Saturday, June 30, 2012

bears and format

My last evening in the Woodstock area was spectacular for so many reasons. The beauty of the area, especially where the grasses were long as vistas wide. After  a wonderful painting session I was driving back to my barn (where I stayed for the week.) On the side of the road was a statue of a standing bear with front paws raised. Hmm interesting, let me pull the car up a little closer...it looks so real. But wait a minute, that wasn't a statue it was moving! A real  black bear standing tall! WOW! That was pretty amazing for a city girl like me.
pastel, about 8x24
As for painting, when I was at the field I tried some more black paper.  This time I tried a very elongated format. It's an interesting way to set up a pastel when the land is darkening quickly. I tried to keep it simple, not perseverating on details, just essentials. It was good that it was so big and the light was so short.
Right now I am in Burlington VT and the lake breezes are blowing. I have totally missed the huge storms in DC. Everyone back at home is roasting and in the dark, including my husband and 5 cats. So sorry guys... I hope the lights go on soon.
My next destination is Nova Scotia, purely a pleasure trip. I will be visiting my closest and most wonderful friend in the world, Leah. Maybe I will post... maybe I won't.
toodles for now!

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

wax medium and the Hudson


So much is happening! I am traveling and right now I am in Woodstock NY working with Christie Scheele. This is the Hudson River. Majestic. Winding. Beautiful. Will write more later. Internet is hard to find and I am busy working!
PS I think I am falling in love with wax medium!

Friday, June 22, 2012

color of the air

pastel
The sky will tell you the color of the air....the envelope of light. Look and think. Local color can call you like the sirens on the rocks, but remember that there is so much effecting the actual envelope. The local color- in this case green- is hardly present in its strong form. In the case of this painting there was so much humidity, (humidity, pollution and dust particles are a painters best friends) that the color was dense. The colors "bounce" of the moisture.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

playing with memory and vibration

14x14 pastel
I was away in Chincoteague...memorizing. Finally, upon my return, I have exploded with images. This one was the most tantalizing. I was riding down the street and egad! I almost fell off my bicycle!!!!
I am obsessed with what this one can be large. So I begin now 48x48.
I kept a limited palette...only about 12 pastels were used.

Friday, June 15, 2012

Dwight Tryon and 2 memories of Safeway parking lot

pastel on white, top pastel on black
pastel on black

"Keep yourself in the habit of drawing from memory. The value of memory sketches lies in the fact that so much is forgotten."

William Morris Hunt "Talking on Art"

This was from last week. I needed cat food. So I zipped down to Safeway and became almost paralyzed in the parking lot. The sky was darkening quickly, getting ready for a downpour. It varied between sepia/burnt sienna and orange with lots of neutrals in between. SOOOO exciting. I memorized. I have spent the last few days thinking about it and then finally was ready to try a painting.
This brings me to share more about Dwight Tryon. He worked in his NYC studio during the winter months and during that time relied on his memory of his spring and fall trips. He loved nature and with that-Thoreau and Hunt. He had Hunt's book,"Talking on Art," in his studio and had underlined this passage (above)in the book.  Tryon went on to write in the margins of the book, "The less imitation, the more suggestion and hence more poetry."

Poetry, isn't that what we are all searching for?

Monday, June 11, 2012

new location, new love

I was out at the Magothy River on Sunday at 6:00am and it was magical. Prior to my visit I didn't even know this area existed. It was so exciting to find a new place!
This is the underpainting.
 I have received numerous emails and a few comments asking which sketchbook is my favorite. It is the Fusion by Cachet, The paper is thick, but I don't rely on it to do my pastels. Instead I carry tiny pastel papers in the pocket in the back. I later insert them. It is just for idea, sketches, notans and writings. I will post photos another time.

Saturday, June 9, 2012

pink and new sketchbook method

pastel 9x12

So summer is finally here. All of my teaching commitments are done and I will be painting and traveling the summer long. I love June! Just savoring the knowledge of complete painting freedom makes me feel different. In celebration of the fact, the morning "pinkness" greeted me. Many people have asked to show the watercolor underpainting so here it is (below).
underpainting

Last week I bought 2 more of my favorite sketchbooks and I am using them somewhat differently. As expected, my millions of sketchbooks are full of sketches and memory descriptions. This time I am using the sketchbook as a diary of sorts. Each days thoughts, paintings, photos in progress, memory descriptions, mixing charts, etc. will be included. It will be numbered by date.  The thought behind my change is that I want to see patterns and understand the underlying threads that may help lead me  to new places. Onward!

Monday, June 4, 2012

paint anything

The simple goal this morning was to walk out the door and not go anywhere. Just paint. So this is looking down my street at about 6:00 am.