Floral at the Fair

Oil Paint

 

 

 

These paintings were done at the 2021 Marshfield Fair.   At noon, twelve floral designers set out to create a ribbon winning design.  At 2PM twelve painters were assigned an arrangement to capture in paint.

 

 

It was a fun experience and so interesting to see how different painters approached their floral creation.   The floral designers seemed to basically have the same flowers, so to me, the color schemes of each were so very similar.   But as you see,the painters' works were vastly different!

Acrylic

Watercolor

Capri Meets Boston

The "Stay-At-Home" challenge was presented to artist members of the Copley Society in Boston recently.   During the long storied history of the Copley Society of Art, there have been dozens of famous artists who were connected to or displayed at this historic Society.   We were challenged to choose a painting by one of the historic artists of the past and pay tribute to their work with a new creation.

John Singer Sargent was born to American parents in Europe, where he trained, travelled and worked.  Though very active in Europe, he frequented the Boston area in the late 1800s.   Many of Sargent's murals are found in the Boston Public Library, the Museum of Fine Arts, and Harvard's Widener Library. Sargent's largest scale works are the mural decorations that grace the Boston Public Library depicting the history of religion and the gods of polytheism. He worked on the cycle for almost thirty years but never completed the final mural. Sargent drew on his extensive travels and museum visits to create a dense art collection.  The murals were restored in 2003–2004.

Rooftop

Perhaps I should have paid homage to a Boston-based work, but his paintings from Italy are my favorites.  They have a flair all their own.   I particularly like this painting by Sargent because of the fun mood and carefree summer feel.  

Boston Harbor Grand View

This painting was a very large undertaking and now, after working on it for three years, it is "critique-ready".

The expansive scene depicts Boston Harbor from the fifth floor of the Boston Harbor Hotel.   This venue is a personal favorite, but not a place where we, or most, can often afford.   The painting depicts a busy summer vista; you name it - it's happening. On the water, along the shore and even overhead there is movement and action.   At water level, there are ferries, schooners, sailboats, tugs and tankers.   Along the water's edge the World Trade Center, several hotels, the Moakley Federal Courthouse, and lavish waterfront residences are visible.  In the distance is Logan Airport with jets lifting off every two minutes.   

"I really ought to tackle this scene in paint," I had declared on more than one occasion.  I remember being mesmerized at the hotel window trying to take it all in. It would have to be a large painting and in my old studio, I barely had room to work on it.  When I did put it on the easel, there wasn't space to work on anything else - how mundane.   In the new, larger studio, I have the space and I was able to dedicate a corner for this project and still be able to work on other creations.

The most challenging part of this project was assembling all the reference material.  I used several pictures of the harbor, covering this wide expanse.   The dome-topped pavilion became my measuring unit for sizing the many pictures involved.

The lighting scheme is late afternoon and there were tropical shower clouds drifting in from the northwest.   I am open to feedback, good, bad or otherwise!

Boston Harbor Grand View

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.

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!

Camp Hill Plein Air Festival Quick Paint

The most challenging and exciting event at the Camp Hill Plein Air Festival was the "Quick Paint" event.   Participants stood in line at Willow Park to have their substrates stamped between 9 and 10 AM.   At 10:00 AM, each painter commenced with their creation somewhere within a prescribed Camp Hill  geographic area. 

The first thing I did was to pop the stamped painting board into a one inch black frame that I had covered with blue masking tape.   I didn't want my thick juicy paint getting smeared during the framing, so I did an inner frame before starting to apply color.

I chose a beautiful old brick home with a glass conservatory that was located a couple of blocks up from Willow Park.  I stood across the street so that I would have a nice long view and be able to include enough surrounding elements.  The first step was a careful (relatively tiny) drawing in paint of the home.     I spent the largest percentage of time on its interesting rooflines and the glass conservatory.   As the center of interest, I wanted it to be realistic and accurate.  Each panel of conservatory glass was reflecting something different and I improvised a bit to balance other color masses.  

Quick Paint Entry Ready for Judging

Once I had the home done, I picked up my palette knife and buttered on my cool transparent darks letting the streaky colors mix on the surface.     The skies were partly cloudy and the trees, shrubs and lawn were spring green to the max!     Again I scooped the color with the palette knife and spread it onto the surface in wide thick strokes.    When the 11:45 alarm sounded, I still hadn't applied the final color on the home or the foreground shrubbery. (I didn't mention yet that I had set alarms on my phone for 10:00 AM (start), 11:00 AM (halfway point), 11:45 (finish-up), 12:00 Noon (frame).) With 15 minutes to go, a slight sensation of panic gripped me, which is really funny when I think about it now.  My husband took some videos of the progress of this painting, so I have strung them together in the following movie.

https://youtu.be/6LkXEanjwd0

At noon, I took the painting off the easel and peeled the blue masking tape off the inner frame.   This ensemble was then inserted into the wider outer frame. 
Done!... with ten minutes to spare.   I grabbed my easel and painting and headed down to the park, setting it up amid an array of fabulous quick paint works.   It was truly amazing to see the quality and freshness of works that were done in a mere 120 minutes.

This was undoubtedly the most fun I have ever had painting under a deadline.

Fort Hunter on the Sasquehanna River

Fort Hunter Mansion

I set out on Day One of the Camp Hill Plein Air Festival with a map, a GPS enabled IPhone and my painting gear loaded into the trunk of my (non-GPS enabled) neon-blue rental car.   One of the Camp Hill Plein Air volunteers (Dianne :)) suggested Fort Hunter on the east side of the Susquehanna River.   I had told her the kinds of things I like when I'm painting (views, water, shade, parking, etc..)  Her recommendation was perfect!   The gardens were pristine and each huge old tree specimen had a botanical tree species marker.



Garden Gate at Fort Hunter Mansion

The Mansion at Fort Hunter is an ornate federal style structure located on the site of the old French and Indian War Fort Hunter.  I walked the perimeter and  learned that it was built in three sections, two sections of which were built with locally quarried stones in 1814.  The middle “cabin” section, built in 1786, and the rear wooden portion was built in 1870.

I wanted a little bit of everything in the scene so I positioned at the east side of the mansion looking down a brick path to the gardens in the back.  The gardening shed and the fence behind it were picking up full light and seemed like they were framed by the elements in shadow.

This was my first time setting up since arriving the night before.   I don't think you can underestimate the impact of logistical challenges when you are attempting to get into a creative groove.  :)   Unfamiliar geography, easel assembly, palette set up, different vehicle....I'm not complaining; it was a blast.   It's just that until the physical issues are resolved, there would be no presentable artworks created!