Category Archives: Landscapes

It’s been awhile ~~ here’s my latest painting!

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I just finished an intensive four day workshop with outstanding local artist and teacher, Bernie Dellario. We were expected to make up a ‘color chart’ exploring the ways in which 3 tube colors (yellow, red & blue) + white could mix together to make virtually all the colors you might want.

We also painted ten 3-value monochrome paintings; ten 3-value color paintings; and a plein air painting which we then translated into a larger ‘studio painting’ (hopefully retaining the 3-value structure of the studies). Here’s my 16″ x 20″ studio painting of our cannas, through which we can enjoy our neighbor’s yard.

Cannas, Bamboo & Joe Pye?? Oil on linen panel. 16×20.

Here are the initial monochrome and color studies. Note that I included the bushy Joe Pye plant (?) in the black & white study; left it out of the color study; and then re-inserted it in the larger piece. Am glad I did – it’s now my favorite part of the painting!

  • B&W 3 value study.
  • 3 value color study.

2020.05.29. New painting ~~ Great Falls on the Potomac River

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New work to share! Here’s what’s on my easel, about to be signed. Sons Sam & Will, with their families, and Pat & I visited the Virginia side of Great Falls on the Potomac River last Christmas. I finally got around to making a studio painting of the magnificent scene!

I’m not great at landscapes, but I think I made real progress on this one!

Great Falls on the Potomac, Virginia. oil on linen. 20×16.

Day 4 of the Challenge ~~ California Dreaming

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For Day 4, here’s another recent painting — based on an early morning drive south of Half Moon Bay in California around Christmas. I loved how the masses were knit together in form and color by the nestling mist — and the interesting, barely-there trees out on the cliff point. I’m still ‘California Dreamin’. With this coronavirus stuff, I don’t know when I’ll be able to fly out there again. Road trip???

California Dreaming. Oil on Linen. 16 x 12.

This is the second painting I entered in The Tonalist Society competition.

Day 2 of Facebook Posting Challenge ~~ the Candle

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For day 2 of the challenge, I posted a more recent piece which includes some of those gorgeous pines(?) in downtown DC. I call it ‘Lighting a Candle’ . . .

Lighting a Candle. Oil on Linen Panel. 16 x 20

A new art society was formed in the last year or so ~~ The Tonalist Society, which encourages and recognizes artists who work in a ‘tonalist’ style. As you can tell from earlier posts in this blog, I admire the work of Terry Miura and Marc Hanson who often paint in this style. I decided to enter two paintings in the first annual juried show. This is one of the two.

Painting #22 – Birds in the Backyard and a CMYK Palette

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My most recent small painting features some bright cardinals showing off among their Plain Jane pals.  It was based on photos taken last year.  Our feeder is empty and there are few birds to watch now.  (Our neighborhood has been encouraged not to use feeders so birds won’t gather and spread a new virus among themselves.)

For the artists who are reading, this painting was an experiment in “cmyk” colors — a very limited palette of cyan, magenta, yellow and black.  This group of colors is used with great success in color printing, but it’s pretty rare to see it underpinning an oil painting or water-based art.

For this attempt, I used the closest hues in my paint stash:  manganese phthalo, quinacridone violet, azo yellow and ivory black.  I managed to mix everything in the painting without resorting to additional colors ~~ other than the male cardinals, for which I dipped into cad red.  I can’t say I enjoyed the experience or like the outcome!  I’m not sure whether I’ll try it again!

#22. Birds in the Backyard. Oil on Primed Arches Oil Paper. 8″ x 10″

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Mississippi Workshop – Part II. Water & Wildlife.

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It would be impossible to retrace our workshop footsteps and recount all of our painting triumphs and pratfalls, so I’ll just say:  WATER and WILDLIFE!   We spent every day painting by beautiful waters ~~ the old Ocean Springs harbor, the gentle marshes of the Gulf Islands National Seashore, the sparkling Ocean Springs beaches and the marshy streams meandering down to the shore.  Here are a few shots of the waters we enjoyed.

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And as for the wildlife, there was a feast for the eyes ~~ from bombardier pelicans, sunning alligators, eel-gulping herons, osprey, crab and who knows what else.  And I guess we have to count as ‘wildlife’ the daring youngsters, male and female, who paddle boarded within feet of the alligator after he decided to take a dip in the harbor.

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Remembering Our Recent Workshop on Mississippi Gulf Coast – Part 1

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In writing my last post, I realized I hadn’t described our recent workshop in any detail.  It was great ~~ a delightful mix of ‘7 Palettes‘ painting buddies and Kathy Stowe, another Maryland-based friend; two of my sisters (Ceci & Susan); and three other Coast-based artists — Marylyn Gibson, Sherry Carlson and Curtis Jaunsen.  And of course our most excellent instructor, Marc Hanson.

Marc and Terry Miura are two of my most favorite landscape painters (not to take anything away from our outstanding MD-based artists).  Painting ‘rock stars’ in my book.  I’ve taken workshops with each of them and our 7Ps group sponsored a workshop with Terry not long ago.  It was fun to learn that they both trained at the same school in California!  Must be something in the water (or the OMG) out there!

Here are the beautiful demos that Marc did during our four day workshop.  I bought ‘On Canal by Old OS Harbor’ as a memento of the wonderful experience.

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Pre-Workshop Painting of ‘Susan’s Marsh’ Got Some Touchups Pre-Exhibit

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Before the recent workshop on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, I tried to get in the groove by painting one of the places we would visit there.  I call it ‘Susan’s Marsh’ because it was based on a photo my sister took in showing us potential venues.  I didn’t finish it then, but did so a couple of weeks ago so I could include it in our new Maplewood Exhibit.  I decided to spice it up a bit by adding a heron — it was looking a bit too tranquil without it!

 

Painting #16. Painting Smoke Outside the Kitchen Window

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We’ve got a beautiful fluffy pink smoke bush in our front yard.  It’s only a few years old but it’s grown huge.  Its color is very interesting.  Not ‘PINK pink’, but something fairly indescribable.  I can show you better with my brush than with my words.  I also give you a few photos below to get a sense of what I was looking at when I painted this one live.

The ‘7 Palettes’ Kicked Off a Summer-long Exhibit Yesterday!

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Yesterday, some friends and I, who collaborate on all things art as The 7 Palettes,  opened a new exhibit in Bethesda, Maryland.  Our art — some 40+ pieces — will be displayed for three months at Maplewood Park Place on Old Georgetown Road.  Come see our pretties, please — any day between now and August 24, from 10 to 4 daily.   And congratulations to Sara Becker, whose large abstract painting sold during the Opening Reception!!  Way to go, Sara!