New Fashion Show

"Dressy Top"

12 x 12

Time for a new "fashion show"--the latest of my Garments Series hits the runway!

I have really enjoyed working on these still lifes from my closet, which I've been calling my "Garments Series".  It is a great exercise in learning to see a particular color, and how that color appears in light and shadow. Since I work with a limited palette, it forces me to really focus on mixing the right colors and color relationships. This series has taught me a lot about how to push color.

"Darling Dress"

8 x 6

This second painting shows a little girl's dress. I saw it at a vintage clothing stall, and it was just so adorable I had to paint it. 

I have now painted many of my favorite wardrobe pieces...looks like time to go shopping!

Extreme Nearsightedness

This is a photo of a friend's garden, in the height of its summer glory. It is a joyous profusion of flowers, and it also has a nice geometry. I have planned for some time to paint it, but so far I have not made good on my plans. 

When painting a scene like this, I always try to simplify the landscape to make it more "painterly". I aim to use strategic shapes of color to lead your eye through the painting. A great aid in this approach is my extreme nearsightedness. Yes, you read that right. I realized that if I take my glasses off, I can see only the basic shapes and colors. Voila! the key to simplifying the landscape is revealed! The scene appears to me a lot like the photo below, only blurrier.

This nearsighted view virtually guarantees that I won't get bogged down in the details of the scene. There is no temptation to "tighten up" and draw individual stepping stones or flowers when you can't even see them. I have used this "technique" many times in plein air painting, and it is immensely helpful. I feel like I have turned a weakness into a strength when I do this. With a secret weapon like this, who wants lasik??

Paint Out, Part II

I promised to write more about the plein air Paint Out that I participated in last month in Avery County, NC. My first post on the event has been by far the most popular post on my blog to date, so I hope that the continuation of the story will also be appealing. The top photo shows my setup in Valle Crucis, and my last painting of the Paint Out. After returning home, I painted a larger painting of this same scene, using the plein air  study as my guide. This is one of my favorite approaches to painting in the studio. You can see the finished studio painting here.

"Shifting Clouds, Price Lake"

SOLD

One day we were were assigned to paint on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Our subject could be in any county (or any state, for that matter!), as long as it was on the Parkway. Thanks to tips from a fellow painter who is more famiiar with the area, I headed north from my lodgings into Watauga County. I chose to paint Price Lake. It was a partly cloudy day, and so I got to see those wonderful odd shapes of the cloud shadows on the undulating mountains.

My idea with the Price Lake painting was to simplify the landscape by dividing it into foreground, middleground and distance (plus sky), and to aim for 100% accuracy in the color of each part. As Maggie Siner has taught, "Don't leave any paint on your canvas if you would not bet your life that the color relationship is accurate!" Every time I am tempted to think something is "good enough", I pause and ask whether I would bet my life on it. That usually sends me back to mixing the color again!

 

"Church in the Clearing"

18 x 6

SOLD



I returned several times during the course of the Paint Out to the lovely St. John's Church in Valle Crucis. This time, it was another partly cloudy day, but by waiting for the moments when the sun would burst through, I was able to get the painting you see above. Don't worry--I was careful to avoid setting up in the midst of actual graves, and found a spot to stand beyond the burial area. This painting (details here) is available at 3 French Hens in Charlotte. I have been really drawn to this church. You can see different painting of it here, which I just finished in my studio. As you can see, I came home from the mountains filled with fresh inspiration.

Thanks for reading about the Paint Out. And thanks to The Crossnore Gallery, and the very gracious gallery manager, Heidi Fisher, for organizing and sponsoring the event!

Thinking about Bastille Day

"Grand Palais"

11 x 14

The Fourth of July is just behind us, and the French version of Independence Day, Bastille Day, is just ahead of us, on July 14. Lots of red, white and blue to be seen! I thought it would be timely to post some Parisian paintings.

The painting above shows the Grand Palais, an architectural marvel of iron, steel and glass. It was built for the Universal Exposition of 1900 (as was the bridge you see leading to it). I love the shape of it, and the flag that is always flying from its peak. The bridge (Pont Alexandre III, named after the Russian czar who was an ally of France) is very ornate. You will notice that I chose to simplify the huge gilt-bronze sculptures on the columns at the foot of the bridge...but I love the way they came out. If you know what you are looking for, the merest suggestion is enough to tell you it's there.

"Silhouettes"

SOLD

Speaking of suggestion--the silhouettes above are friends who visited Paris with me and my husband several years ago. I took this photo of them on an overcast morning at the Place des Vosges. If you know these friends, you can tell who they are simply from the outlines. And I tried to make it clear that they were in the Place des Vosges, without drawing details of the architecture. 

On the topic of suggestion, the great landscape painter John F. Carlson wrote: "Too much reality in a picture is always a disappointment to the imaginative soul. We love suggestion and not hard facts." I agree completely, and hence my goal always to leave something to the imagination in my paintings. (Giving credit where due, I came across this quote recently on the blog of Anne Blair Brown...link at right).

"Promenade, Luxembourg Gardens"

16 x 20