retro fave- thinking about the art of making poetry

9x18 pastel and watercolor on Uart

 What is essential to making poetry in a painting? Does the description of the place really matter?  What is it that makes a painting draw you in and stay in?  To me, I may not know what it is but I know what it isn't... Details.  Details are my nemesis. Put it along side persnickity work habits. They carry me in unintended directions. Details are like the letters that make up the words.....but it is the words that make the poetry. 
-->You can arrange the words of a poem just like we arrange the shapes, color, edges and value. Arrange and orchestrate, but details just seem to derail.

Last Wednesday I woke up early knowing we would once again be blanketed with fog. On location the fog was thick. As I worked on the painting I realized it wasn't coming together. I was getting derailed. So I turned my back on the scene and only thought of the poetry of what I saw and the color harmony necessary to make the illusion. Another huge painting will grow from this.


I have been out of town for awhile now, painting in some of my favorite locations. My blog will resume with new posts sometime in September. Till then I will post more retro faves.

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!

more fog

10x11 pastel on watercolor

Fog continues to inspire all I do. It changes everything. On this particular morning it was raining and the clouds were so low.
 Monet's fog series from Giverny and London are always amazing to refer to when thinking fog. When Monet was in London he wrote, "I love London. It is a mass, an ensemble, and it is so simple. Then, in London, what I love, above all, is the fog." Monet said that he loved the way the fog"dematerialized" the river.Here are two beauties of his.

Monet's London

Monet's Siene

a warmup in fog

6x9 pastel on somerset
I was zipping along on my way to teach yesterday and the fog was getting thicker on Beach Drive. I only had 25 minutes. My goal was simply to get an impression and keep the color harmony. Later, after teaching I returned to the studio charged up for more. It doesn't take long for a warm up: it's just about doing it.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!

whispered moment

8x8 pastel on watercolor underpainting, thickened by fog

Just knowing there would be a thick fog in the morning made it difficult to sleep.  (I love fog.)
Painting fog is all about value relationships. Like bookends, choose your darkest dark and lightest light before doing anything else. The watercolor was easy, it flowed on the paper. But the added moisture in the air made the pastel chunky. I had to go to the car several times to dry the surface. The fog continued to be thick so time was not an issue.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone..now I will go bake a pie.

through my pours

9x9 pastel on watercolor, Uart paper
This one was painted early Tuesday morning on location. It was raining lightly  you could feel the atmosphere through your pours. "Grey" days are the best!
It was too wet to add pastel so needed to do that in the studio. With this painting the goal was to get the essence with the barest minimum of strokes.

tangerine sky

Pastel on watercolor, watercolor underpainting below

The air was cold and the water was slightly warmish....thus the beautiful fog. The tangerine sky set nicely off of the blueish fog. I must admit I just enjoyed myself with this one. Just painting for the pure joy of painting.

smoke on the water

8x8 pastel and watercolor on uart
I was given a second try to capture the idea of light fog rising off the water. Yesterday's looked more like ice...this time it does look more like vapor. To create the vapor like effect I used many colors of the same value intertwined. Maybe I will try it next with this painting as a reference.
I have been very busy getting ready for my show that opens on Saturday night- Man vs. Nature. (Please come if you can.) This show documents the beauty we are losing due to the construction of the new 6 lane toll road the inter-county connector, otherwise known as the ICC. It's been a very emotional time for me. It's amazing how this kind of work can be so upsetting. Beauty lost forever.

searching for the illusion of mystery

about 8 x 15
Excitement rules when there is fog predicted!
This morning a light fog lay on top of low lying areas and water....oh la la! Fog and its cousins, mist and haze, are wonderful things: they evoke mystery. The  underpainting was far more successful on this account: subtle tonal shifts with delicate edges. I think I became too "sharp" in the pastel version. As the haze lifted I painted portions of the changes. Bad move. While it is not a "bad" painting I think the underpainting is better. Less is more once again wins.
I think I will rework it when i am back in the studio.

Words Fall Through Me

17 x22 pastel and oil on marble dust board

Life has a way of throwing curveballs. I guess the process of learning to catch them is what it is about. Losing Elly has made me rethink what was once taken for granted. This applies to my work. This painting I began long ago, but never could complete to my satisfaction. I saw the answers in my dreams the other night. After I finished yesterday's painting I immersed myself in this one, trying hard to find my way to the nebulous (yet ethereal) light I wanted to create. I think I am done (for now.)

Springtime Fog

9x12 pastel on watercolor, Uart paper

Fog is so exciting. One important thing to keep in mind is that because fog reduces the values to a very small range one must be VERY attentive to temperature. The play back and forth is what makes the painting.

Click on this one...I left the jpeg bigger than usual so that you can see the temperature play. :-)

Sacred Moment

about 6x9 pastel and watercolor on Uart paper $100.
Working from photos is not a preference of mine. Plein air and working from my plein air paintings is my choice. That being said....today was pouring rain and I need to begin a commissioned piece on this theme. Yesterday's photos were my start. Many people have asked me about photo use so that is why I have posted the photo and the small painting so that you can see what happens. The photo only starts it and then the painting tells you want to do. Today I was warm with my favorite arias (Ave Maria/Andrea Bocelli) playing in the background, a hot tea by my side. Total decadence.

The Tranquil Veil (finished?)

17.5 x 21.5 pastel on marble dust board, contact me about price
This painting has been obsessing me. What was wrong? I had posted it unfinished on November 12th and then left it to sit. The right bottom corner had been bugging me and the color harmony was wrong. So here are the changes. Change the shape and lighten of the bottom piece of land. Create more harmony by toning down the discord color of gold, heighten the dominant color. Done? We'll see.
On another note, last autumn the Turner exhibit was here in Washington. It was a mind blowing experience that I couldn't stay away from. I still keep thinking about his work. More later.

Pea Soup in November

8.5 x11 (I think) pastel and watercolor on Uart paper $200.00 plus tax and shipping
I must admit I get all excited when I see fog outside. I can't wait to paint! Today the fog was so thick it was as if it was raining. Due to the nature of pastels I painted from inside my car (en plein car). The light key of a fog painting like this is really high...but if you go to a one or two you can't get interesting color (in my opinion). So I tend to pick it up a notch..if you know what I mean. Someone might have described the landscape as white. So what is the color of white?
Don't you just love how this reservoir changes each day!!!!!?!

Fog /painting in the works

big one, studio piece in the works, not for sale yet
I have been studying the master of light, Claude Monet. It is amazing to see how many colors he used to create visual blending into a different much richer color. I am trying to learn from him while keeping in mind I need a dominant color, rather than the amazing variety one sees when you look at the landscape.

Silent Song

about 7x10 pastel on wallis board $150. plus tax and shipping
This morning was a blessing. Thanks to Joe H. I was allowed to go out to Sycamore Island and paint. Magical would be the only word to truly describe it. Painting there was like being intoxicated by light and color. Wow! What a way to go! Thanks Joe!