painting again

Finally...seeing again through 'painter' eyes.

Pastel 18X24

View from the island

As often as I can, I walk the path that leads from the neighborhood stables to a little island park nearby. The path encircles the island...and along the path...I see green, blanketing the water, the trees...everything.

From the island, I can see the bridge connecting and the mass of trees...a seamless transition from one land to another...through the island foliage and the haze of green, I see the path clearly...leading me to this point.

View from the Island

Pastel on Ampersand Pastelbord

9x12

Painting as I want

'One day seven years ago, I found myself saying to myself- I can't live where I want to- I can't go where I want to- I can't do what I want to- I can't even say what I want to...I decided I was a very stupid fool not to at least paint as I wanted to...as it seemed to be the only thing I could do that didn't concern anybody but myself...'

Georgia O'Keefe, 1923

Hillside Bouquet

Pastel on Ampersand Pastelbord, 16x20

...painted as I wanted to

...with energy, fullness of color, and an unusual perspective...of one of my favorite places.

On exhibit March 4th-28th as one of the "staff's favorite picks" in the gallery at Liberty Town Arts

Ambiguity

Beginning the new year, my satisfaction has waned with the ultra-real paintings...those in which all the information is given. Where else in life is all the information detailed perfectly in order for you to exactly see the situation, draw the right conclusions and make the right decisions, and predict the future responses?...almost never...Similarly to the ambiguity in life situations and the excitement of not always knowing the outcome, curiosity and intrigue is created through an abstract arrangement of elements...visual elements in a painting that allow for exploration and personal interpretation.

For me, however, there is a point where patience is lost to the vague ambiguity, as is the case with completely abstracted paintings. Visually, I prefer some representation, allowing for degrees of abstraction in shape, color and edges. I need a few answers, some plan...some information...but not everything.

Untitled (for now), Pastel on Ampersand Pastelbord, 16x20

And so, I find myself drawn to these pastel landscapes, responding to the watercolor foundation; those accidents that occur naturally when water and pigment react to the dry, pumiced surface of clay. Subjects still 'representative' but not quite fully developed, interpreted...standing just outside the rows of vines...seeing the vines, but not every leaf...appreciating the balance between the order and disorder of things...given just enough information to draw my own conclusions.

Goodbye colors of fall

Goodbye to fall...warm greens, golds, reds replaced with cool whites, blues, and browns...always in transition...and colors that reflect the transitions in life.

Colors of fall

Pastel on Ampersand Pastelbord

9x12

Blessings of joy, peace...and warmth...this holiday season!

Less Blogging, More Painting

Closing out the Thanksgiving week, I am reminded that 'Thanksgiving' is not just a holiday...but thanks giving is a state of mind that should be carried with us every day. I am thankful for many things this week...most notably, my friends and family who uplift and enrich my life.

Serendipity

9X12

Pastel on Ampersand Pastelbord

'Tis the season for small works... perfect for me, stripped down to the essentials of time, no time for large works, delay, analysis, procrastination...self doubt...only time for the fervor of work, and creative energy. In this fervor, I am finding a flow and rhythm in landscapes (that until now, I have unintentionally avoided), responding to the watercolor underpainting with a deeper sense of expression and intimacy... and with an efficiency that comes from the pressure imposed by time.

A few of these landscapes will be on display for the "Small Works" exhibit opening

Friday Dec 6th at Liberty Town Arts in Fredericksburg.

Paintings will also be on exhibit in December...

The Workhouse Arts Center at Lorton

Merger of Art and Design: MAD Artist! Designer's Choice Exhibit

Nov 22nd-Jan 4th

as well as

The Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts

Small Wonders National Juried Exhibition

Dec 6th- Jan 28th

Happy Thanks Giving today and every day!

Poetic energy of underpainting

In pastel, my comfort in painting leans toward what I would term "ultra-realism" . I typically work spatially completing section by section, piecing together lines and shapes, that when completed, works as a whole.

Challenging myself for a looser interpretation (as I often see a landscape), I wanted, instead, to respond to the poetry of the underpainting, the poetry of shapes and mingled color. I began on white (which I almost never do) ampersand pastelbord that can handle alot of water, pigment, and pastel. Considering the harmony color, temperature, and with the goal of creating luminous contrasts of blue and gold, I began to add color...no worries about mess, details or representation, simply looking for a response to the energy of the landscape.

The watercolor "underpainting"

As a watercolorist, I found myself tempted to approach this underpainting as I would a finished watercolor, working light to dark, wet-into-wet, glazing layers...but then this will be a pastel, on pastelbord. The underpainting will only serve to create a base (mostly covered with pastel) of warmth and value and give direction to the pastel that will come later... hopefully a loosely interpreted poetic landscape.

The "later"... untitled

Pastel on Ampersand Pastelbord

9X12

Featured at Lorton Arts

Orchestrating lines, positioning, contrast of imagery, harmony of values, color intensity, analyzing compositional placement...I must be painting...

...Well not quite...today the show went up at Lorton Arts and will be on exhibit through Nov 7th.

I am amazed at all the factors involved in hanging a show (though I have done quite a few now), and how painful the process can be. Placement of paintings on a wall is an "art" in itself, one which I struggle with for every show. The most valuable lesson learned from today...never underestimate the value of help, everyone has a different "eye" and process for installation. Thank you Bonnie and Kathleen! I couldn't have done it without you.

Exhibiting Oct 4th-Nov 7th

Workhouse Arts Center

Gallery 16

Opening Reception

Saturday, Oct 9th, 6-9p

9601 Ox Road

Lorton Arts, Lorton, VA

www.workhousearts.org

703-495-0001

The curious world of Iris

There have been many "starts and stops" to this painting over the past few months. Each time returning to work, I find myself re-evaluating my intention..what is it I see here?...what is it about this painting that keeps me returning? After all, a new day, brings new perspective (both in life and in art)...new interpretations, new insights.

So I have to ask myself...can my intention be the same each time I return..what I see in the image be the same...when I have changed from day to day? I don't believe it can..exactly; the mood, aesthetic, and way of seeing have changed. I notice these subtle difference in the way I have approached different areas each time following a pause in work. The challenge is in finding harmony among the various "intentions" within the painting and exploring the curiosity that attracted me in the beginning.

So, what is the intention here? Of course, most will see "flowers"; the iris a symbol for hope, faith and wisdom. But today I see energy, curious wonder in the flow of line, lost and found shapes, and the statement of color.

The curious world of Iris

Pastel on Ampersand Pastelbord, 16X20

On Exhibit October 4th-November 8th

@

The Workhouse Arts Center, Gallery 16

Lorton Arts Foundation

All together

Four Buds on the 'Sil
Pastel
11X14
Rarely (if ever) can I say I have finished a painting in one day. After spending three weeks failing at an underpainting for a previous work, I finally gave it up and decided to start fresh. I'm not sure if it was the freedom of letting go of something that just wasn't working, moving in a new direction, or that I had done this painting in my head over the past 6 months, but it just all came together today. The hand and the eye working harmoniously. My intention for this painting...loose approach and contrasting elements of design; contrast of color temperatures with dominance of warms, contrast of organic and geometric shapes, and contrast of textures.

Abundance

Summing up 2009 in one word...abundance... in heart-felt gratitude for my dear family and friends and the relationships that enrich my life each day... in opportunities both in art activities and as one of the founding caregivers opening a new hospital... abundance in life, the many challenges, lessons learned and occasions for personal and professional growth...and finally, abundance in joy anticipating all that is to come in 2010.
Abundance
Pastel on Pastelbord
18X24

From Life or Photo

This past weekend I had the opportunity to speak with the juror of a recent show, of which I was a participant. The juror, a 3D glass artist and gallery owner in Alexandria, had chosen selections for the "Best of Showcase". (My painting was one of thirteen chosen out of approx. 100 pieces.) As the conversation evolved, she mentioned her process in choosing the "Best of Show" works and revealed that she had allowed a few of her "painter" friends to preview the works. One of her friends had been astonished that the juror had chosen a painting (or paintings) that may have been completed from a photo reference.
As a non-academic artist (someone who has not attended a formal art school) and as an artist who knows of many award-winning studio painters who use photographs as inspiration, I walked away from the conversation somewhat bemused. Is a painting created using a photograph as inspiration less valid than one created from life? ...even if the painting is the artist's authentic vision (her own vision, her moment, her photograph, unmanipulated)?
I continue to greatly admire those artists that can prop an easel in a field for hours and paint, or those who can perfectly stage a still-life painting and work for weeks from the same still life (and I have done so myself many times), but admittedly for me, working from "life" and "en plein air" is highly impractical to my process. Honestly, if I set a crate of apples out for 2 weeks to paint them, they would get knocked over during "hide-and-seek" and rearranged and eaten by my children on the first day (ok, maybe the second). I am proud to say, that I am a studio painter who works from my own photographic references. For if I weren't working from a photo-derived inspiration, in the bits and pieces of time I do find to paint; between being a mom, a nurse and the magician who maintains "good order and discipline" at home, I wouldn't paint.
No doubt this debate will continue without agreement. And just as I appreciate and respect the methods of other artists, I am thankful to the juror for choosing work that spoke to her "from the gut" and not a preconception that art created from something other than life is less valid and worthy of recognition.
For me, validity is in the vision, the translation from the spirit, and the courage in doing and much less about the method and process (though I find great joy in the process). The vision is from life, the process in between, merely a vessel on an open road.

a garlic a day

A Garlic A Day
11X14
pastel on ampersand pastelbord

Visual Summary

As an artist, one of my tasks in creating a painting is to simplify and translate the essence of a subject as I see it in that moment on any given day. During my pastel workshop this week, we had a discussion on "simplifying," and as one of my students aptly stated "creating a visual summary". The concept seems "simple" enough. However, beginning painters often become distracted with and jump right into painting the details, forgetting that value and form are the "batter and cake" in a painting; essential for it's foundation, success, and "readability".

So, a few tools and questions I use to know what "detail" to include in my visual summary: 1. Begin with a thumbnail sketch. Value sketches are useful in helping you simplify your design into only shape, value and form. 2. Squint your eyes and look at your image. The values in shape and form are the "cake", everything else just "frosting". 3. Which details (usually line or texture) are important to enhance the visual flow and underlying compositional structure? 4. Is the detail important to overall "readability" of the painting? If not, I leave it out. 5. Much of painting is illusion and "special effects". I will often hint at the detail (usually with texture, a few gesture lines, or direction of the pastel application) without actually drawing it in; the viewer's eyes will fill in the rest. For example: in my garlic painting, I use the line of shadow shapes to create movement and flow, visually directing the viewer through the painting ("readability"). The trapped areas of detail and texture (which are really, just less blended areas) at the buds of the garlic also direct (and pause) visual movement. My goal... to support the underlying armature (see previous posts).

One Garlic [breath] at a Time

As I work, I am continuing to balance the variety of "warm and cool" color along with considering value and color perspective as I define the forms and space: lighter values, intensity of color, and warmth appear forward; darker values and cool colors visually recede. I also enjoy the interplay of lost and found edges that contribute to the illusion of "real" and aid the viewer's eye to travel around the painting.

Healthy dose of reality...I mean realism.

I find creating "realism" in a painting helps ground and settle me in the present. Realism on a 2D surface is nothing but "special effects"... i.e. simply drawing with value and color perspective.
For this "breath of fresh - garlic", I have chosen a neutralized complimentary color scheme of "oranges" and "blues". Considering color harmony, I will keep my palette simple, choosing only a few colors within my color scheme that represent a variety in value (lights, darks, and midtones), softness, temperature (warm and cool colors) and chroma (intensity).

Form and value in painting are built by layering pastel of various hues and color temperature. Most often, I will work spatially, working an area as it occurs in space on the 2D plane. I begin with the most distant space and work towards the most forward space. That said, I continuously go back and make minor adjustments to previously worked areas to balance the colors and values throughout the painting. In general within these spaces, I work from dark to light and harder to softer pastel.

Studying the light as it falls on the subject, I first lay in the darker and "cooler" color followed by the warmer darks. I consider this the foundation darks, followed by the lighter, softer color "on top". By accurately portraying these values, form and depth are created (and thus the "special effects" of painting).

Rough Water

Rough Water
16X20
Pastel on Ampersand Pastelbord
I found this type of continuous field composition very difficult to organize into some structure. Which I guess is the point...why would I need to "organize" continual movement? My desire to classify everything into some visual order is a concept very hard for me to push aside when painting. And yet, I probably breathe the easiest, when seeing a subject too grand to classify: millions of leaves and dappled light in the forest, endless water in a seascape, thousands of wildflowers. In the presence of grandeur, the eyes rest and the spirit is quiet.

Open Water

Before moving to Virginia, I lived in southern California. Somehow, living near the beach, the water begins to draw you in. There, I discovered "open water" swimming. When surrounded by motion, the ocean feels alive, every drop moving with some unified purpose.
My intention at this early stage...simply to capture the perpetual movement of the water. My next challenge, organizing the movement.

Shades of Pastel

Flourishing Above the Surface
18X24
Soft Pastel
I am thrilled to have this painting accepted into the Shades of Pastel National Competition. The juror for this show is Richard McKinley, a nationally-recognized master pastelist. I took a bit of a gamble entering, and only entered one painting. Usually, I think jurors look for groups of work that are mature and cohesive and then select one or two to show. I had finished this painting just in time to enter, but really no others like it at the time. The exhibit is hosted by the Maryland Pastel Society and will run September 26th to November 7th at the Strathmore Mansion in Bethesda Maryland. Opening Reception will take place on October 4th from 1-3PM.

Aftermath

I am still reeling a little from the opening at Bistro Bethem on Monday. Mirinda and I hung the show that morning into the afternoon and hosted the reception later that evening. Below are a few pictures from the day.

Wine well deserved.

Thank you to all the art patrons in Fredericksburg (and Stafford) for your support! Now onto art camp for eleven 6-8 year olds, Yikes! Did I really plan both of these activities in the same week?