Living Artfully

Last week when I was at the grocery store, I purchased a few bottles of Perrier sparkling water, among other things. The checker commented how nice it was to just sit and enjoy a glass,in a nice glass  because it felt so elegant...like a special occasion.  It reminded me that yes, we should take a few minutes and really enjoy the wonderful things in our day. She was a lady after my own heart, because I do believe that to be present, to notice and be thankful for everyday pleasures is so important to our well being. As an artist, I take so much delight in the visual treasures all around us.in fact. I feel it is my job to celebrate and share those things with others. I don't always have to paint what catches my eye ( although most of the time I want to!) Sometimes I just like to sit and watch things...it feeds my soul, and refills the well. Clouds are great to just sit and watch.  This is a plein air pastel, and it is from watching that I'm able to paint them. ...

Today's painting is about bending some of the "rules" of painting. "Canyon Noon Shadows" is one of those pieces that almost painted itself. It is of a subject that I am quite familiar with, as I have visited this spot often, in all seasons, and at different times of the day. This is a studio painting, and it went easily...all of the plein air work in this place paid off! The time of day is near mid-day, which is often derided as a bad time of day to paint. It is true that light can be flat and uninteresting at this time. But, I have found that if I go for a backlit view of my subject, then it becomes  a very inspiring subject. the sun was rising high, and just starting to cast light on sections of the cliff face. This sliver of light, in turn, created some beautiful reflected light. So much for the " rule " of avoiding noon paintings. It is painted on Canson Mi-Teintes paper; a non-sanded surface that has been around for a long time. Some...

Most days I go out for a nice long walk., either in the early morning, afternoon, or evening, depending on the time of year. I am certainly inspired by the vistas that I see, particularly in the late afternoon, when the fading light takes on a warm glow, and shadows are long patterns or jewel like tones. "My Evening Walk", pastel, 17x23 However, many times my walks afford me the opportunity to see things in a new way. Often, I am working on , or working out a current painting when I need to take a break, or to start the day with a clear head.It is during these times when I notice things that are inspiring, particularly when thought of apart from their function.  When I am in this relaxed state, I simply enjoy the visual aspect of things, and try to let problems go to the back burner. I can't tell you how many times I have walked past rusty old objects, and have marveled at the beautiful color combinations. The first photo is of a wheelbarrow that at ...

Summer time means we can visit and paint lush, sumptuous garden subjects..one of my favorites. Here is a " throwback" to a piece from a Hudson Valley garden; but it could be from many locales.                                               "Way to the Coach House", pastel, 16x18 Designing garden pieces is a little different than working with a landscape without colorful blooms. I think that one almost need s to think like a gardener, in that it is important where the blooms are placed. By that I mean I think of painting them right at the beginning of the painting, in the early stages right along with value patterns, even though individual blooms are a small element. This goes against the  usual way of placing big shapes first, and then going to small detail near the end of a painting. They are , as in reality,  my focal point, and placed in such a way that...

At this time of year , we are surrounded by verdant lush greens Perhaps not as much, but even here in the desert, as our "monsoon season"has started, things that were dried are now growing and greening. "Arch Tango", oil on linen, 12x12 I often hear from students, Oh, I HATE green, it is so hard to work with! Well, I happen to really love green...perhaps it is the bit of Irish blood in me, but I think it is a beautiful shade. It can be tricky, and there are reasons for that, but once one starts to think about some of the properties of color, then it all starts to make sense. One of the the aspects is that green, particularly yellow/green is in the middle of the visible light spectrum, so human eyes can discern more shades of green than any other color ! Most vegetation is more of a warm yellow/green ... and it is not even close to tube shades. To show this, here is my watering can up against a potato vine. The can would be close to a lightened virid...

One of the many nice qualities of working in pastel is that it is a hands on medium, and can be used in many ways. When used in an impressionist manner , individual mark making with the sticks is emphasized. Every pastel artist develops his or her own unique calligraphy, and I like to  use  a variety of strokes in my own work. "Clipping the Baco", is a good example of many different types of strokes used. The background hills and sky are rendered with blanketed strokes, in order to stay quiet, and to recede. The strokes in the vines, and foliage are by contrast very distinct, to give the impression of the rough bark of the trunks, and the tangle of leaves and twigs that are in the foreground. You can really see individual strokes, applied heavily and quickly, to give the impression of vigorous growth.. In the figure, there are smaller somewhat less distinct strokes, however I was careful to have the direction of them go around the figure, to give roundness to the ...

Today's post is about a " throwback Thursday " painting. " Half Moon Path" is one of the first successful ( I think ) pastel paintings that I did after I moved here  10 years ago, now.  Here is now North Arizona, just outside of Sedona. It was such a change from the Northeast that it took me a while to get a handle on how to paint the new landscape. I was used to lush, green wooded, or more closed in areas. I was certainly enthralled with the magnificent red rock landscapes, and wanted to paint them convincingly. Something that definitely helped me was to go out and paint en plein air for a period of two weeks, every day. I still make sure I get out every week, but not daily. What helped in this painting was that I incorporated a dense stand of trees; something I knew well, up against a red rock cliff. I really liked how the bare branches are dramatically spotlighted against the deeply shadowed rocks. I was able to place the color saturated areas away f...

If you ask most serious artists what is one of the most important things to do for your career,an answer that would be near the top would be to keep learning, and growing. Well, I certainly abide by that...in fact I often quote Michelangelo, who towards the end of his life said " I have yet to learn". ...and one good way to keep progressing is to come up with challenges now and then. Now, some of the challenges that come up on social media are popular, but I'm not talking about that here. I am referring to tackling a subject, paint handling, color harmonies, or trying to capture an elusive quality, etc.,that is just out of one's comfort level. "Deep Vermillion Shadows" is a good example of a technical challenge that I gave myself. I wanted to keep the shadow of the left cliff face transparent, warm with reflected light, and to have the appearance of desert varnish. ( Which is an aged dark growth that is on many desert surfaces, often in  striations ...