Paintings – Page 11 – eibhlin, artist

A New Morning

Yesterday, I found a quotation that made me feel much better:

“I’m in a foul mood as I’m making stupid mistakes… This morning I lost beyond repair a painting with which I had been happy, having done about twenty sessions on it; it had to be thoroughly scraped away… what a rage I was in!”

That’s from Claude Monet, one of the greatest artists of all time. Realizing that even he had to deal with frustration over stupid mistakes… that helped me close the door on my recent difficulties with a painting.

I looked at what’s been going on and remembered that paintings usually take me weeks… two or three months at the most, for an especially challenging (or large) piece. Anything that takes longer… something else is going on.

And, with that, the skies cleared and I felt much better… not so stalled as an artist.

This morning, I looked out the window and the sunrise was inspiring. The view faces west, so it’s a reflection of the sunrise.

And, after thinking about it for a few minutes, I grabbed my palette and a canvas, and did a quick oil sketch. That’s it at the top of this post.

It took me about 15 or 20 minutes to lay down the color. Then, though I wasn’t entirely pleased with it, I knew that it was time to stop.

There’s always a tricky balance between taking a painting almost far enough, and going too far. The latter involves scrubbing off the paint, or waiting for it to dry to paint over it.

It’s rare to hit that “perfect” point, the same as it’s rare for a baseball player to pitch a no-hitter.

The canvas is 10″ x 14″ and I hadn’t underpainted it with cadmium red, though I usually do that.

The scene is outside my NH living room, looking towards a tree-covered hill. We still have a lot of snow, and — except for the evergreens — the trees are still fairly stark and grey. The warmish colors come from the pinks, oranges and yellows of the sunrise.

It’s been years since I was painting morning sunrises.

Spontaneously picking up the paintbrush again… this is a good sign.

When You’ve Got the Blues…

This painting has a quirky history. It began when a commission wasn’t going well.

When the commissioned painting was completed, a lot of paint remained on my palette. Most of it was blue.

So, I took another in-progress painting off the wall – one that needed a lot more blue – and I worked on it.

I’ve talked about this painting before. I’d started it in December, to re-energize myself as an artist, when the commissioned work was faltering yet again.

The fun painting – as it was in December – is at the top of this page. It started as a good concept, but I wasn’t comfortable working on it much… not until the commission was completed. (I like to finish what I start, and work in a logical sequence. That’s probably a Virgo thing, or something like that.)

Late yesterday, with the commissioned painting declared finished and an “Oh, why not” attitude, I began painting on this moonlit landscape again.

Within three minutes, I stepped back and said, “Wow… that’s gorgeous!”

With every pause, I felt better. This painting sings. It’s rich with juicy colors, a rhythmic vision, and I think it conveys the awe and beauty of a moonlit night in the White Mountains of NH.

I’m approaching it as a semi-abstract, and using a tonalist approach. That is, the edges are soft, and the composition emphasizes light & dark (tones).

That’s the work (in progress) in the photo on the right.

Most of the canvas is finished. I want to do a little more with the sky. The trees around the building need to be softened. And that white rectangle – actually blank canvas – will be filled with the blue of the hotel building.

The nuances of the colors aren’t fully visible in the photo. For example, the most distant mountain is purple. The moon is tinged with pale yellow, and the foreground has an almost lyrical mix of French ultramarine and pthalo blue areas.

It’s a lovely painting.

I’m relieved, delighted and thoroughly pleased. This canvas reminds me of why I’m an artist, and the deep satisfaction of conveying a creative vision in art.

Next

See the next stage of this painting – Small Changes – Big Differences.

Or, skip ahead to my finished painting.

Kennebunk Salt Marsh

This salt marsh in Maine has been a favorite subject for my plein air paintings for years.

The location is in Kennebunkport, Maine, across the street from the Bush compound.

I started painting at this location as part of my “look the other way” series. For that series, I chose subjects that are a 180-degree turn from popular tourist vistas.

When I started painting at this location in the early 1990s, George Bush (Sr.) was President, and tourists would drive past his family’s compound… and totally miss this lovely salt marsh across the street.

As the seasons changed, I became even more appreciative of this salt marsh. As an artist, I was (and still am) enthralled by the myriad colors in this setting. But, I also like painting in this relatively isolated location because–as a woman, alone–I always feel safe, knowing that there are cameras and security guards keeping an eye on me.

This salt marsh has changed over the years. The trees are larger and more mature. A new house on the other side of the marsh–barely visible–means fewer deer on that side of the landscape.

Today, even more people want to see the Bush compound. The street can be busy at the peak of tourist season.

But, the salt marsh is still one of the loveliest along the Maine coast, and this location continues to be among my favorites.

This oil painting is 8″ x 16″ on canvas board. It was completed in May 2007.

Collection, J. Watt, California

Autumn pond

This is an oil painting from my years (1998 – 2002) in Nashua, New Hampshire. The pond is at Royal Crest, and it is magnificent all year ’round, but especially during the fall foliage season.

I painted this over a series of afternoons, en plein air (meaning: outdoors, on location).

It’s one of my favorite paintings, and we displayed it in our living room in Texas, as a connection to New England’s magnificent landscapes.

As of late 2008 (shortly after our move to NH), this painting is still in storage. However, I recall that its dimensions are about 16″ x 20″ on canvas.

Glastonbury Tor

England’s Glastonbury Tor is a mystical place. Its legends include fantastic Arthurian lore and unique Christian history.

In this painting, I wanted to capture the exhilarating freshness of Glastonbury in the spring.

The scene is the Tor late in May when the flowers are in bloom and the grass is a vivid, new green.

This oil painting was painted in an Impressionist style.

Close to the painting, the colors are broad and almost abstract. From 30 feet away, the painting looks photographic.

Like most of my work, this photo doesn’t accurately represent the range of colors and depth in the painting.

Collection, Vernon and Barbara Pope, Kansas