A Walk in the Garden . . .

It's warm out this evening, a slight breeze ruffles the air . . .

Let's take a stroll, walk arm-in-arm like in olden days when the rustle of silk matched the song of many blossoms ~

when leisure was something that did not include cellphones and texting . . .

when the art of conversation or dozing under the shade of a tree was enough to satisfy a world-weary soul.

Gardens are still a bit of paradise on earth, for humans, flora and fauna . . . let's cherish them.

Note:  many of my digital alterations owe a debt of gratitude to digital masters Skeletal Mess, Ghostbones, Telzey and Playingwithbrushes on Flickr, who share their textures freely!  



Recommended readings:


A Gentle Plea for Chaos: Reflections from an English Garden


Childe Hassam: An Island Garden Revisited

pondering gesture . . .

Wing Sight

aqua media on vellum bristol paper

9 x 12

gestural marks . . . scratches, sweeps of paint, staccato dashes, stabs or swirls . . .

what is my mark?  what is yours?  are we aware of making them?  should we be aware?

do they change with mood or with the material used?  can i be identified by my mark?  do i want to be . . . ?

questions, questions that lately plague -- the more i know, the less i am certain.

the more i paint, the less i feel confident about --  maybe that's a good thing

drop the confidence and feel the work in wrist and arm, in elbow and shoulder

to let fly with color, to find sight when blinded by ego

make one mark, make a thousand

listen to the brush, to the empty space that calls

taste the light

a leap of faith, a dance through minefields . . .


Recommended Readings:
The Demon and the Angel: Searching for the Source of Artistic Inspiration 
Meeting the Madwoman: Empowering the Feminine Spirit

The Best Laid Art Plans . . .

There's something about watercolors -- the way they capture and reflect light -- and their simplicity that makes them seem so much more accessible than oils.  Maybe it's the traditions associated with watercolors, for in years past it was a popular pastime, an everyman's sport to traipse about in the woods and meadows with a small sketchbook and tiny pans of paints.  And it wasn't just the men -- women took up watercolor painting and sketching with a passion, too.  In the days when there were no television and radio, painting was a leisure craft taken up by many around the world.


It's also surprising to consider who painted watercolors -- certainly J.M.W. Turnerwas pivotal in making watercolor painting a most modern medium --

very little detail, purely atmospheric in his rendering -- incredible!   John Singer Sargent who we associate with Newport and the heady world of the Astors and Vanderbilts, created beautiful watercolors while traveling

throughout Italy, and especially of Venice, where again the light and water reflections were magical.   Other watercolor painters that I love to pour over for the simplicity and delicacy of their works are the Scottish painter, Charles Rennie Mackintosh

 and the French painter, Raoul Dufy, whose paintings always remind me of the backdrop of the famous finale dance scene in the movie An American in Paris--

Well, contrary to my plans for painting outdoors this weekend, high winds and thunderstorms threw a bit of a stumbling block to painting outside!  So I stayed safely tucked indoors and worked on some watercolors using books and photographs I keep handy for such occasions.  This is one I am particularly pleased with -- I found him in one of my books on Scotland.  Bit of a skeptic, wouldn't you say?

 The Vest

watercolor on vellum bristol paper

9" x 12"

I have been painting watercolors on vellum bristol paper, experimenting with the "viscosity" factor.  The vellum allows the paint to float more, leaving an open-ended type of finish.  At times it can be aggravating, but I'm learning to watch and wait, not to be so quick with the paper towels, to let the paints creep and crawl around a bit more then usual.  Next I want to try working with watercolor paper that's been coated with gesso or pumice gel -- I'm curious about how those surfaces will affect the paints.

As Rosanna Dana of SNL used to say, It's always something . . . !

Let's Take a Drive . . . Art Inspirations

Typical New England Farm

Andrew Wyeth

Photography by K. Marszycki

Wolf Kahn

. . . two roads diverged in a wood, and I --
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.  
Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken


This morning's drive to work began as any other morning, dealing with traffic, stopping for gas (and going broke in the process) -- but then I took the other fork in the road, to paraphrase Mr. Frost.

As I was early, I followed a route that parallels the CT River and is dotted with old New England farms, rolling hills covered in green, feathered with clumps of azalea, rhododendruns and the last of the magnolias.  The air was particularly crisp and clear, a sky so blue it took my breath away.

Again, another detour -- I climbed up into these hills and followed some signs for local orchards.  As I drove up over the crest of the hill, small valleys and dales of line after line of orchard trees rolled out before me.  Old white clapboard farmhouses were caught in the morning sunlight and birdsong filled the air.

I am lucky to live in a part of New England where many farms and homes date back to the late 1600s/early 1700s; in our town Washington actually did sleep there and plan the Revolution with local soldiers.  It can be overwhelming sometimes when, as an artist, one tries to plan what to paint next -- there are so many choices, especially if considering painting en plein aire.

So as I drove this morning, I drew up my "battle" plan for the coming summer months:  to do a series of watercolor / aqua media sketches of these sites but break them down into manageable portions based upon geographical locations.  Otherwise, one becomes paralysed with too many choices and where to begin. In other words, I'll concentrate on one country lane and work my way along this stretch of landscape, painting glimpses of a time past that still continues to operate in today's world.

I feel it's important to try to capture these images as too, too often they disappear, plowed under by developers or just abandoned because of debt and foreclosure.

I hope to post my summer series here on the blog throughout the coming weeks.  In the meantime, if you love barns, you should visit Mark and Remark, where Bob LaFond continues to paint a series of barns in pastel.  Wonderful works as well as pithy remarks by the artist himself!

A new kid on the block --

Just a quick aside -- I've moved my editing/coaching blog from Wordpress to Blogger, and I hope you will take a moment to give it a peek. If anyone is interested in writing, this may be of interest to you.

It is in its infant stages, so bear with me. As the saying goes, so many books, so little time -- the same could be said about writing!

So, click on the link: Words Worth