Cuttyhunk Plein Air

I was fortunate to be part of a group of artists who participated in the first annual Plein Air Festival on the little island of Cuttyhunk. Taking the ferry from New Bedford, MA the scenic and beautiful trip was about an hour of sun and calm seas. We were met by "ambassadors" who gave us a tour of the island in a golf cart so we could choose a spot to paint. I set up in the shade and spent a lovely couple of hours. After painting I walked around exploring the island, watching the other 40 some painters that were part of the event. There was a reception, prizes, sales and then the ferry home.

Sign me up for next year!

Geraniums in the Sun

I often like to paint over old paintings, so I found a figure study I had done years ago, sanded it down well- I didn't want any texture remaining for this one- and did my block in with Cadmium Red. One of my friends said what a shame; it looked like a good painting underneath. 

I let it go and moved to the next step.

My set up was in the deck and the afternoon sun had me in the shade and my plants in the light- perfect!

Several times I ampped up the chroma- I wanted it to really convey the warmth of the day.

12x16 oil on panel

Day 7 #AbundantArtShow

Day 6 was a Sunday- and we got the chance to reflect and rest. The following day I wanted to paint the rose again, this time under natural light- ever changing conditions when we paint outside are par for the course.

The task was to publish our post and ask for likes and shares- again outside of my comfort zone.

But that's part of any challenge right? Stepping away from doing what we always do.

This painting was scraped off completely then the abstract shapes appeared. I'm calling it Wild Rose- my inner artist!

Day 5 #AbundantArtShow

Today we were challenged to make a pitch for a sale and I'm not unlike many artists I talk and work with- we are not inclined to self-promote! I think it must be learned, then practiced.

Here's the painting and my process; I picked the first rose and placed it on the table for Sunday dinner. After dinner and cleanup I went into the studio and painted it-6x6. 5 hours between picking and painting. Kinda like farm to table right? Buy directly from my website under New Work.

Day 4 #AbundantArtShow

The concept today was to show your art in a different way so since I'm often told my paintings look like they are interlocking shapes- like a puzzle- I cropped SOLO to emphasize that. Fun?!

Those are the cropped  pieces- here's the whole painting. 

Day 3 #AbundantArtShow

I'm behind in posting this blog as the challenge has me doing other things- the biggest has been uploading new work into my website and I've added a New Work gallery page so that's great.

Here are images from the 3rd day. 

Photo from Sweet Berry Farm where I met a friend for lunch. Loved the light on the table and the challenge of painting an interior!

I took an older painting and sanded it down, then spent 5 minutes looking at the photo and drawing the major lines with a yellow pastel pencil.

Then I painted from memory using a palette knife. An interesting challenge for sure! A different approach for me and may lead to working in a new way. I'm not a big fan of working from photos but this forced me to look hard then rely on memory while I painted.

Day 2 #AbundantArtShow

Work in Progress was today's task- this painting is gallery wrapped canvas 18x24.

Step1: block in major shapes using ultramarine as I want a color palette of seaside blues.

Step 2: get canvas covered so I can establish shapes, where I want the viewers eye to travel and areas of greatest interest. 

Step 3: this step is really several steps as I tweak color choices, spending more time looking at the painting from a distance then adding paint where it needs it. I let the painting "speak to me".