Florida 6

6x6 Oil on Masonite

Again inspired by Steven Pressfield's book, The War of Art, I decided to show up at the easel and do the work- paint and breathe- play with values, light,heat, hue.  I am headed off to Florida for four days of respite from the heavy snows here.  Ahh....  

Florida 5

6x6 Oil on Masonite Panel

It is a snow day here- day two of blizzard cleanup.  What better subject to paint than sunny Florida!  I had some really relaxed fun with this today.  I am reading the book The War of Art and learning about battling resistance by just doing the work-showing up each day.  I learn this lesson time and time again lately.  The results are just joy and a real sense of completion.  Hope you enjoy this one too!

Reflections 2

6x6 Oil on Panel

I love a snow day!  Boston is totally closed down today with a blizzard-twenty inches of snow piled up outside my door.  I get a great day to paint and play!  There are some good things about winter after all!  I decided to continue with scenes that I like to return to - places and landscapes that shape my experience.  Later today I may move back to a start on a large painting.  The luxury of unexpected time is wonderful!

Reflections

6x6 Oil on Museum Panel

I love the blues in this one.  Sometimes I wander out to Concord, MA to Minuteman National Park.  It is a pretty place full of history.  There is a historic bridge and mansion and lovely meadows and a river.  A great place to stroll or paint.  This photo reference was one from a trip in September and I decided yesterday was the perfect day to paint it.  Can't wait for spring plein air!  Blizzard coming tomorrow.

Shady Lane

18x24 Oil on stretched canvas

This weekend I found myself a bit frustrated with painting small.  I'm seeing a lot of copying going on in the sites I follow- even my stuff. Painting small is fun and quick and rally challenging in a lot of ways.  You have to get your values right. Your subject is usually simple.  You use less paint, so it is economical.  There is less risk- which is good.  I like painting small.  But yesterday I felt I needed a challenge- to throw a  lot of paint around- to work larger -to stretch my unused muscles a bit.  So I picked a photo from my fall strolls through nearby parks.  I liked the verticles of this one and the way the light caught pieces of the trees.   I like the result.  Very gratifying.

Yellow Boat

8x10 Oil on Panel SOLD

I fell off the wagon with my January 30 Day challenge last week.  I just couldn't come into the studio- nothing interested me.  I am learning that painting in a series helps.  If you have to consider what you will paint each day, it is far more difficult to complete.  Also, simple subjects help with daily painting.  I am just not that interested in repetition or simple subjects.  I've spent time last week considering what I like to paint, how I want to paint, why I want to paint.  I never want to get to a place where I copy someone's style or ideas.  That is difficult, when so much is available on the internet.  I want to continue to paint the places I love, the things that I see.  To that end, these boats were moored in Cotuit harbor last summer, a beautiful spot that few know.  

Florida 3

8x10 Oil on Museum Quality Panel

Again, I am working on the sun and shadows of a hot afternoon in the tropics.  I liked the large tree on the left and the way the sunlight played on the trunk.  I am having some fun with these.  The color pallette is not my usual, but is bright and full of contrasts.  The Florida landscape is very different from my northern home.

Florida 2

8x10 Oil on Museum Quality Panel

I am looking at the light patterns of the strong Florida sunshine and also trying to capture the vibrant greens and the different foliage of the region.  It is zero degrees today in Boston, so it is really nice to work on something warm and welcoming!

Seabird Series 8

6x6 Oil on Museum Quality Panel

I've learned a great deal this week from painting in a series.  You become very familiar and comfortable with your subject.  In this case, the color pallette has been fairly narrow for good emphasis on values.  I think each one gets a bit better as I go.  I am more willing to experiment once comfortable with the approach and subject.  The compositional framework has shifted to a closer viewpoint.  It has been fun  to paint each one and I am far more relaxed than when I approached the first bird in flight.  When I finished taking photos of these birds on the beach, they all quickly clustered in a frenzy around another woman on the beach - one whom they knew well because she had bread and because it seems this area of the beach is her home at night.  I think of her when I paint the seabirds and wonder what happened in her life to bring her to this place.  I am grateful and blessed, and humbled.

Seabirds 7

5x7 Oil on Museum Quality Panel

SOLD

And yet one more.  Once I got going, I hated to lose the color pallette.  I played a bit thicker with this one, using a pallette knife at times, working on the water patterns.  I like his viewpoint- out to sea and over the horizon.  

Seabirds 6

5x7 Oil on Museum Quality Panel

I wanted to play with composition a bit with this one and capture the close-up characteristics of this bird.  he had a bit more color than some others on the beach and was very bold and fearless.  These birds also force a very limited pallette and focus on values that is a great exercise in seeing. I may want to paint this one in a large format soon.