Peace on Earth

May your day be filled with light and love

Painting from Life

It was an opportunity I didn't want to pass up- two models at the open figure group last week. In the midst of Christmas preparations it was great to set that all aside for a few hours. After the 5 minutes poses, we had four 20 minute poses. I used one sheet of paper and painted  with a very limited palette in acrylic. I just did one after the other. A present to myself, the sweet gift of time!

After Vuillard

Always one of my favorite paintings by Vuillard, here's my copy done with respect and humility! Even a simple painting has layers of complexity and nuance. 8x10 on canvas.

Cyclamen

A pretty cyclamen had me searching to get the values right. White is a challenge, need I say more? This is 8x8 on a cradled panel.

Accepted

 

All the leaves are falling

In the painting class I teach; I gathered up an assortment of fallen autumn leaves. Light, fragile, but full of shapes and value. Here's my go at it. First we did the leaf, then with a piece of colored paper to add interest to the composition. 6x6 on panel.

Counted Strokes

Count each stroke? Now that's a challenge! 6x6 panel, a vase of flowers, a big brush, and 25 strokes to complete a painting!! Can it be done? Yes, if you load the brush, think about getting the very most out of each stroke and not worry about being too perfect. Let yourself go... with intention! Fabulous. Thank you Page Railsback for a day of good painting with wonderful people.

Hingham

The second exercise was still in 3 values, using the same dark chromatic grey we had mixed earlier, but now bring color into it. Page had flowers everywhere around her beautiful 1800's house; I chose pale pink roses on the deep windowsill.

Railsback Workshop

This is the first in a series of exercises we did at a one day workshop I attended taught by Page Railsback. This was about simplifying, using three values, and finding a pleasing composition. First we mixed a chromatic gray from just red, yellow and blue. This is on a 6x6 panel.

Gray and Continuing

A color chart we did in Tuesdays' class; showing the range of colorful chromatic grays that can be made without black. And a few more changes to the autumn still life.

Update

Making still more changes to this painting  reminds me why I love plein air!  Paint the painting, leave the scene. I have gone back into a plein air in the studio to make minor adjustments, but this one has gone through major changes. Am I satisfied yet? Time will tell. Turn it to the wall then return a few days later.

There's A Lot Going On Here!

I have been working on a larger still life in the studio, wanting to abstract it as much as possible. Bottom left is first one, top right is last one. I'm not sure it's done though. Title is my husbands reaction. LOL.

Helianthus Mine

The last one of this little series now showing at DeBlois Gallery. Something timeless about a studio still life, the arranging of the objects, the close observation, the way time passes as you sit and solve all the painting problems. I named it Helianthus Mine because of the intimacy I developed with these simple objects, one from the earth, one of glass and one of clay.

Happy Halloween. Goodbye October.

Helianthus East

Here's another from the sunflower series that is part of the Small Picture Show at DeBlois Gallery. I am satisfied with the blocky shapes of the petals, the flower lends itself well to being painted in this way. Not too delicate, lacy or fine; I like the solid shapes! Just a touch of the black cup linking to leaf shapes of same value on the left of the picture plane.

Helianthus West

What is it about sunflowers that make them so paintable? I wanted to really look at structure with this series, while keeping color naturalistic. 8x8 on cradled panel.

Over the Lagoon

I took my paints out to this gazebo like structure that sits out over the lagoon looking at the light on the bank of the opposite shore. I approached it as I have been doing, getting the drawing down in pencil first. The sun has come out after two days of clouds but the wind has also picked up. I decided to go back to the comfort of home, and use my visual memory to paint. Before I left I looked carefully at what I wanted to emphasize, what wasn't as important to me and then I packed up my things and biked home. I haven't tried that particular way of working before and I enjoyed it quite a bit!

Reflect

I want to work with the window image for a series, did this gouache in a 4x8 format. I love the reflections on the glass table in front of the window and felt I was able to keep an overall abstractness.

Lagoon

Looking out the window I was thinking about Lois Dodd and looked for shapes in the water and in the shadows. Did a quick pencil first to get the shadows, a good thing because the sun soon went behind a cloud. Note to self: Get those shadows in early!

Bridge to the Pool

Brought gouache with me to Hilton Head. I want to get as abstract as possible while retaining sense of place. That will be my objective this week. I'm working on Canson paper in a nice portable traveling book I found at Utrecht. 

Westport III

Here's the last study in which I pushed even more with the time. I stopped after 15 minutes, now sure I could have spent more time but I was trying to grow my painting muscle by doing an uncomfortable exercise. I think it was worth it!

Westport II

Wanted to get looser with the second Westport painting, so I gave myself only 30 minutes for this tree study. I'm happy with how it sits in the landscape.

Westport

Camping at Horseneck Beach this weekend. Went painting with Libby Gilpatric this morning, this was the first one I did. Felt so amazing to be out and surrounded by such beautiful land and sea!

Porch update

Another long session in the studio let me focus on that shadow shape, differentiating the blue in the light from the blue in the shadow, the blue closest to the door then moving into the room. Same with the whites. I think I am pretty close to saying all that I need to say.

Porch

In the studio working on a 12x24 panel of the sun porch of my sisters house. This family home was designed by my great uncle Mason Remey who later was the architect for many amazing buildings, including an embassy in Washington DC and the Ugandan Bahai place of worship. 

Do you find interest in places that have a history, whether personal or historical? Are these places worthy to paint, to hold in time at that moment of memory?

East End

Another view of Provincetown; drawn in by shape and shadow. Now simplify!

Town Dock Provincetown

Lucky enough to be painting for the weekend in Provincetown. Spectacular weather, light and energy here. I love this place!

Another Look at Fort Cove

Again in the studio attempting to bring color into the light. A busy weekend in Newport with the Boat Show going on!

West Cove Revisited

Why, oh why can't I just leave it be? This painting needed some tweaking and I think it's much improved!

My classes start again at Beach Studios Oct 1st at 9:30 am. I'm really looking forward to it.

Fort Cove

A beautiful day at Fort Wetherill continues as I change location to look out towards the Castle Hill lighthouse. Using a big brush from the start kept this loose as I tried to make sense of the rocks, the water, the sky of this September day. 

12x12 oil on panel

West Cove

 Met up with painting friends this morning at Fort Wetherill in Jamestown. Needed a couple of layers as the breeze made it feel cool. Gorgeous spot, with divers in and out of this area known as scuba cove. 8x10 on panel.

Here For The Day

This is my latest efforts in finishing this painting. A lovely linen canvas didn't prevent the struggle of resolving the sand! I added some foreground shapes to create a little more tension and ambiguity and broke up the sand with flat shapes, really scraping down the lower edge of the canvas. I think it's finished. This has been a tough one to resolve for me. 

Feels so good to be back in the studio (2 days in a row!) after my knee replacement surgery 8 weeks ago. I've been obsessed with rehab and getting back to walking, biking, etc. It's sooo good!

Our Place in the Sun

This is my first painting since my knee replacement surgery back on July 9th; I had no idea it would take me this long to get back to painting. But honestly, knee rehab became my priority and I have been immersed in that. I'm finally feeling that I'm out of the woods and plan to be out painting more. 

This 12x12 oil was my contribution to the Newport Art Museums annual fundraiser WET PAINT, which took place this past weekend.

Start, day 4

This is as far as I got before I had to pack things up, transition a few things to home studio in case I get inspired to paint while I'm recuperating from surgery. Hope to be back again soon! I've resolved the major problems and feel pleased with the mood and areas of abstraction within this painting. Those were my goals when I set out to paint this scene, inspired by my plein air umbrellas of June 2nd, which also was revised!

Start, day 3

 See how I switched the red and brought it next to the green bag. When you place complements next to each other, it's called simultaneous contrast.

I don't think I can leave the sand with so much chroma, it's calling too much attention to itself. There's always tomorrow!

Start, day 2

Anxious to be in the studio, working to get my canvas covered, so many decisions to be made. I'm having a partial knee replacement very soon and want to get this painting resolved!

I hope I can save the drippy foreground but its unlikely, and I know I have to change the color of the ocean.I added the abstract shapes to the lower right to help balance my composition.  I like to know where I'm heading the next time I'm in the studio.

Start

The barest start of a new painting, 16x20, a beautiful linen canvas, and the idea of a beach scene with only a hint of people and an atmosphere that holds a question for the viewer.

Deliberate

At The Portsmouth Arts Guild this month, for a juried show titled "Abstractions".

This is 8x8 on cradled panel; the abstract shapes giving me opportunity to explore thick/thin application of paint.

Sachuest Fog

A very foggy, dripping wet morning. The sky was so light with no color I could see. A painting challenge. You would think a 5x7 could be just whipped off, but nothing like that happened for me.

Rockland

Exploring the area by the docks in Rockland, Maine I happened

on this little dilapidated shed and was struck by the extreme value contrast. I wanted to capture that foggy morning light.

Sears Island

The tides are really something to behold here in Maine. I wanted to show the late afternoon light as the tide was going out. This is 6x6 on panel.

Boyd's Mill

This 1810 wind grist mill has so much going on in it; the closer I got to completing the painting, the more I worried about how to render the arms without detailing it all out.

Thankfully, my painting comrades gave me a few ideas! I am so lucky to be in a community of supportive artists, blessed really.

Cottage at Castle Hill

A perfect morning to be out painting! This cottage is one in a row of adorable dwellings owned by the resort Castle Hill on the famous Ocean Drive here in Newport. I feel as fortunate to paint here as the guests do to stay here. This pretty much painted itself, which rarely happens. 11x14 on canvas.

Foggy Morning

8x10 on panel in the fog and wind in Narragansett. The high contrast between rocks and water was what attracted me to the scene.

Galilee Fleet

Working on a 12x12 panel, I felt overwhelmed as I set up my pochade box, clicked the tripod in place and settled into a metal folding chair some bone tired soul had left on the dock. Looking, simplifying and as Kevin Macpherson says, "reacting in the field", I began to block in simple shapes. One shape at a time.

Fisherman's Memorial Park

Originally known as Fort Greene, an observation silo still stands to remind us of Rhode Islands participation in WWII, where it was heavily fortified and part of our coastal  defense. After being decommissioned the state began purchasing the land for use as a state park, renaming it Fisherman's Memorial to honor fisherman of Narragansett Bay.
Lovely shady spot with ocean breezes and great proximity to beaches and anything you'd like for a few days away. I got lost in the sounds of bird call and whispering winds while painting this.
6x6 oil on panel

Wow, it's hot

Worked on this, overworked this, took a knife to it, it fell face down on the ground and then I thought, "okay, it's done!"
8x10 oil on panel
The second image is a revision to the first painting; I wanted the umbrellas to pop more, so I greyed down the water and tweaked a few other things.

House on Beach Row

Lucky me! Outside again, breezes by the water in Point Judith, what could be better?
8x8 on panel, lots of simplifying. So easy to get fussy; why do we do that? It was the light on the side of the house that caught my attention, I almost fussed it away with detail!!