learning umbrella - 24x12"

I know that's a weird title for a blog post but after trying to complete one of the paintings in my last post, I realized that I needed some practice. This painting also (in addition to way too many umbrellas for one picture) illustrates one of the things I find interesting about the beach at Hunting Island. Because of the incredible amount of erosion and zero rock, they have installed these metal barriers from the tree line way out to the lowest low tide point into the water at periodic places along the beach - these metal walls are called "groins." Coming from New England where there are plenty of rocks, I found this very strange at first, most often eliminating them from any of the paintings I do at the beach. Recently I have discovered that, because the sand seems to collect along one side of the groin and gets pulled from the other, it creates a multi-leveled beach. That is also why it appears that I have somehow buried into the sand to paint this painting. I still have a few areas that need resolution but I kind of like what I've got so far - I'm a sucker for an unusual view. 

still hot here!

Despite trying to paint outside this past week, I failed. Knowing that it was probably going to be impossible, I stayed close - my backyard gardens. At any rate, I have absolutely no idea how the farmworkers around here (and there are tons of them) do it. Sweat was pouring into my eyes at a blinding speed so I gave up and returned to the studio to finish up a few things. The top 18" square is now on the drying wall so I can gain enough perspective and distance to see if it's done. 

The painting below (24x12") has been on that wall for a pretty long time - I was (and still am) dissatisfied with the umbrella........it is better now, though. I went to the beach to walk several times this week and studied umbrellas as I did and I don't see anything glaringly wrong with it so I decided to post it anyway.............I hate it when that happens! Value (maybe) , color (probably), overworked (most definitely), everything? It will go back on the wall until enlightenment hits.

connected - 18" square

Well, it has reached the point here this past week that one cannot really paint outside - the nighttime temps are rarely below 80 and, no matter how early you go in the morning, the heat is just brutal. So, I have been working in the studio for the past few days. This painting is obviously from a photo and you can see the remnants of the grid that I used to position the figures and the god-awful yellow underpainting that I experimented with (I keep trying this). There are two things that I really look for when I am taking photos for reference material and the most important criteria for me is an interesting connection between figures........a shape that incorporates a nice gesture not only between the figures but between the figures and their surroundings. The photo I used for this painting has that quality. 

getting back in the swing of things

Well, the holidays are over again and they were great. Right before New Year's I caught a bad cold, however, and am just getting back on track. I always find it difficult to feel the "flow" when I haven't painted for a couple of weeks. Normally I would just go out plein air but it was super cold, wet and gloomy so I went to the studio instead since I still feel kind of crappy and definitely didn't want to get wet and miserable. Sooooo, Happy New Year to all.

beach erosion - 18x18

What a week! It began with jury duty, evolved into my continuing internet provider issues and, finally, getting a chance to paint. Since there is so little daylight as we near the shortest day of the year, I've been working in the studio. The internet wire that leads into my house was struck by lightening at the beginning of the summer - it took two weeks then for them to figure it out and replace the wire but I have had a multitude of connectivity problems since then. After about a million phone calls (and being on hold for at least a half an hour per call) they sent a technician out to my house. I'm hoping it's fixed for good this time and won't shut down multiple times each day. I will also welcome not becoming immediately furious each time it quits.....they gave me a whopping $10 credit in July for the two weeks it didn't really work at all...........and I pay $70 per month for internet alone! Living in a rural area there's only one choice unless I want t.v. and I don't so I'm stuck. At any rate, I calmed right down when I had an entire day to paint yesterday.....not one single errand.

notan-ish - 18x18"

The concept of the "notan"system has always appealed to me but I have not really experimented with it until this picture. Notan is basically a system of dividing the picture area into interesting shapes of light and dark. I usually take walks at Hunting Island State Beach which is not only a couple of miles from my house but has been experiencing severe erosion - especially since our autumn of violent storms. Areas of the beach that were seemingly flat (or gradual elevation) have now become kind of rugged and the ocean seems to be carving the beach away from the coast and creating much more dramatic edges between the beach per se and the sandy land behind it. As I walk, I invariably look at things around me and the cliff-like dunes that are forming inspire me even though they sadden me. For some reason when I decided to draw this on the canvas I thought of notan and kept that in mind. I liked the composition so much I decided to post it before going any further!

holding hands - 12x16"

Every time I spend a week or so only painting outside I get excited about painting back in the studio so I started this one a couple of days ago. It was a little strange to go back to my usual palette after using only three colors while painting outside. I also broke down and ordered some new brushes from Rosemary and Company of England - I hadn't bought any new brushes for a couple of years (I have a million of them in the studio) and my favorites were getting a bit rough. Wow, are these new brushed AWESOME and I plan on getting a bunch more since they are absolutely wonderful. I ordered an assortment and haven't tried them all yet but the  "Ivory" short flats are great. 

the other side of the beach - 24x12" - plein air

This painting took two sessions of about two and a half hours each. Luckily the conditions were pretty much the same for two days. I'm still using and enjoying the very limited palette. The title refers to the location of this site...........the State Beach is off to the left of the painting about a mile or so and the road to the beach runs through a slice of deep semitropical forest between the beach and this area of marsh that edges the Harbor River. 

quickie in the haze - 16x12"

Kind of a quickie because it was so incredibly hot. I have made my "peace" with using materials solely for the practice of working outside when I know it will not result in a painting that I can sell - aka: wasting. This picture was painted on an oft repainted panel but I believe I got the values right so, despite the sloppiness, I kind of like it. 

"peace" - 20x16

I have wanted to paint this for about a year...........when I was out painting a landscape at Hunting Island, I paused to take some reference photos and these three guys rode past. At the time I saw them, I thought that the front guy was waving at me but when I looked at the photo later I saw that he was giving me the peace sign. I thought it was pretty neat when I discovered that! I have a little more work to do on the right hand side.....the water is done with very thick paint and I couldn't get some of the finishing touches to stick. Bicycles are pretty hard to do convincingly and I already see problem areas but that's for another day when it's dry enough.

hazy, hot and humid - 11x14"

Still going through some adjusting with my new bifocals but was able to begin this painting today and get pretty far with it. It's been really gloomy and cold here (I'm not whining, really) and I was missing those hot and steamy days we get down here. Usually, the gray, humid days don't inspire me all that much but what can I say? 

oldie but nearly newie - 20x20"

This painting has been on the drying wall in the studio for at least a year and a half.........I kept thinking about finishing it but somehow didn't, not knowing exactly what I needed to do next.  Last week I glanced over at it and knew exactly how to finish it! I am nearly there but couldn't paint today - picked up my new glasses & am "adjusting" to my new, stronger prescription (with its slight headache). 

busy, busy, busy!!

I have been pretty busy working on a largish commission with multiple figures that has to be done in time to ship it for Christmas so I haven't been doing much new stuff to post (don't feel comfortable posting a photo of the commission). I did the small plein air (8x10") right before I left for TX and began the other one (24x18") around the same time. I hope to get out late-day soon since I love this winter light and it is pretty fleeting. It has actually felt like winter here with temperatures at the freezing level most days!

a bit of a series in 2x1 format

Just a couple of things..........I am (honestly) nearly done with this one. It turns out I did a lot more work on it than I had anticipated. I got involved in the structure of the wave and wanting to get the highlights to my satisfaction. It is now so incredibly wet that I had to put it aside.

This is the same little girl with the same pink tube (a different wave) and I wanted to do a vertical this time. I just began this one today so I haven't gotten very far yet and I lost the light quite early today. I am going to have to get some blinds for the windows in my studio because the angle of the sun comes in and distorts everything no matter how I arrange things. 

I will be traveling this month so my posting might be somewhat erratic. The first trip is quite local........to an area in western SC to my next door neighbor's family farm. I am going to paint & take photos of rural SC as well as gather some cotton stalks (a long story unrelated to painting) and he will be a good guide & it was nice of him to offer). About mid-month I will be leaving for Texas to help my daughter prepare for her wedding. I am also planning on taking my time and painting along the way but I really don't know what to expect! I'll be home before Thanksgiving but am excited about seeing different parts of the country and painting along the way.

edge of the storm - 16x12"

It has been a very stormy day today.............went to the lagoon at Hunting Island & things really clicked despite the fact that I got rained on pretty heavily about mid-painting. I think I am beginning to truly like Ray-mar panels even more than canvas for outdoor work.....glad I stuck with them long enough to discover this. 

July Heat

Just a couple of updates on things I have been working on - both are 20x16." I totally changed the background of the  beach scene - this painting is designed to be an ad for my upcoming show and I wanted a large area to lay copy over. I wasn't happy at all with bare beach and a top rim of beach trees at the top.....realized that as long as the values were quite close in the majority of the painting, it should work in a similar fashion.  The man reading the paper is pretty much done - stopped myself from doing picky little "ending things" and will now let it dry. The real heat is definitely here! Even when the temperature is only 93, the heat index says it feels like 101.......no mid-day painting outdoors for sure! I kind of love it though.

fishing in the mist 12x12"

I have to add a couple of fishing poles (hence, the title) once the paint has set up a little more....this is a scene from the lagoon at Hunting Island.

cloudy day phase 2 - 16" square

I managed to get outside to paint the other day and, despite the poor quality of what I did, felt really energized by it and happy to get back to the studio again. So, I've continued working on the several things I've been posting for the last few weeks. I am trying to retain the gesture of the figure while painting the stripes (quite difficult) and portraying the sense of solidity and saturation of color that are present in this type of light. I decided to add a grouping on the left side to assist with the composition..............it's been so cold in the studio that the paint is drying quite slowly which is good.

finding a spot - 15x17"

The dog is done and I began a new "beach people" that is nearly done as well. I also decided that it was time (in a spirit of organization) to transfer all of my photos from the backup cd's I made before moving to my new computer. This has had several affects on me........first, I am beginning to comprehend the mac system better (and it takes constant repetition to undo my windows sensibility) and second it has triggered a mix of missing where I was and being glad I left at the same time. Weird, but I think I am fusing my past home with my new one via my visual sense of each place. I mean how can the grungy convenience store around the corner from my home in Fall River trigger such a sense of longing even as I delight in the beauty of my current woodsy/oceany home if it doesn't represent something else? Figuring those things out and representing them in a painting is what keeps me going.

stripes - 16x20"

It's nearly 100 degrees here (and humid) so I have been working on this painting inside. After a very stressful period of document-producing, I closed on my house yesterday!!! Wow, I never want to do that again....... now I just have to move. It will be more convenient this time so I am determined to keep to my normal schedule (of painting, etc.) and sandwich the moving in around that. I still have innumerable plastic storage containers (some of them unpacked from the last move) and my house is only 11 miles from where I currently live so it will be much easier this time.