Bigger and brighter

This weekend I attended the opening reception for Spring Fling, an annual juried exhibit at the Gateway Arts Council in Sidney, Ohio.  This year I was privileged to have two pastels accepted into the show.  It's an excellent exhibit with many talented artists participating, making the quality of the pieces displayed quite high.

I learned a few lessons as I walked around the exhibit.  The first, which I really already knew, was that while my work has gotten much better over the last few years, I still have some catching up to do.  The second was that I need to paint bigger and brighter, especially for these types of exhibits.  Larger pieces often do a better job of commanding attention, in particular when they surrounded by many other pieces.  A little 9x12, while quite lovely in a living room or bedroom, is overwhelmed in such a space.  In addition, all the dark shadows which were supposed to be dramatic turned out to be more melodramatic in a setting with lighting that is more subdued than in my studio.

Taking all of this into consideration, I have resolved to paint bigger and brighter, at least for exhibits.  Even for other pieces I will try to make the mood brighter - occasionally walking the pieces out of the studio and setting them in a room with more typical lighting (my dining room, for example) will help with this I think.  Something like the painting below is step in the right direction I think.

Chance of Scattered Showers 16x20 oil, copyright 2013

Dark skies

Winter Sky study 9x12 oil, copyright 2013

Connected study 8x10 oil, copyright 2013

Since taking the workshop with Steven Walker I've been playing with my oils, trying to work out how they will work best for me, and I find myself focusing more and more on the sky.  Really, that shouldn't be much of a surprise as that is what I have been doing for some time in pastels.

These two are the most recent of those studies.  During the workshop Steven pointed out several times that my clouds were rather dark and ominous looking, and these are no exception.  I like the drama that dark skies create and have many, many reference photos of storm clouds.  After finishing the second one in particular though, I realized he had a point - it's a bit too dark.  It may not be obvious on a computer screen, but it is obvious when it's on my living room wall.  It appears that I need to learn to compensate for the fact that a typical room in a house is not as well lighted as my studio.  I think I will try the second one again, but larger and brighter, while keeping the drama.

Gone but not forgotten

Red Barn, Winter 6x6 oil, copyright 2012

Thanks to rain and above normal temperatures this week, our snow is completely gone.  I did manage to get quite a few reference photos though and am working my way through them.   Snow can be rather challenging to paint.  The brain tells you that it is white, but the eyes see blues and purples in the shadows, yellows and pinks and oranges in the light.  It can be tricky to find the right balance between what you think you know and what you think you are seeing.

This particular painting was the last one I did last year.  It is loosely based on a neighbor's barn, one that can be seen from our house.  

Beyond blue

Reveal 16x20 oil on panel, copyright 2012

Clouds breaking apart to let a bit of sunshine peek through inspired the last of these sky paintings.  I have to admit that this one gave me a lot more trouble than the other three.  The problem seemed to be that I tried to hard to make it look like the photograph instead of just letting go where it wanted to go.  The paint got pretty thick, then hard to move around and impossible to create the softer feeling of the previous painting.  After a few days of drying I worked on it a bit more, let it dry slightly, then went over it with a dry brush to soften some of the edges.  I still see places that could be changed, but over working is always a danger and it's best to quit while you're ahead.

This is the last of the sky paintings only because I had only four panels.  They were a good break from my typical landscapes, a way to get the creative juices flowing again.  I will be purchasing more of these panels to keep handy when breaks are needed, so you can expect to see them at random.  And the paintings were certainly helpful - I got back into pastel landscapes this week and will be posting one soon.  It's one of my best yet, at least in my humble opinion!

Ultramarine

Deepening Blue 20x16 oil, copyright 2012

Finally this painting is dry enough to photograph, though it's still a bit tacky in places.  I love this color, ultramarine blue, but I'd forgotten how dark it is, and how much oil is in it, slowing the drying process. For some reason the darker and more saturated or "pure" colors tend to have more oil.  

It was inspired by the same photo as the previous painting, and was painted the same day.   While I often start with a photo, which leads my color palette, once I get started the photo is largely ignored and the painting becomes intuitive.  It's a different way of thinking for me, and I'm rather enjoying the freedom it allows.

In other news, the brownstone that was being auctioned went to a friend of mine, one who was with me  in NYC when I took the reference photo.  A check is on its way to Red Cross and the painting is on its way to Cleveland, so it's win-win all around.  I love it when that happens.  Thanks Tracey!

Blue skies

Searching for Serenity 16x20 oil on panel, copyright 2012

After a series of failed pastel paintings, I decided it was time to switch it up a bit.  Oils have been neglected for the past nine months or so while I worked on my pastel technique but recently I've been feeling a bit burnt out on the landscapes.  I won't abandon pastels altogether but instead will take the opportunity to explore a few alternatives.  

One of my favorite past times as a kid was to stare up at the sky, watching the ever changing clouds and shifting blues.   We lived near the airport, so contrails would some times crisscross the view, and I often wondered about the people on the planes, where they were going and what they were thinking.  In fact, my first sky painting was titled Where Are They Going?  I played with a few more paintings, but none came out quite as well as the first and the idea was ignored for quite awhile.  But it's always been in the back of my mind to paint a whole series of skies and I find myself rather compulsively photographing sunrises and sunsets, clouds and storms.

A few weeks ago a decided to paint a little acrylic as a get well gift for a friend, which worked out  quite well for both of us.  It really got me contemplating sky paintings again, and a few days later I painted two in oil, one right after the other, over the course of several hours.  It had been a frustrating, stressful day and the work became an almost meditative exercise, and a very satisfying one.   I think I'll have to keep a stack of panels on hand, ready to be used when needed.  I'll post the second one once it dries a bit more.

Don't forget, the art auction to raise funds for the Red Cross is still going on; you have through Friday to bid on my brownstone!

Toronto skyline

View from the Airport Ferry, Toronto 8x10 oil, copyright 2012
click to purchase this painting

This past week the weather has been wrecking havoc on my sinuses and my attempts to work on another plein air pastel.   One day I started out for my chosen spot to catch the moodiness of light freezing rain, only to turn back home when the rain became heavy snowfall in a matter of minutes.  Once the snow and blowing wind stopped a few days later, I headed out to the creek to catch what little snow had not yet been melted by the sun.  But I'm a bit of a cold weather wimp and gave up after about 45 minutes.  It's hard to hold onto the pastels when your fingers are freezing.  Thunderstorms blew through yesterday and now the sun is shining again, but it's uncomfortably cold again.  I think I will wait for summer to paint plein air.

During my frustrations with the weather I took breaks periodically to work on this oil painting.  After posting a pencil sketch back in November a friend asked if this was the prelude for a painting.  At the time the answer was no.  But I've found that when things get difficult with one piece, sometimes it helps to completely switch gears - oil for pastel, summer for winter.  The amount of detail in this one became a meditation of sorts, shutting off most of my mind to concentrate on shapes and shadows and light.  It really is amazing to me how little detail is required to make a building look like a building.  The biggest challenge is keeping all the exterior lines straight.

Background drama

Zinnia with Bud Vase, 6x6 oil, copyright 2011

We've had several hard frosts this week, killing all my flowers with the exception of these little ones that I'm pretty sure are zinnias.  Zinnias are normally sensitive to harsh weather so I'm not sure how they've managed to hang on so long, but they offer a nice bright splash of color to what is becoming a rather dull landscape.  This composition came to me when I first picked them, but I ignored it and instead attempted to paint three of them in a clear glass jar.  That one wasn't working - and ended up getting wiped -  so I went with my original idea and found that I should have followed my instincts to begin with.

The flower and vase seemed to be working quite well at first, but somehow it still was a bit boring.  I turned to other artists to see how they handled still life and realized that the background made a huge difference.  At first this one was almost a solid pale blue, which is what I used for the set up in the studio.   But looking at the works of David Cheifetz in particular I realized that a dramatic backdrop can push the subjects forward and make them far more interesting.  I've been playing a bit with light and shadows, but seeing the difference in the before and after on this one (wish I'd taken photos!) really hit home - I will definitely keep it in mind for future reference.

It's funny though, the hardest part was know when to stop.  I kept seeing little things that needed to be corrected - a bit of white here, a splash of yellow there.  Hopefully my taking a photo will encourage me to stop messing with it.  The saying comes to mind, "It takes two people to make a painting: the artists to paint it, and another to stop him before he ruins it."  I think I stopped in time...

Painting glass

Amber Glass Ornament 6x6 oil, copyright 2011

click to purchase this painting

One of the things on my "bucket list" is to learn how to blow glass.  It's amazing to see a glowing, gooey glob on the end of a pipe turn into a work of art using only fire and air.  I still remember the first time I watched a demonstration of someone making a large serving plate by blowing a globe, then folding it together and spinning it to shape a disk.  Over the years since I have slowly accumulated a collection of handmade glass items, mostly ornaments.  This particular one is my most recent acquisition, picked up this fall at the Renaissance Festival.

Glass and water are two very challenging subjects to paint.  They are transparent and opaque at the time time and can be a confusing mess of reflection and refraction.  The light and shadows feel right on this one, but I haven't quite figured out how to portray the slightly transparent quality accurately.  Water gives me the same sort of fits - how do you paint both the surface and below the surface at the same time?

Miniature roses

Floating Miniature Roses 6x6 oil, copyright 2011

click to purchase this painting

On one of the last truly beautiful days of the season I picked the three best flowers off my miniature rose and set them floating in a little bowl.  Moving around to find the best shadows, I finally settled on the stone steps that go down into the bubbling spring we are fortunate to have in the front yard.  There is nothing quite like bright sunshine to make shadows and highlights and colors really pop, and that's what I decided to emphasize instead of trying to capture the details and the texture of the horn bowl and stone step.   

For some reason roses are always a struggle for me.  I'm not sure why, but the layers and layers of short, brightly colored petals give me fits.  It took a little bit of reworking, but I feel pretty good about these.  And I really feel like I've big improvements on capturing the shapes and shadows of rounded objects like the bowl.

A stop at Lake Ontario

Clean Hands  6x6 oil, copyright 2011
NFS

A brief moment of sunshine, the first in almost a week, allowed me to finally get a decent photo.  The redhead and her hat return to the water, this time in Lake Ontario.  Between Niagara Falls and the 1000 Islands region, we stopped at one of the many state parks along the lake shore.  It has become a family tradition to make a sand castle on every beach we come to.  So far this has included three of the five Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean.  After building is completed, hands must be washed free of sand - my daughter came up with the appropriate title.

The hardest part of this one was getting the ripples right.  They were painted and wiped several times before they finally seemed right.  I've tried a few other scenes with water this past week that haven't turned out as well.  Ripples and waves and reflections all conspire to make a very challenging subject to paint.

Fall art shows

Me Time 24x18 oil, copyright 2011

While my first attempt at a plein air painting didn't work out, the entry for Sacred Spaces did.  Having focused on small paintings and pastels lately, it's been awhile since I've painted anything this large.  I think the practice has paid off and I feel a lot more confident about setting up the compositions for my paintings.  A cup of tea and a good book, by the way, is one of my favorite ways to escape the craziness of life - it becomes my personal sacred space.  This show runs from September 6-30 at the Preble Fine Arts Center, with the reception on September 24.

In other news, I've entered three pieces in the Greenville Art Guild's annual show.  Two pastels, Meadow at Crown Point and Waiting for the Sun and one of my 6x6 oils, White Zinnia will be included.  The awards will be given on September 23 and the show runs from September 24 to October 1 at the Shawnee Prairie Preserve just outside of Greenville.

Tabletop sunburst

Tabletop Sunburst 6x6 oil, copyright 2011
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Hopefully no one is tired of sunflowers, because I certainly am not.  They are really starting to come out now, and I can't wait for the challenge of one that is very dark.  Most of them are of the brighter variety like this one, dark in the center fading to bright on the ends of the petals.  I know that I need to practice my ellipses and a flower in a round vase certainly fits the bill.  It takes a lot a measuring to make it look right, and I really have to force myself to be patient with it.   Random petals are so much more fun to paint!

I have a request to ask of anyone who is local to me: if you see a field of sunflowers in bloom, let me know, I'd love to go out and paint them.

White zinnia

White Zinnia 6x6 oil, copyright 2011
SOLD

I gave up on the pastel I was working on - it just wasn't working.  But the little oils seemed to be working just fine.  One of the things I love about working in several different media is that I can switch back and forth when things aren't going well.  The occasional change up seems to help me look at things with fresh eyes.

Since melting outside in this extended heat wave has no appeal to me, I've been cutting flowers to bring into the studio.  The perennials are also melting, but the annuals are doing quite well.  My zinnias are mostly reds and pinks, but I had a few surprises.  This large white one really stood out from its peers.  The biggest challenge for me was to make it a brilliant white without washing out all the color.  I think the bright yellow center helped with that.  I considered making the background more monochromatic, but I just can't seem to get away from the bright colors.

At the Lake

At the Lake, Memorial Day 6x6 oil, copyright 2011
NFS

Went back to late May for this one.  A cool dip in the lake sounds inviting in the extreme heat we've been having this week!   Over Memorial Day weekend, the family headed out to a man-made lake in eastern Ohio where my parents have a small cottage.  Boating, fishing and swimming took up most of our time.  

Close to the cottage is an area for launching boats, and swallowtail butterflies gather at the edge of the water to drink up nutrients from the mud.   My daughter tried to see how close she could get, but they all took off at her approach.  I tried painting them flittering around her, but the painting is just too small - they came out just as blobs.  

I think this is the first time I have painted a figure in oil.   Slowly it's sinking in that careful measurements before painting make a big difference in the end.  And I have to add, that I am loving her hat - I think that might make a few more appearances in the future.

Pale Yellow Iris

Pale Yellow Iris 6x6 oil, copyright 2011
click to purchase this painting

While the weather has been particularly volatile this month, there have been a few break here and there.  During one of the those I tromped down to the creek with my pastels.  That wasn't a successful endeavour, though it was a pleasant one.  A few days later another break came and back out I went, this time only as far as the front yard.  The wind kept tossing my brushes and my subjects around and the wind dried the paint quickly, but I tried to capture a bit of that movement rather than fight it.  The iris I have now are of the simple, unbearded (beardless?) variety and are a bit smaller and more delicate looking than the more popular types.  Only two of them are yellow, and they really pop when surrounded by purple.