Taking up where I left off last time, I continue painting the water in the creek and waterfalls.
Progress on the commissioned oil painting.
Blue Creek
My collectors wanted the creek to be more blue than earth tones and wanted the painting to really jump off and contrast with the red wall. I thought the turquoise blue would really work well on the deep, red wall.
Adding trees in the background.
Trees
Next, I added the greenery of the trees in the background that are painted a dark value, silhouetted against the sky.
More trees.
Lighter value, background trees are added that will help add the illusion of depth and receding space.
Building up the ground.
Next, I paint the undertones for the flowers and hills. The plan is to paint in the complementary colors to the flowers that will go on top. That way, the complementary colors will optically vibrate against each other and enrich and enliven the painting.
Background hills.
I paint the lighter values of green for the background hills. Not only are the greens lighter in value but a bit of complementary colors like red and orange are added to shift the green from a bright, saturated green to a duller, more distant green.
Am I crazy or what???
Must admit, at this point, I question my sanity and if the painting will turn out okay. On a certain level, it is a mess! Just have to power through and keep working, holding the faith that it will all come together.
Commissioned oil painting progress.
Next, I add more distance hills and finish painting in the background for the flowers. I went heavy with the green which is the complementary color to really pop the red poppies I will be painting on top.
Then I start to add the vertical lines of the vegetation.
Tree trunks and the first hint of sky.
Tree trunks are painted over the background trees. And the first strokes for the sky are added.
So that is it for today!
Next, we will add the flowers and put the finishing touches on the painting. I will also have a short, time lapse video of how the painting was created from start to finish.
Be sure to tune in and see how it turns out.
Thanks so much for reading and following along!
I love and appreciate you very much!
Happy trails.
Love,
Charlene
P.S. The studio/gallery is open through the holidays! Lanam Ridge Road should be passable in the next day or two now that the weather is warming up a bit and the snow will start to melt. Call me (812-988-4497) or email me (Char@CharleneMarsh.com) and let me know when you would like to visit Brown County.
I love vintage clothes so about ten days ago, I stopped in Goodwill to look for some treasures. I had not stopped by for several years and was surprised to see the dressing rooms had been eliminated. Several ladies took turns standing in the aisle in front of the lone mirror trying to gauge if the clothes might fit.
This time of year, I took a quick look for any wool – wool jackets, dresses, and sweaters.
They can be hard to come by. I lucked out and found one of each.
Pro tip
Here’s a pro tip I learned from my days studying clothing construction and design. The pockets of nicely tailored jackets are shipped to the store with the pocket seams still sewn shut. You need to take out your handy seam ripper or tiny sharp scissors and, carefully, rip open the pocket’s seam. I found a beautiful, wool, maroon, Talbots jacket with black bound pockets and piping trim on the lapel edges with the pockets still sewn shut! First thing I did when I got it home was rip open the pockets and stick it in the washer. So, now I have a great, thigh long, wool jacket with deep, luscious pockets.
Another pro tip from someone who dyed hundreds(maybe thousands) of pounds of wool for 25 years — yes, you can wash wool. Just use cool water and the gentle cycle.
Funky find
Back at Goodwill, one funky find was an ugly Christmas dress…you know, like an ugly Christmas sweater only a dress. A red skirt with yellow pompoms with gold metallic glitter on the poms and a slate gray top with Santa on the bodice. Just totally hilarious and gauche. I finally decided that it wasn’t “practical” and hung it back on the refuse rack.
Dreaming of an ugly Santa dress
The next day, I kept thinking about the ugly Christmas dress and regretted not getting it. The next day, I woke up, literally, dreaming about the ugly Christmas dress!! Criminy. At that point I decided I needed to drive all the way back into town and see if it was still available. When I got to the store, I had no trouble finding it. The dress practically leapt off the rack into my hands. My sister teased me saying, “Of course it was still there. Nobody else wanted it.” LOL.
Got it home and it fit like a dream, which I guess it was.
Elf hat
Pairs perfectly with an elf-like hat knitted by my sister-in-law’s dad many years ago that he gave me one Christmas.
Ugly Christmas Dress
Here, I am standing next to my Christmas “tree”, that is actually a large houseplant covered with lights and deer ornaments. Yes, I love to collect deer ornaments. All kinds. Outside, brutal cold temperatures and blowing snow cap off the festive Christmas feeling.
May you create and share many happy memories with your loved ones this holiday season.
Wishing you many blessings, joy, happiness, love, beauty, health, and prosperity in the coming year! I am so grateful for each of you that you are in my life.
Happy trails.
Love,
Charlene
P.S. And, oh yeah, here is a lovely Christmas painting of downtown Nashville here in Brown County, Indiana.
P.P.S. The studio and gallery is open for visitors if you are coming this way. Call (812-988-4497) or email me (Char@CharleneMarsh.com) to let me know what will work for you.
Today, I start on a new, commissioned oil painting for a couple I have done two prior, large paintings. They wanted a floral painting to fit on their brilliant, maroon red wall at the top of their staircase. This location is one of the first things people see when they enter the front door.
Lightfastness
They were concerned about two hours of morning sunlight hitting the painting each day. So, I did a great deal of research, consulted experts in the field, and came to the conclusion that using lightfast oil paints would be safe in this location. The paints I use have the highest lightfast rating so they are fine to use for this project. The very interesting subject of lightfastness in oil paints will be the topic of a future blog.
Location for the oil painting
Site for commissioned oil painting
As seen from the bottom of the stairs.
Site for commissioned oil painting
After discussing with Tom and Kendra their preferences for the painting, including colors, subject matter, size, framing, location, etc. I gave them a quote which they approved. After receiving the down payment, I got to work on the painting.
Frame and panel prep
The painting was to be a custom size, 28″ x 46″ with an overall finished size of 36″ x 54″, so I ordered the frame and constructed the panel. The frame came chopped and had to be joined at a local frame shop. By the time I got the frame back from the frame shop, I had the panel cut, gessoed (front and back to seal the entire support), tinted, and ready to go.
Sketches for commissioned oil painting
Sketches
In the meantime, I worked on some thumbnail sketches to develop the composition of the painting.
Sketches for commissioned oil painting
Before I started the painting, I wanted to make sure the painting panel fit exactly in the frame. Once I knew it was a perfect fit, I was ready to start painting.
Set up
I finalized the composition, had the panel prepped, and the frame on hand, so I set up my painting area.
Painting set up for commissioned oil painting
The panel is set up on double easels with reference paintings and photos pinned to foamboards on both sides. I have overhead lights as well as easel lights and natural light during the daytime hours.
Initial sketch
The initial sketch is drawn on the panel using my paintbrush dipped in a mix of magenta + ultramarine blue + cold pressed linseed oil.
Starting the oil painting
Starting with the darkest values, I apply the paint for the shale rocks alongside the creek and falls.
Dark values applied first on the oil painting
The darkest, earth tones are mixed using Cadmium Red Medium and Ultramarine blue. For the shale, I use mostly Cerulean Blue + a touch of Cadmium Yellow, Cadmium Red and Titanium White. The front left of the creek, I used Cadmium Red + a touch of Blues,
Creek
Then the turquoise for the creek is painted.
Various shades of turquoise are mixed using Cerulean Blue + Cadmium Yellow + Titanium White + Ultramarine Blue.
Well, that’s it for today! We will take up where we left off next time.
Thanks for following along.
Happy trails,
Love,
Charlene
P.S. The studio/gallery is open this month, decked out in holiday finery. Just call, (812-988-4497), or email, Char@CharleneMarsh.com, and let me know when you would like to visit Brown County!
A couple days ago, I was so tired I went to bed at 8 p.m. I think the last time I went to bed at 8 p.m., I was six years old. Naturally, when I went to bed so early, and fell right to sleep, I woke up super early, like 2-3 a.m. So I read until I fell asleep again. Then woke up and read some more until I fell asleep again. Finally got that much needed RR&R, rest, relax, & read.
Crazy, busy time. Earlier, a couple mornings ago, I wanted to just snuggle into my warm bed piled with dogs and a cat and sleep, rest, read, and relax all day. But, I had things to do, people to meet, and deadlines looming. So I sprung out of bed and kept going.
Winter just really makes me want to hibernate. Tuck into home with a fire going, Christmas lights twinkling both inside and outside, and a good book. Actually sleep 7-8 hours. I used to think I would use January to get caught up on painting but usually just got caught up on sleeping. The days are so short that even getting up at dawn isn’t good enough. I blink and the sun is setting.
But I love the different rhythm of winter. The dogs get walked much earlier and I am still often coming home in the dark. But then there is a long stretch of working inside, uninterrupted. Fewer outside distractions once I have brought in firewood, picked a few wild greens, shoveled any snow.
And just now catching up with my blog. Wow! What a whirlwind! So many projects and events, my head was spinning.
I must apologize for being so behind in sharing new paintings with you. I never even got to the rest of the fall plein air paintings! Then I did a series of 6″ x 6″ minis. They were supposed to be part of the Christmas Art Launch but when I moved that up three weeks, there was no way to get the minis done in time.
So, I don’t really know where to start.
I guess I’ll go in order and start where I left off with the plein air paintings from the fall season. This painting was not part of the Christmas Art Launch so you’ve never seen it until now.
This lovely plein air painting is one of my favorites from the fall season this year. Drought like conditions made for a very dry autumn and a pretty dry creek. I used some artistic license and added a touch of water in the creek.
I wrote my field notes on the back of the painting but the painting is out in the gallery and it is pouring rain right now so I don’t want to go fetch it. So, the notes will remain a mystery.
That’s it for now. Glad to share the latest plein air painting!
Happy Trails!
Love and hugs,
Charlene
P.S. The studio/gallery is open all month. Just call me, 812-988-4497, or email me, Char@CharleneMarsh.com, and let me know when you would like to visit Brown County.
Bruce Tainio invented a BT3 machine to test the frequency of the human body, plants, and foods. As time went on, the earth became so inundated with electromagnetic frequencies(EMFs) from cell phone towers, power lines, electronics, etc. that the BT3 machine became very difficult to use because of all the interference – even in remote areas where you wouldn’t expect there to be a problem. Read on to find out what this has to do with the vibrational frequency of trees.
So even if you are living in a remote area, it doesn’t matter. You are still being bombarded by electromagnetic frequencies (EMFs). The machine finally had to be retired because we are so awash in EMF pollution that the sensitive machine could not get reliable readings anymore.
The vibrational frequency of the body greatly affects our health.
Disease can start to invade as our frequency drops.
Optimal human frequency: 62-72 MHz
Colds and Flu start at: 57-60 MHz Disease starts at: 58 MHz Candida overgrowth starts at: 55 MHz Receptive to Epstein Barr at: 52 MHz (Anthony William writes extensively about Epstein Barr) Receptive to Cancer at: 42 MHz Death begins at: 25 MHz
Forest Bathing
Trees naturally resonate with the natural vibrational of the human body. If you can spend time surrounded by the forest it helps reset your own vibrational frequency to normal, healthy levels.
Some have said that the forest and trees vibrate at the natural frequency of the human body so they help us align and reset our own frequency, after being bombarded with electromagnetic frequencies (EMFs) all the time, back to our natural frequency.
Trees Strong Enough to Block Signals
When researching the vibrational frequency of trees, I couldn’t find what MHz they resonate at but found plenty of complaints about how trees block cell signals and wifi signals. Which can be good or bad depending upon what you are trying to achieve.
Managing our energy requires a great deal of effort and discipline. When faced with a tsunami of turbulent energy it is easy to get overwhelmed and give up. Maintaining a daily schedule of juicing, special diets, meditation, yoga, exercise, affirmations, and more can feel like a full time job! And all this hardly fits in with an active lifestyle or working and raising a family.
ART: connects the body and the spirit
One of three systems that I use for raising my vibrational frequency is Art.
I can write more about the other factors that lower our vibrational frequencies and the other two systems for raising one’s frequency if you are interested. Let me know in the comments!
Art connects the body and the spirit. The missing key that activates both the body and the spirit so that they work together is art. Art is the physical and unseen manifested together.
Imagine how you feel arriving in a city where the medians are weed covered and strewn with glass as opposed to city medians filled with flowers, sculptures, and fountains. One city, we would be locking our doors and driving straight through as fast as we could. The other city we would be slowing down and checking out what delicious treasures it had to offer and want to hang out in for awhile.
Then there are two kinds of artwork for these purposes.
Cathartic art that transmutes negative energy into an object to release it. This kind of art can be beautiful or quite ugly. The point of the finished object is to transfer the negative energy out of the body and out of the spirit and into an object where it can be expressed, shared, contained, and controlled.
The other kind of artwork is beautiful work that raises the vibrational frequency for all. Beautiful art makes the heart sing and contains a high vibration.
An artist friend once told me that she noticed if she was depressed or sad or worried while creating a painting, that the painting didn’t sell, no matter how beautiful it turned out. But if she was joyful and happy while painting, it sold almost immediately. The painting contained the higher, happier vibrational frequency and was imbued with joy.
As I have mentioned earlier, I enjoy walking daily, three miles, in the forest up and down hills which is great for meditating, prayer, grounding, and just resetting my vibrational frequency to align with the trees. A day isn’t complete until I have walked in the forest.
I especially love backpacking into the forest to paint “en plein air”.
The resulting plein air oil paintings are imbued with the frequency of the forest, making them holograms filled with the forest energy to enrich our living spaces. If you cut out a small piece of a hologram, that small piece contains the entire hologram. The paintings are like that with the forest. The painting contains the entire vibrational frequency of the forest in it.
I create studio paintings inspired by the plein air work so those paintings, too, are imbued with the high vibrational forest energy. But I always think the plein air paintings done in the forest itself are the most powerful for creating a high vibrational frequency.
So, here are a couple of recently completed plein air oil paintings done this fall.
The weather has been drought-like so the creek is dry. Since there is no water in the creek, I stayed up on the ridge to paint the view overlooking the forest.
Here is another painting I did at the back of my property. You can see how much the colors have changed in just two days. The chartreuse greens have turned golden and rust.
I finally gave up trying to record the making of the paintings on location. At least for now. One day, I had the wrong adapter for my cell phone clip. Another time, I forgot my pochade tripod and had to use the lighter weight camera tripod for my pochade. Not as sturdy and stable as the tripod designed to be used with the pochade but it worked okay. A bit wobbly but better than sitting on the ground.
Once I start painting, I get lost in it. Time and space stands still and disappears. I have no idea when 29 minutes and 59 seconds have elapsed. My old phone, I could hit “Record” and forget it. I suppose I should just look for a video camera that can record the entire time.
The funny thing is, that even though I lose all sense of time when painting, I always end up painting almost the same length of time when I am on location. Three hours. I can set my clock to it.
Upcoming
I will be launching a 20% special savings sale on the PRINTS ON CANVAS in time for Christmas and holiday gift giving, exclusively for my VIP Insiders. The canvas prints are all custom made by my printing partner. Original oils suitable for gift giving will also be made available during the launch, exclusively to my VIP Insiders.
“Frozen Beauty”, print on canvas with wrap around edges. 24″ x 36″. c. Charlene Marsh.
What you get when you order a canvas print:
A gorgeous print on canvas of the forest and/or flowers on canvas to enrich your life or the life of loved ones
Gallery wrapped canvas print where the image wraps around the edges so no frame is needed
Free shipping
A selection of sizes to fit your space and budgetary needs
Unique, award winning forest and flower prints created by an artist who specializes in painting the forest and nature in all four seasons
Brings the “Vibrational Frequency of Trees” into your living space
A forest painting image imbued with love, joy, and beauty that will raise your vibrational frequency and enhance the quality of your health, wealth, and happiness, effortlessly
Helps reduce anxiety and stress
Acid-free, PH-neutral, and fade-resistant canvas
A stunning canvas print to enhance your home, office, or rental unit and impress friends, family, and clients
Made in the USA
“Glorious Autumn in Yellowwood Forest”, print on canvas with wrap around edges, 24″ x 36″, c. Charlene Marsh.
In addition to offering the canvas prints at a special savings price, I will have original oil paintings suitable for gift giving, available for purchase.
What you get when you order an original oil painting:
A one-of-a-kind, original oil painting, once it is gone, it is gone forever
Imbued with the high vibrational frequencies of love, joy, and happiness
Brings the “Vibrational Frequency of Trees” into your living space
Framed and ready to hang as soon as you receive it
Free shipping
Oil painting by an artist who has won hundreds of awards
An oil painting that effortlessly transforms your living space into one brimming with positive energy
Archival panels hand made by the artist
Lightfast, archival oil paint
Varnished for maximum protection and for bringing out the richest colors
Made by an American artist in the USA
No one will have a painting just like yours
Most paintings ship within 24 hours
Brings the energy of health, wealth, and happiness into your home, work space, and rental units
Impress friends, family, and clients
Puts visitors, clients, and patients at ease with relaxing, anti-anxiety, beautiful art
Even a small painting has a transformational effect on our living spaces. Some people like to collect small paintings and fill walls with a variety of small art pieces grouped together. Start with one and add more!
Let me know what you would like to see and buy. A small forest painting or something more seasonal like a Christmas painting, 4th of July fireworks, or the county fair? Either shoot me an email or leave a comment.
If you are not already a VIP Insider, please go HERE and join!
