Sorry for the abscence, trip to Chinqua Penn

The front of the Chinqua Penn Plantation House

Lucinda and Sophia


Me and Sophia in front of the art gallery

Lucinda and Sophia in front of the clock tower, or as Sophia calls it "The Princess Castle"

Sorry for the abscence from the blog lately, but life has been a bit busy. My wife's aunt that was battling cancer passed away and we have been visiting with her sister who took care of her as much as we can. Also, we had a big 3rd birthday party for my daughter this past weekend, and now I have some sort of flu bug/stomach acid reflux thing that has kept me from eating anything substantial for the past 3 days. So anyway, haven't had much painting time to say the least!

I am working on some larger studio pieces that I will show soon, and I hope to get out there to do some plein air painting this weekend.

My wife, daughter, and I visited a cool place this past week. We went to Chinqua Penn Plantation in Reidsville, NC. It is an amazing historical property that was once a private residence. You can tour the house, and enjoy the hundreds of acres of land around it. There are gardens, and many things to look at, and an art gallery among other things. The pics are at the top of this post

A time for family

Hello all my blogger friends. I will post some new things I have been working on soon. I have sort of stepped back from my painting for a while to spend more time with my family. My wife's aunt that has been battling cancer for the last couple years is getting weaker and the all of the family has been by her side between the visits from the Hospice nurse. Please keep our family in your prayer during this difficult time.

New paintings for exhibit

These are the finished paintings for the "Double Exposure" exhibit in Siler City, NC. The exhibit features photographs by fine art photographers and painters' representation of their chosen photograph hanging with the photographers work. Go to www.ncartsincubator.org and click on "upcoming events" to find out more.

I chose a photo of this Native American Indian in full dress with a small child next to him. I am normally a landscape painter and feel more comfortable drawing people than painting them, so I did a small scratchboard drawing of just the face. The second piece was also going to be a scratchboard, but I ran out of time, so I did it in a loose style in acrylic.

This is only the second scratchboard piece (the one in b&w) that I have ever done. You can also add color using colored inks. So many people have responded favorably to the scratchboard drawing, that I might do many more.
Scratchboard is done on a clay coated panel that is covered in india ink. You use a tool to "scratch" out the image in reverse, revealing the white underneath. More lines scratched means more white revealed. This method is time consuming and once you make a line you can't erase it, but I like the challenge. I think I will do many more!

Here is both pieces framed and ready to go!

"Solemn Warrior"
8 x 10 inches Scratchboard on Panel

"Warrior Heritage"

16 x 12 inches Acrylic on Canvas

New paintings tomorrow

Taking my wife for a doctor visit today, but I will post my paintings from the Double Exposure exhibit tomorrow. I am ready for warm weather so I can get back to working on location.

Library exhibits - something different

Drove in the snow over to Asheboro, NC to hang my paintings at the Asheboro Public Library. It will hang for 2 months. Sales may or may not come from this type of exhibit, but I did it for another reason. This library, and many others, have programs like this with changing art exhibits so people can be exposed to original art. I think this is great because we live in a society where practically everything sold is mass produced, and few people appreciate anything handmade or original anymore. They would rather get something cheap than get something original that will last long enough to be passed down to their family.
Since I am still early in my art career and still learning, my original work is extremely affordable, but many cannot afford original art, and these types of shows let people see and learn more about original work.

While hanging the show, everyone in the whole library kept staring at me because I was making so much noise hammering nails in the display area. Guess I should have been more quiet.
It is a library after all! Below are some pictures of the display.

They use these heavy cork boards to display the work. I had to hammer the nails down and hard to reach the hard surface underneath to make sure they wouldn't fall on someone!

3rd Friday Art Walk - Siler City, NC

Don't miss the 3rd Friday artwalk in downtown Siler City, NC tonight from 6-9pm. All of the downtown galleries will be open late and there will be live music at Raleigh Street Gallery where you can see some of my work. To find out more about Raleigh Street Gallery where I will have work available, please visit www.raleighstreetgallery.com.

I have 2 exhibits coming up next month, and I will give you the dates in my next blog post!

Weekend Snow and Ice, and a little bit of painting

Well, we had about 5 inches of snow and ice this weekend in central North Carolina. That is not at all typical for us, so many of our secondary roads are still iced over. We spent the weekend at my inlaws rural property with the rest of the family and enjoyed the snow with the kids.

I took my paints along and did some quick acrylic sketches on acid free matboard while inside. I did start an 8 x 10 plein air oil, but only got about 80% done before the sleet started up again. I will post the finished work here soon. I will also be doing a few snow scenes in the studio from reference material I gathered this weekend. Stay tuned here to the blog!

Was sunny on the second day of snow, of course not on the day I painted outside - it was gray and nasty that day

Here is some runoff from the pond out at my inlaws house

2 days after the snow and the secondary roads near my house still look like this!

Here's the sketches I did this weekend. The two on matboard are from memory, and the snow scene I got about 80% done outside before it started sleeting. I will refine it a bit more in the water area and where the dead pond grasses are. Stay tuned for the finished result!

Painting and photographing Beautiful North Carolina

We have no shortage of beautiful scenery in North Carolina, but some people think that you can only find beautiful scenes in the mountains or the coast of NC. I live in central NC in the piedmont region and enjoy being in a rural area that affords me plenty of beautiful landscapes. I am only about 25 minutes from larger urban areas too, which is nice when I need a change of pace.

These photos were taken at Cedarock park, a huge park located on a historical farm that is run by the Parks and Recreation Dept. of the county. There are old historical buildings as well as miles of hiking trails and scenic streams and a lake. I painted there Saturday and will post the piece when finished. I also hiked and did some sketching and photographing for future paintings.

On the start of a hiking trail

The original cabin on the farm that was used before the large farmhouse was built. This was my painting subject for the day...

Some of the "wildlife" on the farm.

The barn area

Another view of the original homestead.

Hard at work

Working hard on my piece for the "Double Exposure" exhibit. The artists have to complete a painting from a reference photo submitted by photographers from the Chatham Camera Club.My choice was an image of Indians in full dress. Not my usual subject matter, but I like a challenge. Will post pics soon.

Cherries Still life and a landscape

"Summer Cherries"

8" x 10" Acrylic on Canvas

Available at Picasso's Gallery & Gift Shop(Alamance Arts Council)

Visit their website at http://www.artsalamance.com/

"Mountain Road"

4" x 6" Acrylic on Canvas on Panel
Available at Raleigh Street Gallery

http://www.raleighstreetgallery.com/

These are some recent small ones. I have been playing with still life paintings recently because my schedule hasn't allowed me to do any outdoor landscape studies before it gets dark. Don't know why the scans here look grainy. I sized these down from a high-res scan, so it must be the canvas texture catching the light. I will try to filter them and replace them with a smoother picture later.

Merry Christmas, Upcoming Events

Just want to say a quick Merry Christmas to all my friends and a big "Thank You" to all who have supported my growth as a painter. It is because of you that I am able to move forward and to keep growing and learning. Merry Christmas!

Also a reminder - I have an upcoming exhibit a the Asheboro Library in Asheboro, NC during the months of March & April 2010. I will post the exact dates when I have them.

Also, I will be participating in an exhibit titled, "Double Exposure" in February 2010. This exhibit was the result of the Chatham Camera Club issuing a challenge to artists to use one of their photos as inspiration for a painting. The resulting paintings will be shown next to the photographers' work that was used as reference. It should be fun to see how the painters interpret the photographers' work in paint. I will post the dates for that show soon. It will be at a gallery in Siler City, NC.

Sketching, back to basics

I used to have a daily sketching habit, and due to painting for some recent exhibits and the busy pace of balancing my painting, full time job, and family, I have not been sketching like I used to. I have started again this week and just try to work in charcoal or conte crayon for just a few minutes a day. When I do this, it makes my painting time much more productive because the daily sketching helps to improve your skills... in the drawing area, anyway.

This unfinished conte crayon sketch pictured above was done by a stream on my inlaws' rural property in Siler City. I had my paint box out ready to paint, and ended up just sketching instead. It was a nice change of pace. I sketched enough to use it as reference for a future painting, but quit when my fingers went numb from the cold!

Country club show - one day only!

These are some small pieces that I sent to Raleigh Street Gallery in Siler City, NC. The owner is taking these and some of the gallery's other inventory to a one day exhibit and sale at Starmount Forest Country Club in Greensboro, NC. This event is a ticketed luncheon and sale, so I hope I some of these pieces will move. The gallery suggested sending these smaller pieces because even the country club set have seen their share of financial downturn this year.

If these go unsold, they will be available at Raleigh Street Gallery. You can get their contact info on their website at http://www.raleighstreetgallery.com/ .

Happy Thanksgiving

No paintings today, I am set to enjoy Thanksgiving with family tomorrow. Off Friday to take new work to a gallery for a one day sale/exhibit at a country club. Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving. Thanks to all of those who have purchased paintings and supported my work. I am grateful. I will post some new work on Friday.

Alamance Arts Council Christmas Show

Here is a quick shot of the paintings I sent to the Arts Council Invitational "Christmas at Captain White's" show. I sent small pieces to have some affordable offerings for this show. They have everything at this yearly show from paintings to pottery to anything handmade. Sorry about the sunlight and shadows on this pic, I will post pictures of each piece when I have time. If you're interested in any of these, just call the Alamance Arts Council at 336-229-6995 visit their website at http://www.artsalamance.com/ to get their email address.

Trees Plein Air Study on Ebay

"Backyard Trees"

5 x 7 inches oil on stretched canvas, unframed

Click Here to Bid

A small plein air study done in late fall in my backyard. Enjoy!

FREE PAINTING WINNER

This months drawing was won by Elaine Rothbauer. I hope you enjoy your painting. Keep checking the blog here for more chances to win FREE original art next month. Also, sign up for my e-newsletter by going to www.justinholdren.com and click on "Email Newsletter" to receive my monthly letter by email. I include special offers for my subscribers, so be sure to sign up!

Late night painting in the studio

The main easel area

My acrylic palette during the middle of painting

Up late tonight finishing up a few paintings in the studio. I always finish the small studies in one go, but the larger studio pieces I usually leave and look at awhile and see if there are any adjustments I want to make. The pics above are of my main easel area. Artist Mike Rooney inspired the idea of using pegboard on my studio easel. His is the same way. It is easy to switch out paintings quickly with the hardware, and I can have multiple small paintings on the easel at one time. The pegboard is reinforced on the back with wooden boards so it will hold the weight of the paintings and stand up straight without bending. I works great for me. The idea came from seeing Mike's easel. I can't take credit!

To view Mike's blog, visit http://www.mikerooneystudios.blogspot.com/ . His impressionistic style work is awesome!

Antique Teapot Still Life Painting

"Antique Teapot"

5 x 7 inches

Oil on Stretched Canvas, Unframed

Click Here to bid

I have sold many small studies in past years on Ebay, and list a small painting every now and then to advertise my studio. I generally do not put these smaller ones out in my galleries, and small past sales on Ebay have led to customers buying larger pieces from my website...so I thought it time to list some again.

Monthly FREE PAINTING GIVEAWAY

"Nassau Palms"

5 x 7 inches acrylic on slim gallery wrap canvas

Wired and ready to hang

The image continues around the sides to give you the option of hanging this unframed

Pictured above is the painting in this month's free giveaway. To enter for a chance to win, just email me at paintinglandscapes@yahoo.com with the words "FREE PAINTING" in the body of the email with your name. I will leave it open for entries until midnight on Friday, November 6th. After that, a name will be randomly drawn for the FREE painting. That person will be notified by email and I will mention it here on the blog.

I do these at different times, so to find out when, go to http://www.justinholdren.com/ and click on the "email newsletter" link to sign up for my monthly email newsletter. I also inlcude special deals for my newsletter subscribers. Good Luck!