Duxbury Bay from the Cove

Warm Up - Grey Morning

The Cove is a small boat launch location in Duxbury.   It is a little known spot except for local kayakers, fishermen, and painters.   Tropical storm Andrea was exiting but its cloud-cover hung tough for most of the morning.   The first painting was the gray day; the second was the sparkling, bright, rain cleansed day that replaced it.   I'm showing the gray day painting, featuring a greenhead fly box, but it is no winner.   This canvas has been overpainted several times and the textural build up was not a good fit for this subject.   Here it is to the right, but it will soon get overpainted with a subject that can benefit from the bumps.



Storm Clouds Moving Away - Stage 1

The second painting was more successful.   The cobalt blue sky and puffy white clouds were fresh and clear.   The storm clouds were still visible sitting just over the horizon.   Broken lavender clouds dotted the clearing scars closer in the sky.   A bright strip of sunlit marsh can be seen just in front of the island and beachhouses in the distance.   A single motorized boat was moored nearby, and a private dock enters the painting on the left.

Storm Clouds Moving Away - Stage 2

The photo on the right shows the first pass version of the painting.   Nice color, accurate drawing, decent composition, nice but .....boring!  


A week after the paint out, back in the studio, I take another critical look....again... boring!





Storm Clouds Moving Away - Stage 3

I decided to mix up some matching piles of  juicy paint and apply a thick impressionistic type of overpainting.  I also added some rich red accents in the shadows of the dock pilings and the foreground grasses.   I repainted the motorboat and improved the reflections.   Better, but still a little boring, or should I say, tranquil.





Storm Clouds Moving Away - Final

June at Nantasket Beach

Nantasket Beach Stage 1

This day was a "10" by my standards and I can't imagine anyone disagreeing. Although our beautiful beach is closeby here in Green Harbor, I drove north on Route 3A for some different scenery.  I decided to return to the same painting spot I used last year at Nantasket Beach.   There is a large, sturdy overhang that casts good shade along the boardwalk.  And, once again - I am so lucky when it comes to finding parking spots.   I scored a dream spot on a day when the $10-to-park lot was filling up quickly just across the street.




Nantasket Beach Stage 2

Nantasket Beach Stage 3

 The beach was dotted with people of all shapes and sizes.   I love the colorful dabs of color all along the shore - bright umbrellas, beach bags, bathing suits and towels.   I started the painting by trying to match sky and water color.   Once I had this background in, I added the bright green seagrasses immediately in front of me.   Finally I selected the people and added them one-by-one.   I was discussing the addition of the people with a man had stopped to watch the painting progress.  We agreed that one particular little toddler who had a bright turquoise outfit and yellow pail and shovel, would be good, but he had been running around so much that I had hesitated.   Just as I started dabbing him in, what do you know, he stayed still for at least two or three minutes.   This was long enough to get him roughed in.


What a fun outing, and yes I know how lucky I am.  After stufio refinements, it will be posted on my website.

Added bonus:  I took advantage of the fact I was only a few blocks from "To Dine For," a restaurant that specializes in delicious Syrian cuisine.   The starving artists' dinner this evening consisted of meat pies, stuffed grape leaves and award winning black bean soup - worth the trip to Hull, with or without the paint-out!


Fireboat at Jones River Landing

Little Red Fireboat Stage One

It's now mid-June and the sun is as high overhead as you'll see here in Eastern Massachusetts.   Setting out at midday on a gorgeous day means finding a shady spot for my ivory-white, never-had-a-real-tan flesh tone.   There is a picnic area at the Jones River and estuary in Kingston that has a sturdy wooden shelter right alongside the boat launch and docks.  

I've received criticism that my work is too "postcard-esque" and unoriginal.  Casting this tidbit aside, I gravitate to the cute, little, red fire boat for today's painting.   That's what is so great about painting to paint, rather than painting to sell.  Personal preference rules!



Little Red Fireboat - Stage Two

It was low tide and although this is a river, here at the mouth, the tide dictates the water level.   The fire boat was sitting directly on the wet mucky sand for the first hour.  Gradually the water rose and the water began to cover the wet sand.   It was important to stay disciplined and not chase the water level (similar principle to not chasing shadows).   Once the muck was completely covered with water, the nice reflections disappeared, so I liked the initial scene.

This painting was not working when I got it back to the studio. 

Problems:
-The distant sea grasses were the wrong green (Added more blue to push them back);
- the right foreground grasses were too muted (Added Indian Red accents against green);
- the dock that divided the painting was too sharp and white (Warm up with yellow and red and blend mottled broken color);
- the fireboat was too dark (Brightened reds and darkened boat bottom)

I'm still not crazy about this one. Maybe a reader can be more objective and tell me why.

Increasing Vezina Art Blog Readership

Twenty-one months, 175 posts, 240 paintings, and 12,000 views.  These are a few inception-to-date numbers related to this blog.   I can hardly believe the positive response as evidenced by these blog statistics, your comments and emails.    I continue to expand my painting experience and share my paint-out (and paint-in) adventures.   All the while I have been building an ample body of work that support artist shows and imminent gallery representation.  

PleinAirMobile

Just as important as producing a strong portfolio, is being able to demonstrate to galleries and advertisers that I have a sustained art following.   I can say with confidence that the blog has attracted and maintained a steady group of readers.   Many readers have even shared in the process of art-making, sharing in the successes as well as weighing in on the inevitable dilemmas.

As long as there is interest, my painting chronicles will continue via this blog.  Each painting will likely have a story to go with it - some more interesting than others.   Whenever I sell a painting,  I make sure that the new owner is aware of the blog entry that goes with it.



Back to the subject of this post: Increasing Vezina Art Blog Readership

My specific short term goal is to triple my readership by September 1, 2013.    If you enjoy my blog, please consider helping me by doing the following:

1) Add a link to my blog from your website or blog,

2) Forward any posts you particularly like to one or more friends.  I have no idea who gets an email when I add a new post, so I am never going to email you or them aside from the one way blog feed,

3) Send your recommendations to me on how you think I could further expand my readership.  I welcome and appreciate your ideas.

I value your help and will be giving away 10 original watercolor mini's (4x6 inch) to the first 10 people who let me know that they have helped me with one or more of the three steps above.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED INTEREST AND SUPPORT!!

Paint-Out at Duxbury Art Complex Museum

Underpainting - Old Marshfield Fair Painting

The grounds of the Duxbury Art Complex Museum are more expansive than it may seem.   On this warm first-day-of-Summer, we set up behind the building next to a small frog pond.   The frogs were croaking while dragonflies were swooping about, presumably teasing them.   The mosquitoes were there too, but after a thorough spraying of feet, clothing and even around our heads, they stayed away.

The building is different from any I've ever seen, with multiple rooflines and wavy curves over the library wing of the museum.   Many mature trees dot the grounds creating pretty light and shadows all around.   There was a remarkable amount of red amid all the green grass, shrubs and trees.   Now that I know to look for it, I am amazed at how blind I was to it before I learned how to see (ie developed a painter's eye).   The photo flattens out the red subtleties.

This painting probably will not be going anywhere, and that's what is so great about plein air painting.   It's as much about the experience out in nature as the resulting painting.


Plein Air - Duxbury Art Complex Museum

Daniel Keys Demo at Regis College

With another year of phenomenal success behind him, Daniel Keys just wrapped up two weeks on the East Coast, culminating in a painting demonstration held at Regis College in Weston, MA.   I was particularly psyched to learn of this venue because I graduated from the school, oh so many years ago.   If you have ever been to Regis, you know that the main building is College Hall, a grand stone building with pillars and archways that no doubt had attendees marveling at the beauty of the place.   The building may have been the first beautiful observation, but after just three hours, Daniel had created his own beautiful creation.   The crowd numbered roughly fifty, men and women ranging in age from twenty to eighty.   We learned that an instructional DVD was to be filmed as we observed the demo.   We were asked to hold questions or record the question to be addressed at appropriate points in the demo, so that the filming would go more smoothly.

It was no less enjoyable watching Daniel paint this year, even though I saw him paint a year  Like all of us who paint, a continuous evolution occurs.    He is trying different colors (like King's Blue), techniques (dry brush), mediums (walnut oil) and planning new subject matter.   

The two aspects of Daniel's painting that I find the most fascinating are:

The loose initial strokes made with large wide brushes approximate the color and shadows and look almost messy and haphazard.  Section by section this looseness is transformed with precise and economical strokes that bring laser focus to each element;

Keys Set-up, Palette & Painting

Secondly, the care taken to mix pristine, unpolluted color.   This includes the discipline of rinsing brushes in between strokes.    The photo doesn't lie.   Look how fresh and clean the palette pools of color are!   No wonder the painting is also bright and fresh.

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The Quahogger on a Special Canvas

Quahogger Stage 1

I often recycle canvases, painting over a previous work, and I have read that many painters have done it throughout the ages..    I recently was given a rather large canvas by a good friend, advocate and art expert.    She had received it from a phenomenal artist who is now unable to paint due to illness.  The canvas had been gessoed over and was ready to be reused.

I found this painter's work online and spent some time studying it.   I learned that this multi-faceted, multi-styled artist has won hundreds of awards for his stunning and inspirational pieces.  His creativity, exuberance and ingenuity came shining through as I combed over each one.



Quahogger Stage 2

I am truly humbled to have been given this canvas to recycle.  As I began to design my painting, I was thinking how important it was that this painting be my best to honor the generosity, as well as the caliber of the person whose painting was just a layer beneath the thick white gesso that sat in front of me.

I decided to make "The Quahogger" be the subject.   I have seen this fellow often over the years and have occasionally taken pictures of him and his cart, thinking that one day, I would paint him in action.    I took several photos of the painting development along the way.




Quahogger Stage 3
 

Quahogger Stage 4



Quahogger Stage 5



Quahogger Stage 6

Quahogger Stage 7



Quahogger Stage 8

When the tide is especially low, the man emerges from the first Duxbury Beach crossover and makes his way to water's edge.   One hand stays on the cart which he drags behind.  The other fist grips his long handled clam rake.   As he strides along he taps the wet sand with the butt end of the rake.   He watches for a squirt or punge mound.   A squirt means the clam is close to the surface of the sand and a punge is the sign that there is something there, but he may have to dig a bit deeper, since it didn't expunge.

On the day I took this photo, the surf was up with tiers of waves breaking simultaneously close to the shore and further out.   Waves and wind like this make the beach is almost deafening.  The pale cobalt blue sky was the dominant blue in the water, but further out in deeper waters it looked like there was some ultramarine hints mixed in.   Closer to the shore, and between the breakers the buff colored sand slants the cobalt blue toward a more greenish hue.   I downplayed the green and decided to play up the orange tint of the sand filled surf.   I worked the reflections right along with the local colors.

As for quahogger, he had a bright blue jacket and khaki colored pants.   His dark reddish complexion revealed hours spent in the bright light of the beach.  His hair was white, but in the shadows it is depicted as a dark blue-gray.   On a canvas as large as this, his dark silhouette and reflection makes a strong statement in the bright light of the beach. 

I'm close to being done.   As this was a major piece due to the size (30" x 40"), I would appreciate your very critical feedback.



The Quahogger Final

Green Harbor Panorama

Green Harbor Panorama - Stage One

I used a new size canvas for this plein air painting.   It measures 12 x 24 inches and seemed just the thing for a long shoreline and horizon depiction of lovely Green Harbor.   The extra width of the canvas let me comfortably include the public beach steps, the seawall with beachhouses, Burke's Beach, Brant Rock beachhouses, the jetty and a little bit of ocean horizon.  

The photograph to the right does not show accurately how much orange there was in the boulders and the sand.   In the final version of the painting, I exaggerated the orange because the blue/orange scheme is so striking a contrast.  The only thing I may still do is add some seagulls, or maybe an osprey.


Green Harbor Panorama

Dream Spot for a Retriever

Maisy's Beach Walk

It's no coincidence that a large percentage of the dogs that live in my neighborhood are Golden Retrievers.    And if I was a retriever, where would I want to live?  Green Harbor of course, a dream spot for a retriever.  The wide, sandy, world class beach is perfect for us humans as we run, walk, fish, sunbathe or stare dreamily at the horizon.   It's perfect for our neighborhood retrievers, who also run (chasing tennis balls), walk (occasionally sniffing a nice, ripe, old dead fish), and stare (panting) while owner talks to other beachgoers.  

One regular walker had a retriever that would pick up a five inch rock and walk all the way to Duxbury beach with it in his mouth.  Another would enter the water and swim along (much slower of course) while his owner, a runner, would run way ahead.   On the way back, when she reached him, he would reverse direction and continue his swim to their finishing point.

The retriever in this painting is a lucky dog with an owner (my neighbor) who takes full advantage of our beach.   She brings multiple tennis balls and one of those expands-the-distance-of-your-throw-without-touching-saliva-and-gooey-sand devices.    I often paint the beach scenes, and when I saw Maisy's extraordinary coat (plenty of cadmium red light with shiny pale yellow highlights), the pair became my center of interest.

Red Trolley Revisited



Reader's Choice for Figure Placement

 



Upside Down Shows Line Flow

 



 

 

 

     I



Red Trolley - Boston Waterfront

In an earlier blog I put the question to readers as to the placement and selection of the figures in the downtown Boston Red Trolley painting.  Their were several options presented in which black silhouetted figures were temporarily placed on the painting and photographed to review the best impact on the composition.  The responses were varied and in analyzing them another option altogether has emerged.


Placement: Every response suggested an option wherein the center of interest figure(s) was placed in the  "southeast" sweet spot (envision a superimposed grid of thirds).     One reader verbalized the armature: the eye enters into the painting on the roof of the Marriott, travels down the building tiers on a diagonal, along the top of the trolley, down the rear of the trolley,  then intersects the vertical of the figure.    We can verify this placement by looking at the painting upside down.   The major lines point to that spot.



Size and importance:   Most responses chose a large figure(s) in the immediate foreground.   This option might be pleasing because it balances the large building in the background.   A couple of readers liked the baby carriage (a figurative trolley of mom and child), and one further suggested flipping that form around so that they are heading away from the busy scene. 




I played with that option and decided that the original baby carriage silhouette was too big and really belonged in the crosswalk, and hence would be smaller.  So as to still have some visual impact, I added the mother and father with a baby carriage, although I kept their colors muted, because in retrospect, it was the red trolley that I was originally attracted to.

They are probably heading to the Aquarium, don't you think?

Thank you to my readers for all the feedback!

 

 

Daniel Webster Estate

Daniel Webster Estate

Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was a prominent, regional figure whose legacy is apparent even today around the town of Marshfield.    He was an orator, lawyer and statesman.   He actually served as Secretary of State under three US presidents.

He bought the land (600 acres) on which the Daniel Webster Estate stands today, adding another 1200 acres to his holdings, which he decided to name "Green Harbor."

For much more on Marshfield's Daniel Webster and his estate (the subject of this painting), visit the following link.     http://www.danielwebsterestate.org/

What about the painting's development?   Last year I  had made an unsuccessful attempt to execute a plein air capture of this beautiful location which is very close to home.   I vaguely remember mosquitoes, not having any viridian green and the clouds opening up before I was done.    I grabbed that painting with the thought that maybe I could salvage it for this outing.   I forgot to take a photo of that starting point.   The drawing was close, but the colors screamed late summer.    This paint-out went much better which I attributed to having a full first pass at a complicated architecture already established.   Now I could adjust the light and angles, and also work on highlighting and strengthening the color.   For the pretty shadow patterns from the big, old, chestnut trees, I used various cool blues and purples for added interest.

Pretty Light on Assumption Church

Our Lady of the Assumption - Light and Shadows

Early Saturday afternoon in this shady church parking lot was quiet and private, a beautiful May day.   Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Green Harbor is a fairly modern structure and it is quite beautiful in its own way.   It is not a grand or majestic church like some of the cathedral-like churches of my childhood.   The interior is appropriately bright and airy, similar to Green Harbor itself.  The light was bright and warm on the white church surface, a contrast from the shaded, bluish driveway where I stood. This painting depicts the back of the church from the rear parking lot and the stained glass window is located over the altar.   Can you tell I love stained glass windows?   I pumped up the color beyond reality, cuz I wanted to.  :)

Auntie

Auntie - Stage One

I continue to work on developing my portraiture skills, and the human figure and portraits have become my favorite painting subjects.   People are so much more interesting than even the most strikingly beautiful landscape (in my opinion).

I used a photograph to develop this painting of my Aunt Theresa.   She is turning 87 in a couple of weeks, now the matriarch of the family, outliving all of her family of the same generation.   When asked for her longevity secret, she said, "Eat good food, and do what you are supposed to do."  Of course she means "healthy" food, and the other part sounds pretty simple, right?

I worked this portrait from a recent photo.   I undertoned the canvas with a pale, Irish fleshtone.   Transparent brown oxide was used to sketch in the features.  I set the dots for the pupils first.   Once I established the spot between the eyes, all other features were measured from that spot.   This method gave me a consistent way to measure from that dot to other landmarks,  and observe the angle between the two to build the facial structure more accurately. 

Once the whole face was sketched, I re-measured, and per my usual mistake, the tip of the nose was too long.  It is critically important to the success of the likeness to go back and make a second pass in measuring, tweaking the drawing until it looks just like the person.   Aunt Theresa's trademark white blouse and pastel colored mock neck makes it authentic and personal.   I felt that the typical dark portrait background would be too drastic a contrast, so I stayed with the pastel theme.

I positioned Auntie's head to the left because I was considering adding her hands somehow.   Elderly hands have so much character and perhaps she is reaching for her visor or diamond studded pink sunglasses.   Or perhaps someone has another interesting suggestion.   If so, don't hesitate to let me know.  I still may add them, as this is still in-progress.

Beautiful Vieques

Esperanza Harbor I

Here are the last couple of tropical vacation watercolors.   Our lodging was just to the west of the small town of Esperanza and overlooked its harbor.   From the perspective of weather, our week fell in the "transitional" season, which meant periods of tropical clouds blowing through.   For most of the time however, the sky and water was a mesmerizing turquoise that is never seen north of the forty degrees latitude.




Esperanza Harbor II

Los Caballos - Horses

Horse Photo through Jeep Windshield

Esperanza Riding Club Herd from our Porch

There are painters that specialize in painting horses and I am not one of them.   On vacation in Vieques, Puerto Rico, there were opportunities to observe horses - everywhere.    We learned that there are approximately 9,000 residents on the island and there are 10,000 horses.   The single lane access to our lodging was a long, steep and winding dirt path down to the property.   Our first introduction to their predominance was when we turned onto this road in our 4WD Jeep, a very large horse was calmly ascending as we descended.  We came face-to-face with him on a stretch bound by thick brush and trees.  What happened next was obvious - and he fully expected it - we backed out and let him pass.  After all this was his property, not ours.

So although I have never really painted horses - like the mangoes - they were an integral and fascinating part of the landscape.   An objective view of their silhouettes revealed that they spend most of their time grazing, which looks like an upside-down (squarish)horseshoes.  These watercolors don't do justice to their muscular form and beauty, but it was fun to do these quick studies.






More horses



Bella

Looking West from Hector and Mary's

Mangos!

Mangos I

Have you ever eaten a fully ripened, just picked mango?   I hadn't until last Tuesday when we arrived in Vieques, Puerto Rico.   What a special treat!  The sweet, juicy flesh of the fruit was very similar to a perfect peach, and the aroma was unbelievable. Our casita was surrounded by mango trees weighed down with these bright, heavy fruits.   We were invited by our hosts, Hector and Mary to help ourselves to the fruit.   The only caution was to never try to get to a freshly fallen mango if their horses were out.  The horses would win every time.  


Mangos II

We witnessed firsthand the horses zest for the fruit.  We heard a mango fall with a thud.  The closest of the three horses - pets of the Inn - made a beeline for it.  He made a precise nibble at the edge of the mango's skin then swung his head around in circles which took the skin off like a spiral.   He then took the whole fruit into his mouth, juices pouring out.



Mangos III

With all this attention on mangos, it became a prime topic of the watercolor studies that I did on this vacation.  The strap shaped leaves were sunlit and warm green, forming star patterns just above the fruit clusters.    I did several studies of the mangos and I look forward to working on an oil paint version now that we are home.





Mangos IV

Mangos V