Fall In The Mountains

I have been in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina since early September.  Some of my painting buddies were with me earlier last month.

 We took a short trip up the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Here we are a 7,000 feet.

The weather was beautiful and so was the view!

We visited several waterfalls and had a delicious picnic.

The trees had just a touch of color, at the time.

We made some new artist friends, who had this pear tree outside their studio.  Thank you for your hospitality Joe and Mari.

We visited the apple orchard and bought fresh cider.  I'm going back for those apple fritters!

Nothing beats the fresh fruits and vegetables, right out of the fields!

Denette made a new friend in Hendersonville.  We also had a fabulous lunch and shopping trip!!

We didn't have time to paint, but took photos everywhere.  Maybe you will recognize some of the paintings I will be posting in the future.

One day we drove around looking for interesting barns for future artworks.

There are so many beautiful scenes in our country.  We loved the farmlands as much as the mountains.

The perfect finish to our day, a glass of wine and good music, overlooking trees and a creek.

Thanks for viewing my blog today.

Carol Schiff
www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Octopus Painting, Daily Painting, Small Oil Painting, Coral Reef Series, 9x12x.75" Oil Seascape

Yes, another coral reef series painting.  This series may be complete....at least for the time being.

I didn't actually see an octopus on my trip to the coral reef, but I know they were there!

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I DID see this fellow in an aquarium!  He is truely an amazing creature!

I am in the Blue Ridge Mountains now, enjoying the colorful trees, beautiful weather and fall atmosphere.  As much as I love Florida, I do miss fall and spring and try to be in the mountains during those seasons.

Is it just me, or has this year flown bye, even faster than last year.

I will soon be off to another workship with my favorite instructor and painter, Elio Camacho.  It will be an intense 4 days, but I always come home highly motivated and excited to get back to the easel.  Check him out at www.ColorRelations.com.

detail of Elio's work

 Above a detail of one of his 30x40" 2 hour demos!

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 Cheers!

Carol

www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Coral Reef Painting, Tropical Painting, Daily Painting, 24x30x1.5" Textured Oil Painting

This is another in my coral reef series....the largest so far.  It is highly textured, not with medium, but with paint.

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I sometimes paint over a failed painting, such as in this case.  Conventional wisdom will advise you to sand down your canvas and start over.  I prefer to let the texture of the failed painting show through.  Sometimes, I also allow pieces of the original art to show.

I orginally had an abstract piece on this canvas, but although I liked some parts of the abstact, I  was not happy with the whole piece.  The canvas set in my studio for several years before I attempted to reuse it.  This technique may not be for everyone, but I am the texture queen, so, it appeals to me.

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Thanks for viewing my art today.

Carol Schiff

www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

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.

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!

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

Small Seascape with Sunrise Painting, Textured Palette Knife Art, 6x8" Oil Seascape

Today I am posting one of my favorite subjects, the beach!

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In my opinion, one of the best reasons to live in Florida, is to be able to grab a cup of coffee, and head for the beach to see the sunrise.

The beach is usually empty....maybe I will see a lone fisherman.  For the most part, only the birds are there to keep you company.  It is so serene and calming.  The perfect way to start your day.  I cannot think of a better way to spend an early morning hour.

I hope you have a wonderful day today!

Carol Schiff
www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Small Seascape | Daily Painting | Small Oil Painting | Anatomy of a Wave by Carol Schiff | 6x8" Oil Original

This small seascape is a study of a cresting wave. Ask any surfer, it's all about the waves.  Waves appear to be all the same, but they are all unique.  I am finding that out, more and more as I paint one of my loves ......seascapes.

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detail

detail

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Hope you enjoyed this little trip to the beach.

www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Sunset and Sea Painting, Small Seascape, Daily Painting, Small Oil Painting, "Sun Falls to the Sea" 11x14x1.5" Oil Painitng

What could be more beautiful than a sunset, except maybe a sunset over the sea.

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 I knew right away I was going to have to paint this one.

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 I used both a brush and a palette knife on this one.....had to get a little texture in there.

I feel like I want a Margarita every time I look at this one....right away I am on island time.

Hope you find a way to relax a little today, too.  Thanks for stopping by today.

www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com