Thursday, July 13, 2023
Monday, April 17, 2023
Williamstown MA
While recovering from cataract surgery, I'm working on a larger version of a 10" x 7" watercolor sketch that I completed last month: a view of the pond at Field Farm (a Trustees of Reservations site in Williamstown, MA). This painting is twice the size –– 14" x 10" –– and shows a bit more of the reflected sky in the foreground. Stay tuned for the finished version...
Monday, April 3, 2023
Some changes...
Sunday, March 5, 2023
Averie and Ellie...
Several years ago one of my granddaughters visited New York City with a friend, and sent back a few photographs. I was intrigued by the idea of doing a quick (well, semi-quick) watercolor sketch of the two teenagers in sunglasses. After I used my MacBook's photo app to crop out the surroundings, I simply enlarged the image and concentrated on capturing their sunlit smiles.
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Step 1 |
I sketched in a few details in pencil, but mostly wanted to rely on my eye and a limited palette of transparent colors to build the shapes and emphasize light and shadow. I tried to remember to stop every now and then to capture the progress of my painting –– always a challenge for me once I get started! For the first two steps, I worked exclusively with my favorite #12 Cosmo-Top Spin round brush, as it holds a good point. Colors used in the first two steps: Holbein's Burnt Sienna and Mineral Violet; and Winsor & Newton's French Ultramarine, Burnt Umber, and Sepia. By step 3, and in the final version, I added a few other colors, to help develop shading, add details to the sunglasses, and add the jackets and the background. I also switched to a smaller brush –– a Robert Simmons #4 white sable (synthetic). Colors added in these final steps: Winsor & Newton's Permanent Rose, Cobalt Blue, Raw Umber, Green Gold, and Winsor Blue GS; also Holbein's Verditer Blue.
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Step 2 |
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Step 3 |
Sunday, November 6, 2022
Back at the easel...
Thursday, August 25, 2022
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.
Saturday, August 6, 2022
Green...
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#1 Composition sketch |
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#2 Blocking in more color |
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#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.
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#4 Dreadful details |
A simple, and I hope more truthful, rendition of an urban oasis on very hot day in August.
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"Leafy Glade, August" oil on linen panel. 10" x 8" Available at my Daily Paintworks Gallery, here. |
Wednesday, August 3, 2022
Finishing touches...
Tuesday, August 2, 2022
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...Sunday, July 3, 2022
Portrait sketch of my 2nd great grandmother...
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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.
Wednesday, June 29, 2022
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").
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"Alabaster Vase"
Transparent watercolor, 11" x 14" matted & framed
Available for purchase HERE