Still Life

This is another little still life, 5" x 5," painted in acrylic on gessoboard. I'm having fun with some of the old objects I've collected, plus some new ones that have crept in recently. In a couple of days, I'll be trying out the acrylics "en plein air," at Shaker Village in Canterbury. I'll post whatever I end up with, as long as they're not "wipers." 

Zucchini

Back to printmaking- Here's a woodcut done for a food alphabet exchange: it's 6" x 8", water-based inks on Rives lightweight paper. For the background, I transferred my drawing onto an uncut block, then applied plain water to the areas I wanted lighter. I rolled it with light green ink, then added a bit of yellow ink to the flower. After printing about 30 of the background, I printed the "key block" in dark green on top. I tried to make it not-too-obvious, so that you'd have to look an extra second to see the little zucchini. This was a fun exchange!

....and another

This is another still life from the workshop: "Green Jar with Rose," approx 9" x 6," acrylic on gessoed paper. You can see the gray undertone in places, but I decided to leave it rather than getting picky. I was still having fun.

Departure

Earlier this month, I took part in a still life workshop taught by Ellen Rolli at the Concord (MA) Art Association. My aim was to loosen up my painting, have fun and learn how not to agonize over every detail. What I didn't know right off is that, while the workshop was posted as being for both oils and acrylic, Ellen teaches only in acrylic. I'd never used acrylic for "fine" art before. Yikes! Though I could have used oils, I decided to jump in over my head and go for the acrylics. I felt like a new person! For starters, I re-learned how to hold a brush (not like a pencil). The paint (mostly Golden) was wonderful: juicy, fast-drying, intense color. In the one-day workshop, I did eight small paintings, about half of which I'll save from demolition. My days of painting tight, overly obsessive, niggly paintings are over. I still like other artists' realism; I just don't want to do it myself. I'll save my urge for detail for woodcuts, where it's needed. At least for now.
The painting above is "Flower in Bottle on Blue," approx 9" x 6," acrylic on gessoed paper.

Plein Air - Tavern

For four days of last week, I painted with 10 other New Hampshire Plein Air artists in a Michael Chesley Johnson workshop. I learned a LOT and had a great time! This is one little (6" x 8") oil, still somewhat unfinished, of the old tavern in the village of Dunbarton. The methods we were using don't work as well on canvas as on a gessoed panel, so the weave is too prominent in some areas. I'll post more from the workshop as they are dry enough to scan, and there'll be more whenever the weather is good this spring and summer.

Goodbye

I've been away from art for a couple of months, getting better after a medical issue. It's been a rough winter in many ways, not the least of which was the loss of a dear, long-time friend, Ed. His funeral yesterday was a combination of horrific sadness and, amazingly and oddly, fun. Ed, a costume designer by trade and inclination (he designed for the Boston Ballet for many years), enjoyed dressing as Father Christmas each holiday season. He wanted to make his exit from this world in his Father Christmas outfit, and so he did, crown, fur, bells and all! His coffin was decorated with golden icons and holly and evergreen branches. The final, and most telling thing about what a wonderful person Ed was is in the music that rang him out of the church at the end of the ceremony: "Joy to the World." Ed brought a lot of joy into people's lives, as Father Christmas and as himself. He brought much joy to my life and I will miss him dearly.

Calling Glooscap

Here's another almost-illustration print, done for an exchange. The theme was "Mythology," so I chose a Native American story about Glooscap (creator-being) giving the loons their voice. It's titled "Calling Glooscap" and is a woodcut, 4" x 6" oil-based inks on Rives lightweight. It started out as a black and white image, but I added the blue sky, then it looked funny without color in the water, so I cut another block.