Experimenting with Surfaces

In the eternal quest to keep things loose, 

yesterday I tried an experiment.

I took an image of a group of folks way down on the beach 

(with my new 30 times zoom camera!)

and printed it out of focus so I only had the big shapes to work with. 

(No details)

 

I  did this one on a stretched 8 x 8 canvas panel

toned in middle value grey

Then I did this one on an 8 x 10 gesso board 

toned in flat black

I must say, I'm finding the smooth boards a real treat to paint on! 

The paint slides around like melting butter! 

I'm not abandoning the canvas boards just yet though. 

They are good for certain subjects, especially plein air work. 

NOTE: Be sure to check out the work done by the Alzheimer patients yesterday! 

Plein Air Monday

It was a picture perfect day.

Only two of us ended up at the entrance to Rocky Reach in N. Marshfield.

 

Around 4:30. Facing West.

8 x 8 

I climbed over the stone wall to do this. 

The field was brilliant.

5:15 pm. Still facing West.

5 x 7 

Turned around to catch the light on these trees. 

5:45 pm.

6 x 6 

I love these pastels below, done by Sue Hall! 

It is SO fun for me to be out there with 

someone working in a different medium! 

As usual, just as we were packing up to leave 

(the bugs were becoming vicious) 

the area was lit up like a 

Broadway play! 

DANG! 

  

Foreign

This month the Girls Just Wanna Paint Challenge subject is FOREIGN.

When I was on Virgin Gorda in the BVI this winter, 

I took an image of this woman selling her "homemade treats" 

at the local market. 

A very complicated subject without much light and shadow, 

something about the scene made me want to paint it.  

Everything about her says that she takes her baking very seriously!  

"Mrs. Grace's Homemade Treats"

8 x 10 

(no way this was going to fit on a 6 x 6) 

The "foreign" parts of this for me were:
Dark skin tones
All those colors
Complicated subject

Biting the Bullet

I haven't been able to paint much this week for various reasons,

so this morning, before anything got in the way,

 I "bit the bullet" and started right in 

(in my pajamas)  

The Babysitter

5 x 7 

Oh, and as an added bonus,

while I was painting, I listened to the 

wonderful interview with Karin Jurick on blog radio! 

You can listen to it here.

Summer Solstice

First day of summer!
 My favorite day of the year, because
there is SO much to look forward to! 

To celebrate, I finally delivered my summer paintings to the
Munson Gallery in Chatham on the Cape.

If you are in the area, stop in!
(Give them a few days before they get the new images up on their website)


On a separate note:
see new post on my
Patience with Patients
blog

Plein Air Mondays!

Plein Air Thursdays have now turned into Plein Air Mondays.
(Some how, Thursdays just weren't working for us)

We finally had our first gathering last night!   

Five of us met at my friend's beautiful property in North Scituate at 4:30. 

The lesson, at that time of day, is to capture the big dramatic shapes 

as the light rapidly changes.

We worked fast and small.

My Demos:
(all were done from the same spot.
 I just turned my easel and painted whatever was there)

Facing South 4:30 pm

6 x 6   

Facing North 5:30 pm

6 x 6 

Facing West (in to the sun) 6:00 pm

6 x 6 

Facing South Again 6:30 pm

5 x 7 

The work everyone did amazed me!  

We will be meeting from 4 - 7 pm on Mondays, 

so if you are interested in joining us, email me! 

$35 per session, pay as you go. 

Festival of the Arts

This weekend the South Shore Art Center 

is hosting the annual Arts Festival. 

This event is a great way to kick off summer. 

 The art is amazing and the vendors are top notch.
 I always seem to find some very cool, one-of-a-kind item.
I'm hoping to find a necklace or some great earrings this year.

My entry in the Juried Show.

"Pure Summer"
12 x 12
$525

Beyond the Garden Gate

Every July the South Shore Natural Science Center hosts a 

a juried exhibition called 

"Beyond the Garden Gate"

in conjunction with a wonderful Garden Tour.
(More info to follow) 

"Iris"

6 x 6 

I think I may enter this little study of an Iris I did today.  

Boy, are they an intricate flower! 

And those colors! 

Busy Season Coming to an End!

I'm starting to see an end to this busy season. 

Time to kick back and just paint for the fun of it. 

"Dead Heading" 

8 x 10 

I did this today from an image I took with my new 30 x zoom camera! 

It's my neighbor at the beach. 

I couldn't wait to try out the new table easel that I got from Karin Jurick.

Her partner Brett makes them.

I love how sturdy it is and adjustable too!  

I have it set up on a counter height table so I can still stand up and paint. 

And yes, I am still using the pizza pan pallett and all those new colors from the workshop.

Summer Has Arrived!

I can't believe this guy actually went for a swim yesterday. 

It may be heating up around here, 

but the water temperature is still only around 50 degrees. 

"No Choice Now" 

5 x 7 

Satellite Studio

I spent most of last week moving in to my "satellite studio" at the beach.

It's very scaled down and simple, but I have everything I need! 

 Today I got back in to my New York "state of mind"

and did this from a photo I took on my last day there. 

"Girls Just Gotta Have a Pretzel"

Times Square 

6 x 8 

It's fun to paint this small, 

especially when you don't have a whole lot of time! 

Back to Basics

Today I went back to using my middle grey toned Raymar linen panel. 

 I did my "map" in charcoal and used a big bristle brush.

(instead of black tone on gesso board and synthetic brushes)  

 I had all those awesome new colors,

so I used Karin's palette.  

(same couple from the other day, different view)  

10 x 12 

It felt good to use familiar tools

but I'll admit, 

I ended up grabbing those new synthetic brushes in the end.

They are a lot of fun.  

Who knew? 

Squeezed In Quick Study

After a workshop, all I want to do is play with my new tools. 

The long weekend and life in general has thwarted my efforts. 

I managed to squeeze in this half hour study early today.  

From a photo I took this weekend! 

Psyched to see the Nancy/Peggi/Karin 

person emerge!

Note: My trusty 5 year old Canon Elph has officially died,  

so I'm using my I Phone to post. 

It's time to upgrade.