Let’s Meet at the Beach

 

Two chairs and an umbrella- all set up for a great day at the beach. I got in the ocean yesterday and even though it was only 55, it felt so invigorating. This painting will remind you of the long days of summer. Take time to do the things you enjoy- time is moving fast!

16x20 painted in oil on a deep gallery wrapped canvas.

FOMO

Fear of missing out- it used to keep me going when I was already exhausted, overcommitted and running on empty. Then I heard one of my husbands favorite phrases- under commit and over deliver! A concept that has taken me years to really put into action. I am finally ok when I say no to take care of myself first. I've given up the idea that I have to multitask and always be DOING. 
I'm in Hilton Head for the next three months and missed the opening of CITY LIFE, the new show at Spring Bull Gallery, in Newport, RI. 
I missed out and it's okay. A change in my perspective lets me be grateful for what I have and where I am. Each day.
My painting is titled CHAT ROOM  and is oil on panel. 16x20.

Art League of RI Exhibition

Here are the two paintings I'll be showing at the 18th Annual Elected Artists of the Art League of Rhode Island exhibition. I'm very honored to be in such great company- check out the website and you'll see what I mean. The exhibition will be at the Jamestown Arts Center, a town I lived in for eighteen years. The opening reception will be Thursday, September 20th from 6-8pm. Exhibition: September 20- October 20, 2018

Titled Boats & Dinghies, this oil painting is 16x20, and gave me a
chance to explore the range of neutral grays offset by clear color. Chroma is intensified when it's next to a neutral.

Titled Working Boats, I wanted to focus more on shape and color than on any specific boats or part of a boat. Tied up at the dock, when the tide was low, I was drawn by the shapes made by the pilings, and the hulls of the background boats. Also 16x20, oil.
Both of these are studio paintings, with multiple layers of paint, which is a departure from my usual "paint it all in one session" approach. This let me slow down and experience the process in a way I find very satisfying.

Mystic Museum of Art

So thrilled that my painting Summer Table was accepted into the 62nd Regional Exhibition at The Mystic Museum of Art. This painting is 16x20 and was painted from direct observation, objects set up on my dining room table. Honored to be hung among such great company, in a beautiful setting, in downtown Mystic, CT. The exhibit will run through Sept 22, 2018, so there's still time to see it. 

Friday Finish

The weather took a turn for the worse, so I brought the flowers into my studio to finish the painting.

I enjoyed the pattern of this tablecloth as well as finding balance and harmony within the composition. This painting is 16x20;  my primary goals were to link the dark shapes and create a circular path for the eye to follow. The first to droop and wither was the big white hydrangea on the left of the arrangement and I was glad to have the rose done early as the bright studio lights made it open quickly. I kept the upper shape I saw when I started the painting outside, a touch of discord/ambiguity to an otherwise pretty painting.

A Sunday Start

Friends who came to dinner last night brought me an amazing bunch of flowers. My first thought was to get them in water, my second thought- when can I paint?
This morning I set them on a patterned tablecloth on the back deck and stood above them. This flattens the picture plane and lets me focus on composition, shape and color before I start trying to "turn a form".
I want to paint several layers, so I lay the paint down quite thin. There was a bright area of sunlight on the deck, with the rest of the set up in shade, and I wanted that abstract shape in the top right corner. I also drew a few composition lines with my brush to look more carefully at the intersection of those lines. The top edge of the table, where the wall joins the deck and of course, the edge of the deck in the sun.
Can't wait to get back to it- I love painting from direct observation!

Pink Hyacinth

Working on a 16x20 canvas, spring bulbs with paper wrapping. I am interested in the folds of the paper, red on one side and pink on the other. I want to give the impression of the flower without showing each and every petal.

Studio Input

I was painting merrily along yesterday and asked for (be careful what you ask for) some input from my studio colleagues and here's what I heard

1. It's looking like 2 different paintings, the chair on the right and the flowers on the left.

2. The upper right corner is too heavy and the bottom right corner pulls you out.

Now first, let me say, I asked for feedback. With it I have choices. Leave it my way or take suggestions. In the end, I just want a good painting! Note: they gave me all positive feedback first! I love being in a studio with such caring, talented, and generous artists who want and help me be a better painter!

I have integrated the colors, putting more reds into the flowers, lost the upper chair arm altogether, lightened the color of the cast iron of the chair, it now has the colors of the shadows in the paper, lost some edges and now it will hang on the studio wall until I say, "Finished!" As usual, I welcome comments.

Beginning of Yellow Tulips

I'm painting over an old painting, so first I sand the surface of the canvas, wipe off, then rub over it with a rag saturated with linseed oil/mineral spirit mix. I painted my initial layout using thinned down ultramarine and a #6 bristle round brush. This is the only time I really ever use a round brush! Mixing the values I want and not worrying too much about getting the exact color, I lay down paint in big shapes. Ok, that's all the time I have today!

16x20 oil on canvas