Thursday, September 27, 2012

questions for you and experimentations with memory

6x12 pastel
This morning I left my pastels in the studio. I was cleaning and reorganizing. Only my watercolors remained in the car. By doing this I found another great way to work. In the field I did the watercolor underpainting- fast. Then I memorized. Below is the watercolor and above is the finished pastel.
Sometimes mistakes are your best friend.
On another note... I will be interviewing a local art store manager who also happens to be a conservator. We have conversed a few times and when I learned that her other expertise I asked her if I could interview her. Now here is where you come in.

Do you have questions about the archival nature of materials and processes?

Now is your time to have them answered. Write them as a comment or email them to me. Thanks!!!

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

framing differently

Smaller paintings deserve framing that treats them as if they are special jewels. To me, these smaller works have appeared "squished" by the mat or even without a mat, by the frame. Recently, I worked with my framer and we came up with a better solution.
This one, going to the Appalacian National Pastel, is now re-framed. Even though it was a painting I liked, I disliked it when it was framed. I sat with it for  months and then when the painting was accepted into the show it was time for a change.
The new look: the painting is floated and it shows its raw edges. My husband argues it looks unfinished this way. I think it looks real and it now can breathe.
It's in a shadow box-like frame with a wood with leaf under finish. The slight glow to the wood makes the inside water twinkle.

What is your opinion?

Monday, September 24, 2012

memory on fire

about 20x16 pastel

Finally, my memory has been set free. There are just a handful of places I paint each day. After years of painting there, day after day, I know these places in every season and weather. It truly is time to stop looking and only respond. That said, this is my favorite spot on Lake Needwood at my favorite time, sunrise. I feel a shift happening.  I have been writing down the color combinations that I see and just playing with my pastels in the studio.
about 20x16 pastel
One big change, I now paint in my studio with the lights off. I have a full northern exposure (a 24 foot wall of windows), but still I was always craving more light. Recently I have noticed that my paintings, when put in another lighting situation, that isn't gallery light, just don't look as good. That doesn't seem fair to the people who purchase my work. I think the answer is to paint with less light on my canvas/paper. When painting outdoors we use umbrellas to keep the sun off our painting surface... or else the painting becomes too dark. Now I wonder about indoors, thus the lights off policy.
Now, I wonder if I made it too light. hmmmmmm.
I am playing with the dreamy combinations.

Check back tomorrow for another post...this time the topic is about framing.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

minature pastel- twilight

I decided to try a miniature of my lake needwood series. At a mere 5.75x4.75 the marks and rubbing were completely different. At this size the focus was on color harmony and edges.

Monday, September 17, 2012

ocracoke, after the storm

pastel, about 11x12
I have been studying and experimenting with the different ways to create the luminous look I desire in my skies. Someday I feel so far away from my quest (the holy grail)  and days like this I feel a millimeter closer. Yesterday I finished a summer painting I began when I was on the island of Ocracoke. When I was there I was fortunate to experience storm after storm and storm break after storm break. One night it lightninged for 5 hours straight and there were two water tornadoes. It was wonderful!!!!! Pure drama!
For years I have been scrutinizing Sanford Gifford's beautiful work. Slowly I am beginning to see the light.  Dark is not always essential, it seems to be the in the color gradations. Subtle.

On another note, good news! I just received a letter informing me that two of my pastels have been juried into the Appalachian Pastel Society's National Exhibit. I have never been to Asheville and hope to get there to attend the show! Here is one of the pastels.

Have a good week!

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

music of art




On my drive home from Chincoteague I was listening to a song by Willie Nelson. Country music is not my usual choice, but this song grabbed me and would not let me go. It was so clear to see its beauty and how its beauty related to a beautiful painting.

 Let me explain. First here is the link to the Youtube video of the song. You might want to listen to understand what I am trying to explain. Link. A song like this reaches deep inside you. The actual music is a simple arrangement of notes. It is in the playing, the slowing, the hesitations- almost silences, small changes from guitar to piano to harmonica, and the soulful voice that move and keep your constant attention. The notes  wrap  themselves around you like a warm, sad, blanket.

So why do I compare this to a painting? Well it's the same. What is a good painting?  It is one that makes you want to look really look over and over again. Each time you look you are rewarded by something delicious, a new moment. There is some mystery and wonder. The passages in the painting vary. There is calm and there is excitement. There are twinkling moments,  yet one part doesn't take over, instead they play together. The strokes aren't consistent, but there is flow.
Each painting must be the search for this beauty.

Think about it and tell me what you think.

PS This painting is from one of my painting spots here - Lake Needwood. I finished it in the studio this morning. Music on my mind.

Saturday, September 8, 2012

moment we wait for

The clouds have exited. Today is the reception. If you are nearby Chincoteague VA or feel like coming down the reception is from 6-10pm. Now off to the beach for a sunrise painting.

Friday, September 7, 2012

Chincoteague storms/ painting in mist (and fog)


It poured most of yesterday here in Chincoteague. Lucky for me I have a sheltered balcony. This is the one I worked on for most of the day. It still needs a little more.
Till then I give you-

Tips for painting mist and fog:
*value changes need to be subtle
*that considered, over blending your transitions makes them uninteresting
*select a color palette (limited) and stick with it
*even the foreground color is softer in mist
*the sky sets the tone

Thursday, September 6, 2012

chincoteague sky

pastel, chincoteague sky
Skies, in particular their clouds, are a mixture of warm and cool. Edges are amorphous since they are simply air and water. The tricky part is that you are still in charge of making a composition.
newbury meadows by Martin Johnson Heade

Here is a most beautiful painting  by Martin Johnson Heade (Newbury Meadows). I show you this beauty to demonstrate how Heade used the light and dark in his composition to guide your eye through the painting. This is when you remember that what you see is just that. You get to make decisions. The design notans I discussed during the summer is a perfect way to guide your creation of a composition. See post.


Yesterday, after my arrival in Chincoteague,  I painted this small pastel (6x7) from my balcony. Since we continue to have storms today I am once again painting from my balcony. This time it will be 20x24. Tumultuous skies are incredible inspiration!

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

wise words

7x12 pastel, Corner of Connecticut and Plyers Mill
This is my painting from this weekend's Kensington Plein Air. More importantly I have some wise words to share with you. 
As you may know I teach art to young children (kindergarten and 1st) as well as adults. Yesterday I saw my new Kindergartners. We talked for awhile and then I told them I had a hard question... a question difficult for adults, but not young children. 

I asked them, "what is art?"

Each child had something to say usually about the materials used to make art. One five year old said something that will be the quote of the year.

"Art, oh that's when you make something beautiful out of paint or even recycled materials. Sometimes it looks like what's in your head and that's good. Sometimes it doesn't and then you change what's in your head. If it still doesn't look beautiful, you just take a deep breath."
Antonia, age 5

Have a good week! I am now off to the Chincoteague  Plein Air.

Monday, September 3, 2012

the importance of intention and how excuses thwart you

pastel, 10x18
This week I had many interesting conversations with other painters and those conversations were to spark that lead to this post.

We all struggle. Each time I come to the canvas or paper I wonder... can I do it again? Or was that last painting just a fluke? That struggle, filled with anxiety and self-doubt, can bring on some very un-useful and darn right negative side effects.

The first I will address is excuse- making.  It is one of the biggest things you do to stop yourself from succeeding. Great talent and hard work are not enough. You have to make choices and give up other things. You have to have priorities and try your very best to live by them. You need to take risks with your work and risks to put yourself out there. They will not come to you.

Excuse-making blends right into risk taking. We make excuses when we don't want to take the risk to succeed. The biggest excuse I hear is "I don't have the time to paint." We will allow anything- doctor's appointment, the dishes, an injury or the dog, to get in the way of our painting time. But there are no excuses. My advice for this one is simple... just schedule it. Just like you go to work, when the scheduled time comes you go in the studio/your workspace no matter what. Do not open the computer. Do not check your phone. Sit and be until work finally starts happening.

I remember, a couple of years ago, when I interviewed Deborah Paris and she said "For five years I woke up and began painting at 4:30 AM, finishing just in time to go to the office. I also painted on the weekend. I sought out drawing groups. In a short time I knew that landscape painting was my muse." (Check out this three part interview for a good read- link here.)

Lack of time IS an excuse. We all have little time, yet we find time to do others things (TV, computer, movies, going out to eat) You have to set your priorities. I am not saying to become a recluse. Instead remember you are always making choices.

There are other excuses- space, materials, money, the buying public, and many more. They go on and on. So what do you do?

 Set your intention and stick with it.