​Where has the time gone. I have taken time off to paint.... and I also discovered Facebook. You  can also see a sampling of my art at Sharon Crabill Art on Facebook and often just on my wall Sharon Kay Miller Crabill.  But I am working on being more faithful to my web site.  And if you are out there reading this, I encourage comments. I guess that is why I like Facebook. I get so much encouragement in  my painting that I just want to paint...paint... paint. Web sites can be a lonely place.

So what have I been up to.... ?

I entered three little paintings into the North Valley Art League Small Painting Show (January 10 ~ February 4, 2017) and had all three accepted. The Juror was Andrew Patterson-Tutschka. The paintings accepted in were: Happy Hour, Vine Ripe and Allium Sativum. You can find them under my Still Life page. And... to my delight, I received an Award of Merit on my painting, "Vine Ripe".

2016 - I entered this little painting "Hat Creek" into the Juried National Show at North Valley Art League. It was the first time I had the courage to enter a National Show.  I was extremely honored to get it accepted in.
​

I took Stefan Baumann's Plein Air Workshop in Mt. Shasta. I got to stay with my wonderful artist friend Kris. It was so much fun being out in nature and just painting The workshop was fabulous. You can check his web site for a schedule of upcoming events. http://www.stefanbaumann.com

"Artists paint by placing strokes of color on their canvas to recreate the subject they
have chosen to paint. Then, there comes a moment when the focus shifts and the
image becomes three-dimensional. This is when we are connecting with our art. It
only happens when the right side of the brain relies on what it knows and rather
than how to do to it. "

http://www.stefanbaumann.com

Thank you Stefan, for all you do and the wisdom, expertise and encouragement you give.

The journey of painting, for me....the artist, painter, student and  lover of life is always curious, growing and evolving. 
I look at light as energy, and it is that light energy that I strive to  capture in my paintings.  Whether I
am painting a study, a still life, or a landscape, I want to give you, the  viewer a piece of that feeling or sensation as a special moment in time. I love  the emotional impact paintings can have on the viewer.   So in my practice of painting...I strive for that...that little gasp of  wonder and/or excitement a painting has to offer.


I just read a quote from Charlie Waite....
It I reads,  "I often think of that rare fulfilling joy when I am in the presence  of some  wonderful alignment of events. Where the light, colour, the shapes and the  balance all interlock so  beautifully that I feel truly overwhelmed by the
wonder of it."

I could not have said this better. It touched my core, my essence, my reason for being and why I paint. The splendor of the
moment...the sensation of an event...the joy and life...all wrapped up in a few  simple sentences. Wow. My heart just grew a little larger. I love what I do.  Happy painting....

(Charlie Waite (born 1949) is an English landscape photographer, noted for his “painterly” approach
in using light and shade.

Looking back in time is always a good way to become inspired. Ivan Schishkin is a Russian Landscape Artist that brings all the elements of landscape painting that I strive for together.  This link: http://russiapedia.rt.com/prominent-russians/art/ivan-shishkin/ takes one back to this time. Ivan Schishkin lived January 25, 1832 - March 20, 1898 but his work is just as contemporary today. This was his dream... “Russia - country of landscapes… I hope the time will come, when all Russian
nature, alive and penetrated by spirit, will look from canvases of Russian artists…” - Shishkin
When I look at his paintings, I see this...nature, alive and penetrated by spirit. If I can accomplish anything in my paintings, this is it, that awe moment when life is given to a two dimension surface.

Another great site to check out is John Pototschnik Fine Art

Values, who needs them?

Posted on November 25, 2013
This is a must read for all inspiring artists, so informative. Be sure to click on the link: Values , who needs them? to read the entire blog. Wonderful stuff.

Today is a day of gratitude and reflection. Usually Thanksgiving involves visiting with family and friends and eating way too much food. But this Thanksgiving is a little (or should I say a lot) quieter. With both myself and hubby just getting over horrid colds, we decided to take a break from the hustle and bustle of travel and visiting for a quiet day at home. After sleeping in (I made it to 6:30), we lazed around and had a late breakfast before deciding to take a leisurely walk across Shasta Dam. The lake is very low, but the serenity of the deep blue water and the stillness of the day just added to the laziness of what usually is an otherwise hectic day. The only thing missing were the ospreys. I don't know if these grand birds are migratory or not, but they are usually out in abundance soaring the sky and fishing for their daily meal. Yet even though their presence was missed, the water fowl were out in force. They were splashing and swimming and sun bathing upon the buoys and enjoying their day.  And so it is that I feel deeply grateful to live on such a wonderful planet. I am thankful for the land and the trees and the water and abundance of life here on earth. I feel privileged to live in such a wonderful place.

Once home, I ventured out into the yard. I felt a yearning to touch the ground and connect. Gardening has always been one of my passions, but lately, it is one I have neglected. So with loppers in hand, I decided to trim up the lavender hedge. Being outside in the warm November sunlight, heady with the aroma of lavender, I started the task, soon loosing myself in the meditative qualities that be grounded to the planet brings. It is no wonder that a cold has brought me down. It has been so long since I have came out to play. The earth provides my palate. It is a grand  kaleidoscope of color and light. The sensations, the fleeting moments, all components of what I strive to capture in my paintings are gifts given to us all...we just have to take the time to open our eyes... and our hearts to this wondrous world we live in. And so on this Thanksgiving Day, I am extremely grateful for all I have and all that is to come....with grateful abundance to all.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

I know I would have gotten a lot more excited, if I could do this...Whoohoo...our minds are amazing.

The Holidays are over and it is the beginning of a new year - 2014! Wow... how time flies when you are having fun. The holidays were very good. Everyone in my household is very happy and healthy and that means a lot. However, I have not painted much.  But I have had time for reflection on the past year... and happy thoughts about the future.  Which brings my to my topic of being present in the present. I just bought a book. It is titled "NOW! The Art of Being Truly Present" by Jean Smith.

Randomly this morning I opened a page and began to read....about seeing.

This is what I read...

"I look out the window at noon and see the green trees, yellow flowers, and a brown house. I look out the same window at midnight and perceive only black and gray shapes.

Before changing lanes I check the rear-view and side mirrors but see nothing until I glance over my shoulder, and discover another car alongside my rear fender. When I become angry, I see red. When I am sad, I feel blue."

"WE HUMANS rely heavily on our sense of vision, even in metaphors. And yet what and how we see depend upon external conditions such as light and location, upon what we have been taught, and also our emotions. All of these conditions determine how we feel about what we see and how we respond through our actions. Whether we find something attractive or aversive does not inhere in the object we see, but rather its pleasant and unpleasant qualities are in "the eyes of the beholder" ourselves."

I highly recommend this book by Jean Smith. I found it on Amazon.

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/world/2013/11/26/spc-inside-louvre-mona-lisa-restoration.cnn.html

One of the world's greatest paintings is the Mona Lisa...this link address the question, should it be restored? Hum... I think Leonardo would have already found a solution to this problem.

Frida Kahlo: Why Mexico's elite still shun the artist

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-25061658

Frida truly created her own universe...her memory and art lives on.

THE GOLDEN MEAN and Composition... YouTube Video by Stafan Baumann

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K32MjX0HDm0

Painting this way is like going back in time to the old masters. It seems to be a lot of work, but doing it brings paintings up to another level. With practice, I hope to be able to achieve these proportions without having to draw in the lines. Happy Painting!

Red rose in the spot light.

This is a painting I did using the Golden Mean. It is 9 x 12 and was painted in about an hour.  The book is a music book, and origninally I wanted to put in the music notes, but I decided the spotlight was on the rose, and that was all that was really needed in this study. I am very happy with how it turned out.

With spring in the air...I hope to get out and do some plein air painting....

Becky Joy is one of my favorite Plein Air Artists...you can check out her web site at:
http://www.beckyjoy.com/

Adorable Affordable Pet Portraits...
These cute and cuddly critters are members of our families. Your pet's individual personality is captured in colored pencil mounted on canvas (based on your pet's photo) for only $35 (plus shipping and handling).
Sizes offered: 5" x 5" box canvas or 5" x  7" canvas.

These also make great gifts. Contact me now.

Special order pet portraits in oil also available.   Price depending on size.

Essence portraits are a unique dance with spirit. They are painted with acrylic paint on Strathmore watercolor paper (unframed). As with my oil paintings, I am drawn towards  light, but with essence portraits, it is the light of spirit that
speaks to me. 

I think that with each one I paint, I am more consumed by spirit. With all of  them, there has been a slight physical resemblance to the physical form...some  more than others. Also, very often, hair and eyes change. Blue eyes want to be  brown and brown eyes want to be blue. Hair is the other thing. Short hair can be  long...or the head may be hooded. Hair color likes to change color too.

When I do an essence portrait, I focus and meditate on the photo. I usually like to  carry this energy around with me for a little while. When I still my mind, I  start to see flashes of images. 

It is so amazing how it works. Once I start painting, I try to keep my brain out of  it and just paint. 

Throughout the painting process, I also get psychic messages. These are like little stories  of what your essence is. I like to write a little on the back when I am done. If  I get a lot of symbolism with an essence, I may type up the response. I try not
to listen too much to the story while I am painting because I can get easily  side tracked. It is kind of like taking a journey. 

When I start writing, my brain can play. Sometimes, I get so much information, I have  to slow down and condense the meaning. It is like, I am opening the door, but  the true essence is within you...and what the painting means to you. I can only
hope that you can relate to what you see when I am done.

I love the connection I have with spirit in painting these and so I present these  at a very reasonable rate. I charge $40 for a single image (one person) or $60  for a couple. Shipping and handling is extra if applicable. It only takes an
image emailed to me to start the process.   If you are curious and/or want a truly unique portrait, please contact me
via my website, or at sharstar13@aol.com

I look forward to your spirit dance.