Jan 1 - Happy 2010, the Acrylic is Finished...

The 12 x 9 acrylic of the Saddle River is finished now, and the changes from the non-detailed image from yesterday's blog are really noticeable. The calligraphic lines and patches of slightly different value are the added ingredients to take this painting to this stage. I added the shrubbery branches and leaves on the lower left as the last element of the design, which brings the painting into balance.

In looking at the painting I find that the brushwork (textural marks) and complementary color change are the strongest design elements holding this one together. I find it good to be able to analyze my work using design principles--and if the work is good, several will be easily noted. Do you know your design elements and principles? There are good sources online to review them. This link is Wikipedia's, and although the terminology my shift from source to source, the concepts are valid for every artist.

Now off into a new year, full of possibilities and opportunities! Happy New Year to all of you!

You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2010 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Dec 31 - Landscape in Acrylics Continue, New Year's Eve

The end of the year, and I'm still working on this 12 x 9 acrylic landscape of the Saddle River. From yesterday's image, you can see that I've moved into the phase of making larger shapes more interesting with variations of hue and value across them. Going from big to little makes for an interesting transition, and one that many masters practice in executing their work.

The feeling of the sun's light on the left is coming through, done by reducing the value of the other areas with washes of burnt umber mixes over the right sides. Again the dominate hues are ultramarine blue and burnt umber, yet I've used some of the warms in the lighter areas--mixed well to disguise them!

Other news:
On this New Year's Eve, I sit here at home having a party of one (not counting the dogs and cats) with a wood fire going, a glass (or more) of Menage a Trois wine, some black-eyed peas cooking on the stove, and the fixin's for S'mores at the ready over on the mantle. There's a container of peppermint stick ice cream in the freezer (holiday tradition), to offset the heat of those marshmallows. Rolling Stones' Shine a Light CD playing, and I plan to enjoy a decadent, delicious exit to this year in a "thumb my nose" gesture to my successful dieting. And the black-eyed peas at 12:01 a.m. in my stomach for good luck all through the next--another family tradition. So here's to you as I raise my glass; I wish each and every one of you a joyous evening, a morning without hangovers, and a brush in your hand to memorialize those special moments in your lives. That's my plan anyway!

You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2010 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Dec 30 - Day Off to Recooperate...

The canvas (12 x 9 acrylic) is covered now with the basic hues that will dominate the finished painting, and I'm stepping back to let it dry so I can continue to lay in the layers of detail to follow. If this were done in oils, I'd continue to proceed, yet handle my brush at a different angle to keep from lifting up the under layer into the new hues and values going on top. With acrylics, that's not an issue (more non-thinking painting!). This painting is going to hold to the complementary blue/orange grays in the final stages, so no surprises coming there. Where you will find surprises, is in edges, value changes and shapes!

I'm back in California now, over my jet lag, and it is cloudy and cool. Much warmer than New Jersey, but I still have had a fire going for most of the day while sorting out mail, shipping DVD orders and planning my work on the finish of the "Misty, Overcast and Difficult Light Subjects" DVD. Not much more to go, and then the final editing on that one. Good thing I didn't have "real" deadline for it--I'd never have made it. Deadlines only control those who need them.

The New Year is approaching, and I have several ways I can celebrate it, one of which is to stay centered in my path and gather strength from my friends while staying home by the fire. Or I could go get a tattoo and go out and make a fool of myself in several social situations....Hmmmm, well I am an artist!

Interesting, though... I don't have any resolutions to make and break, because I am greeting each day with my own honest living, in the choices I make (didn't gain any pounds over the holiday!), and in where I want to spend my money and time. I value my family and friends over all, and will continue to let them know how important they are--YOU are--to me. Let's hope for a bright 2010 full of opportunities and good choices. Even if we have to realign our paths, I hope that the new path will be just as exciting.

You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2010 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Dec 28 - Starting the Saddle River View in Acrylics

After yesterday's dog walk along the edge of the Saddle River (in Bergen County, New Jersey), I came back with a need to paint the "feel" of what I experienced. So here's the start of a 12 x 9 acrylic (I will take larger canvases in the future!) and the complementary colors of blue and orange are already in place. "Orange?" you ask. Yes, burnt umber is a dark orange, and that's why the autumn and winter woods are so delightful in color when combined with any water that reflects the sky. The grayed oranges of the leaves and forest floor is a complement to the blues.

The day was gorgeous and sunny, and the light was coming through the leafless woods creating traceries of shadow, so I went off the path into the browns and grays to take this source material of the river in the afternoon light (below). I chose the vertical format for the painting, because as with pastoral views being so calming, I wanted the longer plane of the canvas' vertical to offset and balance that tranquility with some strength and power. (Besides, these verticals have more opportunities for placement on the walls of collectors' homes.)

Here's the source material:
Tomorrow the painting continues! But first, this afternoon I get on a plane with my sister and Sparky, and we fly for over six hours back to California, where instead of the high 30s, it is in the high 60s. I do enjoy this cold weather, though, having been raised on the East Coast. Yet my garden is calling to me, and coming back as a first class passenger for this long flight will be a nice cap to a wonderful vacation.

You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2010 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Dec 27 - Finished the Three Pears

Here they are, the trio of pears in acrylic finished, 6 x 12 inches. I've finished putting the rest of the warms on them and cleaned up and detailed out the stems, background and surfaces.
After seeing the work of Gustav Klimt in the Met, I'm really realizing that loosening up is a good thing, and so the paintings are starting to come across with the strength of energized brushwork instead of tight details. I'm pleased with the new direction.

Available, $295, and scheduled for the Women Artists of the West online show this January, when I get a better photograph of it.

Off and running today--I took the dogs on a long walk along the Saddle River watershed, and came home with visual experiences that are going to come to light in the days ahead. I have already blocked in a new work from today's visuals, which I'll share tomorrow. Ah, tomorrow! I pack and fly back to California, coming in late, and will see the sunrise on Tuesday in the hills of Two Trees. Back to the dogs, cats, goats and horses who have been idle and well fed while I've been here. Back to routines and yardwork, the big studio and painting with my friends.

This trip has been wonderful, and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to revisit the eastern hardwood forests, extended and near family and New York City. I hope I can return someday, and without too much time in between. Nice news is that Sparky and I are flying back first class. Nice!

You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2010 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.