"Rhythms"

Here is another piece from my show in Stowe. (15"x22") I can't believe it's July tomorrow! Time is flying and we've had a rainy couple weeks here...some nice bonus days in between, but just not enough. Let's hope for a great July and August! I'm off to run some art related errands and then it's a jump into the studio to work on the next round of projects...If you have a chance check out my work in the Richeson 75 show..it's online now.

"Warmly Glowing"

My opening at the gallery was fun this past Saturday. It was a rainy evening and I was competing with the US soccer game against Ghana, but I saw a bunch of friends and my family came along and the show looked good under the bright spot lights of the gallery...it's always nice to see a gathering of your work together in one place. Not just stacked against the wall of the studio! (10"x22") I'm going to try to give you sizes when I post...I've been asked a few times...sorry

"Hot footin'"

Have a great weekend everyone! This guy is ready to step out and have himself a good time. Winsor Violet for the purple glow of his feathers and then dropping in clean water to get those lighter blooms. The green of the background is working yellows and blues together and letting them blend on the paper. Ultra blue, Perm. Yellow Lemon, Prussian, Cad. Yellow lt. Quin. Gold. Working them in layers and letting areas dry in between, adding more water and pigment and doing it all again to get that burnished look.

The Sound of Painting...

Thanks everyone for your great comments! It's nice to hear and ofcourse very encouraging to keep on keepin' on! I'll be in the gardens this Saturday painting at the Von Trapp family lodge in Stowe as part of the Garden Tour and prior to my show opening at 5 p.m. at the Green Mountain Fine Art Gallery. I'll be climbing every mountain and following every rainbow...and capturing some blooms on some paper! These are a few of my favorite things! (imagine Julie Andrews twirling through the meadows...that'll be me!)

"Sun Giants"

Another sunflower posting to try to address the negative painting question I was asked yesterday. "Any tips on how to paint negatively?" It's a bit of backwards thinking and you definitely have to have dry, dry, dry paper to get the hard edges. It's a progressive "veiling" of consecutively darker washes (which again, have to dry in between layers). I always recommend in my workshops to restate your lines with a pencil and sometimes even putting an X in the space/shape you wish to paint around. Basically negative painting is painting around a shape and developing a background which is darker than the foreground.

"Sundown"

The jumble of leaves is my favorite part of this painting. It's a succession of layers built up by painting the negative space around the "positive" shape of the leaves and stems. This is done by putting a slightly darker wash then the previous one down and fading the leading edge away from the hard edge of what you wish to accentuate.

blue plate special

This is an unfinished study from a photograph...I was particularly interested in the red apple against the turquoise plate with the dark rim. Later the inside of the tulip became more of a draw for me..it's sweeping towards you and actually the leaf points you right at the plate. I was trying to see how much pigment I could apply to the paper without overdoing it...hmmm did it work?

Hen in love?

This bird is longingly staring over the landscape contemplating a clean escape or a rendez-vous with the newly back in town handsome and honkingly loud Canadian Gander that hit the pond next door at Old MacDonald's farm late yesterday....what to do? I find myself applying the pigments a little heavier, maybe because my palette is nice and moist and I'm not working too hard to try to scrub up some color. A definite plus! There's something to be said for a well worked palette!

"Spotted Walker"

This past weekend I was at the Bennington Center for the Arts and saw their Artists Abroad, Small Works and Art of the Animal Kingdom shows. WOW! Really great work and such a wonderful variety. More shows are scheduled for them this summer and fall, plus their facility is top-notch! (oh and I have two small oils in the Small Works show)

World Cup Orange

This is an older poppy piece (7.5"x7.5") and is the closest to orange I could find in my repertoire right now.. Orange to show support for the Dutch soccer team in the World Cup! Anyone follow soccer? The buzzing of the locust like horns is a bit much and almost makes you want to mute the tube. Too bad poppies have such a short lived display time. Being so fragile any wind or rain storms take them down.

Gazin' at the Market

This painting was done from a photo of Stargazers in bundles at a farmer's market. I added extra buds because I like their shape, especially against the dark background. The two buckets on the right are a little stiff, but maybe they bring some calm against the flurry of chaotic blooms that burst right out of the picture plane into your face..

"Waddle"

This lovely lady was a joy to paint. I underpainted the shadow side with a wash of cerulean, which I rarely if ever do...so that's something new for me and I think I learned something...hmmm then the darker colors of the hen are actually sepia and a dioxazine violet that I let mingle on the paper. She's so deliciously plump!

"Peony Paradise"

I just received the postcard announcing my featured show at the Green Mountain Fine Art Gallery in Stowe. The show opening reception is on Saturday June 26th from 5-7 p.m. The title of the show is "Flourish". I will also be in a garden somewhere in Stowe that day during the Garden Tour and painting away...I'll post more info about that when it comes along. Now it's framing and prepping for this show! The above piece is the image on the postcard, so it will be in the show.

"Pink Gem"

The rain came at the end of the workshop as we were wrapping up! So up to that point we had a gorgeous, sunny/fluffy clouds/moderate temperatures day! Whoohoo! The peonies were still putting on a show. Had a great group of ladies who all worked super hard and produced some "blooming" good paintings! The above image is one I did from the vast pile of pix I've taken at the same garden over the years...while in the depths of winter several months ago.

"Sunshower"

I just had some prints made of my newest paintings and the above image is one of them. Getting ready to frame up my work for my upcoming featured show at the Green Mountain Fine Art Gallery in Stowe. Tomorrow is my annual peony painting workshop and the weather looks like it's going to cooperate..but we might need to duck inside in the afternoon due to some passing showers...we'll worry about that when and if it happens...I'll post again Weds.

Tread lightly

And with this speckled lady we conclude the feathered week. Thanks for the comments and emailed suggestions for names for our friend from yesterday. Have a great weekend!

Coq au vin?

This guy is definitely posing! What a ham...actually there was a pig in the barn with him! He was hiding from the other rooster that had a superiority complex...I hope they've since worked out their issues...The farmer said if there's a rooster with an attitude..they don't get to spend a happy life at the farm...can you say coq au vin?

feathered week

I guess with today's post it's officially rooster/chicken week! This guy might look familiar...I took several pictures of this guy inside his dark barn, so I know I've painted and posted him before. Backlighting is never easy...it makes the features disappear. What to name this guy? Hmmmm. anyone?

"Moi?"

Our local paper just had an article about keeping chickens in your yard...mind you this was within city limits and ofcourse there are restrictions..only up to 4 hens...and no roosters...which makes sense for the crowing factor. Not that I'm considering it...because I think along with the eggs, which would be good, I hear there's also an increase in rodents due to the feed...no thanks! I'll just continue to snap pictures and paint them...