an arting life
This afternoon, the skies began to clear after the overnight blizzard. The wind is still fierce, blowing snow across the countryside. It’s lovely… from the warmth of our home, anyway! This is a 9″ x 12″ oil sketch on canvas board. It took me about 20 minutes to paint. The snow is dry and powdery,…
The news is calling it the “Blizzard of 2010.” I’m not sure it’s that dramatic, but it’s definitely very white outside. It began snowing at about 8 last night, and it’s predicted to continue through the morning. I’ve never tried to paint a snowstorm before, and the landscape is fairly limited. The hills I usually…
It’s Christmas Eve. One of my favorite times of year. As a child, we often went to Midnight Mass. That’s a tradition I continued with my children, too. Then and now, Christmas Eve seems more of a fresh beginning than New Year’s Day. That probably reflects my upbringing and personal context. But also, as an…
As sunset approached, the winds picked up and the weather turned blustery. The clouds were heavy shades of blue over the golden-to-magenta sky. Of course, I dashed to my easel. My paints were still on my palette after the morning’s oil sketch, so — just adding more zinc white — I was ready to paint…
When I looked out the window this morning, the sky was a mix of pinks, blues, whites and yellows. Snow is on the way. The colors were vivid for a very brief time… maybe four minutes. They faded within seconds. I dashed to my easel and quickly scrubbed in the colors while they were fresh…
Last February (2010), I began this oil painting of a landscape in the White Mountains. Because I had other work to complete first, this painting progressed slowly. For about four months, this painting was on my living room wall. I knew that it needed something… I just couldn’t figure out what. Last week, I read…
Before renewing my love affair with pen & ink illustration, I needed a new rapidograph. Since childhood, I’ve always loved black-and-white illustration, and my drawings are a mix of contour-style line drawings accented with cross-hatch (etc.) shadows. My “people” have always been silly looking things with large noses that often extend directly from the hairline, …
The best view from our home is through the sliding glass doors in our living room. Unfortunately, that’s also the hottest room in the summer, so – without a/c (typical in this part of NH) – it’s no fun to paint there. However, once the cooler weather returns, I’m ready to pick up my paintbrush…
Disneyland is celebrating its 55th anniversary. I grew up surrounded by Disney art, figures, and I watched the Mickey Mouse Club every time it was on. I’m commemorating Disneyland’s anniversary with an artistamp. It features art by my mother, Muriel Joan Bernier (1919 – 2010). Click on the image to download a PDF copy of…
This sunset was nearly as spectacular as Thursday night’s, with the added bonus of showing vivid colors earlier. So, I was able to capture most of the color before the light turned too dark for painting. I may tweak the foreground before I say that this sketch is completed… or I may leave it as-is,…
Generally, sunsets aren’t colorful right now. Last night was an exception. The longer I painted (and the darker the skies became), the more brilliant the colors and contrasts in the sky. In fact, I tried to paint a second sketch after this one, but it was so dark outside, I couldn’t see what I was…
After several days of clouds, rain, and a little sleet, the sun was shining today. That meant great natural light for painting… wonderful! I’ve been itching to get back to this moonlit landscape. It’s at the point where I’m working on details, and that means paint a little, and wait for it to dry. Then…