Postcard Invitation

I have two large pastel paintings in the Winter Members Show at the Southern Vermont Art Center in Manchester and was pleasantly surprised to see that one of them had been chosen for the postcard. It looks quite festive. Come to the opening reception on Saturday afternoon if you can; December 6 from 2-4.

Today marks 7 years of blogging here. The title of my painting featured on the postcard is Number Seven - a serendipitous good omen for the next seven!

Please look at Rodrica Tilley Gallery of available Paintings when you have time. The paintings on exhibit in Manchester are Number Seven and Community Garden, Putney.

Best of Show!!!

OMG! me?

'Eastern Horizon' took home the big prize at the Vermont Pastel Society Juried Show today at Arabella Gallery in Windsor, VT.  There are plenty of very good pastel paintings in this show, but it was my lucky day. Sean Dye, judge of awards, liked mine best. Thank you. Thank you.

This show will be open through October 5...11-6...closed Mondays. All paintings are for sale.

Sturgeon Moon

The full moon has influenced me to do all kinds of unusual things...like draw....no, not blood...pencil to paper in the dark....complete dark....didn't want to ruin my night vision by lighting anything.

Then, today at the studio I turned my memory and scribble drawing into this little sketchy 5" x 5" pastel.

And I have plans for tonight....yes, it's true I will be lurking in the shrubbery...fumbling with my assortment of tiny lighted objects, sketchbook, pens, etc....please don't come 'round my house and scare me.

The Gardener's House

SOLD

This is an early morning plein air painting of a charming property that the Tuesday Painters were invited to visit and set up our easels. It is 16 x 16 and available for purchase framed.

Imagine having a gardener living in the midst of an extensive garden...or being a gardener living in this cute place. (I think many decades ago I read a banned book about this. My mother smuggled it over the border during one of my father's fishing trips in the 1950's. He was concerned about not exceeding the number of allowed dead fish in the cooler. I wonder if he knew about Lady Chatterley's Lover in my mom's suitcase. Neither of them knew of my secretly reading it a few years later)

ipad methodology

Because during winter in Vermont most days are too cold or too short for plein air painting, this is the time of year I do my studio work.

During the last year I've found more and more uses for a new favorite tool. My ipad goes most places that I do. I take pictures with it. I use those photos primarily as inspiration, but also as sources when developing ideas for new paintings.  I do not paint literally from photos. Nor do I want my paintings to be mistaken for photographs. My own photo references jog my memory, suggest elements, inspire light effects.

After a session of studio work before I turn out the lights and leave the building, I photograph whatever is on my easel. This gives me a daily record of progress. It also allows me to continue the process elsewhere...3 miles away over coffee before dawn. It was simpler when my studio was attached to my house, but the ipad helps bridge the 3 mile gap.

I do not digitally manipulate either my source photos or the photos of my paintings. I don't care about the quality of my photos. They are always good enough to use for ideas. I plan how I will continue my work when I get back to the studio. It is a chance to step back and think.

Somewhere in the act of transferring work from the easel to a computer screen a critical eye appears; the magic editing tool! Awkward areas, not quite right color choices and clunky composition decisions jump off the screen to hit the artist over the head. Thank you, thank you.

This 24 x 30 winter garden scape is in process right now. I'll post the finished painting sometime. I toned white Wallis paper with pastel and odorless thinner and am working in multiple layers of soft pastel.

Looking forward to 2013

"I want to think again of dangerous and noble things.
 I want to be light and frolicsome. I want to be improbable and beautiful and afraid of nothing as though I had wings."
                                                                    -- Mary Oliver 

 I intend to hold Mary Oliver's words in my mind as I paint and draw and live and breathe.

Please tell me of your plans and intentions. 

Above is my work in progress, pastel painting, Bench with Boxwoods, 24 x 30, inspired by my friend, Barbara's garden. SOLD

I am Screaming

The $120 million dollar sale of Edouard Munch's pastel "The Scream" has brought forth several emotional reactions here;

Yips of delight - hey, it's a pastel! My chosen medium has in the past been occasionally dismissed by artists and buyers alike...'not as valuable as oil paintings'. Hmph!

Moans of pain -  being a member of the 99%,  I find it a sign of the excess, that unfortunately means too much political power is residing with the 1% of the obscenely wealthy.

Sobs of joy- I love this iconic series of four paintings. Rarely has an artist achieved this degree of expression of the inner self....and been so embraced by millions of viewers.

Mumblings of hope - still. I look forward to this masterpiece being accessible to the public that has so cherished it. It would be too sad if it disappears for long. Keychain fobs, coffee cups, tee shirts will just not do. Give all of us a chance to see the original - face to face.