up close

Our figure in the landscape group met  and for some reason I decided to just focus on the face......now, I considered NOT posting this one, maybe waiting til my work reached some level I could be proud of, rather than this utterly searching portrayal of the lovely model, which doesn't do her a bit of justice. But I decided if I really want to share this path I'm on, I want to be honest and share the struggle as well. So that's how it may be for a while, paintings that aren't so"pretty", although "pretty" has never been my goal. Truth is my goal and sharing whats going on with me and my growth as an artist.

Take 2

Had so much trouble with this pose, had to wipe it off and start over-halfway through! Did 2 small paintings, 6x6, in the 3 hour plein air session with the model. Plan on doing it again this week, viewing it as a STUDY only, by no means anywhere near a finished painting. Steve Sheehan ( who used to teach at the Lyme Academy) said that you could learn more by starting many paintings. So consider this a start!

Figure in the Landscape

We went across the street from the art museum to Touro Park, the model in the sun, we're in the shade. By 4pm, when we ended, the shade was everywhere, and it felt like September in New England. I did 2 studies, this is the better of the 2. Will post the other tomorrow. In any event, have decided that my next focus will be on the figure....from LIFE! Got out all my reference books, really thinking about what Anthony Ryder calls "the envelope", a group of up to 6 lines that encompass the figure into one big mass. That's the starting point, not any of the details inside.

3rd Beach

Painted with a plein air group taught by David Barnes, always wonderful to have figure AND landscape. A beautiful afternoon at the beach. My struggle was about getting too picky at the end, decided that for the next session I will do two paintings and just try to capture the essence of the figure and the September light on that figure.

Collins Park

Have wanted to paint this scene for some time, these elegant Japanese Black Pines next to 1st Beach. I had quite a struggle with the shape of the tree, having to squint down until all I could see WAS the shape. It was such a beautiful grey morning and I felt so blessed to be happily painting in my own little world! I posted it on Facebook earlier this week and SOLD it!

The Anchorage

Bristol Narrows: The red house at the bottom of the hill just before you turn left to drive onto the strip of beach. A lovely place, fishermen, people kayaking. Some in our group had to regroup when the tide came in! Ah, the pleasures of plein air painting. A perfect morning.

Beehive Revisited

I've been thinking alot about why I wasn't happy with my last post of the darling Beehive Cafe in Bristol. It's because the painting is too sweet, too typical. There, I've said it. What drew me to the scene in the first place was the space around the lone customer on the upper deck, under the orange windsail. So I got out my paints today and believe I was able to capture that original feeling, as I painted, not in Bristol at the scene, but on my deck in Portsmouth, with warm breezes blowing, and the Sakonnet shimmering a rich blue under a late afternoon September sky.

Beehive Cafe

Painted this with my plein air group last week. Something about it isn't sitting quite right with me, but I can't put my finger on it. A sweet man in the house next to where we had set up came out with Sprite for us! One of the super hot mornings we had.How thoughtful!