IN AN EFFORT TO STAY CONNECTED WITH OUR MEMBER ARTISTS, WE THOUGHT WE WOULD VISIT THEIR STUDIOS AND SHARE A BIT OF THEIR WORK IN PROGRESS WITH YOU.

• TODAY WE WILL FEATURE KAREN FERRICK •

I paint in both oils and pastels, but if doing oils, I love to paint leaves!  I am drawn to their sculptural quality and nature's composition of twisting turning and overlapping. I took photos of this plant while on a garden tour two years ago and I was inspired by the recent "True Blue" show at CALC to finally get started! I'm working on both paintings together although they are not a diptych. Each will stand alone, but coming from a background in interior design, I find two related paintings a bonus to use either side by side or separately within a room.

I'm not completely finished but I hope you will enjoy these works in progress.I want to develop each leaf a little more but still retain the freshness of the initial layers of painting.

Studio shot of the two canvases side by side on my easel.

I "draw" my subject directly onto the canvas with a thin layer of paint. I am then painting the background or in this case, the negative space around the leaves (which I find is a very interesting compositional element in itself).

I paint the basic values in the colors I plan to use.

Work in progress, developing each leaf with light, shadow and color changes.