Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Who Has More Fun than Artists?

I have a group of young artist friends who come to the studio 
on Tuesday mornings to paint together. 
 I showed them "the big one" I've been working on 
and they encouraged me to keep going.


Open Seating 
16 x 40! 
This afternoon I went back at it, 
focussing on "fixing things" without loosing 
the immediacy and presence of the original brushstrokes.      
Walking that line between keeping things loose
and staying "accurate". 
A real challenge because larger paintings show every 
wart, wrinkle, and incongruity!   

Open Seating 
(detail) 

Still not sure if this is working,
 but thank you girls for keeping me on my toes! 


NOTE:   

While we were in Boston painting for Fresh Paint 
on Sunday, my son and his fiancĂ© ran by us! 
My friend Joan Brancale took this 
of me taking their picture. 
It was so fun and unexpected! 

Who has more fun than artists? 
  



Sunday, April 27, 2014

"Fresh" Paint Day!

The Copley Society hosted 
the annual "Fresh Paint" day today. 
It was 41 degrees, overcast, and drizzling.
By the time my pals and I settled down 
(and stopped whining) 
we had less than an hour to paint 
before our lunch reservation!  

Side Street
10 x 8 

Chatting with friends and visitors
enjoying the sights and sounds of the city.
The joys of plein air painting!   

NOTE! 
The good news is that this year, each member was given a 
14 x 14 stretched canvas ahead of time 
with the option to paint in our studios or today en plein air. 
We were all glad that we did both.
Here is the painting I'd prepared ahead of time
and submitted to the auction. 

Boston at It's Best 
14 x 14 

Stop by and see the show! 
The Gala Opening and final auction is 
Saturday May 10.



Thursday, April 24, 2014

Lost in translation?


I've been curious to see if my  
would translate to a larger format.  
I had a 16 x 40 inch gallery wrapped canvas 
 primed and ready to go, so I went for it. 


Central Park 
16 x 40
(BIG!)


I limited myself to #12 brushes or larger, 
put out a lot of paint and spent three hours on it.  

Not sure if it translates.
It's a bit awkward up close. 
All I know, 
I was exhausted and exhilarated by "the doing" of it.  
  
NOTE: 
When asked about "writers block" in a recent Globe interview
Anna Quindlen, one of my favorite authors replied; 
"Some days I fear writing dreadfully, but I do it anyway. 
I've discovered that sometimes writing badly 
can eventually lead to something better. 
Not writing at all leads to nothing." 

There you go! 

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

David Hockney

 A friend of mine recently lent me this wonderful book 
of work done by David Hockney 
after he left California to return to his native Yorkshire, England. 
It is filled with colorful and whimsical 
landscape paintings, including some of his newer I Pad paintings. 
You can read more about this work

It inspired me to play around with color 
(without considering value).   

I'd done this rather odd painting last fall 
of the view out of my studio 

So I thought I'd fool around a bit and 
Hockney-ize it!


His use of color and pattern is magical!
Fun stuff. 

Sunday, April 20, 2014

New Class!

I'm excited about a new class I will be offering at the 
 this summer.
"Figures in the Sunlight"

Red Sox Fan 
8 x 8 

Six Thursdays
June 12 - July 26 
(no class 7/3)


Working from a model outdoors, we will learn to simplify the figure by
 breaking everything down to simple shapes of the correct value and color. 
We will cover the correct proportions of the figure and how to capture 
“body language” through exercises designed to get you to loosen up and simplify!  
We’ll begin each class with quick contour drawings and sketches.  
We will be working small (8 x 10) on toned boards using a 
limited palette, large brushes, and alot of paint. 
I work in oils but the method translates to acrylics.  
If it rains, we’ll work indoors with spotlights on the model or from photos.



Here is a great example of figure work done
 from a photo in class last week! 
By Marsha Gleason. 

This will be great fun! 
And will fill quickly!  

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Painting from Photos

"Painting From Photos"
is one of my favorite topics to cover  
because the possibilities are endless.  
Today we covered the importance of "designing" 
in order to  
NOT JUST COPY
the image!  

"On the Wall"

My quick demo using the image below,
(taken in NYC during  a 
Karin Jurick workshop!)   


My idea was to focus on the "rim light"
as everything else is in shadow. 
I did the figures first, then simplified the back ground to 
enhance that element. 

A whole different story can be told
 with the slightest changes. 
So fun. 













Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Painting Therapy, a Year Later

 On this sad and reflective day for Boston  
I wanted to paint something positive
 that represents our amazing city. 

The Boston Public Garden is a much loved treasure 
offering respite and peace right in the center of the city.
Ironically, it's only yards away from the finish line. 


Boston at It's Best 
14 x 14 


I am excited to be a part 
of this coming Marathon Weekend.
Great job Boston! 

NOTE: A year ago, I posted this 
"Painting Therapy" on my blog.


Thursday, April 10, 2014

Rockport Art Association

Just back from teaching a two day 
workshop at the Rockport Art Association
on the North Shore of Boston.

The space we used is huge and filled with 
light and lots of high energy!  
We really got to spread our wings 
and get down to business! 

I loved meeting and working with all the talented and fun artists up there! 
Thank you everyone for making me feel so welcomed! 
Especially my wonderful hosts, the Susan and Bob McPhail! 

I was pampered with a delicious salmon dinner 
and got to sleep in the loft above her gorgeous studio!
Take a peek at her incredibly fun and wonderful work here! 



Monday, April 7, 2014

Re-working my Handouts / Exercises



In preparation for a two day "One Hour Painting" workshop
at the Rockport Art Association this week,
I spent the weekend re-working my 
handouts and exercises. 


Four Value Study Demo 

I used to have the students do value studies using only three values. 
Recently, I've found that by adding one more value (white!) 
it's less confusing. 
The students can make better design decisions
and they are able "separate" the values, 
keeping them distinct from each other. 

Teaching, like painting, requires a lot of exploring,   
all part of the incredible journey!  





Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Breakthrough on Hold

If you've been following this blog for awhile,
you've noticed my conscious effort to make it 
simply about my painting journey; 
rarely sharing anything about my personal life.  
However, lately I'm finding myself happily distracted with 
some new and fun endeavors and exciting family events, 
putting "serious" painting on the back burner. 
(Two weddings! a Giant Puppet project, A "Yarden" Sale, 
milestone birthdays, a May Day celebration.... 
Hey! Event planning is an art form. No?) 

Thank goodness I have students keeping me in the game! 
Sue's "start" 

I have some dynamite young painters come to my studio 
on Tuesday mornings to just "play".

This week we set up a colorful still life 
and made a conscious effort to interpret it 
"less literally"! 

Sue's finish.


I can't even post mine! 
Enough said. 
I have a feeling the "Breakthrough" I was headed for 
may be on hold for awhile!