More Progress on 15th Street

Third Session on "15th Street"

     I am at that pleasant stage of a painting when I know where I am going with it.  I really look forward to getting to work when this happens.  I just wish the days were a little longer. I took this photo in the afternoon while the natural light was still good and then I continued to work on the painting into the evening. I have to be careful not to fade out the color when working after the sun goes down.  The studio lights make the warm tones seem warmer than they actually are and if I adjust them accordingly I will be disappointed in the morning. I have been adding more vehicles and people and I want to make some adjustments to the sky. I will post an update tomorrow.

     This Friday, December 7th the artist's reception for "Small Treasures", a Washington Society of Landscape Painters exhibit, will be held at American Paintings Gallery. The reception will be from 5:00 to 7:00 PM and the gallery is located at 5118 MacArthur Blvd., Washington DC. Please join us if you can. www.classicamericanpainting.com

Small Wonders

"South Capitol Street", 9x12 oil on panel

"August Afternoon, Pennsylvania Avenue", 6x12 oil on linen panel

     The Small Wonders Exhibit opened last Friday at American Paintings Gallery on MacArthur Boulevard,Washington DC. www.classicamericanpainting.com This is an annual holiday show by The Washington Society of Landscape Painters featuring paintings and drawings no larger than 9x12 inches. The opening reception will be on Saturday, December 7th from 5:00 to 7:00 PM. I hope I will see some of you there!

      This is my first post from my new iPad and I am happy that I can easily upload images. I talked about issues I was having with the Blogger site when working on my computer. I think part of the problem is my computer but there are still problems with my account because I am having some text issues even here. Still this is much easier so I will start adding images to Picasa to upload when blogging and use my iPad for my blog.I forgot to upload to Picasa the fourth painting I have in this show so I will save it for my next post. 

     The reason I purchased the iPad is so that I can take a seminar being offered by my friend Bobbi Pratte to teach us how to draw and paint on the iPad. I think it will be a great tool particularly outdoors during the winter months. I got a chuckle out of the materials list for the course. It was all apps to download :-) It is a new world. Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends here in the U.S.!

"Pennsylvania Avenue Sunset", 6x12 oil on linen panel

Obsessed with the Farmhouse

"Cold and Windy", 6x8 oil on panel

     How strange. I have been unable to upload images to my blog and thought I would just take a moment to see if that situation had changed and obviously it has.  The only reason I have been taking so many pauses between posts is the trouble I have been having with this site.  I probably should not complain because, after all, it is free.  However, this is my journal.  I actually refer to it, particularly the posts where I show the progress on particular paintings.  I don't always remember how I painted certain paintings and am glad to have a record of them here. I appreciate having so many readers and I regret losing some of you due to the lack of activity here.
     My Farmhouse series continues to interest me and frankly, right now I would rather paint these little paintings than anything else.  This one is from today and I painted it when I got home from the barn using a photo on my iPhone as a reference for the sky.  The day was bitter cold and the winds were in excess of 25mph.  Still, it was a very beautiful day with a spectacular, rapidly changing sky.  I have now painted over 20 of these little pieces and I am beginning to assess them as a whole.  I realize that the farmhouse just happens to be the object in a painting that is really about the sky and atmosphere surrounding the house and storage shed. I have been laying them all out together so I can see what is needed when considering them as one work.  You can see 16 of them on my website and I will be adding more soon. www.jeanschwartzpaingings.com 
ON EXHIBIT:  The Thumb Box Exhibit, Salmagundi Club, NYC www.salmagundi.org
                         Small Wonders Exhbit, American Painting Gallery, www.classicamericanpainting.com
      Here's hoping I will be able to upload work in the next day or two!

First Session Painting "15th Street"

"15th Street", 20x16 oil on panel

      This photo was taken after my first day of work on my latest cityscape, "15th Street". I put a couple of hours in on it again today but will have to wait until morning to photograph it.  It is at an awkward stage and it feels like a struggle at this point but I have learned from experience that some of my best paintings have forced me out of my comfort zone.  I will keep you posted on my progress. 

      Today the annual Thumb Box Exhibit opened at the Salmagundi Club in NYC.  The show is in the Lower Gallery this year due to the continued renovation of the Main Gallery and it will be on exhibit until January 3rd.  I have three paintings in this show and I hope all will be uploaded to the Salmagundi website soon. www.salmagundi.org
     Last Friday I dropped off four paintings for the Small Wonders Exhibit that will open at the American Painting Gallery on Saturday, November 23rd and will run until January 26th. I will upload some of those images over my next few posts. www.classicamericanpainting.com  If you are in either NYC or DC I hope you will be able to catch one of the shows.  The works are priced to sell for the holiday season!

     What a surprise!  Another Farmhouse painting :-)  This is the latest

I Love Fall Color!

      I have been busy painting the spectacular fall color we have experienced this year. Sadly, I think this week will be the end of it as the strong winds are blowing the leaves to the ground.  I painted this little 6x8 addition to the Farmhouse series on Friday and I did another one today that I completed after dark.  I will photograph it in the morning.  I continue to enjoy this series and will have more autumn paintings than I will be including in the initial grouping as they will outweigh the other seasons.
     There are so many benefits from doing these little paintings.  I will have to choose another subject for a 2014 series.  As I view the works together I see the paintings becoming looser and looser.  I like that! It does good things for me.  Not only is the experience a real pleasure but the repetition and familiarity with the subject has allowed me to develop a sort of handwriting. I want to approach my larger works the same way.
     
      I mentioned in a recent post my surprise at the change in color with one of my image uploads.  There was quite a difference between how the photo looked in my folder and how it looked uploaded here.  The same happened with the last image I uploaded in my last post.  This happens very rarely and I have no idea why.  I am going to upload the same image again here and will be curious to see what happens with it.  I did go back and improve the cropping but otherwise it is the same.  Here goes.....

That's much better! 

I am getting ready to start a new painting and will start posting about that soon.  It is a cityscape and is will be a painting of 15th Street in DC.  Below is one of my rough preliminary sketches in my little 4x6 sketchbook.

www.jeanschwartzpaingings.com

Another Nocturne

      I mentioned in my last post that I had painted an October nocturne depicting a slightly different angle on the farmhouse.  This is that painting.  I will not be including this one in the series because of that difference but will be exhibiting it in either the Thumb Box show at the Salmagundi Club or the Small Wonders show at American Painting Gallery. 
      I have begun to focus on the Farmhouse Series as it will be drawing to a close in January.  I have decided that I would like to exhibit 20 of them together and will choose my favorite 20 for that grouping. I have been playing with different layouts and I think they look best arranged in 4 rows of 5 with just an inch or two inches between them.  I have selected a frame to be used on all of them and it is black with an antique gold lip and just two inches wide.  Now all I have to do is convince the gallery owner that this is a good idea :)  I also need to get busy framing as I would hate to have an opportunity arise and have all of them to frame at once!  I do want to show them together before starting to sell them off.  What is interesting is how many different ways they can be grouped.  It would be fabulous if the whole group were to be sold to one buyer as they have quite an impact together.  I could see them in a contemporary space and could be arranged any way the purchaser desires.  What is far more likely is that they will sell individually or in small groups.  I plan to have replacement pieces to fill in with should that be the case as I hope the series will be displayed for a few weeks.  I shall keep you posted!
      I will leave you tonight with two more from the series, a September and an October painting.
www.jeanschwartzpaintings.com