Tag Archives: landscape

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2020 Show Updates

Both shows in which I was scheduled to participate in the next few weeks have been postponed or modified. Princeton’s 50th Communiversity has been rescheduled to Sunday, Sunday, October 11. Handmade Hopewell’s street fair has been cancelled; however, there will be a virtual fair the weekend of the original show (May 3rd). The plan is that there will be a map of what the street fair would have looked like, and visitors (to the website) can click on each booth and see a short video created by each participating studio. I will post the link closer to the date the fair goes live.

In the meantime, please enjoy this painting inspired by my trip to Hawaii in September. Also, happy Easter (yesterday)!

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À la Côte d’Azur

À la Côte d’Azur = At the Azure Coast, more commonly known as the French Riviera. No, I am not enjoying the beach in a foreign land, but I did paint one such beach I did enjoy. This spot is on the southern coast of Île Sainte-Marguerite, which is essentially the title: À la côte sud d’ Île Sainte-Marguerite. The island about half a mile and a short boat ride across from Cannes of film festival fame. I visited both places in the summer of 2009 when I traveled to France on a short abroad program in college.

An intriguing tidbit: Île Sainte-Marguerite houses a fort and museum, Fort Royal; the historically elusive man in the iron mask made famous by literature and film was transferred from the Bastille in Paris to one of the cells here.

I worked on this painting in 2 stages; I started it in January (but had to pause–end stage 1),

 

Resumed it mid-April (and tried a different configuration for my studio space),

kept working on it in May,

finished it a few days before June,

and am posting about it in July. Go figure.

C’est fini!

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Plainly Plein Air

At this time a week ago, I was sitting by the edge of a pond, scribbling my way through a squiggly pastel drawing of a house in the woods. The occasion? My first plein air art competition. (For readers who know the Principia school area, I was about half a mile down the road at Longview Farm Park.)

A few hours later, I started and completed a little painting of a birdhouse. Since I had less than an hour and a half to do it, I challenged myself to capture my painting style during high school. (Click to enlarge.) To compare it to something I did paint in high school, click here.

OutofTown-med

From the contest I learned and reconfirmed a few things (some of which apply to life at large, not just art):

  1. Take your time — you have more of it than you think. Like the old toy mender in Toy Story 2 says to the impatient, money-seeking owner of Al’s Toy Barn, “You can’t rush art.”
  2. Similarly, it’s better to work steadily on one thing and be happy with it than throw five things together in a slapdash run for the finish.
  3. If you’re going to paint outside, it’s so much easier to use an easel that actually has legs. (I have a tabletop easel.)
  4. (& 4B) As much as I love the outdoors, landscape art, and imagining environments for my stories, plein air painting isn’t my thing. At least not with a short deadline — I appreciate having ample opportunity to shape my drawings & paintings into detailed completion.
  5. Try new things & revisit the old — it’s good for you.
  6. Never, ever drive to run errands during lunch hour.
  7. Display your artwork next to the cookies. Then everyone will see it. 🙂

Artwork from the competition is on display (and for sale) at Longview Farm House through Monday, November 17, including during the Holiday Boutique on the 15th. If you’re in the area and want to check out the gallery, the address is 13525 Clayton Rd., Town & Country, MO, 63141.