Wednesday, November 27, 2013

when in doubt, leave it out

Simply simplify.
Trying to say more with less is probably the hardest thing to do. This painting was done on location with the goal of staying true to my concept and reducing the subject to only the bare minimal.  Below is a photo of the location. Did I really need the picnic table, the rock, the branches or the extra trees to make the mood?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Monday, November 25, 2013

edges

In painting, whether oil, acrylic or pastel, the beauty of your edges are  like the melody in the song. Often overlooked, it's truly the sweetness of the edge that can make us feel the beauty. Just look at Wolf Kahn's subtle edges in my last post. WK is the master. Examine the close-up of his pastel that I posted (above). Yum.
The tools are the same no matter what the medium. Shifts in value, color, and temperature and use of thick and thin make it all happen. When you look at this pastel  you see all the tools in action. The one hardest to see in a photo is the thick and thin pastel. Pastelists use of light layers and thick chunky pieces just like oil painters. I feel that paintings that use of the same amount of pastel (paint) lose that air of mystery, that look deeper feel. Advice- use your tools. :-)

Friday, November 22, 2013

Wolf Kahn show at the Addison /Ripley Gallery

oil, Wolf Kahn


oil, Wolf Kahn
Wolf Kahn, Hope and Aviva
close-up of an amazing pastel....look at those edges!
Wolf Kahn was present at his reception at the Addison Ripley Gallery last night. There were many beautiful paintings.  His fascination with the chaos, within order(his lines of trees,) is present in most of the works. About 15 pastels graced the walls and they were exquisite, although hard to photograph. There were also about 20 oils. It's an excellent show. Do go see it, if at all possible.

oil, Wolf Kahn

oil, Wolf Kahn

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

why do you read a blog? 6th year anniversary and THANK YOU

I missed my 6th year anniversary last month (October 3rd to be exact.) Ooops. This anniversary brings a question to my mind. 1626 posts later I wonder, what do you find most important about a blog? Why do you read a blog? Why do you come back? You have so much choice in the ways you spend your time.
I end today's post with a big thank you to all my readers. I really have appreciated your support and encouraging comments/emails for all these years! Thanks for making the time to visit!

Monday, November 18, 2013

twin halves

Lately I have been studying the relationships between trees and spaces. I look at groupings of tree and see people, family and friends in particular. In my past field and tree paintings they all began with a relationship between trees- hot mamas, twisted sisters, two sisters, etc. This time I was thinking about my friend Domi and her twin, Laura.  It inspired me to make a painting with two equal but very different halves. We as painters know you should never divide the canvas in half. Still, I did. The colors on each half are different but related. One side can not fully exist without the other side's presence. Twins are special.

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

why getting comfortable with discomfort is crucial to success

On Sunday I did a demonstration with a lively and wonderful audience at the Theater Lab Caberet Auction. I am always so nervous before these things. What if I make an awful painting that they then have to auction? To ease my fear I brought a few other paintings (completed) as my support cast. It said, "Yes I really can paint."
Prior to the demonstration I gave myself a pep talk. "People who step out of their comfort zone and into the discomfort of uncertainty will be those who will reap the biggest rewards."This article was not written for painters, but take the important information and think about it. Read this article in Forbes.
During the demonstration there was no landscape to view, no photos on the wall, I wanted to simply concentrate on making a vibration. I brought my board of 6 paintings as my inspiration (see the board below on my November 11th post) and then just let her roll. Trying not to think and to simply respond to the three colors I had chosen as my main color scheme.
 I am trying more and more to live in the courage zone.

Monday, November 11, 2013

the power of purple

I must admit to having a love affair with purple. Doesn't matter which form the lovely purple takes: deep moody purple, light and lively violet, subtle gray violet, or vivacious magenta violet, I love them all equally. Don't you?

When you paint the landscape purple is always there to great us. You don't have to look far. She is always there. She has a feel-good presence. Depending on whether purple/violet is warmer (leaning toward magenta) or cooler (leaning towards blue) she not only means different things, but works very differently in a painting.
You may think this sampling of my recent field paintings is red and orange, but instead it seems to be more about the versatility of purple.

True confessions: A life-long obsession, I wear purple and live with purple. I may have gone too far when recently I painted my bedroom purple, which adds to the living room being painted violet and I just realized that my bathroom that has magenta glazed with blue violet. (My patient, loving husband is learning to love purple.)

Friday, November 8, 2013

arbitrary lines we need to cross



I doubted my last painting (posted below on November 6) because I thought it had crossed an arbitrary line of saturated color. I thought it was too bright...too much color. I had gone overboard. I compared it to my other fields and said OMG I can't do that!
 Now, it like it better than the others. Go figure.
What arbitrary line have you met and crossed?

PS This one is called "twisted sisters." And my last painting of the maples is now named "hot mamas." All of these field paintings will be on display at the Waverly Street Gallery's December Holiday Show. Most of my paintings will be 6"x6", but the autumn tree and field paintings are double that size. I just can't resist putting them in the show. They feel celebratory!

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

maples in their glory

Prior to the last week I have never felt compelled to paint with bright red and orange. The glory of this autumn's maples make me try to give honor to their amazing beauty. Now that's a difficult thing to do. Nothing can be as beautiful as these trees. Here is yesterday's attempt.

Monday, November 4, 2013

tip for choosing more beautiful colors


Another field painting from Friday's "field-a-thon." One of the glorious aspects of pastel is not having to mix your paints. When using pastels, you simply have to choose colors in the desired tonal value. It can be any color. It's a case where "not having" makes one more open minded. I love this aspect, therefore, when in the field I only use pastel.
Have you thought about your choice of medium? And why?

Friday, November 1, 2013

Two sisters

Today was incredibly productive. Five field paintings. The color of autumn is so provocative, it almost paints itself. As I looked at the field and trees, I thought of relationships, the give and take required, the support and love given. Therefore this one named itself, "two sisters."