The Place to Go

"The Place to Go", oil on gessoed board, 8x10"

Ah, cityscapes. Will it ever get any easier for me to accomplish?  This old soul of a building is walking distance from my house. I shot a few photos when the weather was warm and the light was bright.  I just need more practice.

Philosophical Questions

Philosophical Questions, oil on gessobord, 6x6 inches

Today is my birthday and this little painting, which I recently discovered had never been posted, looks like something I would like to be doing today... having a discussion of philosophical stuff, on a blanket with friends and turning 25 again!! Instead, I get a birthday concert played by the Louisville Youth Orchestra, with my youngest daughter on stage. 

Here is the original post that I wrote back in September when I painted this:

Three people sitting on a blanket, engaged in the art of conversation.  This was a fun, quick painting that turned out gestural and sketchy. These small paintings are difficult to  create the detail of a scene, AND abstract it to the extent that it conveys what you, the artist, sees.  I like being both detailed, and abstract and often the hard part is deciding which would be best for your own portrayal. Either way, I need to keep painting :-)

Sets of Two

Sets of Two, Oil on gessobord, 6x6 inches

I found some lovely leftover fall color while walking about the other day. These sets of benches seemed to be peacefully waiting for occupants.  These days I have had to brave the cold to go out and walk, but it always ends up being worth it.  

On another note, starting Saturday I won't be posting until after the New Year.  I need time off for Christmas shopping for my children, and I will also be traveling to California.  With the New Year, I will be participating in a challenge from Leslie Saeta's blog Artist Helping Artist, called Thirty in Thirty, painting 30 paintings in 30 days. I am looking forward to the challenge, since I have been painting almost everyday and blogging most days.  Hopefully I will complete it :-)

Industrial Wasteland

Industrial Wasteland, Oil on Canvas, 10x20 inches

All towns have scenes like this.  Desolate, eery, isolated areas that give off a vibe of wanting to be far, far away.  Except to me and my son who love to go traipsing down railroad tracks in industrial areas to see how much rust we can photograph.  I loved how the silos almost disappeared into the grey sky. The lone train seemed to be without purpose. The empty tracks continued on the horizon visually through the power lines. I worked on a long canvas to change up the feel, which in turn, slowed me down allowing me to work in-depth with the details this painting needed.

Snow on the Bullock-Clifton House

Snow on the Bullock-Clifton House, oil on gessobord, 

6x8 inches

The day of our first (and unusually early) snow, I walked around taking pictures in the quiet cold.  There is a house around the corner that is the oldest wood frame house in the County of Jefferson.  It has an unusual 4th story cupola that makes the house stand out, as well as its different architectural style from the neighborhood. It was an original farm house owned by two different, yet significant gentlemen, one who secured funding for the School for the Blind, and one who was a Steamboat Captain, which is significant for the Ohio river town in which I live and love.  

I loved the shadows on the decorative features this particular day. While I normally don't get so detailed, this painting was fun to work on, and I am pleased with the results.  On a side note, I was listening to Dvorak's New World Symphony while working on it, which gave me a level of energy I needed. Dvorak was the same age as I am now when he composed this work, which ended up being his last Symphony.  I am hoping my best days are ahead :-)

Brunelleschi's Dome, through the Geraniums

Brunelleschi's Dome, through the Geranium's

oil on gessobord, 9x12 inches

Everything around Florence can be viewed through geraniums because geraniums are everywhere! And one can almost see the Dome of the Florence Cathedral from anywhere. It appears at the end of many nook-and-cranny walking streets at every turn, floating above it's octagonal drum. It is an engineering feat (it is said Fillipo Brunelleschi watered down the lunchtime wine of his workers while construction of the dome took place, as a "safety first" procedure). The problem solver extraordinaire and first engineer of the Renaissance is buried within the Cathedral.

The city of Florence is such a vivid place. Full of artisans and artists and overall cool folks. If you are ever there, look up the little outdoor restaurant of Francesco Vini with the beautiful Roman face. He will sing on the sidewalk to lure you in. 

                             

   

Row of Trees

Row of Trees, oil on gessobord, 6x8 inches

I painted this yesterday as I was coming to grips with the fact that the picturesque part of fall was sadly over. Most of the leaves are now gone in Louisville, and those leaves still hanging by a thread are dull brown. And as I type, a few days ahead of this actually posting, snow is in the forecast. Um, yay....not! Have a look, one more time at the beautiful, colorful aspects that we all look forward to each year's near-end.

Pickin' Corn

Pickin' Corn, oil on gessobord, 6x8 inches

I have a few photos left over from my local Farmer's Market that I put aside for later. This is one of them.  The scene just screamed of color and I'm pleased with my results conveying this as well.  It was fun to photo and fun to paint.  I always find, I might add, that my paintings turn out better when I'm attached somehow to the event or people I photograph, and this was no exception. I love the relaxed atmosphere of the Market, the ability for local venders to showcase and sell their products and to know the quality of what you are buying is at it's best.  

Bungalow 4

Bungalow 4, oil on Ampersand gessobord, 5x7 inches

This is the last in my Bungalow series. As far as the style of the house, this is my favorite.  Chunky and subtle are what I see within this humble home.  I've always looked at old buildings and houses as having a soul, so I can only hope this one has been well taken care of. From the outside it appears this way. Maybe the curve of the roof is a hint of a smile :-)

Bungalow 3

Bungalow 3, oil on Ampersand gessobord, 5x7 inches

This bungalow caught my eye because of it's craftsman details. This style always reminds me of the beautiful architecture that you see throughout Bavaria, minus the extreme pitched roofs. I had to tweak the color because the 21 century owners were not kind to it with their color choices, unfortunately. The landscape was interestingly shadow striped the day I took the photo. Busy, busy.

Bungalow 2

Bungalow 2, oil on Ampersand gessobord, 5x7 inches

Here is the second painting in my bungalow series.  This is a stucco covered white bungalow that has been the apple of my eye for a while now. I walk or ride my bike by it quite often.  I love the pillars that resemble sturdy tree trunks, larger at the base than the top, holding a roof that provides an extra living space to the house.  As I mentioned yesterday, I love the simple esthetic of the bungalow home. They have stood the test of time and patiently protected their residents for over 100 years.

Bungalow 1

Bungalow 1, oil on gessobord, 5x7 inches

I am a lover of the bungalow, whether from the Arts and Craft movement or the more readily available Builder bungalows.  It was a style started by the Greene brothers in California, emphasizing simple, yet well-crafted features like butler's pantries, dormer windows, large front porches for additional living space, and beautiful natural floors and woodwork throughout the house. They were usually two bedrooms and one bathroom, served medium to large families; small by today's McMansion standards. And entire neighborhoods of them are beautiful! I have lived in one for 17 years. Now they make great subject matter for painting, so for today and the next 3 postings, be looking for my small bungalow series.

A River Runs Through It

A River Runs Through It, Oil on Canvas, 10"x20"

I decided a few weeks ago to incrementally work on a "bigger" canvas, while simultaneously continuing my daily painting in smaller scale;  and 10x20 is huge to me right now!  This painting, of the waterfront park in Louisville, was painted from a photo taken on a cold, bare day.  I do believe I bestowed much more color and life onto the scene than existed on this particular New Year's Day.  It was much more difficult to paint this scale again than I expected.  I became overly conscientious of scale and I tightened back up with the brush, painting very slowly and in layers. This just tells me to keep working both big and little, as there is value as a painter in both. And...despite not feeling completely satisfied with it, I decided to post it.

Rainy Day Outing

Rainy Day Outing, oil on Ampersand gessobord, 6x6 inches
SOLD

I was on my lunch break heading back to work in my car when I drove by this spot of color amid a sea of grey.  I had to drive around the block 3 times before I found her and parked to take a quick snapshot.  I did this painting on Sunday, when my room was actually filled with light for the first time in about 5 days.  I think because of that, it doesn't really look like a rainy day. 

Happy Old Soul

Happy Old Soul, oil on Ampersand gessobord, 5x7 inches

I went to a wonderful artist's lecture by Ying Kit Chan last night, the chairman of the Art Department at University of Louisville.  He was presenting a new body of work that has taken him to China, the Gulf of Mexico (due to the oil disaster of '10) and back to Louisville.  His show contains themes of sustainability, anthropological concepts, Buddhist ideas amongst many. It was a very thoughtful body of work.  I had come in contact with the work of Ying Kit when I was taking post-bacaulareate painting classes at U of L about 25 years ago. Although I never took his classes I was very familiar with his work at the time, and it had a profound  influence on my drawings.  
This painting coincidently reminds me of my work  I was doing at the time, in my painting class. So my universes just re-collided in a happy sort of way :-).  The building itself has been meticulously maintained during it's life and looked very handsome with the setting sun giving it a hint of pastel color on the day it posed for me.

Au Cep de Vigne

Au Cep de Vigne, oil on Ampersand gessobord, 5x7 inches

The translation of "au cep de Vigne" is simply "vine" by most translation apps, but it is really more like "from the vine" or "vine stock".  I choose to add my own interpretation and imagine it being a roundabout way of getting to the end result - "wine" :-).   This was painted from another photo of my sister's farewell tour of Europe before returning to the U.S.   The building is a hotel/restaurant near Stasbourg, France in the Alsace grape growing region, near the German border.  Natural window decorations are common throughout Europe in the old old cities and easy to miss if you are used to looking down. So, when you go to Europe get used to looking up!

I had multiple problems with this one including straight lines!  Also,  the colors I painted with are true to the historic structure, thus making the photo of the painting run very hot. I rarely manipulate the images I take, but this one had to be cooled down.   

Orderly

Orderly, oil on Ampersand gessobord, 6x6inches

I was taking a quick walk at work to clear my head last week and saw this little scene across the street. It seemed like everything was in it's place, i's dotted, t's crossed, unlike what I trying to rid my head of at the moment.  I took a few quick photos from different views and decided to paint this one.  I love the contrasting cedar trees in a row with the rose bush demanding attention, and the criss-crossing power lines overhead. I think I'm seeing more power lines in my painting future.  At least subconsciously :-)

Over the Rhine

Over the Rhine, oil on gessobord, 6x6 inches

When I was a child, there were more soulful, pre-20th century buildings similar to this all over Louisville, mostly in downtown and the neighborhoods surrounding the old city.  Sadly, a large percentage of them were torn down in the 1970s to make way for newer structures (some of which have already been torn down as well) as part of the city's Urban Renewal movement. Many buildings that were salvaged were abandoned over time for various reasons and the owners refused to renovate them. Their structures decayed, often times the building collapsed and the facades were saved. A weird twist to saving a bit of history. 

Fire escapes always added an interesting, zig-zaggy, non-architectural element to the facade or rear...some visual movement to compositional order.  

I am always thankful to find cities who were not renewal-happy. I took this photo in the Over the Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati, where FEW buildings were torn down at all.  I am happy that it has been placed in the hands of a wonderful revitalization effort that is keeping with the integrity of the original neighborhood. 

The painting looks as if it were a quick sketch, but the architectural composition was very demanding, took a bit of time to paint and fun to bring to life. 

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! :-)

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.