Internet Inspiration!

While poking around the internet this morning,
I ran across Donna Zagotta;
a very inspiring and awesome watercolor and gouache artist. 

Sunday Afternoon in the Park

by Donna Zagotta

Her colorful and dramatic figure work 

got me thinking about using the back ground
to create better spatial interest in my own figure work.   

Park Bench 

12 x 12 

I rearranged the cool, muted background shapes
in order to bring the spots of light forward.
Also used Dioxanide Purple for my "map".


A rainy morning (and a pooped puppy)
allowed me to spend some time on this.
Heaven.



NOTE:
Click here to check out her very inspirational BLOG!  

Music

 Music Provided by Nature

6 x 6 

The GJWP challenge this month is MUSIC.

This is the first idea I had and couldn't wait to attempt it.

(Waves, like clouds, keep changing!)  

To me, the constant sound of waves breaking 

is a bit of Nature providing some background music.   

All we have to do is listen! 

Note: My show came down today at the Copley Society. 

Thank you every one who came to the show 

and especially for leaving a comment in the book! 

Weekend Workshop Oct 20, 21

I'm excited about the  

"Painting in an Hour" 

weekend workshop I'll be teaching 

at the South Shore Art Center in Cohasset, MA 

October 20, 21. 

I know it's a long way off, 

but the brochure just came out and this will fill up quickly! 

I will be tailoring the workshop to those attending (via a questionnaire) 

so if you have taken it before, 

no worries, 

there will be new info and exercises! 

Pink House Orange Roof 

11 x 14 

This is another one from my images of 

Greenport, Long Island. 

Had fun with this one.

Satellite and all.  

Staycation Over

I am back from my staycation.
I took last week "off from work" and just  

allowed myself time to enjoy all the other things life has to offer!
At home!

I did a lot of reading about painting,
and want to share  

Mitchell Albala's (Landscape Painting)
ideas on the issue I always struggle with.
How to translate the spontaneous and expressive 

brushwork of small works into larger studio pieces.

He says:  

"Larger time consuming studio paintings and plein air works are different experiences and require different approaches. Small work does things large paintings cannot, and the large painting achieves things not possible in the small. Both approaches should be respected for their differences." 

Good answer!
With that in mind,

 I just let the size and subject dictate the approach for this. 

Sea Port  

11 x 14 

Once I drew in the shapes, I put the image away,  

so I wouldn't copy it. 

I used a brand new #12 brush for the whole thing. 

Very different for me. But I like it. 

What do you think? 

Here is the image I used. 

(I took it in Greenport, Long Island early this summer.) 

Summer Break

I had two"wipers" in a row and that, to me, 

is a signal that a break is due.

 I just spent two days in the hammock

reading the most amazing book! 

Gone Girl 

by Gillian Flynn 

Simply fantastic! 

I couldn't put it down! 

Read the reviews here.

Another Note: 

While I was riding my bike at the beach the other day,

 I saw a Mom letting her small son 

"drive" the car on her lap.

They were going about 3 miles an hour and having so much fun! 

That is a summer memory he will never forget, to be sure. 

Some Plein Air Fun and Other News

Last week my friend Joan Brancale and I decided to 

try a little plein air painting down on the Cape. 

In spite of searing temps, high humidity, and a little poison ivy,

we settled down on a little inlet near Cataumet. 

I chose the dock with the hope of a breeze of some kind.

Joan happily stayed on the shore.

Our paintings didn't amount to much, 

but we sure had fun going out to lunch afterward and 

talking about them!  

OTHER NEWS:

Tonight is the opening of the OTB Show 

at the North River Arts Society! 

Artists are given an 8 x 8 panel to create something 

that is so totally different from their style 

so that no one will know who did what. 

They are on silent auction for a few weeks when the 

"creators" will be revealed. 

Stop in if you get a chance! 

My show 

"Beach Peeks" 

at the Copley Society in Boston 

is still showing until August 22. 

If you get a chance to stop in before then, 

please do!  

Golf and Painting

Here are two more for the Golf Course Series.

This was such a pleasant departure for me. 

I'm thinking about taking up golf again. 

I put it on hold when I started painting full time and miss it.  

In fact, here is the "artist statement" I wrote 

for my very first show

on April 12, 2001!  

 Painting is a lot like playing golf.

·      It is a discipline.

·      You have to work very hard at it to make any progress.

·      The more you practice, the better you get.

·      Every time you go out, you plan to be better than the last time.

·      You can have a string of really bad days where nothing works at all.

·      You think about quitting. Often.

·      Then, one day, you go out and everything clicks and you really “hit it”.

·      Then you’re hooked all over again and you can’t wait to get back at it.

The work in this show represents 

some of my best “shots” at a game that 

confounds me, 

excites me, 

and fascinates me every day. 

I hope to be playing this for the rest of my life.

Summer Landscapes

Years ago I did a few small paintings of 

some unusual trees that line a beautiful golf course on Cape Cod.

Here's one that I kept in one of my rustic frames.  

When I was back there recently, I thought about doing a series of larger ones.

Fairway to Heaven

11 x 14

I haven't done many landscapes lately so this was fun. 

So much green! 

I wanted to keep it loose and somewhat abstract. 

Note: Doing this and reading Landscape Painting by Mitchell Albala 

is making me realize how much I miss plein air painting! 

My bike has two new tires and my gear is packed. 

No more excuses. 

I Pad sketches

Using the BRUSHES app on my I Pad to do a quick sketch 

helps me solve some problems for larger oil paintings! 

They take just minutes and are such fun! 

I added the fishing pole, then decided to take it out 

in the oil painting.  

Orange Shirt 

11 x 14 

oil