continually are painting while the paint is still fresh and wet. You can blend and wipe it out and keep continually pushing and pulling the paint because when it's wet, it's pliable," Barb says.

This is Barb's third year of participation as an artist in ArtPrize, an event that the Northeast side resident says gives artists the unique opportunity to share their work and their visions with a broader audience.

"There are so many people out there that you would never be able to connect with, that would never see your work otherwise," she says. ArtPrize "brings a huge amount of interest and revenue to the city, and it gets people who otherwise would never even think about it to connect with art. It gets them interested in it and talking about it."

Check out Barb’s ArtPrize entry at the City Art Gallery, or click here to add it to your online collection.

Written by: Erika Fifelski is West Michigan Woman magazine's editorial coordinator. She was born and raised in West Michigan, and after a brief stint on the sunrise side, she's home and loving it. Erika enjoys gardening, vacuuming, and discovering new ways to live sustainably and support local businesses. Photos provided by Barb Schilling

Grand Rapids, Michigan has become quite well known for their annual ArtPrize event.

Each year hundreds of artists from around the world participate for the 3 week long art event

in downtown GR.

This year I have worked throughout the growing season on studies of flowers

picked from my own gardens and set up in stilllife arrangements.  Paintings vary in size

from about 6x8 to 14x18 inches and span several months of flower growing in my 

gardens!

Each painting is framed separately and available for sale, but have been chosen to

compliment one another and work as a cohesive grouping.

The public is very welcome to join the event and downtown is busier than at

any other time, as people flock to see the special event.

YOU ARE INVITED!!!!

Last tuesday I went out with a group of very talented artist friends to paint plein air at the Merizon Studio and Farms.  It was a beautiful day and a fun time!  Here is one of the paintings that I did that day.....

Thistle Weed    11x14 o/cb

.....

Chantal Merizon-VanHeest, will be hosting a group show on September 15, 3 to 7pm,  for 20 artists that painted at a plein air event at the Farm in July.  The "Thistle Weed" painting will also be including in the paintings that will be for sale at that show.

Merizon Studio