Two for One

"Sargent Gallery"

16 x 16

Oil on Canvas
Available at Huff Harrington Fine Art, Atlanta

I have worked recently on a series of paintings depicting museum-goers. I suppose that's not surprising, since visiting art museums is always at the top of my list when traveling. When the galleries are not too crowded, I enjoy watching the visitors interacting with the art. This sort of scene makes for an interesting painting. I can't decide which is the more challenging aspect--painting the figures of the people in the museum, or painting the paintings they are looking at!

"Red Sneakers"

14 x 11

Oil on Linen
Available at Providence Gallery, Charlotte

Tools of the Trade

I thought that some of you might be interested in the nifty "still life stage" that I use in my studio. When I paint a still life, one of the first things I try to do is nail down the relationship of the background to the foreground. So I wanted a stage that included a back wall, so to speak. Here it is:

My husband built this for me. I thought he was very clever to create a hinged back, so that I could put it up, or drop it down, as the situation might require. 

My whole contraption is on wheels, so I can easily move it around the studio. Sometimes I roll it right up to the window, and paint using natural light. Other times I put my back to the natural light (so that it falls on my canvas), and roll the props to the other side of the studio. I hate to give away the subject of my next painting, but in the interest of showing the stage in use, here it is:

The stage sits on an auto mechanic's tool stand, which I bought on Amazon. A great feature of the stand is that the height is adjustable. I can put the still life almost at eye level, or can drop it down to normal table top level, depending on the angle I want to capture.  I got the heavy duty model, which holds up to 50 lbs., so if my composition includes heavy objects, I can feel safe about using them. I am enjoying this new toy so much that I don't know how I ever got along without it!

Fellow painters interested in a more enclosed stage might want to check out this one, pioneered and endorsed by Carol Marine. 

Right in my Own Backyard

"Patio Table, Yellow Pillows"
SOLD

Don't we all love the stories in which the heroine searches the whole  world for her dream, and ends by discovering it right in her own backyard?

I had a similar experience last year in my search for a charming cafe or patio scene to paint. After trooping all over the place in quest for just the right scene, I came home and realized that I could set up something quite appealing on my own patio. With a few changes of props, I worked on several plein air paintings over a week's time that turned out to be some of my favorites of the spring. Sometimes what we seek is closer to home than we might think.

"Waiting for a Friend"

8 x 10

Oil on Linen

Where to Stand

"Beze River Scene"

10 x 8

Oil on Linen

Somebody (whose name I cannot remember) famously said the following about plein air painters: "The first decision of a good painter is what he wants to paint. The first decision of a great painter is where he wants to stand." I think this means that a great painter can enjoy the luxury of choosing a comfortable spot to stand, knowing that he can find beauty wherever he looks. He doesn't need to stand in an awkward, uncomfortable spot to in order to see a glorious vista, because he can make even a boring scene into a wonderful painting. 

I would not classify myself as a "great", but I will say that I am usually more satisfied with my plein air paintings when I have chosen a comfortable place to stand. Perhaps the creative side of the brain is freed up when one is not required to deal with heat, mosquitoes, bees, bystanders, etc. 

The painting above (more details here) was painted on location in the village of Beze, France. I had spent the morning sweating and suffering in a hot, glary location--because I was drawn to a certain scene that could not be captured from a better spot. The morning painting was not a success (to put it mildly). After lunch, I gave in to my desire for comfort, and found a shady spot, protected from the wind. Then I looked around and asked myself, "What do I see that I can make into a painting?" I was much more satisfied with the afternoon's effort than with the morning's effort. Lesson Learned.

Very uncharacteristically, I failed to take a photo of the scene I painted. But later I found this image on trip advisor.com, so you can see almost exactly what I saw from my position. I focused my painting on the cluster of buildings downriver. It's hard to narrow your field when you are surrounded by the great outdoors!

Here I am on site with the finished product, as the day draws to a close: