A Perfect Ending to the Day

"Day's End",Aptos, CA 12x16 oil

Visiting my daughter since she moved to California has opened up a new plethora of painting possibilities. Her location is perfect for me, a beach lover. While she is at work during the day I can load up my painting gear on her bike and head to different locations along the beach or high on the cliffs overlooking the beaches. Whether it is early morning or late in the day, the sky and water are always dramatic. During the day the beach visitors provide varied additional subject matter. No two days are ever the same and the beauty is always present. This view from Seacliff Beach looking towards Capitola provided an uncluttered composition to focus on the intensity of the experience as the sun went down. I tried to capture the water's movement and undulating colors while implying to the viewer the sounds and smells that accompanied my experience.

A Cape Cod Ritual

"Cape Cod Pastime"  16x20 oil
Every summer when we are at the Cape we pick different spots to watch nature at it's best. Depending where we are during the day, we have some spots we consider prime for this. Skaket Beach is one. Local people come with families and if the tide is low, the reflections of the sunset along with the silhouettes of watchers and their reflections create a dynamic and colorful scene. The little rivulets between the sandbars form patterns of color and shapes that are quite beautiful. In this painting the blue/orange colors help capture the intensity of the landscape. The silhouetted figures represent the various ways people reacted, some in small groups others strolling along the water's edge and some just alone and taking it all in. I was back from the crowd on a bench watching both the people and the sunset. Occasionally boats or birds would appear, but I decided to leave them out this time and make it more about the relationship between nature's palette and the watchers.

Man's Best Friend

 

 Dogs, dogs dogs!!
Dog lovers are a special group. The requests to paint dogs are more frequent than any other request. Being a dog lover myself, I enjoy doing them and love the expression of joy when people receive them. The hardest part is doing a dog from someone else's photo if the dog isn't accesible to me.  All of these were done from photos that others sent me. The challenge is to try to express something of their personality when I can only use my experience of various breeds to guess at how that might translate to these furry companions.

                                                                        

 

Hollyhocks Galore!

This past summer  hollyhocks lined the walkway to my back door. They greeted me when I went out and welcomed me when I returned. How could I resist painting them? When I was little, my mother always had hollyhocks planted in her summer gardens. These old fashioned flowers are one of my favorites and remind me of  our summers in Marshfield, MA and of our family summer home. I set up my easel and a small stool and quickly started blocking in the flowers. I decided to do a cluster of them, looking up to emphasize their 7 foot plus height. I eliminated the other flora in the scene to keep the focus on the hollyhocks and their rhythmic movement and red/green harmony. The result is fun and spontaneous as I had to work quickly to keep up with the fleeting light.

Painting the Still Life

Margarita Time 11x14 oil

   

Muffin top 11x14 oil

 Working with still life setups hones observational skills and keeps a focus on composition and color harmonies. Although I thought I would never do another after 36 years of teaching, I have come to appreciate how helpful they are in keeping me focused on the elements of design. I also enjoy painting objects that I have a connection to, often because of personal experiences or family connections. Is it hard for others to connect for these same reasons?

 

Still life with Starfish 11x14 oil

Evening tide, Aptos, CA

"Evening Tide"  12x24/oil

My fascination with the ocean has been lifelong. Growing up on the beach, I listened to the waves crashing as I fell asleep at night, smelled the salt air as soon as we got close to home and had the Atlantic shore as my "backyard". I miss it every day, but never stop thinking about it and feel grateful that I was so blessed. I also learned to respect the ocean and it's power. The waves on the Aptos beach were large and loud and only seemed to quiet down when the day ended and the sun was setting. The birds gathered each evening along the shore and there was a kaleidoscope of  different colors each evening. In this painting I chose a blue orange harmony.  I used the water that pooled on the shore to lead the viewers eye through the gulls, back to the surf and beyond to the merging of sea and sky. The long horizontals of the clouds in the sky give a calming effect to contrast with the surf breaking the horizon line and the staccato movement of the birds as they gather on the shoreline. The patches of bright blue sky breaking through the clouds are reflected in the water to unify the painting.

Plein air painting

"On the Rocks"  9x12  oil/2016

 New England weather isn't always cooperative for plein air painting. Some days, however, are perfect and 4th of July was one of those days. There was a clear blue sky, little wind, and it was warm and sunny. We were heading up to North Woodstock, NH for fireworks so decided to go up early and do a little painting. With no clouds, I sought out a spot where there would be shade and shadow patterns. There is access there  to the Pemigewassit River with all of it's  massive rocks, birches and water patterns; just what I wanted. I set up to paint and my husband went over to sit on a rock and read while he waited for me. When I glanced over and saw him sitting there, I knew he would be my subject that day. The colors and composition worked really well without too many modifications. After a quick thumbnail, I worked fast blocking in the value patterns. I knew I would have to settle on a light pattern since the sun angle would be moving and changing while I worked.  I jotted that into my sketchbook. It was a really busy spot with a lot of people swimming in the river. I decided to leave them all out, although many of them came over to chat and watch me paint. So many young kids stood around me that I almost felt like I was back in my classroom giving a demo again. I spent two hours painting and then packed up to leave. My friend, who was downstream painting, came up and we discovered we had both been painting Stu that day. My friend's  painting was from the opposite bank, showing Stu from the back and in the distance. I plan to go back and paint the river another time. I love doing figures in the landscape, but don't often have a "model" willing to sit still for me. For me, getting outdoors to paint is really special and plein air is my favorite kind of painting. I love it!