Juried Shows

I recently had three paintings rejected from a
prestigious local Juried show.
After going through all the predictable reactions;
shock, anger, self doubt….
I was reminded of the Buddhist saying
”you never know when something bad could be good”
(and vice versa)

“Beach Road” 12 x 7 oil

Yesterday the Solace gallery owner in
New jersey called to tell me a client wants
to purchase the painting above
and is interested in me doing a large commission for her!
So, I guess a positive attitude and faith in yourself
goes a long way.
Not to mention,
juried shows do not mean a thing
about your talent or personal journey!
(PS. This is a repeat of a post I did last May,
but I think the lesson here is very valuable.)

New Year / New Approaches

I love getting back in the studio this time of year.
It’s a time to experiment and just have fun!
This one has been in the works and I thought I’d share.

16 x 12 oil
title TBD
Trying out a totally new limited palette:
Burnt Umber
Transparent Earth Red and Yellow
Cadmium yellow medium and deep
Ultramarine Blue
B&W
I’m also using lots of new tools;
knives, scrapers, squeegees, chop sticks etc.
(I’ve been having issues with my wrists lately
so I’ve had to re-invent how I do things.)

Happy New Year everyone!
Here’s to many happy, productive and fullfilling
hours in the studio in 2024.

"Apricity"

I just learned a new word!

Living at the beach this winter,
I have been inspired by the dramatic affect that winter sunlight has near the ocean.
My son recently sent me this info
after seeing some of my recent paintings.

“Apricity is an old English word for
the warmth of the sun on a winter’s day.
To bask in the sun is to apricate.
The air may be cold, but radiant solar heat
can raise objects to much highter temperatures,
especially away from the convective cooling of the wind.”

“On The Way Home” 8 x 8 oil

I saw this on my way home around 4:00 pm
the other day;
the homes on the distant beach
lit up by the setting winter sun.
I never knew there is a word for that!

Save the Pink House

A friend recently told me about an iconic landmark,
on the North Shore of Boston and suggested I paint it.

Once I researched it, I became fascinated and
had to give it a go.

According to Wikipedia:

“The Pink House is an uninhabited historic house and popular photography and painting subject located in Newbury, Massachusetts, United States. The house was built in 1925 and was privately owned until it was sold to Parker River National Wildlife Refuge for $375,000 in 2011.

On October 31, 2023, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife (FWS) announced their intention to demolish The Pink House (to occur after a 30-day public comment period from November 1- 30). This sudden announcement came after eight years of Support The Pink House Inc (STPH) working tirelessly to find a solution to save the house - included paying all expenses demanded by the Fish & Wildlife to prepare the house for trade.

I’ve been following the website
and it looks like it may be saved after all!

Stay tuned!

Late Winter Light

The other day the clouds broke
just as the sun was setting
and that intense late winter light
lit up the houses on the beach.

“Late Winter Light”
12 x 12 oil

I was taken by the high contrast of the
bright orange/yellows and deep dark blues,
(and didn’t even have to exaggerate it!)
The light at the beach this season
has been spectacular.
It’s truly a gift.

Something New

My classes are over for the year
and my work is out for holiday shows
so it’s time to have fun experimenting in the studio.

Rustic Re-imagined 20 x 16 oil

We recently went out to Western Mass and stayed at a very hip
(expensive) motel and this is my expression of the “lobby”.

Of course, I was attracted to the light on the books
and the shadows on the unfinished plywood walls,
but the clip light is priceless.
(Available on Amazon at $13.99 each!)

Exhibition at the State House

I’m honored that my painting
”Blue Sky Barn” will be included in the
Placemaking; Explore the South Shore
show opening tomorrow at the State House

“Blue Sky Barn”
16 x 16 oil

Placemaking is defined as “capitalizing on a local community’s assets, inspiration, and potential, with the intention of creating public spaces that improve urban vitality and promote people’s health, happiness, and well -being.

Explore the South Shore
“features works by 16 artists living in the coastal communities
represented by Senator Patrick O’Connor;
Cohasset, Duxbury, Hingham, Hull, Marshfield,
Norwell, Scituate, and Weymouth
that capture distinctive space through both
representational and abstract images.”
Congratulations to all!
(More info to follow)

Color Harmony

This week in Modern Painting we did an exercise using
a limited pallet to create color harmony.
Using a black and white image as a reference
we chose either:
-complementary/analogous colors
-one dominant color family
or
-mostly neutrals with splashes of color.

I did this using predominantly greens and blues
(analogous) and a titch of cad orange (complement).
When doing this for a demo, I intitially wanted the house to be blue-ish;

but there wasn’t enough contrast.
Then one of the students used the same reference
and painted this red/ green complementary combination
Now this really pops!

So that’s when I changed the house to orange,
and I think it works much better.
(I am continually amazed by how much I learn from my “students”)

Painting From Thumbnails

In my Modern Painting class this month,
we are talking about ways to make our paintings more
expressive and personal.
One way is to paint from a thumbnail value study
without referring to the actual subject or image.

I had fun doing this 12 x 16 oil from a quick value study
I did up in Vermont in June.

The fun thing about doing this is that you can make up a color scheme
while staying true to your value study.
I started this one by limiting my pallet to
yellows, purples and bit of green.

This is a fun challenge and once you get going,
you really can let the painting tell you where to go.
(I ended up darkened the back foliage and added more green)
Here’s the image of the subject that I took from my car.

This is why I love teaching.
I need to practice what I preach!

Wabi Sabi

I recently went to a wonderful talk on Wabi Sabi;
the Japanese aesthetic
appreciating beauty that is
"imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete" in nature.

Blue Towel 16 x 16 oil

I realized how this concept applies to painting.
It’s a real challenge to let go of “perfection” and
allow a painting to be unfinished and unexpected!
That’s the fun of it all.

Warm and Blue/Grey Summer

Over this rainy weekend I got to spend more time
re-visiting some references from my week in Vermont.
As you can tell, I’m particularly intrigued by
the barns and how they sit so isolated and quietly in the landscape.

Blue Summer
10 x 10 oil on linen

As the afternoon progressed, this took on a blue /grey feel;
kind of like the weather we are having this summer.
It’s amazing how much that affects everything!

My Heart is with Vermont

My heart is breaking
for all those impacted by the
flooding in Vermont this week.
My thoughts were with them
today while I painted this.
(May not be finished)

“Thinking Vermont”
10 x 10 oil on linen
As a reference, I used one of the many sketches I did while in Vermont for a glorious week in June
for a Tracy Everly workshop.

I’m really looking forward
to time in the studio this summer
to explore and re-visit some of the
subject matter, images, sketches, and notes
from the workshop.

Stay strong Vermont!

Quick Value Studies

I just returned from a wonderful three day
plein air workshop in Warren, Vermont
with Tracy Everly organized by the
Edgewater Gallery.
She did demos each day and
watching her paint was enlightening.
I was reminded of the importance of doing
quick value studies
before you begin, in order to organize your composition.

Just doing this much was enough to get started;
a difficult moment in plein air.
Light, middle, dark.

This is where I stopped when on location.
Just enough to get me to this in the studio.

It was heaven being away for a week,
learning new things and meeting new people.
Tracy is a generous and talented instructor
and I’m so excited to try out all my new “tools”.
Welcome summer!

What I'm Working On

Spring is such a busy time,
I’m always happy even if I just get a quick chance to paint.
I worked on this over a few quick sessions recently and think it may be done.
This is a favorite subject near me
and I wanted to capture that incredible
spring morning light.

“Spring in New England” 8 x 16 oil

First I did a value sketch using the image for a reference

Next session I blocked in the main values using a limited palette.
(Sap Green, Paynes grey Dark, cad yellow light, white)

Next session I added more paint and
played with the edges.

Then today I exaggerated the values and worked more on textures and may have overworked…

I’m taking a plein air workshop
up in Vermont next week
so I’m trying to fine tune my approach to
architecture in the landscape.
Wish me luck!

Plein Air Revisited

I joined a terrific group of artists
yesterday for some plein air painting.
It was my first time out in years
so it was a bit daunting.
This was my view!

I was using oils on canva paper, (not ideal)
a very limited pallet,
and gear I haven’t used in years.
It was a struggle and I was way out of my comfort zone but the good news
is I was out there!
Eeesh…my values were way off!

I was daunted by all those greens!
By the time I started a second one,
there was a smokey haze that softened everything.

I used the leftover paint to do this quick
8 x 8 oil sketch

I was reminded how challenging painting outdoors
can be, and yet how gratifying it is.
It was a bit of heaven.
I’m inspired and excited to explore more plein air opportunities this summer.
(I’m thinking of using toned canvas boards and
gouache or acrylics for more flexiblity outside!?)

"When something bad can be good ( and vice versa)"

I recently had five paintings rejected from a
local juried show.
After going through all the predictable reactions;
shock, anger, self doubt….
I was reminded of the Buddhist saying
”you never know when something bad could be good”
(and vice versa)
So I entered this favorite of “the rejects”
into another local Juried show.

“Roadside Attraction”
12 x 12 oil 

It was not only accepted,
it received the 2nd place award in oils.
So, I guess a positive attitude and faith in yourself
goes a long way.
Not to mention,
juried shows do not mean a thing
about your talent or personal journey!

Manipulating Color

Last week in Modern Painting we explored ways to manipulate color to make our paintings more
exciting and expressive;
specifically using limited pallets.
We worked on using:
a: complementary colors
b: one dominant color family
c: mostly neutrals with spots of vibrant color.
We used black and white images as references
so we had to make up the colors.
Below are a few examples of the work done:

Complementary colors; purple and yellows.

Dominant color family. (green)

Mostly neutrals surrounding pops of color.
It is so inspiring to be working with such talented
and enthusiastic artists.
And in person!

Back To School

We had our first Modern Painting class this week
at North River Arts Society and it was like the
first day back at school;
a wonderful reunion of old and new
like minded artists
ready to roll!
Here are just a few of the quick paintings done
from memory.
(I set up a small still life in another room where they could look at it as long as they wanted,
then return to paint it from memory.)

This gal decided to paint the view from her bedroom from memory!
Amazing.

As always, I am excited and inspired
by this great group of talented artists.
I look forward to seeing
what we all learn from each other.
Happy Painting!

More Barns

I’ve been having some fun
experimenting with more barns.

This one is abandoned and somewhat
hidden from the road.
I’m thinking about adding some branches and trees to further portray that sense of loneliness….
so I tried it out in Procreate.

I’ll keep you posted!

Mixed Media class

We had our first Mixed Media class
this week at Linden Ponds as part of their
Life Long Learning program.
We experimented with watercolors, pencils,
markers, colored pencils, and ink.
Here’s my quick demo.

I suggested they start with a light wash of watercolor,
then, when dry lightly draw their design in pencil.
Then color in the shapes with thicker
paint, marker, and/or colored pencil.
And finish by outlining everything with
a thin black line.
Here are a few samples of the work done:

This gal brought all kinds of dried items from the woods and just went to town. (wow)

This was done from an image on her phone.

This woman said she was thinking about
a grape arbor by the ocean.

This brave woman is visually and hearing impaired
and her work continually amazes me!

This woman has a tree in her apartment
that she decorates for all occasions year round.
She has a collection of antigue painted eggs that she
wants to show off so she is going to have a party
and use this for the invitation!

I am always so amazed and excited
to see what happens when people
come together to create!