Getting Ready for the Black and White Show

"24 Hour Cafe", 11x14 oil on panel

       I just finished this small cityscape as a possible entry for the annual, Black and White exhibit at the Salmagundi Club in NYC. This is the most historic show at SCNY and I believe this January will be the 136th. I would like to have two entries ready to submit on January 3rd. Christmas and a trip to the Outer Banks afterward will make that a challenge. This year the Black and White show will be held at the same time as the Annual Members Exhibit which will celebrate the grand opening of the newly renovated Main Gallery. I really want to be a part of that!  This past year we have had to hold exhibits online and some of the smaller shows in the Lower Gallery next door to the restaurant. It will be great to be back upstairs in that wonderful large space. www.salmagundi.org
     This painting which I have titled "24 Hour Cafe" was inspired by buildings here in DC along H Street. I used a lot of artist's license to create a scene that could be in Greenwich Village as easily as in DC. I am heeding the saying " know your audience". Since we have been enjoying our first couple of snows I decided to add that to the scene.

     I have been using my small tabletop easel a lot lately instead of my large one with the work station.  I stand when I use that one working on larger paintings. I am finding that uncomfortable because I tore two muscles in my left thigh and I need to rest my leg a lot. This is a good time to be doing small works! Speaking of which ......The Small Treasures exhibit at American Paintings Gallery is still up and will be until January 26th. The reception on December 7th was very well attended and I am happy to say I sold two paintings that evening. www.classicamericanpaintings.org
Also still on exhibit is The Thumb Box Exhibit at the Salmagundi Club. That too will be up until January. You can catch that one online if you go to the Salmagundi link I gave you above.  The photo
Below was taken at the American Paintings reception for Small Treasures.

When In Doubt......

"15th St." Still a long way from finished

          Those of you who read my last post will remember my sense of optimism about this painting. 

Uh huh. Well this blog is about the ups and downs of being an artist and today I feel this painting has the makings of a real stinker.  When I am on a roll I need to keep going and letting a painting sit for days often causes me problems. This one has plenty of problems! On top of everything I uploaded a ghastly photo in that last post because it was more expedient to use my iPhone than go get my camera. The above image is closer to the truth. I am hating the buildings on the left. The brushwork is boring and I need to find a way to address that or this is going to get a sanding and a couple of coats of gesso!  I will no doubt stick it in the closet for a while before the final verdict. I would like to think there is still a painting in there.

          To make myself feel better I returned to The Farmhouse. It is great at times like this to turn to something that makes me feel confident and able to then return to the tough ones.

"Last leaves" 6x8 oil on panel

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