Back at the easel...

After way too much time away from painting, I hauled out my oils and easel yesterday so I could start a small (very small) panel. I knew if I chose anything larger than 5" x 7" I would probably step away and leave it unfinished. 

Hence a little study of a barn, based on a photo I took several years ago in western Massachusetts. I sold a watercolor rendering of this barn, but although I'd already done it once, this seemed like the perfect image to be done in oils, and also for getting my creative engines revved up. 

Once the panel dries, I'll add a few final details -- perhaps a fence in the foreground, etc. But for now, this is it. Stay tuned for new images later this week.

Rural Barn, step 1

Rural Barn, step 2

Small Stones Festival of the Arts, 2022

I've had two paintings accepted by the jurors for this year's Small Stones Festival of the Arts, in Grafton, Massachusetts. "Freeman Farm in the Afternoon" and "Daffodil Waltz" were selected to be shown in the exhibition, and also will be included in the hardcover exhibition catalog. Jurors of selection and awards for the 2022 festival's fine art painting category are JoEllen Reinhardt, Susan Termyn, and William Pope. 

Both paintings will be on exhibit in the Great Hall at One Grafton Common, beginning with the Opening ceremony on October 14, and continuing through October 23, 2022. 

Daffodil Waltz
transparent watercolor    17.25" x 17.5"
SOLD

This stylized watercolor rendering of springtime daffodils was informed by my appreciation of Charles Rennie Mackintosh's Modernist motifs influenced by Japanese art in a style that became popular during the early twentieth century. Having studied illustration in Boston during the late 1960s, I find that some of my watercolor paintings continue to refer to that long-ago training. My painting "Daffodil Waltz" leans in the direction of formalized, decorative art although the asymmetry of the image contributes to an Art Nouveau feel which keeps it lively.

Freeman Farm in the Afternoon
transparent watercolor  14.75" x 11.75"

I regularly visit Old Sturbridge Village, and enjoy painting scenes that reflect the changing seasons of New England. This rendering of the Pliny Freeman farmhouse was done on a very hot July day in the early afternoon. My goal was to convey the feeling of bright sunshine. Transparent watercolor is my preferred medium, which I find well-suited to landscape paintings including both architectural elements with crisply accurate edges, and the softer details of grass and foliage. I paid careful attention to the color of the farmhouse, hoping to achieve the "just right" shade of dull red common to many rural buildings of the Federal period (1789-1840). 

Green...

Set-up

The weather being what it is here in the Northeast, I've been doing more plein air work. All week I've spent a few hours in the morning, out and about, trying to capture the feel of this unaccustomed heat wave. On Tuesday, I set up in a local park near my home. My goal: capture the contrast between hot sunshine (relentless, even at 10:00 a.m. it was super-bright, and almost 90F), and the distinctive cooling effect of mature trees that are heavy with foliage. 

#1 Composition sketch

After noting the general composition, I covered the canvas panel, blocking in large areas of color using Ultramarine Dark, and gradually tempering these segments with splotches of lighter green (blending Cobalt, Viridian, Cadmium Lemon Light, and a bit of Cadmium Scarlet) (#2). I ignored the house (it can be seen in the set-up photo), as it seemed unimportant, as did the small stone retaining wall. I'd originally noted a line for the wall in the composition but felt it added nothing to this small panel.

#2 Blocking in more color

After several hours of concentration, it was time to quit. The last image of Tuesday (#3) shows the canvas well covered but lacking the atmospheric contrast I aimed for. I set the panel out on my deck to dry, knowing that after several days I'd be able to resume work on this small piece. Examining the panel on Thursday, it was obvious that the darks needed emphasis. I also toned down the tree trunks which are mostly cool, dark, and in shadow (see the set-up photo) rather than brown. 

#3 Panel at the end of the first day

On Friday morning, I heightened the contrast in the upper third of the image, laying on more Ultramarine Dark blended with Viridian and Alizarin Crimson. To make the "canopy of foliage" effect more pronounced, I eliminated most of the small bits of blue sky which were, in reality, were peeking through the leaves. 

#4 Dreadful details

In a rush of misplaced enthusiasm, I completely ignored what our teacher, Tom Dunlay, stressed at the plein air workshop I attended in July. 

He was (and is) clear that there is no room for fussy, extraneous details in a truthful painting. Despite this strong, and repeated, admonition from one of today's most accomplished painters, I somehow felt it necessary to add a fence to the background, showing it receding from right to left hoping –– incorrectly –– that it would "add something" to the painting. Not for the first time am I grateful that one of the properties of oil paint is its capacity to allow for corrections and "do-overs (unlike transparent watercolor, which is still my medium-of-choice). Here (#4) the painting shows the offending fence, as well as some additional and pointlessly inaccurate, dabs of white on tree trunks and elsewhere (what was I thinking??). The finished panel is shown below after being corrected. 

A simple, and I hope truthful, rendition of a cool, urban oasis on very hot day in August.

"Leafy Glade, August"
oil on linen panel. 10" x 8"
Available at my Daily Paintworks Gallery, here.

Finishing touches...

I spent this morning working on a new panel (not yet ready for viewing) and this afternoon, I devoted time to putting a few finishing touches on "Study #4, Andover, Maine." This painting was posted yesterday in "Branching out..." It seemed to me that certain areas of the sky needed a bit more cloud cover, and some of the foliage and grassy areas benefitted from heightened contrast. And then there was the challenge of a signature. Most recently, I have been signing my watercolor paintings with an old-fashioned "dip pen" loaded with watered-down pigment. Because I don't have that option for signing an oil painting, my full signature poses a challenge on smaller panels like the ones I'm starting out on. I haven't yet developed the knack for doing extremely small detail work in oils. I'll get there, I hope.

Here's the finished, signed version of the painting I did at Tom Dunlay's spectacular plein air workshop a week ago at Merrill House in Andover, Maine. (Details about Tom's October plein air workshop are available on Facebook HERE.)  

"Study #4, Andover, Maine"

Branching out...

After having spent many decades painting in transparent watercolor, this summer I was intrigued with the idea of working once again in oils. I had originally learned the rudiments of oil painting from my grandmother who, herself a painter, generously supplied me with materials, opportunity, and encouragement. Off and on I dabbled for several years, until other interests diverted my attention once I hit adolescence. Art school would have given me an even more solid grounding in this medium, and others, if I had remained for the entire three-year program, but I left after one year.

Fast-forward to June 2022, when I responded to a Facebook notice about a plein air workshop in Maine. As I added a collection of oil paints, bristle brushes, and gum spirits of turpentine to my studio supplies,  and purchased a French easel, I looked ahead with enthusiasm (and trepidation) to the challenge of jump-starting my lagging creative impulses. 

It was great to meet other artists in such a relaxed atmosphere, and to be in a gorgeous, secluded location, Andover, Maine (near Sunday River). The experience turned out to be a HUGE uphill climb for me in terms of being comfortable with oils, which have virtually nothing in common with watercolors (except for sharing the names of some pigments...). However, I hope I persevered... 

Below are a few of my early "starts" (not finished works) two on the easel were done on the first day of painting, and the other were done on the following day. 

Two beginner panels... 

Study #3, Andover, Maine. Oil on linen panel, 12” x 9”

Study #4, Andover, Maine. Oil on linen panel, 12” x 9”

Portrait sketch of my 2nd great grandmother...

My reference for this watercolor project was a photograph of my 2nd Great Grandmother,  Mary Adeline Benson.

Mary was born in 1863 in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. The photo was taken of Mary shortly before her 1884 marriage to Harry Herbert Stone (1858-1941). At the time of their marriage, both worked in factories in West Brookfield -- he in a box factory and she in a corset factory. 

Although this is a sepia-toned photo, I chose blue for Mary's eyes, as both of her parents' photographs show them with light-colored eyes. I used a pencil to mark the spacing for eyes, nose, and mouth, but my goal was to paint "freehand" as much as possible. 

I worked with a limited palette for this portrait sketch: Transparent Yellow, Burnt Sienna, Sepia, Transparent Brown, and Mineral Violet for face, hair, and dress, and Cobalt Blue, Payne's Gray, and Ultramarine Blue for the background. 

A close look at the reference photo, reveals a slender gold bar pin that Mary pinned to her white collar. That small pin was saved by Mary's youngest daughter, my Great-great Aunt Maude. Before she died, my aunt gave the pin (now more than 130 years old) to me.

Mary Adeline Benson, age 20

Sheep thrills...

Not sure why I find it so satisfying to paint sheep. These are two studies I retrieved from a box of unfinished work in need of attention. Sometimes quick sketches can be saved, but there's no guarantee. These two provided an hour or so of welcome diversion in my air-conditioned studio during a hot and humid holiday afternoon.

"Beyond the City Limits"  

transparent watercolor  10" x 7" unframed

"Sheep VII"  

transparent watercolor  8" x 6" unframed

10th Annual ArtsWorcester Members show

The Tenth Annual One: A Members' Exhibition runs from Thursday, July 14 through Sunday, August 21, 2022, at ArtsWorcester,  44 Portland St. Worcester MA. A public reception for the The Tenth Annual One: A Members' Exhibition is on Friday, July 15, 2022, from  6:00-9:00 p.m.
$500 in prizes will be awarded by Karl Cole, Art Historian and Curator of Images of Davis Publications and Co-Curator of the Davis Art Gallery, and will be announced at the reception.
Free and open to the public.

My entry to the Member exhibition this year is a transparent watercolor, "Alabaster Vase" (previously titled "Ivory Vase"). It is available for purchase through ArtsWorcester. 

"Alabaster Vase" 

Transparent watercolor,  11" x 14" matted & framed

"The National 2022" at the Cape Cod Art Center

Thrilled to learn that my watercolor, "Peony Awakening," was juried into the upcoming show, "The National" opens July 11 and runs through August 13 at the Cape Cod Art Center in Barnstable, MA, 3480 Route 6A (Main Street) Barnstable, MA   Hours: Monday through Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.  (508) 362-2909 

"Peony Awakening"

transparent watercolor      23" x 19"

New exhibit opens this week, Cape Cod Art Center, Barnstable MA

I've submitted this painting to the "Town or Country" exhibit for Juried Artist Members of the CCAC.  One of my favorite subjects -- European landscapes!  The countryside in this alpine area, which is about 25 miles from Salzburg, Austria, is stunning.  The exhibit runs from June 13 through July 9, 2022. Find out more about the Cape Cod Art Center, including directions, here. 

"Ramsau, Bavarian Alps" 

transparent watercolor

Framed, with double mat; 20.5" x 17.5"

This and other paintings are available at my Daily Paintworks gallery. 

Click here for access to the gallery.

FYI: my reference photo, taken while traveling through Germany and Austria, isn't the best -- I took it from the passenger's side of a moving car!! But it's a great memento of an unforgettable vacation.

Consider bidding on my painting "Zinnia #3"

"Zinnia #3"

Bidding now open at the online auction, here:

https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/family-health-center-of-worcester/art-in-the-city-9171?page=2#info

 

Small Stones Festival of the Arts 2021

My painting, Peony Awakening, sure gets around! Earlier this year she was on exhibit at the Worcester Art Museum, and then later at the ArtsWorcester gallery on Portland St. Now, she can be seen in Grafton, MA, at this year's "Small Stones Festival of the Arts" at the Town Hall.

In addition, two more of my watercolors "Feeling Cheerful" and "Sunlight & Shadow," can be seen here, in the online gallery posted by the Small Stones Festival.