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Monday, January 14, 2008

My Own Personal 'Salon'



Actually this is just 3 of the 4 walls with my paintings in Tim's office.  This is a safe place for me to keep my favorite pieces.  Yes, safe.  I've actually stepped on, into and through canvases stacked against my studio walls!   My husband is gracious enough to safeguard my work and I like getting to come into the office to add/subtract and rearrange!

My 2008 'Forgery'

It seems like only yesterday I was doing LAST year's Forgery for Spring Bull Gallery's "Fakes & Forgeries" show!  This year I'm going to try to paint the Mother & Child from Joaquin Sorrolla.  I was fortunate enough to see this painting in person last Summer and it blew me away.  It's very tonal, mostly all white, with notes of flesh color for the faces of momma and baby, and dark hair on the mom.   Should be VERY challenging, but if I do a good job, I've got one of my favorite paintings in the WORLD to look at every day (or rather Tim will, as it will most likely end up in his office!).  I'll post further developments of this oil painting as I go along.  This is the initial sketch.  When I get to the studio again I'll give it a very critical eyeball... looking to see if I got the relationships right.

Update on 'The Birds'

A while ago I started this painting of small birds, and since then I've asked for criticism and/or comments from lots of people, then foolishly tried to respond to each suggestion.  I feel I've lost the original intensity of the piece, and am unhappy with this result.  I don't even feel like I can bring it back, but must start again (and don't know that I will...)  But this is one of the pieces I'm working on in the studio.

East Beach Date, Oil 18x24

In Westport, MA there are a few great beaches.  Some are great to swim in, some to fish in, some to walk, or just take in the view.  East Beach is a place where a lot of people just go to feel the sun and the breeze and gaze at the beautiful horizon.  One day last Summer when I was painting there, this couple showed up at lunchtime just to sit and talk.  The red jeep and young people enjoying the day was just impossible to pass up, and I had to take a picture.  I knew this image would make a great painting, and there's an upcoming show about the color red, which I mentioned in my Daily Blog.  So.... this was painted fast and furiously, in one fell swoop, and hopefully the energy I felt painting it can be felt by the viewer.  

I also used a few new colors that I'm enjoying from a trip in to Cambridge (Pearl Paint)... Carribean Blue (Old Holland) and some of Gamblin's Radiant Colors.