Happy New Year

"Fresh Snow (from the studio window)", oil on gessoed paper, 5 x 7

I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays!  I had a great time with my family in Saratoga Springs NY and Ridgefield CT.  It's been a busy month traveling which partially accounts for my absence from the blog.  The main reason I have not posted very much is that I am starting to take my work in a different direction.  I took two classes in the past few months that have really impacted the way I create my artwork.  I will discuss these two classes and what I learned from them in more detail in subsequent posts.  I will devote more time in the coming year to doing the the preparatory work that goes into creating a piece of art:  drawing, design, conceptual refinement, color studies.  I am going to use my plein air pieces as real studies and not as just little copies of the scenes I happen to find wherever I may be at the time.  The bottom line is that I want to take my work to the next level in the coming year which will require a lot of hard work that doesn't necessarily result in something that can be posted on a blog everyday.  I will be working on ways to make this blog more interesting for those of you who like to look at art every day and those who create art every day!  I will keep you posted  .  .  .

See you next year!

Tortola Palms

"Edge of Water", 6 x 6, oil on panel

I am currently in Nanny Cay Marina in Tortola (British Virgin Islands).  It is beautiful here right now.  Sunny and warm!  I know.  Life is tough sometimes!  I have been sketching the trees around the marina as part of the coursework for the design class I'm taking.  I like the colors in this little study.   The assignment was just to do black and white thumbnails but I had my paint bag with me and took the opportunity to do a little painting as well.

Masterwork Study

This is a 6 x 6 oil study of a Chauncy Ryder painting.  Copying a masterwork is a great way to learn about color, value and design.  I have done many of them in the past but am doing more these days as part of an online design class with Deborah Paris.  I will post more about the class later this week but so far it's been very educational.

Marsh and Dunes

"Provincetown Dunes",  6 x 6, oil on panel

I have been revisiting my Cape Cod pictures.  They remind me of summer.  The small paintings continue . . .

"Marsh at Twilight,"  6 x 6, oil on panel

Oil Painting on Paper

"Newport Field Study", 6 x 6, oil on paper

I have been looking for an inexpensive surface to use for oil sketching.  I hate to use an expensive panel or piece of linen for "doodling"!  I hit upon the perfect solution this morning.  I took a piece of heavy etching paper and coated it with three layers of gesso.  The surface is smooth but there is enough texture from the brush marks to make it interesting.   This is basically the same process that I use for my homemade sanded pastel paper but without the addition of grit or marble dust.  I like this surface a lot - the paint kind of glides on in the first layer.  The downside, though, is that works on paper always have to be framed with glass which negates the cost saving aspect of using paper instead of linen!

The Miniature Painting Season

"Saratoga Fields, 6 x 6, oil on wood

Nine small paintings and counting!  I don't know when it happened but the Christmas season is now the season of miniature paintings.   The galleries want to offer their clients a broad range of moderately priced artwork for the holiday buying season hence the current rash of "little paintings" everywhere.  I always paint small studies anyway to determine if I want to spend the time and effort on a larger version.  I actually would have kept a few of these minis for larger pieces but they had to get to the gallery.  You can see these paintings and a lot more at Sorelle Gallery in Albany.  The show opens Saturday so stop by if you are in town!

"Maine Cove", 6 x 6 , oil on wood

New Oil Painting "Train Trestle"

"Train Trestle", 6 x 6, oil on panel

It may feel like Fall but it is actually Christmas painting season!  Yes, it's time to get all those small paintings done for the holiday shows.  I usually participate in two holiday shows:  the Sorelle Gallery Miniature Show in Albany and the Mark Twain Library Christmas Fundraiser in Connecticut.  So, lots of little paintings for the time being.  I really like the texture and color in the above painting.  As always, the color in the photo is a little off.  The trestle bridge is a more faded color than the saturated red you see in the jpeg.  One of these days I'm going to fix this jpeg problem . . . .