Instead of April

This painting was posted a short time ago on the blogg called April Bouquet..not quite finished. Here it is all done. I changed the rose bud blossoms to a soft green which is closer to the actual hue..this also breaks up all of the oranges that were in the previous image. I added a lone purple blossom on the left for the same reason and to give it balance compositionally.

I have three new paintings for the UMVA show which is coming up in less than a month..Now to choose frames that will tie them all together..an interesting process in itself.

The Maine Discovery Museum in Bangor has asked me to participate again in their annual fall auction called, "Save Me a Seat". Last year the beautiful bench my son and I collaberated on got the top price in the auction. This year the subject is tables...Time to start thinking about the theme for that...I really enjoy this kind of challenge....and deadlines are a good thing for artists...

Heading Home-Pownal

I've passed this farm a million times since we moved to this area over 30 years ago. It's a local landmark known as the Knight Farm and is only a few miles from our house. Everday this property changes with the light and the seasons...stoic, vigilant, timeless..a welcoming facade that sits right next to the road as you come up over the hill then down to the center of town.

Sweeping meadows drop down behind it and the attached barn is still straight and impressive. Once a successful working farm the majority of the land was recently donated by the family to a Conservation Land Trust and is now preserved for the public to use for all kinds of recreation and also abuts a state park. The fields are cut and baled every year and small herds of deer often graze there at night. Late one rainy night a large buck ran out in front of my truck, then bounded across the road after just knicking my rear view mirror.

The setting sun hit the windows and car just right and luckily we had the camera with us..I had to paint it..the sky was a million colors..yellow, orange, all kinds of blue...with thin feathery clouds streaking across. A magical moment to me.

This is a study in casein...11 x 14 on prepared plywood.

Silver Moon

I hesitated to put this image on my blog. An artist needs to show consistency in her work and this is very differnet from my ususal style. It's one of my first casein paintings and is a portrait of my Tennesse Walker mare Reggie. She often had a far away look in her eyes...who knows what she was thinking. I always wondered and hoped it wasn't a sadness or longing for something. Guess that's what I was trying express here.

Experimentation with materials, application methods and subject matter are integral to my creative process. The image is mysterious but simple and expressed what I saw in her. It sold quickly so it must have touched a chord with the buyer too.

Maybe there's a lesson in this...

By the way..the reception at the cabaret went very well. One of my favorite paintings sold. Peculiar feeling though..I'm at once thrilled that someone loves it enough to buy it..but tinged with melancholy that I won't see it again.....kind of like what's in this painting.

Afterthoughts

In a recent blog I mentioned that time away from a painting has a way of making one see things from a fresher stand point.
The door frame in the original painting was too bright and distracting ..I wanted it toned down to a warm gray so a mixture of cerulean blue, naples yellow and cadmium orange was scumbled across it. Titanium white was added to lighten it. .. more yellow or orange on areas of reflected light.
The original orange base proved to be helpful and peaks through the final layer. I didn't want a solid color..a broken surface keeps the eye moving.
The wall partition behind the plant needed adjustment on the end..that was cooled down too and helps to keep the focus where it should be ..on the main subject.
Some of the colors are slightly softer in reality..this photo was taken with a flash..
I just gessoed some hard panel boards in preparation for the next few paintings....There's something I always wanted try..

Just Thinkin'

I've been focused on Koda as my subject for the past several studies and small paintings. Some of those will be used for larger paintings but I've come to a point where some ruminating has to take place before those happen. This last(for now anyway), painting of Koda, was finished late last night. I was inspired by a Wyeth watercolor of his dog Nell called "The Kass'. Wyeth's painting is very simple but so poignant..Nell is lying on the floor in front of an imposing Pennsylvania Dutch armoire called a Kass that was given to Wyeth as a gift from a grateful client. Sunlight pours in bathing Nell and just hitting the elegant carved details of the cabinet. My house is less grand but this scene of our great room was just right.
This is 11 x 14 casein on Jack Richeson pastel board.

Koda Under the Leaves

I've had an idea for this painting of Koda mulling around in my head for a while. Don't know why but the idea of wallpaper designs got me started. My thought was to put her against that type of background and it had to be harmonious and decorative but not distracting. To show more movement and energy I placed the leaves or feathers, whichever you prefer, randomly across the field..as if floating or dropping. Not sure why the leaves or feathers either..just like the shapes and the green harmonizes with her reddish coat.
Koda was reluctant to pose for me..I woke her from a nap but she came through and gave me just the right look. What a clever girl..
This is casein on 11 x 14 Jack Richeson toned pastel board...

Koda's Path

It felt great to get back into the studio again. I finished up the painting of Koda in the snow and left most detail out of her face and lightened up the tracks. I spent some time recently photographing Koda outside...really interesting shadows and colors to get for future work.... Might at well strike while the irons hot(or cold as I sit here with many layers on)There's another snow painting coming with something different in store.

Bits and Pieces

This is my kitchen window featuring a partial view of the yard in winter and what I see every morning as the sun moves from east to south east casting light through the evergreens that live beyond our fence. It's been so cold that none of the snow from past storms has melted ..as of today it's waist deep and the snow banks along the roads are like giant white tsunamis. The funny collection on the window sill includes a photo of my oldest son and his wife in an unusual pewter frame, a few antique bottles..I have a large collection of those in other places, a Purina hand held scale hanging on the left and an old brie cheese box. The martini glass holds cuttings of a favorite houseplant waiting to be transplanted. There's also a small ceramic frog basking in the sun...(boy does that sound good), a crystal doorknob and a stained glass pear... These are bits and pieces of favorite things.... mementos of people, places we've traveled and cherished gifts. I left the goose neck faucet in because I like the organic shape and it looks to be leading the parade...
casein 11 x 14
There's just no getting around the winter landscape that surrounds us at the moment and the light and shadows created by the snow are very interesting so there's another snow scene in casein the works.