New Works at Hampton House Gallery

Yesterday I delivered two large pieces to Hampton House Art and Framing (Coliseum Drive, Winston-Salem, NC). I had just signed one of the, and the paint was still wet when I got Jackie's message asking me to switch out some artwork and bring some larger pieces.  Hanover Park Vineyard, the other one that I delivered to them, is an older piece. If you are in the area, stop in and take a look at the gallery - they just rehung things yesterday after taking down their "Summer Memories" Show.

The Porch at Ciener Garden  18x24 Oil

Hanover Park Vineyard 24 x36 Oil

No upcoming events for this weekend.

Next weekend I will be in Raleigh taking a workshop from Lori Putnam - getting excited about that! Friday, 11/1, Lori will be exhibiting her work at Nicole's Studio, Person St., Raleigh during First Friday Gallery Hop.

ARTSfest 2013

This coming Saturday, September 14, 2013, I will be setting up a booth to display and sell my paintings at the bi-annual ARTSfest in Winston-Salem, NC.

I haven't done an outdoor show in a long, long time so I am feeling kind of overwhelmed.

Today I got out tables, easels and some shelves that I plan to use when setting up my booth and arranged them in my driveway to see how it would fit into my space.  My neighbors are accustomed to my strange ways and don't even ask what I am doing.  Of course, now I have to find a way to disguise this stuff to make a good looking display, but at least I have the skeleton.

My findings, which will serve as my display "skeleton".

 

 

Along with larger, framed paintings, I will have many smaller pieces to sell, including some small, unframed studies for under $100. I try to keep these to standard sizes so a reasonably price ready made frame will work. Nothing worse than finding a nice piece of art at a good price, only to find the framing will triple what it costs before it makes it onto your wall!

Here are a few of the studies that I will be offering for sale:

David's Farm

The Artist's Garden

Tanglewood Stable

If you are in the area, come out to view the art and have some fun at ARTSfest.

Existing With Your Subject

Yesterday I painted at a spot near my home where I often walk. It is a simple place which became beautiful in my eyes only after walking there many times.  When I told my husband where I had been painting, his response was, "there's not much up there, is there?"

This is what I saw the first time I went to this place - the only thing
of interest to me was the crunch of gravel under my shoes.

If you walk there often, at different times of day, and take the time to experience this little stretch of gravel road between two sub-divisions it becomes an oasis in the middle of suburbia. Every time I walked there I would find something beautiful that I hadn't noticed before. There are soft breezes and a morning mist that softens the trees in the distance, creating the most beautiful atmosphere.

Notice how the trees become lighter and cooler (more blue) in the distance
and everything is softened by the morning mist.

The land is higher there, you can see the sky and some beautiful sunrises.

Today I read a blog post, The Power of Slow Art, in The Artists Life blog which put my feelings into words so well that I wanted to share it:

".... the act of slowly walking around in our subject and changing our point of view can do wonders. As we move, the brain adds in the new visual information and builds a more informed three-dimensional picture of our environment..."

 Here are a couple of very quick studies I did before the light changed into the harsh, bright summer daylight. Hopefully I will find the time to paint larger versions of these:

Trying to capture the sky and the bright green weeds along the foreground.

Gravel Road with shadows.

 

Less Thinner, More Color

Last Saturday my friend, Arlene Daniel, and I headed up to Galax, North Carolina to participate in a plein air paint-out at beautiful Mount Vale Vineyards. We left early so we could scout out a good spot to paint; we succeeded in a big way. We found shelter from the sun while overlooking a gorgeous mountain vista that was still under the cover of a morning fog.

Perfect spot to paint at Mount Vale Vineyards; shade,
fun people and lots of lovely views to paint

I noticed that the church to our right was in a veil of soft fog, which is one of my favorite things to paint. It is hard to paint fog as it lifts quickly and you are left with a lot of bright color and detail, none of which you wanted to see until the painting was completed. The trick is to get the colors and values you see onto the canvas right away, take a mental snapshot and keep painting what you saw before the fog lifted. This is not an easy task. I also took a photo in case I needed reference for later. This painting came about quickly and with less effort than usual, but I wasn't sure why.

Painting of early morning fog at Mount Vale Vineyard.

Now that the fog was gone, I chose another view to my left and began to work on that. Same thing happened. The painting went quickly and I was pleased with it. I had to figure out why!

Painting of distant farm after the fog lifted.

I took stock of how I had been painting that morning and I realized that I had not been dipping my brush into the Gamsol (mineral spirits) nearly as often as I usually do. I had been cleaning paint from my brush with a dry paper towel and avoiding the Gamsol. This kept my paint thicker and stronger in color. I was able to lay the color on without blending it in, which gave a cleaner look to the painting. I was forced to mix the in between colors and paint them on the canvas rather than creating a muddy mid-color with a brush full of paint thinner.

This week in the studio, I continued using this new method and was very happy with the results. I finished two paintings that I had started months ago. One had been going well and I was a bit afraid to start work on it again - the other one had problems. I finished both and am pleased with both, but that's not to say I won't find something to fix later!

Traveling with Family - 11x14 Oil

Three Dancers - 12 x 16 Oil

Goat Lady Dairy - Tate Family Art Collection

The Piedmont Outdoor Painting Society (POPS), of which I have been a member for over 12 years, has had the privilege of painting at many unique farms due to our collaboration with the Piedmont Land Conservancy.

POPS Members with Steve Tate at The Goat Lady Dairy

Keeping Watch - pastel

It was in 2005 that I first painted at the Goat Lady Dairy, founded by Ginny Tate, in Climax, NC.

Two Red Barns - plein-air painted at the Goat Lady Dairy in 2005

We held an exhibit of paintings we had done en plein air at Piedmont Land Conservancy sites and also studio pieces done from photos we had taken. The Tate family members bought several of our pieces. The fun part was that they were buying them as Christmas gifts for each other! The artists knew who bought what, but we had to be hush-hush! Ginny Tate later told me that this was the first time her family had become interested in collecting art and she was so thrilled with the enjoyment it had brought to them.

The Kids at Goat Lady Dairy - Tate Family Collection

Chicks at Goat Lady Dairy - Tate Family Collection

On a later visit to the farm I spotted Mrs. Tate on the deck, potting some plants, and snapped her photo. When I delivered the painting I had done of her to be exhibited at the Dairy's dining hall, she said she wanted to purchase it. I was so thrilled and flattered.

 

 

 

 

Mrs. Tate - Spring Planting - Tate Family Collection

 

Sadly, Mrs Tate and Ginny have both passed away since then. The latest piece I did of someone at the farm was this pastel that I painted of Ginny, walking through the yard carrying two of her kids!

Ginny Tate, founder of the Goat Lady Dairy.
Many thanks to Steve Tate for his permission
to paint from this family photo.

You can experience tours of the farm and a gourmet dinner of fresh, local food at the dairy's dining room. Details can be found at their website: www.goatladydairy.com.

Goat Lady Dairy products can be found at the NC Farmer's Market at Sandy Ridge Rd. exit off I-40 west of Greensboro.

Pastels: Get You Hands Dirty

The past two weeks at the Assisted Living Center, where I am volunteering, we worked with pastels.

I sat and drew with them rather than teaching.

The first week, I took an assortment of old pastels and let everyone just choose a few out of the box. I sat at the table and drew with them, rather than attempt to teach. It was more fun for me and they just did their own thing, asking questions when they needed to. I realized quickly that I didn't have enough stuff when they started to ask for specific colors, including black and white, and something with a smaller point for details.

Although many pastel artists never pick up a pure black or white stick and they don't paint every detail, I didn't think it was the time to tell these folks any of this!

They had to use these in place of black and white

 I dug around in the box for the darkest and lightest thing I could find and they had to make do. As for details, they had to use the pointed corners of the square sticks.

The other mistake I made was including some soft pastels in the mix. Way too messy! Everyone was clamoring for paper towels and I had to run around the halls looking for someone to find some and dampen them for me.

I decided to go back to watercolors the next week, until the Activity Director told me how excited they were about working with pastels. One lady who had moved in recently was thrilled with her drawing and had a good day, which is something to cherish in this situation. Good thing I got that piece of news before the next class!

We needed more colors so I took this box to class the next week.

The following week I filled a bigger box with more colored sticks and a box of pastel pencils for details. I took out the messier soft pastel and added wet wipes for our hands to my gear. It was a hit again. People left the room telling everyone they met in the hall how much they loved pastels.

Pastel pencils for the details.

Next week they will wear their oldest clothes, those who watched from the sideline may join in and I will bring wax paper to cover the masterpieces. Each time is a lesson for them and for me.

The Four Planes

After a three day outdoor landscape painting workshop with D. Eleinne Basa, my friend and I headed to Kure Beach to create some plein air paintings for the annual Painting North Carolina show at Germanton Gallery.

 I had taken Eleinne's workshop two years ago, but I managed to retain a lot more this time. She presents a wealth of info and refers often to Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting by John F. Carlson which is a great reference.

Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting, 1958

One of the princples he adheres to and that Eleinne emphasized in her teaching is the four planes of the landscape. To create a believable landscape, the following value relationship should be retained. The four planes, from darkest to lightest, are uprights (trees), slanted planes (mountains), ground/water, and sky. 

The sky is lightest because it is the source of the light, the other three are based on their angle to that light source. Possible exceptions are snowy ground and man made structures. I finally understand this!

A second truth is that to create depth in the scene, you must lighten and cool the colors that are in the distance and warm those closer to you. Often the scene you are viewing while painting will not follow these guidelines. Photographs are even less likely to conform. 

That is why we need an artist. The artist must create this relationship in the work to make a believable painting.

Here is a photo I took before I began to paint in case I might need it as a reference later. Notice how the trees in the distance look almost as dark as the trees in front and almost everything in the photo is too dark?

Photo taken before beginning to paint.

To paint this piece, I had to lighten and cool the trees in the distance by making them more bluish. The ground plane had to be lightened and made warmer. I exaggerated the angle of the trees to emphasize their attraction to each other and left out the distracting yellow gate to make sure the tree on the right got most of the attention.

The finished painting. Opposite Attraction.

I now need to practice so it becomes second nature when I go out to paint.