Tranquility

Tranquility

8x10

Oil on Linen

There must be something about the light this time of year. I feel like I can't get my paintings exactly right. Maybe it's sunlight deprivation syndrome. Too much bright white every time I look out the window. Or maybe it's color deprivation syndrome.

The spring catalogs keep landing in the mailbox with pictures of daffodils and hyacinth. So I know that spring is coming. But I see no evidence of it. So I turned to my book of quotes and found this.

Faith is a bird that feels dawn breaking and sings while it is still dark.

Rabindranth Tagore

Spring really is coming. It's just a matter of faith.

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.

Monet's Mornings on the Seine

Branch of the Seine near Giverny (Mist)

Claude Monet

circa 1897

I snapped this picture five minutes before closing time last Wednesday. I wanted to take more pictures, but the guards were shooing my daughter and I out of the gallery (sigh). We went to the Art Institute of Chicago on that snowy, cold day to view the the Arts and Crafts exhibit called Apostles of Beauty. It was a great exhibit which gave an overview of the movement from William Morris to Frank Lloyd Wright. Unfortunately, no photography was allowed.

I can never visit the Art Institute without seeing a Monet. Just laying eyes on one of his works fills me with inspiration for months. The Mornings on the Seine series are my very favorite. I like these even more than his haystacks or waterlilies. Because there is a certain meditative quality that draws me into these misty paintings.

Grace

Grace

8x10

Oil on Linen

This painting is done with the same color scheme as my previous painting in the last post. I feel the need to explore this color scheme for a while longer until I'm ready to move on to a different one.

Why do we as artists have our own favorite colors we use in a painting? I think there are probably many reasons, one of which is what we observe from where we live. Here in Illinois I've seen so many beautiful skies with these colors - orange-red/blue-purple. These colors seem to prevail from all the twilight skies I've observed.

I also had a vivid dream a few years ago, where I was walking in a painting of blue and orange. The paint felt like a water puddle in warm springtime. I've always wondered about that dream. Was it saying that I should paint in those colors?

I'd love to know your thoughts on what color combinations you're drawn to.

Peace

Peace

8x10

Oil on Linen

Click to Buy

Steadily plodding along in my studio, these days. Here's my latest painting. I need to remember to work on several paintings at once, since each painting needs drying time between layers.

There is a peace that comes with January. The holidays are over and there is a hush as we all get back into our routines. Now there is time to pursue our own interests, to read and make plans. I'm hoping you all experience your own kind of peace during the month of January.

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.