Judith Freeman Clark, paintings

plein air sketch Yesterday afternoon I took my easel into the back yard.  I almost never do this... in the past, it's been a less-than satisfactory experience. There's always too much sun, too much wind, too much uneven ground, etc. etc. etc. However -- since I've enrolled in a three-day July workshop with Tony van Hasselt, which will include daily excursions to paint en plein air , I'm determined to conquer my aversion to working anywhere but indoors. Reference photo Our property is not large, and it's anything but sylvan. (Our neighborhood is more like a John Cheever-suburban-backyards concept, minus the in-ground swimming pools...)  But, we do have a few picturesque "Palace Purple" variety Huechera , one of which is a volunteer, growing out of a crack in the stone retaining wall.  Yesterday's mid-afternoon sun was very bright, so the cast shadows of the foliage were dark and well-defined, and the highlights/colors colors vivid. A great...

I love Winslow Homer's watercolors, many of which were done early in his career. In particular, I have always admired the way Homer handled light and shadows in his figurative work. " Spring " and " Blackboard " are fine examples of his skill in this regard, as is " Boys and Kitten (1873)," which is in the Worcester Art Museum's collection.  I was at Old Sturbridge Village recently, and the scenes there were straight out of Winslow Homer -- which I took as a challenge. After snapping more than 200 photos, I selected several which, for me, evoke this "Homer-ish" quality, and began a sketch of a young woman seated outside, next to the sheep-shearing. She and a companion were washing wool -- not a particularly enjoyable task on a hot, sunny afternoon. Both women were taking a break, and this gave me a great opportunity to get some good photos with high contrast. Here is how I've started a watercolor study for "Well-Deserved Re...

I've been experimenting with how to achieve realistic shadows, using color blends. I referred to Anne Abgott's excellent book, "Daring Color: mix and mingle watercolor on your paper" (North Light Books, 2007). Her suggestion to use Verditer Blue is a good one -- it blends beautifully and is almost luminous in its reflective properties when combined with a complement, such as Brown Madder. I made a few test strips, allowing the two colors to mingle, according to Abgott's instruction. The resulting warm grey made me think of a photo I took this weekend, while visiting Old Sturbridge Village. It was "Wool Day," so the adult sheep were being sheared (the old-fashioned way, with clippers that looked like enormous scissors). They were penned up together, each awaiting their turn. The small lambs were adorable... My goal in this sketch was to capture to shadow and texture of the wool. As you can see, I wasn't too worried about careful rendering. Instea...

After several fits and starts, I settled down to complete this painting. Lots of different greens/browns/yellows/some blue/even some violet, applied multiple times. Several washes of clear water on the lake to smooth out some too-clearly-defined reflections, and then more glazing on the lake surface to brighten the color. I'm always surprised to note the contrast between bright, juicy wet paint and that same paint once it's dried. While the nitsy part of me wanted to spend even more time on detail work, I think I got out just in time. My tendency is to overwork a painting, and I'm trying to break myself of that. The title derives from a line in Sonnet 18 (Wm. Shakespeare) which begins, "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?"  Summer's Lease    10.5" x 15.5"  sold

Every time I pull this photo out of my reference pile, it's a little like the movie, "Groundhog Day." I have used this photo a number of times and have had varying degrees of success painting this single blossom. I have been fortunate to sell each version that I've done (which is gratifying). This morning I sketched it on a scrap of #300 Kilimanjaro...  it's one of several odds and ends of paper that I can't bear to toss out, even though there is something painted on the flip side! Several years ago I learned, from an award-winning artist who exhibits nationally, that he does that all the time! I was surprised, and then I figured there was no reason to throw away perfectly useable paper simply because one side had already been marked up. I did an outline sketch first, to keep the proportions and the shapes under control. Then I added a few darks first (this is not the usual order for me -- I generally start light and leave the darks for last), and also mad...

photo credit: Liz West (aka Muffet); Flickr. Used by permission The photo I'm working from reminds me that we don't have long to wait until glorious summer weather sets in. When we come out of our winter cocoons here in New England, there is always a flurry of fun events on the calendar. I recently donated paintings to two separate benefits: one to the annual "Art in the City" auction that benefits the Family Health Center here in Worcester, MA. The painting is of a lake in autumn, with reflected trees (" Reverie " click to see in the slideshow). The second painting I donated (" Playful Petunias ") was given to the All Saints Church, Worcester (my parish!) silent auction.  If you've been watching my gallery, you know I've been concentrating lately on florals. But because I'd enjoyed working on both of those donated paintings, I thought I'd try another 'reflections' image. (I am grateful to the very gifted photograp...

I hadn't intended to do a series of paintings showing fruit on the branch -- but sometimes these things just take on a life of their own. "Orchard Offering" (shown in the banner, above) sold quickly -- along with its mate, "Sun-Kissed." With both of these paintings, the outlining technique added a dimension  that seemed to heighten the effectiveness of the painting. So, today I worked on another version of apples. I'd planned to outline the image after it was complete. But when I got to that point, I gave considerable thought, instead, to adding a sky-blue background. I thought it would be an interesting contrast with the color of the apples and the leaves. But, not wanting to make a hash of the painting, I backed away from the sky option. Not sure it would have worked. But I still wonder... And now I'm thinking of purchasing some clear acetate that I can paint on and use as an overlay, to try different effects. After sketching the design completel...