Category Archives: sketching

Float

16 Monday Jun 2025

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Whenever we drive up to the Adirondacks in New York State to see my sister, we stay at a hotel directly across the street from Lake Placid.

The scene changes with the weather and the time of day. People come and go. Passing clouds change it dramatically. I love watching it. And it always seemed to have that pink undertone, whatever the weather.  At least when we were there. Summer!

This was a tough one.  I wasn’t sure how I wanted to crop the scene.  Whether or not to put someone on the float. Or jumping in to the water from the float. Could the float be the star, but not compete with the patterns of the water? I knew I wanted a variety of swimmers to be at the back of the “stage”.

But finally I made the major decisions. I wanted the ripples in the water to draw you in. The figures on the “beach” were the chorus. And now came the really difficult part.  How to make it work as a whole, but save that special, unique viewpoint.

I worked at it a couple of hours each day.  Then slept on it so I could look at it with a fresh eye.  How much detail?  How to make the patterns in the lake move and have their own rhythm.

Finally. The curtain is ready to open.

Float, 30 x 24″, oil

 

de Printemps

14 Monday Apr 2025

Posted by in Art, Art Museums & Exhibitions, Gardens, paintings, sketching, Uncategorized

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A burst of spring from a visit to the gardens at Versailles on a trip to Paris a decade ago in the first week of April.

When I check my photos for inspiration, this detail always catches my attention.  I thought after a long stressed winter, this was the perfect explosion of joy and renewal that I needed to focus on. A return to France in the Spring, at least in my mind.

And so it begins.  This one took a very long time with frequent breaks to think about where I wanted to go…how much detail, the shades to focus on, the competition of the stunning blue background and the delicate shades of yellow, pink and green in the buds. And just how many shades of taupe could there be in the branches?

Each day, each week, decisions are made.  The detail seemed tedious on some days.  Contemplative and a soothing mental escape on others.

And slowly its started taking shape.

I love trying a new subject.  I had done branches before, but not in this color palette or quite this detail.  It was frustrating in the beginning, but once I reached the center of the project, it all started to come clear.

And just as spring begins here outside my window, I finish.  I love this painting.  I love having it in my studio for awhile as it dries and settles .

de Printemps, 30 x 24″, Oil

 

Sky Meadows

29 Monday Jul 2024

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Sky Meadows Virginia State Park is one of my favorite destinations, any season, any weather. It features rolling pastures and woodlands on the eastern side of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

It is in the foothills, horse and wine country with a few cows, not far from Paris, Virginia and down the road from Middleburg. I can get there in under a half hour.

It has a selection of paths to choose (for humans, dogs and horses), and no matter the season, there are always sweet surprises. This little oil captures the rich tapestry of its landscape, historic farm and endless sky.

“Sky Meadows Walk”, 11 x 14″,oil

Breakfast with a view

17 Monday Jun 2024

Posted by in Art, England, paintings, sketching, The New Forest

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I have often said that the great thing about all those rainy days in the UK is the over the top, gorgeous gardens. This one, in the courtyard of our country hotel in Beaulieu,  is no exception.

The Montagu Arms Country House is located in the New Forest area, one of the largest tracts of unenclosed pastureland, heathland and forest in southern England. It’s home to a national park, and several classic villages, including Beaulieu.

The area is not far from London, about a two hour drive. But it is a world apart in Hampshire. Ponies and donkeys roam the area freely, and we often saw a few horses walking down the center of the village from our hotel window. The deer and other wildlife were more shy during the day, but occasionally we caught a glimpse in the evenings if we were out for a drive.

There are grand country walks everywhere. And the village is also home to the National Motor Museum.  So something for everyone.

My little home studio is a haven to re-visit my favorite scenes. A painting often takes me a couple of months, even working most days. So this spring I got to relive those bucolic pastoral days spent in England.

The last week of a painting is spent considering if it is as successful as it can be and what I can do to bring that final spark to it.  And, at the same time, I’m thinking about  my next canvas. It’s a joy to have this to look forward to most days. There is a real sense of satisfaction at one completed, and anticipation as to what is next. There are always mixed feelings when I have finally finished a painting and move on.

“Morning Tea” The Montagu Arms Country Hotel in New Forest, Beaulieu, England, 30″x24″, oil

 

Dreaming at MOMA

22 Friday Mar 2024

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I’ve had very mixed feelings about AI (artificial intelligence) and how it will affect an individual’s creative process.  I personally am a big fan of letting ideas swirl around in my own head. I am always somewhat amazed with what eventually comes out on paper or canvas.

Frankly, I rather like the surprise and the process of art the way it is. The piece  changes and evolves as I work.  But this is rather the point with the new installation at MOMA which uses AI in a similar way.

This past summer, I took a trip to NYC to revisit some of my favorite museums to see if anything stimulated my own creative process.

I went to The Morgan Library, The Met and MOMA.  And at MOMA there was a mesmerizing installation, Unsupervised by Refik Anadol, which dominated the lobby exhibition area right inside the museum from the sculpture garden.

The piece was fluid and moving, constantly changing in color and shape. It was not a loop, but an evolving creative process. The observers were mesmerized. I came back to visit it several times.  It was new each time I returned–different colors and forms and movements.

The piece is a complex interpretation of the collection of MOMA’s 200 years of art. I read several articles and interviews with the artist once I got home trying to better understand. Working with MOMA, the artist put information in to an AI program he created that would use the visual input to create its own flow of images.  Part of the point is that this is how artists have worked for centuries…viewing other artists work and growing their own line of output from a personal interpretation along with other environmental and spiritual input. I know from personal experience that is true.

I’ll have to think more about this one, but it was intriguing. I’m still not sure I understand it completely.  Is this where we are going from where we have been? I remember thinking when computers were first introduced that this won’t be a big deal. I was a graphic designer and could not imagine a machine taking over part of the process.

I was wrong.

Curated Dreams, (MOMA, Refik Anadol, Unsupervised) 30 x 24″, oil

Autumn Stroll on the C&O Canal

27 Tuesday Sep 2022

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Autumn is absolutely stunning in the DMV area (short for DC, Maryland, and Virginia). It’s always a pleasant dilemma to decide where to take a morning stroll.

The Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park stretches from Georgetown in Washington DC, along the Potomac River, bordering West Virginia, all the way to Cumberland Maryland. A favorite starting point of mine is the Great Falls Visitors Center in Maryland.

The park is stunning. With its twists and turns, the tow path tucks between the Potomac River and the canal, bringing surprise vistas in to view with each turn.

This day last year was half way in to the peak fall foliage of early November, but still warm enough to tie your jacket around your waist, grip your water bottle and take off.

Especially on weekdays, it never seems to get overly crowded, but always has enough walkers and bikers so you don’t feel too isolated walking alone.

The November light is stunning, captured in the branches and the low, leaf strewn  water of the canal. Everything seemed luminous and translucent. Capturing the layers of light, shadows and reflections was a challenge and a joy.

Wetlands:Towpath In Gold, 30 x 40″, oil

 

A Winter’s Project

31 Tuesday May 2022

Posted by in Art, Art Museums & Exhibitions, paintings, sketching, Uncategorized

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This past winter I was lucky enough to get a lovely commission for two paintings from Gallery50, my long standing gallery in Rehoboth Beach, DE.

One was a large 60 x 40″ canvas that would feature Barnett Newman’s Air Heroicus Sublimis at MOMA (The Museum of Modern Art in New York City).  For the other, which was to include a school visit, I chose one of my favorite galleries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC that revolved around Degas’ The Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer. This painting would be smaller and more intimate in scale. I had an earlier photo I had taken that I would rely on for angle. But it needed to tell a story. It needed the children.

I ordered the stretched canvas.  The 24″x36″ came almost right away.  The 60″x40″ took over a month because of 2022 supply and shipping issues.  But I had plenty to do in the meantime.

I started going through my photo files.  I have lots of reference from years of museum visits, but choosing the perfect combination of gallery angles, art and figures took time and thought. The dining table in front of the fire became my workshop. It was January.

I sketched, erased, ripped up the tissue and started again.  I always want to tell a story in these gallery scenes. With all the activity of a class assignment on the left of the smaller canvas, I wanted to balance the scene with a younger child fixated on Degas dancer. She is oblivious to the chaos around her.  I finally penciled it on to the canvas.

For the Newman gallery scene at MOMA, I wanted to include a variety of museum goers.  I like to balance the different characters, and the young girl working on her notebook was the perfect foil for the man on the right looking at his phone (by the way, that is my husband–this is a typical shot of him after he’s viewed the gallery with me and I want to linger in the space longer…he’s a very patient man). The small lettering on the sketch are color notes to myself.

Still waiting for the larger canvas to arrive, I began to work color on The Little Ballerina.  I went on line to make sure the Degas gallery at The Metropolitan Museum of Art looked the same now.  Covid had kept me away for a couple of years.  I was surprised to learn that they had put a new skirt on the dancer. It is now longer, fuller and a beautiful pale ivory blush, different from what I had in my older photos. There is a wonderful Met video on YouTube explaining why they decided to do it and the process they used.  Fascinating.

And so it begins.

I made real progress on the Met piece, and then the larger canvas came in.  I work in layers of color with some drying time between sheer passes, so it was a good time to set one aside and start on the other scene at MOMA.

And then there were two.  I did work back and forth, getting to stages where I wanted some drying time on one as I moved to the other.  It was well over two months of this back and forth process. The snow outside my studio window turned to early spring skies and birds chirping. It was March. I can only work 4-5 hours a day with breaks.  The concentration is intense.

And finally, they were both finished.  And I changed my mind minute to minute as to which was my favorite. Usually the one I last worked on. I am very pleased with them both.

After several weeks of drying time, they were ready to take down our stairs and to carefully pack them both in to the car for delivery to the gallery.

 

The Little Ballerina, 36 x 24″, oil on canvas

 

Heroic Vision, 60 x 40″ oil on canvas

Golden

30 Monday Aug 2021

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It’s August.  Summer is in full heat, and I have spent the past couple of months painting a December scene of one of my favorite wetlands at Mason Neck Virginia State Park. It has kept me cool and calm the past two months of this beastly summer.

Painting is magic to me.  It is a time machine that can take me back to a favorite space with all the sounds and atmosphere I experienced when I was actually there.

It always happens.  No matter the amount of time that has passed, I re-enter the landscape, the coffee shop, the museum at the moment of that past encounter.

I am not a plein air painter.  I can’t step out into the weather and paint directly what I see.  It’s too overwhelming for me.  I’ve always thought it was because of my graphic design background that I like to plan and think and sketch out the image before actually starting on the canvas.

But I think it’s more that I like the image to “simmer” in my head. I think about the scenes that I encounter and photograph.  I run off prints and tape them all over my wall.  I play with cropping and color and light on the computer.

And then, finally, after sometimes months of thinking about it, it just comes together and I begin. And the image from that past encounter is now fully formed in my head.   As I paint, I re-enter that world, no matter what or where it is. And the joy and wonder returns.

As I get to the final finishing strokes, I am already beginning to think of the next image to paint.

Wetlands,Golden,  40 x 30″, oil

 

A glimmer of light

27 Wednesday Jan 2021

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2020 was a very long year.  Pandemic and politics has been more than difficult.  My art saves me. It’s time to move on.

I have returned again to Mason Neck Virginia State Park for inspiration. Based on a photo I took last December on the edge of the wetlands, the light finally breaks through the tangled, muted winter tones.

I debated whether this was more of a challenge than I wanted right now, but the allure of the mysterious dark vs redemptive light was a compelling challenge.  Just what I needed right now.

It’s always when I get to the middle part of a picture that it is the most daunting.  You can’t really see the big picture at this point.  It’s really a matter of where the paint takes you. I focus on small sections and worry about bringing it all together later in the process. Hopefully with a strong base framework, this will work out.

And then finally you make real progress, and it all starts making sense.  You can see where to go and how to bring it all together and find a direction.  Patience. Not my strongest virtue but it does serve me well on these complicated pieces.

Finally the beauty comes breaking through the tangled confusion. A few more corrections and attention to details… like making the center rear of the dark waters more defined to pull your eye back in to the depth of these dense woods.

Finally, it’s there. Like life, art is a process of searching for the best outcome.

Wetlands, In To The Light, oil, 40 x 30″

Wetlands in Orange and Blue

16 Tuesday Jun 2020

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One of my favorite places to walk, winter or summer, is Mason Neck State Park near the Potomac River in Virginia. There’s eagles and beaver dams and acres of wetlands.  I’ve missed it this spring.

What better way to visit than to paint from my reference photos. I can smell the damp leaves and hear the birds while I paint. This is the wetlands near Belmont Bay on the Bayview Trail.

I often follow this trail to see if I can catch the beavers out from their dens.  So far no luck.

The colors on this December day were fantastic. The blue of the sky was brilliantly reflected in the water.  Everything had a coral glow to it. The upside down images of trees in the water added to the abstract quality of the scene.

This picture took weeks of thin layering of transparent paint to capture the complexity and depth of this simple scene.

What a joy to work steadily in isolation.  Mike would just leave me to it for hours on end. The best lockdown partner I could have! Days and days of thin strokes of paint in the most beautiful colors.

And then magically, you know when it’s just enough.

“Wetlands in Orange and Blue”, 30 x 40″, oil on linen