4 Trees & a Bush, oil on canvas, 14×18″, sold
I am a little late in posting my news for November, as this is the last week for the member’s show at the State of the Art Gallery, and I have three new paintings on display. They must be good, because two of them will be going to new homes at the end of the month. So… this is the last chance ever to see them, unless you are friends with their new owners.
Four Trees and a Bush is the second plein air painting of the Summer Dozen this summer. I went up to the Cornell Arboretum, with the Fair Weather Painters, and painted the view from across the small pond. I was not very pleased with it when I was done, so there were extensive revisions to make in my studio.I liked the way I painted the trees in the top half of the painting, but the dark reflections and pond scum of the bottom were not working to make a composition. My inclination was to call this one a scraper and toss it, but being busy, it stayed on the wall long enough for me to realize that if I invented the tree reflections, I would have a nice play between the vertical elements and the horizontal/diagonal elements. I also eliminated another bush that I painted just because it was there, adjusted the
Four Sailboats, Treman Marina, 16×12, oil on canvas, sold.
intensity of the ground cover around the pond, and voila, it just snapped into being.
The second painting, Four Sailboats, was a fun painting for me on a very hot July day at the Treman Marina, looking back across the marina towards the bath house. I was painting with the Fair Weather Painters again. It was very congenial company. I loved the way the white sailboats were lined up, reflecting in the water. As in the painting above, I chose a very small segment of a large landscape, and totally avoided putting in any sky, so it is clearly just about those four boats. It was a new subject for me, and the perspective of the boats was tricky, but I managed to stay loose, and free in my mark making.
The third painting was done in September, after the weather turned rainy and chilly. I almost canceled out of that painting session, but this time, I had put out an invitation for the Fair Weather Painters, and I did not want to miss an opportunity for congenial company. After a rainy start to the day, the sun came out, and I set off for the marina. No sooner did I drive down Cliff Street, but it started drizzling. I was still hopeful that it would pass. When I got to the Marina, it was still drizzling, but there was a patch of clear sky over Lansing, The wind seemed to be blowing from that direction, so I was hopeful. I settled on this scene because I was intrigued by the way the land swung around the water in the marina. The lack of sunshine created a situation where the colors were soft but intense. Damp, gray, with a ferocious wind, I was painting very quickly, spreading very thin applications of paint with the largest palette knife. I was wearing
Beyond the Marina, Cold and Wet, oil on canvas, 16×20
several layers of fleece, and a raincoat, but the wind was sucking the heat out of me. After a bit, I was shivering, but I wanted to at least cover the canvas once. By the time I was done, I was seriously shaking and my teeth were chattering noisily. I couldn’t believe that my companion was still painting in the field beyond. I hastily threw my things into my car, made arrangements to meet for some hot soup and headed off to the Island Cafe on Taughannock Blvd. to warm up. I was pleased with the way this painting turned out, and made only very few minor revisions in the studio.