The new Minneapolis art exhibition & sale, "Drawn to Nature", has just come to a close. It is so nice to have a show like this in Minnesota again. Thanks to all of our friends & patrons for
visiting us this past weekend!! It seems strange — how simple things affect creativity. Returning from our visit to the west, I was so inspired to paint! I painted the painting on the right (standing moose bull) in one "sitting" in the car one day. Of course it isn’t finished, but what I was able to accomplish came so easily and freely. A little inspiration definitely goes a long way! :)
Fieldwork in Arizona
I am back in Arizona doing more fieldwork for future paintings. The southwest area is so inspiring with light and color!! It seems everywhere I look I can envision a new painting! This session of study and photoshoots will be much more inclusive than the last time my family and I were in the area. Because of the amount of rain the state has had, many of the plants and habitats are thriving. I have been photographing and sketching many of the cacti and succulents of the area – though many of the sketches were made in the car doing 75 mph :). The sketches didn’t turn out too badly in spite of the speed. I will post some of them shortly. Actually, working while literally "on the road" is not something new, but it isn’t often I work from life in those instances when it (my subject) is speeding toward me on the highway. I do paint in the car when the roads aren’t too rough – and occasionally when they are :).
New Shows
I have been painting madly for the past month for upcoming shows and galleries which has kept me away from my journal. For those in the area, I will be sending a selection of new paintings to our gallery in Frenchtown, NJ (www.decoyswildlife.com). They (Decoys & Wildlife and Gabriele’s Galleries) just had a very successful spring show. Our recent exhibition at the NatureWorks show also went quite well — a very elegant show. The committee members and show patrons (and artists, I should add) always give us a such a warm welcome. (Thanks so much!!) I have already started new work for another upcoming show. I am hoping to create some new larger paintings — It is an entirely new way of thinking (& new challenge) to create larger works vs. smaller paintings. I also hope to expand some of my subject matter also.
On our way home from our last exhibition, we were fortunate to have the opportunity to study many birds and wildlife that we hope to render in future paintings. I am also looking forward to a fantastic photo shoot we have planned for some new habitats and animals/birds this next month :). One final note — I want to thank all of my studio visitors for their recent notes/emails they’ve sent me. I appreciate all of your kind comments and encouragement!!!! :)
Happy New Year!!
Just a quick note to wish everyone a Happy New Year! I have been spending some long hours in the studio painting. I will have some updates on some of my paintings in progress soon!
New Hyacinth Macaw Miniature Painting
I posted my recent painting of a Hyacinth Macaw on a rainforest branch. I am very fond of exotic birds such as macaws and other parrots. They all have such colorful personalities that are easily captured in a painting. It is also refreshing to use such bright colors since many of my paintings so often require subtle browns, grays, and neutral tones. I have hopes that one day these birds won’t be so threatened by loss of habitat and the pet trade. I don’t think there would be anything more beautiful to see than a flock of wild hyacinth macaws in the rainforest treetops. You can view one of the World Wildlife Fund’s projects to help the Hyacinth Macaw in Brazil @ http://www.wwf.org.br/english/informa/sitearara_projeto.htm "Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up." Thomas A. Edison
New Paintings & Cold Temperatures
I have recently begun the color phase of my recent bathing swan miniature commission. I like the way it’s turning out. A photo of the color painting is now posted next to the sketch in my studio’s commissions page if you’d like to take a look. I’ve just started the 20×30 swan painting. I chose to paint a little different pose and a different species then I normally do — a trumpeter swan this time. I also chose to start the piece without a traditional drawing of pencil or similar method. I began by drawing with my brush. Beginning in this way is less forgiving of course, but I like the fluidity of the "sketch". I know of several portrait painters that work in this way (one of them is Daniel Greene who my mother studied with), so I thought it might be interesting to try. I did start my painting "Cockatoo Talk" without a drawing, just began painting, but that was because I couldn’t find a pencil. I am also working on a squirrel painting from some of the references I shot while we were on the east coast. One thing you can be sure of in Minnesota this time of year is that it will be chilly. My family and I went up north a few days ago for a photoshoot. The Twin Cities area doesn’t have a lot of snow or ice, so we had to travel north a bit, which also means colder temperatures. The thermometer didn’t rise above 27° during the entire shoot — making for some numb fingers & toes. I could have taken a break to warm up — which, yes I should have :) & was reminded of — but I was having so much fun I couldn’t bring myself to quit. We did come away with some very nice photo references in spite the cold. The area had a nice subtle look with a lot of delicate tones — very inspiring! Just about all of our shots turned out. I took about 1,300 in the 3hr shoot. More ideas to paint!! "Let the beauty of what you love, be what you do." — unknown
Snow Painting Almost Finished
I have just about finished my snow painting. I’ve added a chickadee in the bare branches — I thought the addition of a small bird would be nice and add to the delicate feel of the branches. I have also finished my giraffe commissioned piece. I’ve recently noticed that I haven’t finished too many paintings for a while (just started a number of them), so these completed works are very satisfying :).
Thank you to all of our patrons who visited our fall show at the Carpenter Nature Center and for making it our best yet! We are already planning the next show this spring.
Nature Center Exhibition
I’ve just posted an image of the painting of snow I mentioned in my last journal post. It’s been one of those pieces — I see something different in it everyday. It is such a complicated piece when I am painting it up close, but becomes a simple design that melds together when I stand back. It’s a mystery to me when paintings do that. I hope to have it done soon. I have a number of things to add to the piece, but It’s beginning to take shape. I don’t know about other artists, but every painting that forms in my head is or appears to be perfect — until I try to actually paint it of course. I would love to be able to transfer these images from my mind directly to the painting surface. It seems that you can never accomplish all you want to in a painting — say everything you want to say. That is probably the way it’s supposed to be. If you could say everything you wanted to say in a single painting, you would never need to paint another one. With that said, I will be painting for quite a while :).
I have a number of new editions being released this weekend for our annual Fall/Winter exhibition at the Carpenter Nature Center. I will be donating an original piece, an 8×10, to be raffled or auctioned for the nature center’s benefit. At this time I don’t know how they will arrange the fundraiser, but I will post information about it in the website as soon as I am notified — if you are interested in joining in. One of my galleries has a client interested in a larger swan painting that they’ve requested I paint for them. I will be starting that painting for them soon. I think I will be painting it 20×30.
"Our prayers are answered not when we are given what we ask, but when we are challenged to be what we can be." — Morris Adler
Snow
We just had our first snowfall of the winter in Minnesota — only a few inches here in our area that has now melted a bit. Last year there was a fabulous deep snowfall the day before Thanksgiving and a beautiful crisp sunny day for the holiday. I couldn’t resist running out into into it for a photo shoot :) — for most of the day in fact. It was one of those snowfalls with very large flakes — the sunshine caught them like diamonds glittering in the soft shadows and the wind. There was a delicate breeze that would occasionally gust, sending an outburst of flurries that had settled on the smaller branches. In a hike through wooded areas you could hear a cheery serenade by a chorus of chickadees singing to one another, and me I suppose. I would imagine this could easily be looked at as an everyday occurrence, but it was very inspiring for me — even a year after my shoot it seems magical. There were some very striking scenes of light and shadow, one of which I’m painting now. I’ve never shown this piece though it’s been sitting in my studio for a while. I began the sketch and roughly blocked in the scene right after my photo shoot last year, but was unable to progress further with it because of other deadlines. I think the fresh snowfall has put me in the mood to paint something appropriate. It’s hard to paint flowers in the winter or snow in the summer. Anyway, I will post a photo of it a little later. I have also begun a new miniature commission of a bathing mute swan. Right now the sketch has been added to my commissions page. I will be adding images of the painting as it progresses.
Gilcrease Museum Visit
I have started a new larger mute swan painting for an upcoming exhibit as well as a few miniature pieces. I will add pictures of them after I’ve painted on them a bit more. Also, both of the commissioned paintings I was working on have been finished. I was able to attend the American Art in Miniature Exhibit’s reception at the Gilcrease Museum www.gilcrease.org in Tulsa with my family recently. My Mom and I had work in the show this year. It was very elegant and quite a crowd turned out for the event. I like getting out to these events to see all of the beautiful paintings. It’s also nice meet and chat with other artists and art/wildlife/nature enthusiasts attending.