Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Florida Landscape | Daily Painting | Tropical Painting | Heading Home by Carol Schiff | 12x24" Original Oil Painting, SOLD


If this looks familiar to you.....it's because I have painted the scene before.  If fact, the first painting, which is smaller, was licensed and produced as wall decor on wood planks by Arthouse LLC.



SOLD


This is a view of the Indian River, part of the intra-coastal waterway in Florida, as viewed from Grant Florida.  It was late afternoon (just before sunset) on a gorgeous November day.  I took many photos and have painted about a dozen pieces from this one photo shoot.

I used a palette knife technique that I like to call "color weaving".  It gives lots of texture and soft changes of color.




www.CarolSchiffStudio.etsy.com
www.CarolSchffStudio.blogspot.com

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Palm Tree Painting, Daily Painting, Small Oil Painting, Impasto, 6x8" Oil Landscape

This simple painting was just what the doctor ordered for me.  No stress, no pressure, just an hour of fun slinging paint around.

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100 + shipping
 Some days we just have to make ourselves happy :)




Thank you for reading my blog today.



Saturday, December 19, 2015

Teapot Lamps, teacup lamp, repurposed lamp, home decor, lighting, shabby chic decor, Throwing a little light on the subject.......

In the past few months, I started a new little project, which I wanted to share with you today.  Hope you enjoy them.

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I am making lamps from new and vintage teapots, cups and saucers.

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Each one is unique and one of a kind.  They will never be duplicated.

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This is actually a family project with my husband, my sone and my daughter-in-law.  Family makes it special and all the more fun.



This is our display, ready to go in a local vintage store.

I have shown you just a sampling of the adorable one of a kind lamps .  To view them all click here:

As special as these are, we can make them even more special, by making a lamp just for you.  If you have a few pieces of your wedding china, or maybe your grandmother's, or just something you love, we can make a custom lamp just for you.  Contact me through this blog, or my Etsy store.

Have a fun day today!



www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Thursday, December 17, 2015

Daily Landscape Painting, "Blue Ridge Switchback" 6x8 SOLD

Today's daily painting is one of my favorites.  We decided to take a drive to Water Rock Knob, just off the Blue Ridge Parkway in beautiful North Carolina.

SOLD

It was a beautiful, clear October day and I tried hard to capture the clear skies and gorgeous fall foliage.



Living in Florida for 40 years, I miss the fall colors and smells I remember from my childhood in Ohio.  It is  the best part of my visits to North Carolina and I try to get there in mid-October every year.


As a child I loved to rake the leaves into a pile and take a running jump right into the middle.  In those days we would rake the yard and then burn the leaves.  There was nothing better than walking to school on a sidewalk covered with leaves, crackling under my feet as I shuffled along.  Evenings conjure up memories of hay rides followed by warm donuts and cider.  That's before the days of Dunkin Donuts, these were home made and covered in sugar and cinnamon.

I am sorry my grandchildren will never have those memories, but I know when they think back on their childhoods they will find something equally as pleasing to remember.


Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Daily Painting "Morning Sail" 6x8 Oil Landscape SOLD

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. 
--Mark Twain 






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SOLD

The thing about sailing, is that it looks like a lot more fun than it actually is.  I know, I know, that's just my opinion, so please don't get upset!  I enjoyed my days on the boat and I still love to spend an afternoon sailing.



Now, when I see a sail boat heading out on a beautiful sunny day, it seems like a little piece of paradise.
The real thing  almost never beats out imagination.  It's easy to forget the day the sail ripped or the day we sailed home in a raging storm with lightening strikes all around us.

Today, I will imagine....and paint about it.

Happy Birthday to my baby girl, Shelly!


Sunday, December 13, 2015

Daily Landscape Painting, "A Little Bit Country" 6x8 Oil SOLD

I have had this image in my files for several years.  Each time I tried to paint it, I failed.But, I kept the image on my memory stick, always nagging me, like waving a red flag at a bull.


This time I was happy with the results.  It's is not a particularly difficult scene.  I don't know what caused me so much trouble.  All I know is that every nine or 10 months or so, I would give it a try and then wipe it off.

SOLD
The attraction was the strong light in the mid-ground and the back lighting on the fence.  I am happy to finally delete this from my "things to paint" list.

Have you ever had this experience with a specific scene?  If so, how did you overcome the challenge?

Friday, December 11, 2015

A Little French Landscape, Daily Painting, Small Oil Painting, 8x10x1.5" Oil SOLD

In my last post, I showed a mountain landscape commission.  Today I am posting the second landscape my client ordered.

He has been lucky enough to live in many fabulous locations during his career.  This  painting is also from one of his photographs of his many travels....the beautiful French countryside.

SOLD
I must say, I felt a little envy when I saw this beautiful scene.  Looks like it came straight out of a movie, don't you think?



Thank you for viewing my blog today.


www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Mountain Range, Daily Painting, Small oil painting, 11x14x1.5 Oil SOLD

I have been working on multiple commissions since July, which has  made it difficult to keep up with my daily paintings.  This is one of the commissions that I delivered recently.



SOLD

The client is an excellent photographer who lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains.  I was supplied with his image, which is the view from his home.  The mountains in the photograph showed the distinct edges, I believe to be lines of trees on the ridges.

It was an enjoyable painting to create and the customer was happy with the end results.

Have a great December day!



www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Daily Painting, SOLD "Red Berries and Leaves" 8x10" Small Landscape



The image for this painting came from an autumn hike in the Blue Ridge Mountains.  I love being there this time of year when color is everywhere.



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SOLD


I was attracted to this image because of the unusual color and also by the abstract qualities of the branches.

Blogger is up to it's old tricks this morning, not behaving at all, and insisting on putting my second image at the top of the post.  I had this problem a few weeks ago, then it magically disappeared, now it is back!  ARGH!!!!!!!


Sunday, December 6, 2015

Seascape, "California Bliss", 6x12" SOLD

It always amazes me how different the Atlantic is from the Pacific.  Here, on the east coast, we have mornings when the ocean looks like a big lake, hardly a ripple breaks the surface.

SOLD
I don't have as much experience with the west coast, but it appears to be much more intense.  I have only been to the Pacific in northern California, where it is a deep, beautiful blue, unlike the semi-tropical waters we have in Florida, which can be a bright turquoise.


The reference image for this painting came from Shelly Smart's blog, A Year at the Beach.  She is not posting it anymore, but it remains a fascinating journal.  She posted images of her beach every day for a year.  Thank you Shelly, for sharing your images with me.


Saturday, December 5, 2015

Florida Landscape Painting, Sky Painting, "Heading Out" 14x20" Oil SOLD

Well, the big week is finally here.  Soon Christmas will be here.  I don't know about you, but I have some very excited grandchildren.  Not to mention plenty of last minutes errands to run!  So, today's post will be short but sweet!

Speaking of sweet, a very sweet woman from Jacksonville commissioned me to do two oils for her.  She had a pair of stunning frames that she wanted to use, so we took two of my existing paintings that she admired and changed to format from 6x18"  to 14x20".  Needless to say, that changed the feel of the original works completely.


SOLD


We were both happy with the results.

Thanks for taking the time, from YOUR busy schedule, to read my blog today.



www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Daily Painting, Small Flower Painting, Small Oil Painting, " Picket Fence" by Carol Schiff, 6x12x.75" Oil

Every once in a while I find a small piece of "the way things used to be"........you know what I mean?  In the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, we often pass a charming white house, surrounded by a white picket fence.  It is obviously the house of a gardner.  When I saw it this summer, with a beautiful display of flowers bordering the fence, I asked my husband to stop so that I could hop out of the car and take a photo.
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135 + shiping
  Somebody remind me not to paint  with such dark backgrounds!  Although, I love the way the painting shows in life, it is impossible to photograph it without glare.

Regardless, I was happy with the painting and thrilled to find this beautiful setting and reminder of the slower, more peaceful life in small town America that I remember from my youth.



Thank you for viewing my blog today.



www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Stormy Landscape Painting | Daily Painting | Small Oil Painting | Coastal Collision II by Carol Schiff | 11x14x1.5 Oil

This stormy landscape painting is a scene I see most every afternoon in the summer, here in Florida.  The warm breezes blow across the state from the west and collide with the cool ocean breezes from the east.  Instant Storm!


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275 + shipping


I painted this in oil and using a palette knife to capture the feel of impending doom.  You know that feeling.....the black clouds suddenly roll in...the temperature drops 10 or 15 degrees in what seems like seconds and the wind kicks in.  Time to run for cover!


I painted on 11x14x1.5" canvas and painted the sides black making framing an option.

detail



Thanks for reading my blog today......stay dry out there!



www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Sunday, November 29, 2015

Tropical Landscape Art, Florida Painting, Florida Morning" by Carol Schiff, 6x8" Oil Landscape

I woke up early, grabbed a cup of coffee and my camera, and headed to Florida's intracoastal waterway.  In our area, it is the Indian River, and I arrived there just in time to see the sun break over the horizon.

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96 + shipping
 When I had finished my photos, I drank my coffee and enjoyed that wonderful early morning atmosphere.  You know the one, where it seems that only you and maybe a few birds are up and around.  It is so still, the birds are starting to feed, and a small pod of dolphins are fishing off shore.  Heaven!




I am often asked where I find my small frames.  The answer is my favorite framer.  Apparently it is standard procedure for framers to throw away the end pieces of moldings.  My framer, who has a large following of artists, started using those end pieces to make  up small standard sized frames.  He always has a good selection and sells them for next to nothing.  Perfect for starving artists!

If you are in Melbourne, FL area, his store is Ridley's Frames on Palm Bay Road and Troutman Ave. in Palm Bay.  Stop in and load up on his treasures and tell him I sent you in :)

Happy Day!



www.CarolSchiffStudio.Etsy.com
www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Friday, November 27, 2015

Tropical Landscape Painting, Daily Painting, Florida Painting, "Conchy Joe's" by Carol Schiff, 16x20" Oil

Everybody loves tropical landscape, especially me!  This painting is from a few years back and depicts a much beloved part of our community.  "Conchy Joe's" was a seafood eatery located on the banks of the intracoastal waterway.

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The original has sold, but I am pleased to be able to offer a giclee print at the link under the image.

The eatery is still there, but under a new name and for me, much of the charm has been lost.  I am glad I painted this scene, while it was a popular and vibrant location, filled with local memorabilia.

This painting was featured as the Art Works poster art several years ago.

Thank you for viewing my blog today.


www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Tropical Landscape Painting, Daily Painting, Small Oil Painting, "Sunset in the Wetlands", 6x8" Oil Painting


This tropical landscape painting depicts the sinking sun and reflections on one of Florida's many waterways. This particular wetland is located between Florida's intracoastal waterway to the west and the Atlantic on the east, on the barrier island that runs down the east coast of Florida. It's a particularly fascinating place as the two bodies of water are less than 1/2 mile apart.

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100 + shipping


I am just returned from a month in our North Carolina mountain home.  We usually don't stay that long, so, this time I took all my painting supplies and was determined to paint while there.  I finally accomplished this painting, but let me tell you it was not easy.  I could not find the perfect lighting, the perfect place to work (we just put in all new flooring which would not look good with oil paint splattered all over it).  All in all, I did not feel comfortable and was sooooo happy to return to my studio in Florida.  This is something I will have to get used to as we will be spending much more time in the mountains than in past years.  Studio painters (like me) get so spoiled.....I almost wish I were a plein aire painter who can paint anywhere and under any conditions.




Have a happy day today!

Thanks for reading my blog.


www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com