memory continued and making magic

Here are two versions of the same snow scene. The scene is inside me so now I just explore color options. Question to ask self......Yes, it's snow...but how can I make it a bit more magical?

Memory

Memory is a wonderful potent yet very open tool.  You see it. Absorb its essence. Then you distill it to its most important part. That is the reason why I like to create these small paintings. Even though the memory is there I need to play with the layers of color to see how it feels. The vibration of colors is important and there, are so many options to combine.  I hope this grows to a super large format...but for now I am still figuring it out.

distractions and solutions

I am now finishing those last pieces for my upcoming show titled Intimate Landscapes (opening the week of  April 5th.) The problem is I get distracted...distracted by new ideas.
How do I manage this? Solution- I always allow myself time to do more small paintings, just to satisfy those cravings. This small pastel is one I did in the studio when the ground was covered with ice and snow. Heh! So much for winter! Now back to work on a big one.

April demo at the gallery

finished painting with pastel

watercolor underpainting for demo

This is for all of the folks who attended my demonstration on April 11th. Thank you! This painting was done completely from memory. The bottom photo is what the attendees saw and the top is the finished piece.
Tip- The most important thing to remember when doing a watercolor underpainting is to try to get your values correct. If you don't the watercolor will need to be covered in order for the painting to read correctly.

learning what to sacrifice

“The value of memory sketches lies in the fact that so much is forgotten! In time we must learn to leave out in our finished pictures these things which we now leave out through ignorance or forgetfulness. We must learn what to sacrifice.”
Dwight William Tryon

memory painting on new surface

I tried a new surface... new for me that is. This a is memory painting done on multi-purpose board- a surface that is hard, white, slightly sanded and takes watercolor beautifully. Here's the link to buy it from Dakota.
Dakota Art is an amazing place. If you haven't been there and you paint in pastels, it's a destination to add to your list. I love my annual trip to stock up on pastels and work with Richard.
PS It feels good to get back to watercolor underpainting.

but one paints with emotion

Who told you that one paints with colors? One makes use of colors, but one paints with emotions. (Jean-Baptiste-Simeon Chardin)

Only those who love color are admitted to its beauty and immanent presence. It affords utility to all, but unveils its deeper mysteries only to its devotees. (Johannes Itten)

If one says 'red' - the name of color - and there are fifty people listening, it can be expected that there will be fifty reds in their minds. And one can be sure that all these reds will be very different. (Josef Albers)

 A special thank you to Robert Genn and his wonderful art quotes.

hit me on the head

40x30 oil on linen

I don't know why I haven't been doing it all year. What have I been thinking?!
I always use my small plein air paintings as ideas for my larger oils, so why haven't I been working with all of my memory pieces? They really are the best for exploring vibration. What can I say? Sometimes the most obvious things take the longest to find.
I am still working on this one, inching my way forward.

"I am never in a hurry to reach details. First and above all I am interested in the large masses and the general character of a picture; when these are well established, then I try for subtleties of form and color. I rework the painting constantly and freely, and without any systematic method." quote- Camille Corot

retro fave: 9 memory paintings from friends

christine troyer

catherine delorimier, memory sunrise

lisa la quelenec, la rocco

caroline simmil, little earth

lorenzo chavez, march wind

nika zakharov, memory sunset

brenda boylan, memory painting

sam hannaway, when color first comes

maggie latham

Here is another beautiful re-post.
Look at these beautiful paintings! Cheers to all who tried.  Most attempted to work completely from memory, following the tradition of Whistler. Many said that their work is not a full memory painting and that they felt they needed to sketch or use a photo to help. Regardless, the work is beautitful and from the heart..
What struck me was how each painter's distinct personality was so easy to see when working from memory. The other "stuff" is stripped away. The maker becomes exposed.
These were the guidelines I gave all last week.

The memory painting guidelines, adapted from Whistler.

*watch a scene, then turn your back and in words describe in detail. If you have someone with you have them correct if you are wrong. Do this till it is secure in your head. No photos or sketches.

* Wait 12 hours, allow the scene to be created in your head

* Paint, using only that memory. Your knowledge and understanding of light will stream in and guide you.

* I will be happy to post a jpeg of your painting on my site, with credit to you, of course.

 Each first time memory painter talked about their fear and their release at trying. Of course after showing all these moments of memory I have to post words from John Carlson.


"The memory exaggerates the essential; the trifles of incidents tend to become blurred.  Protracted painting of what one sees before him (or her) dulls the initial expressive shock. In painting from memory, the whole stress is laid on expressive agents. In direct-from-nature painting, much useless lumber insinuates itself,interesting for its own sake, but derogatory to the whole. The eye is greedy. There is always too much material seen, with not enough synthesis."

Please, in your leisure, take a little time to look at the blogs and websites of the fellow memory painters:

Cathy deLorimier

Lisa La Quelenec

Christine Troyer

Caroline Simmil

Brenda Boylan

Nika Zakharov

Lorenzo Chavez

Sam Hannaway

Maggie Latham

I'll end with words from Lorenzo Chavez. He told me a little bit about the creation of his painting "March Wind."
 I love to spend my day in the field working from life and sometimes just sitting or walking and really looking at the landscape. I find it very meditative. In fact I now practice a form of meditation called Mindful Meditation. It is a practice of staying focused on a thought or an object and really paying attention .
I am amazed at how well my recall is when practicing this.

"March Wind" is an attempt to get the feeling of fading light and the gentle pulse of the earth through the filter of a remembered landscape.
  
If by chance you submitted a painting and I did not post it, let me know. I posted all I received.

studio gremlins and new years

6x6 memory painting, lake needwood

Artists work and create constantly. In order to not be static and continually push ourselves into new realms we constantly make some work we don't like. They are the path to discovery ....but they, themselves are lacking. Maybe you were working out color combinations or pushed a painting so far it went past its beauty. These are called studio gremlins. Do you really need your gremlins to haunt you next year?
In a little over 32 hours it is 2013....and that is time to burn the studio gremlins. Go through all your work, find the ones that you KNOW have to go and have a little burning ceremony.
I can't wait for New Years Day in the studio! Join me and let me know how it feels.
Happy New Year!

venus comes out to play and singing the blues

another 6"x6" pastel, venus comes out to play

New thing- I am using watercolor paper, but no watercolor. Instead I am sanding it to a soft velvety finish. Feels good on the fingers.

Singing the blues 6x6 pastel

I keep experimenting with new color combinations, but using the same field. Color, but grays still rule.






PS A big thank you to all the wonderful people who came to the gallery last night and celebrated with us!

memory painting is like making a pizza

Painting from memory is like making a pizza. All the stored knowledge you possess is the dough... that all important part you use every time. The toppings are the manipulations- the new ideas you bring to the pizza to make this one unique. In painting we manipulate color, value and shape. With pizza it's the sauces, cheeses and toppings. One time it's heavy in roasted garlic and basil and another time the sauteed  onions and sun dried tomatoes sing the song.

So in order to use your memory you have to work at that dough and spend time in the field studying, drawing, painting. Then the dough recipe is solid. You can now focus on the toppings...the real fun.

 This one (above)  has the sun dried tomatoes, artichokes and onions on a chickpea garlic paste.

I end today's crazy blog post with  a quote from a most amazing painter, George Inness and a recipe for pizza dough.

"The purpose of the painter is simply to reproduce in other minds the impression which a scene has made upon him. A work of art does not appeal to the intellect. It does not appeal to the moral sense. Its aim is to instruct, not to edify, but to awaken an emotion." -- George Inness  


 pizza dough

4 1/2 cups  unbleached high-gluten, bread, or all-purpose flour, chilled
1 3/4  teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1/4 cup  olive oil (optional)
1 3/4 cups  water, ice cold (40°F)
Semolina flour OR cornmeal for dusting 

5 years blogging and mistake making

Opening yourself up to mistakes can lead to better things. Last week, when going to location, I forgot my pastels I painted only the watercolor underpainting and memorized the rest. Now I found a new way to paint that I love.  It combines my love of plein air and memory painting.

On another note, today I celebrate 5 years of blogging and 1195 posts. As I enter my 6th year I confess that I have learned more from my 4 years of daily plein air painting, than I learned in my entire art school education- BFA and MFA. Year five was more about using that experience and transferring it to memory painting. What will come next???? Come on back for year 6 to find out.
If I could give one bit of advice to anyone wanting to improve and find themselves it would be to, without fail, paint outdoors everyday. Don't wait for that silly thing called inspiration. She rarely comes knocking. When you ALWAYS create she WILL find you. Time and time again.
Onward.

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.

memory and luminosity

This is a recent pastel memory painting.
Many people have asked me about painting from memory, feeling it is an impossibility for them. Let me tell you it's not. The most important thing is observe carefully and to record the memory with precise words. Words like orange water or light blue in the sky will not bring the memory back clearly. Instead descriptive passages like- dull orange glow with underlying green or dusty cerulean in a value 2 steps lighter than the water, those words will work. Those are the kind of words that can bring a memory back months later. Making a strong vision in your head, so strong you can see it when you turn your back on the inspiration.
Why go through all this when you can just paint plein air or with a  photograph? When you rely on memory you distill. From the distillation you receive clearly that which is  important.

For me it is the only way I paint the real it- luminosity.

memory painting

Underpainting possibilities are so numerous it's almost crazy! When I was shopping at Dakota Pastels I found this cool stuff called Liquid Spectrum- Concentrated Artist's Ink. Waterproof and intense  it proved to be an excellent first layer.  It easily layered with watercolor and then pastel. Playing is part of the job!
On another note I think painting from memory allows me to relish the materials even more!

wax medium and the Hudson

So much is happening! I am traveling and right now I am in Woodstock NY working with Christie Scheele. This is the Hudson River. Majestic. Winding. Beautiful. Will write more later. Internet is hard to find and I am busy working!
PS I think I am falling in love with wax medium!

playing with memory and vibration

14x14 pastel

I was away in Chincoteague...memorizing. Finally, upon my return, I have exploded with images. This one was the most tantalizing. I was riding down the street and egad! I almost fell off my bicycle!!!!
I am obsessed with what this one can be large. So I begin now 48x48.
I kept a limited palette...only about 12 pastels were used.

river and field

oil on wood, 18x36

I finally finished this painting just in time to be framed for the show. Egad. I thought it would never be done.  It's full of some of the most beautiful neutrals, although it may be hard to see in the jpeg.

9x9 pastel

Here's more work with memory. I walk through this field every morning an the spring warm greens have changed everything.

I am really nuts trying to get everything done in time since it hangs on Saturday. The reception is Friday April 13th. Come and join the celebration!

working big

10x14 pastel

10x14 pastel

Plein air painting is a passion of mine, and many other painters. There is nothing better than going out there, even when it is 95 degrees plus. Taking these smaller works and bringing them to the studio is a whole other animal, both have validity. Once when in NYC I was speaking with a gallery owner and he said that he did not prefer plein air work as he felt they are usually containing too much information. Back then I felt shocked, but now, years later I know what he meant.  That brings me to my goal in the studio right now. Distill and reduce down to just the essence of the concept. That is why I felt my memory work was so much stronger than my plein air, distillation. So that is where I am now, early morning in the field and then the rest of the day in the studio- reducing. I am working very large (for me), two paintings:4 ftx 4ft and 2ftx 3ft. All the work comes from my favorite place (above).

On another note, I have decided how to reformat my blog.  Weeklies. Instead of my daily posting, every Monday you will see my new, juicier, post. This will allow more painting time for me, yet keep connections to all my blogger friends. ( I missed you.) So be sure to stop by. I will respond to comments, but my speed may not be as fast as I once was, due to my limited (self-imposed) computer time.
Tata, Loriann