We DVAA's Riverfest against this year. Lots of fun and lots of sun.
Judith's intriguing website is Attentive Equations at; Http://attentiveequations.com
Our painting group works on.. the pose
This is a continuation of my last post on finding a non-pose pose. The chosen pose. This is week two of over painting efforts. We have a good mix in our group. Johan Sellenraad a long time local artist transplant from NYC. We work in his studio along the Delaware River in Millanville, PA. Johan makes big, Subaru sized, paintings of canvas in a strong confident style full of reference. Judith Reeve paints with a expert feel for the figure and gorgeous approach to color.
Over the past several years this has been a tremendous education for me. The simple length of time that we have painted together has allowed me to observe and absorb knowledge and attitude that has helped me along my journey. Please visit their web pages to find out more about Johan and Judith.
It's all about gesture. At least for me. This is alive.
At our weekly long pose painting session, every Thursday for 3 hours, it was time to find a new pose. Johan likes to find poses that are interesting and not posey. These are the quick 2 to 5 minute poses I did while we searched for the pose. I used grey pastel on bristle plate. Our model Cathrine strikes poses as naturally as breathing. I like all of these gesture pose sketches.
This is the 'non-pose' that we decided on. Not a real expressive gesture but very strong and complicated. Again in chalks.
This is the first session in paint. I'm working on a 24 x 36 canvas. All the colors are roughed in. The drawing needs some adjustment and the color has to be warmed. More next week.
An acorn squash
Last of this season smalls... I think. This is painted with a new paint from Mark Carder. Geneva Paints. I enjoy these little things. So small that its hard to detail and show volume. It has been a great exercise. I'll get back to them soon enough but I have some largish painting that I've been itching to do for a while. I'm going to get back into watercolors and starting a Outdoor Painting group for the spring.
unnamed 6 x 6 oil on panel
I am lowering the prices of many of my paintings!
Many of the prices on my recent oil and acrylic paintings are being lowered by 1/2 or more. It's time to make room for more and different pieces. Many of the changes are done and by Friday all will be online listed under Available paintings. Four new paintings will be added into the pile. I hope this moves you to consider purchasing one. If the price still seems too high make an reasonable offer.
Lighthouse at the End of the World 24 x 18 oil on canvas 2015
This and several others will be listed soon. They are being varnished and will be ready to ship next week.
Barn Clock 18 x 24 oil on linen
Barn Clock is finally done... almost
I've been banging away at this for a long time off and on. It just needs to be oiled out in a week or so then varnished in about 6 months. I like it.
The idea came from reading how the Victorians would hang their game for a long time until the leg fell off. Then they'd cook and eat. ICK. I shot this bird and hung it in my old tractor barn made up of used lumber. The idea of hanging until the leg falls off is sort of a way of telling time. It was a coincidence that the old wreath frame was behind it. I had to name it Barn Clock.
A ten minute sketch using charcoal, pastel and conte
Coming back to life
2 five minute charcoal sketches
The reindeer are all put away and the beard is trimmed. It's time to get back to work, The pieces are fro the first life session of the new year at Yanni's studio. Rachel was our model for the evening. I'm working on a painting of a hanging pheasant and one of some boats. Its tough to get back to a 'normal' schedule .
Yanni's work
One thing I did over the last couple of weeks was put together a page of some of my friend and mentor's work.
Please check it out.
Free Bread. Oil on canvas 20 x 16
Free Bread... Finished
I got it finished. I like it but would like to spend more time to give it a polish. But hey.
Hopefully someone will like this one and WCAA can make a few bucks from it. I learned a bit from doing this about working with thin paint. I learned how wild it must be inside a loaf of bread while everything is expanding and exploding all over the place. Sort of like the beginning of the universe.
If you get the chance come the the WCAA auction in September at Main and Basin. I'll be posting date and time later on.
The Red Barn oil on panel 12 x 9
Another lost painting
Yet another painting almost forgotten. I did this in January 2013. Put it away to dry. Forgot about it found it 6 months later and varnished it. Put it away to dry and forgot about it. While I was cleaning up for the recent studio tour I found it and had a frame put on it. A lovely solid walnut frame.
This is the barn at the end of my field that I store the tractor and mowers and tav in of seasons. It's an old thing with rotted isles and a roof the we keep patching. It was build right on the ground. I been repairs many time in the past but is still serviceable and convenient. It also has great character and grunginess. It used to be home to many bats until the bat populations started to drop. Now it just houses a few field mice and my tractor.
It's now listed in available paintings. HERE
A reminder for the Studio Tour...
This Friday, Saturday and Sunday The Wayne County Arts Alliance is holding a tour of 24 artists at 17 different location in Greater Honesdale, PA. About 100 miles NW of New York City.
www.waynecountyartsalliance.org for a map and directions to locations.
Here's a radio interview from WJFF that Lindsay George, Alan Wood and I did on Monday's Making Waves program.
Heres a look at some of my stuff set up in the studio.
The up and coming studio tour is just a week away.
This has turned out to be a lot of fun. I helped hang the show on the weekend and it looks great. The general level of 'talent' is very high. Many many absolutely exceptional artists. We have quite a few nationally known folks around here its a thrill to be part of it.
To get my hands working again I did this little still life of a tarnished loving cup and a lemon. This seems to be a common theme. I liked the colors and surfaces. I painted it without and 'pencil marks' just brushed it in. It only took a few hours to get the feel of the brushes and ey hand thing going. I'm happy with the result. But it's not very interesting.
Oil on Linen 10 x11?
The Store is Open
Back to life drawing at the AFA
Tonight I returned to life drawing on Tuesday nights at the AFA Gallery in Scranton facilitated by Ted Michalowski. This evening we had the best model I seen in 8 months. An anatomy lesson on 2 feet.
There were 10 of 15 people there. What amazes me is that most of them are drawing in small (9 x 12) sketchbooks with little sharp pencils. They can draw but they even put two or three poses on a page. I paper so expensive? Drawing is a physical thing. You have to move and gesture. And they mostly sit at a table or in a chair. I stand for for 3 hours and I'm an old guy. Most of them are young kids. It takes me an hour and a half driving each way. then 2 or 2 hours of poses. It's a days work but worth it. They have better pizza in Scranton. We have better cow pies.
Here are a couple of tonights poses.
I'm developing a technique using a sharpie to set the key points and gray pastels to give the form mass... stay tuned
This model was fantastic... really fantastic.
A 3 minute pose... I like this a lot
A small gallery of Maine pics... I like boats
An sampling of Mid Coast atmospherics. Lobster at record low prices. Gorgeous filtered light.
