Plein Air Painting 2012

June 16th, 2012

June 16th, 2012

June 16th, 2012
Cogswell’s Grant, Essex
Oil on Wood, 18 x 24 in

This was a tragic day* for me; I broke my beloved knife. Rather than having a collection of knifes that each do something different, I opted to have one knife that I had used for so long and knew so well I could do anything I wanted with it. Anything, that is, except step on it. I think it must’ve been weakening for weeks because it was in a pile of mown grass I dropped + stepped on it/ broke it. I have actually been paranoid for months now that it might break, or that I might lose it – because I love it so much! And the gods punish you for loving “objects” too much. I’ve already ordered 6 similar looking ones to try and find a stand in. I tried to finish this painting with another knife I had. What made my favorite knife so wonderful was it’s bounce, it’s springiness – the sub knife just didn’t cut it. It’s spirit was willing but it’s flex was weak. I just decided to stop and let this stand as my knife’s last work. RIP.

June 16th, 2012
RIP Knife

* – Also, later in the day I found and pulled out a tick from my leg – and three months of feeling increasingly crappy later, I learned I have Lyme Disease. Oh ill fated day!!

June 11th & 12th, 2012

June 11th & 12th, 2012
June 11th & 12th, 2012
In Progress

June 11th & 12th, 2012
Hostas and the Path, Tewksbury MA
(sold)

I just finished this (15 mins ago) and still like to see it in the environment in which I painted it, though the angle of the photo is different from that of the scene. Again, trying to understand light and shadow and how it affects colour. There are a lot of pine buds all over the canvas and myself.

June 9th, 2012

June 9th, 2012

June 9th, 2012
Cox Reservation, Essex MA
Oil on Wood, 18 x 24 in
(sold)

It was a hot and bright day when I painted this, and so much staring at the sky and land had really made it hard to see. I felt this was a disaster and I was really struggling, feeling about 3 more hours from its disappointing completion, when David Curtis arrived to give me his critique. To my shock and disbelief, he had only good things to say about this, even as it stood, and advised me to stop working on it; it was done, and among my best yet. I doubted his judgment – he’d been out in the sun all day too, afterall, maybe it had momentarily addled his brain? But as for the suggestion that I stop, I was all for it. I did. The painting is growing on me, like a beneficent fungus.

Twilight, Lake of the Woods

Twilight, Lake of the Woods

Twilight, Lake of the Woods
June 3rd, 2012
Oil on Canvas, 12 x 16 in,
(nfs)

It was a very wet weekend so although I did paint this outdoors (in a gazebo) it is of a view that was a long way from where I stood in MA.

May 26th, 2012

May 26th, 2012

May 26th, 2012
Cox Reservation, Essex MA
Oil on Wood, 24 x 18 in
(sold)

Last week and this week I chose subjects that are challenging to me – all this close vegetation and the sky through an umbrella of trees present a huge tangle of relationships of light and shadow, colour and contrast, and warmth and cold (tones.) I like this one better than last week’s. Last week I got a lot of compliments from passers by as I worked, this week, not so. As I say too often, probably, if you really want to hit a high note of beauty, you have to have the courage to wade deep through lots of ugly to get there. This was really ugly for a long time as it slowly came into itself, but I feel like, for me, it made it through to the other side. (See this beside the photo I took of the composition before I started painting – scroll to the bottom of “Matching Scene to Painting.”)

May 19th, 2012

May 19th, 2012

May 19th, 2012
Cox Reservation, Essex, MA
Oil on Canvas, 18 x 24 in
(sold)

Owing to the terrific sunburn I gave myself last Saturday, this week I thought I’d tackle the quiet shade of a cluster of woods. I also wanted difficult subject matter I could sink my teeth into. I am trying to leave this as is but may tweak a few things here and there. I don’t know how I feel about it yet.

Supermoon High Tide

Supermoon High Tide

Supermoon High Tide
May 5th & 6th, 2012
Essex River
Cox Reservation, Essex, MA
18 x 24 in

April 28th, 2012

April 28th, 2012

April 28th, 2012
Cox Reservation, Essex, MA
Oil on Canvas, 12 x 16 in
(sold)

April 27th, 2012

April 27th, 2012

April 27th, 2012
Sketch
Wingaersheek Beach, Gloucester MA
Oil on Canvas, 10 x 12 in
(sold)