Recent Works of Art From Our Talented Artists
Please scroll down amd check out the most recent works of art from our talented artists. Please feel free to leave comments.
Featured Artist-CarolSchiffStudio
How long have I been an artist? About 20 years ago, I decided I wanted to work at home, in my own business, so I left my office management position, and started “Stitches Needlepoint Design” which was designing and hand painting needlepoint canvases and selling them wholesale to needlework shops across the country. Eventually I realized I needed some professional instruction to better my drawing skills. This led to watercolor classes and finally pastel and oil instruction. The ironic part of this, I no longer wanted to paint needlepoint, which is really just a pattern.
I have been on Etsy since January, 2009. I already had an art blog called “Carol Schiff Studio” so, it was an obvious choice for my only Etsy store. I also have a shop with the same name on Artfire and Facebook.
This month my husband and I celebrated our 45th anniversary. We have two kids, and 3 grandchildren. We are very fortunate to live on the east coast of Florida, just south of Cape Canaveral. Our son and his family live in town and our daughter and her family
live only 70 minutes south of us in Jupiter, Fl. My husband was career Air Force, and, we traveled the first 15 years of our marriage. We have been in Florida over 30 years now, and are very happy to be here. We have a little house in the mountains of North Carolina and travel there for several small trips every summer.
I have a small studio in my home where I try to paint several mornings/early afternoons a week. I also belong to a paint group of seven wonderful ladies who meet to paint and create together every Monday. Our motto is “Never on Monday” which means we NEVER schedule something else for that time. We exhibit and market together, encourage each other, and study art. This September, we will take our 3rd annual weekly art retreat together. We will be staying in my North Carolina mountain home where we will paint, laugh, hike, cook and tip a few wine bottles.
For the last few years, my favorite medium has been oils, but that may change. I painted primarily in pastel for about 8 years and still love the beautiful color you get painting with pure color. I wanted to get up to speed with oils, and so far, have never looked back. They are such a wonderful medium. I think I would have to describe myself as a colorist, I love the in your face vibrant color, but also appreciate the more muted beautiful grays. Lately I have been trying to remind myself that gray is necessary to make vibrant hues more vibrant. I also am trying to edit myself in my painting. I admire artists who are loose and make every stroke count. I am trying to find that sweet spot where nothing but essential information is given, letting the eye fill in the detail. I also strive for contrast. Light against dark, warm against cool, thick against thin. I feel my style is still developing and seems to change with every painting.
I took private classes with a lovely Australian artist named Sandra Johnson for 8 years. She got me interested in pastels. I have also attended workshops with artists such as Doug Dawson, John Boudicin and Gay Faulkenberry to name a few. For me, workshops seem to be more of a social opportunity as I always get frustrated and stressed when I attend them. I seem to learn more by surfing artists blogs on a daily basis and studying all the fantastic art I find there each morning. Then I go to the studio excited and motivated.
The advice I would give an aspiring artist would be to just enjoy the process. It is too easy to get caught up in the “business” of art. Art has been very good to me, bringing some of the most wonderful people I know into my life. I find most artists are willing and happy to share information and are eager to share their craft. The greatest quality of art, in my opinion, is that you are in competition with yourself, and you never stop learning. You can grow as much as you want.
