My Goodness!

Another six months has passed and here I am again blogging! Keeping up with my blog is much like keeping up with all the passwords that one accumulates on the web! Since my last post, much has happened....I moved home after three years in the Tannery Row Artist Colony. My studio now takes up "all" of my double garage! However, the move has some advantages...no more driving an hour to work! sleeping later in the mornings...haha! Like that ever happens! and being able to keep my granddaughter, Sophie, on occasion. She, however, is not much help in the studio, but she does some really mean scribbles with her crayons! And of course, I can paint in my pj's! Drop by any day to visit!!

The highlight of this month was a workshop with Ann Templeton, internationally known pastellist and oil painter. She has two books out that I recommend to every artist who wants to break out of the realist approach to painting and learn more about how to abstract the landscape. And if you can take one of her workshops, even better! Every day began with a lecture (more like a conversation time) and a demonstration. She showed how working from a photo is only a stepping off point to creating a painting. Her technique focused on keeping the darker values transparent and working as long as possible with the darks before going to more opaque lights. When I told her that I had a problem with knowing when to go more opaque, she said, "then keep working the darks until you have nothing left to do but add the lights". I'm trying to remember that!

I have a new website which focuses on paintings only. http://carlyhardy.com
and if you want to email me, it's carly@carlyhardy.com. Let me know if you visit.

Until next time (I'll get some of my workshop paintings scanned for you) keep your brushes wet and pastels dry!

Hotlanta Summer!

Yep, you guessed it. The weather is steamy and hot this summer in Atlanta and I'm missing painting outdoors!! The past couple of days have seen cooler temps (in the low 90's) but I'm still dreaming of those cool fall nights that won't appear again until some time in October! But enough about the weather!

Our summer show, "SunnySide UP!", is now up and running at the Tannery. If you'd like to view some of the newest art by the Tannery artists and our guests from Southern Colours Art Association, drop by, Tuesday thru Saturday, noon to 5 pm. We're located at 554 West Main Street in Historic Buford, Georgia.

My painting in this show is called "Decisions". It's rather abstract but if you look closely, you'll find figures turned in several directions, appearing to revolve around a broken urn...perhaps searching for the answer to a life question. Ever find yourself in that type of situation or mood? As an artist, my life questions are often answered thru my paintings, sometimes without my realizing it. Let me know if you have ever experienced this!

The painting below is Gully Tracks  painted during the Buford Plein Air Event. One of the first that sold!