Small Abstracts

I've also been working on a series of abstracts.  This is a small painting called Lunar.  It's about 3inches by 3 inches and has 4 colors.  From Daniel Smith there's carbazole puple, rhodonite red, and permanent yellow deep.  Then, from Maimeri Blu, I believe, burnt umber.  It was an experiment to see how the pure color would go down and mix.    The paper is Arches 300 lb cold press.  I was especially happy with the way the bleeds across the colors worked.

The Kitchen Table Series

Last January, I started trying to produce one painting a month.  After a year of not painting, one painting a month seemed like a noble goal.  Logically, I recognize that to become a better painter, I should be painting just about every day.  There are a few other things that I think I should do, but that is a separate post.

As 2012 comes to a close, and I look back over the art I produced, I can see some themes emerged without any planning on my part.  (I mentioned things I should do to improve as a painter?  Planning would be nice.)  Most of my work I did sitting at my kitchen table, alla prima, very quickly.  I'm calling these paintings the "Kitchen Table Series."  Typically, they are small still lifes.  Here's a recent example, called "Pear, Orange, & Vase."  There are several common themes among these paintings.

--I'm always sitting in the same position at my table, so the light is always coming from my left.

--I do the paintings alla prima.

--I use whatever I have on hand.

--They are typically very fast.  One to two hours.

This is a theme I plan to carry over into 2013, to build into a series. 

Painting En Plein Air

The last few weeks have been absolutely beautiful, and my plan was to go outside and paint.  I wanted to visit Winton Woods, and capture the fall colors reflected in the lake.  But, I found I couldn't park close enough to see the lake without hauling my gear.  And, boy, did I have a lot of junk to haul.  Here is what I was carrying yesterday:

--palatte (large)
--brushes (about 10)
--paper
--water
--paper towels
--paint
--a drawing box
--pliers
--reference photos
--boards
--medium spray bottle
--watercolor crayons

Plus, as a bonus, I had a camp chair, a table, my ipod, a camera, car keys, and phone.  My goal for next week will be to stream line my bag!

I found a nice little picnic area, and did a small painting (11.5 x 7.3 inches) alla prima in about 45 minutes.  Sentinels. 

The fall Essex Art Walk is running Oct. 5th and 6th.  There's a huge range of artistic styles, and it's usually hopping.  Don't forget to stop by Studio 122 and visit the women of the Art Circle.  (And see my painting, Boy Line, of course!)