A Different View

How can I depict the very ordinary view out my window to the parking lot below in an interesting and abstracted way? Here's what I came up with.

12x12 cradled panel

An Eggplant

One last one of the single item in the sun series. These will be at The DeBlois Gallery for their Holiday Show. Lots of thick paint.

A Little Gourd

The light changes so quickly at this time of year; had to work fast on this one! 5x5 cradled panel.

Eggplant in the Sun

I set up outside in the sun, wanting to study a single object under natural light. And yes, I set a timer- 30 minutes for this eggplant study.

6x6 panel

Three Value Plein Air

A study using just three values to flatten space and simplify all that we may find overwhelming when we paint plein air. I did this as a demo for my painting class.

Abstract Dunes 2

Back the next morning with bright sun and palette knife.

Abstact Dunes

Thought I would try a different approach, with a knife and a higher keyed palette. 

Mountain Road

This painting is larger than I would normally attempt for plein air, especially as I had no plans to return to the site. 16x20 on Ridge Road in the Adirondacks. A very hot and buggy morning meant sheer determination to stay focused on the painting.

Owls Head

This painting was a perfect Maine morning, clean and clear and tranquil beyond description. It sold today at Spring Bull Gallery before it even got hung in the upcoming En Plein Air Show!

I'm delighted it will be headed to New York with a new collector. Thank you!

Camden

On our trip to Maine I happened to have a peaceful morning to myself and found a spot right at the harbors edge to paint. With all of my senses engaged, I zeroed in on shape and color, with a great deal of editing needed to simplify the chaos into a painting. 

The Waves

The view from Bailey's Beach in Newport RI looks out at this wonderful house built on the ruins of a home destroyed by fire in 1927.

I painted this for Wet Paint, the most fun weekend summer fundraiser for the Newport Art Museum.

Silent bidding then a select few chosen to go to a live auction- and mine was one of those "under the tent". Thrilling!

After dinner

When the rains stopped the day turned out to be simply glorious. At paint camp dinner is cafeteria style ( a culinary school is part of Paul Smiths College) and served from 5:30 to 6:30 so we ate early and went out after dinner to paint. 

There are so many old farms in the Adirondacks and this one had wonderful vantage points from the side of the road. Soon any traffic noise became background as I got into the painting process.

Saranac Lake

The second morning of paint camp had rain and a glum forecast so we drove around to find a sheltered area to paint. We found the perfect structure at the end of the lake and got our gear out under heavy rain. As is often the case when painting outside, the weather changed and before long the sun came out! So much for the forecast! As beautiful as that was, I stuck with my initial attraction to the space, the wet streets and grey skies.

Tree study

With one painting done in the morning I wanted to keep it simple for the afternoon. These trees on Barnum Pond

caught my eye, so I did an 8x10 study to capture the value contrast between the pines and the grey atmosphere.

Day one of paint camp in the Adirondacks with the Publishers Invitational Paint Out.

Plein Air Invitational Adirondacks

My second year back for a week of Plein Air painting with this group, all painting; no workshops, everyone in the same frame of mind- enjoy painting.

Caught some abstract reflections looking at still water; I was mesmerized! 12x12

Contemplative

In a palette that's more tonal than my usual craving for intense color, I explored pattern and shape as my primary focus.

14x18 on canvas. Over an old painting. Any thoughts on painting over old work? Any techniques that bear sharing? I sand it wearing a mask and doing it outdoors.

Welcome June

Welcome June! May slipped by with bouts of illness and the arrival of a new puppy. Shifting priorities made new routines and these are ever changing. One thing is constant, the beauty of simple things. Gerbera daisy oil on panel 6x6.

A Contemporary Viewpoint

I have been invited, along with some other wonderful artists, to be in a month long show at Spring Bull Gallery in Newport. The show is A Contemporary Viewpoint and the opening is May 2, from 5-7pm. 

Here's one of my paintings

Outside Gerbera

Coming back to this painting I have removed the horizontal shadow shape in the lower part of the painting as I thought it was a case of "less is more" and changed the hue of the vertical shapes on the right. I feel like it's more balanced now.

Gerbera Daisy

On the easel and I'm waiting to see what will come next. I am never entirely sure; I've increased the left green shape and changed the hue of the bench to relate more to the tabletop. 18x24

Cut Paper

When the time is short and materials scarce- try a cut paper collage. Feeling zen to me. Sit back and relax kind of afternoon.

Just Looking

My glasses were on the dash and made an interesting shadow so I drew them twice, playing with more shadows, then just tried to go with what was there. Again with Prismacolor brush marker 90% French Grey. Did some layering and had some fun.

From the Car

When I have art materials with me, I'm more apt to use them! This shouldn't be startling news and yet so often I am empty handed. Luckily I use my phone to take pictures but there's nothing like settling down and rendering an image.

That's what I did yesterday after dropping my husband off for a round of golf. I just stayed right in the parking lot, in the car, using the Prismacolor brush markers for these remarkable Oak trees that are everywhere along the coast of Texas.

Outside

I wanted to paint my tulips one last time, very damp out today on Galveston Island State Park.

More interested in color and shape today; painted with palette knife on Arches oil paper.

Canoes

I was initially attracted to the reflections made by the canoe racks in the pond. Then I wanted to link the shadows and just play with shapes. Then I wanted to use color and shape to flatten the space.

When will it all stop?

Love Day

Painted this on Valentine's Day but didn't get a chance to post. My birthday tulips looking wonderful in the sunshine prompted me to just set up. I wanted to keep the background abstract while showing one side decidedly light and the other in shadow.

Arches oil paper approx 8x10

Strategic Position

We're camping at Gulf State Park in Alabama and our campsite is by the dumpsters. My first thought was, "This is awful, we've got to move." But the site is actually big with shade trees and otherwise lovely so I thought, if I can paint this and make a good painting out of an unlikely subject, then I will be pleased. Plein air on Arches oil paper with palette knife.

Here it is: beach chair with its' back to the dumpsters!

They aren't really THAT close!
Happy Birthday to me and a reminder not to take life too seriously!

Another Take on Out Back

I wanted to deconstruct and abstract the plein air painting I did at the beginning of the week. The next day I started a new painting using ultra simplified shapes but I was far from happy with the outcome so I walked away from the work. I'm not posting it either!

Thinking about what I am trying to achieve for the next three days gave me some direction so today I went in and painted over, scraped and scraped and this is what came out of it.

Out Back

I am sometimes more interested in the back of buildings and this one intrigued me with the strong yellow shapes and the light hitting all "the stuff" out there. Plein air painting on Arches oil paper 8x10 which I will later mount on board.

Beach Finds

I have always loved to walk, head down, along the shore, to see what treasures might catch my eye. These tiny coquinas I drew first with my new Prismacolor brush markers, then worked from that for my oil painting. I am trying to paint with higher values, so the initial shadow shapes had to go much lighter to achieve the softness I wanted.

Deconstructed

I'm not sure why I'm feeling the need to change the way I'm painting, but somewhere is the feeling that I want to show things differently. I don't know exactly how to do this and admit experimentation and leaving whatever comfort zone I'm in is nerve wracking.

Which is okay.

Plein air painting in a lovely spot scraped down the next day, shapes unified and a three value structure applied.

Hmm, clarity comes next. Or maybe not.

A little different

Trying out these Prismacolor brush markers French Grey 10%, 50%, and 90%. Something to use to get a more abstract start to things. Want to experiment a little. My first attempt. 

Why not? 

It's almost spring

I've been working on this painting always trying to be more abstract while wondering how far to push it and stay true to the source. Will color or shape be the driving force? I've done a lot of taking paint off in the process!

Happy New Year

So grateful to be here sharing this part of my journey. Lots of possibilities for the New Year, being awake and alive allows me to be in the creative flow that surrounds us all. 

I may have plans, ideas and goals, but I intend to be open and willing to travel unknown paths, trust instinct and intuition, and stay true to myself.

This painting is a step along the way.