more photos

Well, it has been an interesting day here. I have tons of stuff to clear out of the basement but have managed to get the raw sewage that exploded out of the drains in the bathroom and kitchen cleaned up. At least I can take a shower now since it doesn't seem like I will have to leave - the bridges and roads are mostly closed anyway. I am wicked tired but much better off than the numerous people in this area that do have to evacuate. Supposedly the worst of the river flooding will come tonight.

flood waters!

I may have a bit of a problem posting for several days since I am considering leaving here. As you can see from the photos, my street has collapsed! I was awakened by the sound of rushing water shortly after 4am and a loud buzzing from the basement........there is more than a foot of water down there. The street was a raging river but the water has receeded now leaving what you see above. I am packing an emergency bag & art supplies just in case.

marsh study - 8" square

The weather is amazing here today.........really heavy rain and wind. My basement is semi-flooded and the backyard looks like a lagoon. I took a break from large things today since the light was god-awful and decided to do a study of Seapowet from memory (mostly). I used the palette knife for much of this.

tour bus - day 2 - 20x16

I am totally enjoying this one - simply the building without the worry of completing it in one day. Don't mind the slanting up of the bottom area - this is due to it being hard to get a photo without glare if I didn't straighten & crop the photo. Once again, knowing that this is just a "progress posting" I am not terribly concerned about that.

tour bus (block in) - 20x16

Obviously I am just beginning this and since it is larger and I have a couple of other larger things I am currently working on, I might be posting some progression posts in the next few days. My work space is crammed with little pictures anyway.

nearly there

I am almost done with this one.....another two-dayer but that's ok. I do think (and have said) that blogging can encourage a sort of production mentality that can really dampen the spirit. I had to make my peace with that yesterday but was back on track by this morning. It is really nice that it is still light enough to take a photo at 6:15 - the day began all rainy but it is beautiful (windy) right now.

disrepair - beginning - 12" square

No hope for a decent photo today - it has been pouring and I have had the lights on since I got up. I began this somewhat larger painting this morning. Funny, last year I would have thought this was tiny but forcing myself to learn to work small has worked. This poor house is falling apart and is on Broad St. in Providence.

Highland Ave. victorian - 8" square

I never dreamed that this small painting would take me more than 2 days but I got totally into being precise. This past weekend was like summer and I went out to paint on site but ended up with not much to show for it (except it was great to be painting outside). Highland Ave is the wealthy part of Fall River and is lined with awesome old houses like this one.

el bombazo - 8" square

What an awesome day, it must have been 70 degrees! I got to paint outside for much of it (until the wind came up too hard to handle the brush). How weird that when I came in and heard the radio news and they were announcing some sort of blizzard watch for the midwest. El Bombazo is in Providence, RI in a primarily hispanic neighborhood and I love the color and the way they formed the "o"s on their awning with little bombs (hard to tell in the painting). I am still forcing myself to work small which is the only way to really have a completed painting in a day or so - I must say it is becoming easier.

family dollar - 8" square

Wow, was this hard to paint! Orange is definitely fun however and probably the principal reason I was drawn to this scene. I am still working on layered scenes and trying to get the sensation of viewing a structure partially hidden by complex bunches of branches.

near Gooseberry Beach - 12x9

I am all done with business stuff and meetings...........yipee! This is one of my favorite spots on earth and it is a real joy to paint there. I especially love the number of power lines for some reason.

fresh air - 8" square

It is pouring here but warm and the crocuses are poking through the ground in my side garden. I have seen the groundhogs that spend winter under the shed and they look a bit startled rather than truly awake. I find them incredibly cute right now but I have not planted lettuce yet. I will be spending all day tomorrow getting my accounts, receipts and related things ready to take to the accountant on Tuesday. Since I am actually pretty on top of all of it I don't expect it to take more than a day but I am surely dreading it nonetheless. I saw this mom and boy at Seapowet recently and they look happy that spring is coming as well.

corner store - 8" square

I was fascinated by this corner store in Warren RI and took a quick photo while I was driving.

wave - 8" square

One of those frustrating days where nothing really worked and I ended up wiping off two things. In near anger at myself I just whipped this out but sort of liked it so I didn't obliterate it. Now I have about 100 brushes to wash! To top it all off, my car's check engine light came on...........something that sends me into instant anxiety mode (the last time it was $300). I often thought that the worst thing about being divorced was not having a back up vehicle - at least I don't have to commute 75 miles to work anymore.

styles of beginning - 8" square

I have been experimenting with differing ways of beginning paintings......I tend to get stuck in ruts and am very sensitive about it so every time I feel like I am wedded to a certain color, surface or method, I try to change it a bit. Rather than using a brownish underpainting I decided to start with colored shapes today. It took a lot longer than I anticipated and I felt like I was all thumbs but decided to post anyway even though it isn't done. Another farmer's market scene.

westport harbor storm - 16x8

Last week we had a mixed snow/rain storm and I went down to look at Westport harbor.......I wanted to get the sort of opaque quality of the scene without painting snow per se. I have to add the name of the green boat when things have set up a bit - her name is: Alice T. I did go out painting at Warren's Beach yesterday and boy, was I rusty! I really just wanted to be outside and hear the ocean and lasted about 2 hours before my fingertips were practically frozen. It was awesome but I had to wipe out what I did.

dusk - 12x9

It is so beautiful here today but I wanted to finish this so I only went for a short walk and took some pictures. Tommorow is supposed to be as nice and I think I might try to paint outside at the beach......yipee!

morning - 12x9

I finished this - am not really satisfied with the trees and the way they overlap the bright spots but one has to stop at some point.

morning near my daughter's house - 12x9

Bad photo and just a start but I didn't begin until after figure drawing and then lunch so I got a late start! Thank God for painting because if I relied on what was going on in the world for my happiness I would be in trouble. I try to remain apolitical on this blog but it is becoming so hard.......enough said for now but I might just "go for it" one of these days.

cloud study - 8" square

I just felt like painting summer today.

industrial - 8x10

I love the patterns of industrial architecture..........this one a decrepit metal group of ladders on the side of the state pier.