packing for my residency at Brush Creek

pastel from memory, a place I have painted 500+ times

There is nothing better for an artist than time and space to think solely about his/her art. In the 21st century is a a difficult think to find/or make.
I was fortunate to be awarded a residency by Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts. They have an amazing ranch in Wyoming where they offers time and space for artistic exploration through immersion in the extraordinary beauty of the West. 
Writers, visual artists, performance artists, musicians and composers are the residents who are at liberty to structure their own time and activity while on a creative retreat.
Amazing, eh?!
I will be there in November till right before Thanksgiving. Right now I am packing my boxes and readying my boards. When I return I will post photos and stories so stay tuned.

BTW   I have a solo show coming up at Gallery B in Bethesda Maryland. Mark your calendar. The opening is December 8th, Friday 6-8 pm. It runs from December 5-30th. Hope to see you there. Toodles for now.

life's imperfections

I don't remember where I read this, but it has stuck in my mind for a long time now.

I will paraphrase,
"Scratches on the old record, this is what life is made of. It's life's imperfections that make it beautiful."

I find myself thinking about that when I create. This particular pastel made the idea tangible.

the essentials

12x12 pastel on watercolor

A quick cat-sitting trip to my niece's home in West Virginia brought new inspiration.
On this particular evening I was back at the Potomac River, albeit farther north and west. Since I had to work fast I chose Pastel Mat. I was thinking I would only do the watercolor onsite but with help from my car's heater, it dried quickly and I was able to add pastel.
There is something good about being pressured for time. You know that you can only get the essentials, not time to be picky.

whisper in late summer

Late summer in this area tends to be still, hot and hazy. In the morning the lake is like a whisper.

strategy for naming paintings

moving towards the light, pastel

Naming paintings is something artists either dread or love.  I have chosen to embrace it, but that's easy for me because I have a strategy. I will share it with you.

Oftentimes a painting speaks her name while I am working. Sometimes not. In that case I rely on "the notebook." I keep a tiny spiral bound notebook with me almost always. If I don't have the notebook I write ideas on scraps of paper and pocket them. Since I live in an urban area the time spent waiting at traffic lights often can be my most productive mind-wander moment. Therefore the notebook is always in the car. In addition I am an avid reader. Just absorbing writer and poet's delicious words can inspire new titles. Life experiences inspire titles. For example, many of the paintings for my next show, were painted during the time of my Daddio's process of leaving us. Two of the paintings I did in California describe the process- time to say goodbye (below) and moving towards the light. (above) I didn't even have to think about those names they presented themselves. When I paint tree groups they remind me of people and thus we have names like- silver divas (below). When the painting has meaning it will tell you.


Naming painting is a personal thing. How do you feel about it?

BTW Mark your calendars- If you are in the area, be sure to come to my next solo show, a quiet suspension of time- paintings by Loriann Signori. The opening is on Friday April 10, 6-9. But you are also invited to my pre-opening party for a sneak peak on Saturday April 4, 4-7pm. The show is at Gallery B in Bethesda MD. I will be there April 1-25 working at my easel (12-6) Come and visit sometime. I would love to meet my blogger friends!

time to say goodbye, pastel

silver divas, pastel

Hans Hoffman, Color and the field

10x11 pastel

When you read about Hans Hoffman's teaching, color was not used to copy nature literally, but to make relationships, mass and luminosity.   Nature inspires but does not control. We, instead are in charge. Our choice of color is intuitive and expresses feeling.
You must consider that colors have look different depending on whether their edges are hard or soft. Whether the change in value at these edges is smooth or abrupt (as I experimented with above). The appearance of color is affected by the color adjacent.  Simultaneous contrast is really what the relationships are all about.
Since I have returned home I am haunting my fields. As a compositional challenge I also purposely put that tree right in the middle. Heh.

Queen Anne's Lace

My favorite, Queen Anne's Lace was situated in a tiny grassy area next to Wheaton Mall.

tricky greens

Recently when my teenage class was outdoors painting the common cry was, "There are too many greens!" Or, "Greens are boring, what do I do?"  Greens are incredibly tricky. In order to make a painting full of warm and cool greens to work you have to search for the other secondary colors that will complement green. That brings us to violet and orange. The famous Richard McKinley says, "The secret to green is orange and violet is its friend." So when looking at those endless greens out there now, think...where can I  see violet? How can pieces of orange in my greens and around enhance the green?

more buttercups, revisit

This one is pastel on a gesso and marble dust board. It also has a thick watercolor underpainting. I am going through older paintings that need resolve.

study of waves

Intimacy with your subject is most important.  Therefore last week I began my wave study in earnest. I love calming effect of the ocean waves. She has both beauty and repetition.  She is perfect and still moody, different each day. My infatuation with this beauty began long ago. I am sorry to say I have played with her feelings yet never settled into a pattern of constant adoration. I hope this past week began this journey.

daisies

I am enjoying revisiting paintings that were never resolved. Free of the scene I experiment with methods and ideas.

pastel and liquin

Finding new ways to layer can mean studio time. This pastel has an underpainting with watercolor on Uart paper done on location. Pastel was added then brought to the studio. Unsatisfied with the results I decided to use Liquin on the bottom half of the painting. I didn't know what would happen as normally I would use Gamsol. The Liquin worked like a thick  juicy liquid fixative. When the Liquin had dried (a day or so) I took the painting back to location. Then I added more pastel. I don't know if the Liquin helped or the time lapse helped.

important words to remember

I was looking through my sketchbook yesterday and found one message I had written.
"We make paintings not see them."
Remember that when you go  out to paint. As artists we move parts of the landscape, erase others, heighten color, and subdue color. We are in charge.
It helps to turn away from your scene part way during your painting time to simply work with the painting not the scene.

So many buttercup scenes in the last week. Same scene many versions....watch for the next post for more.

pollen and painting

Some of us are like homing pigeons. I am. That means I return to my handful of spots regularly, without question.  In May, the water in this area is covered with a thin layer of pollen. You might think-ick... but no. The good thing about it is pollen, like any other particle, it reflects color. (think fog, dust, smog, smoke) So I sneeze and paint. It's a beautiful time.
Happy Mother's Day!

warm trees remake

This painting began as a plein air study that never quite found its voice. See the study below- finished painting on top.

When I return from painting I normally place the board (onto which the painting is taped) on one of the sills in the studio. That way I get to live with it before making new marks. Usually, if I wait long enough the painting will tell me what to do.

This time the remake process began with smoothing out the lines and divisions so that I had more freedom to decide where the diva (center of interest) should be, in addition, where her supporting cast would do their job. That done, I sprayed a little Sennelier fixative so that I have a fresh beginning. I wanted the grasses to have a strong vibration that moved up the off center trees. I also wanted to lose the sharp melon colored border. The whole painting needed softness- less contrast. I later decided to have a delicate mesh-like peek-a-boo feeling in the grasses in the diva spot.
When you are no longer at the scene and do not use photo reference you are freer to look at your painting as an abstraction of color. Do you do your own remakes?

red tree 2 warmer palette

14x15 pastel

 I decided to play with the red tree and see what would happen when I make my palette warmer. In the meantime I am preparing a wood panel in order to paint much larger in oil: 36x36 vs the 15x14 you see here. The oranges are more a part of the grasses and trees. They replace the abundance of violets. I may like the first cooler one better. What do you think?

pastel demonstration and opening

Last night's opening reception at the Waverly Street Gallery was wonderful. I hope to post some photos when I get them. Today I will be giving a pastel demonstration at the Waverly Street Gallery. Please come if you are able...if not, you can look forward to my new video that I will post this week. My friend Coba made a  wonderful movie of my painting session on Tuesday. More about that later.

Aphrodite and me

11.5x12.25 pastel

Finally I am back to pastel. I missed it! So much finishing of paintings for the show..not enough fun.
This one came to me when I was swimming laps this lunch time.  Even the name...Aphrodite's Dream. Crazy, huh? Often I labor for months this took 45 minutes tops. It was already made in my head.
It was inspired by my favorite place Chincoteague Island. On the wall in my studio is this large study created in Chincoteague with black pastel only. It didn't sell at the plein air event...maybe that's better, so far it has inspired three paintings.

Let go

plein air, pastel, this past summer

“Without trying to describe elements, I try to ex- pand possibilities, and the feeling of freedom. I have general knowledge - I’ve trained - but when it comes to a particular painting or pastel, I trust in freedom, and let go.”    Wolf Kahn

He says it all, doesn't he?

marketing and the painter

small pastel 9x15, concept for next oil

This week I was fortunate to attend a marketing workshop by Ann Bevans. As a group I would say most painters dislike the idea of marketing. We just want to paint. Selling should just happen. (Right?)
I am not saying I will be changing my ways, but this workshop did pose excellent questions.
Here are a few of Ann's questions to the group.
Define your idea/ concept. What is it? 
Why are you passionate about it? 
What is the potential  and likely impact of your idea? 
What is the value of the impact?  
Next we had to define our audience. Who chooses your work? 
Good things to think about and I will leave you to think. Feel free to share your thoughts via comment. I will post more about this later in the week.