Second Time Around

"Winter Mist, Chain Bridge" 30x30 oil on panel

     I created this painting in March when we were experiencing another rainy, misty season but something was not quite right.  I ended up putting it away in the storage closet and forgot about it for awhile.  I took it out last week while searching for a different painting and found myself lured in with a desire to improve it. Sometimes it is a photo of a painting that tells me what is wrong with it.  In this case most of the photos I took were quite bland and I realized the painting was as well.  Then one image taken with the studio lights on made the colors much more saturated with an overall rosy cast.  I realized that what I wanted was somewhere between what existed and what I saw in that overly saturated photo.  So, back to work.
      I took my time and worked up some more transparent layers.  I added more mist rising from the Potomac and made some adjustments to the bridge.  I added more color to the tree masses. Then I propped it up for a couple of days and decided I had finished the painting!

     Sometimes it is the tougher paintings that I end up liking the most.  They are a challenge and make me work for it and when I work for it I stretch my abilities more.  I also find that my recent paintings draw on my years as an abstract painter particularly when I was working in multiple sheer layers of paint as a color field artist.

     I hope you enjoy this one!

Just Off the Easel

"Blue Canyon, 5th Avenue" 12x12 oil on panel

                   As a child I had a love affair with 5th Avenue.  I thought it was the grandest place I had  ever seen! I still love it and enjoy painting it. This is 5th Avenue down around 34th Street which I came to know well since my first job after college was right there at 34th and 5th. I think what makes NYC unique to paint is the canyon like effect of the extraordinarily tall buildings and the fact that it is built on a grid. There are very few diagonals and virtually all streets are east, west, north and south. Easy to choose the light source.

Fall is show time!  UPCOMING EXHIBITS:
 Opening September 21st and running until October 15th:
THE PRINCIPLE GALLERY PRESENTS THE WASHINGTON SOCIETY OF LANDSCAPE PAINTERS
Opening reception September 21st from 6:30 until 9:00 PM,I will have two paintings in this show, "Yellow Sky" and "Key Bridge Nocturne". Please go towww.principlegallery.com for more information.

THE SALMAGUNDI CLUB FALL AUCTIONS October 8th to 26th. www.salmagundi.org
With luck the above painting will be include in the auction.

AMERICAN PAINTINGS FINE ART SMALL TREASURES 2018 November 17th to January 26th 2019. www.americanpaintingsfineart.com

"Indigo Sky" oil on panel, 30x30

      I have been absent since January as the business of painting and exhibiting those paintings has taken precedence over my online presence.  Life has thrown some curves since the beginning of 2018 but the painting goes on if not my posting.

       This is my most recent studio painting and was completed two weeks ago.  I am back on the nocturne kick as I just love them!  I keep experimenting with night shades and I particularly like the palette in this one.  I was strict in using just Indigo, Alizarin Crimson, Yellow Ochre and white. What beautiful colors you can mix with those! A limited palette has the advantage of making it easy to mix up another batch of the same color.

       What is next from the studio? Well, I am thinking another nocturne :-)

ON EXHIBIT:
      AMERICAN PAINTING FINE ART presents "WONDERFUL WASHINGTON DC
       An annual celebration of our nations capitol. Paintings will be on exhibit from June 9th to September 22nd 2018.  I have three paintings in this exhibit including the one below.
                 

"March Rain" oil on panel. 24x20

Remembering Warmer Days

"The Bishop's Garden", 12x12 oil on panel

    Back in September I spent a week painting at different locations around Washington DC. The weather was perfect! Sunny, warm with a cooling breeze and it was an absolute joy to be outdoors painting on my own with no time restraints. I thought I would like to post some paintings from that week and bring a little warmth to those of us in the deep freeze.  Currently the wind is howling outdoors, there is snow on the ground and temperatures are plummeting to the single digits. BRRRR

     The painting above was painted at Washington's National Cathedral from the lawn overlooking the Bishop's Garden on the south side of the cathedral.  The late summer garden was dominated by blue flowers with a good deal of gray green foliage to compliment them. I loved the warmth of the building contrasting with the cool of the garden.

     The two paintings below were painted in the gardens of Tudor Place, a mansion surrounded by acres of land in the middle of Georgetown in DC. There were so many wonderful things demanding to be painted that I will have to return in the spring. I chose to work small using my pochade box instead of my French easel as it is easier to move around. As it turned out I planted myself in one spot first looking to my left at the rear of the mansion to paint the ancient boxwoods and then I turned right to paint the late blooming roses and pergola in the rose garden. Turns out it was a smart move as both of these paintings are currently on view at AMERICAN PAINTINGS FINE ART in DC for the annual SMALL TREASURES EXHIBIT. All works must be no larger than 9x12 so these easily qualified.  Gardens are a joy!

"Rose Garden, Tudor Place", 6x8 oil on panel

"Boxwoods, Tudor Place", 8x8 oil on panel