This past Spring, the Oasis Gallery invited the Seven Palettes (some of my art buddies and me) to mount a live exhibit at its Washington Metro location in Bethesda. Our exhibit ran from Monday, May 2d to mid-August 2022. Understandably, the show didn’t get much traffic, given Oasis’ use of zoom classes during the Covid hiatus, so I thought I’d post one last look at the paintings I contributed to the show. You can see the work of the other artists at the link above.
In a never-ending pursuit of quickly and accurately matching colors using only 3 or 4 tube colors + black & white, I did a series of rapid landscapes to share with some painting buddies and a more experienced guru, Bernie Dellario.
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!
Here’s my third of the 100 painting project — still on the Shepherdstown WV subject matter. This one was simple compared to those other two!
The painting & the reference.
Shepherdstown boaters, resting. Oil on Paper. 8″x10″. 2018.
Photo of Shepherdstown boaters.
At our recent workshop, Marc Hanson suggested we do a quick painting a day for 100 days and we would see a big improvement in our skills. Number small panels 1 to 100 and put each away as it’s finished, When you’re done with all of them, line ’em up in order and you’ll be surprised at what you’ve learned and how much better you’ve become. And start the next 100.
I’ve started the process. ‘Quasi-daily’ painting also ought to produce good change, right??
Here’s #1 — based on a reference photo I took on a hot summer day by the Potomac River bridge (new + old fragments) at Shepherdstown, WV. In the noonday sun, folks were swimming and kayaking on the still water and walking their dogs in the rocky shallows. My hubby and I were enjoying the cool shadowed woods along the bank. Heaven. The painting is too busy — should have simplified more, but it does ‘bring me back’!
Study #1, Potomac at Shepherdstown. Oil on Paper. 8×10. 2018.
The reference.
This scene is a souvenir of a wonderful long weekend my husband and I spent at a waterfront inn south of Easton, MD one lazy August. Both sons and their families were there, along with one set of parents in law. There were white lawn chairs, hammocks under beautiful pines, and a fire circle down the shore. We went crabbing in the bay, fishing in the river, and had a wonderful crab feast to top things off.
Wade’s Point Inn. Oil on Linen Panel. 2017. 12 x 12.
Father and Son at the Beach. Original iPad Painting. 4:5 aspect ratio. 2017.
And another father-son in the water! What’s sweeter to behold than a parent and child at play?
Here’s another new painting for the Gallery B show. Also inspired by the C & O Canal — late afternoon with the sun raking low across the tree tops.
C & O Face-off. Oil on Linen. 8 x 10.
I did a similar scene in gouache a few years ago, when I was first dabbling in that medium. I love the contrast between the trees in light and shadow and their reflections in the calm canal water.
C & O Autumn. Gouache.
Some of my painting pals and I (aka ‘the 7 Palettes’) applied awhile back to exhibit our art at Gallery B in downtown Bethesda, MD. We were honored to be selected for a month-long exhibit at this prestigious location during January 2017. Gallery B is a project of the Bethesda Urban Partnership, a local non-profit organization charged by Montgomery County, MD with promoting Bethesda. It gives special support to the arts in our area.
Under the theme of ‘Local Color’, we will showcase our art reflecting the lovely scenes and vistas of the Greater Washington area. Here’s one of my recent paintings of the C & O Canal that will be displayed during this exhibit.
C & O Spotlight. Oil on Linen. 11 x 14.
Gallery B is located at 7700 Wisconsin Avenue, #E, Bethesda, MD 20814. Gallery hours are 12:00 – 6:00 pm Wednesdays through Saturdays. There will be a public reception during the Bethesda ‘Art Walk’, January 13th, 6:00 – 8:00 pm. Please join us!
I am delighted that my neighbor, Dr. Charlotte Jensen, has invited me to exhibit some of my paintings in her offices, C2M Chiropractic, in North Bethesda, MD.
Dr. Jensen is displaying some of my iPad paintings, printed as giclees on high quality archival papers in archival inks. In addition to a series of veggies and flowers recently showcased at Brookside Gardens, these landscapes are part of the new exhibit.
The prints are scheduled to appear in Dr. Jensen’s office gallery over the next year.