Ditto on the Title of My Last Post:)

"August on Pennsylvania Avenue", 6x12 oil on line panel

     We have been having one of the best summers on record here in the Metropolitan DC area.  In any case that is my opinion.  I spend as much time as possible outdoors which means I am getting behind in paperwork and things such as this blog.  I am painting and drawing, usually well into the evening.  Good thing too because there are a lot of shows this fall and I need to be ready.  There are three "small works" shows that I am creating paintings for.  The little one above is a companion to the "Pennsylvania Avenue" painting I showed you a couple of posts back.  In this one I am facing the opposite direction.  This came out of a day long sketching excursion to Pennsylvania Avenue last Monday.  It was cool and breezy and a wonderful place to be.  Washington DC empties out in the summer, big time!  It took me 10 minutes to drive from my house and park immediately.  In a couple of weeks that won't happen. 

     My friend Susan and I started at 13th Street near the Old Post Office Pavilion and worked our way down to 7th.  That is the cross street you see in this painting.  On the left the old 19th century building is where the photographer Matthew Brady had his studio. I am sure you are familiar with his photos from the Civil War.  I had three sketch books with me of different sizes and weights of paper.  I worked in pencil, Prismacolor markers and ball point pen.  This painting came from a quickie pencil sketch in my 4x6 inch sketchbook.  Traffic was so light that you could stand in the crossing for awhile.  Actually, at 13th there was construction in the middle of the road and traffic was diverted around it.  Had I known, and if the construction company agreed, I could have set my easel up right in the middle of the avenue!
       Whoops! Text froze and I almost got bounced off.  Better hurry.  I will try to post the latest in the "Farmhouse" mini series.  It was painted just before one of the many summer rains we have been having.  I'll be back with more .......

"Going to Rain", 6x8 oil on panel

Busy Artist = Bad Blogger

     Since I follow several blogs I confess I am disappointed when I visit and there aren't any current entries. For that reason I feel I need to apologize to my regular readers for not posting since July 25th. The reason for this is that I have been overextended lately and by the time evening rolls around I just want to crash!  Add to that the fact that technical problems continue with Blogger.  For instance, you will have to read this typos and all because I cannot back up and make corrections, nor can I add a caption to my photo and then add text.  So... the above painting is a plein air piece I did yesterday above the Potomac River in McLean, VA where I live.  It is a 16x20 oil on linen panel which I have titled "Mather Gorge".  Let's see if I can add more before I get shot off the site:)

Ha! I won't even try to delete the little x in the box above as that was my first attempt to upload this photo.  If I go back I wil be gone. What a pain in the arse!  Anyway, this is my vantage point from yesterday and it was a spectacular day!  The most ideal summer weather!  I was able to finish the painting in one session and I am always happier with the paintings that I can do in one gulp.  They are fresher that way.

I dont' think I will push my luck and upload the painting I did of the Great Falls last week.  I do have to finish a small part of that one as it started to rain after two hours of work. I am finishing it outdoors on my deck working from reference photos and I will show you that progress tomorrow. I will stop while I am ahead:)

From the Road



"Pennsylvania Avenue" 6x12 oil on linen panel

     Here is a better photo of the painting I posted yesterday.  I made some tiny adjustments to the painting and I am quite pleased with it.  I will save this for one of the small works shows I plan to enter in the fall.  This is an example of one of my "from the road " paintings.  I posted about that at the end of my July 15th entry.  What it means is a painting from a vantage point that does not allow me to set up my easel or even have time for a small study in a sketchbook.  In this case I was in the middle of Pennsylvania Avenue clicking off a quick photo before the lights changed and the traffic came bearing down on me. So, a photo and then pencil or water color studies to help me decide on whether or not to do a studio painting.  I liked this one and decided to do an oil study rather than watercolor.  My intention was to use this for a larger painting but I am not sure that is wise.  Sometimes I know I can improve on the study other times I am not sure.  This one hits the mark for me and I hope it does for the viewer.  I might be better served to use what I have learned from this one and do a different view if I go larger.
    

"South Capitol Street" watercolor in my Moleskine sketchbook

      Here is a photo of a watercolor sketch created from the ball point pen drawing I showed you on July 15th.  My husband was driving and we were stopped at a traffic light on S. Capitol.  I loved the red, white and blue of the scene, the huge clouds and the Capitol building in the background.  I liked the idea of the mundane scene with one of the great symbols of Washington in the background but as the focal point.  Next I will do this on a gessoboard panel.  I am tempted to do one for as a small work (no larger than 8x10) but I am afraid I will feel as I do about Pennsylvania Ave. and leave well enough alone.  We'll see....
      www.jeanschwartzpaintings.com

Enjoying the City!

     The painting above is  "Rosslyn at Dusk", 12x24 oil on panel.  I am happy to say it sold last week at American Painting Gallery in DC and it will be residing at a law firm downtown.  It was one of my first attempts at a cityscape and the fact that I included the Potomac was my way of getting my feet wet (bad pun) with depicting an urban subject.  My other two cityscapes done around the same time are those which my recent posts showed you.  Those were NYC paintings. 
  
      I have become more and more interested in painting city and town paintings.  I have joined a Facebook group "Cityscape Paintings" started by a fellow Salmagundian and have been drawing inspiration from it. I have posted this painting as well as "Morning, Washington Square Park" and "5th and Waverly". It  is good to have feedback from fellow artists.  It is also good to study the very high quality paintings by other members of the group as well as the more famous paintings from the last century that are often posted.  This  is an example of how great a tool the interntet can be for the artist.

"Pennsylvania Avenue" 6x12 oil on linen panel

      This afternoon I painted this little study for a larger painting.  It needs some tweaking and an improved photo but you can get the gist. On the left of the painting is the Old Post Office building which now houses restaurants and shops.  I want to paint the Washington I know as more than just monuments.  My enthusiasm for the subject is growing!

CLOSING THIS WEEK: "Celebrating 100 Years", The Washington Society of Landscape Painters at the McBride Gallery in Annapolis MD.  www.mcbridegallery.com  http://wslp.org  You can see all the paintings in the show on either of these sites.  Also check the WSLP site for information on our upcoming show opening on August 3rd at River District Arts in Sperryville, VA.

"Between Storms" Finished!



"Between Storms" 18x24 oil on panel

      Finished, except for one little thing.  The figures on the path did, indeed, drive me nuts.  I don't want them to look too finished but I also didn't mean to eliminate the horse's right hind leg:(  You can see the suggestion of his right fore but when I was making adjustments I forgot to put back a tiny stroke for that hind leg.  So now I am happy except for the three legged horse.  I guess I will do that tomorrow.  Oh good, yet another opportunity to mess it up.
    
     Issues with Blogger continue so I will be brief.  What I intend to work on next is another "from the road" painting.  I call them that because there are times when I am driving and I see something I want to paint but even if I could return to the scene there is no way I can stand in the middle of the road and paint it.  Returning from the opening in Annapolis I was fortunate to have my husband driving so I could whip out my i phone and take photos when a subject appealed to me.  We stopped at a light on South Capitol Street and there was a wonderful view of the Capitol Building in the distance with the huge white clouds and blue sky like you see above.  The foreground was a colorful but mundane city street view.  I liked the contrast, patterns, colors.  There is no way on earth I am painting from the median on South Capitol so I will rely on my photo and quick sketch in my purse size sketch book which I show below.  I'll keep you posted.  Please check the previous post for exhibition information.

Ball point pen sketch in my mini sketchbook on the ride home

More on "Between Storms" and a Favorite Sells

"Between Storms" 18x24 oil on panel (second session)

      I haven't blogged in a couple of days because I am once again encountering technical problems with Blogger.  Attempts seem to be hit or miss but I just got lucky so here I am.  I wonder if I dare upload a second image as that might be my undoing.
      
       The image to the left is "Between Storms" after my second day of working on it.  I painted on it again today and it is almost finished.  I didn't take any photos so the next time you see this it will be a finished painting.  Today I painted out the figure of the girl walking the horse as it looked cartoony (is that a word?) to me.  It will now probably drive me nuts putting it back in.  The horse looked pretty good so I decided to leave it alone.  I have made some value adjustments and worked on the trees on the left side of the painting as well as adding details such as the fencing around the paddock and improving the two structures shown.  I haven't touched the sky.  My only concern right now is whether to leave the two figures in or not.  Somehow I feel they should be there and perhaps I will feel better about them after I repaint the girl.

         In my last post I mentioned that I had sold "5th and Waverly" and it is now residing in LA.  The day after that post I received a check in the mail for my painting "Morning, Washington Square Park", which sold at the Oil Painters of America Summer Salon Show in Petoskey Michigan.  I do not yet know where it is off to and hope to hear about that soon.  That was the companion piece to "5th and Waverly".  Both were inspired by the same summer morning in Washington Square Park.  I will miss those two as they were both favorites and I liked to refer to them from time to time when I got stuck on other paintings.  I think they were two of my best! 
        ON EXHIBIT:  "The Art of DC" at American Painting Gallery on MacArthur Boulevard in DC continues until September.  I have six painting on exhibit there.
                                 "Celebrating 100 Years" The Washington Society of Landscape Painters exhibit at the McBride Gallery in Annapolis, MD is on until July 28th.  I have two paintings in that show. 
                                  "Summer Potpouri" The Salmagundi Club online exhibit.www.salmagundi.org
I forgot to add the gallery links with the other two listings and will add them there because I am unable to move the curser back.  American Painting Gallery is www.classicamericanpaintings.com
                                   The McBride Galelry is www.mcbridegallery.com


"Morning Washington Square Park", 20x16 oil on panel SOLD!



The Business of Art

"5th and Waverly" 20x16 oil on panel SOLD

     I did a number of posts about the progress of this painting, "5th and Waverly", back in September 2011.  Since then it has been one of my favorites.  I am pleased that it is moving on to a new home in Los Angeles but at the same time I am sad to see it go.  While I still have it I have taken a number of up close detail photos of it for future reference.  This is part of the business of art.  I create these images to share not to sit in a closet.  Painting and selling a painting is an achievement.

      Also part of the business of art is publicity for the work and exhibiting it.  That is what has been absorbing me the last week and I am eager to put some of that behind me and get back to the real business which is painting!  I have a lot on exhibit  and now I want to be alone with my easel.  I have so many images running around in my head that what to paint next is not a problem.  The problem is what do I want to paint most!  I have "Between Storms" to finish and I have begun sketches for future paintings, city, country, beach. 
        I am including a couple of photos from the opening of the Washington Society of Landscape Painters "Celebrating 100 Years" exhibit at the McBride Gallery in Annapolis MD.  You can see more at the following link:
www.mcbridegallery.com  You can also now view the Salmagundi Club Summer PotPourri exhibit online at www.salmagundi.org  other links: www.jeanschwartzpaintings.com and http://wslp.org

WSLP members from left, Hiu Lai Chong, Barbara Nuss(President), Lani Browning, Nancy Tankersley, Bill Schmidt, Me, Andrei Kushnir.  We are standing in front of Hiu Lai's beautiful "Autumn, Sky Meadow"

"Different Paths" and Me