Baltimore Orioles, Works in Progress

 

 I did not contend with the branch today as planned.  Rather, I applied the second coat of the ground,  The studio light reflection creates some glare that inhibits a true reading of the color.  This is indigo blue that transitions from a pure chroma in the top to a faint tint at the bottom.  The ground color is essential in setting the other colors.  

Prepping for January

 

     

As I continue daily work on Hydrangeas in Autumn, I need to prepare some work for the Marion Art Center's member show.  This work is due for submission January 3, 2021.  The two works above are 12"x12", oil on panel.  It's different working on a small area of a piece each day.  Yesterday I filled in the birds.  Today I think I will attempt to add a few leaves and color to the branches.  

Hydrangeas in Autumn, Oil on Panel, 24"x 36" Work in Progress

The last several days I have been working on the center bottom blossom.  I've used a new color mixture which you see in the pinkish blossoms.  I may use this color in other areas to help move the eye around the composition.  Almost ready for the leaves that sit in front of blossoms.  

November Work

Gallic Rooster, 2021, Oil on Panel, 12"x12"

Just a couple of Christmas gifts this month along with plugging at the Hydrangeas inch by inch.  

In Memoriam, 2021, Oil on Panel 10"x10"

One More Sunset, A Work in Progress.

 

Sunsets I Have Seen, Shell Beach Onset

I've decided to paint one more sunset for the Marion Art Center Holiday Small Works.  The MAC will take 4 paintings, and I had only 3 with time to do another.  The House Critic and I had been to Onset for the opening ceremony of the new Boat House.  From there we drove to Shell Beach for the sunset.  It did not disappoint.  

Hydrangeas Redux

 

Hydrangeas in Autumn, A Work in Process, 24"x36"

After almost 3 months of preparing other works for shows, I returned to Hydrangeas in Autumn.  I've adjusted the size and color of the leaves to present a more balanced composition.  Currently, I'm working from the background forward.  I'm about 1/2 way across the panel from the left working only those forms and shapes that sit in back of another shape.  My House Critic today questioned why I would depict dying sections on some leaves.  I just replied the Dutch were speaking to me from the past.  

Christmas Plans Works in Progress

Once again under the theme of Sunsets I Have Seen, I am preparing 3 paintings for the Holiday Works show at the Marion Art Center.  

Somewhere in Virginia, Oil on Panel, 6"x12"

Long Boat Key, Oil on Panel, 8"x13"

Buzzards Bay #6, Oil on Panel, 8"x13"

For the Copley Society's holiday small works, I have prepared 4 bird paintings.  

Ruby Throated Hummingbird, Oil on Panel, 5"x5"

Ruby Throated Hummingbird, Art Class, Oil on Panel, 5"x5", Work in Progress

American Goldfinch, Self-Portrait, Oil on Panel, 8"x8" Work in Progress

Red-winged Blackbird #4, Oil on Panel, 8"x8"

 

Agawam River, 2021 Along the Trails

Agawam River, Oil on Panel, 18"x36"

The Agawam River traverses through Wareham, MA and and is part of the Wareham River estuary watershed. It is named in honor of the peaceful Native Americans that helped the Massachusetts Bay Colony establish its first settlement in Springfield, MA.  (per Wikipedia). This area of the River belongs to the Wareham Land Trust. The view here is from the kayak launch looking up river.  As an artist and also a member of both the Wareham Land Trust and the Marion Art Center, I was delighted to find they will be joining hands in promoting both the arts and land preservation with the show Along the Trails. The works must be inspired by, or depicting identified locations, at area land trust properties in Wareham, Mattapoisett, Rochester and Marion. 

The show opens Thursday, October 14 and runs through Friday, November 12, 2021

Hiatus, New Studio, New Beginnings

Agawam River, Wareham, MA

 I have a newish studio.  After almost a month of installing new vinyl floors, painting the walls and rearranging furniture, I am back to work.  This hiatus threw me a bit behind schedule with upcoming shows.  So, I have put the Fall Hydrangeas aside for now and begun work on Agawam River.  

As an artist and also a member of both the Wareham Land Trust and the Marion Art Center, I was delighted to find they will be joining hands in promoting both the arts and land preservation. The mission of the Marion Art Center is to enrich the SouthCoast community by supporting and promoting a vibrant arts experience for all. This year artists are invited to submit works inspired by the natural landscape for the upcoming fall exhibition entitled Along the Trails.  The works must be inspired by, or depicting identified locations, at area land trust properties in Wareham, Mattapoisett, Rochester and Marion. 

As a Wareham artist I am excited to promote the beauty of nature and the outdoor spaces provided to us all by the Trusts and to showcase the local arts.  I am often inspired by the Trusts’ lands when hiking and photographing.  For this show, the Agawam River Kayak Launch is my inspiration.  When photographing there this week, the river was high and fast from Ida’s rains.  The water was crystal clear and the reflections of the greens and the ochres were exciting to capture.

Hydrangeas in Fall, A Work in Progress

Hydrangeas in Fall, Oil on Panel, 18"x36"

Trying to find a green to represent the drying blossoms that isn't too chromatic yet does not appear so gray that image falls flat.  Is everything to heavy on the right, especially the big green leaf?  We'll see.  I really need to think about balance and movement before too much time is put into the details.  

 

Hydrangeas in the Fall, A Work In Progress

 

Hydrangeas in Fall, Oil on Panel, 18" x 36"

Just some grinding detail work.  I still like the pink that pops up here and there.  

Hydrangeas in the Fall

Hydrangeas in the Fall, Oil on Panel, 18"x36"

I have moved from pink blossoms to blue and green just because I think it is a more pleasing color.  I will probably include some pink as a sort of pop to the piece.  I've also added leaves and blossoms to the left side.  I like the idea of the eye being consumed by the plant without a spatial escape.  That large yellow-green leaf pointing to the left offers possibilities of a compositional device.

Oranges on Turquoise Plate

 

Oranges on Turquoise Plate, 2021, Oil on Panel, 18"x36"

I wish I could find a poem about oranges

or even the oranges of my palette.

This makes me wonder, 

what claim was first.

Of course it was the hue 

which rules supreme.

No WB no Emily no Walt to

Satisfy my thirst.

So I will just have to say

to orange in my simple way,

You grand and glorious secondary, thanks.

Hydrangeas, Fall Transition

 

Hydrangeas in the Fall, 2021, Oil on Panel, 18"x36"

I love painting flowers.  I love the intricate detail of each petal; its color, texture, form.  I also love the way the flowers sit in their surroundings submerged in verdant greens.  This is a large painting which will occupy my time, but provide a challenge that I am in need of.  Hydrangea blooms, if left on the bush, toward fall will turn pink and green as they dry.  Looking at this composition I see a need for more activity to the left.  

Oranges with Green Plate. A Work in Process

 

Oil on Panel, 18"x36"

This work is back on the easel after a month.  Each time I start a new session, I see the cloth differently.  I believe that taking the photo from above the table has created a problem with the way the oranges seem to float on the cloth.  They even appear a bit flat to me.  

Meanwhile, Seasonal Changes

 

Left: Cranberry Bog, Spring, Right: Cranberry Bog, Fall
Oil on Panel, 16"x12"

Both paintings will be submitted to the Copley Society's juried member show, Seasonal Changes. In this thematic show, to be held July 29 through August 29, artists are asked to depict various interpretations of seasonal changes and variations. The cranberry bogs immediately came to mind for me as a perfect visual for seasonal change. When spring arrives the brown winter bogs turn a deep alizarin red.  Then, as the berries form and ripen and ready for harvest in the fall, the color becomes more pink and crimson.  

One Month and Several Paintings Later

Sunrise, 2021

These sunsets and one sunrise were all completed for the Marion Art Center's Arts in the Park summer festival to be held. They are all small with four of the 6"x12" and one (the sunrise) 9"x12".  I have been fortunate to see some fantastic sunsets.  Living on the Atlantic Coast offers opportunities to combine the sunset with water.  

Cardinal with Paintbrush, 2021, oil on panel, 10"x10"

Also finished for Arts in the Park was a male cardinal perched on a paintbrush.   

 

Oranges with Green Plate: A Work in Progress

 

Oranges With Green Plate, Oil on Panel, 18"x36"

This painting is intended as a companion piece to Oranges with Cobalt Vase.  The plate is glass with some design etches.  I'm hoping the etching will offer as much interest as the reflections in the cobalt vase.  The cloth will be a true blue, not a found blue as in Cobalt Vase.  

Oranges with Cobalt Vase

 

Oranges with Cobalt Vase, 2021, Oil on Panel, 18"x36"

The final stage for this work was to refine the oranges and make them appear to 'sit' on the cloth. The point of view and the light source created difficulty in achieving this.  I still think there is some push and pull going on that could confuse the viewer.  

Blue Bird with Paint Brush, Work in Progress

 

Oil on Panel, 8"x10"

I'm working on a few small pieces while finishing up Oranges with Cobalt Vase.  This is one that I will submit to a show in which I have been invited to participate.  The Marion Art Center participates in the town's Arts in the Parks event with a booth.  I have been asked to submit about 15 small pieces.  

My "In House Critic" and I built a blue bird box this spring and hung it on a tree facing the marsh.  To date there are no inhabitants, not even pesky sparrows.  Last year we did spot two bluebirds feeding on the suet and were hoping that meant a possible couple would come and stay. 

Oranges with Cobalt Vase, A Work in Progress

 

Oil on Panel, 18" x 36"

A little day by day progress.  Most of the recent work is on the cloth, trying to make it seem both soft and textural.  Hard to do for me.  The fold exiting from the bottom of the vase looks a bit too heavy and might leave the impressing that it falls off the edge of a table.  In fact this whole space is flat.  

Oranges with Cobalt Vase: Work in Progress

 

Oranges with Cobalt Vase

I've been working on this piece for about 3 weeks.  It is another large piece that will be offered to Rogers Gallery when time comes to switch out the Mink Cove Diptych.  This piece is 18" x 36".  And I intend to do a companion still life of the same dimensions.  Right now I'm considering using Honey Crisp apples because of their beautiful markings.  

Chickadees Speed Dating

 

Speed Dating Chickadees, 2021, Oil on Panel, 9"x12"

The chickadees have returned in full force.  I thought they would be perfect metaphors for the human practice of speed dating.  They flit around so quickly like the ADHD of bird world.  

On Seeing

 

Spring, Mink Cove Marsh, 2021, Oil on Panel Diptych, 36"x48"

I painted a single canvas of this view many years ago and decided to take a new go at the same view when my gallery (Rogers at the River Shops) requested some larger works for a specific display.  Under new ownership and associated more closely with the attached design studio, the gallery will set aside an area for my work and display it in a vignette that illustrates how the work would appear in a home.

Below is a section of a poem I came across by Fernando Pessoa.  

The essential thing is knowing how to see,

Knowing how to see without thinking,
Knowing how to see when you see,
And not thinking when you see
Nor seeing when you think.

But this (alas for those of us whose souls wear clothes!)
This requires long study,
An apprenticeship of unlearning.

Fernando Pessoa

Bandit Series: Red-winged Blackbird

 

Bandit Series: Red-winged Blackbird, Oil on Panel, 8"x8"

Bandit Series: Red-winged Black Bird, A Work in Progress

 

Bandit Series: Red-winged Black Bird, Oil on Panel, 8"x8"

Today I worked both the ribbon, the head and a bit on the back.  I'm at that stage where the next session will allow me to strengthen the value contrasts. 

Bandit Series, A Work in Progress

 

Bandit Series: The Red-winged Black Bird

I'm always trying to think of some way to make the bird paintings more than just an ornithological work.Here I initially thought to have two birds holding a ribbon between them in their beaks.  Then, to have one holding the ribbon.  Finally, I decided the ribbon should be draped to create more movement.  My House Critic's first take was, "that looks like a worm."  (Hmmmm.  Thought for a future series.). This series will be called Bandit and include items a bird may have taken for nest building.  This guy will be very busy nest building as the bird is a highly polygynous species with as many as up 15 female mates. 

Mama's Purple Irises

 

Mama's Purple Irises, 2021, Oil on Panel, 8" x 8"

My mother loved purple, anything purple. The above painted irises are the descendants of her mother's many varieties of which my mother continued to propagate.  The purple were her favorite, and she sent me home to Massachusetts with a suitcase full of rhizomes dug out of her Arkansas garden.  Among the many that made the trip, I was lucky enough to have these purple.   

Fat Finch #2

Fat Finch #2021, Oil on Panel, 5"x5"

 

This is the second painting of my round friend here.  Finches can have great variety in their form.  They can be long and thin, round and plump, petite and delicate.  It all depends on how they pose.  

American Kestrel

American Kestrel, 2021, Oil on Panel, 5"x5"

 

I met this fellow at the Audubon sanctuary in Canton, MA.  They were hosting an event with Canon cameras.  We took a walk through the sanctuary grounds, and then witnessed birds brought in from a bird rescue group.  We were a small group and able to get close to the birds for photographing.  These were raptors that were injured beyond rehabilitation.  Most of the injuries were due to car hits.  The kestrel is a small falcon, 9-12 inches. This guy is a male identified by his slate blue wings and head. 

Night Visitor, 2021

Night Visitor, 2021, Oil on Panel, 12"x12"

 

A Tapestry, A Work in Progress

Eastern Screech Owl, Oil on Panel 10"x10"

I believe I've solved the problem of the branch on which the owl is perched.  It now seems to be attached to the tree in back.  I increased the texture of the tree on the right to see how far I should push that.  The original goal was to have the owl "emerge" from the tree as they do in real life.  But, as usual my tendency to slip into realism has taken some control.