Dancing in the Garden

  • Home
  • Art Gallery
  • African Violet Collection
    • Pricing for African Violets
    • Success Tips for Growing African Violets
  • Blog
    • Three nests – Bird Lore
  • Shop On Line

WORKSHOPS 2018

May 1, 2018 By Mary Booth Cabot

 

R0SWELL, GA – WORKSHOP – PART 1 – JUNE 2, 2018 “CAPTIVATE THE VIEWER” – HOW TO MAKE YOUR PAINTINGS INTERACTIVE FOR THE VIEWER. CREATE SEQUENCE OF SPACE, MOVEMENT, AND UNIFICATION IN YOUR WORK BY LEARNING TO USE ALL OF THE DIFFERENT TEXTURES SHAPES AND FORMS AS PAINTING ELEMENTS. Held at the Artist’s Studio. Hours: 9:00-3:30pm, Cost $95.00. This workshop is limited to 8 participants.

 

 

R0SWELL, GA – WORKSHOP – PART 2 – JULY 21, 2018  “CAPTIVATE THE VIEWER”                                         

HOW TO MAKE YOUR PAINTINGS INTERACTIVE FOR THE VIEWER, CREATE  SEQUENCE OF SPACE, MOVEMENT, AND UNIFICATION IN YOUR WORK BY LEARNING TO USE ALL OF THE DIFFERENT TEXTURES SHAPES AND FORMS AS PAINTING ELEMENTS.  Held at the Artist’s Studio. Hours: 9:00-3:30pm. Cost $95.00. This workshop is limited to 8 participants.

 

 

ROSWELL, GA – WORKSHOP – “BACKGROUNDS” –
AUGUST 25, 2018                                         

SO MANY PEOPLE ASK ME, HOW DO I DO MY BACKGROUNDS? THIS WORKSHOP WILL HELP YOU LEARN HOW TO MAKE YOUR BACKGROUNDS NOT ONLY INTERESTING AND SUPPORTIVE BUT AN INTEGRAL PART OF YOUR PAINTING.  Held at the Artist’s Studio. Hours: 9:00-3:30pm. Cost $95.00.  Space is limited to 8 participants. Bring your painting materials and lunch. Weather permitting we can have lunch on the dock.

Filed Under: Art, Art Classes, Art Philosophy, Art Theory, Artwork, Drawing, Painting, Shopify Tagged With: classes, Workshops

Looking vs. Seeing

February 13, 2018 By Mary Booth Cabot

Looking at something versus truly seeing what is front of you is a very important concept to artists.

The more you look, the more you see!

We as artists see much more that the average person.  This is a tool that we have that we use on a constant basis to do our portrayals of the imagery we see.

This is such an important tool that it has been categorized.  Let me explain. Artists use 9 values or increments of light to separate out the patterns or shapes of light that show up on the surface of an object. These values range from value 1 (white) going through the list to value 9 (black). The subconscious mind knows what the object is by the value of the shapes of light patterns that are visible on a surface.  For an object to look three-dimensional it must show the subconscious mind all nine values of light.  These patterns of light do take many different shapes depending on exactly what the object is…so you are never bored.

Drawing is the true basis of any artwork or portrayal of an object.  The right values on the right shapes give you the image with its volume and its form.  Color is simply the “beautiful dress” that the object wears.

I have included a portion of an unfinished  watercolor where shapes of light have been drawn in pencil and some values of light (but in color) have been added.  An Iris is a delicate flower and painting a petal requires many shapes of light and dark with the appropriate color to be able to see the light as translucent or create ripples and movement. When you know how to make use of the range of values it makes painting with any medium so much easier because you can think only of the decisions around painting instead of both the value and the color.  Using color means you are thinking about warm vs. cool colors, opposing colors, and how to use them to give the right feeling and excitement to your work.

When you focus on the details there is a world of beauty to see.  And after you have done this for a while your consciousness is expanded and you actually see so much more around you in your everyday life. You are entertained by your world by all you now see.

 

Filed Under: Art, Art Classes, Art Philosophy, Art Theory, Artwork, Drawing, Painting, Shopify Tagged With: black and white, black/white, drawing, seeing, value, values

The Basics of Color Mixing Magic

January 21, 2018 By Mary Booth Cabot

Peonys Fuchsia 20″x 20″ Translucent Watercolor

When learning color mixing, there are three (3) sets of opposite colors to remember:

Color Set #1-CHRISTMAS colors: Red & Green

Color Set #2-EASTER colors: Yellow & Purple

Color Set #3-SUNSET colors: Orange & Blue

In discussing the definition of a color, let’s work with the Color set #1, the Christmas Colors, red and green.  “Red” is defined as any color that has ANY KIND of red in the paint mixture…rust, rose, pink, coral, burgundy, orange-red, red-orange, wine, grape, purple, etc. The definition of a color such as “Green”, Red’s opposite on the color wheel, is the same.  So, this set of opposite colors gives us MANY forms of reds and greens to work with. Think of color set #2 and #3 in this same way and you will have hundreds of colors to paint with.  However, it is very difficult to ever mix the exact same color again because if you combine white, black, and yellow you will be able to mix 739 readable colors. The lesson here is to mix enough color in the FIRST mixture that you will need to use for your painting.  I always like to mix extra, more than I think I will need.

Many times in painting we need subdued colors and these are made by toning down a color with its opposite on the color wheel, i.e., tone down “any” red with “any” green using the above definition. Technically it is called neutralizing a color or being able to tone down a color to soften it or take the intensity out of it…when taken to the extreme half and half of the red mix and the green mix we create a taupe or gray which equals a “neutral”. A taupe color of the half and half mix will have more of the warm color creating it and the gray color of the half and half mix will have a bit more of the cool color in it.

It you wish to breathe live into your painting, try putting opposite colors next to each other on your paper or canvas. Always try to paint with full spectrum color and your painting will become magical!

Filed Under: Art, Art Classes, Art Philosophy, Garden, Painting, Plants, Shopify, Wildlife Tagged With: color theory, paint mixing, Peonies, Peony, Peonys, vase of Peonies

What Does ‘a Study’ in Artwork Mean

January 15, 2018 By Mary Booth Cabot

Each time an artist makes a painting they are actually doing something that do not know how to do. At the very least, a portion of the painting needs much thought, and then there other times when more challenge is there than they recognized going into working on it.

Periodically you will see a footnote from an artist on a painting  reading…”A study of Bluebirds basking in the sun” or “A personal study of rainbows…from a photo taken by…”. So what does this mean?

My interest is in the use of the word “study” on the footnote.  Only on artwork have I ever seen this word used in a title…its meaning is to portray that this painting took much study, thinking, deliberating, time, and trying out techniques to see if or how something can be portrayed so the viewer can experience a specific image or feeling that the mind will translate properly, the way the artist would like it to be portrayed or presented.  Painting a picture does indeed involve Much deliberation and study to get the Right portrayal.  It is not just slapping paint on canvas or paper in 3-6 hours and calling it finished as it would actually be a color sketch or trial.  This would be a picture done in paint but it would not be called a painting.  In a painting many decisions must be made. Every stroke of the brush directs you down a specific pathway toward completion or screw-up. Every paint brush stroke is a decision for a good or a bad result.  Once in a while a poor decision can be corrected for benefit.  Learning techniques to correct ones’ mistakes is a must and many mistakes can be repaired in most any medium. In essence, a painting may be 5000-8000 decisions before it is completed depending upon its size. As a painter one must be a Student throughout the entire painting. We as artists actually learn much from each painting.

It takes much time, desire, heart, and energy to “study” and figure out how to get a painting to be the best it can be before an artist is willing to share it with the world.  The above painting is one for you to see that involved much study and much time before completion.

Filed Under: Art, Art Classes, Art Philosophy, Artwork, Painting, Shopify, Tropical Plants, Wildlife Tagged With: egret, everglades, florida, painting, watercolor painting

The Tea Set Preserved for Posterity

January 4, 2018 By Mary Booth Cabot

I want to share with you something one of my students has done for posterity. The artist is Dale Sherman of Roswell, Georgia. This is a family heirloom, 1903 Silver Tea Service from Derby Silver Company of Connecticut. It has been in her family for 112 years. Her great-grandmother who married in 1897 was its first owner. In creating this family heirloom Dale as painstakingly rendered each piece in the set, teapot, creamer, sugar bowl, dump pot for the tea leaves and the amazing shadows. Her intentions were to create a piece of art as a family heirloom that can be passed on for generations and historical data and details be included with the artwork. as it is passed along in the family. There is only one Tea Set and now others can have giclee prints (her Christmas presents this year), the Original Carbon Pencil Drawing, or the actual Real Tea Set.

No automatic alt text available.
Image may contain: 1 person
No automatic alt text available.

Filed Under: Art, Art Classes, Art Philosophy, Drawing, Shopify Tagged With: drawing, silver tea set, tea set

Adding Watercolor

January 4, 2018 By Mary Booth Cabot

Dale Sherman is one of my students in the Wednesday afternoon class. She paints with a great group of ladies that really enjoy working with each other. She has worked diligently through all the drawing projects and is now painting beautifully. This painting is of some water lilies she photographed in a pond. We are all watching and learning from her as she brings it to completion. This painting is a really pretty one. One of the things we adjusted was adding much additional image information that is not on the photograph. This makes it her original artwork.

 

A student, Dale, working on her painting in my afternoon class
Dale Sherman is one of my students in the Wednesday afternoon class. …
DANCINGINTHEGARDEN.COM

Filed Under: Art, Art Classes, Art Philosophy, Artwork, Garden, Painting, Shopify, Tropical Plants Tagged With: painting, student, student painting, watercolor, watercolor painting, waterlilies, watrlilies

It is a White Christmas

December 26, 2017 By Mary Booth Cabot

It is s White Christmas!

It is Christmas time again and we have our first 8”snow I can ever remember. I can never remember one in the Atlanta GA area this early in the year or as many inches. There has been only one other snow that I remember about 10 years ago that was a dusting, an inch, that was just the week before Christmas.  So this is a magnificent occasion.  We southerners are not used to White Christmases but we love it when it might happen and this really did happen!  I got out in it took pictures and this evening put on my show boots from the northeastern states where I do flower shows and went out again getting the long pruning pole and beat the snow off the camellias (they are in bloom) and shrubs (still blooming) and small trees so they wouldn’t break apart under the heavy wet snow. My husband thought I was truly out of my mind.

We have had a good year in many ways as Bob has a great job now. He is selling residential and commercial mortgages and is in love with his work. Things have changed from having him home with me to just seeing him on the weekends…During the week it is mostly Hi & Bye. I have been working closer to home now just doing a few local shows, teaching classes 3 days a week, and painting and gardening.  I have needed to de-stress to help my health so I had to give up some of the shows that are so far away from home.  I do miss seeing all of you at the shows! So many of you I have really looked forward to seeing if only twice a year.  To help the problem of cutting back on the shows I have created a way for you to be able to order something that you have wanted, actually easily, on a Facebook Shopify website…www.maryboothcabot.com.  It has been a great deal of data entry but I have had a great teacher and now it is basically finished and being used. It was opened or posted for use Nov 22.  I like it and I hope you will too. Please do let me know of any typos or discrepancies you might find…I welcome your comments good and bad. You are always welcome to contact me and chat and catch up with each other…or ask questions about something or workshops and classes. I also have a new blog on gardening, plants, painting and art…www.dancinginthegarden. You might enjoy reading it. Oh, yes, I almost forgot, I am taking the University’s course in Master Gardening January-March 2018.  It will be great to learn more new things about my ‘love of plants’ hobby.

Bob’s children are all well and happy. His daughter, Ali, is teaching yoga in Costa Rica and living in thatched roof open sided dwellings and loving it. His son, Drew, is taking care of work and his dog while his girlfriend is studying for 4 months in Japan, and his daughter, Sara, has moved to the mountains of West Virginia and enjoying country life. His brother, Dick, is in love and recently married to a wonderful woman named Jackie. His sisters Allene and Sally are both better than ever. My nephew, David Booth, has helped me by working on painting the house interior and helping with other things around the house and garden after we had a tree go down hitting the house this past May.

Bob and I want to take a moment and tell you all how much we have enjoyed having you be part of our extended family. Each one of you have blessed and enriched our life in some very special way. Because of you our life is full of enjoyment, love, and rich memories. Please do stay in touch.

Camellias in 2017 Snow
The Blue Chair Garden with the beginnings of Snow

We hope you have a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year ahead.

Filed Under: Art, Art Classes, Art Philosophy, Drawing, Garden, Shopify, Shrubs Tagged With: Christmas letter 2017, master gardner, snow

Think Like an Artist

December 22, 2017 By Mary Booth Cabot

Linda Wrightson’s Composite Drawing of Some of Her Favorite Things with Becky Levine and Linda Grovenburg

Einstein says that “Insanity is doing something over and over again in the same way and expecting different results.” In my life I can see this is true…

When an accomplished artist thinks about their art project they nearly always check-out what their options are before painting an area. They want to get a certain look or feel so they think of a technique, a color, a texture, a pattern, that might be just perfect to get the results that they are looking for. There is much thinking as painting or drawing develops…a piece of art that is 30″ x 20″ that is detailed can be more than 7000 decisions before it is completed and finished.

Many artists come to me for information and classes because they feel they are not progressing the way they would like to in doing their artwork. They have slowed down their progress in gaining the knowledge they need to be able to grow and develop their work.  I find many of them are stuck using the same techniques over and over again and feel they are getting nowhere….and they are not checking out their options. In fact, many do not even know that  they have other options, and there are many of them.

Anything we learn must be done by using a slow approach in that we must start to crawl first, then stand and take baby steps, then walk, then run, then win the marathon..  Learning about how to do artwork takes a similar route.  As a teacher my job is to discern what you need to know to be able to give you the knowledge. I need to be able to give you the information that you need to plug the holes in your knowledge base. Doing art work is about doing something you don’t totally know how to do and even when you know so much more, even then you will still not always know what to do to get the best results in all situations. So, I need you to make mistakes; I need to be able to see your mistakes to locate and identify the areas where you have a lack of knowledge. Then I can show you a better way to do something that I know will work and help you be able to do it again when you need to use it.

Learning involves helping you think about something in a new and different way. Our subconscious mind and the knowledge that is stored there gives us our access to how to live, how to do something, how to be who we are…in fact, it controls our lives whether we know it or not.  It is not our mind that leads, guides, and directs us…it is our subconscious mind that does this. This space inside us is where our subconscious mind joins our spirit .  So, as a teacher I need to help you teach and program your subconscious mind in certain ways to be able to retain art information for later use. Also, telling you how to do something and then having you try again, and/or try again helps do that memory programming.  My job is to help you learn to think like an artist because we see much differently than others, this will help you get to the place where you are reasonably comfortable with what you are trying to do. You need to know that we as artists never totally get comfortable with everything we are trying to do because being an artist is nearly always a mixture of grappling with learning something new, working all our options, and remembering all of our learned techniques to choose from for any given area.  As artists we are trying something that is not always comfortable as we are trying to do something we don’t know how to do in many places on a painting. So, we never get totally comfortable, we do however run our options as in a chess game…if I do this what happens, If I do that what happens, what other avenues can I try on this, what have I not considered that I could do. And, painting and drawing do indeed teach you how to check out all the options before charging ahead and getting into trouble in some form on the painting. I actually have several works in my painting drawer that I have gotten stopped on not knowing just the right thing to do. Until I have a “brain-storm” or have a dream about it and get shown what to do by my higher-self, or walk down a street and see something that gives the an idea of what to do, the painting will sit in the drawer as I have far too much work invested in it already to discard it. I wont continue to paint on it and mess it up. So, it will just have to try to “hatch” inside the drawer waiting on the needed enlightenment. Painting is a game you play with yourself, and it is great fun to watch it develop in front of your eyes.

Artists do see things differently.  We see increments of light hitting a surface and each increment has its own shape of lightness or darkness. Artists see and use nine values of light to replicate anything they put onto paper or canvas. Our world may be more interesting as we are always looking at shapes of light, dark, pattern, volume, texture, & color on anything and everything in our world. It can be fascinating. My job is to teach you how to see these things. When you begin to see them your world opens up and you see many different things you never saw before…and when you can see them you can draw or paint them.

In teaching someone to draw I use a group 10 drawing projects. After you learn the first one, the second one builds upon the knowledge you just learned in the first one, the third project does the same thing…and so do the other 6 drawing projects.  These drawings start you at the very beginning and build your knowledge one piece at a time until you have mastered them all and can draw anything, anywhere, and anytime. After these drawings are completed, starting to paint is much, much, much easier that just painting first with none of the other knowledge. Color is the dress that drawing wears. It does not take the place of learning to see the structure and light patterns of shapes of something and portraying it to your advantage.  Color is exciting, and really exciting when you have a solid knowledge base of drawing in your pocket to use because then most of your work is already done and you can just enjoy learning all about color and enjoying it freely.

The First Attempt at Drawing a Cup and Saucer
Chevy Truck “Earthbound” 1939-1947 by Mary Booth Cabot

Filed Under: Art, Art Classes, Art Philosophy, Drawing, Shopify Tagged With: art, art classes, art philosophy, drawing

Linda’s Fabric Drawing (from one of my art classes)

December 14, 2017 By Mary Booth Cabot

I teach art classes Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at my studio. Linda is one of my students and this is her great drawing of a piece of striped fabric.  In teaching someone to draw I begin with elipses first and graduate into all of the other shapes and light patterns that artists have to deal with on various surfaces. There are 10 drawing projects that we learn and each one builds of the previous drawing project so if you were a student you would be easily lead thru the learning process to achieve a masterful drawing knowledge. Linda has done a wonderful intricate drawing….and even though you may not wish to frame it to look at every day she mastered the project and moved on to the next one. She has been very diligent with each project, has completed them all and is now doing some good watercolor painting. In my opinion she is going to be a really good watercolorist. Her drawing projects have taught her how to see much more than the average person sees and have opened her up to how an artist sees her world. Learning to draw takes interest and sticktoativity….and when you have learned how to draw you have the tool available for life to use as you please..

Filed Under: Art, Art Classes, Art Philosophy, Drawing, Shopify Tagged With: art, art classes, drawing

Recent Posts

  • African Violet Collection
  • WORKSHOPS 2018
  • Looking vs. Seeing
  • The Basics of Color Mixing Magic
  • What Does ‘a Study’ in Artwork Mean

Search our site



  • Email
  • Facebook

Copyright © 2023 • dancinginthegarden.com