Early Redwood's Morning. This was a piece done pleinaire just outside of Trinidad.  We did an early morning walk and I knew has the light crept through the Redwoods, I just had to paint it.

Winter's Dream won 1st place. This painting was created from my imagination to represent my feeling of winter. Thankfully the  judge, Malcolm Wilson agreed.

I was very please and honored to be the Editor's Choice in the Summer Edition of Startists. Startists is an international art magazine featuring contemporary women in art.  It came out in May 2018 and can be purchased on Amazon. 
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This looks like a great book to keep me on track... though according to my waistline... I don't have to worry about starving. 
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Just a few photos of the beautiful places we went to during the workshop. Unfortunately I left my phone behind and didn't get photos of McCloud.

I just got home from a three day plein air workshop with Stefan Baumann and found this wonderful article by John Pototoschnik on Jim McVicker.  Hopefully this link will let me share it.
 http://www.pototschnik.com/jim-mcvicker-interview/
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​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.
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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