Blue

Painting refines my eye and makes more visually aware. A word like 'blue' opens the door to infinite possibilities.

On sunny, cloudless days, at the horizon the sky is cerulean blue and directly overhead it is cobalt blue.

Prussian blue is important when painting blueberries and blackberries.

Chicory flowers range from cobalt, to periwinkle, to baby blue.

Blue eyes have flecks of silver or green.

Dark veins on leaves have touches of ultramarine.

Shadows painted with blues bring life to a painting.

Cerulean, cobalt, and ultramarine are always on my palette. I keep manganese, Prussian, and pthalo close at hand. 

To see some of my paintings ***click here***

Painting in Progress

I've been working on this painting for the last couple of days. I wanted to work with whites, yellow whites, pink whites and blue whites.

This painting is in a state of  'middleness' - a time of judging and editing.  Should the flower that is falling off the left side of the canvas go away?  how much darker can I make the background? should I use a cloudy white glaze on the table? which white will be the best for the bright white highlight needed on the vase? 

The process of paintings, like all creative endeavors, is an inverted arc.  At the start, the image is clear in my mind, my goals straightforward and exciting.  In the middle the image has become confusing, my goals unclear and it is a struggle to finish.  

Another point of view is helpful, a postive response is even better - so with a very wet painting in hand I walk out to Charles' studio and get both, plus some constructive critism.  

I'll let the paint dry a bit, incorporate his suggestions and finish this painting, hopefully arriving at the end of the creative arc pleased with what I have done.  

Meanwhile I've begun a new yellow house painting.  

Oil Pastels

Since returning from the Vermont Studio Center, in my struggles with the issue of creativity,  I have been experimenting with a variety of media.  

Yesterday, a wooden box of 120 Sennelier pastels arrived in my studio.  With a wide color range and wonderful creamy texture these pastels are luxurious to work with.

This painting was inspired by nearby fields and the countryside near Tolousse.   

Trying a New Medium

Yesterday, I spent the day experimenting with oil pastels that I bought recently to fill the time on a long train trip home from Washington, DC to Vermont. Unlike soft pastels, there is no need use a fixative so I was able to work without filling the air with nasty chemicals.

Back in my studio, I pulled them out again.  I began drawing on paper, tried a canvas board, a small stretched canvas and then a piece of pine.  The surface of the pine board was most pleasing.  I created an under painting with shades of red, orange, and yellow before creating the landscape.  With the drawing finished, I used brushes and Qtips to apply both linseed oil and walnut oil in order to further blend the colors. The oils give the finished piece the look of an oil paintings.

Inspired by the vibrant colors, I ordered a proper set of artist quality oil pastels.      To be continued!

To Market, To Market

Creating a painting is only one part of being an artist.  Getting painting out into the world is another.. With that in mind I have decided to submit three  paintings for consideration to Studio Place Arts in Barre, Vermont for their upcoming 12 x 12 (inches) show that will run from June 16 through July 25.

These flowers were painted at the Vermont Studio Center during my January residency. 

The Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, Vermont is a place like no other,  an artists' colony where visual artist and writers  work, recharge their creative battery, and live in community. 

While there,  I began to work with soft pastels, created small sculptures with found material, (including the beetle I posted earlier, worked on a series of oil paintings, including this one, painted with a very dark pallet, ate incredible meals, had wonderful conversations with many residents and returned home energized, inspired and rested. 

 

Completed Poster

With an image chosen, the landscape inspired by a valley in France, I turned to my computer and Photoshop to create the logo.

I began by cropping  and adding the dark border.  I tried a number of filters and settled on the Artistic filter surprisingly called --- Poster!

Then I spot edited the image, removing excessive dark spots and lightening the sky.

I used the font called Matisse because it conveyed the spirit of the event and worked well with image.

My husband, Charles, suggested that the house in the foreground should 'go away' and the field behind the text be lightened.  With that accomplished through the magic of cloning and selective color replacement, I added a credit line and declared the logo finished, at least until it is reviewed by the Bookstock planning committee.

Orange Beetle

I spent the month of January at the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, Vermont recharging my creative battery and spending time with a diverse group of visual artists and writers.

One morning, on the way to my studio, I found molded paper packing material.  Inspired by its shape, I used soft pastels to created this beetle.