Third of July

This month the Girls Just Wanna Paint challenge is "FIRE".
Be sure to check out our entries on October 1!

On the 3rd of July, bonfires are allowed on Humarock Beach. 

 When those are lit and the fireworks begin 

it's an amazing sight! 

" Third of July "

6 x 8 

Note: I did this on a gesso board toned with black 

and started with the lightest lights.

Nocturnes are fun to do! 

Kelley MacDonald, our GJWP founder, is presenting a talk about 

daily painting and the blogging process

 Thursday at the North River Arts Society. 

click  HERE to register.

Day Two of Workshop

The last exercise of the workshop this weekend was to paint from photos. 

I did a quick demo using a photo that one of the gals brought in.

 It was a rather awkward composition, 

but I wanted to show them how to simplify the figure down to big shapes.

I've discovered that the tools I present in this class,

are beneficial to both beginners and experienced painters. 

They all managed to loosen up and "let go" a little

and the results were pretty amazing.

It was a great weekend and thank you to all who attended! 

I am just thrilled about everything we accomplished!

Weekend "One Hour Painting" Workshop

I have a great group of painters in my 

"One Hour Painting" 

workshop this weekend. 

After reviewing the basic steps for this approach to painting, 

I did this demo in about 20 minutes.

(to make my point!) 

This is when most of us want to fuss 

and we end up overworking it. 

But the timer goes off and they have to 

STOP!  

  

Then we tackled the  

Limited Stroke Exercise

(Which is the challenge this week on Daily Paint Works!) 

Check it out here! 

The results are great!  

Look how much paint she still has left on that brush! 

And she did that whole shape in one stroke! 

(The sound effects during this exercise are priceless) 

A New Series

Beach Road

8 x 8 

Today I did this as a start of a new series, 

I think I'm going to call "Beach Peeks".

I've been enjoying the work of Dora Atwater Millikin,

 a wonderful artist showing at the Walter Cunningham Gallery in Boston. 

I love her flat shapes and how she "cuts in" to create her telephone wires.  

Late Summer Sunshine

Temperatures are dropping,
yet the sunlight is still so wonderfully warm. 

"Laundry Day"
10 x 10  

I'm so happy to see that folks are still taking advantage of that! 

I exaggerated the values here in order to capture that harsh light.

Note: 

I am thrilled with the results from the DPW challenge I posted this week!

  

Workshop Preparation

I'm starting to prepare for my workshop next weekend.

Today I did a new "demo" for the  

"Limited Stroke" exercise we will do. 

(This may be the next DPW challenge so watch for it!) 

I had a ton of paint left over (and about 15 minutes) 

so I did this,

 to see if the exercise works for painting from photos.  

The jury is still out.

Will try again when I have more time.

House Sitting

I spent the day today "house sitting" at a condo while work was being done. 

I was planning to catch up on e-mails, order art supplies, research projects etc. 

but I couldn't get the wireless to work. 

 Luckily, I had my painting gear in the car!  

The Back Yard

8 x 16 

  

I don't think I ever noticed this back yard before!   

All those greens and big dark and light shapes! 

The fence with the light coming through the slats

is what got my attention. 

And the bright early September light.

PS. I still had a few hours to go so I spent them finishing 

The Forest Lover by Susan Vreeland.

What an amazing story! 

 Emily Carr  is my kind of woman!  

Turned out to be a perfect day. 

September 12, 2001

The day after 9/11, I remember feeling very compelled to paint. 

(I'm sure I needed a break from the TV and 

"business as usual" was out of the question.)   

 I took a ride to the beach. 

When I turned the corner at the ocean and saw this scene, 

I pulled over and painted. 

September 12, 2001

8 x 10 

oil 

The line of flags down the street at half staff took my breath away. 

I was incredibly moved by being in that moment, 

and will never forget it.  

Clean Before You Shop!

I had a long list of items I thought I needed to get ready 

for my upcoming classes, workshops, and shows.

In the interest of re-cycling and simplifying my life,  

I decided to thoroughly clean and organize the studio

before shopping. 

My Work Bench 

Turns out, I found everything I thought I needed 

(and then some!) 

A few new panels and some brushes will do it. 

NOTE: 

I thought about Carol and David Marine all day. 

Managing your possessions is a huge job. 

But starting all over again with nothing, 

is incomprehensible.  

My heart just breaks.  

Figure Painting from Photos and Color Study

Last week, my beautiful friend Margaret came over 

and I asked her to model for me in the late afternoon sun. 

I did a quick (poorly drawn) color study in about 30 minutes

Today, I set up the study, the image and the panel together. 

I blocked in everything in shadow using all values darker than middle grey, 

using my color study as a guide 

(I draw a line down the center of my pallet

 to keep the dark and light values separate.

Once the shadow shapes are all in, 

I clean my brushes and start to use white 

on the other side.   

Red Shorts 

8 x 10 

I took my time with this and made every stroke count. 

I only gave myself one stroke per shape. 

Color studies done in actual sunlight are invaluable tools 

when painting from photos. 

Melancholy Monday

Labor Day always brings on a bit of melancholy. 

The beach is empty,

even though it's a perfect beach day!  

Good Bye Summer 

8 x 10 

As sad as it is to say good bye to summer, 

the change of season in New England is always welcomed.

Bring on the Fall! 

I'm ready.