Susan Roux Workshop 2012

Monarda

Original oil painting  18x24"

by Susan Roux

You're invited!

I'll be teaching an oil painting workshop in August and would love it if you'd join us in three days of fun with color! The focus of the workshop will be on Color and Value and it's purpose with regards to design.

It will be three days packed with exploring color. Come stimulate yourself as we dive fearlessly into luscious color! Learn to add excitement to your paintings while remaining in control. 

Do you fear color? Are you having trouble with color harmony when using too many? Are you limiting yourself for fear of not achieving harmony otherwise? How about neutralizing? Is making mud a problem? 

Then this workshop is for you!

I'll be explaining many properties of color to help you understand it, thus help you keep it in control. 

Free yourself by allowing your inner creativity to unleash on canvas. Learn to add visual excitement to your work. Let your paintbrush dance on the canvas. Don't be so preoccupied about staying within the lines and achieving harmony will become an ease. 

I'll encourage you to apply paint in various ways to help you expand your choices of brushstrokes. We'll be working wet into wet. As the paint gets thicker on the canvas, we can begin to push and pull paint around. Drag your brush, twist your brush, just let it dance on the canvas! Free your spirited energy to just pour out.

Depending how tight or loose you want to keep your paintings, I'll show you how to bring this burst of color into shape. Color and value work together to create the illusion of light, depth and form. As a unit, they can help direct the viewers eye around the canvas, adding power to the overall design. 

This workshop is intended for all levels. 

Come to Maine during the dog days of summer and deepen your understanding of color!

Hope to see you soon...

For further information click here.

Note: You may remember seeing the distance in this painting. It was posted in February before the entire painting was complete. This painting is at Blue Hill Bay Gallery in Blue Hill, Maine. For purchasing information, please contact Peter. 

Painter's photo shoot

Come Fly With Me

Original oil painting  28x22"

by Susan Roux

This summer I took my model to the ocean for a photo shoot.

Sounds simple enough, right? Well you need to remember we're in Maine, nicknamed Vacationland. People flock here from everywhere. Summertime is the busiest. Many arrive ready for a bellyful of lobster with the beach as their destination. It was a beautiful warm July day and it was no exception.

How I found a parking space on a side street adjacent to the ocean with a sand path for the rentals is still a mystery to me. It was perfect. A long stretch of sand where cottages line the streets located between two very busy/popular beaches. My model hadn't been to the ocean yet this season and she was already bubbling with joyful emotion. Laughing and giggling, her whole body was already wiggling as we parked the car. Her eager enthusiasm was uplifting. It was like taking a young child to the beach.

The salty sea has a distinct smell that arouses the spirit long before you reach the sand. Excitement was in the air. We had been trying for awhile to find an open moment for this day, but busy schedules made it difficult. Our anticipation coupled with the perfect weather had me imagining a wonderful shoot.

I came prepared.

We found a nice open area in a sparsely filled section. I laid out an old bed sheet on the sand. My bag was full. I unloaded it telling my model, these are the skirts, these are the tops, hats, scarfs etc. I had shopped for white clothes, borrowed white clothes and gathered lots of accessories. The sheet looked like a clothing store. As she looked at every piece, I explained that she could mix and match any of the pieces. Even if they didn't exactly match, they were all various shades of white and I could paint them to look like they did. I had been wanting new photos to work from and the moment had finally arrived.

She picked her favorite skirt. It was a long flowing one. I told her to go dance at the water. I love this model. She has such elegant movements, perfect for the look I was seeking. Still giggling, she bounced to the water's edge. I followed with my camera. The sun lit her up. The breeze was gentle and consistent. I couldn't have picked a better day.

People were gazing. She didn't care. Still like that child, she began to dance in the water. She was totally uninhibited by the onlookers. It wasn't long before what seemed like every man on the beach wandered by. I've never seen so many males walk the beach without a sweetheart by their side. How they slowed their gait as they circled wide around us. We laughed. She continued to dance.

I took shots from the left, shots from the right, shots from the back. The sun made different patterns as I switched sides. She made many costume changes and with each one, she became a different character. Sometimes she strutted, sometimes she flowed. She threw things up into the air. The sun danced with her every move.

We didn't take a break. Outfit after outfit we continued to work. I couldn't help but think I had the perfect job. Who else gets to go to the beach while they're working? Not many.

Every piece of clothing was soaked by the time we were done. She was exhausted. It had been quite a workout. As we stopped, nearby sunbathers came to talk. They wondered what we were doing. They had been entertained by my little beauty. People had their reading material, but not a book was opened while we were there.

As we walked off the beach, an older couple stopped us. They had decided we were taking pictures for the cover of a magazine and wanted to know which one and when it would come out. She did look very beautiful out there dancing in the sun. It's no wonder they imagined this scenario.

I returned home with nearly 1000 pictures. Certainly there are a few real good ones to work from.

Do you work from photos? Do you go on photo shoots to set up the pictures you desire? How about still life's? Do you ever set them up and take photos? It's a great way to have original material. Pick the perfect day and you could have enough material to work from for a year!

Warm soil

The sun shines and the green carpet is laid outside my front door. The lawn is nearing its first "mow" of the season. How lush and inviting it is.

Creativity surges through my veins. It bubbles and excites. The yellow daffodils radiate tall above the dense patches of blue snow glories. Large tulip buttons rise and await their turn for center stage. Such beauty. The colors of the garden intermingle like the colors of a painting. Spring is calling. Its calling me out. I want to go play in the dirt...

Its a great time to rearrange perennials. As they pop out of the ground, memories of last summer's garden flood my mind. The blossoms. The colors. The spectacular dance of changes, as new flowers bloom and others fade. The garden can change color totally in the process. As I watch each new plant emerge from the warm soil, I remember its unique presence and gift to the garden.

Some plants have grown taller than expected and block delicate others. Beautiful, hidden plants should be moved. The excitement of rearranging urges me forward. Its the creativity of the process. Like sculpting an unseen item. The imagination is what leads. Imagining height, color and blooming time. Rearranging is the creation. The outcome is the show. The show of scented color that will continue to come until autumn's frost. But now, frost is far from my mind. Warm sun takes over.

I have many flower gardens. They are all around my home in unusual ameba-shapes that inspire asymmetry. Like wondering, exciting sprawls rising out of the green carpet. They seduce me...

I succumb.

Some plants will be switched to different beds. The shuffle begins. One large spring effort gives way to a summer season of pause and enjoyment, viewed from the pleasure of my garden bench. Sitting there in the afternoon sun, filling my lungs with sweet perfume, makes me thankful for all I've been given in this world. In nature I feel closest to God. What wonderful creations He has made! And he shares it all...

Its good we're sharing our gifts, our talents and our support. It makes God smile down on us. And that's always a good thing...