Celebrating The First Friday Artwalk

Lots of vibrant art happening on the First Friday of the month and it's a good time to highlight these artists of the Etsy community. I like the feel and combination of modern art and traditional art together. I think different genres can enhance each other like a good conversation...

Update links to fashion and jewelry treasuries:

Fantasy Garden Art Walk
Black White and A Little Cherry on Top

I Need a Little Sol II

On a Monday everyone needs a little sun. I like the combination of different art forms in this treasury. The representational art, abstract paintings plus mid-century bench seem to go well together...

Original Impressionist Desert Sky Landscape Painting

"Desert Sky and Heavens"

I travel the desert highways between California and Arizona and this is a memory of a beautiful sky and dark/beautiful landscape... That closeness to nature is a serene feeling, I wanted to share. Have a wonderful week everyone.

Original Painting Alla Prima Landscape by JC Strong

"Canyon Abstraction"

We've had a little bit of "June Gloom" in California and I decided to go in another direction. This small format painting is a vivid memory of the mountains and canyons of Utah...

Original Impressionist Seascape by JC Strong

"Nancy's Walk"

I’m grateful for my friends. I’m not sure about other artists but for me painting is a solitary endeavor. I’m mainly alone when I paint and research my artwork. It’s so nice when my friends take me out of my cocoon. My little habitat is fun and filled with paints and brushes but nevertheless its still a little “arty” envelope . . .

So my friend and I took a walk out to San Onofre State Beach. The walk is filled with native plants and at the end of the trail and cliffs below you see the ocean. Well I didn’t have any paints and forgot my camera at home but thought the scene was the beginning of a painting.

My same friend went out again on a nature walk. She remembered how much I liked the cliffs and ocean and sent me some reference photos. So this painting is a combination of memory, imagination and a friend’s thoughtfulness. “It can’t get better then that.”

Original Acrylic Still Life by JC Strong

"Brent Gave Her Roses"

I hope everyone had a good weekend. Initially, the painting began with a lighter middle valued background but it just didn't seem to do the roses justice.

The roses were a fun and fabulous gift and they had lots of oomph. So I tried making the background luminous with darker values and color. It seemed to bring out the roses and give them more spirit and punched up the golden tones in the roses.

I'd been reading a book about the artist Robert Motherwell
an American abstract painter. His images have big blocks of color, texture and they are huge. I think his strong color sense kind of slipped into this painting.

Original Impressionistic Seascape by JC Strong

With the help of imagination and reference material, this latest work is my idea of the many colors and moods of the ocean.

Everytime I paint a landscape or seascape I'm aware that nature is the ultimate artist:

"Nature" is what we see -- The Hill -- the Afternoon -- Squirrel -- Eclipse -- the Bumble bee -- Nay -- Nature is Heaven -- Nature is what we hear -- The Bobolink -- the Sea -- Thunder -- the Cricket -- Nay -- Nature is Harmony -- Nature is what we know -- Yet have no art to say -- So impotent Our Wisdom is To her Simplicity." by Emily Dickinson

You can find more information regarding this painting by visiting my Etsy Shop. With so many options on the web, thank you for stopping by and viewing my work...

Black and White Vibrations

I think black and white art and sculpture with lots of texture, interesting subject matter and humor almost vibrates. The artists that are part of this treasury have made unique statements with only a black and white palette. Just click "Black and White Vibrations." and find additional information.

Original Painting California Landscape and Sky by JC Strong

The winds blow from the inland valley to the ocean. These “Santa Ana” winds can transform a sky. The colors at sunset looked lush and delicate at the same time. (The area is actually around San Clemente, California.)

Painting this work was a matter of problem solving. If I realy think about it, most of my work is a matter of pushing and pulling until the story is completed.

I wanted the colors in the sky to tell the story but I needed to anchor the painting. It seems to me placing the tree at the lower right-hand corner, plus the darker values in the landscape did the job. I painted the edges as you can see in the image below. See additional detail in my Etsy Shop.

California Seascape by JC Strong

Southern California has been experiencing heavy rains. The past week I was reminded nature is in full control at the San Clemente Beaches.

This day I felt I had a glimpse of an expressive and assertive ocean. The sun came out for a brief time but underneath the sea is full throttle activity . . .
You can see the churning in the ocean. I could see waves sand and dirt rolling around.

Landscapes and seascapes for me are a matter of taking cues from nature and editing down the scene. I usually paint in a small format but this scene needed a larger canvas (16" X 20"). See more photos and details.

Original Acrylic California Seascape

Some days, riding along Pacific Coast Highway from Laguna Beach to San Clemente, California, you see beautiful coastlines. I always wonder, what did the coastline look like fifty years ago? (One of my favorite places in Laguna Beach is the Laguna Art Museum... (The museum has a breathtaking exhibit of early 20th Century artists. These early artists documented the coast line of long ago.)


So, today the sky is blue and the waves are aqua green and smooth. I’ve enjoyed a walk to the San Clemente Pier. It was easy to imagine a “Retro Summer."

Shop Talk, New Curated Etsy Treasury, and New Team:
See more details regarding this work and other paintings in my Etsy Shop.

I've stepped out of my comfort zone and made a sale to an international buyer... It was scary new territory. The scary part was international shipping but it went well. Thanks so much!

MysticSilks has curated a colorful Treasury it has a great selection of fine art, ceramics, and fashion, take a look:
The Autumn Leaves Drift By My Window

Scarfooldesigns has curated an homage to the season with fine art in different mediums called:
Black with a Pop of Orange for Halloween Season

I'm a new member of the Etsy Group AWE Team, looking forward to their "first Friday art walk" events...

The Sea and Abstract Art Influences

I had been thinking of this seascape for a while. The underlying influence’s is the sea and abstract art. I appreciate art history and made a connection with the “fields” of color within the ocean and abstract interpretation of color.

I can remember years ago seeing Mark Rothko’s huge abstract paintings. When I saw them, I felt like I was in a church. I don’t know what it was but I had one of those “Aha” moments.

Well, this is my original small format interpretation of nature and respect for the abstract artist’s that have come before me. (Acrylic on RayMar panel)