Plein Air at Le Cirque Delray

March 25, 2013 in Plein Air Painting | Permalink

IMG_9275Well it’s Spring in Delray

Beach, which means it is starting to get hot.  But the weather was great for the opening event for Delray Marketplace: Le Cirque Delray.

I decided it might be a good place to paint-out so I organized an outing for my plein air group.  Although several signed up, only two of us found each other amid the chaos of marching bands and costumed superheroes.

IMG_9279Even before I realized it was going to get hot and muggy, I had staked out spot in the shade by the bounce house.  This turned to be a good idea as my fellow artist succumbed to heat exhaustion and had to be taken to the hospital by the paramedics.  I gathered up all her art supplies, and she came by later in the evening to pick them up.

Many of the people attending the event thought I was part of the entertainment and asked if I were doing caricatures or face painting.  My husband came by and we had lunch at Terra Fiamma.  It was fantastic, and you can see his review of it on TripAdvisor.

I decided to paint some of the architecture.  This is great way to force yourself, as an artist, to get the correct perspective as you can hear the comments of those passing by.  It’s always better to hear “Oh, I see she is painting the building”  rather than “What is the World is that?”

All painting is a very intimate encounter, but painting plein air is even more so. I do find it challenging to work in this manner and often have to do a lot more work on the painting back in the studio, but I love painting outside, even in a mall.

It is like being all by yourself with your subject while at the same time being in the middle of a crowd.  The major difference is once you set up the crowd has to walk around you.

This proved to be a serious problem when our the group was painting at Delray Beach Play House at Lake Ida Park East .  We were having our critique session, and suddenly, three busloads of school kids were having a picnic around us.  The kids were very good but it was still too much for us, so we had to call it quits that day.

Delray Marketplace is a good place to paint, and because of the 911 call, I got to talk with the manager of the complex, Amy Ferguson, who told me she wants to have our group back at another time.  It’s very nice that the businesses are so receptive to artists painting at their locations.


Plein Air Artists are often looking toward the past, in that they document the structures of a town before they are torn down; at Delray Marketplace, we were at the opening.

Can’t wait to see the bougainvillea next year on the archways!  It will give us some nice shade to paint under./

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Artist as Author Exhibition Opening

March 16, 2013 in Plein Air Painting | 1 comment

My husband, John  and I were at the opening of the  Artist as Author: An exhibition of artists in various creative disciplines who are authors and it was splendid.  It is presented by Cultural Council of Palm Beach County at the Councils headquarters at  601 Lake St, Lake  Worth. The exhibit will be there until  May 18, 2013.

Must see this exhibit

It was fun to drive up to the valet, turn over our keys and enter a magical space of art and culture.  Elaine Meier is the guest curator for the exhibit and has this to say about it:  “Artist as Author is a celebration of creative talent as well as an exploration of the relationship between the arts and the written word.  The artist participating in this exhibit work in multiple disciplines but they all share a passion for excellence… and a Palm Beach County address.”

The exhibit is fantastic and the opening was a wonderful opportunity to see the work, meet the artists/authors and be with others who appreciate culture in Palm Beach County.  There are fourteen artists as authors in this exhibit, all of them captivating.  I guess the one that really caught my eye was Sandra Thompson. She is known for her quintessential paintings of Palm Beach. I was immediately drawn in to paintings and felt like I could walk around in them all day.  My eyes did feast on them for some time.

Great job by all at Cultural Council of Palm Beach with this event.  To find out more information about the exhibit see  Artist as Author Exhibit

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My Next Step

March 3, 2013 in Plein Air Painting | 1 comment

IMG_8736Getting back to painting more regularly has been good: good for me and good for my work. Painting is a lot like dance.  The muscles don’t forget, but to be good requires constant practice.

One of the directions I have been exploring is a mixed media approach using digitized watercolor combined with photography and digital painting.   The initial step is to complete a watercolor in the conventional manner. To create the initial image, there is nothing that can replace the dynamic and expressive way watercolor develops on paper.   Then, it is converted to a digital image.  It is quite exciting to see the details in an enlarged format in a digital image. This approach reveals a level of exquisiteness inherent in pigment in water that is otherwise invisible.

Once the image has been digitized, I combine it with a digital photograph, usually one of the images from my “nature’s wonders” series.  I, then, break up the photo highlighting design elements of the photograph and integrate them into the watercolor image.  In this way, I create the effect of the complexity multiple layers of nature and, if all works well, reveal a level of beauty that is otherwise unobtainable.

One of the digital paintings I’ve created with this process is Hidden Orchid.  Here, I have used a spider-webbing technique on the original watercolor with colors that incorporate the light and reflections of an orchid I photographed growing on a tree.  The photograph was manipulated also digitally to isolate the blossom and stem.  The background light of the photograph was further broken up and moved to enhance design and to integrate that image with the watercolor.  The watercolor image was also modified for transparency, and several layers of different sections with varieties of transparency were integrated with the blossom to give the effect of the complexity beneath the beauty of the blossoming orchid.

I have been pleased that the work I’ve completed in this Art/Science series has been well received on Fine Art America and my CafePress Store, Donna’s Art for Everyone  As much as I’d love to be seen as the next great artist to collect and have collectors in a bidding war over my work, I truly believe in art being accessible to everyone.  So, the fact that prints and merchandise of this new direction has had recent sales encourages me to believe that people are responding to my art.  The problem is most of the local venues for group exhibits do not allow digital work, so I am looking into finding venues that do allow it.  In my view, this is “the new art” of our time, and resistance to it has to be expected.

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New Directions

February 4, 2013 in Plein Air Painting | Permalink

webpage2So it’s the New Year, and I restarting my blogging. I’ve felt a bit guilty about neglecting it but life has a bad habit of getting in the way of the best intentions.

I’ll admit that being President of Palm Beach Watercolor Society the last two has taken up a lot of my time and my energy.  However, my term is now ending and I’m turning in a new direction.

For years, I’m been urging fellow artists that they get an artist website and join the modern world with their art. Many of them have replied, “I’d rather just be in the studio.” While I can appreciate that, it’s been a bit painful to realize the opportunities for exposure and sales they are missing.

With that in mind, I’ve started a place for artists who wish to be represented in an online gallery; I call it Art Evolution Gallery. The concept is rather simple but contemporary. Artists evolve over their career, and collectors are always seeking new and evolving artists. I see Art Evolution Gallery as a point of convergence for both evolving artists and savvy art collectors. To find out more about this, drop by www.ArtEvolutionGallery.com.

As you know, I’ve long been interested in art history and theory. I just finished reading But is it Art: An Introduction to Art Theory by Cynthia Freeland and have reviewed it on Barnes and Noble. Here is a copy of that review:

Coming from a science background, I wondered how theory could be applied to art. It seems that, in the case of art theory, the major and most relevant questions are: “What is art?” and “Why is art valued?”

The author provides an historical framework of how philosophers and critics have approached these questions. Looking at the business and politics of art, good examples and references are provided throughout. She also shows how ‘cultural biases’ can be intervening variables in both the framing of the initial questions and the answers.

It is not surprising that the conclusion is the investigation of art theory, like scientific exploration, often leads to more questions than are answered. The author characterizes art theory as an explanation of the diversity of the subject,  deals well with why art is special, provides a good overview of the topic and a stepping stone for further reading on the subject.

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Summer Sketch Tour 2010

November 9, 2010 in Plein Air Painting | Permalink

It’s been a while since I “blogged.” That’s because I’ve been overwhelmed with the business aspects of being a commercial artist. That sort of thing is necessary, but it’s hardly fodder for an interesting exposition. Frankly, it’s very boring.

I’ll digress a bit at the start. This summer, my husband and I took a four-month trip to investigate various groups and venues on the East Coast I’d heard about and, obviously, to paint or at least get some very good reference photos of things I planned to paint.

A taste of the Old South

Our first major stop was Charleston, South Carolina. As everyone knows, it’s a beautiful city. I was really taken by the historic houses; the area reminded me a lot of Boston. We also visited Magnolia Plantations. All in all, it was a rich, rich area for taking reference photographs. I didn’t really get to paint much as we were only staying a short time, but I always try to sketch something, just to get my feet wet.

We also stopped in the Shenandoah Valley near Lynchburg, Virginia, for a few days. While we were there, I visited Thomas Jefferson’s summer home, Poplar Forest. The building itself is a hexagonal structure, designed personally by Jefferson. The grounds were lovely and I took a large number of pictures that I hope will inspire some watercolors in the future.

Natural Bridge

A highlight of this visit to the Shenandoah Valley was The Natural Bridge. It’s over 200 feet tall and arcs over almost a hundred feet. It was formed by a combination of water and the collapse of the surrounding terrain leaving an awesome natural formation. George Washington carved his initials in the bridge while he was making a survey of the area. Present day visitors are warned not to try to emulate our First President.

I was deeply touched by the juxtaposition of the ancient stones and the present-day verdant growth that complement each other so well. I had such a strong sense of permanence and spontaneity in harmony. I spent quite a while just absorbing the ambience. I had been counseled that there needed to be both an emotional and a cognitive aspect to my art and this seemed the perfect inspiration.
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/I’ve been pondering this for quite a while. I was deeply touched by how well the disparate components, the massive structure of the rock in one timescale and the fragility of the foliage in another, completely different, one, worked together. One enduring for eons, while the other constantly recreating itself.

Natural Bridge, Watercolor 22 x 30

I’ve tried to convey that in my paintings and I’m quite happy with it. It was a daunting project since it was on a full-sheet, and I’ve never worked on that scale before. I still need to get it matted and framed. I may have to experiment with cutting mats because when inspiration collides with standard sizes, it’s the mundane that has to yield.

Our next stop was Washington, D.C., where I largely simply toured the museums, particularly The National Gallery. It is a magnificent place. I had visited it before, but it is the kind of place that one can visit over and over again.

Matisse Cut-outs at National Gallery

One display that greatly impressed me was the Matisse “cutting into color.” It is a technique involving freehand cutting of colored papers into attractive shapes, which he pinned loosely to white walls, later adjusting, re-cutting, combining, and recombining until he was satisfied. I had no idea of how big they were. They are bigger than most murals. Seeing them in real-life made me realize that this is why museums are there. Books and photographs are useful, but one needs a place to really experience the art.

After leaving D.C., we stopped along the Long Island seashore and finished up the leg on Cape Cod where I did a lot more of the “investigation of venues” which was one of the goals of the trip. We visited the Cape Cod Museum of Art which is really well done, beautiful grounds and a nice selection of art.

When we were there, they had an exhibit of the works of The Seven Lively Artists. More than five decades after the group formed, the Seven Lively Artists continue to have a standing Friday lunch date at which they talk about upcoming exhibits and painting trips and share stories of past adventures. It was impressive to see a plein air group exhibited other than in a local display.

I did some plein air work while I was on the Cape. I got in touch with the Eastham Painters’ Guild, a wonderful group of people with whom I hope to do further work because they do some outdoor shows. Several members suggest that at some point I might be their artist of the month.

Strong Island

The experience with these people was entirely enjoyable. They paint a lot and have a great practical, no nonsense, way about them; they set up fast and get right to work. I was able to go painting with them on the Chatham harbor from which we had a view of Strong Island. The resultant picture is unique because, forgetting to bring a supply of water, I used the sea water from right off the beach. Now, I can tell people “this painting was painted with THAT water… the water you are looking at.”

We also went painting at some old barns. The gentleman who is in charge of the group is a long-time resident of Eastham. He knows a lot of local history and a lot of people so he can get access to properties which would normally be off limits.

We also visited the Crosby Mansion in Brewster. I took a number of photo references there, particularly the art.

Aside from painting and taking pictures, I used the trip to reorganize my palette. I cleaned it all off, moved some colors around, added a few more and made a map of it. Then, I designed a few sub-palettes because I was studying more about color and I wanted some where all the colors were mixed from the same sub-palette. I created my standard transparent mixing palette as well as an alternative palette and then I did a delicate non-staining transparent palette, an opaque palette, a “Cape Cod” palette and then I took every single tube of paint I had and value-mapped it at the standard strength at which it comes out of the tube. This turned out to be a very useful exercise because it gave me more ability to know how my paint was going to react.

Oct. 15th was the opening at the new place.

After about a month, we went up to Vermont for a two-month stay. Again, part of the goal was to look into the venues and to prepare for those with whom I was already involved. I was already a member of MAC, the Memphremagog Arts Collaborative, in Newport, but I hadn’t seen my work on display in their center so I had been impatient to get to Vermont.

Each regular member of MAC is expected put in time at the center, so one of the first things I did was go through a training course on what was expected. While I’m really non-local, I wanted to be able to do my share. It was very interesting working in a gallery, seeing people come in, look around and buy things. During my stay, I produced a number of paintings that I was able to leave for MAC to display.

My time in the MAC gallery made it clear that for the Vermont market, at least, I’m going to have to focus on more affordable art so now I’m branching out into original watercolor cards in a five-inch by seven-inch format that I can sell at a lower price point. I really believe that one of my goals is to get art into people’s hands. Art should be accessible.
However, this raised an internal concern: “am I selling out.” It took a lot of thought but I’m not at ill ease since I’m still working on art that moves me and that I have to think and ponder about and then create. I love to interpret the natural world, flowers, trees, old barns, and while these are subject that sell, I’m painting them because I love to do it.

These cards have also been a good exercise in patience for me. I do several at the same time and have to wait while they dry. In the past, I’ve returned to my work too soon and ruined some pieces by not waiting long enough, but with the smaller art work, I am finding I can be more fastidious and careful. Interestingly enough, it is taking me the same amount of time to do the small ones as the large ones, but I’m feeling more connected.

While we were staying in Vermont, I used some workshop DVDs to do independent study. One was Don Andrews’ five DVD set that cover topics like “painting with light,” ”granulation,” “how to loosen up” and “painting negative space.” They were very informative and I’m sure I’ll watch them again, and I’m going to a live workshop with him that the Palm Beach Watercolor Society is sponsoring in December.

I also viewed a number of DVDs on watercolor portraits. After I did one for my nephew’s child, Gabriella, I’ve gotten more requests from people for similar work, and I felt that I needed some formal instruction in the area. One I used was by Susan Harrison Tustain that sets down a step by step guide for creating watercolor portraits.

I also wanted to check out some Vermont venues, one in particular, The Old Red Mill, which is used yearly for an exhibit by the Northern Vermont Art Association, which I think I may eventually join. The building itself is a delightful old water-powered mill which is now a shop selling souvenirs and is, typical of Vermont, also a post office. The walls are dedicated to rotating displays of art.

Because I’m interested in the Saint Albans Art Society we drove over to Burlington. The group traces its roots back over a century. However, it is a long drive over two-lane roads, spectacular scenery but a long, long drive.

I also looked into the Vermont Watercolor Society, but they are mostly centered in the southern part of the state. This would greatly limit my opportunities to interact with them or display at their shows.

I didn’t get a chance to look at the New England Watercolor Society exhibit as I had hoped. They are another group that has a long history, starting out as the Boston Watercolor Society. I am hoping to get involved with them in the future.

Aside from “scoping out” the groups, I did some plein air painting at Barton’s Crystal Lake and on an excursion to Eastport and Bar Harbor, Maine. When I wasn’t painting, I was doing photo-reference shoots in the lovely scenery of those states.

Now that I’m back in Florida, I will be doing both the indoor and outdoor shows with the Delray Art League, giving me a chance to show off some of the work I did during the summer. I’m also active with the Palm Beach Watercolor Society and will be getting things ready for some of their shows.

I’m really looking forward to the upcoming season.

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Return fom Vemont

June 6, 2010 in Plein Air Painting | Permalink

After picking up my sister, Catherine, in Pennsylvania, I drove over to my aunt’s 90th birthday party, but along the way, we stopped at the Brooklyn Museum and saw the Judy Chicago exhibit of “The Dinner Party.”  I had seen this during its late 70’s tour when it appeared in The Cyclorama in Boston.  The Cyclorama was a great venue for the exhibit but seeing it in its present permanent installation was magnificent.

It brought back many of the same feelings from my first viewing; however, at the time, I hadn’t realized the significance of this break-through feminist art, something that now is clear in retrospect.  However, I was deeply touched by it at the time and the Brooklyn display brought back those feelings.

The Brooklyn Museum is a little treasure.  I wish that I had more time to see it, but the party provided a deadline that we had to meet.  We did have enough time to visit the exhibition of ancient Egyptian art.  The museum is definitely on my list of places to visit again.

The party for my aunt was fantastic as was the chance to see the many members of my family.  Following that, my sister and I stayed the night with an old friend who lived nearby.  One of the things about these tours is the chance to catch up with old friends.  It’s a valuable and nurturing experience that is well worth the effort.

 

The next leg took us to Vermont.  A visit to The Vermont Store awakened the “Oh, I want to get out my paint brushes” feeling, but I limited myself to capturing the scenes with my Canon camera and its new 55mm – 250 mm lens.  It’s valuable for close-ups without intruding on the scene. For example, I made some nice shots of a fiddler at the store.

We finally reached the Northeast Kingdom and we had some quality time with my other sister, Judy.  This trip also gave me the opportunity to move some items that we were no longer using in Florida but would be handy when we took up Summer quarters in Vermont.  One of these “items” was the Saturn I’d driven up in.  When the time came to return, I dropped off the car with Judy, and Catherine and I boarded a train for the trip south at Essex Junction.
The trip through the mountains and along the Connecticut River was very beautiful, and the nine-and-a-half hour ride into New York City didn’t seem all that long.  Since the rail lines were laid out during the industrial heyday, any long ride is an interesting mix of the conventionally scenic and a view into the country’s past.

I don’t think I’ve ever arrived in New York with such ease. There was no traffic snarl and I could appreciate the view of the city’s skyline.  We stayed over in NYC and went to visit the Met in the morning.

I had been there several years ago, but it’s always worth a visit.  Simply the magnitude of the place is so impressive. However, the “natural” settings were awe inspiring.  For example, the Tiffany windows were displayed in a portico that was also designed by Tiffany with Islamic inspired columns.  As another example, the Robert Leyman exhibit is set up just as it was shown in his house.  This is truly fantastic.

The highlights tour whizzes you around the museum.  It’s a lot of walking but it does a wonderful joy of whetting your appetite for return explorations.  After the tour was over, we made a more leisurely visit to the impressionists and a selection of Renaissance masters.

We returned to our hostel via a walk through Central Park and then took the subway south.  Catherine split off at Port Authority to take a bus back of Pennsylvania and I continued on to Penn Station for my train back to Delray Beach.  Even though I  arrived well before my departure time, Amtrak made the wait pleasant.  They have a well-appointed waiting area with wi-fi that is right off the subway exit.

While we’ve all heard stories about New Yorkers, my experiences showed me another, much more pleasant side. I had people spontaneously help me with my luggage, the people in the hostel were fantastic.  I was really pleasantly surprised.   I don’t know if it was just that I’m more receptive but I was very very happy to see just how friendly and helpful New Yorkers can be.

The trip back was fun and relaxing.

There was a club car and a dining car.  In some ways, it is taking you back to another era, but in others, I had to think “why do I have to be squished into a flying sewer pipe where I can’t even more, let alone stand up.”  I’m not that tall, but in a commercial plane I barely have any leg room.

The train was very different.  I could stretch my legs all the way out; I could walk around.  It was fun watching the landscape change from the New England setting to Middle Atlantic and finally to the sub-tropical of Florida.

John was waiting for me at the Delray Beach station.  It had been uncomfortable for both of us to be apart for a week, but now we are taking time to kick back and get ready to head north again.  This time we’ll be together and we’ll be going for four months.  The trip up will be slower and we’ll stop to see the sights and I’ll have my paints ready.

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Summer Sketch Tour part 1

May 31, 2010 in Plein Air Painting | Permalink

Here I am on the first leg of my Summer Sketch Tour. A month or so ago we bought a Ford Transit that I call the Studiomobile Its fitted as an art studio and for a bit of crashing and relaxing on long trips. That gave us two cars, and we discovered we really didn’t use the old Saturn all that often after getting the Transit.

When my whole family decided to gather on the Sunday before Memorial Day in Connecticut to celebrate my aunts 90th birthday, that provided the basic timing for this trip.

The first day I drove 12 hours and made it deep into North Carolina. The weather was beautiful and the traffic was light so long as it was, the day was pretty enjoyable. Traffic was a little heavier as the holiday weekend approached but I made good time to Reading where I spent an enjoyable afternoon with my sister, Catherine, and her husband, Frank.

Tomorrow, well go to the festivities in Connecticut and, from there, to Vermont. While I’m in Vermont, Ill be joining the Memphremagog Arts Collaborative and I’ve brought some paintings up to exhibit. While I’m there I’ll visit my other sister, Judy, and some other relatives.

Then, I’m taking the train back. I hope to get a lot of photography done while Im doing that but at least Ill get to sit back and enjoy the scenery. Ive never taken a train before so I’m looking forward to the new experience.

Im hoping it will help me in my artistic process. Im finding that my painting process includes a lot of thinking, pondering, and planning. This often takes up four times as time much as the actual painting. This has led me to seek out rich experiences as environments for the preparatory cognition. This was a major reason to take the train back, a rich visual experience without the constant intrusion of need-to-do things.

I may add a big to this blog over the next few days, but because they may be hectic, I decided to write this now so if I’m unable to write, it can serve as a stand-along document.

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Saturday at Vermont Studio Center

May 1, 2010 in Plein Air Painting | Permalink

It’s Saturday afternoon and the week is winding down this week… this really wonderful week. I’m so happy to have had this experience, and I’m sure everyone else who is here feels the same way.  I’ve gone around and taken pictures of everyone in their studios.  Perhaps I’ll make some kind of photo collage.

I was completely open when I came here; I didn’t have a plan and brought only blank paper and blank canvases.  I think that worked out to a good thing because it made me completely open to experimentation.  Yesterday afternoon when I was finishing “Awakening,” the one with the rainbow hair and the overt symbolism, I had an epiphany; I felt like I I was free and expressive.  At that point, a few people came by said that they really liked it.

This gave me such a feeling of affirmation… like I really was in touch with something inside of me.

Later, I decided to use a new medium, a watercolor canvas, with the geometric painting I’ve been working on.  I had begun that one very very methodically, and some of it had to do with the readings I’ve been doing on visual intelligence and the way the eye sees and interprets certain objects.

Part of my planning and process was the study of it all.  This, in turn, opened a cognitive door that has brought me in touch with my own process, which tends to break down into a lot of planning and investigating various processes, such as photographing, looking, touching, reading, studying…  all the various sensory approaches I can use to communicate the topic and environment of the painting.

Usually it’s an emotion or a feeling.  It can be quite tricky sometimes, but I now feel that, at least, I’ve identified the process.  An example of this happened when I was working on this geometric painting.  I had begun with the portion I’d planned out methodically in advance, but new ideas began to appear and overwrite what I’d planned to do with each section.  The painting was interacting with me.  It was like being in a Jazz dance with each new move flowing organically from what had come before, but in a living, dynamic and unexpected pattern.

I’m looking forward to trying this with an entirely new image.  Now, that it’s happening there is so much potential and I want to do something different with it.

Of course, I still have the rainbow hair one to finish; I’ll always see it as a treasure because of what it gave me.

I’m going to top off this week by getting a massage.  I noticed one of my studiomates this afternoon strongly resembled toffee in the warm sun.  When I asked her about it, she told me our life model is also a masseuse who is offering a special price to the Vermont Studio Week people.

That is just too good to pass up.

Main Street Johnson, VT

I’ll get the massage, finish up my painting tonight, drop in at the readings being done by the literary arts people, and tomorrow is Open Studio… then back to the real world.

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Thursday Musings; Vermont Artists’ Week at Vermont Studio Center

April 30, 2010 in Plein Air Painting | Permalink

Gihon River at VSC in ther Snow

End of April, at VSC by the River; typical NE weather

It’s Friday morning and  a good night’s sleep and a great breakfast is behind me.   The people here are great.  They were open to begin with, but as the week has passed, I’m really feeling like a part of the Vermont Studio Center.  We talk a lot about the sense of calm and enablement that this place brings and the changes this is bringing to their work.

There is a certain freedom that comes from escaping from one’s daily duties and routine and just focusing entirely on the artwork.  Although I must admit, listening to some of the stories that my fellow artists tell, I’m so grateful about the supportive atmosphere I have back home.  In some cases, the difference is so great that I don’t want to compare my situation with theirs.

In any case, I do feel freer.  I finished my painting of the river in the snow.  I used a splatter technique at the end to bring out the snow, and I’m very happy with the way it came out.

Then I started with one of the larger pieces of paper – the 22 x 30.  To first put paint on a sheet of that size is always a bit intimidating.  The image is a profile of a woman with her hair flowing back and her hair becomes a rainbow.  It came together well, but yesterday, just seemed to be a bit of a low-energy day, so I broke up the periods of painting with casual walks.  Then, in the evening, I stayed in the studio, the first time that I’ve done that during this week, and continued to work on my dream-reality.

As I added touches, I was really happy with the way it was making me feel; I was engaging with it, and it was so exciting, I almost didn’t want to leave it as the evening progressed.  Now, I have that to look forward to today as well as some other stuff.

This is such an enabling experience.  I’m so happy I had the chance to come up here and work.  With good fortune, I’ll have other opportunities to come up here.  This is a unique and wonderful idea.  I love it.

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Wednesday Musings; Vermont Artists’ Week at VSC

April 30, 2010 in Plein Air Painting | Permalink

It’s Wednesday morning and I’m just beginning to wake up.  There’s something positively tranquilizing about the cool Vermont air… besides these blankets are warm.

Yesterday, the weather, which had been lovely, decided to show its teeth.  Rain became hard rain– hard, cold rain.  Then, it became something that is known in Florida only as a legend—snow.  White, swirling snow.  The accumulated warmth of the ground melted much of it away, but the trees became spectral white shapes.  It looked beautiful, a bit sloppy, but still beautiful.

The snow inspired me.  That is it inspired me to stay put inside the studio.  Beauty has many different aspects and when one of them involves wet, cold shoes paired with a completely inadequate jacket, it is best viewed from a distance with at least one layer of Thermopane between the viewer and the viewed.

The time for the figure drawing class came and went and still the snow came down.  Contenting myself that the by now snow-covered landscape was as aesthetically satisfying as the human form, I took a few pictures.  Besides, I had taken those same views a day before and I plan to do a few studies in contrast.  You know the sort—winter and spring.  I didn’t need to tell any potential viewer that in Vermont those can be only hours apart.

Once the creative ice was broken, I took out the sketch of the river scene I’d made on Monday and re-rendered it in watercolor.  This took much of the rest of the day.  It came out so well that I began another, drawing from my earlier inspiration, showing the same scene in the snow.  I plan on working on it for much of today.

One reason for this dedication is that the snow is still falling quite enthusiastically, and there is a winter storm warning in effect until four or so this afternoon.

One of the natives commented that this snow was even after “the sugaring snow.”  It is so Vermont.  I just love being here and I’m looking forward to finding a place so we’ll have a permanent northern New England address.

Last night, I braved the outdoors to listen to the writers’ readings.  The various writers were reading selections from their works.  It was a wonderful change of pace from working in the visual and really enjoyable.  There were a wide range of material being presented.  One man read a comedic piece that was quite funny in a tongue-in-cheek way.

On the way back, I stopped off in the studio.  It’s interesting to get to know my “studio mates.”  We took the opportunity to do a bit of show-and-tell about our various projects.

Vermont Week at VSC

 

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