Sunday, July 31, 2016

Healing Ceilings, a story of love by Carol Schiff

I recently came in contact with a wonderful woman in Raleigh, North Carolina.  Amy Jo was a fan of my facebook page and sent me a link to her wonderful page called Healing Ceilings.  Amy Jo's husband just came through his second brush with cancer.  She and her husband were spending lots of time in the Cancer Care Center of North Carolina, he, getting treatment and she, waiting and observing. Observing the same people day after day, as they came in for their chemo or radiation treatments.  She decided to do something to brighten their lives and encourage them in their fight.



BlueBird of Happiness by Kathy Garvey
Amy Jo believes in the healing power of art.  She decided to brighten the days of these patients by giving them something inspiring to look at while they receive their treatments.  Out came those old, white, boring ceiling tiles to be replaced with individual tiles turned into creative art.  How she did this, I do not know, but she has single handedly installed hundreds of tiles in cancer care centers in the Raleigh area.

Peaceful Beach by Denette Schweikert

She contacted artists through Facebook and asked them to donate their work on ceiling tiles that she somehow supplies.  Nothing stops her.  When I saw her posts and decided to donate, she arranged for me to go to my local Lowes (in Florida) where I picked up a box of the proper tiles at no cost to me.  Naturally, I involved my painting group, Pieces of 8 and gathered additional volunteers from them. One of the group, Cindy Michaud, who summers out of town, was following the journey on Facebook. Being a person who does not let grass grow under her feet, she contacted Amy Jo and so far, has painted 6 tiles for the project.

Road to Sunshine by Cindy Michaud (2 tiles)

Garden of Inspiration by Cindy Michaud (4 tiles)
Everyone wanted to do peaceful scenes filled with inspiration.

Sailing the Bay by Mary Warnick

Ocean Sunrise by Carmen Beecher

I decided to do 3 typical scenes of North Carolina:

Abstracted Sea by Carol Schiff


Carolina Marsh by Carol Schiff



Mountain Mist by Carol Schiff

Did I tell you each tile is 24x24"?

Now that the tiles are complete, Amy Jo has done a "shout out" on Facebook to bring them home to Raleigh.  In her words, "The Love Train is leaving the station".  She will find volunteers who will transfer the tiles from place to place until eventually, they will be delivered to her hands for installation.

A story of love and compassion and determination.  The next time you think "What difference can I make"?

Think of Amy Jo.

Friday, July 29, 2016

Small Abstract Painting, Daily Painting, Original Oil Abstract ,by Carol Schiff, 8x8x1.5"

It has been some time since I posted an abstract......this week I was in the mood to do some non-representative work.

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I enjoy abstract, at times, as it gives me the opportunity to concentrate on composition and color relationships.  No drawing distractions!

I started this piece by creating lots of texture on the canvas, followed by a coat of acrylic cad. red.  Then the fun began as I brought out my oils and just pushed paint around until I was happy with the results.  It was that same feeling I used to get when I would stomp around in rain puddles as a kid.

I know I will soon go back to representative work, but today, I am happy with this,

Thanks for reading my blog today.

www.CarolSchiffStudio.etsy.com

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Small Seascape Sunset Painting, Daily Painting, Small Oil Painting, 6x8" impasto painting

I don't know how you start your days, but, whenever possible, I love to grab my camera and a cup of coffee and head to the beach to watch the sun come up.  With a morning like that, it is impossible to have a bad day!

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 I like texture in my art and one of my favorite tricks, is to take a failed painting, leave the texture and use the panel again.  Sometimes it works, sometimes not.



Many artists use their canvases more than once, but convential  wisdom is you must sand it down.  I
sometimes do that too, but if I want to do a little expressionism, I say, why destroy all that lovely texture?

Thanks for reading my blog today.

www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Monday, July 25, 2016

Small Abstract Painting, Daily Painting, Original Oil Abstract ,by Carol Schiff, 8x8x1.5"

It has been some time since I posted an abstract......this week I was in the mood to do some non-representative work.

Purchase here
130 + shipping


I enjoy abstract, at times, as it gives me the opportunity to concentrate on composition and color relationships.  No drawing distractions!

I started this piece by creating lots of texture on the canvas, followed by a coat of acrylic cad. red.  Then the fun began as I brought out my oils and just pushed paint around until I was happy with the results.  It was that same feeling I used to get when I would stomp around in rain puddles as a kid.

I know I will soon go back to representative work, but today, I am happy with this,

Thanks for reading my blog today.

www.CarolSchiffStudio.etsy.com

Friday, July 22, 2016

Daily Painting Small Oil Painting, Abstract Triptych, 6x18" "Ode to Blue"

Every now and then, I just have to do an abstract.  Usually painting knives are involved.  This one is no exception.   I wanted to take a square composition and turn it into a rectangle. This us what I came up with.

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and here is the original square composition.  Which do you prefer?




SOLD 
I have been in North Carolina, in the mountains for the past few weeks.  We are enjoying our time here.

The other day we went to the park and had a picnic lunch, something we never do at home.  There were ducks and geese everywhere.



We had a relaxing and fun time and our sandwiches tasted twice as good as usual.  The crisp fall weather comes and goes.  It is so much fun to be in the mountains this time of the year and I cannot wait for the fall color.   I will share with you when it comes.

When I work on the computer,  I can see chipmonks running back and forth, across the patio.  They are so fast, it is hard to get a photo, but I did manage to catch one stuffing his cheeks with goodies.



Have a great fall day, wherever you are.

www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Abstract Daily Painting,SOLD, Seascape, "Green Wave" 6x8"


Although I have been painting for over 20 years, I find, most of the time, it is a struggle, a case of give and take.  Some days I am pleased with the end results, some days, not so much!



This little painting is one I like.  It seemed to fall off my brush with very few strokes.  It is a very simple scene, and not to everyone's taste, but it made me feel good.

Thank you for viewing my little daily paintings.

Purchase here
SOLD

Monday, July 18, 2016

Abstract Seascape | Daily Painting | "Tropical Blues" by Carol Schiff | 6x8" Oil SOLD

Living close to the sea, I find it turns up in my painting in both a representative and non-representative form.  I guess this little daily painting falls somewhere between the two.



SOLD




 I painted this with a palette knife.  I like texture and feel it adds additional interest to my art.  I was thinking about the beautiful greens and blues of the tropical waters off the coast of Florida.  Further south they turn the most amazing shades of azure, but that will be another painting.







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BUT A PRINT



I almost always show my paintings in black frames.  It would be hard to find an artwork that would not work well with black and it just makes the colors pop.

Start planning that tropical vacation today!

www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com


Don't forget to pin it on your vacation board.


Monday, July 11, 2016

Abstract Landscape, "Day is Done", 6x8" Oil Abstract SOLD

It is early evening in the Florida marsh and the sun is just about to disappear.

SOLD



I snapped my photo and high-tailed it out of there before the creepy crawlies came out.


I enjoy a lot of texture in my work and find that abstraction is the perfect media to portray it.

Do you find that your goals in art change as you continue on your artistic journey?