Karin Jurick, a fantastic artist that I admire, created a blog called DifferentStrokesfromDifferentFolks.blogspot.com Every so often, Karin posts a reference photo of a particular subject. Artists are invited to create a painting based on the photo and Karin posts the results on her blog. It is fascinating to see the variety of styles and interpretations of the same subject. I finally took the challenge but then missed the deadline for submitting it! Oh well...maybe next time.
Last Saturday I once again headed for the cranberry bog (one of my favorite painting spots) and spent a sunny afternoon painting by the upper pond. I selected a canvas that I had previously covered with a pink/orange hue. As I painted, I didn't completely cover the background and allowed the color to shine through. This was one of those rare days when the paints flowed just right and I didn't struggle too much along the way.
Last weekend I reunited with a group of college friends to celebrate our 50th birthdays. We stayed at Wentworth by the Sea - a beautiful hotel/resort in New Castle, NH. On Saturday morning, I walked through the marina to the end of the docks and set up my easel to paint. It was very overcast. About half way through my painting, it started to rain. A gentleman offered me his umbrella which I gratefully accepted as it was really starting to rain -- hard. (You can see a drip on the right side of the canvas as evidence!). I continued to paint with one hand holding his umbrella and the other with my paintbrush. After about a half hour, when sneakers were getting soaked, I decided it was time to pack up to get warm and dry.
First off, who, other than maybe my mother, would want to buy this painting! It's been hanging on the wall opposite my desk and it is a bit startling to look up and see yourself staring at yourself. In any case, officially, this is painting #50...the last 12 x 12 for my upcoming solo show, "Reflections on Fifty", which opens one month from today. It's been a great journey and I've learned a lot along the way. But, don't despair, this blog will continue with more paintings so stay tuned. To those who emailed and posted comments...thanks and keep 'em coming!
I took advantage of a beautiful day and spent a couple happy hours painting at the cranberry bog in Carlisle, MA. When painting on location, a viewfinder is critical in helping me figure out how to transfer the vista in front of me onto a small canvas. The viewfinder not only helps me "crop" the scene into a managable piece but also helps me figure out the correc
t proportions. For example, the sky and background trees take up just about the top half of the canvas. Using the viewfinder and noting these proportions, I sketch the basic outline of my composition onto the canvas. This is actually one of the more difficult (but critical pieces) of starting a painting. I'll step back, look at my sketch, and make modifications until I'm happy. Once the sketch is complete, I can start the process of filling in each area, usuallly working from the background (top) to the foreground (bottom).
My greatest source of inspiration is the grocery store. I had no intention of buying cupcakes until I passed the bakery department and spotted these little guys. When I arranged them, their little sprinkles fell all over the plate and it looks like a really festive celebration.
I recently read a book on color theory by Betty Edwards. Betty talks about color choices and selecting colors that work well together. This painting uses primarily analogous colors…those that are next to each other on the color wheel...greens - blues and purples. I think this makes for a "quiet" painting. If I had added an object with a color like yellow, orange or red, it would have changed the entire feeling of the painting.
I think marshes are very beautiful. I love the way the water winds its way around the tall mounds of grasses to create meandering pathways. For this painting, I covered the canvas with a layer of yellow. You can see the yellow shining through at various points....especially noticeable in the sky area. This painting is based on a photo I took of Plum Island in the fall.
It's always interesting to look and really study something. If I didn't paint these cherries, I probably wouldn't have noticed how incredibly shiny they are...almost like glass marbles. When setting up this composition, I tried to follow the basic rule of good composition - "create variation in all aspects of the design". So, the gaps between the cherries are all slightly different, each cherry is in a slightly different position, the stems are all different, the top surface is a smaller width than the front, etc, etc. And, even though there are large, solid areas of color, these also contain subtle changes in color as well.
I'm not sure what variety of tomato this is but it was very round like a ball. It was also quite tasty ... I enjoyed it once it's modeling career was over :)
When I set up this simple still life, I thought it was going to be a quick and easy painting...wrong! The body of the strawberry went pretty smoothly, however, those leaves were a struggle! I ended up with an ugly mass of green. I was starting to regret that I positioned the strawberry to show the leafy crown. To fix the green mess, I had to really focus on each leaf and pay attention to its individual shape, color and value. As I worked methodically through the leaves, the top finally began to take shape.
This is another small painting done on location in the great outdoors. This vista is actually just to the left of the rusty railroad bridge that I painted and posted back in March 2009 (click this link to see what I'm talking about: http://lauriegmiller.blogspot.com/2009/03/weight-limit-3-tons-12-x-12-inches-oil.html). There was no wind so the water was like a mirror making a perfect reflection of the trees and sky.
Every year in June, the "Strawberry and Arts" Festival is held on the Westford common. Artists set up tents to sell jewelry, paintings, toys and other hand crafted items. Throughout the day, the crowds are treated to live music by local musicians. Probably the main attraction is the strawberry shortcake. For five dollars, you get a large serving, a dollop of whipped cream and a glass of lemonade. In this painting, I tried to convey a sense of the bustling activity and the overall feeling of the festival...always a fun afternoon to browse, people watch and enjoy some sweet treats.
This painting is based on a photo taken by my daughter. I love that it tells a story. The cat, Panda, spends his mornings lusting after squirrels. Unfortunately for Panda, he's an indoor cat and can only dream of the possibilities. The squirrel seems to enjoy his position of power over this helpless cat.
