Some outdoor painting

I guess I am a fair weather plein air painter. The minus and one digit temperatures we have been having have kept me from outdoor painting. Not that I haven't been busy. I completed several pieces this past month. But today I was reminded how much I love to be outdoors with my gear. First thing this morning I headed out into the woods. This is not far away, just the backyard. When I started it was cloudy, but then the sun came out. Glorious!

It's funny how you notice things change when you are in the same spot for a few hours. Beside the light changing from cloudy to sunny, the water changed from a dark blueish tint to more brown as it got warmer and snow melted. My composition started when it was cloudy, otherwise I might have done it different and included sky. As I was painting, a couple of deer came by, cool. It was nice to be out next to the water with the sun warming my back!

 I decided to take full advantage of the nice day and do another painting. This spot is right next to our house.  I liked the contrast of the snow and the spots where it has melted. I tried painting on a canvas sheet. I found it a bit rough, too hard to cover all the white.

Maybe these two paintings will find their way into a larger and more finished piece.

My new toy!

When my husband asked what I wanted for Christmas I said "A wood burning kit." His response: "You don't need another hobby." Well, maybe not, but why ask what I want then? So I did not expect to get one. The first present I opened where pieces of wood. I thought they were coasters. Ok, eh, thanks. Later I unwrapped the wood burning kit, aha! So I've been playing with this new toy, trying out the different attachments and just testing a little of what you can do with it. I literally burned through the pieces of wood I got very quickly. Just playing, freehand, drawing from a couple of photos. I like the sketchy look. I also tried to incorporate the imperfections in the wood in a couple of them. Now to find some more wood to practice on!

 

 I added the name to hide a burn accident :)

In the Cascades

First of all, I still have a handful of bird calendars left, check it out here if you would like one! This lady is included in the calendar. I love this one!

I finished another painting from our trip west, this one Washington State, "In the Cascades" (16x20, wood panel). For this one I used a sketch I had made on site. I am finding that I don't really like to paint from pictures, even though I sometimes use them, and obviously had to in my bird series.

I enjoyed doing this one. The sketch is below, so you can see I just took the basic idea, and went from there. 

This was the actual spot. The painting could have gone different ways. When we were there I really liked the yellow flowers growing between the rocks along the raging river, so that is what I made sure to put in the painting. I loved the time we spent there, and the hike we took!

Merry Christmas!

Poppies and interview

There goes my intention to keep up with this blog! It's already been a month since last post. Time flies!
I've been painting quite a bit. I am currently working on some paintings of our trip out west last summer. There were so many beautiful spots that I would have loved to sit down and paint. Because of time constrains I could not, but I did do a lot of sketching and took tons of pictures. So with the help of these I can still make some paintings.

This is one of them. We saw these California Poppies on San  Juan Island in Washington. We stood there watching this view for a while. I loved seeing these orange beauties!

In other news; I am honored to be Spotlight Artist at Daily Paintworks! That means I am giving away a painting to one lucky winner, and there is a interview on the website. Check out the painting, how to win, and the interview here!

Bird calendar

I put a calendar from a selection of my bird paintings! I like how it came out.

Here is the video to see all pages.

And if you are interested in having one, or maybe gift one to a bird lover, here is the purchase information.

Boot Camp and shows

Two weeks ago I took part in a professional development program organized by the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) and the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), in partnership with the Arts Council of the Southern Finger Lakes. The program is called NYSC/NYFA Artists as Entrepreneur Boot Camp. In the three days topics covered were strategic planning, finance, law, marketing, and fundraising. We learned so much through presentations, group work, and discussions. We were lucky to have an awesome supportive group and awesome presenters. This Boot Camp really got us thinking in all the ways we could grow. We bounced ideas off each other and bonded as a group and I feel like I made a lot of new friends! If you get a chance to take this program in the future or something similar in your state, do it!

In other news, here is my latest newsletter with upcoming shows and events:

Craft Fair at the Enfield Valley Grange, Enfield, NY

Saturday, November 17, 9AM-3PM

Craft Fair at the Ithaca First Assembly Church

197 Bostwick Road, Ithaca, NY

Saturday, December 1, 9AM-3PM

I will be there with small paintings, cards, and eco-printed silk scarfs.​ 

​I also have work in the following shows:

State of the Art Gallery's Juried Show, Ithaca, NY

 December 5-30; Opening Reception December 7, 5-8PM

Annual Group Exhibit, School of Music and Arts, Ithaca, NY

December 7-January 25; Opening Reception December 7, 5-8PM

Hope to see you there!