Debra Keirce

"Reach" by Debra Keirce, 16"x12" Oil

Every year, Seaside Art Gallery hosts an animals in art show. The proceeds benefit The Society For the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. This is such a worthy cause, and I am proud to have 10 paintings in the show. Click on the horse painting image above if you'd like to see all of the show online. There are some incredible works by master animal artists. 

The Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce posted a press release for the show. You can read it by clicking HERE. I was honored that they chose one of my paintings as the image for the press.

Folks, I cannot imagine a more relaxing, come-as-you-are gallery, and the staff are some of the nicest souls on this planet. Whenever I visit, I feel like I am visiting old friends. If you get a chance to stop in and say hi, be sure to include them on your OBX itinerary!

 What is the best thing to do on a snowy day in Northern Virginia? 

Why, facilitate a painting workshop, of course!

I had the best weekend. I was blessed to be able to organize a workshop for my friend Tricia Ratliff. I have asked Tricia to teach me all she knows about contemporary realism, because she has studied with several realists and runs a successful atelier, Agile Arts Atelier from her studio. After just a few months working with Tricia, we identified and filled many gaps in my skill set. Feeling like we had to share this, I was thrilled when six talented artists joined us this snowy weekend. A few braved treacherous roads in the mountains of the The Blue Ridge to be with us. It was so fun, and an honor to study all of the powerful things you can do with a limited palette. Here are my two limited palette studies from the workshop.

We learned about how to make colors "pop," how to organize our painting process so we don't waste time, how to unify the elements so the painting reads well, how to think through and correct compositions, how to check and recheck for drawing mistakes, how to mass our shadows and never let the lit side play with the shade side, and SO much more!