Green Backhoe at Duxbury Cranberry Bog

One of my favorite spots for painting is on a stretch of Route 14 in Duxbury, MA at Temple Street next to a small cranberry bog.   This is the same location painted in another one of my paintings, "Pumphouse and Trailer."  A large, aqua backhoe appeared alongside the oxide red shed back in the spring.   I had been thinking that this old relic would make a nice, rustic painting subject.  I'm not sure this piece of equipment has even moved in the past seven months, but perhaps with the impending cranberry harvest, it will see some action.  

Since it is October, the tall summer grasses are leaning over and are bleached out.   In some areas the clover grasses look like they are having a rebirth due to the cool, damp autumn air, the only growth that looks true green.   Even the copse of trees beyond the backhoe and shed have a hint of rusty colored needles as does the ground beneath.   



Rt 14 Duxbury - Bog Backhoe Stage One

My canvas had been the beginnings of a seascape as can be seen in the Stage One Photo.   I blocked in the dark shadows of the distant trees and the backhoe.   Having painted many "red" barns and sheds, I know that they are really never red.   For this shed the sunlit red plane was a warm pink, made from cadmium red, naples yellow and some titanium white.   The shed plane in shadow was a alizarin, cobalt blue shade, with a darker version of that same hue just under the roofline.

Once I sketched in the two main subjects, the shed and the backhoe, I wasn't satisfied that the composition was unified.   I decided to play up the trunks of the trees in the distance between the subjects as a way of connecting them.   I feel like it made it better, but I wonder what an objective observer would think.

The small bog canal enters the scene on the left and winds back around the shed.   It was completely covered with pea green algae, which I didn't like, so I made it blue - initially.   The blue looked wrong and I don't know if it was because I knew it was made up, or if it was the wrong blue, but I decided to mix up some algae green and have it cling to the shorelines.



Bog Backhoe and Shed

The most fun for me as a painter is applying the last small touches on a painting.   For this painting, there were about four things I did at the end on the dry painting.  It amounts to punching up (down?) the darkest and lightest spots.   In applying these finishing touches, I try to do it in one stroke to give it a loose look

1) Retouched the darkest darks under the shed and backhoe.
2) Used my "sideways" bristle brush dipped in some naples yellow (and in some places cad red) to touch on the random dried out grasses. This softens the mid-distance greens too.
3) Mixed a cool white with just a tinge of cobalt to brighten the shed trim that was sunlit
4) Used a lemony (cool) yellow to lighten the sunlit side of the backhoe.


Toddler Art

Toddler Art I

A year ago, a precious little baby came into this world, marking the start of a new generation in our family.   A one-of-a-kind work of art was begun for this baby-to-be.  We didn't know if it would be a girl or a boy at the time so bright colors and vivid value contrasts (infants like that) were used to make a wall hanging a baby might like.   I thought back to when I was a young mother pacing gently around the house with a baby on my shoulder.  When it was time to wind down at the end of the day I would turn them so that they faced a window or a picture.   Where's the ball?   Where's the dog?  Where's the tree?   See the doggy?   Those memories spawned the first Toddler Art painting.   Brianna is turning one, so happy birthday pretty girl!

Toddler Art II

Two months ago, a second precious little baby of this next generation came into this world.   When I say little, I mean little - too many weeks early.   Our family has held a collective breath, put faith in a fantastic medical staff, devoted parents and God, saying countless prayers with a focus on this amazing little miracle baby.  To everyone's relief and with much joy, we learned that tiny Will has achieved the milestones necessary to go home with Mom and Dad.   The original painting is en route, special delivery, and here is a photo of it,  the second Toddler Art painting - dedicated to another precious baby, William!

Autumn Color at Veterans Memorial Park

Veterans Park Stage One

It was a serene Sunday morning at Veterans Memorial Park in Marshfield and the foliage was peaking.   Add to that a crystal clear stream reflecting all the color, and you have my idea of a perfect crisp autumn day.    This little park was deceiving in size and scope from the street. Veterans did a wonderful job tending it and commemorating local heroes. 







Veterans Park Stage Two

There were winding pathways that offered several options of where to set up to paint.   I chose a spot that had a view up the stream with bright foliage accented by dark,wet riverbanks on either side.  This was in fact, such a pretty spot that when two different photographers arrived for their respective family photo shoots, I correctly predicted that I was going to have to share this ideal location - at least temporarily.







Veterans Park Stage Three

 I painted in the furthest riverbank which was a dark brown oxide toned down with some cobalt blue to account for distance.   I built up the tree color from the riverbank up.  With each application of tree color, I would apply the same color just below the shore line mirroring the color above.   After I had blocked in the leaf color above and put matching color in the water, I used my pastry brush to drawn down the color into the water creating the watery reflections. 






Veterans Park Stage Four

 Next, I worked on the outcropping of bluish gray rocks on the left and decided which of the many pale gray tree branches and trunks I would include - not many.   Finally I put in the bright red sumac shrub that was at the far riverbank and its reflection.  As always, I'll fine tune in the studio, but here is the unpolished plein air version.

Audubon Farm Day 2012

This past week, the local weather forecasters had been predicting wet weather for this weekend.  Our Saturday paint out plans at the Daniel Webster Audubon would be hanging in the balance.   It did start out somewhat murky, but the clouds eventually gave way to some sun by mid afternoon.   Temperatures soared and it was a bonus given that were in October.



Farm Day Paint Out

I've painted here before, and have at least one previous blog post on it.   Today it was a vastly different place from the quiet, pristine reserve it usually is.   This event attracted hundreds of people, mostly families with small children.   The old barn was transformed into a hot soup station for the day.    Bales of hay were used to construct a children's maze, borders between events, food lines, bumpers for the hayrides and of course, sitting areas. 

I set up at the top of a dirt path that led down to the old barn.   Pretty foliage was almost at peak, a mixture of rusty green, golds and cool yellows.   A white sun umbrella was set up in front of the barn and it caught me eye right away.  It provided the sharpest contrast, against the wide black openings.   A large yellow and white striped tent was positioned on the left, a pretty counterbalance to the bright trees behind the barn.



Farm Day Oct 20

Most of the attractions, beekeepers, blacksmith, wool spinners, animals, hayrides, merchants, etc., and the hundreds of people viewing them were behind me and only occasionally would someone use the path I was painting to descend to the barn.   Pretty scene in all directions, and so much to enjoy while getting to paint! 

Once I had completed most of the landscape, I sketched in a young man with a black backpack when he got to the bottom of the path.

Corraling the Cranberry Harvest

I started this painting a year ago.   I loved the composition at the time, but I was not happy with the figures, especially the foreground figure in the painting.   I like to do the cranberry scenes in the fall when the bright, bobbing cranberries are harvested, so I gave it another chance this year.   This piece was painted using both a photograph that I took last year at the Makepeace Cranberry Festival (for the subject and placement), and a plein air cranberry harvest painting that I did on site last year (for color reference).

The workers were pulling a black corraling strip into a spiral that is used to gather the floating berries while a vacuum hose suctioned the berries.  The berries then passed into a sifting machine and were hosed off into an 18 wheeler stationed beside the bog. 

I virtually repainted the entire canvas, but having the ghost of the previous painting underneath made the adjustments quicker and easier.   Another benefit was that the overpainting resulted in some extra texture and color variation.

Manning the Cranberry Corral

This time for the figures I tried to think of each cranberry worker image as a collection of colored brushstrokes, rather than people.   This helped give an impressionistic look and improved the perspective.

My son who has a keen eye and on whom I rely to give me a critique toward the end of my paintings noted that one problem was that the shape of the corralled cranberries was somewhat warped and even though was accurate to the photo, it did not seem right in the painting.   He suggested straightening the distant edge of the red strip by widening the water.   I had been blind to it, but it made a big difference.

More cranberry harvest paintings are in progress since this is the season.   I'm not tired of the scene yet and hope you're not either.

New Website - Same Blog

Thank you to all my blog readers.   More and more often, I run into people who say they are reading it regularly.   I like writing it and one major reason is that it keeps me bringing paintings to closure.   I have a tendency to keep working on things, so recording the stages of the painting for the blog makes it come to completion faster.  I plan no changes to the blog.

This week I converted my old website to a Fine Art Studio Online (FASO) website.   The FASO user interface is geared toward artists and the optimal display and organization of their artworks.  After a few initial issues with the site, I think things are functioning properly.   During the course of the conversion, I also experienced a temporary problem with my email which should now be working properly.

If you have any extra time and can take a look at the website, I would appreciate getting any comments, especially bugs or mistakes.   It will take a couple of weeks to get all my content posted, but the navigation links are done - I think.

The website URL has not changed.   www.vezinart.com

I'm glad that these administrative tasks are done because the cranberry harvest is in progress and needs to be painted!

Thank you.

Marcia Thomas House

Identifying new painting locations is often on my mind and for some reason I equate new, exciting locations with driving somewhere "else" rather than someplace closeby.   I have to remind myself that it is not how far I go, but looking closely at what is right in front of me.   There is a particular antique cape-style house with a historical marker that I drive my daily.   I think I had become blind to this gem so I finally set out to capture it on canvas.

I pulled into the gravel driveway and set up facing east so that the sun was over my right shoulder.   There is a lot of history behind this fascinating house.   It actually was moved in 1997 from Ocean Street in Marshfield to this current location, on Webster Street, adjacent to the Winslow House.  It is now the headquarters of the Marshfield Historical Society, and appropriatedly so since it was originally the home of Marcia Thomas (B:1800) who is considered to be Marshfield's first historian.   For more on the Marcia Thomas House, I suggest visiting the link.



As I began painting, it got cloudier and colder.   I tried to pick up the pace, concentrating on the structural lines of the house and color scheme, figuring I could  always work the grasses, trees and shrubs later in a warm studio.   Despite the grayness of the day, it was still very bright.   My challenge was how dark to paint the front of the house, which was a northeast facing plane, technically a "shaded" plane.   It still looked very light in value.    I painted it as accurately as I could, then got a photo image.   With the front house plane as a good data point, I would be able to then use the photo in a relative manner.

Toward the end of my paint out, I was pleased to meet Tim Davidson, President of the Marshfield Historical Society.   At first when he stopped, I thought it may have been because I wasn't allowed to be there.   Quite the opposite!   Mr. Davidson was most gracious and told me that my interest in this historic site was welcome.   He noted that the Marshfield Historical Society is coming up on their 100th anniversary, having been established in 1913.  Many commemorative events are now in the planning stages for 2013.



Marcia Thomas House

We even discussed hatching a plan to include an art event or contest sometime during the anniversary year.  I would be happy to participate and know many other artists who would as well.

I hope to visit and paint two other sites managed by the Historical Society, the old Winslow Schoolhouse and the Winslow Blacksmith Shop in the near future.  For now, here is the "nearly final" product.


Miramar Cart Path

Miramar Stone Wall

A return painting trip to the grounds of the Miramar Retreat was a great way to enjoy an early fall day.   I love the stone walls that border the trails and want to keep including them in my landscapes.   They lend themselves to the dark, rustic style that I like.   Also the texture that I usually have on the canvas helps give dimension to the stones without having to vary my colors or values very much.  The stone wall in this photo/painting wraps around a dirt path corner.   In addition to the stone wall, I liked the interesting branch pattern on this tree, and the brick 19th century building in the background.   Not so attractive was the big white dumpster and bright blue safety fence.   I eliminated the undesirables for this painting.   This is still a work in progress.

Back to Duxbury Beach Facing North

Duxbury Bay Facing North Stage 1

Last week I described a paint-out where I stood at the top of a beach crossover in Duxbury and did a painting facing west toward the Standish Monument, then a painting facing east, the Atlantic Ocean.   This post describes a new painting facing north, not quite from the same spot as the other two paintings, but standing on the northwest end of the parking lot on the bay side looking toward the Duxbury Beach Bathhouse.   

My underpainting was a bit bold, a can of Pastene crushed tomatoes and two vine ripe tomatoes from a still life class a few months ago. The background for this painting was a horrid purple.   This muddy purple actually made a nice underpainting for this mostly cloudy day.



Duxbury Bay Facing North Stage 2

The sky was a beautiful combination of muted lavenders, pinks, blues and whites.   The dune grasses were dried out at this point, a warm naples yellow.   It was low tide so the sand was visible in the distance on bay side shore near the bathhouse.   The two brightest spots in the scene were the second floor windows of the bathhouse and a white house on the edge of the marsh.   They weren't consistently bright, but when the sun periodically peeked through, they stood out the most to me.



A woman who had been observing from her car said she and her husband couldn't imagine what I was painting as they didn't see two "pumpkins" anywhere in the area (she was talking about the tomatoes in my underpainting.   I explained my recycling of the canvas and she noted that one minute the "pumpkins" were there and the next minute they were gone.    That was because I used my big pastry brush to paint the large area of wild dune grasses right toward the end.

Just like with the previous Duxbury Crossover paintings, I am going to add the foreground goldenrod after a few days of drying so that they are bright, clear and uncontaminated by layers of wet paint.

Sand that Glows in Black and White and Torrit Grey

My Torrit Gray Palette - White, Torrit Gray and Black

The Gamblin Artist's Oil Colors company is an industry leader in the manufacture of oil colors.   There are many reasons that I like these paints so much.   They are buttery, true to color and are made in the USA.   If I have a question about mediums or the characteristics of paint, I consult their website, http://www.gamblincolors.com/.   

Gamblin demonstrates their environmental conscience by running an annual art contest revolving around the color "torrit gray."

From their website:

If you took all the pigments in the color spectrum and mixed them together, what color would you make? Every spring, Gamblin Artists Colors collects a wealth of pigments from our Torit® Air Filtration system. We filter the air around the areas where we handle dry pigments so that our workers are not exposed to pigment dust. Rather than sending any of our high quality, expensive pigments into the landfill, Gamblin paint makers recycle them into "Gamblin Torrit Grey". "Pigment dust should not go into the earth, water or landfill, but into paint," says Robert Gamblin.

The mix of pigments is different every year, so Torrit Grey is always unique and will never be repeated. Torrit Grey tends to have a greenish tinge because of the great strength of the Phthalo Green pigment, which is a dark bluish green. Torrit Grey varies from a medium dove grey to a dark earthy grey.

They are now dating the tubes, so artists can collect them from year to year and enjoy the unique qualities of each edition.

The Torrit Grey store promotion, which runs each year through the end of April in celebration of Earth Day, not only recycles pigment dust into paint but focuses artists on the importance of recycling, studio and environmental safety. Complimentary 37ml tubes of Torrit Grey are distributed to those who purchase $20 worth of Gamblin oil colors.   Last year, they distributed more than 11,000 tubes of Torrit Grey!  It was remarkable what artists can achieve with a color palette limited to white, or black and Torrit Grey.

The Torrit Grey Painting Competition, conducted annually in the Fall, attracts more entries every year. Artists make a value based painting using only Torrit Grey and any black or white oil paint. The competition is judged by Robert Gamblin and the winners receive a supply of Gamblin Artists' materials.

After the winners were selected, all the entries were posted on their website and a few weeks after that, three tubes of Gamblin Fastmatte oil paint arrived in the mail as a participation gift.

You can see the winning entries from the previous contest at Torrit Grey Winners.   My entry this year is a monochromatic version of a painting I did a few months ago of the wet sand reflecting the beach houses.

Sand that Glows in Black and White and Torrit Grey