What's on the Easel

Full throttle painting this week. This is the last "chunk" of time I will have to get ready for the February show at the Gallery at Harmon's and Barton's. In the meantime, two other opportunities have presented themselves that I had to address.

First, I sold four items from my Etsy shop. A great thing that left only three items in my store front. Not a very inviting place to visit...so - I have four new quote series almost ready to post.

Second, the Maine Art Education Association is having an exhibition at the Saco Museum next month! This is an opportunity I did not want to miss. I decided to restart my work on "Stranded at Sea" This piece is the direction I want my work to go in but I knew that I could not fill a room with it by February so I had put it on hold. It's just about ready for exhibition.

Every day that use Acrylics I discover delicious color layer possibilities! The Acrylic mediums just add intrigue to the surface. There is not limit to what this medium can do. My newest love is how Soft Gel Matte layered over colors looks so much like encaustic. It's really yummy.

Enjoy!

Winter Studio

Snow Day!!!! :-) I get the chance to post my new winter studio digs. Thanks to Caren Marie Michel I now have a wall space to paint on. This took two days to set up but I am really happy with the results. What is on the work space right now is one of two 30x40 paintings that I am working on for Feb. Well - now that this is posted, I need to take a shower, fill some water jugs and, get ready to loose the power!

What's On The Easel

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Progress on 30x40 birch panel. This one is a late winter sunset. The Panel is wrapped in a crisp, snowy batik fabric. I consider this about 40% complete. It needs many more glazing layers and lots of work on the trees and edges. This photo shows some areas of wet acrylic that appear much lighter than when dry. Water in the suspension makes the paint appear whiter and cloudy.

The four seasons series is coming along too. I have been working the sky and water portions exclusively. When these are pretty much set I will start the trees and land portions.

What's On The Easel

A sunrise like this just makes me want to stay home and paint!

Falls light is second only to winters.

These are two paintings in a series of four that I am working on for my show in February. The surface only has 2 layers of glazed colors on it right now. Glazing is one of my favorite ways to work on an image. The color layers lay on top of each other in very thin, transparent layers and become rich and varied as I place more colors. These two paintings are only about 2% complete. Shows how much you can do with only two colors.

This painting is large - a 30x60 birch panel wrapped in a luscious batik in greens. The work is only about 20% complete. My plan is to build up multiple layers of mediums to create a lush, full feel to the Queen Anne's Lace in the foreground.

This is the other large painting. I clearly recall the exact day I saw this sunset. I was on my home from work and just coming up the driveway. I had both kids in the car and they just wanted to go home and eat! I just HAD to take the shot before the light disappeared behind the trees ! This piece will be my biggest challenge. Snow is sort of magical and I want to get just the right feel.

What's On The Easel

A most wonderful trip to Reid State Park Friday with fellow painter Caren Marie Michel. We walked the entire length of one mile beach. We swam in the very cold, very high surf. We had a fast lunch. We painted. It's difficult to imagine a more perfect day!

Reid is one of my favorite places to go. The varied environment makes it a never ending source of inspiration. I have never taken the time to go there in the winter but it is on my short list of things I need to do. Reid is on George Town Island. The island has many breathtaking areas such as Five Islands and of course the park. Reid is the northern sister area of Pompham. I prefer Reid. Less people, more varied scape's to choose from.

Next week I have four days at school - and then the grind with a full week after that. All of my exhibition paintings are on supports and ready to complete. My plan today is to get at least 2 glazing coats on the 4 seasons series and perhaps some layers on my newest Lily watercolor. I will be posting the progress.

What's On The Easel

THIS IS MY KIND OF WEATHER!

This is the most difficult image I worked on this summer! The fog attempting to lift over the islands just off of Winslow park in Freeport. It is 9x12, La Carte sanded card. By the way - Winslow Park is a painters paradise!

Some of my favorite blooms of the summer!

Victorian favorite - Clevia.

My Lotus bud that I pray blooms today because tomorrow I will be at work and miss it!

This bud is large. If you cup both your hands together as if you are praying and then open your hands but keep your finger tips and palms touching - the bloom would fit right inside the cavity.

And the ever sweet Morning Glory!

What's On The Easel

We had a rainbow the other night. Although this is a single,
its not uncommon to see double ones up here.
They are always in the same location too.

Well - last day of break for me. Teacher workshops tomorrow. At least the weather is my cup of tea!

Completed a small pastel at Winslow park. The fog came and went all day and I managed to capture a brief moment of clarity. This is a 5 1/2 x 9 soft pastel on Sennelier La Carte pastel card. I am not really fond of this paper. It cannot take even the smallest dot of moisture! Its frustrating when the surface dissolves! My plan is to only work on Wallis after my stash is gone.