Contemplation

Contemplation

10x8

Oil on Linen

I haven't posted anything for a week and a half. That's because I've been working on four paintings at once and I'm still not done with the other three (but I'm close). As I've said many times before, the tonalist process takes time because of the many layers that need drying before another is applied. But that's okay. Because it's like a meditation for me.

My husband made an observation about my painting last night. He saw an artist on TV who painted a big painting in under an hour. He wasn't trying to be critical, but couldn't understand why I sit and stare and paint for hours on end. What the outside observer doesn't understand is that's when I'm in the zone. With the music cranked up in my own little world, I'm completely happy.

Art is contemplation. It is the pleasure of the mind which searches into nature and which there divines the spirit of which nature herself is animated.

- Auguste Rodin

Ha, now there's a guy who gets it.

Evening

Evening

8x10

Oil on Linen

This painting isn't dry and still needs a coat of Liquin and final coat of Gamvar varnish. But I wanted to show you what I've been up to. It's one of three small paintings done in a different color palette this time. For the sky I used titanium white with indianthrone blue, cobalt violet and alizarin crimson. It had to use all my willpower not to reach for the pink brown.

Using a new color palette is like going to a new place. It takes a while to figure out just how things work with new temperatures and values. This painting will also look different when it dries and the Liquin and Gamvar are applied, so I'll be showing this painting again.

Next time, I think I'll be painting some yellow-orange scenes. I'm in the mood for some sunny, warm weather!

Pink Brown

Work in Progress

Oil on Linen

24x30

I've been working on this painting for the last week. I think I need a break from it in order to gain a fresh perspective since I've been staring at it for so long. I'm waiting for that ah-ha moment when I can absolutely say what it needs for completion.

This painting is very similar to my last few smaller ones with the same color scheme. It's time to move onto something different, turn the page, and go on a different path into a new landscape. Maybe hide the Pink Brown by Gamblin for awhile.

Hope

Hope

8x10

Oil on Linen

Here is the first painting I've done for 2010. Sorry about the glare. Maybe it's because it's still wet. I've found that after a hiatus from painting, there is a renewed enthusiasm. It's no longer a struggle. Painting for me now is pure joy.

I think no matter who we are, there is happiness in focused attention. Getting lost in deep concentration. Some people call this state "being in the zone". I call it bliss.

November Twilight

November Twilight

8x10

Oil on Linen

We're hosting Thanksgiving this year. So I've been busy, busy cleaning, shopping and planning. I'm sure a lot of you are too! Our gathering keeps growing. This year will be a crowd of twenty. We're borrowing another Weber charcoal grill since my husband is making two turkeys instead of just one. He always grills outside and people love to gather around to be outside while waiting for the food to be done. The guys also have a tradition of toasting the turkey with B&B.

I need to take my studio apart to make room for two extra tables in our little sunroom. I'll put it right back after Thanksgiving.

I hope you all have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Sunset Glow and Being Car-less

Sunset Glow

8x10

Oil on Linen

click to bid

I'm showing my latest small painting. It's one of three that I worked on in rotation for the past week. It's best to work on several at once since the drying of layers is essential before adding successive glazes and scumbles.

As many of you know, I set up an eBay shop. The primary reason I decided to do this is because my daughter is going to graduate school and has a boyfriend in the city. So MY car is gone the majority of the time. Sometimes I catch my husband calling it HER car. What? But it's okay really. It's only for about another nine months. (Ha) So in the meantime, I set up my little shop.

I actually sold a painting this past week on eBay. You can check it out here. It turns out that someone had seen this painting at my solo library show in September and went on my website and then went to eBay.

Okay, instead of hawking my wares on this blog, I'm thinking of setting up a separate sales blog. After all, this blog is calling Musings, right?

Sunset

Moving along to sunset, here are a couple more studies.  Again, they're not completely finished as they need more glazes.  I'm attempting to do observation work to capture the time of day and the many colors it produces. And the best way to do that is to simply go outside and observe.  Also, color memory work is important.  I intend to keep a color journal and sketchbook in order to record what I observe as quickly as possible on a small scale.  This is a frontlit scene with the sun behind the viewer, the moon starting to rise in front.

This sidelit scene needs more glazes in the sky and ground.  Each layer of glaze really changes things so I'm trying to do it gradually.  But I do think the glazing stage is the fun part!

Dawn

This unfinished piece is one of three I've done so far in Deborah Paris's online class.  The assignment was to portray dawn.  Using cooler colors is one of the hallmarks of any dawn painting.  

Taking a workshop or class always pushes my comfort level.  After trying to jam new facts into my brain, the best results are usually seen months later.  It takes me that long to assimilate what I've learned and feel comfortable with the process.  Has anyone else experienced this with workshops or classes?

Abundance

Abundance

24x30

oil on linen

Here is my latest large painting done in Tonalist style.  It was completed about five weeks ago and since then I've put it in a black frame.  I think the black sets it off nicely.  

The thing I've noticed about paintings done in this style is that they seem to glow on the walls.  Unlike some of my Impressionist work, one notices the many layers of opaque paint, translucent paint and transparent passages.  I've fallen head over heels in love with this style.  Although the learning curve has been extremely steep for me, I think it's been worth the many months of study.  

Very soon my new on-line class starts with Deborah Paris.  It's called Magic Hours.  I'm so grateful to her for showing the way.

Library Exhibit and Too Many Tomatoes

Whew!  My paintings are finally all framed and hung at the Glen Ellyn Library for the month of September.  As most artists know, getting one's work ready for a show is usually more work than actually painting.  I'm one of those artists who would rather be in the studio, happily creating, than anything else.  
I like how my husband hung my paintings.  He cleverly separated my Impressionist work from my Tonalist work.  I think he did a great job.
We had some extra space at the end, near the wall.  So I thought I'd bring in some of my older pastel work.  Of course, soft pastels need to be under glass, so all you see is glare in some of these.
Here's a sample of just a few of the tomatoes we have on hand right now.  There are many more bags in the downstairs refrigerator.  There's always a  HUGE influx of tomatoes at this time of year.  These are too small to make tomato sauce.  I was thinking of making batches of salsa and freezing them.  Does anyone have any more ideas on what to do with all these tomatoes?

Facing West

Facing West

16x20

Oil on Linen

This painting is finally completed after lots of layers of glaze and opaque paint.  It requires many, many sessions of back and forth with the layers, examining the effects between drying times.  This is the painting I did from a photograph taken right outside my front door as the sun was going down.  That is to say - it was inspired by the photograph.  You can check it out here.

I'm gearing up for my solo exhibition at the Glen Ellyn Public Library for the month of September.  I have quite a bit of wall space to fill up and I wish I had more tonalist work done at this point.  But it looks like it's going to be half of my tonalist work and half of my impressionism work.  Hmmm.  I hope it doesn't look too strange!

Farm Field Sky

Farm Field Sky

8x10

Oil on Linen

The tree line in this painting is taken from a photograph I took at my brother-in-law's farm.  There is a field next to the farmhouse.  The crops are rotated there - one year corn, the next year soybeans.  In this painting, the crops have been harvested.  The farmers come in with huge combines and the job is done in a very short time.

I'm still working on those changes.  

Bounty

Bounty

5x7

Oil on Canvas

While I've been enjoying reading about everyone's painting adventures this summer, I've turned to my studio and realize I need to reorganize.  So this is what I'll be doing in the coming weeks.  Not only am I reorganizing my studio, but I'll be reorganizing my blog and website.  I'll talk more about that later, as the changes actually happen.

For me, the start of the new year is autumn.  When I was a kid I loved getting ready for school and planning for all the new starts and a fresh slate.  New school supplies, clothes and shoes.  Seeing friends again in a new way.  And what better time is there to make plans and mull things over than in the lazy dog days of August.

Evening Shore

Evening Shore

Oil on Linen

8x10

Just a small, simple painting today.  I'm feeling lazy from sailing on Lake Michigan yesterday.  It's like the words from the song "summertime and the living is easy".  

Linen instead of Canvas

Ridge Path

8x10

Oil on Linen

This painting is the first I'm posting that is done on linen instead of canvas.  I couldn't believe what a difference it made to the glazing process.  It's more expensive than what I'm used to painting on which is acrylic primed smooth canvas.  

But the results were worth it to me and I've quickly become addicted.  So what am I going to do with the canvases already in my possession?  I might give them to my brother.  In the last few years we started hauling out canvases and paints whenever there is a get-together or family party.  People who haven't touched a paintbrush since they were kids are encouraged to add "something - anything" to the canvas.  Usually I start out by painting some sort of form, or my brother will, and pretty soon people get caught up in the fun. 

At the end of the party, we'll draw numbers and someone gets to keep the painting.  Everyone seems to love it!

Sunrise, Again

Sunrise

22x28

Oil on Canvas

This painting is finally completed.  It's taken a very long time because I'm still learning about the tonalist process.  Another reason it's taken so long is because it's a much larger painting than my original study which was only 8x10.  To see the study, check here.

Of course, the more I keep on this path, the more I learn.  And the more confident I become with the process.  I need to work on some more large canvases, since I'll be the solo artist displaying at Glen Ellyn Public Library in September.  But for now, I'm taking a summer Fourth of July break out at my brother-in-law's farm.  Nothing but swimming, hiking and listening to the frogs.  Have a great Fourth, everyone!

Twilight Hour

View of Twilight Sky

Outside my Front Door

I have several paintings going at the moment, but none of them are complete.  They are being worked on in rotation because with the method I'm using, only a small amount of glazing and scumbling can be done per day.  So today, I'm showing some reference material I'm gathering.  The goal is to portray the twilight hour.  I used color imaging in iPhoto on my Mac to change the color of this sky from deep blue to yellow-orange.  It will be a jumping off point for future paintings.

When I come up with a composition that I like, I find the idea needs to simmer for a while.  I work it out in sketches, moving things around with pencil and eraser until I come up with something that works.  Rarely do I find a composition in nature that is perfectly composed.  I would love to hear about how you come up with compositions that work! 

Summer Solstice

Peace by the River

16x20

Oil on Canvas

Tomorrow is Summer Solstice.  It's also Father's Day, so we all have two reasons to celebrate.  My husband is on his annual fishing trip up in International Falls, Minnesota.  Every year about twenty guys go up in a caravan of vehicles and fish to their hearts' content for one week.  They've been doing this for the last twenty-some years.  Our son is with them this year, so at least he'll celebrate Father's Day with one of his children.

There is a magic in the air at this time of year.  At the true beginning of summer the fireflies put on their nightly display.  The flowers smell especially sweet in the humid evening air and the moon has an enchanting halo around it.  There are so many gifts in nature.  It's hard to take it all in at once.  But I'll try.  Maybe I'll sleep on the back porch tonight.  

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Lincoln Marsh River June

5x7

There are voices which we hear in solitude, but they grow faint and inaudible as we enter into the world.    Ralph Waldo Emerson

From reading my blogger friends' posts, I've noticed something in the air lately.  Blogger burnout.  Over the past few months,  people are saying that they can't find the words, don't have time to post, too busy.  Just too much on the plate at the moment.  Something has to give.

I've been there myself.  Which is why I intend to ruminate on the above quote this summer.  It's only in solitude that we hear our own authentic voice, whether it's daydreaming, journaling or quietly pursuing our interests and hobbies.  It's time to fill the well.

Yonder

Yonder

22x28

Oil on Canvas

This painting is finally completed.  I've been working on this one for several weeks, on and off.  It is done in a tonalist style which requires an underpainting, and the numerous build-up of painting layers of opaque paint and transparent paint.  Each layer needs to dry completely before the next is applied so that each color shows through.  

This method of painting is new to me.  I've been completely immersed in this process this year and plan to continue in this style.  It's a process that seems to progress inch by inch.  But I'm more pleased with the results than my previous painting style.  I've learned to slow down and be more patient.  Like the changing of the seasons, some things just can't be rushed.