Judith Freeman Clark, paintings

After spending a day or so away from this project, I was able to tackle it with a fresh view. I wanted to eliminate the problem diagonal -- the line of gray-blue running from the bottom right of the painting to the left, where it connected with the curving path. You can see it here in the small image, or see a larger image at Step 3 in my post "Painting a landscape, Part One." The challenge was to fix the diagonal  without scrubbing away a lot of what I'd already laid down. In my experience, 140-lb. paper does not stand up well to a lot of scrubbing, as it destroys the surface. I added some mid-range and darker greens in the mid-portion of the painting, and extended that greenery to the left and slightly downward so it almost touches the curved walkway. I left a bit of white along the top edges of this green area to emphasize a separation from plantings farther back. With Mineral Violet and Winsor Violet, I added more washes to the flower area at the left in back o...

Pleased  that two of my newest watercolors  "Garden Royalty"  and  "Daffodil Waltz"  will be included in the upcoming Cape Cod Art Center Show  "Bay State Open"  which runs from Tuesday, May 14 through Sunday, June 16, at the Center. The Cape Cod Art Center is located at 3480 Route 6A, in Barnstable, MA. Click  HERE  for more information, e.g. hours, directions, etc. "Daffodil Waltz"           17" x 17"      matted and framed   Contact me for pricing. "Garden Royalty"   transparent watercolor        19" x 23" matted & framed SOLD

I've started an 8-week independent study watercolor class, offered at   New England School of Fine Art  (NEFSA) in Worcester, MA. Our class is a group of approximately twenty artists working in various mediums. Many are watercolorists, and a few of us have been in classes together in the past. I continue to attempt to "loosen up" my approach to painting in watercolor. So the goal in my first three-hour class was to attempt a freehand landscape, relying only on my ability to render accurately with a paintbrush –– and no pencilled-in guidelines. My reference photo is one I took at Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, MA, several summers ago. While I don't intend to replicate the scene exactly, I hope to evoke a sense of the place as I use this photo (and several others taken at the same time) as a basis for my landscape exercise. Reference photo Step 1 (above)  My paper is a quarter-sheet of 140-lb. Kilimanjaro Original White , from Cheap Joe's (my go...

My original watercolor painting,  "Celebration,"   will be featured in the upcoming silent auction at "Art in the City 2019" to benefit the Family Health Center in Worcester, MA.  This will be the fourth year I've donated to the auction –– six paintings in all –– and I feel honored and privileged to be included in a large group of community artists and artisans. We all want to help meet the goal to support delivery of high-quality, comprehensive health, dental, vision, and social services for low-income and uninsured patients at the   Family Health Center of Worcester , the   Family Health Center - Southbridge , and the   Lois B. Green Breast Health Center .  Mark your calendar now for "Art in the City 2019" on Friday, May 10, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the beautiful and historic Mechanics Hall, 321 Main St. Worcester MA, 01608.  Individual tickets  can be purchased via the Mechanics Hall website. Click HERE for access to the Me...

There are times when I just want to grab a brush and paint -- I might have an idea for a subject or I might need to search for a bit of inspiration. Today, I was admiring the peony paintings of several watercolorists I know, but I also felt daunted by the attention to detail they gave to this subject. My solution was to approach peonies in a different way -- totally freehand. These were quick watercolor sketches, but they were fun to do and also were the perfect, colorful antidote to the grey and drizzly weather we've had lately. All are available for purchase at my online gallery at Daily Paintworks. Click HERE to go to the gallery. "High Noon Peony" transparent watercolor  6.5" x 4.5" "Peony by Night" transparent watercolor  6.5" x 4.5" SOLD "In the Cool of the Evening" transparent watercolor  6.5" x 4.5"

"Wash Day" transparent watercolor  6.5" x 5" Click  HERE  to purchase via PayPal at my Daily Paintworks gallery Clotheslines used to be commonplace in almost everyone's yard, but not any longer. In our neighborhood, there are fewer than four (obvious) clotheslines in use (some people may have one of those retractable lines that they roll out only when needed...). My grandmother washed everything, including sheets and towels, by hand and hung her laundry to dry in the back yard. I can recall the dismay I felt when asked to help my mother clothes-pin dozens of my younger siblings' recently washed cloth diapers to the line –– and then later having to un-pin and fold them... And although it may seem like drudgery as you face a pile of wash to hang on the line, it's difficult to argue against the picturesque quality of laundry flapping in a fresh breeze...!          

When I travel, I like to take a lot of photographs, which occasionally gets in the way of being able to enjoy myself. Nonetheless, when I went to Italy in 2015 with a high school friend I was glad that I brought my camera! Our time there was unforgettable, especially since we were staying on the Ligurian Coast in the "off" season when there were relatively few tourists. This region, known for its seafood and its many small villages clinging to the edge of rocky cliffs or dotting the steep, inland hillsides, is incomparably picturesque. If I ever find myself at a loss for a subject to paint, I just pull out a few of the pictures I took while in Italy. Today, I completed this watercolor sketch, after getting a little inspiration from my reference photos taken while traveling in the Cinque Terre. "Cinque Terre Path" transparent watercolor   6.5" x 5" Click HERE to purchase via PayPal at my Daily Paintworks gallery Camogli, Italy View from...