Huffs Church Road House

The sky is the first thing to be painted in. Sorry I had to crop it to reduce the glare. The sky is not finished yet. It still needs some touching up. But I'm loving the color. I mixed a little phthalo blue in it to get it to brighten up.

New Painting in the Works

So excited to be working larger. This is a sheet of Masonite 24x30. I primed it first with gray gesso and then drew it out using white charcoal pencil.

Green Lane Water

Inspired by a trip to the Green Lane Reservoir near my home. I just love the rippling of the water and the transparency to the rough textured ground beneath the water. I'm showing this one in the Schuylkill River Heritage Area Art Show at Montgomery County Community College, Pottstown, PA. Acrylic on board, 12"x9".

Lake View

Finally finished an earlier painting that I started when I was in Jim Thorpe, PA. I've found that the ampersand pregessoed boards are still too slick. It's better to gesso over them. Even my second coat of paint kept sliding around, really annoying. Anyway, here it is completed! Acrylic on board, 9"x12".

Open Field

I just couldn't resist painting the light on this field with the sharp contrasts from the dry yellow grasses against the dark green trees. This is one of the few open spaces in Barto, PA. Developments keep encroaching on the land all over. Acrylic on canvas, 12"x24".

About Rainbow Brownie 2012

This is an international miniature art exhibit that takes place at INDEXG in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. See more info at http://artbrownie.com/rainbow2012/submission.htm The exhibit opens on July 28th through August 31, 2012. It's wonderful to see the vast variety of work submitted by artists from all over the world. It's so cool to be a part of this!

Rainbow Brownie 2012 Entry #2

Young Tree, acrylic on wood, 2 1/2"x 2 1/2"x 1 1/2"

This is a young tree growing in my backyard. I thought it was an appropriate subject for painting on wood...sort of like being reincarnated or reborn.

Rainbow Brownie 2012 Entries

Cow Block Party, acrylic on wood, 2 1/2"x 2 1/2"x 1 1/2"

I just love these cows at sunset from a farm near my home. I hope to do more paintings on this subject, larger ones.

Works in Progress from Jim Thorpe

Here are some other paintings that I started while painting at Jim Thorpe one weekend, but need to be finished. Both are acrylics on 9x12 board. I'll post again once completed.

Vineyard Outlook

Here is another acrylic painting on 12x9 panel that I painted on the same day while visiting the Galen Glen Winery. I just love painting at this location. It is so spacious and beautiful.

Winery View

This diptych is an acrylic painting I did on two 6x6 panels overlooking the vineyards at Galen Glen Winery, just outside of Jim Thorpe. I had originally thought of making it stretch out to three panels, but the two did the job.

Solo Show Coming Up!

Keep the date September 12, 2012 open! That's the date of the reception for my solo exhibit at Neumann University in Aston, PA! I'll be showing many of my landscapes at this exhibit....including my most recent ones soon to be completed this summer. So exciting! More information will be coming. Keep checking in.

Edward Hopper House and Philip Koch Show

Yesterday I had the pleasure of seeing Philip Koch's Truro Studio Paintings and meeting him in person at the Edward Hopper House Art Center in Nyack, NY. I learned even more about Edward Hopper after hearing Philip talk about him. So amusing about his small accommodations in Truro for such a large man and his dislike for telephone poles even though they show up in so many of his paintings. I really enjoyed looking at Philip's paintings in person. The use of warm and cool colors and the compositions of interior spaces are similar to my own interests in painting, as well as, his interests in painting the landscape. As if this weren't enough....I also had the exciting opportunity to share a meal with the Koch family and friend, Bob. It was an awesome time getting to know Philip's family and friends. I am most grateful for their hospitality and their friendship. Thank you for including me!

Cotton Candy

Finished! And I decided to call it "Cotton Candy" because the clouds remind me of it so much. I also decided to rework some of the sky because as I kept looking at it over the past week something seemed off. The clouds just weren't soft enough, so I lightened up the bottom blue parts and glazed over the purple parts of the clouds. That's the thing about working with acrylic, you have to account for it drying darker. I like it more now.

I also think "Cotton Candy" could be a kind of lure, as living in a development isn't always what it seems.

Day 2 on "How Small We Are"

Worked on building up the sky and clouds today. I have to remind myself to step back more often to view the overall painting. The first time I painted in the darker values on the clouds they were a little too dark and I had to lighten them up a little. Clouds need to be soft around the edges and blended. So, it's important to work the whole sky together while the acrylic is still wet. My paints were better today. I also painted in the first layer of color on the houses and landscape. The paint slides around a lot on the Ampersand board, so it needs at least two layers for good coverage. Maybe one more day before this one's done.

Painting Progress

So, I've decided to be daring and document my painting process. Here is the first photo of "How Small We Are". It's 16"x12" acrylic on Ampersand primed artist board. Since it's winter and too cold for me to actually start a painting outside, I'm using some photos that I've taken over the years. This is a view out my back window (and I can look out there for more reference, too, if necessary). Of course, it's all about the sky, but, I also love the scale of the sky to the houses.

Back to the process. It starts with a sketch and planning out placement, proportions, and composition. Then, laying down the first coat of paint for the sky... largest areas first...and building the painting from background forward. Oddly, my paint is not covering as smoothly as I'd like. It's really dragging and I've had to scrape parts down and repaint. I think my paints may be too cold. I guess it's not such a good idea to store paints in the basement in winter. Hmmm. Hopefully, they'll warm up soon. To be continued...