Monday, April 30, 2012

triptych

Here is my value set-up for my next triptych. The plein air work (small, above) was  which was completed last summer when I was in the San Juan islands. It was those glorious moments after sunset. That is the time when the land masses have close values (and low value) and the light in the sky is still tremendous (high value). The color is saturated. It is imperative to squint when painting outside as it eliminates all those insignificant value shifts.When creating the value study I just look at the strong value shapes and mass them together.
Now, a triptych is a whole different challenge. Here the whole painting, all three pieces must hang together as one piece. In addition each smaller square must be viewed as a separate unit and be able to stand alone. The squares are 24x24 making a total of
24x 72.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

more ground fog

9x12 pastel on watercolor
This is the painting from my demo last week. The ground fog concept is obsessing me. Skies need unity. For me that means a joining of color. When the fog touches the land it works like a veil of color. In this one the blues drift into the land. Still the top half of the sky needs to relate its colors to the land. Deep burnt sienna of the foreground land sings to the light melon of the upper sky. Does that make sense?
On another note, I have received a few emails about the workshop. In each I have been asked, "where is it?" I laugh at myself for omitting such important information and apologize to you. The workshop is here in the DC area. We will meet at my studio on Friday night and work in the field- the Potomac River and surrounding lakes- on Saturday and Sunday. If it rains, we have studio space in DC. Here is the info. Email me if you have questions. Hope you can come!

Monday, April 23, 2012

pink/melon fluff and workshop

9x9 pastel on Uart

More ground fog. This time the field was layers in pink/melon fluff. I don't think my plein air piece captured it well. I think I will try again with a memory piece. The land seemed like a soft pillow, yet it vibrated with luscious color! Nature always amazes me.
Upon examination I could see that the "fluff" seemed to be pink but it was the underlying compliments that not only neutralized it, but also made it vibrate. I think next time when I paint the memory piece I will allow the hues to have more chroma, rather than tinted with white.

Finally I have the dates for my workshop set- 

 Whether you are interested in beginning your pastel journey or continuing it, this workshop is for you. Small phone consultation upon registration that will jump start your learning.
June 8, 9, 10

June 8- Friday evening (my studio), 7:30-9:30pm
June 9-Saturday morning- 7:00 am- 11:00 (in the field), lunch, studio 1:00-3:30 studio concepts (rest 3:30-6:00), -  OPTIONAL, but really fun-6:00 pm-8:30pm in the  field
June 10- Sunday 7:00 am- noon (in the field)

Price- 230.
Email me to register.

Register now!

Monday, April 16, 2012

quietude











 written piece that describes this body of work:
 
Quietude-peace and serenity after times of struggle


Oftentimes we think that life should go smoothly and bring pleasure. The truth is life is made up of layers of happiness and pain, success and failure, triumph and doubts, endings and beginnings. When we take time to simply observe, we know that the beauty we experience could not exist without these layers. The paintings here are a metaphor for that journey. It was not my intent to make that metaphor; it simply imposed itself on me. The concept of “Quietude” was chosen before the struggle.

How does one create that feeling of “quietude” in an image? First I spent a considerable amount of time painting outdoors, making color notes. Later in the studio I created small color harmony studies. My goal was not to record a place, rather to understand the concept through the landscape. In the studio, each large painting was painted and scraped, lovingly glazed and then scratched down with sandpaper. Each painting underwent constant change. I allowed the layers to remain translucent so they would affect and influence each other. This constant alteration was not an intentional process but rather the byproduct of my striving to make something better as I struggled with my dissatisfaction with a certain outcome. After all my planning, I must surrender some measure of control and pursue the unanticipated. The pursuit of quietude is a long road. I hope that these paintings resonate to your personal journey.

the demonstration, Saturday afternoon- I do like giving a demonstration, even though I am so nervous before it begins.

As promised, this is my show- Quietude. Even when I say that word it comes out of my mouth differently. Hmmmm. My vision for this show was to hang one large painting and have it accompanied by its plein air piece and color studies. In addition to that, a few walls have small memory and plein air paintings and one wall is full of tiny color studies.
I would like to thank all the people who attended the opening reception. It always wonderful to see so many supportive faces and meet many new folks. The show continues through May 5th. If you are in town and get a chance to stop by the gallery shoot me an email. If it is possible I will happily come by and meet you there.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

ground fog

7x10 pastel on watercolor

On our warmer mornings the field has been blessed with ground fog. Like a vapor from a saucepan the fog rises from the land and is thickest on the grass, rising to the trees. When the sun breaks through it's quite amazing.
I tried to modify the colors gradually and stick to mostly grays.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

color is.......

9x9 pastel
Seven huge paintings, about seventeen small and the remaining seventeen tiny bite size paintings are hanging at the gallery. Phew! I ran into a big snafu at delivery time when I realized my paintings could no longer fit into my car. I should have thought about the fact that their frames would make them bigger. Enter, my friend Rhegina to the rescue. Her enormous Honda Element was barely a fit, with a spare 1/4 on each side, but fit those paintings did. Yay! Leave it to me to not even think about their new size. The show's reception in on Friday, come by and visit if you are nearby. I would love to meet all of my blog readers!
I still squeeze in plein air painting. Above is one of this week's paintings and below are some treats- new quotes. Enjoy!

"Color is a means of exerting a direct influence upon the soul. Color is the keyboard, the eyes are the hammer, the soul is the piano with the strings."
Vasily Kandinsky

"Color! What a profound and mysterious language, the language of dreams."
Paul Gaugin

Monday, April 2, 2012

river and field

oil on wood, 18x36
I finally finished this painting just in time to be framed for the show. Egad. I thought it would never be done.  It's full of some of the most beautiful neutrals, although it may be hard to see in the jpeg.
9x9 pastel
Here's more work with memory. I walk through this field every morning an the spring warm greens have changed everything.
I am really nuts trying to get everything done in time since it hangs on Saturday. The reception is Friday April 13th. Come and join the celebration!