Upcoming Landscape Exhibit

It's that season again!  The Fall shows have started everywhere.  I will both be showing a variety of "Landscapes at the Landsakes" Annual Exhibition to benefit farmland conservation.  It promises to be a beautiful show .  The show is open to the public at the Maple Ridge Gallery, 172 State Route 372, Colia New York from October 8th through 10th.  You will see a lot of beautiful work from some great artists.  Join us if you can!

Early Morning on the Beach Path

"Early Morning on the Beach Path", 9 x 12, oil on panel

This is a larger version of a 6 x 8 plein air oil sketch done earlier this winter.  It is on the grounds of the Bonnet House facing the beach.  I reworked this a few times and in doing so lost the transparency of the dark areas.  I like it overall but wish I had held off on those darks in the foreground.   I had to resort to opaque paint to lighten those dark shadows.  Lesson learned (but I will probably do it again . . ).

Intertwined

"Intertwined", oil on linen panel, 9 x 12

The Bonnet House in South Florida has beautiful Melaleuca trees lining the drive to the main house of an old 1940s estate.  It is a beautiful spot to paint.  This was done in three sessions over a week or so.  Sorry for the poor photo - iPhone!

Happy New Year

"Chinatown Morning," 9 x 12, oil on panel

Hope everyone had a great holiday season!  It is hard to believe that Christmas has come and gone and here we stand in 2015 already!  I am eager to attack my long list of art goals for this year which I will discuss in more detail in subsequent posts.  My work process has evolved over the past year or two and I am trying to be more deliberate and focused in the development of the concept, the design and the execution of an idea.  My plein air paintings are primarily used as a studies right now and I have been doing a lot more drawing in the field which I enjoy.  I do still love the cityscape genre so you will be seeing more of these this year!

Urban Beauty: Not Just Another Pretty Picture

"After the Rain Tortola", 9 x 12, oil on panel

I am pleased to announce that "After the Rain Tortola" has been accepted into the "Urban Beauty" show at the Randy Higbee Gallery in Costa Mesa, California.  The paintings selected for this national juried show will focus on the "unusual beauty and sometimes darker side of our cities."  It will run from October 4th through the 17th.  I wish I could attend the reception on the 4th but it is a long way to go for a party!  But you should go if you are in the area!

Cool Morning

Study for "A Cool Morning", 9 x 12, oil on linen panel

This is a plein air piece started in Newport a couple of weeks ago.  I did not spend enough time working out the composition before I started so I have struggled with it for the past week or so.  My main area of concern was the bottom right corner.  I had to make up the rocks and tree there so that the composition was more than just three horizontal bands.  I think I will let it sit for a while.  Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday weekend!


Revised painting as of 9/3:  I had to move that big boulder in the right hand corner.  It was heavy ; )

Breeze on the Water

Breeze on the Water, 9 x 12, oil on panel

It's been a busy couple of weeks.  We just finished a nine day charter which was good but exhausting!  I am finally finishing some of the plein air pieces started a few weeks ago.  This was from a plein air trip to Cohasset in July.  It may need a few more tweaks but I'm calling it finished for now!

A Summer Day

"A Summer Day," 9 x 12, oil on linen panel

My friend Denise and I had a beautiful day in Cohasset last week.  It was the perfect summer day!  The colors are little saturated in this photo but it was taken with an iPhone so it is what it is.  I have decided to stop naming locations in my painting titles.  I recently had an email from an internet troll that demanded all copies of one of my plein air sketches of a Connecticut beach because he apparently owns a house which is barely recognizable in my sketch.  He threatened to sue if I didn't send the painting in 50 days!  As my mother said, "I wonder how his lawsuit against Google Earth is going?"  Hmmm.

You may notice that I have been trying out different templates from blogger in the last couple of days.    The blogger templates allows for a myriad of different color combinations but there are some areas that you can't adjust so I am still working on it.

Morning on the Marsh

"Morning on the Marsh", 9 x 12, oil on linen panel

This is still a work in progress.  The building is an old convent in Newport.  The actual scene had a road running straight to the convent with the marshy area on the side.  It wasn't that interesting so I used my artistic license to change it (thank you Donald Jurney for that license)!  I have been trying to use instagram more often because it is easier to post images from my iPhone.  I will try to remember to post here when I post on instagram as well.  Or just come over to IG and follow me!

A Rumor of Autumn

Study for "A Rumor of Autumn", 9 x 12, oil on linen panel

Don't Panic!  It's not Autumn yet!!  It's not even close.  I painted this study plein air in the Blackstone River Valley last week with Donald Jurney and a few other fantastic painters.  You can follow all of them on instagram (@donaldjurney, @paulbatch, @briandmartin - I know I am missing a couple but you will see them on Donald's thread).  The orange colors in the foreground are the underpainting showing through.  I actually did not intend to make the scene look like Fall but Donald suggested the name and I decided to let it stay Autumn.  I still have work to do on the water and the tree on the left but I am going to put it aside for a while.

Mist Along the Canal

"Study for Mist Along the Canal", 9 x 12, pastel on hand made sanded paper

Yes, another misty painting.   I like fog (unless we are sailing in it).  This is going to be a larger oil painting.  I think I will be able to refine the shapes of the trees a bit more when I do the oil version.  This paper has a lot of texture so it can be hard to get really refined edges.  I like the feeling overall but will probably do a small version in oil before I tackle the larger one.

"White Umbrella"

"White Umbrella", 9 x 12, oil on panel

This is an oil version of a pastel painting I did a long time ago.  I've always loved this image.  I hope to make a trip to New York soon to collect some more cityscape references.  In the meantime, this painting as well as my recent cityscapes and tonalist landscapes will be on view at Sorelle Gallery starting this evening.  There will be a reception starting at 5 p.m. so if you are in the upstate New York region please come by!

Moonrise Over The Stables

"Moonrise over the stables", oil on panel, 9 x 12

I have been busy painting and getting ready for the trip back to the US next week.  I will have several new paintings of cityscapes and tonalist landscapes like the one above on view at Sorelle Gallery next week.  I will post opening times and schedule tomorrow.  This painting was inspired by some sketches of the stables across from the racetrack in Saratoga Springs.  There is a timeless quality to the old barns where they keep the horses in the summer.  I may do more paintings from here if I can get them to let me past the security gate!

After the Rain

"After the Rain" (Road Town, BVI) 9 x 12, oil on panel

I had a fairly unproductive month due to the fractured foot incident but things are on the mend!  I have been working on some small pieces while laid up on the boat.  This is one of a few paintings currently in progress though this one is pretty close to finished.  There may be a scumble here or a glaze there before it is all done but I am leaving it for now.  I will post the remaining few pieces as they get closer. . .

Rain On Broadway

Rain on Broadway, 9 x 12, oil on panel

Forgive the bad photo here.  I only have my iPhone and it really does not seem to take decent pictures of artwork for some reason.  It feels a little strange to be painting cold, rainy street scenes when I am sitting in 85 degree heat in the Caribbean!  Unfortunately, my plans to paint some tropical townscapes have been postponed due to a sailing accident.  I missed a step and fractured my foot!  So, no plein air for a while.  It has been 10 days so far and I am able to walk short distances but am otherwise boat bound at the dock.  So, for now I am working from sketches and references I have of both New York and Saratoga.  Some of the Saratoga paintings will be included in my two person show in Albany later in the Spring.  More details to follow. . .