I always write my field notes on the back of the painting later in the evening after I get back to the studio.
These are the notes on the back of the painting:
“Plein air, warm 75°, overcast, windy, at the back of my property, dry, drought. Yellowwood State Forest, Nashville, Brown County, Indiana, plein air oil.”
“Dry and Windy Day in Yellowwood, October 24, 2022″, plein air oil painting, 16″ x 12”, c. Charlene Marsh. Code #102422 16×12.
The cold, dark days of winter are a perfect time to take a course. So, I’ve had my nose in the books studying a business marketing course. And there is a lot to learn! Whew! Once the weather warms up, I am busy with outside projects like gardening and mowing. And this spring, as soon as I get 2-3 dry warm days, I need to clean out a shed to move and re-set up my woodshop in it. Right now, the woodshop is in the barn but I have decided, to better accommodate my new table saw, I need to relocate the woodshop. Pretty bad timing on my part to decide to do this just as winter was settling in. LOL.
That’s it for now! Thanks so much for checking in! I really appreciate you.
Love and hugs,
Charlene
P.S. Over the years I have had numerous requests to teach painting. I used to teach, a long time ago, at a local art center but got too busy with touring shows. So I am planning to set up a course to better serve you. The course will be online so that you can attend no matter where you live! Woo hoo! Tentatively, I am going to start with a course on plein air painting in the forest. Please let me know if there is anything else you would like to see me cover. Stay tuned for details. If you are not already a VIP, sign up to be updated.
R.I.P. Henry (yellow cat), 2009-2023, who joined his brother, Beau Beau (black and white cat), over the rainbow bridge.
Beau Beau and Henry
I will sure miss him. The hardest part about having animals is saying good-bye.
Henry used to go on our three mile hike in the forest everyday, like one of the dogs. Sometimes he would lag behind and meow loudly so I would wait up for him. Always worried he might attract coyotes. Well, one day, he lagged behind and I heard a terrible YEOOOWWW receding off into the distance!!! My worst fear was that he was being dragged away by a coyote.
I ran to the location of the noise and there was no Henry. I called and searched but he was gone. Sitting down on the hillside, I started to cry. After about ten minutes, I hear a timid meow. And Henry appeared. I was so happy to see him and swooped him up in my arms and took him home. I didn’t find any marks on him and still have no idea what happened that day. But, after that, he never went on our daily hike in the forest again.
Beau Beau and Henry
Animals bring me so much joy but, in the end, they always break my heart.
So…on to painting.
Warm Up In Yellowwood State Forest
As many of you know, we got hit with a cold blast of Arctic air and a bit of snow before the Christmas holiday. Temperatures here got a low as -5°F. So, even though there was a beautiful coating of snow, it was too cold to go out and paint, en plein air. My paint freezes too fast to finish a painting! While I still go out and walk the dogs in the forest, painting just won’t work.
Luckily, the Arctic blast didn’t last long. The sun came out and temperatures warmed up to 50° F on December 28, 2022. What a drastic change! Felt downright balmy outside. But I had to work quick because the snow was melting fast. Thrilled to get the final plein air painting of 2022 done.
Details
Signature detail, “Warm Up In Yellowwood State Forest, December 28, 2022”, plein air oil painting.
Creek detail, plein air oil painting.
Forest and sky detail, “Warm Up In Yellowwood State Forest, December 28, 2022”, plein air oil painting.
Sun on the hillside detail, “Warm Up In Yellowwood State Forest, December 28, 2022”, plein air oil painting.
I just love the way the sun lights up the snow covered hills with all the rich, variety of blues in the shadows. Periwinkle, cerulean, cobalt, turquoise, aquamarine, azure, peacock blue, sky blue, sapphire, sea blue, and lavender. Blue is my favorite color!
Back of the painting with field notes
Back of the painting with my field notes, “Warm Up In Yellowwood State Forest, December 28, 2022”, plein air oil painting.
Must admit, I couldn’t paint the past few days dealing with an increasingly sick cat. I was so sad and stressed and anxious, second guessing myself, trying to make the best decisions for my boy, that I knew any painting would be imbued with that unhappy, desperate energy. No matter how beautiful the painting may appear, it would be impressed with that energy of grief. Since I am starting a new wedding painting, that just would not do.
A wedding painting should embody joy and happiness and love. However, within the sadness, there was definitely love. But it is the love of saying goodbye, not the love of a new beginning, but rather an ending. So, I will give myself a bit of time before I dive into the wedding painting.
Update: Several days have passed now since Henry crossed the rainbow bridge and I still think I see him out of the corner of my eye or hear him meow or brush up against my leg. I had a couple dreams that were so real I could feel his fur. One, I saw his paw prints in a light dusting of snow on the deck so I went inside to get my camera to document the proof that he was there. But when I came back outside, the paw prints were gone. Sometimes my animals that have crossed over have come to me in dreams and it can be so real. I can pet them and feel their fur and talk to them. I am sure they are there with me. But then I wake up and they are gone. Maybe in another dimension, they are still there with me.
That’s all for now. Thanks for tuning in.
With all my love…Happy Trails,
Charlene
Warm Up In Yellowwood State Forest in Brown County, Indiana
So grateful for you and for another wonderful year creating beautiful artwork! May 2023 bring you and your loved ones peace, joy, happiness, health, prosperity, and many blessings! Fill your imagination with the world you want to live in and envision the future you want to step into.
And with that, let’s step into a beautiful, magical world in this painting.
Magical Valley, Part 3
Today, we take up where we left off last time on the commissioned oil painting and finish it up. You can check out Magical Valley, Part 1, and Magical Valley, Part 2, to see how we got to this point.
I have also uploaded a short, time lapse video that shows the creation of the painting from start to finish. Lots of details are included at the end of the blog so you can really see the painting, up close.
Video
Sky
I was just starting to paint in the sky.
Just starting the sky.
The sky is blocked into the negative space in and around the trees. Lighter trees are painted in the background to give the illusion of distance. I love to leave glimmers of red that sparkle and vibrate against the green that make the painting come alive.
All blocked in.
Finally, I start adding the vertical trees which helps give dimension to the painting.
Adding flowers and trees.
Here’s where I start painting in the flowers. The flowers on the distant hill are a bit duller, smaller, and less detail.
More flowers, trees, and leaves.
More red poppies are painted and tiny center yellow details added to the ones in the foreground. I paint in more leaves, covering some of the poppies and then pulling the flowers back out on top. This helps give the illusion of depth and movement. More vertical foxgloves are added.
Almost done.
I keep working up deeper and deeper layers of paint until I am satisfied. Usually at this point, I am having so much fun seeing it all come together, I don’t want to stop painting. Great restraint is needed to STOP before I go too far.
I use lots of stretch wrap and bubble wrap along with corner pieces to carefully wrap the frame of the painting for the journey to it’s new home. While I offer free shipping or delivery, my collectors opted to pick up the painting at my studio/gallery here in Brown County. So, I pack it to make sure it arrives safely to their home.
Details
Side detail shot to show the heavy, impasto paint.
Another side detail shot to show the heavy, impasto paint.
So, that’s it for this gorgeous, commissioned, oil painting. Thanks so much for following along on the journey.
Courses and Blogs
I am thinking about creating some online courses in addition to the blogs and am wondering if there is anything you might be interested in? Some ideas include painting classes(foundational to more advanced), plein air painting, color, using artwork and other techniques to raise your vibrational frequency(and increase health, wealth, and happiness), art and feng shui, decorating and selecting artwork, tools and gear, POD, and art marketing for artists. I’m open to hear about any other areas of interest you would like to hear more about. Let me know by responding to this email or leaving a comment about what topic(s) you would like to see me cover.
Happy trails!
Love,
Charlene
P.S. I’m really serious about this! Just hit your reply button and send me an email and let me know. Or leave a comment in the comments section on the blog. I personally read everything and I want to hear from you!
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.
