Sunday on the C&O Canal

The Last Sunday in May, (C&O Canal Georgetown) 12x16 oil on panel.

     Another summer memory is that of painting along the C&O Canal in Georgetown on May 31st. This was a joint paintout of the Washington Society of Landscape Painters and the Mid Atlantic Plein Air Painters. Artists were scattered throughout Georgetown and it was fun to meet some new artists and gather with some of them for a critique of the morning's work.
      I selected this spot along the canal between 31st and 30th streets and it turned out to be a good choice because as I was setting up my French easel one of the screws attaching a leg could not be tightened. Fortunately for me just to the right of this view is a waist high stone wall. I was able to fold the legs and set up as a table easel. I spent some of the time standing and some sitting next to it on the wall. It worked fine.
     Just beyond the stone wall was the balcony for the Sea Catch restaurant filled with patrons enjoying the fine morning. I had an appreciative audience :)  However, I must say I was starving by the time I finished and was tempted to skip the critique and join the diners on the balcony for a hearty lunch!

A happy but hungry artist

Some of Summer's Bounty

"The Corner of 7th St. and Indiana Avenue" 12x9 oil on panel

"Sunday on 31st Street, Georgetown" 12x9 oil on panel

       It has been a long and wonderful summer and I hate to see the end of it. I guess I haven't blogged since June and I can tell you it is because I would very much prefer spending my time outdoors enjoying the balmy weather rather than behind the computer blogging. That is not to say there haven't been a number of paintings produced this summer and  I would now like to start sharing some of them with you.
        Since fall always brings small works exhibits I like to produce some tiny paintings during the summer months in preparation. Also, it is convenient to work small when painting en plein air. The two paintings above will be exhibited later this fall at American Paintings Fine Art here in DC and I will say more about that in a future post. The painting at the top of the page was produced from a ballpoint sketch produced on site and the second painting was roughed in on site because I had just completed another painting in Georgetown along the canal and one of the legs on my easel broke. However, I couldn't resist this sunny scene. I did a rough sketch with burnt sienna and ultramarine blue on the small panel, took a couple of photos and completed it in the studio.

      ON EXHIBIT: At the Marlboro Gallery at Prince Georges Community College in Maryland. A Washington Society of Landscape Painters exhibit "Light and Shadow, the Energy of a Landscape" until September 21st. I have two large landscapes and one small one in this show.
        ON THE HORIZON:  The fall auctions at the Salmagundi Club in NYC and "Small Treasures" at American Painting Fine Art.  More about both later

Summer in the City

Monday Morning on H Street, 24x20 oil on panel

     Today is the summer solstice and the heat and humidity have been hitting DC hard all week with another to follow. This time of year the sky becomes milky and the atmosphere hazy. The painting above was just completed and should give you an idea of what I mean. For those of you who are local, the view is from the middle of H St. just beyond the corner of Lafayette Square. I am looking towards 15th Street which would be two traffic lights up.

     As my recent work has concentrated on cityscapes I am often asked why and who inspired me. The answer is I have always enjoyed viewing urban paintings but didn't feel I wanted to paint them until I saw the George Bellows exhibit at the National Gallery of Art in DC.  I have long been a fan of his "Lone Tenement", which is in the permanent collection, but for the most part I was just aware of his boxing paintings and social commentary drawings. The exhibit was full of large, wonderful paintings of New York that brought to life many of the stories my parents, aunts and uncles had told me.  I left the exhibit itching to try my hand at painting the city and lucky for me I live just across the river from a beautiful one!  I have always loved city life as three of the greatest have been part of my experience. I have lived in New York City, Paris and now Washington DC.
      There are plenty of talented living artists to be inspired by as well and I follow the work of Ben Aronson, Greg Gandy, Jeremy Mann and Shelby Keefe. I am glad to include a woman in that list! Cityscapes seem to be dominated by male artists and I am not sure why that is so. Anyway, this artist is hooked for now and I can't wait to dig into the next one. I am thinking a nocturne or evening painting.  I want to play with lights again!
      
      ON EXHIBIT: "Wonderful Washington" at American Paintings Fine Art, 5118 MacArthur Boulevard, Washington DC  through September.  I have 5 cityscapes on view in this exhibit as well as some small landscapes from the DC metro area.

Painting on the Outer Banks

"Currituck Lights" 10x20 oil on panel

    Two weeks ago we spent a very pleasant time at our house on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Being there offers lots of time for me to paint and plenty of wonderful subject matter so different from what I see at home.  One of the things I enjoy doing while there is setting my easel up on our west side deck overlooking Currituck Sound and waiting for the sun to set.  Then I paint as quickly as possible enjoying the freedom of just working with color much as I used to do when I painted abstracts. This one was created loosely, defining the cloud formations and brushing in broad areas of color as I was seeing them before me. Then I photographed the painting and the sunset and completed the job the following evening. Even though the clouds weren't the same I was lucky and the colors were. I had enough light from the well lit room behind me to continue at this stage when the sun was below the horizon. I loved being able to add the twinkling lights on the mainland across the sound.

"May Sunset, Currituck Sound" 6x12 oil on panel

     This much smaller, 6x12 inch painting was painted very rapidly all in one session. I stood under the gazebo on the deck placing my easel behind one of the corners so I wouldn't be blinded looking into the sun.  I would step back and forth between the light and my panel and I can tell you I was seeing spots quite often! It is exciting and challenging to paint like that particularly trying to capture the extreme light.

    Concentrating on painting the sky like this not only creates new paintings but I can use them as references for skies I want to paint in future paintings back home.

Remnants of Winter

"Winter Afternoon, E Street at 11th" 24x20 oil on panel

     As cold and miserable as this winter was I have to say the skies we experienced will be missed by me. There is just something about the late afternoon and early evening light in the winter that really attracts me and makes me want to paint it. The painting above is a December painting.  I was at the E Street Cinema with a friend to see "Mr. Turner" (which was wonderful) and when we exited the theater around 4:00 that afternoon we were treated to this view up E Street looking towards Pershing Park. I stood in the middle of the street and snapped as many photos of the light as I could because it only lasted a few moments.  The flags on the left are outside Harry's Pub at the Hotel Harrington and I thought they were perfect for the foreground.
     I am very happy to say that this painting will be heading to the Salmagundi Club next week for the 2015 Member's Exhibit.  Here is the exhibition information: Monday, April 27th through Thursday, May 21st,
Reception Tuesday, May 5th 6-8 PM. The Salmagundi Club, 47 5th Ave., NY, NY. www.salmagundi.org
                                                                               
    Below is the last winter scene I painted this year and it was just as all the snow was beginning to melt after one snow storm after another had dumped heaps of snow to be piled on the side of the roads. Although this painting is of a road here in northern Virginia the scene could be almost anywhere on the east coast and I am sure it will be familiar to many. The title is "Late Winter Commute".

"Late Winter Commute" 11x14 oil on panel

The Salmagundi Club Award!

"Market Street Lights" 12x16 oil on panel

    It is not everyday that I receive an honor such as this so please understand how very happy I am to announce that "Market Street Lights" received the Salmagundi Club Award in the current exhibit "Urban Life".  Happy is an understatement, ecstatic is more like it!  Sadly I could not be there to accept the award but spoke with a fellow Salmagundian before the reception so she could accept for me and express my sentiments.  I was short on both time and money and the snowy deep freeze we have been in further complicated a trip to NYC. At the end of this post I will add my second painting in this show, "Leaving Philly".

   Speaking of the deep freeze.....Usually at this time of year we enjoy some unseasonable warmups to remind us that spring is around the corner.  Last year during this week I was painting along the Potomac in Georgetown peeling off layers as the hours went by.  It was a wonderful day to be out painting.  No such luck this year and the forecast is for more of the frigid weather. I am eager to get back out and paint and might steel myself for an attempt with fellow members of the Washington Society of Landscape Painters next week. I can promise you whatever I manage to create will be small and executed very quickly!
      So here is the second painting in the "Urban Life Exhibit" at the Salmagundi Club www.salmagundi.org.

"Leaving Philly" 11x14 oil on panel

   

Night Shades

"Vermilion Sky, Georgetown Waterfront", 24x30 oil on linen

    I guess you could say I have become a creature of the night. The more I paint them the more I love nocturnes!  I gravitate towards the moments of last light when the landscape has darkened, lights have come on and there is some drama and deep color to the sky.  Cities sparkle at these moments.  This is the view of Georgetown from the Teddy Roosevelt Bridge spanning the Potomac between Virginia and DC.  When I began the painting I used a sky photographed by an artist friend in Scotland (with his blessing of course) as I didn't have another reference for the sky I had experienced.  Happily the sunset Thanksgiving evening was exactly like this so between Ken's photo and what I could see again for myself and photograph I finished the painting today. I darkened the clouds to be more like the Thanksgiving sunset and then made the blue of the sky darker and more intense.  I think I will protect this one from further tweaking and put it away for a week or so.  I am itching to work with these colors again but I am not sure what scene I will choose.

     The opening at American Paintings Fine Art in DC on Saturday night was a tremendous success.  It was a miserable, cold, night with heavy rain pouring down nonstop so I was concerned that many would not venture out but when I arrived the gallery was packed!  The French restaurant next door, Et Voila, catered the affair so everyone was treated to beautiful paintings, fine food and good wine. The painting I wanted to upload in my last post but was unable to is shown below.  This was one of the four I had on exhibit and I am happy to say it sold that night!

"Evening on the West River", 8x10 oil on panel