Yarrow Blooms

Yarrow Blooms, oil on gessobord, 6x6
sold

I usually don't post on Saturdays; it's my catch-up day.  But I'm still basking in the afterglow that was my introduction into painting en plein air.  This was the second painting I finished that afternoon. I set it up on my kitchen ledge where I photograph my pieces for this blog and I have left it there to study, along with the painting I posted yesterday. They work very well together. If I had a glass of champaign I would make a toast to the handsome couple!

Speaking of handsome couples, I forgot to mention one of the nicest coincidences from that afternoon was that my good friend Lynn and her husband Denny drove by after a morning of hiking and stop to chat. It was nice to have a break and enjoy their company!

Road through the Woods

 Road through the Woods, oil on gessobord, 6x6 inches

Yesterday I attempted to paint en plein air.  I have a tabletop easel but no field easel so I found a spot in my favorite nature preserve, Bernheim Forest, on a picnic table.  This worked out well except for the fact that 15 minutes after my work began the sun moved, and I was blasted all afternoon. No biggie.  Next time I will remember an umbrella.  I enjoyed working outside tremendously and hope to do it again soon, as the weather has been perfecto!  I worked on this painting for about an hour on location, feeling like it was complete but did a little reworking once home.  I haven't attempted many nature scenes until yesterday and I'm glad I did. I enjoyed the rhythmic serenade of cicadas and the accompaniment of dropping acorns while I worked. Heres a picture of my setup before I began :-)

Vignoble de Ribeauvillé

Vignoble de Ribeauvillé, oil on gessobord, 6x8 inches

I fall into a hypnotic state when I stare at a vineyard. I wonder who's  systematic approach was used years ago (sometimes over one hundred) when planning and planting the fields. How did they get everything so symmetrical? Symmetry is a tricky thing to paint because you have to do the scene justice for those planners of yore.  I painted this scene from Ribeauvillé , France at the end of August and sat on it for a while.  After I received a new paint order which included a  vibrant pre-mixed green, I used it to accent the fields. Only then did I finally feel like it honored the integrity of the actual landscape.

Yellow Fever

Yellow Fever, oil on gessobord, 6x6 inches

Do you ever drive the same route for years and years and one day see something you've never noticed before? This spot is on my regular drive to and from work.  Honestly, I've never seen it before last week, as many times as I have driven, cycled, ran or walked past it over the years.  My neighborhood is full of these 1920s structures. Despite my attention to detail I missed this one.  This little garage sits way way back, behind a bigger garage (out of the frame to the left).  The bush in front must have bloomed it's lovely yellows at the perfect time catching my attention, and I spotted this cute old guy.  He's standing alone, letting the spotlight shine elsewhere, minding his own business...just my type! :-)

L'hotel Francais

L'hotel Francais, oil on gessobord,6x8"

This is painted from another photo from my sister.  It was a simple little courtyard patio set, aside an ancient stone building with a terra cotta tiled roof.  I can hear the birds, feel the speckled sunlight, and taste the wine now!

My work schedule seems to be getting in the way of painting.  When I returned to teaching this school year, I tried in vain to find a way to make room in my crowded day for painting.  So far I'm not doing as well as I hoped and mostly because of fatigue.  I have to be able to focus while I paint and a lot of days that is not happening.  I have the weekends, and that I am grateful but right now I wish I had more time to devote. I guess it's always something! 

Urban Expression

Urban Expression, oil on gessobord, 5x7 inches

When I was a young painter, fresh out of college, I loved scouring the older sections of my city, especially the alleyways and blocks of abandoned, turn-of-the-century brick structures.  I would take black and white photos, develop them with boosted contrast, to emphasize the grittiness of some areas of Louisville 30 years ago.  From there, I created a series of drawings and paintings that, for lack of a better comparison, assimilated the German Expressionist's printmaking styles.  I have retained that interest in urban industrial decay scenes, and often find myself staring down alleyways, framing up a photo/drawing/painting in my head.  This little scene was just that. 

Ribeauville

Ribeauville, oil on gessobord, 5x7 inches

This is painted from another borrowed photo from my sister's pre-move, farewell tour of France.  It is from Ribeauville, a small,colorful town in the heart of the Alsatian region of northeast France.   I was lucky enough to visit Ribeauville seven years ago and enjoyed the quaint shops and vin d'Alsace.  The palette for this quaint street scene was a bit foreign to me but I truly enjoyed it. 

Strange Redfellows

Strange Redfellows, oil on gesso board, 5x7

I uprooted the unruly tomato plants over the last weekend because none of the tomatoes were ripening any longer.  These were a few of the last to do that; the rest were green (which I hope to paint also). The funny thing about this painting is I executed it with very little light. I moved my easel outside a few days ago because the summer heat has left Louisville temporarily. When I actually get home from work it's late, and by the time I cook dinner for the "3teens", the light has faded.  In turn, I painted with brighter colors and more medium for reflection....and what a nice surprise this morning when I looked at it in the light.

Venice Windows

Venice Windows, oil on gessobord, 6x8

NFS

Venice, Italy is the city of all cities. The natives have long individualized their crowded slice of the island with beautifying their homefronts. Thus, the summers are full of flowers and beautiful light. Not to diminish the beautiful architecture that makes up Venice, I zoomed in to concentrate on the flowers for this photo, taken last summer. I realized while sketching this out however, the orderly repetition and calculations of the Italian architect couldn't escape me.

French Vineyard

French Vineyard, oil on gessobord, 6x8 inches

My sister, who has been living in Germany for the last 8 years, recently received a job reassignment outside of Europe. She and her friends took an elongated farewell tour and went all around France.  She let me choose many photos to paint from, which was a treat just to search through them. This vineyard was in the Luberon region of Provence, which produces southern Rhone wines. 'Nuff said!

Sea of Green

Sea of Green, oil on gessobord, 6x6 inches

My son sent me a few pictures for painting ideas from his recent trip to the Santa Monica area. This photo was part of a bigger, beautiful landscape that included palm trees, water, blue sky ....you get the California picture :-).  Down in the corner, sat this sweet couple in a sea of green. So I cropped it down to focus on just them and their moment in time. While I was painting, I was continually trying to figure out who they were, where they met, etc.  So, to the couple... whoever you are, and wherever you are, thanks for helping me through a very enjoyable painting experience!

What sounds Good?

What sounds good? oil on gessobord, 6x6 inches

I was walking around downtown taking random photos and snapped this one from across the street. It wasn't until I returned home and looked at the scene on my computer that I realized it was beautifully monochromatic with random  areas of color.  This became fun to paint after mixing up a greyscale.  It was challenging only in limiting color usage.  And yes, that tree honestly looked like a kindergartener's stick tree with dot leaves.  I almost changed it, but it was so minimalistic that it fit in perfectly with this stark yet calm scene.

Break Time

Break Time, oil on gessobord, 6x6 inches

The band was on break and the beer was cold.  This couple (and their cell phone)  was pleasantly calm in front of the setting sun.  That time of the evening made for beautiful filtered shadows.  The purples seem to work for recreating this calm light and atmosphere.

Under the Bridge

Under the Bridge, oil on gessobord, 6x6 inches

Under the silhouette of the Big Four Bridge, a (now) walking bridge that crosses the Ohio in Louisville, blanket-seated concert goers line the lawn and riverfront.  Both of these girls were gingers, which caught my eye, and their hair was fun to paint.

Just waiting' on a friend

Just waitin' on a friend, oil on gessobord, 6x6 inches

I've worked up another small series of people.  The photos were taken at a monthly concert event held by the local public radio station, at a waterfront park in Louisville, called Waterfront Wednesday. It's a festive event, full of great bands, food and beer, and the best thing is, it's free.  This guy was trying to locate the rest of his party with his cell phone, oblivious that a beautiful sunset was occurring right in front of him, on the banks of the Ohio river.  Meanwhile, I was staring at the beautiful sunset and almost missed a photo op! 

Three Amigos

Three Amigos, oil on gessobord, 6x6 inches

Since I have fallen behind unfortunately with painting, I was looking at my work that I have yet to post.  This one was overlooked at that time of the other "swim" paintings, so I post it now, on another hot, humid Louisville day, reminiscing of just last weekend.  These girls had their own little real estate at the pool, playing a game, and best of all, being kids! 

Season of the Plums

Season of the Plums, oil on gessobord, 6x6 inches

These little plums proved to be more difficult to paint than tomatoes.  I tried to put shockingly bright light on them to produce light and shadow, which is evident from the painting, but I had to ad-lib a little on color.  Nevertheless, I am happy with it. Now, time for plum torte!

Entwined Vines

Off the Vine, oil on gessobord, 6x6 inches

I'm still recovering from this bout of sickness and definitely lacking energy.  Because of this, these little sketches have been fun and relatively quick.  Tomatoes are on every window in my kitchen, so I don't have to put a lot of brain power (which I don't have right now!) into subject matter.  They are beautiful to look at, and the reds and greens are striking.  These two looked like better halves with their vines entwined :-)

Window seats

Window Seats, oil on gessobord, 6x6 inches

My tomato garden has a mind of it's own.  My raised bed is a mixture of fill-dirt and recycled organic coffee, mixed with plant matter. A local coffee shop sells it by the trailer load.  Mine is 3 years old and still kicking' to the point of crazy.  The plants themselves were as tall as me (5'4") within 4 weeks of planting, about the time other were dying from neglect. They outgrew their supports, fell over from heaviness and decided to become vines shooting out of their 4 walls and into the yard, like squash.  Friends and relatives who witness it have never seen anything like it. Tomatoes a-plenty!! 

These beauties were ripening in one of my kitchen windows and screamed out as subject matter for this quick sketch, which became a painting.  

I've been sick for almost 2 weeks and have had little energy to paint.  I am behind on my daily paintings at this point, thus I took Labor day weekend off from posting.  Hopefully things will smooth out.  I am resuming slowly, but as you know, when you are sick everything gets behind.