help! which do you prefer?

I need to enter one of these plein air paintings in order to qualify for a local show. A painting that says Kensington. Which one would you choose... help!!!!!!   I can't decide.
Thanks!!!





And here is today's small painting. I experimented more with oil underpainting. It was raining and the light was a dull yellow. All I can say is YUCK! Good thing it is raining as I need to clean the studio and paint my dining room chairs.

solving the problem of green and the wisdom of Whistler

9x12 pastel and watercolor on wallis

Painting out of my interest range....just to stretch. Streets are rivers, right? The goal today was to choose a subject matter that I normally would not choose and try to make it feel beautiful while solving the problem of green.

I was reading about the Whistler vs. Ruskin trial. It struck me that during the trial, Whistler tried not to refer to his paintings are 'pictures' but as 'arrangements,' 'symphonies,'nocturnes, 'moonlight effects,'or- most revealing of all as 'a problem I attempt to solve.' (from Whistler by Dormant and MacDonald)
Doesn't that say it all?  A problem I attempt to solve. This IS what we do. He was saying it so that he wouldn't confuse a Victorian jury who seemed confused about painting they didn't understand, but I really think he felt that way.

A quote from Whistler, " Art should be independent of all clap-trap-should stand alone and appeal to the artistic sense of the eye or ear, without confounding this with emotions entirely foreign to it, as devotion, pity, love, patriotism and the like."

PS This one is for Sam.and Casey.  This is green.

can a road be a river?

8x8 pastel and watercolor on UArt
Can a road be a river?
I didn't have a lot of time for my vitamin today so I drove down the road and looked up. Felt like a river, except it had lines. Tried to feel the light as it hit the street (hard) and as it filtered though the trees (soft).

Sunrise by Stephen's House

about 8x 13 pastel on watercolor underpainting, uart paper
Tomorrow is the Kensington Plein Air Paint Out. so I went scoping out a new place to paint. I have been eying the light in this park each morning as the sun rises, so this was my choice (and maybe tomorrow's choice.) The only snafu is that it is a dog walker's paradise and as any painter knows dogs are wonderful, but unpredictable. Just one moment of excitement can knock over your easel and destroy hundreds of dollars of pastels. Yipes!!!!!
The roof of Stephen's house, a lovely, hundred plus year old house was catching the light of the rising sun beautifully. oooooooooooh!

Howard Ave Gold

about 8.5 x11 pastel on Uart paper
sketch underneath painting
my chosen notan

I usually do not chose to paint structures... just that, too much structure! But for this particular local show you must have an entry painted from town scenes to jury in. It must emphasize life in Kensington. hmmmm... I have thought on this one for along time before arriving at a suitable concept. The fog helped...always does. This little street is down the hill from my house. It has a row of tiny antique stores...real low key, not the expensive antiques. Down the road a tiny bit is the old Kensington train station. Phew! Finished that...now back to water scenes!

October 1, 2008 Sunrise over Metropolitian Ave.

sketch, 4x6.5 pastel on paper
This morning I did a quickie. My goal was to be true to the light key- nothing else. I chose sunrise because it is so dramatic and moves fast. Due to this choice I had no time to sniggle and noodle the painting. Capture the essence only.

August 30, 2008, On Cat Feet

9x12 pastel and watercolor on board $250
There are many advantages/wonders to the nature of fog. 1. When you paint there is really no time constraint, until it begins to lift, 2. It is a natural blender, all hues find a common denominator, 3.It is beautiful!
The only disadvantage is one can perseverate and work too long. Life is balance, eh?

This piece was done for the Kensington, Maryland Plein Air event. It hangs there now. If you get a chance drop by and see all the wonderful paintings. One of my Shenandoah waterfalls paintings won first in the landscape division and another painting, a train track one won second in the Kensington division (work that represents the flavor of Kensington.) The show is in downtown Kensington at their armory.

August 10, 2008 Morning at the Kensington Farmer's Market

11x14, pastel on board
To qualify for my local art competition you must paint a scene from the sponsoring town, Kensington. For me a place that feels most like Kensington is the farmer's market. This painting was created from reference photos and sketches, plus weekly experience at the market. It was a little too intimidating to paint amongst so many people so close. Plus, in order to make a composition workable the orchestration of figures in a space is complicated. A long winded way to explain, this is a studio piece. (sorry for the bad photo..colors are dulled down in this jpeg.)
On another note, I learned how to row a boat today. Therefore I will try my next dream - try painting in the boat this week ( ala Monet). We'll see.

August 2, 2008 Sunflowers for Home

about 10x13, pastel on board
I began this one on Saturday and couldn't resolve it. The Kensington Farmer's Market is a place I have loved. I find it difficult to paint things so close-up...it's as if I become claustrophobic. Yipes, I'm too close!!!!!
I did enjoy playing with the wet-looking pavement and the light.

May 9, 2008 Through the Windshield

4.5x8.5 pastel and watercolor on wallis paper
This morning it rained hard. So I parked at the train station and painted in the opposite direction (from yesterday.) The bottom one is the watercolor underpainting. I think I like it better than the finished,: it's rainier.
Funny thing happened, I sat listening to the radio and wipers going for so long that my battery gave out. Called AAA and went to get a chai. When I returned it started like a dream and I canceled AAA. Chais can cure everything!!!!

May 8, 2008 Warehouse Row

6x6, pastel and watercolor on marble board
When we paint, we draw from the energy inside our soul. Painting from nature, as you experience it, replenishes that energy.
I feel it is very important to paint from real life and not images. When painting from photos it is easy to paint things instead of painting feelings of what you see and are experiencing. Therefore anything can be beautiful. That's why I went to warehouse row today.

March 13, 2008 Beach Drive, Autumn

approx. 9x11, pastel on wallis
Broke a cardinal rule on this one... I put focal point tree in the center. Sometimes it's good to see if you can get away with it.

March 11, 2008 Bronze Sunset, Mizell's Lumber

8x12, pastel and watercolor on board
Did you ever torment yourself working on a painting that was doomed to fail. Well this was mine. Like a dog with a bone, I have struggled with this small one all day and night. Bite, bite, tear, curse, grumble...argh! Either I should stop doing structures, which drive me crazy, or do more.....?????? For now I guess I will get ready for bed!
On another topic, now, when you want to make a comment you will need to put in one of those little codes. Press comment and you will see. My friend Domi helped me figure this out. I have been receiving a lot of spam comments and this should stop that from happening. Comment away!
Oh, by the way, I get my new car tomorrow. The new art cave will be coming home! Amazing! (Since I paint in my car and use it like a studio/sleep spaceI call it my art cave. This will be cave 4.)

February 28, 2008 Sunset at the Station

8.5x8.5 pastel and watercolor on wallis, $100. plus tax and ship
Last night I was hanging at the station again. (Am I becoming a station junkie?...I'm not even going anywhere!) Well it was cold and windy, but sunset was stellar! Low sun, highlights on the sides of buildings, pink clouds (ooooooh and I love pink clouds!), what more can a girl want?

February 27, 2008 Light Mist, Early Morning Train

7.5x7.5, pastel and watercolor on board, $100. plus ship and tax
Yesterday, on my morning walk, I was down by the train station and I saw this. My response was immediate and I knew just how I was going to do it. I wanted to make the mist as it came through that wonderful light. I think I got that feeling. For some reason train stations have a kind of magic.

February 14, 2008 Snowy Morning Walk

6 x 13 pastel/watercolor on board
This one has an extensive watercolor painting underneath. Beneath that is my marble dust ground painted so that it would look like snow falling. It may still need more work and it may be heading too close to "representation." Any thoughts?
Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

January 9, 2008 Path to the Field, Violet Light

7x7, pastel on board, $100. plus tax and ship
I LOVE the light at this time of year. This is another memory exercise. The sun had just set and I looked out to the field and this is what I saw. By the time I ran back to get my camera, it was too late. Good excuse to play the memory game. The violet light came after the big light show. Cool, eh?

December 29, 2007 Sunrise on the Hill

Color harmony was my goal for this one. To do that I pre- selected my palette so that I wouldn't be lured by the sirens of color.

December 26, 2007 Kensington Field in Snow

I am not sure if this is really legal. Knowing that I would be overloaded one day, I painted a "spare" to use at another time. Today was the day. We traveled back from California, a long trip due to delays and lines. So rather than paint I am off to bed. So here is the "spare," a quicky of the field at the top of the hill. It looked so peaceful. This is another "en plein car" painting (as were most of the ones in frosty California.)

November 11, 2007 Walkin' the Dog

Pressed for time, I decided to paint at the field adjacent to my home. The shadows were low so I grabbed my backpack and ran to what I deemed a "good location.". My goal was to capture to feel of a Sunday's fading light. Some satisfaction.
On another note... I have been feeling troubled by what another artist (whom I admire) wrote me. She said, "I am not a big fan of just plein air paintings. To me so many of them are just average paintings, but because they are done outside they are often thought of as finished paintings." Then I though of what Cezanne said about Monet. As you know Cezanne was a 'thinking man's painter' and he referred to Monet as "just an eye, but oh, what an eye." Hmmmm. I guess that brings me back to thinking. I guess my dailies and multitude of plein air paintings vary. Some are just studies for later work, some are just "stored visual memory for later", and occasionally I get a gem. More than anything this painting a day is to keep me on track, no excuses, don't mess with me workout. I will continue my studio work... but those too vary: some are average and occasionally some are gems. I guess my only real goal is to up the ratio in my favor...more gems, less dogs for the kennel. Maybe tomorrow I'll begin a new Turner-inspired biggie, since all I can see is his work buzzing around in my head anyway!

If anyone is out there reading this...weigh in on my dilemma.