Leaving my husband

On April 22, I leave my husband behind (!) and head to Venice, Italy for 3 weeks of painting bliss. I'm looking forward to meeting up with older students and brand new ones, as we explore the many cobblestone side streets and bridges of this City of Water. (p.s.  it's time to sign up for my 2016 Paris-Venice painting vacation!)

"Dusk on the Grand Canal"
by Helen K. Beacham Fine Art
In a Private Collection

"Buongiorno"
by Helen K. Beacham Fine Art
Available.

"Italian Gardens I"
by Helen K. Beacham Fine Art
Available.

"Rialto Market: After Hours"
by Helen K. Beacham Fine Art
Available.

I return the middle of May, just in time for Piccolo Spoleto in Charleston.  That's a 17-day outdoor art festival which takes place on the grounds of beautiful Marion Square.  

My booth is on the Meeting Street side of the park, so come see me!  
May 23 - June 6, 2015

I have many new paintings to share with you.  

Maybe one of them will speak to you!

"Morning on the Piazza"
by Helen K. Beacham Fine Art
Available.

"Summer's End"
by Helen K. Beacham Fine Art
Available.

"Lowcountry Sunshine"
by Helen K. Beacham Fine Art
Available.

"The Artist's Garden"
by Helen K. Beacham Fine Art
Available.

"Breakfast"
by Helen K. Beacham Fine Art
Available.

"Spring"
by Helen K. Beacham Fine Art
Available.

www.helenKbeacham.com

Come paint with me! 

In 2015, we're going to Venice, Niagara Falls, and so on!!!  
Find details HERE

Corner Garden VI (Italy)

Once again, I smile when I think of the tiniest little gardens that you find tucked into nooks and crannies throughout Italy.

"Corner Garden VI (Italy)"
Watercolor with pen & ink.
Helen K. Beacham Fine Art
Framed size 8.5"h x 6.5"w
Available for $200.

www.helenKbeacham.com

Come paint with me! 

In 2015, we're going to Venice, Niagara Falls, Montreal and so on!!!  
Find details HERE

Venice, here I come!

2.5 weeks till I head to Venice, Italy!!!  And 3.5 weeks till my students arrive for 8 days of painting bliss! 

Time to pin down the final details...pare down what you want to pack, order those Euros, bring enough memory chips for your camera!  

Intimate side canals offer painting opportunities around every corner.

The weather's in the 70's for the next 10 days and 55-60's at night.  But a lot can happen in the next three weeks so come prepared for cooler weather too!  
I'd love to know....what's your favorite Venice experience!???

Come with me (Helen K. Beacham) and Kelly Medford to paint Venice this October...

Just 2 Oil Painting spots left in the workshop.

Click HERE for details!

See my latest post HERE.

Quick Sketch leads to special encounter

Special treat for y'all today!  Diana Moses Botkin is an artist who recently traveled to Italy via France. While in the Charles de Gaulle terminal, she quick-sketched some gentlemen that turned out to be somewhat (a lot?) famous!  Read her blog HERE and be sure to click on the VIDEO she provided as well for that extra special treat!

See my latest post HERE.

Tippette #25 - HomeMade Travel Easels

Tippette = Snippet of a Tip (in watercolor).  One per day...during April...right here!  Tell a friend!

HomeMade Travel Easels

Since I'll be taking a group of students to Venice for a plein air workshop in October, we're starting to think about the best (and lightest) products to take with us on the plane.  An important consideration is our easel.  While there are several (ok, not really that many) good watercolor travel easels out there, they can be expensive. Many artists have gotten creative and have made their own.  Here are a couple of ideas that really make sense.

Camera tripod & plastic drip tray

Anne P. says this about her easel:  "I bought a drip tray at the hardware store, drilled a 3/16th's hole in it so the mount would fit through it to attach to the easel.  It was a little wobbly, so I added some foam carpet padding I found in the garage!  The drip tray was big enough to hold an Arches block and a small cup of water."   This setup really makes sense, and for an overseas flight, we might need to come up with an alternative to the plastic drip tray...anyone have thoughts on what could be used?  How about an aluminum baking tray?  Anything else?

Another artist, Jane C., came up with this idea:

Camera tripod & cigar box (or pochade box) - cups clipped on, left & right.

She says: "There are two ways (at least) of attaching the box to a tripod. For my box, which was a little heavy, I ordered a "universal tripod mount kit" from Judson Art Outfitters, the folks who make the Guerrilla pochade boxes. It costs $17.99. Gives the setup a little more stability. However, on a smaller, lighter honest-to-goodness cigar box, I have also used a little piece of hardware called a "t nut", found at hardware stores for about 99 cents. The little bolt on your tripod mount fits into the threads of these pieces of hardware. You drill a hole in the bottom of the box,  pop (from the inside) the t nut into it, and you now have something into which to screw the mounting plate of your tripod. You should just bring that top mounting plate of your tripod with you to the hardware store, to make sure you get the correct diameter of t-nut. They come in different sizes."

One thing I've personally done before is cut a piece of a "rubber gripper pad" (like you put under a rug) to the size of my tray.  It keeps things from rolling around too much in there.

I personally either use:
1) My Eric Michael’s En Plein Air Pro Easel (Cheap Joe’s has it for about $160 although it was $120 when I bought it: www.cheapjoes.com – Part # PROEASEL2).  It comes complete with a palette shelf, water pail, portable watercolor palette, and bags to carry everything in.  Video of the easel setup is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qr1rw81ys04.

2) Or, if I'm painting closer to home AND I can throw whatever I want into my car trunk AND I don't have to haul stuff a long way, I like to sit in my folding chair and use a TV tray for my regular sized palette.  You'll see in this picture that I use that blue rolling box in the foreground of the picture to put all things into, and I put down an old blanket or shower curtain or vinyl tablecloth under me if I'm out there barefooted.  It keeps the ants at bay for a little while (or, at least you can see them coming!).

Thanks to my two artist friends for their 2 excellent ideas today!  Do you have others to share with us?  What's worked for you and what things have you learned to avoid?  It's all helpful to us!

Come with Helen K. Beacham and Kelly Medford to paint Venice this October...

Two Spots Left!

click HERE for details!

www.helenKbeacham.com

READ MY LATEST POST HERE.

Italy: Adventures in Painting

www.helenKbeacham.com

I don't know this painter personally (yet), but I've been keeping up with her through her blog about living and painting in Italy.  Kelly Medford has been on a "Paint 120 paintings in 120 days" project, and today's painting spoke to me.  Read this paragraph from her blog, and you'll see that she's also a writer that lets you picture what she's writing about (she does her research and then tells you about the area in vivid terms).  You can read more about this painting by clicking here:  KELLYMEDFORD.BLOGSPOT.COM

Kelly says:  "There are houses and gardens tucked under the arches of these aqueducts for miles. The people who live here mostly took refuge in these places during the 1930s when Mussolini was beautifying the center of Rome. Knocking down makeshift homes and neighborhoods that were cluttered along the Roman Forum and blocking a clear way to St. Peter's, thousands of people found themselves suddenly homeless. Seen as the only option, they moved out-of-town and built shelter in the arches of the aqueducts."

Oil painting by Kelly Medford.  Kelly says " The little arch at the end of the road represents for me the portal into this other world tucked away from the noise that is modern-day Rome."

www.helenKbeacham.com

Read my latest post!

Montreal Fast Food

www.helenKbeacham.com

As with cities in Italy, if you see a fast food restaurant in Montreal (my home town), it's done so that it blends in with the historic architecture of the city.  No golden arches here (unless you count the awnings!)

One of the specialty "fast foods" that you'll find in Montreal is "poutine" (pronounced poo-tin).  It's french fries with brown gravy and melted cheese on top! Oh, my!!!

Poutine:  French Fries, brown gravy and melted cheese!!!!

In Old Montreal.

  Another fast food joint I LOVE, is the Orange Julep.  Here, you can get the best Club Sandwich and an "orange julep" drink (what else?!)  Ok, I must admit that this building is not very "historic" in nature.  It's located near Decarie Blvd where it's not so "historic" in nature.

The Orange Julep near Decarie Blvd.

www.helenKbeacham.com

Read my latest post!