interior experimentation - 10x8

I have been fooling around with this for a couple of days and am unsure whether it will be a wipe-out or not since I keep changing things around and trying to preserve the contrast between bright outdoor washed out light and rich deep interior grays. I am enjoying it as I mull over some ideas for a larger work that has absolutely nothing to do with this one. I may decide that I have learned all I can from the exercise and wipe it down. One of the most important things I have learned in the past years of nearly constant painting is that all thoughts and experiences can be fodder and that if you are not willing to take the chance on wasting time, then you will ensure rather dead work.

green railing - 8x10

Well, my sister had to cancel her visit because she lives in PA and is getting nailed by another snowstorm. So, I painted all day and have a really clean house! We are getting rain and it is wicked gloomy out. This scene is a flea market near my house - I never go to flea markets to shop since I am all about getting rid of stuff but I am sometimes drawn in visually. There was even a guy selling some wilted half frozen veggies but it was mostly the usual plastic, tools and old electronics.

ice stripes 10x8

I love this tiny red house on a small pond near my where I live - especially when the pond freezes and the sun starts to go down. In the summer they have a huge garden right near that wall on the edge of the salt water pond. One of the things I especially find amusing is that their old copper-colored station wagon actually clashes with the house. I won't be posting for the next couple of days since my sister is visiting and she hasn't been here for a couple of years............I am looking forward to seeing her.

Gray's - 8" square

Gray's is a little store in Adamsville, RI. They have everything from ice cream to vintage clothing; very New England. It is funny but everytime I see one of the paintings after I post it I see something that needs fixing............tomorrow is another day.

getting gas - 10x8

I am showing this picture in both natural and artificial light - big difference! I took the picture at the top outside before the sun really began to go down but then worked on the painting more after that and took the second picture after it was really getting dark. The top picture is more accurate. The title refers to the fact that I saw this view when my daughter and I were getting gas yesterday (sometimes it's hard to come up with titles).

pale yellow - 10x8

Can you tell I took this after night fell? Actually it's not too inaccurate, maybe a little warm but I will check in the morning. It was a beautiful day - probably about 45 degrees and sunny. If the wind hadn't been so strong here by the water, I would have attempted to paint outside but it's coming, I can feel it (the S word).

mansard w/snow - 8" square

I seem to be on the 2 day plan recently.........beginning things and then waiting for them to set up enough to add detail and refine them. Sometimes, especially on panels, you end up removing paint when you try to add more paint to a certain area. This building (located in Douglas, MA) is incredibly complicated so it's good that I picked a only a portion of it! I still can't find the spell check, it used to be on the top toolbar but since I upgraded, it has vanished.

farm on the hill - 10x8

This one is done and I took a better photo and moved on to other things. I still can't find spell check on this new toolbar.................luckily I spell pretty well.

farm on the hill study - 10x8

I like the colors I am experimenting with here and have intensified them to express the feeling I have about the scene. The green of the pine is too green at the moment but I had to use artificial light today. It was one of those dark gloomy days but at least the invisible sun didn't set until well after 5pm so spring is on its way for sure.

beach series 4 - 8" square

I was experimenting with color today and will finish readjusting tomorrow when I have daylight. No work on the portrait today though................a snow warning for Tuesday so I will be in and really, really make fantastic progress on it!

process - 8" square

I am posting the start of a "daily" today since I absolutely have to finish a portrait commission in the next couple of days and tend to get all interested in the smaller picture neglecting the actual paying work. I find that my inital lay-in process is changing to become  less linaer and more shape/pattern oriented. I am using the new updated blogger toolbar and can't find the spell check feature so please excuse if there are any misspellings!

red building - 8x10

I am nearly done with this one but the sun is sinking fast - photo time! I went to a good talk at the Art Museum in Duxbury, MA last night. The topic was "artists who blog" and Kelley MacDonald, Sally Dean and Paula Villanova all spoke about their blogging experiences. It was nice to see the museum and the current exhibit (I missed the deadline for it) which was wonderful. Kelley explained abouts the labels feature - don't laugh when you read mine. I wasn't late even though it took me nearly 30 minutes to find the street. Google maps sure is good when you know where you are going but not so hot when you don't.

mill cupola 8X10

Well, the big storm never really materialized here. It was mostly mixed rain and snow and there is little to show for it today. This is view of the cupola/tower on the top of the Whitin Mill in Whitinsville, MA.

snow watch

I finished this one and am now watching the sky and bay and wondering just which weather forecast is going to be right. We are supposed to get over a foot here on the south coast. We shall see.

almost night - 10x8

This is obviously not completed and I spent a bunch of time this afternoon trying to portray the sense of light and the abstract shapes of the figures rather than an accurate drawing of them. When I was mixing colors I was pretty stunned to realize that my initial attempts at making the environment's colors were quite wrong and I was using too much white. So, this isn't done but I really learned so I am happy and will probably finish it tomorrow morning when the paint has set up a bit. I do find that blogging has a way of encouraging a "production mentality" for me and I have to remind myself that stifling learning for a presentable post is not a good trade off. I forgot my camera when I went to work at Central Village Art Gallery today (where I painted this) so the photo is compromised by lack of light since it was dark when I got home.

horseneck again - 10x8

Another view of the delightfully uglyish (word? not according to spell check) main building at Horseneck Beach. I tried, I really tried to go for a walk on the beach this morning.............it's sunny and frigid and windy so I didn't last all that long. My eyes were tearing after about 3 minutes but I am just really sick of being inside!

red cross - 10x8

This picture is of is winter at Horseneck Beach in Westport, MA. I am always gratified when I go there and see that it hasn't been renovated (yet) and retains it's mid-twentieth century feel. I never go there in the summer because it's usually packed and annoying but I love it in the winter.

conversation part 2

I have gone as far as I can with this one..........it was much more complicated than I expected. On to bigger (for sure) and better (hopefully) things.

conversation - 8" square

Just a quick "progress post" today. It was pretty gloomy all day with a little snow this morning so I have been using artificial light and really longing to get outside to paint again!

whitin light - 8" square

I was up in Central MA (I used to live there) on Sunday for a fundraiser and took a bunch of photos of the Whitin Mill. The light was gorgeous and the air was totally freezing! The entire town of Whitinsville used to center around this mill complex and the Whitin family owned everything. The mill has been renovated for the most part but the textile industry is long gone.