Catching the Light

Where The Muse Lives   

oil, 8x10, $150

My latest plein air painting, done of the newly opened Spitzer Art Center in Harrisonburg, VA.  The house is one of those great older homes that feels like it has been loved for a long time.  The Central Shenandoah Arts organization was left this gem by its previous owner, providing it was used as an arts center.  The dream is being realized!  Classes are starting there, by yours truly, and other talented, local artists.

I was especially enjoying this painting because I toned the board in bright, knock-your-eyes-out red!  You can see it peeking through here and there.  I wanted the warmth and energy to come through the other colors, which I think it is doing.  I painted it on my still-relatively-new pochade box, which I am really enjoying.  More on that in other posts.  A pochade box is usually a small box which holds your paints, supports (canvas, board, whatever), and usually attaches to a tripod.  They are usually small so that you can take them anywhere.  I am now able to put everything I need into one backpack, and away I go!  

Staying Put!

"Duncan" - oil

I have decided to keep my blog on Blogger, for simplicity's sake.  Blogger is so easy, and I was having trouble trying to figure out how to set up the blog on iWeb.  So, no worries!  Staying put.  Happy summer!

Lanterns are Lit, and Finished!

Barn Dance  -  oil on canvas, 32x40

Yay!  My lantern painting, "Barn Dance" is finished!  I did all but a couple strokes on-site.  So although it is an unusual scene for a plein air piece, it is.  I was outside, although under and over-hang looking into an old barn.  I'm not very fond of this photograph of the painting, so I may try taking it outside to photograph.  Although it is big, so doing so gives me some problems.  Ah well, another challenge!

I was so taken by the glow of the lanterns, and the way that they danced in the wind, that I was trying to capture some of that magic.  I found I had to let the lanterns dry in-between times so as to get that glow.  It was quite a challenge, and lots of fun!  Enjoy!

Possible Change of Blog Location

Hi all!  I am in the process of re-doing my website.  Since I have a Mac, I am using iWeb to do it.  There is a way to add a blog right in with the website, so I am considering changing the site from Blogger to iWeb.  I will let you all know as soon as I do that, or if I do it.  Blogger is very easy, and I am used to it, so I need to play with iWeb's blog to see if I like the set-up as well.  Just wanted to give you a "heads-up" in case I make a change.

Sorry for not having as posts lately.  I have been a little swamped with other things, and haven't had the time to post anything.  Soon though!

A little behind on Posts!

"Blowin' in the Wind"  -  oil, 8x10" panel

I have not been very good at keeping up my posts lately!  But here is the latest painting.  An 8x10" plein air oil that I did today.  I just walked out the door and painted the clothes on the line.  Shows that you don't have to have amazing scenery to paint.  The everyday things can make for nice exercises and paintings.  

I had found a pochade  box on ebay!  I am very excited about it too.  A man makes them in his workshop, and it was a good deal, as well as being built very well.  A wonderful little box.  8x10", that fits well on my tripod, and is very easy to load up.  It even fits into my backpack!

Getting Closer to the End

"Barn Dance"  -  oil, 32"x40", in progress

Here is "Barn Dance", the painting about the amazing luminous light of the lanterns hanging in the old barn at Cobble Hill, in Staunton, VA.  If you scroll down this page you will see the small oil sketch of what it will be, as well as some photos of the location, and the beginning of this painting.  They still look a lot like balloons, or bubbles just magically hanging in the air.  I am still working on the background, adding more colors, more "layers" of light, even in the darkest places.  I am also working towards making these lanterns really glow and have the amazing luminous quality of light that attracted me to the subject in the first place.  I've been staring at it all this week, and it is talking to me more.  For those of you who aren't artists, I really haven't lost it and need to have a padded room made ready for me...I hope!  Rather the paintings really tell you what they need, if you take the time to look and listen.  The wonderful quote, by I forget who, is "if you ask the right questions, you'll get the right answers."  It took me a while to really understand that quote, but I get it now.  Let me know what you think of this painting in progress.  

Finished at Last!

"Riley's River"  -  oil, 40"x32", P.O.R.

I finished this painting a little while ago, but didn't get a picture of it until just now.  Not the best photograph, I have to wait for a good day to take it outside to photograph.  I usually take them outside, in a shady spot, but not too shady, to get a good picture.  I may do reproductions of this one, I haven't decided for sure or not.  I don't do as many reproductions (prints) as I used to.

This was such a fun painting.  It didn't take long, rather I was pulled away by life, so it took long just to get back to it.  I had a good photo to reference, and I loved the whole feeling of the picture.  I never copy the photos, rather I use them for reference.  More and more, I am able to take them as a jumping off spot, and then go from there, letting the painting tell me where it wants to go.  Trusting more to my intuition of how the piece will be, what colors I need, what the composition/design of the piece is saying, and how I am liking it.