What a long hard year

 Not sure where to begin.  It was a terrible year for most everyone last year. I thought my life was over when everything shut down.

 I closed my art gallery and teaching studio when classes suddenly stopped.  I owed hundreds of dollars to students (and parents of students) who had reserved the next month of classes. So after the first month of using money from savings to try to stay open, I was already two months behind. 

It took over a thousand  dollars a month to stay open, that included rent, water, power, waste management, security service, internet, etc...  I did not get any government assistance, and my landlord (who had previously been the greatest landlord ever) did not work with me. Rent was due the first of May.  By the middle of April I knew I couldn't go farther in debt.  I had two weeks to move out.  

I had eight years of framing supplies and equipment, teaching supplies, and walls full of art work hanging throughout the gallery and the teaching studio. The paintings had to be boxed and wrapped for safe transport and storage.

 All the framing samples and Velcro strips had to come down in the framing show room.  That in itself was a nightmare. The miter saw and frame molding strips (8 to 10 feet long) were in the kitchen on the old wooden cabinets and shelves. The frame molding had to all be cut in half to make it manageable and then wrapped to move it and store it.  It was physically exhausting and emotionally devastating. 

My son helped me with the heavy equipment which was in the back workroom.  We put it in the garage at my house.  We put the large matting and framing table in my little studio at home as well as the paintings.  Eventually some of the paintings were hung in as many places as could be found all through my house.  (Some are still boxed and in storage in the back of the studio at home.)

  My house had always had art on the walls (not surprising), but now it was somewhat squeezed in. I thought I would not like it, but the most of the pieces my husband, Robert, and I chose were from places we had been or events we shared. It turned out to be a wonderful thing: memories and colorful art stacked on the walls all through the house.  He stops and looks at the paintings and says, "That looks really nice there." I smile big.

My studio at home has become a work space again as I have rearranged it several times to make room for my painting station and some work tables.  The framing table takes up a large amount of room, but it is nice to still be able to cut mats.  

My miter saw and under-pinner (for joining frames) are set up in the garage, so I can fill  frame orders when needed.  

I rented a small room in town for a few months to teach private lessons, and take in some framing orders.  That is how I paid back most of my students.  I still had to refund a few of them. 

I also rented a display space at a boutique (Unique Boutique in Okeechobee) for my mixed media pieces and knife paintings.  This is something I would have never considered before the pandemic, but with all the galleries closing everywhere I thought it might be a way to at least show some of my new fun pieces.  It is a nice shop: clean and inviting.  It has many different types of things to purchase.  There are a few artists, some handcrafted jewelry, some antiques, furniture, and some clothing.  It turns out people love my new pieces, and I love being a part of such a great group of people.

My home studio ended up having major work done to the exterior walls, windows and the whole door jam and door had to be replaced.  Much to my dismay, I had to move everything again and rearrange the studio once the repairs were done. It has turned out to be a better space, with room for 2 work tables and a little area for my easel. I have even done some private lessons and taken a few framing orders.

 The old building I was renting for so many years (Fawn's Studio and Gallery) was located on the left side of the building at 111 SE 2nd street, Okeechobee.  Bridgette rented a smaller suite on the right side.  It was old and run down and not very beautiful, but great for art studios and creating beautiful messes!  Well, now it has been completely gutted and renovated!  It looks amazing. The landlord repaired the structural damage and then put in handicapped parking, a ramp to the back door, and made the restrooms handicap accessible too.  He had new kitchen cabinets, counters, and floors put in, and also had new carpet put down throughout both sides of the building.  He had all of the walls painted in an off white. It looks like one building now, instead of two suites.

Now the Okeechobee  Art Alliance has set up a gallery in my old teaching studio and a gift shop where my gallery was.  They have also set up a small teaching studio on the other side of the building (where Bridgette's back room was behind her art studio).  It is remarkable to say the least.

Here is the most amazing thing: I am currently teaching for the Art Alliance a couple of days a week!  And to top it off, they are also selling some of my work on a commission basis!  It is like everything was given back to me on a silver platter and I didn't have to pay for the renovations.  I have no monthly overhead either.  Talk about stress free! 

So here I am, enjoying working from home, and still finding great opportunities to get involved.  My life isn't over after all!  I thank the Good Lord every day!

Reality

So my gallery opened last November. November first. Fawn's Sudio we named it.  Wonderful, awesome, exciting, and surreal....

Three teaching tables, room for 12 students comfortably, and more if needed.  So cool to come to work and see my art on the walls in the showroom, even more cool was the fact that I had enough paintings to fill the walls!  Then to sell originals right off the wall!  Amazing.
It only lasted a little more than a month.

Then my appendix ruptured sometime in the middle of November.  That is when the pain started anyway. The surgery was in December just before Christmas.  My female organs absorbed the poisons, and for three weeks I walked around dying.  I was mis-diagnosed with a tumor on my ovary. 

So my dreams and hopes were shut down for a month.  Then I tried to get the gallery going again, so thankful to be alive. But my female organs were all sacrificed.  So everything changed.  Everything.
Got sick and couldn't cough without severe pain.  So I closed the gallery again.
Reopened again, and took a mat to lay down on during the day before classes started in the afternoons.  That helped.

Looking back it makes sense why I am 8 months into recovery, and still struggling.  

Abrupt and instant menopause is harder than the pain and scar tissue, which still hinders me.  Fatigue, frustration, and despair are all daily companions now.  

I still try to work all day (teaching art classes, doing framing, working on custom paintings, etc...) and then I come home to do laundry, cooking and cleaning and whatever else is expected of me.  

It just dawned on me: of course it will take longer to heal if I don't slow down!  Duh!  I can't get up at 5:30 in the morning to work on paintings, do a load of wash, and go to work all day and then come home to more chores, and expect to have the energy I used to.

Top it all off with a husband that wants to argue and fight about most things these days...  Honestly, no wonder my hormones are so out of whack!  Anyone, even someone with balanced hormones, would be up and down with someone constantly putting them down and calling them nuts......  He pushes me to my limits.  (Then he wonders why I am not the slightest bit interested in romance.  Duh again!) I don't think I am fully to blame here. He knows how to turn things around, or how to keep me up-tight.

So I am sleeping in until 6:30 am, and I am going to bed earlier, and I am not trying to get all the chores done!  And if he doesn't like it he can start pitching in.  Just saying....

We are starting to laugh about it now, thank goodness!  I thought we might have to go our separate ways if this kept up.  And even more remarkable: Robert is doing some grocery shopping to help me out, and cooking some meals too.   Love it when he puts steak on the grill for me!!!! 

Reality is tough, but I am still thankful to be here.

Happy New Year!

Was a tough year last year for most everyone. I was not exempt. I find myself excited about a new year; a fresh start. Like most people, I have been re-evaluating what goals and plans of action I will take for a better outcome.

I am actually slowing down, enjoying things more, and finding ways to make my life less stressful. In the process I am doing things smarter, and becoming more focused.

After more than 5 years, I am no longer with DailyPainters.com, which was a very hard thing to let go of. It was no longer a priority to create a new painting 3 or 4 times a week, and the quality of my work was beginning to suffer. I am moving more toward realism again, which takes too long to finish when adding the extra details.

I am excited, however, about my new gallery site:
http://fawn-mcneill.artistwebsites.com/
I can post as much or as little as I want, and it links to my prints and greeting cards, which makes everything easier for my clients.

I am teaching more classes too, and enjoying this time with my students. Currently I am offering after school classes, adult classes, and even some private lessons. So you can see why it is harder for me to work on my own paintings in my studio.

I pray all our endeavors are blessed from above, and we have a much better year this year!

Painting Violets, step by step

Prep:
Prime a small piece of hardboard, at least two coats then sand lightly with fine sandpaper. Or use a primed canvas and sand it lightly with fine sand paper to make it smooth. Take pictures at different angles of the flowers you want to paint.

The sun was coming through the window on these violets in my kitchen. It made vibrant colors and strong shadows, so I thought it would make a nice painting. I put the image on my computer, zoomed it in and cropped it to this format.

Draw some rough thumbnails on scrap paper to get compositon ideas. I placed the flowers a little off center for a stronger composition. The photos had the flowers too centered which makes the painting less interesting in most cases.


I am using acrylic paints.

(Click on the images to see a close up)



Step 1: Rough in basic shapes with a medium to large flat brush. Use water to make the paint thin and easy to apply.

Step 2: Decide on a background. The photo was pale orange and white and the leaves did not show up well, so I went with blue. I also strengthened some of the colors in the leaves.

Step 3: Make corrections. I changed one of the leaves in the background and put some base color on the violets. I used redviolet, purple and ultramarine blue with white to get varying shades of colors.

Step 4: Lay in thick paint. I used thick amounts of color, first in the back ground, then on the leaves.

Step 5: Add details. I start using a small brush when I add details, but I am still using thick paint.

My attention here is on the violets. I want them to stand out the most and be the focal point.

Hint: Take a break when you think you're done, look at some other things and come back with a fresh eye. Turn the painting upside down, or look at it in a mirror to see the overall color balance.

Almost finished, but I need to fix the leaves on the right and the one just below the bottom flower. I also want to finish up the flowers with more details. After the corrections are made, I use a very small brush to add a few extra details and sign my name.

I put important information on the back (copyright, full name, date, medium used, etc . . . ) and keep the front with a small signiture using a color that goes with the painting.

Here is the finished painting:

"Violets"

6 x 6 inches

Acrylic on hardboard

By Fawn McNeill Barr

Click here for more painting tips!  Happy painting!

Free painting lesson

"Out Fishing" Step 1




(click on images for larger view)

Step 2


















1. The first 2 steps are very fast and fun! They are laid in with thin paint. It is thick enough for good coverage, and worked one section at a time. Starting at the top, use lots of white, some ultramarine blue, and a touch of phthalocyanine blue. Add some water to make the paint workable. The top of the sky is darker. Leave the land unpainted for now. The water is the same as the sky, just less white.

2.Make your horizon line above or below half way for a stronger composition.Use dark blues, greens, reds,and/or purple instead of black, for the dark section. I used dioxizine purple and green deep permanent. then use some bright greens by adding cadmium yellow medium or a touch of orange. The trees are laid in with burnt umber and white with a touch of Orange. some ultramarine blue and white are added for grayish reflected light on the off side of the light source. Always choose one side or the other for a strong light source, as this will make your job easier!


Step 3. I went back and added clouds with thick paint. This is optional. I changed the bent palms reflection, and added clouds in the water. Some foliage is also added to the trees and reflections. Remember that water is like a mirror, it is not the same as shadows. everything in the water pulls straight down, shadows can lay to the side. I could have left the painting like this. Just touch up a few spots and call it done. I like the strong contrast here.





Step 4. I decided to push the land back into the distance, so I added highlights and lost some of the strong shadows, which I may put back in later. Everything gets highlights and thick paint. Again I work one section at a time to get that wet in wet look.












Once again I could be finished here, but I want to show you that you can keep it simple or add more to it. I really lay in the water thick: I love lots of brush strokes and movement.
The great blue heron is added after I sketch a few from reference pictures. These birds can appear a grayish blue, or brownish or even very white with gray markings. be sure to find something with the colors that go with your painting, and keep the light source coming from the correct side. it should be consistent on everything in your painting!



Step 5. I added some vines to the bent palm tree, and the foliage in front of the heron last. Don't forget to sign your name small and with a color that goes with your painting. You do not want to have it take away from the art work. Put all information that is important to you on the back! (Your full name, the date, the title, etc . . .)

Click here to see my daily paintings for a better photo.

PS: I use Liquitex professional paints, they are thick, and they have strong colors and good coverage. You can use any brand that you like.

Remember you can move trees around, change colors or add more birds in your painting.
If you try one like this, I would love to see it! or if you have a question feel free to ask . . .

Happy Painting!