New work with Silver Lake

Silver Lake in Ocracoke has continued to obsess me. Months of distillation time help me feel rather than see. In the studio I am working with different methods, although all are on thick watercolor paper. The top painting is large, 22x30 and the surface is simply sanded.

This one has the additional layer of art spectrum pastel primer. it is smaller, maybe 8x8.
Each painting has a completely different feel. Do you have a favorite? I know I do.

the landscape and air are full of promise

9x6 pastel and watercolor on Uart

Here is another memory painting.
In the words of Albert Pinkham Ryder, "I have never seen the beauty of spring before; which is something I have lived and suffered for. The landscape and air are full of promise." You can insert "the beauty of dusk"and you will see what I feel as I watch dusk from my window. I have been ill for a couple of days, but continue to do these small memory skyscapes from my bed.

In my extra time I continue to read my History of Tonalism and have been struck by the paintings and words of Albert Pinkham Ryder. He was a painter in the Tonalist tradition. A shy New Englander (from New Bedford- a place where I lived and loved for 3 years) he supposedly had faulty eyes due to a childhood vaccination. His biographer Frank Jewett Mather said that Ryder developed a visual memory haunted by a residual repertoire of iconic images, after images of a sort that recurred from his early life. "Naturally he drifted into an owlish sort of life, wandering off into the moonlight at all hours and avoiding the glare of the high sun. The physical and moral solace of these moonlight strolls is a chief emotional content of his pictures."

dusk and the nature of light

16x20 oil on canvas
Dusk is a time for close values. The sky is the highest value, although, depending when you paint, its hot color is quickly beginning to be neutralized. In this painting the sun is just below the horizon and the land is cooling. Right at that place where the sun has set  the sun has left its hot footprint. My husband looked at it and said, "It's blurry." Maybe it needs a sharper edge? I am not sure.  I guess I need some space from it.
From what I remember of dusk and light is that light makes the shapes and as light fades shapes do too. They are no longer sharply delineated. The next question is what makes a painting that you want to look at? Draws you in to its secret mysteries? That, I may always search to understand.

While I struggle with these deeper issues, enjoy some kitty pics. They are growing fast. Luchi is a total rascal and Baby is a lap cat.

two kittens in the curtains

baby

luchianna

realization 3 and dusk

8x8 Pastel and watercolor on Uart
Write the end of the story before you finish the book.

Does that make sense?
Richard McKinley once told me that I need to keep that in mind when I am working. In other words, you must have a vision, know where you are going or you will never get there. I think I am finally starting to see and feel that.
Last night I headed to my next door soccer field at sunset. I have been studying the light at dusk. Night after night, I go there and look. I would say the colors out loud. I dreamed it Tuesday night. The vision was there. The last chapter was written. So when I was standing there and dusk arrived like a veil over the sky. I was ready.

Thanks Richard!

goals for painting

10x10 underpainting
I often find myself becoming too literal. In effort to end this dilemma I have decided to make some changes in the way I work (for now). In plein air I have always been seeking to capture the fleeting effects of light, often at the expense of mood. Now I will still do those Vitamins, and also monochromatic underpaintings or drawings (similar to a grisaille, but without the detail)) to add color later in the studio. Color that MAKES the mood I want. Me, the conductor of mood. Wish me luck:-)

Deer at Sunset

9x9 pastel and watercolor on Uart paper

This is the small, but finished version of the deer on my favorite field. Most of my energy went into developing the light through the trees. I could make out the deer in the distance but so quietly. (Can you see them?) One focal point, a place to linger.. To make it stronger I needed to edit and simplify everything else for maximum effect. The feeling of quiet reflection...... .

Dusk on the Field and underpainting

underpainting 3 layers pastel on board
7.5 x 7.5 Pastel and acrylic on board $100. plus tax and shipping
I love color..therefore I tend to use a lot of it. This was a lesson for me about the power of neutrals. As I work on my big river at dawn painting I felt the need to play.

Momentary Glimpse

about 6x10 pastel on Uart paper
Dawn and dusk are two most beautiful transitory moments. Some of their beauty comes from the fact they simply don't last. This was a 5 minute luscious period on the river.
Get the essence quickly, then remember and finish.

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?