Inspiration

After finishing "October," I still had time to do another oil sketch before the traditional Saturday lunch at Kelly's. My inspiration was the close values in the blue distant bluff and the brown riverbank in sunlight set off by the orange crane arm. I expected to wipe it off, but was pleased with finding the color notes and close values.

October

Fall is my favorite season. And I like that this one is lasting a long time. How do you depict the rich mosiac of October in Minnesota? The textures are softer and color radiates from the yellow grasses to the brilliant sky blue with wispy floating cirrus clouds.

Occasionally, after lots of "brush time" (as we call it), something new happens where the color and the brush strokes come together in a new and more confident way. "October" seems to have a new quality. I hope it is a glimspe of many more paintings to come.

Blogging Again

Thanks for noticing my hiatus. With diminishing light at the end of the day, it became impossible to photograph the paintings (which is how & why the blog came to be) and so an alternative studio set-up had to come about.

A special "thanks" to John H. for being the most persistent in wondering when the next painting would be posted. He uses them as screen savers. WHAT A GOOOD IDEA! and probably his co-workers were complaining and needed a change, too. Anita G. prints them and pins them outside her cubicle along with other artwork.

Note: there are many contemporary ways to have an art exhibit, but maybe someday I will actually send postcards and announce an upcoming exhibition in a big white space where I will wear black and serve wine and crackers...or maybe I'll just send a screen saver.

I started depending on Artist Mary to bring flowers for still life paintingfor Instructor Richard's Studio Class. She had other plans that night. I brought nothing to paint. Dilemma!

Instructor Richard quickly set up this cobalt pitcher on a low stand. My sunflowers at home would have been beautiful in the pitcher, but I mentioned that their highest good was to remain in the garden and serve as food for the many gold finches that were feasting on them. (There were a few editorial comments about that).

Light changed quickly and then the chair disappeared so a fellow student could sit and take in Instructor Richard's lecture.

Still life painting is not exactly what I would call "still." True to the laws of physics all light and matter is in constant motion. I just have to make faster marks for painting...

Yellow Swing

It's summer and time to go up Nort' to the lake cabin. This a charming lake cabin that has been in the Jones' Family for many years. My neighbors, Paul and Anne, asked me to paint it from photos as a birthday gift.

I See the Forest

For Instructor Richard's studio class Mary brought garden flowers and a lovely yellow vase to paint. While I have never gravitated to painting still life from unsuccessful attempts in the past, I am enjoying the speed and vitality of a 3 hour session. After about an hour and a half I looked at the other two painters work and discovered that they really were painting the flowers and vase as the main subject matter. Amazing! I looked at the same thing and saw the table cloth, vase, shadow composition (oh, yeah, there were flowers there, too!). I am truly a landscape painter. I see the forest and not the trees, as it seems. (Left room for lots of commentary here--be gentle).

Which brings us up to date on my painting struggles and triumphs. Based on the above composition, it is apparent that I am able to view a subject and pick out simplicity of shape and form. The next step, and this is the critical one to make an OK painting a great painting, is what to put back in. The exquisite dashes and dots and sparkles that speak to the light source and follow form. To be or not to be? Oh, what to leave in; what to leave out? That is the question.

I have to learn to see both--the forest... and the trees...

4th of July

I admit it. I was a slug. Here is the only painting that I completed in 3 vacation days. Work with me on this...

Note to KK. Found the doll clothes that you made for me. Why didn't you go into fashion design? I had the MOST STYLIN' outfits for Cisette & Betsy. Sisters--S&S and I had a wonderful time reminiscing. Wish you could have been there.