Wet Paint @ Newport Art Museum

oil on linen 10" x 20"

This was my entry today in the Newport Art Museum's Wet Paint fundraiser.

I really wanted to make sure that it was wet when I brought it in. It seems much more fun than just picking a painting from my studio and bringing it to the show. Playing with the big kids requires doing it that day. But the challenge of the whole thing makes me nervous on a lot of counts:

1. I have to drive there and remember everything I need for the day.
2. I don't want to do a wiper and then feel that I have to hang it because I signed up.
3. Last year the painting didn't sell for much, and I want to do better this year.
4. What if too many people want to talk to me while I am working?
5. I usually work on panels, but then how would they hang it?
6. I didn't get around to getting a frame. Will that look all right in the exhibit?

But I knew that I wanted to do it, so I tried to stay calm and just worked through it.
Everything went well.

I packed everything and anything that I could think of, and didn't forget anything.
I planned what I would paint, and studied my reference photos ahead of time. I even made a drawing on the canvas and sealed it last night.
It doesn't really matter what it sells for, because it is all part of the process of establishing myself. And everything does sell. I think.
To solve the hanging issue, I bought a stretched canvas. I didn't have to worry about having enough space in my studio for another stretched canvas, because it would sell, and not come home.
Tomorrow I will see if it looks as punchy on the wall as I hope it will.

I kept the range of colors simple, and the design pretty graphic. And my blog name is taped to the back, so maybe the person who buys the painting will read this. And if you do, some time there are two or three lines that I would like to add to the painting. And I will seal the whole surface so that the finish stays even. Just let me know.

I also was a very minor celebrity with 20 seconds of fame in the video of last year's event. So if you want to see me, this is the link. I am about 3 minutes into the piece.

Sleep will come easy tonight I think!

June Fog

oil on linen 8" x 16"

I have not posted since I left for Japan, and on my return, have been reveling in my photos and doing smaller studies.
Next year at the Providence Art Club I have a shared show, and have thought that I would use material from the trip for the show. Some of these studies have been exciting to me. But I am not sure what the best thing to do with them in the blog. So now I am looking at other blogs to see how they handle upcoming shows. Certainly I don't want to dispel any anticipation by publishing images prematurely. At the same time I have little enough painting time that it is a little hard to do both. Maybe, by writing, I will find a way out.
At any rate, all the fog has made me look more closely (there has been little else besides fog and rain) at the light and effects it creates. This is from a misty day at the beach, watching the white edge of surf, and the far rocks barely visible. I also liked the bright reflection of the sky in the wet sand at the edge of the waves.

9" x 12", oil on canvas

I loved the pattern the light made on the rhythmic facades marching up the hill, and I was fascinated by the reflected light on the cobblestone. The whole scene is mysterious to me - what is going on behind those still planes, underneath the trees leaning over the garden walls?

Kyoto streetscape

Oil on linen panel, 12"x 12"

This streetscape caught my attention. Initially, it was the glowing umbrella, but then it became the blaring sunlight, the figures in the street, and the beautiful light on the paving. It was fun to pick out the red elements in the various parts of the landscape.

Evening Opening

Oil on linen panel, 12" x 12"

I put up a detail from this painting on the blog earlier when I was comparing camera shots, but I never got the final one "published". I was struck by all the contrasts in value and color temperature and how they contributed to the mood of quiet preparation. I liked how the row of lanterns drew you into the courtyard, and into the picture. In retrospect, I wish we had dinner at the restaurant. It seemed so mysterious behind this open courtyard. The last bit of sunlight is fading in the sky.

Old Park

Oil on Canvas 12"x 12"

In honor of voyages, I am going to post some paintings of places I have been. This view caught my eye, but had to be refined in terms of value patterns to start to work for me. It is in a park near the fish market in Japan. The shade was really welcome on a hot day. The changes in direction on the bridge really helped establish that lazy wandering sense. I love playing with the warm and cool tones in water and reflections. The age of the vine opened my imagination.

Lilies

9" x 12" oil on panel

This is the first in a series that I have been working on for a few weeks. I keep working on them some more, and liking parts of them. I have been learning a lot. But they don't really seem to finish, as much as I would like them to. It is a function of needing to paint more, and needing to spend more time painting.
However, I will post them this week, and see what they look like online. Hope you like them!