Monday, December 26, 2016

Abstract Seascape Painting, 8x16" Palette Knife Painting, Daily Painting, Small Oil Painting

We are happy to be back in Florida, and I wanted to mark the occassion with a new abstract.

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I really enjoyed creating this art.  Sometimes it is nice to just get in the zone, no particular plan, and let the subconscious take over.

I love playing with paint and these represent some of my favorite colors.  I didn't plan to do a seascape, but it feels like one, especially of the tropical waters in the Caribbean Islands.

The last few months have been hectic for me.  This is just what I needed to calm me down.

Have a great day and thanks for reading my blog.




Carol Schiff
www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Sunday, December 25, 2016

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!




I hope you all enjoy your holidays and find peace and love in the upcoming year!  I want to thank all my online friends who visit this blog and follow my art.

Carol Schiff
www.CarolschiffStudio.blogspot.com

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Abstract Seascape, Abstract Sunset, Daily Painting, Small Oil Painting, 6x8"

I am always fascinated by sunsets, especiall sunsets over water.  This little study is my impressions of a sunset at Fernandina Beach harbor.

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Of course, it bares no comparison to the actual photo(or the actual event) I took, but it did provide me with several hours of fun in the studio.

Such a simple piece should not have turned into the project I experienced, but as often happens, it did.  I wanted just the right glow of colors.

It seems with me, a painting either falls off my brush or it is a major struggle.  The falling off my brush part does not happen nearly as often as the major struggle.  After 20+ years of painting, I imagined I would be further down the road.  As my kids like to say, "it is what it is".

I try to appease myself by thinking if it were easy, it would be boring.  Maybe so, but I could handle just a tad more boring,

Hope you have a great day.  Thanks for stopping by.


www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Sunday, December 11, 2016

Daily Painting, Small Oil Painting, Abstract Expressionism, "Southwest Sunset", 8x8x1.5" Oil

As you know, I like to dabble with abstract on occasion.  I seem to paint in spirts....all landscapes, or all flowers, or all seascapes, etc.  This is left over from the last time I had the itch to do an abstract.


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Try and try again, I could not accurately photograph the colors in this piece.  It is actually a tad brighter than depicted here.  Don't you hate when that happens?

Trying to show the sides of the canvas in this shot....not inspired, sorry!

Cheers!!
www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Friday, December 9, 2016

A Surprise from from the Holy Land

The internet is fantastic and has become a necessary part of our lives.  I sit here on my computer in Florida and magically my artwork is seen worldwide.   How lucky are we to have the fantastic ability in our lives.

A few days ago, I received some wonderful and unexpected news from Israel.  An Israeli fashion designer, Assaf Pelleg,  contacted me with an offer I cannot refuse.  He has chosen one of my paintings to be printed on fabric and featured in his Spring 2017 collection.  I cannot show you the painting he will be using (top secret!) but, I can show you a dress he did last year, using the same technique.


Isn't it wonderful?

The new dress will be ready in March and he will be sending me one of his samples.  I am so excited, I can hardly wait!

This has been a fabulous year for me, with new and unexpected art opportunities coming my way.  A DVD cover, a wine label,and other new venues for my work.....all because of the internet.  How blessed am I?

I cannot wait to show you the dress with my design as soon as it comes!




Carol Schiff

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Expressionist Sunset Painting, Daily Painting, Small Oil Painting, 9x12" Oil on Canvas Seascape

Well probably your 5 yr old kid could do this....right?  Maybe that is why I enjoy it so much.

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 I may be a slow learner, because it took me many years to get to this point.  Mama never said I was the sharpest knife in the drawer.




All kidding aside, I really love the freedom of this piece.  Instead of leaving the studio feeling like I have been fighting for hours, I felt very relaxed, happy and ready to sail through the day.  I think I need to do this more often!

Everyone must be in the home stretch of Christmas activities now, but for me, it's all about putting my feet up and enjoying a glass of wine.  We celebrated with our family last weekend.  When we have to do this, to get everyone together at the same time, we call it "Schiffmas".  With Grandkids in college it is getting harder and harder for us to have a family get together  with no "missing in action."  Jeff and I feel so blessed when we manage to do so.

Thanks for reading my blog today.


Carol Schiff
www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Thursday, December 1, 2016

A Painting Workshop with Elio Camacho

A few weeks ago, my friends Carmen and Donna and I drove to Fernandina Beach, FL to attend a 4 day workshop with Elio Camacho.   Elio is one of my favorite painters and my very favorite instructor and I have been lucky enough to attend with workshops twice a year for the past three years.



 I started each day with this beautiful sunrise over the ocean, while eating breakfast at the hotel.


 This is one of Elio's 36x48" demos that he paints in just three hours!




Here Elio met a challenge to paint without darks.  He often states a painting should bring it's own light.  I think this one meets that requirement


 Another of his larger than life paintings.


This was a 25 minute demo he did for us on foam core.  He pushed the color even more than usual and got wild and crazy.


His brushwork is very exciting...something I am hoping to bring to my work.


Elio spent a year painting blue studies, then moved on and studied yellows and reds.  He likes to set up still life, to challenge his students, all in a single color.  He believes red is the most difficult color to paint.  If you can do a red painting, you can really see color.  This is a 20 minute demo he did for us one day.


We hated to leave the workshop after 3.5 intense and fun days.  To console ourselves, we had a final lunch of fried shrimp at our favorite eatery.


A final photo of Carmen and Donna, de-stressing with  ice cream in front of Island Art Association.  We thank the members for hosting us once again.  Then we hop into our car for the drive home.



One last classic Elio demo that he painted in about 15 minutes, out of his head.  I almost cried when he scrapped it off the next morning.

Needless to say, we are excited to return for his next Florida workshop in the spring.  You can find his workshop schedule here.




Carol Schiff
www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Abstract Painting, Four Seasons Series - Winter, Small Abstract Oil Paintings, 4x12x.75" Oil on Canvas

This is the final installment of my Four Seasons Series, Winter.

With each painting, I tried to capture the feeling, of the season of the year, using only color.  It was a fun project to do.

Winter
 This is not a good picture of "Winter" The actual painting has much more color variation and saturation.  Try as I might, I could not get a better image.

Spring

Tried to capture that "spring" feeling of new grass, flowering trees etc.

Summer

Summer...hot and salty....time for the beach!

Autumn

Autumn, falling leaves against bright blue skies.
Thanks for viewing my art today!




Carol Schiff

Sunday, November 27, 2016

Abstract Mixed Media, 10x10 ,Poured Paint, "Shade of Blue"

I am continuing on my path of abstraction and mixed media.  The highlight of this piece, in my opinion, is the intense and gorgeous color.  I am just not sure that the images will portray the depth seen in the actual piece.

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 This consists of a 10x10 stretched canvas with a 6x8 panel attached.  The finish is a high gloss resin type .



Are you able to see the depth of the colors?


They appear very rich, as if glowing from within...........





Such fun to try creating outside your comfort zone.

Ciao!
www.CarolSchiffStudio.etsy.com
www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Friday, November 25, 2016

Abstract Landscape Painting | Contemporary Art | Palette Knife Painting | HUES by Carol Schiff | 18x36x1.5" Oil

I wanted to do an abstract landscape in a larger size than I have worked with in the past.  I remembered driving through the fields of Georgia just as the sun broke over the horizon one morning, and decided to paint based on that memory.


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I enjoyed the experience of painting on a larger scale and tried hard to keep the freshness of my smaller abstracts.

We used to say that photos never lie, but as you know, that is not true these days.  I just returned from a short trip to New York City with my daughter and grandson.  He had lots of fun taking photos that lie.  This is one of my favorites.....




We also walked by a sports show being filmed on TV.  That is my grandson in the background, making like the circus strong man.  Hope they didn't mind!







www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Abstract Landscape, Daily Painting, "Fire in the Sky" by Carol Schiff, 6x8" Oil

Whenever I feel the need to push my art, I turn to abstract.  This time,  I wanted some representation in the piece.
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 I started with an old reference photo and worked hard to bring movement and heat to the piece.


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I really enjoyed working on this piece...I hope you enjoy it too!
www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Thursday, November 17, 2016

Daily Painting, Abstract Landscape, "Lighting the Heavens" by Carol Schiff, 12x24x.75" Oil SOLD

In this painting, my goal was to capture that magic moment when the sun just peeks through the horizon and night turns to day.


SOLD
For me, that is the best moment.......knowing I have a brand new day to enjoy.

I did my favorite palette knife technique (which I have labeled color weaving) on this.  I find it gives me a great way to blend from one color to another.

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I hope your day is fabulous and if you have not seen a sunrise lately...set your alarm for tomorrow, grab a cup of coffee and enjoy the show!

www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Tuesday, November 15, 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

Sunday, November 13, 2016

Four Seasons Abstract Painting - Autumn, Daily Painting, Small Oil Painting, 4x12x.75" Oil

Today I am posting the 3rd of my abstract Four Seasons Series, Autumn.

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 My goal was to represent each season, in an abstract form, using only color.  With this piece, I was thinking of pumpkins, falling leaves and shockingly blue skies.


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Above is spring.

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And this is Summer.

I will be posting "Winter" soon.

I had fun with this series and hopefully, I "stretched" by abstract skills a little.





Thanks for reading my blog today.

Carol Schiff

Friday, November 11, 2016

Abstract Painting, Four Seasons Art, Summer Painting, Daily Painting Small Oil Painting, 4x12x.75" Oil



Last week, I posted my "Spring" painting in my new Four Seasons Series.  Today is my impression of summer.



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Are you old enough to remember the Four Seasons series, usually some type of wall decor, and almost always involving a tree in each of the seasons of the year?  My goal was to use only color to represent each season.

In this piece, I thought of bright blue skies, long hot summer days, turquoise seas, pink sunsets.  I created plenty of texture for added interest.

Two more seasons to do!!

Have a great day, in any season.




Carol Schiff
www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Apple on Tree Landscape, Small Oil Painting, Daily Painting, 9x12x.75" Oil Painting SOLD

During our stay in the mountains last month, we visited the apple orchard several times.  The apples are great, but the bakery is my favorite.......apple cider doughnuts, apple cake and apple fritters...YUM!

I like to think this apple ended up in one of my favorite goodies.








The weather is beautiful and we really appreciate the sunny, cool days.  Perfect fall weather.  We really appreciate it after spending a week in Florida with humid weather and a major hurricane.

Have a great day.

Carol  Schiff
www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com



Monday, November 7, 2016

Daily Painting, Seascape Painting, Ocean Painting, Beach Painting, "Celebrating Blue" 16x20x1.5" Oil

I wanted to do a seascape, or actually a beach painting, somewhere between an abstract and impressionism.  If this looks a little familiar, it is because I posted the study for this work a month or two ago.



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I wanted to record just my memories and impressions of trips to the beach.  I painted with a knife and tried to work quickly.

I tried not to think too much about the colors I was using or where I was putting them, but tried to keep it really instinctive.





I wanted plenty of texture in this piece.



It was a fun exercise, although I wish I had done a larger piece.  Maybe someday I will.

Thanks for viewing my blog today.

www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com