Spots of color...........

I read Hensche's book some time ago and always remembered that spots of color, positioned correctly, will form the picture in front of you. Today I experimented by taking my glasses off and truly seeing spots of color..............the composition is a little too horizontal for me but I really began to understand the abstract way our eyes process the world in front of us. If nothing else, the white spots on the sides of my face began to fill in with color (vivid red at the moment!) I went to Sachuest in Middletown, RI, the federal nature reserve. Numerous rabbits, birds and even a hawk moving her baby stood by with me. The picture is oil/canvas and 11X14.

Seapowet

Seapowet has become my new favorite place to paint..............I think it would take me years to exhaust the possibilities there. I hiked around a bit (the only exercise I am likely to get today) and then returned to my initial spot, but the place is full of great locations. After being inside most of yesterday it was nice to be outside in the heat. The place is down a dirt road which can be pretty dicey after a lot of rain ,but I know most of the ruts by now. It is never crowded and the plant life is varied as is the topography. You cannot tell from what I painted but I was nearly standing in the water at mid-tide. Came back when hunger forced me to and finished the small figure thing I started yesterday...........a productive day all in all.

Good weekend

Well, I am back - never truly left but was busy from 5:30 in the morning till after dinner time both days. The bazaar I helped my daughter with is great - indigenous art from all over the world. Unfortunately , yesterday was pretty much a washout due to vivid lightning and heavy rain - everyone who was brave enough to actually attend ran for cover and left. Today was iffy in the morning so I decided that I would do a small figure painting from a photo.........I hate working from photos but I feel like I need to adapt my "life skills" to them in order to be able to do commissions from a distance. It was pretty fun and I feel like I did make progress and am pleased with what I did........too wet to take a picture and it was too late anyway. I am posting a dry portrait - 12X12/o/c.

Away for two days

Wow, did it rain yesterday.............I measured nearly 3" in my bucket on the porch. Today, I am posting a larger portrait commission I have been working on which is nearing completion. I worked on it today and will be busy all weekend assisting my daughter who is a vendor at the "Cultural Survival" bazaar this weekend. She has recently returned from a couple of years living in Colombia and makes jewelry which she sells along with other crafts (like molas) that she has brought back from South America. I will post again on Monday after I have a chance to regroup and get busy painting. This painting is oil and 14X18.

Rain

I started out today working on a floral still life on my porch - one that I had started a few days ago. The wind picked up so much that my very sturdy easel was shaking and it became hard to work. When I saw the sky, I got my camera and went down the street a block to the bay to see what was going on..............I have posted a photo of just how dramatic it looked. I am also posting a picture painted on a more peaceful day....11X14, oil/canvas - it's Third Beach in Middletown, RI. When the deluge hit I walked home and worked on some stuff in the studio , made some progress on one of my larger pictures, signed a few things and framed one thing. It is still pouring and the roads look pretty flooded.

being in a cloud

It looks like we are really going to get some rain now...................went out reluctantly this morning to paint because of the weather forecast but it turned out to be wonderful. Intense yellowy greens and the light barely changed from morning through afternoon. I didn't have the heart to check for woodchuck damage. Today's picture is a little dark since there is NO LIGHT at all - it's 11X14 oil/canvas.

Woodchuck woes

I returned from painting and discovered that the baby woodchuck that lives under my shed (his "parent" had been trapped by my neighbor Manny a month ago) has grown up enough to navigate the barricades and fences that have made my garden appear as a junk heap! It ate all of the broccoli and kale and trampled red onions, beets and basil to get to said meal. After using language that I normally do not use, I went into the house to put my stuff away.......when I returned to the car for a second load of stuff I saw the bugger running with leaves of green beans in his little mouth. I had him cornered yesterday for a minute and had a chance to examine him a bit; he is kind of cute but sooooo destructive. Manny is merciless and uses what he calls the "killing traps" since even if you get them alive, it isn't legal to release them anywhere. Did lots of business things this morning as well - signed up for the Newport RI wet paint event in August and got a couple of frames for finished work that needs to go to the gallery this month (Donovan Gallery, Tiverton, RI.). The post today is of waves off Little Compton, RI; it's 12x16/oil on canvas.

Huge clouds

I am hoping for some rain since we have not had anything measurable in over a month. Indeed, it looks promising over the bay which has turned from an intense silvery yellow to an angry green grayish color. I realized that I reposted a picture yesterday that I had already posted but thought had not worked somehow...........only to check back and find that it was saved in June. I am stil getting used to this process but more comfortable each time I use it. So, here's a small boat I did the other day, working fast and trying not to be so much of a perfectionist.

Sunday heat

Well, I finally broke down and bought a small air conditioner today........three straight nights of not sleeping more than a couple of hours pushed me into it. Don't get me wrong, I love heat and spent most of today painting outside, it's just that I can't to get as comfortable with the humidity at night as I used to be able to do. After my initial crabbiness, I picked a bunch of zinnias and stuck them in this cup that has fish painted on it - I will post it when I have finished it (tomorrow, I imagine). I will post a portrait instead.

Farmer's market day

Saturday is so awesome in the summer and fall here - we have farmer's markets everywhere. I tend to go to my local one in Fall River - no one speaks English, mostly Portuguese and a bit of Spanish (which I get most of). There is an organic one much farther away in RI so I make that more of a special occasion with gas over $4 a gallon. Anyway, I got a great cabbage which tried to stay fresh but couldn't quite make even an hour in the heat! I am trying to work smaller so I can finish things quicker and move on to another concept......I find that most of the lessons are learned quickly with my initial idea and the daily practice of understanding my materials.

Steamy!!!!!

Despite my sunscreen yesterday, I was burned enough to paint inside today. I am posting the picture I did yesterday (11X14) and a small one that I did while waiting for the phone to ring about my mother (8X16). The garden is in my backyard and the seascape a view of the end of Second Beach in Middletown RI as viewed from the federal preserve.

Home again

I have returned from NY and my mom's memorial service.............I have painted a couple of things in the past week but it is too dark to take photos of them tonight, plus, I am too tired to even search through the older things that I have taken pictures of. I spent the day in Middleton, RI painting at the federal presrve on Sachuest Point. After all of the crying and sadness of the past weeks, I completely lost track of time and was quite late in returning home. So, tomorrow will bring some photos of what I have painted the past week or so. Later.

Today

Another hot and sunny one............had to go shopping (ick) but I needed an outfit for my mom's service on saturday. I am going to do an evening picture from my porch tonight but am adding a portrait for today since it isn't really sunset yet. A group of us get together monday evenings to paint portraits so we pool the cost of the model. this portrait is one of those.

Hot and sunny

Today was a perfect summer day and I felt I had to use the gas to get to the beach. I have been pretty much camping out at home for the past few weeks waiting for phone calls about my mom.....it was nice to get out again since summers seem so short here. I went to a place called Seapowet marsh (one of my favorite free and uncrowded spots). I love a square format in a vertical place, so I used a 12" square canvas. I have my first two zucchini in the garden so I am going to use it for dinner knowing that there will be several (tons) soon to come and I can paint one or several of them.........

That didn't work.......

Now, this picture can be seen. The painting is 10X 20 and oil on canvas.

A sad week

My mother died on July 1 so I have been away for a bit and don't feel much like writing much, but, here are a couple of pictures anyway. I am going to go out early tomorrow morning since painting is the only thing that makes me feel myself.