Ozark Foothills FilmFest Branding Image

Each year, the Ozark Foothills FilmFest holds a statewide competition to find an image for its festival poster, program cover, and website.  One of my watercolor paintings, Summer on the Farm,  has been chosen as the branding image for the 10th annual FilmFest, set for March 23 -27 in Batesville.  I will have an exhibit of many of my paintings at the Batesville Area Art Gallery March 8 through 25, and will do a painting demo at the gallery on Friday, March 11, from 6 to 8 pm.  If you can, please stop by on March 11 to say hello and enjoy my demo.  If not, try to take in my exhibit sometime during March.

A Splendid Day - Original Watercolor Painting

Here's a place that may or may not exist, but if it does, I'd like to be there on a splendid day like this one.

If you'd like to purchase this 11" x 15" original watercolor painting for $200 including shipping within the United States, you can do it with one click on my website www.jimoberst.com.  There are additional paintings for sale on this website, as well as on my other website www.weeklywatercolor.com.

Leaving Port - Original Watercolor Painting

I can't seem to get away from painting boats lately.  This painting was somewhat of an experiment.  The sails were done by squeezing the color out with a credit card, and the water was also given the "credit card treatment".

If you'd like to purchase this 11" x 15" original watercolor painting for $200 including shipping within the United States, you can do it with one click on my website www.jimoberst.com.  There are additional paintings for sale on this website, as well as on my other website www.weeklywatercolor.com.

Juried Into 2011 MSW Annual Exhibit

I received some good news this week.  One of the paintings I entered into the 2011 Mid-Southern Watercolorists Annual Exhibit was juried in by juror Mark Mehaffey.  It was my half-sheet painting of the Arlington Hotel.  This is the fifth time I've been juried into this Exhibit.

Shadows - Original Watercolor Painting

Here's another seashore painting on my website home page - looking right into the sun. 

If you'd like to purchase this 11" x 15" original watercolor painting for $200 including shipping within the United States, you can do it with one click on my website www.jimoberst.com.  There are additional paintings for sale on this website, as well as on my other website www.weeklywatercolor.com.

The Bustling Seashore - Original Watercolor Painting

Here's a new painting of a busy seashore - plenty of boats to play with.  This scene is out of my imagination.  There aren't too many locations like this left in the U.S. - most of our seashore is now taken over by swimming-only beaches and yacht moorings.  This scene is from a simpler, gentler time.

If you'd like to purchase this 11" x 15" original watercolor painting for $200 including shipping within the United States, please visit my website www.jimoberst.com.  You can see additional paintings that are for sale on this website, as well as on my other website www.weeklywatercolor.com.

A Fine Day for Sailing - Original Watercolor Painting

Another new painting on the home page of my website www.jimoberst.com.  This is based on a boat I saw this past summer in Nova Scotia.  It seemed that sailing was very big there.

If you're interested in buying this painting, you can purchase it on www.jimoberst.com for $200 including shipping within the United States.  It is a quarter-sheet: 15 x 11".

Fly Fishing - Original Watercolor Painting

Here's a watercolor painting I just posted on the home page of my main website www.jimoberst.com.  I've not yet exhibited this piece in any gallery.  It shows a fly fisherman on a big river, dwarfed by the autumn trees and foliage that surround him.  It's 15 x 22" unframed, and available for purchase on my website for $300 including shipping within the U.S.

Step-By-Step Painting Demo

This is a set of images of my painting The Old Guard, #54 posted last week on my Weekly Watercolor website.  This watercolor painting is small - only 7.5 x 11".

I started with a very simple drawing.  The next step was to paint the sky and the first wash on the water.  When this was dry, I added the distant landscape and the boat on the horizon.  Next, I painted the major shapes of the main boats, and put another wash on the water to deepen its value.  I brushed in the boat reflections while the water wash was still wet.  Finally, I added the details of the rigging.

I hope you have found this interesting, whether you're a painter yourself or an art collector.  If you would like to join me to paint, my next watercolor workshop is scheduled for June in Hot Springs Village, Arkansas.  Go to www.jimoberst.com to learn more.

Four Paintings Added to Website

I just added four of my large, full-sheet watercolor paintings to my website www.jimoberst.com.   All of these are available via a 1-click PayPal button.  I've posted one here, titled Covered Bridge, that costs $400 including shipping within the U.S.

Updated Website

Today I published a new version of my website at www.jimoberst.com.  My goals were to simplify it, focusing on news and other timely information, and to highlight my medium and large-size paintings that are still available, and to make it easy to purchase them with some PayPal Buy Now buttons.  I'll be adding more paintings from time to time, as well as changing the painting image that's on the Home page.  My small paintings are still displayed and sold on my other website, www.weeklywatercolor.com.

Brush Strokes Painting of the Month

My painting Big Ol' Barn won Painting of the Month honors at the December 10 Brush Strokes meeting.  This painting is based on a large barn I came upon in Ohio.  The painting is for sale for $325 framed, and is hanging in the Coronado Center in Hot Springs Village, Arkansas until January 14.

Painting Commission: Honfleur

I just completed a commission painting of Honfleur Harbor.  I visited Honfleur, in Normandy, France, earlier this year, and found it very scenic and a perfect painting subject.  I've since painted a number of watercolor paintings of various views of the harbor and posted them on my weekly watercolor site - www.weeklywatercolor.com.  Several have sold; it seems that everyone who visits Honfleur looks for some way to remind themselves of the quaint town and harbor.  This painting was done for a client in Massachusetts from one of the photos I took in Honfleur.  It turned out to be much more detailed than my original intention (as many of my paintings do), but I do like the final painting, and so did my client.

Workshop with Alvaro Castagnet

During October I attended a 5-day watercolor workshop with Alvaro Castagnet in Sedona, Arizona, sponsored by the Sedona Arts Center.  There were 14 students, and we painted outdoors most of the time.  Most of the students were not from Arizona.  Alvaro did many of very good demos, and spent time describing what he thinks about when he paints.  He also provided very useful critiques of the students' paintings.  I was challenged during the workshop, and now after it, to put a lot of Alvaro's tips into action... which hasn't been easy!  But I intend to keep at it.  I would like to be able to capture in my paintings some of the mystery and looseness that Alvaro injects into all of his paintings.

Demo Painting at Gallery 726

On Thursday evening, September 23, most galleries in Hot Springs participated in a program designed to educate people about art and introduce them to the galleries.  This program was by invitation, and included talks, demos, food, and drink.

I did a watercolor demo at Gallery 726, which took about an hour and a half.  I've posted the result here... perhaps a bit over the top, but perfect for lovers of strong color, high impact paintings.  It's titled Early Snowfall.

If you'd like to see more of my paintings,  visit either Gallery 726 or Artists Workshop Gallery in Hot Springs, or take a look at my two websites:
www.jimoberst.com
www.weeklywatercolor.com

Workshop with Tony Van Hasselt

During the last week of August I attended a plein air workshop given by Tony Van Hasselt.  It was held on the Maine coast, in Rockland.  I signed up for this because I had heard that Tony is an excellent teacher, and because I wanted to learn how to successfully approach plein air painting - my previous attempts yielded lackluster results.  It also dovetailed into a longer New England vacation that we had planned.

The workshop was great.  Tony is a plein air expert, has great advice about how to paint realistic landscapes, and has a wonderful approach to critiques.  I did several plein air paintings; the best of the lot is posted here, along with my painting setup.  I also took hundreds of photos of the Maine coast, so my cup runneth over with references for future paintings.

Juried into 2010 Diamond Exhibit

Today I learned that two of my paintings, Mickey's Bar-B-Que (yes, the place on Park Avenue just north of town) and Taking a Break, were juried into the 2010 Diamond National Exhibit. This exhibit is sponsored by the Fine Arts Center of Hot Springs, and draws art in all mediums from around the region. Drop by the Fine Arts Center during August to enjoy the exhibit.

3-Day Watercolor Workshop

I taught a 3-day Watercolor Workshop on July 12 - 14 in Hot Springs Village, AR, under the auspices of Brush Strokes Art Club. Twelve students were subjected to my approach to watercolor painting, including talks on design, perspective, symbols, landscape guidelines, what makes a good shape, color, etc. Somehow they all seemed to not only survive, but to prosper. Intrinsic to the workshop was a half-sheet, 2-hour demo each morning. I've posted here photos of the class and of the three demo paintings I completed. For more information on my watercolor workshops, including how to schedule one for your group, please visit my website workshops page.

Best of Show in Brush Strokes Exhibit

I'm pleased to report that my painting Gallery Walk won Best of Show at the Brush Strokes Garland County Library exhibit. Selma Blackburn was judge. The show is very nice and worth a look; stop by to see it during July and August.

Best of Show in Brush Strokes Exhibit

The Brush Strokes art club holds its major exhibit each year at the Woodlands Auditorium in Hot Springs Village. This year I was awarded Best of Show for my half-sheet watercolor painting Arlington Hotel, depicting the famous Hot Springs icon. The judge was artist, instructor, and author Bob Rohm. The exhibit continues through the end of June.