Category Archives: sketching

“Cities” Begins

07 Friday Dec 2012

Posted by in Art, Art Museums & Exhibitions, England, London, paintings, sketching, Travel

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At the end of the summer, I started a new series of paintings called “Cities”  It has been sleeping in my artistic sub conscience for a few years now, ever since I did “Metropolitan Spring” in 2009.

Metropolitan Spring, oil painting by me 2009

It resurfaced in 2011 with two small paintings…

Gallery View, oil painting by me 2011

… “Gallery View” and “The Taxi”, both the result of a visit to my sister’s in NYC and a wintry afternoon visit to MOMA.

Taxi, oil painting by me

As you may have guessed, I spend as much time as I can in cities and especially art museums. Although at the moment I live in a more rural community,  I am drawn to the urban environment and the museums, street scenes, parks and buildings that make them so vibrant.

Times Square, summer 2012, photo by me

After visits to Paris, London, and New York City all in the span of the past 12 months, I decided it was time to explore my three favorite cities that I return to again and again.

The lunch cafe at Tate Modern, London, photo by me

What makes them all so energized, what makes each unique and who are these urban dwellers that I feel so attached to?

The Louvre, photo by me

In the mountains of North Carolina this summer, I started sketching my first canvas. “A Game of Boules, The Tuilleries in Paris” came from a whole series of photos I took while crossing the famous park last spring.

Tuilleries evening-Paris

I sketched this painting months ago when I was up in the mountains but couldn’t quite decide where to go with it. That sometimes happens.

Over the past few months, it all made sense.

It’s only the beginning of the cities series.  I am in the studio every day now working away.  I am always at my best when I am deep in to a new series of paintings.  The energy is great fun.  Almost like being back in the cities that inspired these paintings.

Mountain House

24 Tuesday Jul 2012

Posted by in Art, paintings, sketching

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This time of year is special when I get to meet up with my dear BFF who is an art teacher in LA at her family’s mountain cabin in the Smokey Mountains of North Carolina. We have known each other for decades, and it is still precious when we get to spend time together.

Me and BFF Donna on a walk down the mountain road. photo by Cathy

The cabin is rustic, but wonderful, and we manage to leave the men behind

Gathering flowers and taking photos. Two of our favorite pastimes at Mountain House. Photo by me.

…and gather as artists in the little house on the hill.

Early morning at Mountain House. Photo by me

This year there are only three of us for this first night, but it makes it all the nicer to share a quiet porch in the late afternoon.

Rockers ready. Photo by me

I have created art here before,

Mountain Dogwood, conte on paper, art and photo by me

…and this time I managed some time sketching on my new city series.

Hard at work. Photo by Cathy

I have been spending long hours in the studio working and it is thrilling and scary to be back hard at work on my art after weeks of travel and thinking about what to work on next.

The beginning of a “Cities” painting…boules in Paris. photo by me

This was a nice break with artist friends…

BFF and sister Cathy creating art at Mountain House. Photo by me

…and although I miss My Beloved Brit, he understands my escaping for a few days with fellow artists in the woods.

Queen Anne’s Lace…a mountain classic. Photo by me

And with no air-conditioning or TV, he really has no desire to join us in this peaceful oasis.

Mountain House near Bryson City, NC. Photo by me

Sometimes it is nice to take a separate path, and have lots of stories to tell when we get back together.

A path to explore

18 Wednesday Jul 2012

Posted by in Art, Art Museums & Exhibitions, England, London, paintings, sketching, Travel, Uncategorized

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It is always good going to my gallery in Rehoboth Beach.  I get to see the other work…

Santo Mirabile (mobile) and Rose Minetti (painting) at Gallery 50, photo by me

 

…and discuss with Jay (the owner of Gallery 50 Contemporary Art) my thoughts on my art.  This trip has confirmed a thought  process I had been having about exploring cities in a social context.  The gallery sold one of my favorite new small paintings, “Gallery View”, the week before My Beloved Brit and I arrived.

“Gallery View”, oil painting by me

I had been giving a lot of thought, after all my travels, that I wanted to explore social interaction in three major cities…NYC, London and Paris (3 of my favorites) and see what they had in common and what made them unique.

Cy Twombly at Tate Modern, London

The Louvre, Paris, photo by me

 

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, photo by me

The blending of location and culture has always intrigued me, and this was an interesting progression to take in my art. I’ve looked at cities before, and the interaction of their inhabitants.

“Metropolitan Spring”, painting by me

MBB and I have discovered, living in a more rural area, that we really are urban animals.  There is nothing I like more than the feel of hot pavement under my feet taking me to explore a great museum, or view an array of shop windows or wander into a park.

“The Voyeur”, painting by me from a park seen in England

A cafe in the Tuileries, Paris, photo by me

I will probably focus on the leisure activities of the cities…what people do when they just want to relax and unwind…and of course it will revolve a lot around what I do with my free time.  So as I explore museums and parks and walking around great cities, I imagine these new pieces will go in that direction.

Playing boules in The Tuileries, Paris. Photo by me

But that is the beauty of a new series.  I am never quite sure where it will take me.

David Hockney, The Bigger Picture

25 Sunday Mar 2012

Posted by in Art, Books, London, paintings, sketching

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I finally got my book in the mail, which I had ordered over a month ago, on the current Hockney exhibit at the Royal Academy in London, David Hockney, A Bigger Place.  It was well worth the wait.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The book is huge and has gorgeous color reproductions.  I had seen a few of the early works from his Yorkshire landscape series in 2006 when My Beloved Brit and I were in London and tracked them down at the Annely Juda Fine Art in London.  I had read an article about how Hockney had returned “home” after years of success in LA.  His dear friend Jonathan Silver was in the last stages of terminal cancer and these early landscapes came from the drive Hockney made back and forth from his mother’s home in Bridlington to his friends bedside in Wetherby.

We were blown away by the show at Annely Juda and these photos seem to do that earlier view justice.

Late Spring Tunnel, May 2006

It is fascinating that what I saw 5 years ago was the beginning of this new wave of pictures. We had seen his first efforts of the brightly colored rural landscapes, and I studied how he did multiple panels, something I was starting to explore.

The book helps explain what went on in those 5 years with the development of this work, and how this truly expansive and intriguing collection was born. I poured over the pages of sketches that preceded the actual paintings.

Mid-summer, East Yorkshire, 2004. Thirty-six watercolors on paper.

And am still going back to look at the full paintings again and again.

Woldgate Mist, November 2005

The book has a wealth of visual and written information on how the work formed.

It also helped me to understand how he approached his subject matter, as here where he studied the same three trees in different seasons, and in different mediums.

Autumn Thixendale, October 21st 2008 and October 28th 2008, charcoal on inkjet print on paper

Three Trees near Thixendale, Summer 2007, oil on eight canvases

 

Three Trees near Thixendale, Autumn 2008, oil on eight canvases

 

Three Trees near Thixendale, Winter 2007, oil on eight canvases

The book is organized similar to the show at the Royal Academy itself, from what the introduction claims.  This exhibition is placed in series by subject, much as I have always organized my own work.  I can understand finding an intriguing subject and going back to it again and again over time.  So where I have “waves” and “branches” and “encounters”, Hockney has “Hawthorn Blossoms”, “Tunnels” and “Winter Timber and Totems”.

And as glorious as the color reproductions are, some of my favorite work is the black & white pieces…

Timber Gone, 2008. Charcoal on paper

But beyond the pure joy of seeing the art, the book is rich in its editorial content.

There is a great discussion of Hockney’s love hate relationship with the use of photography and new technology in aiding the artistic process, versus the choice of painting directly from nature.  It supports a better understanding of how Hockney has struggled with the strategy of approaching the landscape, something I have found personally to be a challenge as well.

Nov. 26th, 2010, Woldgate Woods, 9:30 am. Digital video still

 

Painting in the fields.

And we hear from the artist himself about his anticipation to the actual show.  He knew for some time before hand that he would have the space, and worked with that in mind.  This is a layout of the room that held his iPod pieces, an amazing work comprising 51 iPad drawings and a very large painting. As he says in the Preface “All are new, and would not have been conceived without the offer of the Royal Academy’s splendid rooms.”

I am only part of the way through the reading material, although I have studied the reproductions of the art several times already.  At the moment my favorite essay is about returning to the landscape of youth, and Hockney’s ability to find a new motif for his art in his roots. The joy Hockney has in re-discovery of his boyhood haunts is compelling. He confirms what I long suspected.  Life is always a new adventure.

Margaret Drabble's contribution, "The Spirit of Place: A Certain Road to Happiness"

I have many art books, with pages and pages of gorgeous color reproductions. But I must say, this is one of my favorites for the content and editorial. It is so layered with interesting material, both visual and the written word.  I will read it cover to cover.

Into the woods with Andy Goldsworthy

26 Saturday Nov 2011

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A true favorite inspiration of mine is British artist Andy Goldsworthy.  I remember years ago seeing an installation of his at the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, and being intrigued enough by the rock formations that I wanted to read more about him.

Andy Goldsworthy Roof photo by Ser Amantio Di Nicolao, Wikipidea Creative Commons

He works and lives in Scotland, but creates the most amazing site specific land art and sculptures all over the world. Not only are they visually stimulating, but they correctly illustrate how fragile our world really is.  Many of his installations are not meant to be permanent, but become part of their natural surroundings. He uses leaves, twigs, ice or stone.  Somehow the work is startling, but still blends into its environment.  And he has a meticulous patience that I could not ever achieve. (I found what looks like a lovely packet guide to his work on the Barnes & Noble site)

copyright Andy Goldsworthy

I read one of Laura’s charming posts on Happy Homemaker UK, “Tips For Hiking With Kids”, and it made me recall one of my creative retreats where a group of women artists connected with the trails and woods in the North Carolina Mountains for a week.

I had been working for days on my “Dogwood” series of conte drawings. The mountain house is very rustic, and fairly isolated, but we had good company and lots of food stashed away for the duration.

We had no tv, no phones, but lots of nature (and a few bottles of wine) to entertain us. Our friend and social organizer, my BFF who is an art teacher in LA, brought a video along on Andy Goldsworthy that we could play on her computer.  That was our after dinner activity.

To spend the day sketching and working so close to nature, and then see what this master environmentalist came up with was phenomenal. He takes the most mundane natural elements and creates these ethereal visual moments in time that are astounding.

On a much smaller scale I went outside the next morning and created my own environmental play. It was fun to come out during the day and watch as it slowly slipped away.

My attempt to connect to my surroundings visually

It was an interesting break from my drawing, and made me realize the different ways an artist can actually connect with nature. I went back to my art table with renewed interest, and finished the branches/mountain dogwood series. Such a luxury to be totally immersed in your environment and be able to express it in art.

One of my drawing of dogwood branches

 

My 4 favorite art materials

14 Monday Nov 2011

Posted by in Art, England, Grasmere, paintings, sketching, Uncategorized

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Of course you should know by now, if you have been following this blog, that I love to make “pictures”.  I am driven.  Put a pencil in my hand and somehow I start drawing wobbly lines.

I have always thought it is curious that people who don’t think they can create art say “I can’t draw a straight line”. Neither can I.  My lines swirl and gash and streak, but very rarely go straight.  Every once in awhile I do a piece featuring architecture and have to concentrate on edges and angles,

Metropolitan Spring, oil on canvas, private collection

…but more often than not, the lines move in waves and swirl around the paper or canvas in organized abandon.

Wave #9, oil on canvas, artist's collection.

Finding my inspiration in England is perfect for my style of movement and emotion.  The whole countryside seems to swirl with energy.  I am never more pleased than walking in the country with a breeze blowing and a faint mist in the air.  Of course those days of pure sunshine in England are also nice, and I have experienced my fair share of those.

An early morning walk in the Lake District near Grasmere

I have created art for more years than I can count, and I thought it might be of interest to talk about why I chose the mediums I do to work with.  We fine artists all have our personal favorites, and like old friends we become very comfortable with them knowing their strengths and accepting their weaknesses.

1. Oil Paint – this has to be my all time favorite.  I am sure one of the reasons is that the oil painting studio is where I spent the majority of my artistic time at University.  I must admit I never did well with stretching the canvases, but I loved the glistening, smooth paints gliding over the surface.

My paint box in sweet disarray

The variety of color is inspirational, and if I add a touch of linseed oil, I can layer the pigment in a way that bits of color from each layer shimmer through.  It dries slowly so at different stages I can either mix other colors through the layer if it is still wet, or put a sheer layer over the dry so it comes through. It is such a forgiving process.  I can change my mind a thousand times, I can stroke it or scrape it or pile it on. (See my post Art on the Move to see how that works)

Metropolitan Spring in the studio

Everytime I look at a display of those tubes of paint in a store or catalogue or online, I am like a child in a candy store with too many choices.  One of my favorite parts of beginning a painting is choosing the colors. Sometimes wanting to try a unique color palette will drive my subject choice.

2. Pastels  – I was in Yosemite National Park in California on holiday by myself many years ago (before MBB) and I decided this was just too good to pass up, art-wise.  I had no art materials with me (I have since learned and never go on holiday without at least a good sketch pen) so I went in to the art supply store in the center of this gorgeous valley.  How considerate of them to sell art supplies right in the park! There on the shelf, right next to the Ansel Adams calendars, was a set of pastels and a small sketch book which I thought would be easy to put in my pack.

My current pastel box. The choices of color are limitless with blending!

I spent the entire vacation trying to figure out how to use the things, and finally realized if I layered the colors like I did the oils and blended it with finger, eraser or other tool, it had a wonderful effect. Pastels have become a true friend.

A wild color study of a flamboyant tree done in pastels, collection of the artist

3. Conté – this is a intriguing mixture of compressed charcoal or graphite mixed with a wax base. Conté crayons are most commonly found in black, white, and sanguine tones ( a blood red that is perfect for accenting areas).

It is harder than chalk (almost like a soft pencil), but can blend like pastel.  I remembered using it in school when quite young, and when I noticed it on a shelf of an art supply store, I thought this would be fun.

Pineapple, private collection

It works, again, with the same layering and blending technique I use with oils and pastels. I can build up my layers, blend them on the paper with the edge of my eraser, and then easily add sharper detail on top.

a conte drawing on colored paper

4. Pen & Ink: If you read my post, The Art of Sailing, you can understand why I love pen & ink.  With a small sketch book in my pocket and a pen, I can capture the world as I walk through the countryside. It is perfect for those English days when a camera is best kept in your pocket.

I have always used pen & ink as a sketching tool, a way to recall what I have seen rather than a finished medium, but I keep thinking I will explore it more one day.  It recalls Rembrandt and Durer, and I am always surprised how one small innocent tool can create such a variety of effects with marks and cross hatches and swooshes (a technical term for letting your hand go wild with pen on paper).

If you’ve ever thought you’d like to experience making art, just try it.  There are so many materials to explore.  And, who knows, you just may find a new way to express yourself and make friends with your own favorite material.

Look at my website for more of my art.