an arting life
This morning’s sunrise began with colors almost identical to the second of Monday’s two sunrise paintings. I’m working with broader strokes and thicker paint now, and I’m pleased with the results. For me, the beauty of the landscape has always been in the skies, but also in the untouched aspects of Nature. The tricky part…
Yesterday, I started my largest Pandorica-inspired drawing so far. The drawing pad is 14″ x 17″ and — in the photo — you can get a sense of proportion by comparing the drawing with my pen. (The pen is 5 1/4″ tall.) This work will take many days to complete, but — from the start…
This was one of those mornings when I talk to myself. First, there was the waiting. I’m sorting out a bunch of goals, etc., so at 5 a.m. I was working in my living room with the drapes wide open, checking the sky every few minutes. When the early light began to reach the clouds,…
This landscape painting was my second of the day on New Year’s Eve 2010. (The previous one was my sunrise sketch.) I’m consciously working with greater contrast to convey the colors and emotional content of the scenery. This oil painting was from after the sun had actually set. The colors still lingered above the horizon,…
New Year’s Eve morning looked sparkling and bright. Continuing to enhance the contrast in my work, I completed this oil sketch. (When I started it, I wasn’t certain that it’s finished, but I figured that it was at least 95% of the way there.) This is a mostly-southwesterly view, so the sun is behind me…
Something clicked over the past few days… something very good. It’s a personal/family matter related to my mom, who was also an artist. The results were immediate. I began creating more art… a lot more art. The next step was a willingness to fail utterly, and to push my art just to see where it…
I’ve been thinking in terms of a series of abstracts, but I didn’t have a sense of direction until I re-watched the 2010 Pandorica episodes of the TV series, Dr. Who. Something about the design on the outside of the box triggered some ideas. Oh, these art concepts also reference the Mayan calendar, mandalas and…
Just past sunset last night, the colors in the sky — and reflected in the snow — were fast-changing and amazing. If I’d had enough paint set up and enough canvases ready, I probably could have completed three or more sketches last night. It was a spectacular display of every color in the rainbow! Mostly,…
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…