Student's Acrylic Painting a Success!

This painting was recently completed by one of my students during an acrylics workshop!  I love how she treated the background, and how the focus stays on that gorgeous edge of the tree and its delicate limb!  Can't wait to see what she creates during this coming week's workshop with me!

"The Thicket" wins an Award!

Thank you to judge Michael Haga, Asst Dean, College of Charleston, for my Honorable Mention! My watercolor on Yupo ("The Thicket") was entered into the 2012 Charleston Artist Guild's Member Exhibition. Congratulations to all of the winners!  

In this painting, as in all of my watercolors, I chose to include my various graphite and charcoal marks.  I think our "marks" are our own personal calligraphy.  They say so much about me, the artist.

"The Thicket" (watercolor on Yupo) by Helen K. Beacham

QR Codes - what lurks behind them?

As if we didn't already have to be careful about plenty nowadays (concerning the internet), here's something else that McAfee recently posted:


"You know those graphic black-and-white codes that seem to be popping up everywhere these days?  They are known as QR codes, or scannable barcodes, which you scan with your cell phone to take you to webpages with special deals or content.  The problem is that scammers are taking advantage of our curiosity for QR codes and are embedding links to dangerous websites and applications."  


Read more about the dangers....

http://www.darkreading.com/mobile-security/167901113/security/news/232301147/qr-code-malware-picks-up-steam.html

From watercolor to acrylics!

"Swamp Jewels V" (acrylic) by Helen K. Beacham

I just finished teaching a watercolor workshop this week, where we learned to paint orchids in a beautiful, loose fashion.  This coming Mon-Tues-Wed, I'm teaching an acrylics class where our focus will be to paint a successful painting with fresh color, with as few strokes as possible (because sometimes the simpler, the better!).  My students excite me when their eyes light up during their own, personal aha moments!