The Sun Came Out!

"The Farmhouse, Sunny Day", 6x8 oil on linen panel

   As hoped for today was a beautiful, mild sunny day and I scratched the itch I had to add to my series of small "Farmhouse" paintings.  This was a real quickie but knowing the subject so well allows me to execute the paintings in short order. 

      I think I might add different views of the farmhouse as I don't want to get too repetitive in the same season.  I like the view from all directions so I will see what a different perspective brings.  At least this is helping me learn to enjoy painting winter landscapes.  I had mentioned in an earlier post that without snow to paint in winter I have found it difficult to work up much enthusiasm to paint what I see.  It boiled down to the fact that I don't feel I do leafless trees very well.  I am beginning to develop ways to tackle them. Squinting to see the tree as a mass with subtle variations in color from the densely branched centers to the finely branched tops I put those colors down in broad strokes.  Then I work the sky back into them just as I do sky holes when the trees are in leaf but there are more and the openings are more elongated.  I am having fun with them!

I Took a Break!

"Above Cayuga's Waters", oil on linen 24x30

     I took a break indeed!  I didn't realize my last post was on February 1st which just goes to prove how time flies!  I have been busy and I  have been away.  I enjoy blogging but when time becomes a consideration I must put my journal on  hold.  I had planned on blogging from the Outer Banks while we were there but discovered that the problems I had with Blogger on this computer were now happening on my laptop.  Go figure.

      When I read back through my posts I realized that I had never uploaded the finished version of "Above Cayuga's Waters" which you see here on the left.  I tweaked it a little today and may make another minor adjustment. It was a dark and rainy day so I will wait for some bright natural light before making that decision.
      I didn't take my oils to the Outer Banks this trip but did bring watercolors and my sketch books.  The next painting I do will be one inspired by Currituck Sound which is a favorite subject of mine. I also want to do a couple of beach paintings. Evening provided the most interesting moments especially on the dune overlooking the beach and the crashing waves.  The surf was pink/gold where the sun hit it and lavender/turquoise where shaded.  I did a sketch that shows the surf only and I am tempted to paint that in a large format like my paintings of the Great Falls in Virginia. 

      The Patron's Show at the Art League in Alexandria is now over and I never posted about the experience, nor did I upload the five paintings I had in the show.  The Patron's Show was one of the reasons I was too busy.  All five paintings are off to new homes and I was very happy that one of them will be residing in the home of a good friend.
      Look for another 'Farmhouse" painting this week.  I am feeling the urge to do another little 6x8 and keep the series going.  If we get the sun we are promised I may do it tomorrow:)

Storm Blowing In

"Storm Clouds and Farmhouse" 6x8 oil on linen panel

     This is Wednesday's painting.  It was day two of an extraordinary warm up.  The snow melted away on Tuesday and we enjoyed comfortable temperatures in the high 60's on into Wednesday.  We didn't see much sun on this day, however, as a strong storm was on its way.  The clouds painted here were the harbinger of that.  Boy did it rain! 

     I am hooked on the farmhouse.  I don't plan on painting these little paintings everyday but I do plan to do some each month year round. I will finish next January.  I think it will be interesting and I am already wondering how to frame and display them.  The winter paintings have been afternoon paintings but I can guarantee you that as soon as the temperature starts heading to triple digits again you will be seeing morning paintings.  The light will then be coming from the left. 
     There are plenty of scenes I could have chosen for this project but when I painted the first one of this series I wasn't thinking of continuing for the whole year.  I selected this view because I see it everyday and have always loved the simplicity of that little farmhouse.  The building on the left is only two years old and is a new storage barn.  The house is quite old and fits the landscape perfectly.  It sits at the highest point and creates a focal point from all the pastures. I am reminded of what I was taught when I studied landscape design.  Find the genius loci of the place and design accordingly.  This little house respects that. 
www.jeanschwartzpaintings.com  www.salmagundi.org

     

Last Week in McLean Virginia

"After the Second Snow" 6x8 oil on linen panel

     I love painting snow.  We just haven't gotten much of it here in Virginia the last two years.  I almost miss Snowmaggedon!  We didn't have power during much of it so my time was spent trying to stay warm rather than painting.  Quick, light snows like I have painted here are much more pleasant.  There is just enough snow to be beautiful but not enough to interfere with life.  This was the second snow we had last week.  The painting from my last post was painted during the first one and we are expecting a third at the end of this week. Hard to believe considering the temperatures today were in the high 60's and it felt like Spring!

     I have made a point of painting very small this month.  My schedule is really tight and about to be worse as I prepare for Art League Board meetings and the Patron's Show which we will begin hanging next Tuesday. It will be frustrating to try to work on a larger studio piece.  Working this small I can take advantage of the hours I have between appointments and taking care of Gypsy.  Each little painting has been completed on the same day that inspired it.  I also like the idea of painting the same scene in different weather conditions and I think these little paintings will inspire larger works.  I think a grouping of 6x8 paintings of the same theme might prove interesting as well.
 www.jeanschwartzpaintings.com

"The Farmhouse" 6x8 oil on linen panel

It Snowed!

"Morning Snow", 9x12 oil on linen panel

    If you read yesterday's post then you know there aren't many winter scenes among my paintings.  I find winter a difficult season to paint except when there is snow.  There has been a real shortage of the white stuff this year and last.  So, when I awoke to a snowy morning I knew I had to seize the moment.  Although the brilliant sunlight warmed the scene I quickly found out how VERY cold it was outdoors.  The wind kicked up and made it worse.  I didn't even attempt painting outside when all I had to do was look out the window:) 

      I only had an hour and a half to work because I needed to leave for an appointment which took up most of my afternoon.  By the time I got home this light was long gone but, as usual, I had some digital photos to refer to.  I had all the major shapes and light and darks in place and had established my palette so I could easily finish in the studio.  I did use Prussian blue along with utlramarine and cerulean.  I mentioned yesterday I had used Prussian blue for the first time while painting that copy of George Bellows' painting "The Palisades".  I could tweak this a little but I don't think I will.  I would rather keep it in the moment so to speak.
        More snow is promised tomorrow but I won't be home until afternoon.  I hope I will be uploading a new winter scene, perhaps from the rear of the house? We shall see.....
www.jeanschwartzpaintings.com  www.salmagundi.org

Copying, A Tried and True Tradition

My copy of a detail of George Bellows' "The Palisades"

     I have been studying George Bellows again.  It is cold out and it has been a snowless winter.  When I look around my studio I am surrounded by paintings with blue skies and fluffy white clouds or the golden, diffuse light of a summer morning or autumn day.  Winter is hard to find among my paintings.  I have been analyzing why. 

     The light is sharper in winter and the skies more dramatic.  I love the elongated shadows that seem so much more prominent in this season than in others.  Yes, it is cold out but I would take this weather over the triple digit, humid, buggy days of last summer.  So, why don't I paint winter scenes?  Simple answer, I am not good at them.  Solution, learn to be.

      My favorite George Bellows paintings are the early ones, particularly the winter scenes along the Hudson.  I prefer his winter trees to his summer ones.  Winter trees have always been a stumbling block for me.  It has been a long time since I have copied a master painting and I had forgotten how much you can learn.   Yesterday I pulled out an 8x8 inch clear primed linen panel and painted this detail of "The Palisades" painted in 1909.  The original is 30x38 inches.  I would like to spend time doing more of these and as they are copies just for study purposes it is best to stay small.  Added to my usual palette was Prussian blue, thalo blue and Payne's gray.   The other colors I used were ultramarine blue, cerulean blue, cadmium red, alizarin red, yellow ochre, cadmium yellow, naples yellow, burnt sienna and titanium white. It took some time mixing colors to come close to those in the Bellows painting.  I found some wonderful greens with Prussian blue and ochre.
      I haven't decided which painting I will tackle next but I am sure it will involve painting bare trees.  The test of what I have learned is when I go out and paint more of my own winter scenes such as the one I showed you yesterday.

The plein air corner of my studio showing warmer days

The Historic Black and White Exhibit

"Snow in the Park" 11x14 oil on gessoboard

     The Black and White Exhibit, one of the oldest shows at the Salmagundi Club NYC, opened yesterday in the Main Gallery.  The two black and white paintings shown here are on exhibit in that show from Monday, January 21st to Friday, February 8th, 2013.  The awards reception will be on Friday, February 1st from 6:00 to 8:00.  Check the Club website for gallery hours and information on this and other shows that have just openend at the Salmagundi.  There is a lot to see this month! www.salmagundi.org

     

"Starbucks" 11x14 oil on gessoboard

      I have been working in the studio and I am surrounded by my summer and early fall plein air paintings.  I don't have any winter ones this year.  It isn't because it has been too cold.  This is the first arctic blast that we have had.  I think it is because, without snow, I just haven't been enticed enough to get out and paint.  However, recently the skies and dramatic light have been luring me .  I also have been spending time with my George Bellows Exhibition Catalogue and I am aware that some of my favorite paintings were his winter ones.  I think I am just not very adept at redering leafless trees.  Something to work on.  Yesterday I did a small 6x8 inch painting from memory.  The scene is one I have passed almost everyday for the last 30 years so it was not a stretch to be able to paint it alla prima.  It is the farm house at the Madeira School where my horse Gypsy lives.  The sky was yesterday's sky so all I had to do was look out the window and elaborate.  I want to do more of these little ones and expand my palette a bit.  I never use Prussian blue and I think I will give it a go.  I'll keep you posted!  www.jeanschwartzpaintings.com

"The Farmhouse, January" 6x8 oil on linen panel