Little Dolls

Little Dolls

What is sweeter than a little toddler fresh out of the bath in her new pajamas and robe?   The day was a busy one for all the baby dolls and it was time to relax with a big book. 

I purposely subdued the colors and supporting elements (doll and carriage) which gave it a serene, tonalist feel.   Have you ever checked out tonalism?   The restful feel of the tonalist palette is a way of communicating emotion in a two dimensional painting.  

Sweetness of Summer

Sweetness of  Summer

What a fun and enjoyable project.   Painting children as I've said many times before can be challenging.  It's a fine line between the soft and sweet expression and achieving an adequate likeness.  Tots have neither wrinkles or angular features, like adults and painters use these as convenient facial landmarks.   Tots have faces with airbrushed angelic-like perfection.    So the painting process of them may involve painting, wiping out, and repeating - until the soft likeness is achieved.

A good reference photo can make a positive difference when creating a painted portrait, and this was a good one.   The challenges in this project, besides the likeness, were 1) transforming the greenish-yellow tones in the photo into a more summery color scheme, (making it lighter and brighter), and secondly, realigning the rectangular photo onto a square format while maintaining the balance of the landscape, parasol and figure.

Warm summer sunlight on young, healthy figures in back-lighting often have a bright red glow, especially in the ears, hands and feet.   I intentionally pumped up the warm flesh color to contrast with the nice summery blue - its complement. The toddler's shadow is stretched to the right bottom corner, balanced by the shoreline entering from the left, leading to the figure. The loop of the parasol handle is a good compositional element for leading the viewer's eye back up to the sweet smiling face.

This painting will hopefully turn a simple summer-day photo into a permanent family heirloom.

Fishing Off the Beach at Sunrise

Fishing from the Beach at Sunrise

Walking at the shore, it's common to see the little fish jumping out of the water in groups; bigger fish just behind them I assume - bluefish or stripers maybe.    This fisherman must have spotted the same dark swirl in the water.   He demonstrated just how beach fishing is done...wading into the surf, casting as far as possible with his long ocean rod, then walking up to the tideline to place it in the rod holder.   Yes, a beautiful scene for a painting!

The undertone for this painting was a pretty mid-value blue, sure to be a good complement for the reddish/orange sunrise.   At one point, this blue undertone had me thinking that I might not even have to paint the beach houses that receded into the distance.   Once the primary wave was painted though, its darkness created a problem with the darkness of the houses by contrast, ie that original blue undertone was too light.  So I added hints of shadow and rooflines.   The obvious center of interest rightfully gets its attention, but the beautiful beach at dawn is a perfectly colorful backdrop, even with a crashing, three foot surf.

Summer Pond Impression

Summer Pond Impression

My son lives on a gorgeous little pond in southeastern MA, made all the more pristine because motorized watercraft aren't allowed.   On this very hot day, I worked on this summer color study - just for the fun of it.   The vast patches of lilypads were covered with pretty white flowers.  I was tempted to paint them as any Monet lover would, but decided to paint a long view instead.  Just like all the color studies I've produced over the years, it turned out better than a "planned and finished" painting.  I like the choppiness of the color, giving it a painterly quality.

Much of the paint was applied with a palette knife with the color barely blended.   A closer view shows the ribbons of color in a single stroke.   The only hint of sky is in the reflections in the water just beyond the rocks.   Looking downward at the sky reflections made them appear darker and almost murky blue. 

Cavern in the Japanese Garden - Revisited

Cavern at Japanese Garden

This painting was begun in Canandaigua, New York, and it never quite grabbed me.   It was a gray, overcast day, and true to plein air, it was an accurate representation of the bleak feel.  I put it back on the easel and took a look at the pictures from that original day.   Fortunately, I found a sunny shot of the same scene.   There was significantly more yellow and deep red undertones.   Within an hour, the gray day was transformed into a sunny June day.   The waterfall was now visible pouring over the cavern boulders.    I believe the gloom is gone, replaced with a scene that is almost sparkly.

Fenway Park - Behind Bleachers View

Night Game at Fenway

This Fenway Park scene depicts the view from the tunnel between Bleacher Sections 40 and 41.    It's always a thrill to emerge from the darkish concession area to the mesmerizing and colorful buzz of Boston's Fenway Park, especially at night.    The energy of the crowd is contageous and the setting is like no other in Major League Baseball. The classic Fenway Park sign with its vintage red lettering is boldly emblazoned over the homeplate area. 

The painting has some strong angular lines but also rounded and fuzzy areas such as the figures and the crowd.  The warm orange lighting from the concession area under the stadium seating contrasts nicely with the cool day-toned type of stadium lights.   The World Series just ended, but finishing this painting has got me looking forward to spring training already!

BUY NOW

Finishing Up June's Blooms - aka "The Potting Bench"

Stage One - Underpainting

Stage Two

My love of gardening is second only to painting although painting claims most of my time. Combining the two seemed logical as I set up this still life of a potting bench.   Last month I shared the foundation stages of this large still life painting (22"x 28") and work on it continued.

A long critical look at the version shown (Stage Two) and decided to make a few changes.  The circular armature was working but I thought it would be better to reinforce this flow with the addition of well-worn gardening gloves and my pruning sheers.    Where should the gloves be placed?  How should the sheers be angled.    Finding an acceptable arrangement took some playing around.   Then the question became, what would the hierarchy of the elements be?   Depicting everything with equal attention and importance weakens the painting as a whole.    The circular flow I was trying to achieve could be undermined by an ambiguous hierarchy.   In the end, I decided on the following order of importance:

The Potting Bench

1. roses   (lightest lights and most intense color)
2. pruning sheers  (sharp lines, and some vibrant color, but in a middle value)
3. gardening gloves (human hand shape - naturally gains attention)
4. jute (falls on the path of the counterclockwise circular armature)
5. watering can (sits back, very little light, blends in with background, hints of highlights)
6. clay saucers (muted and dark)
7. under-the-bench clay pots  (dark and not part of the armature, ie the last thing to get noticed)

This painting will be my submission to this year's Boston Guild of Artists Juried Competition.  I also changed the name to "The Potting Bench."    I'll let you know if it gets in!

June's Blooms Phase One

Potting Bench - Transparent Wash Stage

It was June and these beautiful blossoms came from my garden.  We have had some picture perfect weather lately which has spared the bushes from the harsh wind and rain that can shorten their life cycles.    So there are plenty of flowers to paint!  This still life included two vases with pink roses clustered, a clay pot of blooming pink kalanchoe, my watering can, some well worn gardening gloves and pruning sheers completed the set up.  The height of the set up suggested that a portrait aspect would work better than landscape.

Potting Bench - Upper Element Needed?

For stage one, I applied a warm transparent wash with a mop brush, mapping in the set up.  I carved (wiped) out the areas that would be lighter with a paper towel.   This stage had a subdued, antique feel that I really loved; why it could be called a finished painting if that was the look I was after.   However, my goal was to create a fully developed, thickly painted canvas of blossoms, so the subdued style would have to be another day.


I began the second stage by applying mid-tones for roses and leaves.   After adding each supporting element, I used a clean mop brush to buff out the edges.  Believe it or not it seemed more difficult to decide how to handle the negative space than the subject matter on this one.   A larger canvas means more space for interesting objects and shadows.   I decided to place hints of clay pots under the potting table and a fringe of greens behind the primary blooms.

This is a 22x28 inch canvas so progress has been somewhat slow, so I consider this one still in progress.   To be continued...

Peonies at Sonnenberg

Peonies at Sonnenberg

Painting Six of the Finger Lakes Plein Air Competition was an afternoon experience with a 12x24 inch canvas panel.    I chose a long white arbor that divided the formal gardens and a fifty foot peony border at beautiful Sonnenberg Mansion and Gardens.  The dimensions of the canvas seemed just right.   Peony blooms are short lived, yet they happened to be peaking on this glorious June day.   The mild scent of the hundreds of pink and white blossoms occasionally drifted my way, an extra bonus beyond the beautiful visual.  A large painting at this point in the competition was a self-assigned stretch assignment.   If it turned out well, it would look nice in the pale silvery frame I had planned to use.

Peonies at Sonnenberg

This was the last day to paint for the main competition, and I would be turning in the best three paintings this evening.  I decided that this painting would be one of the three to be submitted for judging.   And although it wasn't selected for an award, I was satisfied that it was good and that I stayed true to how I paint.    Under time constraints a person's true signature style is probably more pronounced!

Seager Marine

Seager Marine - Stage One

There is no denying that I am a morning person.   I think my stamina is good all day, in that I can work/play/paint for long durations, but it seems that my results in the first four hours of the day are better.   I should use this self knowledge more wisely I guess!

Seager Marine - Stage Two

I set up along Town Pier Road at the northernmost tip of Lake Canandaigua.    This was Painting Five at the Finger Lakes Plein Air Competition and Festival.   Being along the water with a marina to my right and docks all around put me squarely in my comfort zone - and it was a sunny dazzling morning.

Seager Marine - Canandaigua

There were some small buildings that were illuminated by the morning sun, which in turn were beautifully reflected in the water.   Many boats at various angles complicated the scene, but I ignored everything except for the sunlit canopies and a few chrome railings.   These painted shapes and colors also got dragged down into the reflections.    At just the right moment a fellow entered the scene with a gas can.   He walked to the gas pump and began filling.    This is the challenge of plein air!   He would be there for - maybe -four minutes.   It was just enough time to capture the essence of his posture leaning over to pump gas.


This one was my favorite painting of the whole week.    I was delighted to learn that it was sold to a local woman and art lover who would be giving it to her husband for Fathers' Day.

Midday at Granger

Midday at Granger - In Progress

This was Painting Four of the Finger Lakes Plein Air Competition and the second painting of the day. Painters were invited to the historic Granger Homestead and Carriage Museum to capture scenes that the "Friends of the Museum" may like to own.   The sun was already high in the sky by the time I got started on this painting.   A woman in 19th century garb was posing in an antique carriage and several painters worked on the scene from various angles.

The museum hosted a nice reception that night and several paintings were sold (including mine).

Heron at the Pond

Painting Three for the Finger Lake Plein Air Competition and Festival was done at Lagoon Park, a

Heron on the Pond - Getting Started

What Are You Painting?

pretty recreational area adjacent to Canandaigua Lake.  It was sunny, which was a relief after yesterday's cold and moist paint out.  The waterways and walking paths snaked in and out of the lagoon.   I chose an area that had lots of green underbrush and a relatively calm stretch of water.   I liked the reflections of tree trunks that were bent over almost touching the water.   The warm shadows looked nice against the various shades of green.  

Heron at the Pond

Although this was a beautiful spot, it needed a little something more.   Once this great blue heron started moving around the lagoon area, I decided to make it the center of interest.   I placed him in what I thought was the painting's sweet spot for the final com-positional element.

Cavern at Japanese Garden

Cavern at Japanese Garden - Stage One

This was the second day of painting at the Finger Lakes Plein Air Competition and Festival.   One of the main supporters of the event is the Sonnenberg Mansion and Gardens.   Juried painters were given admission passes for the week so that we could paint on the property.   This was plein air heaven! There was no searching for an appealing scene; they were everywhere.   We walked the entire property first, and I found myself declaring on multiple occasions that this was the spot, only to find the next area even more enticing.

Cavern at Japanese Garden - Nearly Done

Unfortunately it quickly clouded over and the end product reflected the day, and didn't result in a painting that I liked.   In packing for the trip to New York, I almost removed my long down parka from the van, feeling so sure I would not need it, but elected to leave it behind my seat.  So glad I did!   It saved me from the damp wind and mist. Furthermore my knit stretchy gloves were in the pocket, also put to use.

I can't resist rocks and a full value spectrum, both of which were present in the Japanese Garden.  I stood along a pathway below the main thoroughfare.   There were twin caverns built from boulders where water trickled down into a green mossy pond.   It would have been relaxing if the paint-out was going well.  :)  But being down in this low spot also sheltered me and my set up from the harsh wind.

Cavern at Japanese Garden

Spring greenery was everywhere, just not as bright and illuminated as I had hoped.    Ironically, this painting took the longest to execute, nearly four hours (two hours longer than usual), and yet it was my least favorite.   Two paintings down, four to go!

Lake Canandaigua from Onanda Sky

Eager to Get Started

This was the first painting done for the Finger Lake Plein Air Competition and Festival in Canandaigua, New York.   My blank canvases had just been stamped, meaning that coordinators mark the back, a verification that no work had been done ahead of time.  Next stop? Painting location number one.

The organizers had provided a list of scenic spots from which to paint, and we decided to start at the furthest point, the southernmost tip of Lake Canandaigua in the town of Naples.   It proved to be a great place and the property owner generously shared not only this fantastic vista but use of her home while we painted.   The twelve acre parcel was situated high above the west side of the lake.   It had a couple of barns, a pond. flower beds and of course, the amazing view looking north along the lake.  

Onanda Sky - Stage One

I began with the most distant lake shore and sky.   I locked them in while they were pale blue, pink and naples yellow.    The blue hillsides dipped down to the water, a distant gray-blue hue.   At certain spectacular moments, the hills were illuminated with stripes of sunlight turning them golden green.  Dark trees and shrubs anchored the scene across the middle third of the painting.   The foreground grasses were warm and sunny yellow - that is - when the sun peaked out.  The stark white canvas did prove to be a bit of a challenge, since I inadvertently scraped the paint down to the white with my palette knife.   It necessitated being even thicker with the paint, which, in retrospect, probably gave a better result.

Onanda Sky View - Stage Two

The weather?  Very variable - rain, mist, sun, overcast, and most of all windy.   We pushed through the process, mine taking a bit of extra time since this was a larger canvas at 12" x 24".   The final steps were to make sure all the bare white canvas spots were painted and to ensure that the lighting scheme was consistent.  One down, six to go!

Self Portrait

Black and White Start

I enjoy painting humans and would paint them more if I had the resources and a model readily available.   I've painted people from photos, but just as with landscapes, the camera tends to distort color and lose subtle details, thus, a live model is best.   The most available live model I have is me, so I once again this winter, I painted myself.  :)




First Pass at Color

I spent considerable time experimenting with the setup for this self portrait.   I have always loved the chiaroscuro style in which light dramatically contrasts with the shadows/darks.   I attempted to achieve this strong contrast by setting up a spotlight and turning off all the other light sources.    I stood in front of the large mirror in my studio and trained the spotlight on my face so that one side of my face was illuminated and the other side only had partial light.   Two full spectrum lights illuminated my palette and the canvas.    During the painting process, I alternated between two kinds of lighting in order to get the true facial shadows, 1) just the spotlight and 2) all three lights: the palette, the canvas, and facial spotlight.



Lighting at Easel

I started with a charcoal likeness and spent a lot of time placing facial landmarks, measuring and re-measuring.  If this stage is wrong, it can only get worse from here.   Once I was satisfied with the drawing, I used a spray fixative to seal the charcoal.  After an initial underpainting, I began the layering process.



I used the glazing technique for the flesh tones building up many layers of transparent color.    My tendency is to make my people too red, thinking ruddy Irish complexions.    Careful color comparisons reveal that we often have more greenish, grayish undertones, especially on flesh planes that are perpendicular to the light source.

Vezina Self Portrait

And I thought I knew what I looked like!  After all, I see this face in the mirror everyday (well at least most days:)).  So why does it seem difficult to objectively assess if the likeness on my canvas hits the mark?    If you know what I look like, you will quickly realize that the painted image is the reverse, since I used one mirror, not two mirrors.  Perhaps years from now when - or should I say if? - this is hanging in one of my children's houses, they will know to wedge it in a hall corner next to a mirror!

Gardening Gloves and Warm Flower Blossoms

Gardening Gloves and Warm Flower Blossoms

This painting used to have pinkish purple mums with pink trimmed gardening gloves.   Although I always like the composition with the trowel casting the shadow on the sideways clay pot, the painting just didn't work. 

Color temperature was the problem.   Another five years of painting under my belt helped me spot the issue straight away when I came across it the other day.   Warm flower blossoms and rustic clay pots are teamed with blue gardening gloves, transforming a floral painting dominated by clashing purple mums into a new more harmonious blue/orange scheme.

BUY NOW


Meeting House on Hardin Hill Road Duxbury MA

Harden Hill Center

Perfect temperatures and a great day for plein air.   This location is about a 400 feet from Duxbury Bay and I could hear the seagulls and boat horns, but not see them.   I liked the matching cupolas on the rooflines as well as the lush pine tree out in front.  My adjustments to this one would be to add more warm yellow to the roof planes which were brightly sunlit, as well as the lawn.

Sunrise Along the Channel - Green Harbor

I was out extra early on this day because the weather forecast was calling for rain starting in the morning.    The wide open expanse along the shore allows a long view of approaching clouds.    The sun broke over the horizon shining for only about thirty minutes before being obscured for the rest of the day.   For the few moments of sunshine, everything was bathed in a gorgeous red-orange light.



Sunrise Along the Channel

There is a lobsterman's house on the Green Harbor side of the channel and during the winter, hundreds of lobster traps are stacked there.   The house was yellow, so couple that with the glowing warm light of sunrise, and the whole scene was stunning.   The taupy-blue shadows matched the ominous sky and complimented the warm orangy light. Actually, I may still warm up the yellow a bit before this one goes to the shop.

Maybe you have witnessed a similar scene where the sky looks oddly dark and cloudy, but everything in the foreground is brightly lit.   Weather changes can be very fascinating if we stop and notice!  




Market Square

A few months ago, I put a sharp corner of a framed painting through the middle of a large (30 x 48 inch) in-progress painting.   I may have shared that sad story back when it happened?   I pulled the ripped canvas off the stretcher bars, sized up a nice new length of gesso'd linen, and stretched it again.   I toned it with a mid-value neutral color.  That was several months ago - and there it sat.    The weather was nice as a plein air painter, I enjoyed plenty of beautiful days outside.


Market Street - Stage One


As soon as the temperatures started to cool I turned my attention to the studio.  I placed the BIG blank canvas on it.   I wanted to start planning out this large studio work.  I had the urge to include every attractive element I had been painting or photographing in the past few months. 



Market Street - Stage Two

What would that include?   Rustic buildings, stone walls, Irish farmhouses, festivals full of color, sunlit boats with pretty reflections, seals sunning themselves, bees buzzing around my pink and yellow zinnias, fireworks, city skyline.  Very exciting! This was the brainstorming phase of composing the piece.   I guess I could have jammed in all the attractive elements I had been envisioning, turning it into a fantasy painting, but realistically I needed to decide on a theme.

I did some sketching and printed a few of my favorite festival and marketplace photos, assembling a horizontal collage of scenes that were attractive to me.   I worked on building up a dark and light pattern that was appealing.    I wanted a "random - but planned" series of "lightest lights."    

Even as early as Stage One image above, the abstract dark and light pattern is visible.   The warm afternoon light highlights the old village buildings and market umbrellas.  The light spilled over onto the street, giving the illusion of a bright glare.   The stone archway on the left framed the bright light of the next alley over.   The shadows would be cool and blue, but not too dark.   Generally, even the shadow areas of a cityscape with bright warm light benefits from the reflected light.   The light tends to bounce around and provide ambient light even to the shadow areas.   (Photographs do not record this reflected light by the way - that's why "from life" painting is so much better!) The color temperature scheme (warm light and cool shadow) and the shadow directional scheme (late afternoon backlighting)  would be important supporting information.

Sunlight String

This painting has been on and off the easel for four months so there were several stages of progress.   I won't share them all but one thing I did was to use a sun string to guide the direction of my sunlight.   I attached a long piece of wood so that it pointed high up above the large canvas.  I tacked a long piece of string to the top of the wood.    As I painted the lighted areas, I stretched the string tight and that showed the angle of the rays of light coming from my "pseudo sun" at the top of the wood.   I wish I took a better photo but in the narrow photo, the wood and the string are somewhat visible.   This method would be useful if you aren't painting on site, or if you were on site but the light changed dramatically before packing up.



Market Square

I guess I like the anonymity of the figures.   I also love the idea of supporting the growers, buying their fresh products and turning that into a culinary comfort for their family. So where is market square, who are these people and why two thoroughfares?




Powder Point Bridge at Dawn

Powder Point Bridge at Dawn

Amazing Powder Point Bridge is a local icon here on the South Shore of Massachusetts.  It is not only functionally vital for barrier island access to Saquish and the Gurnett, but it is a beautiful testament to old fashion wooden construction.   I've painted it before and I know I'll paint it again, but today's post depicts the bridge at dawn.   The angle of the painting is from the northern side of the bridge looking east across Duxbury Bay.   The Atlantic is just beyond the distant neck of land, which is Duxbury Beach.

In this painting, the sun has just burst over the horizon. The low angle of the sun is casting long bluish shadows.   The pink morning light influenced the sky, the sand, the sea grasses, and the bridge. I exaggerated the color a bit and made the lightsest areas thick and oily.   Once the grasses dried, I  made another pass using my palette knife to scumble some final peachy lights over the tips.   I was trying for a bit of shine and highlight.

The challenge with this scene was to determine how much bridge detail was too much.   There were lots of wooden pilings and cross supports - more than are depicted in my painting.    Paintings can appear tedious and overworked if they appea too realistic (in my opinion :))    I am hoping I hit the right balance and I'm still too involved to be objective.  Its time to take a rest from it.  

So here it is.  The canvas size is 12 x 24 inches, perfect for depicting the longest wooden bridge in the United States*   I would love to get feedback on anything that may not read quite right.

Oh, and if you are interested, here are links to two other posts of Powder Point paintings.

http://maureen-vezina.blogspot.com/2012/11/powder-point-bridge.html
http://maureen-vezina.blogspot.com/2013/08/back-to-powder-point-bridge.html

*2200 feet