Playboy Lighter

I love these parasols. They're the perfect compliment to the 'party' mood this lighter conjures up. A Chinese New Year party at the 'Mansion' maybe? This was painted in ambient light thus no strong shadows. It needs final highlights on the lighter and more color in the parasol and a touch of dark to make the parasol 'sit' down. Some of my blog paintings are featured in Holiday Small Works at Oceanside 17 Studio and Gallery in Hull which is a sweet little space just next to Saporito's restaurant on Rockland Circle. Franny Andahazy is the artist/gallery owner who also throws parties as a business. Stop by and visit her and check out the work of a number of the South Shore's finest painters. Thanks for the visits and the comments. I really enjoy reading them and again, it's more fun to paint if people are looking.

Parasol Trio 5X5

Abandoned Blog? Not really, but I have realized that I'm not up to a painting a day. Other things take over and must be dealt with. I'm amazed by the painters who can bang out one great painting after another. Check out some of the links to the right. Edward B. Gordon from Germany is one of them. Beautiful work! Open Studios is finally behind me and I think it was quite successful. Many familiar faces found us at our new locations and many friends trucked up the 4 flights of stairs to bless my new studio with their good vibes. I appreciate it more than you can know. I finally changed the background on this painting and this is the finish.

Parasol Painting Update

Every once in a while I hit the send button by mistake and all my readers get a blank or incomplete post. Oops! What I meant to say was that after working on this painting to darken the values, I think I over did the dark orangy background and will have to rework it. Not today though. I'm in the final preparations for Open Studios which is this coming weekend. The photo with the set up is the before, where the darks aren't dark enough. The second shot looks pretty good under the light BUT in natural light the contrast between the blue umbrella and the background is lost. Another lesson. By the way, I invite critique and suggestion from all of you.

Parasols

This painting was started yesterday at Rockland Middle School's Artist in Residence day which is put on by a volunteer parent committee. We set up in the lobby and did our thing, chatting with the kids as they changed class and had a few moments to watch and ask questions. I set up my still life again today to work on the painting and I finally got the contrast I was looking for. In order to get the highlights you have to 'see' everything darker than it actually is. I'll photograph the painting in daylight tomorrow.

Cordage Park in Fall 5x7

Yesterday was another glorious fall day despite the hurricane winds we took over the weekend. The trees are still colorful and not all have turned. It's very late for that phenomenon to be happening in this region. Yesterday, I painted this little study at Gray's Beach in Kingston. Sitting in the car, of course, with my little 6x8 pochade box. When I got home I opened up Emile Gruppe's books to check out his pointers on landscapes. Gruppe , a Cape Ann artist was a student of John Carlson who wrote Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting, (arguably) the definitive book on the subject. Both of these guys were masters in their own right. Check them out. I'm after more polish in my paintings, loose control as it were. Doing these little studies is a good way to improve. Not to mention the enjoyment factor.

Cemetery Maple 6x8

Has anyone ever noticed that the most beautiful trees are in cemeteries? I did this little block in from my car before the hurricane winds took all the leaves. I am in the midst of trying to get ready for Open Studios and since I just moved in and the lights still have to be hung, and everything is packed. It's quite daunting.