You Say You Want an Evolution? (of a Painting)

Falling Snow, Rising Moon

You Say You Want an Evolution???

Ok, I couldn't resist the really bad pun reference to the Beatles song. Forgive me, it was too good (or bad) to pass up. 

The evolution I am referring to is the evolution of a painting. Many times people ask me how a painting comes about. How do I decide what to paint?  And why? 

Evolution of a Painting

The painting above was the image for our 2016 family holiday card. The painting, a watercolor, was imported into a graphics program and the words Season's Greetings were added at the lower right corner. And when people ask about the image itself I tell them that it is based on the scenery in the Pacific Northwest, specifically a misty morning in Bellingham Washington.

But the image did not start out that way. This painting was originally done as a demo piece for a class I was teaching in July at the Thousand Islands Arts Center, called Creating Atmosphere in Watercolor. And the moon rising over the trees was originally the sun. Oh--and there were no trees. Confused?? Read on.

For this particular lesson I was showing how to paint the sun by tracing a penny on the dry paper, and dropping a bit of pale yellow in the center of the circle and then adding a drop of water to the center, sending the pigment out toward the perimeter of the circle. And remember in watercolor--paint only goes where the water is, so the water stayed in the circle. The idea was to avoid painting a bright round blob that looks like it has been pasted onto the sky. After that had dried, I got the rest of the paper nice and wet and painted some diagonal lines in two shades of blue in the sky area, alternating with areas left unpainted (white). I used a paper towel to plot up pigment here and there until it looked like a group of fluffy white clouds scudding diagonally across the sky. And then I moved on to another demo and left my sun and clouds to dry.

Fast Forward to November

So my demo watercolor sat in the studio for a few months as I kept busy with other projects. But every time I looked at the painting I could see the possibility of changing some of those diagonal clouds to a line of trees covering a mountain. And the clouds resembled the mist I had seen in the mountains in Bellingham Washington one morning as we were headed to Seattle. So I chased the idea around in my head for a while and then finally in November I picked up the painting and finished it turning clouds into trees or mist and added a gently falling snow. Since I was turning the sun into the moon, I darkened the sky so that it looks more like evening.

So the painting that began as a demo for how to paint the sun, and was later influenced by a scene I remember from earlier that summer, became a winter painting of the Moon rising over a tree covered mountain.

And that is the Evolution of a Painting.

New Images for Land--Sky--Water at Tyler Art Gallery @Oswego State Downtown

Bellingham Rain, watercolor

New Show, New Images

Over the last 6 weeks I have been preparing some new images for my upcoming show at Tyler Art Gallery @Oswego State Downtown. The exhibit titled Land--Sky--Water will feature at least 4 new watercolors and 3 new acrylic paintings.

These pieces, along with 7 other paintings are all about atmosphere and less about portraying a specific location. There are a couple of paintings with some landmark images which will immediately betray their location, but all of the others are non-specific. 

Haunted by Water

To quote Norman Maclean in A River Runs Through It and Other Stories, I am haunted by waters.

I have always been drawn to the water and find my self most at peace when I am by the water. I love painting the shimmering surface of the water mirroring the moods of the sky and the morning mist rising and mingling with the air in such a way that it's hard to tell where the land begins and the water ends.

Those are types of paintings you will find in this show. A little less detailed than some of my other work; it's definitely all about atmosphere and using the push-pull of warm and cool colors to convey depth and mood.

The show opens November 4 with a reception from 5:00 - 7:00 pm. I'll be giving an artist talk around 6:00 pm followed by a presentation by a poet and a graphic designer. They will be discussing how my work is interpreted in their art form.

I hope you will join us!

LAND--SKY--WATER opens Nov 4 at Tyler Art Gallery @ Oswego State Downtown

"Daybreak"  watercolor

LAND -----SKY-----WATER

I've been preparing for an exhibit at Tyler Art Gallery@Oswego State Downtown. Yesterday I had an opportunity to see the space which is located in an old bank in Downtown Oswego. It is conveniently located near bookstores, restaurants and an artists' co-op/store. So I'm happy to be surrounded by so much culture. And of course to be near the water.

Water plays a huge role in my work as it has been the focus of so many pieces. Especially in those pieces where sky and water merge almost seamlessly, so that you can't tell where the sky begins and the water ends. 

Other times water has served as a vehicle for reflection and distortion of landscape with colors and shapes bouncing recklessly across the picture plane.

The focus of this exhibit will be on landscape, specifically on relationships between land, sky and water. I am intrigued by the drama of light and moisture mingling in the air creating those silvery spaces where land, sky and water connect, resulting in portrayal of atmosphere rather than of a specific scene.

The unique characteristics and challenges of each medium (watercolor, acrylic and pastel) will influence the final look of each painting.

Locations: Bellingham WA, Dingle Ireland, Cape Henlopen Delaware, Hull Massachusettes, St. Lawrence River, Grass Lake-- just to mention a few

For the most part the locations in the paintings are non-specific, except for a few landmarks which you will spot right away. The show will open on Friday, November 4, 5:00 - 7:00 pm, with a reception open to the public.

I hope to see you there!

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Art Along the Way: the Pacific Northwest

Art Along the Way--Seattle

My husband and I recently returned from a trip to the Pacific Northwest, specifically Seattle & Bellingham, WA and Vancouver, BC. Along the way we encountered so much wonderful art.

In Seattle the Chihuly Glass Garden and Museum was nothing short of breathtaking. I became a fan of  Dale Chihuly's work after reading an article about him in National Geographic. When his "Seaforms" exhibit was shown at the Everson Museum in Syracuse back in the 90's I made it a point to go and see the show. I was delighted  by the colorful undulating forms illuminated from below and displayed against a black background. The Chihuly Museum in Seattle utilized the same presentation.

Spectacular!

As we made our way from Seattle to Bellingham we saw the work of many other glass artists in various gift shops and galleries. Some had studied with Chihuly; his influence seemed to be everywhere.

Art Along the Way--Bellingham

In Bellingham we discovered the Lightcatcher Building which is part of the Whatcome Museum Complex. There was an installation of large scale works by 4 different artists with color as the uniting theme. Pictured below are sections of two of the installations--I had to get those complementary colors in the same picture! And below that, an abstraction of water, sky and sun.

In Bellingham we also saw these charming sculptures on the campus of Western Washington University.

Art Along the Way--Vancouver

We saw Totem Poles or Story Poles from Seattle to Vancouver. The ones pictured here are from Capilano Suspension Bridge Park outside of the city of Vancouver and Stanley Park in the city of Vancouver. 

I was happy to see my favorite character: the Raven. I have used the stories of Raven The Trickster in some of the art lessons with my students at the YMCA Arts Studio. How the Raven Made the Tide was my favorite lesson, integrating art, music and storytelling. And Raven the Trickster tricked us by turning our black tempera paint a funny greenish black. The kids were enchanted by the idea of the Raven tricking us. I didn't have the heart to tell them that it was just the paint going bad.

The real star of the Pacific Northwest is the natural beauty of the area, but I've gotta say we saw some really fabulous man-made art too!