Lilacs

Day 3 -mostly done-thinking the 'vase' is too prominent

Wednesday of last week (May 10, 2023) everyone on our morning walk was talking 'hail!' So, I came home, covered my vegetable garden plants (we here in Denver know not to plant before Mother's Day-but who listens?), cut some lilacs, iris and hellebores, 'just in case' to bring inside. If nothing else I could enjoy the heavenly scent of the lilacs, or possibly even do some sketching of the flowers on the grey day that ensued. It did rain for 24 hours straight, but thankfully, no hail here. The area where I live has been called  "hail alley."

Sketch of Lilacs

Friday, so two days into the cut flowers shortened life, I decided to paint one of the vases full of lilacs. Being still overcast outside the arrangement was under artificial overhead light. I went and found an unclean previously painted panel, 24"x12" and proceeded. Sometimes, the first run on a used panel is the toughest, especially if the painting was varnished, as this one had been. I could not find a photograph of the painting so I am surprised it was varnished. Despite the effort put in by me, who knows how long ago, to remove the varnish and then sand it, it still lingers. The first flush of new paint means it is absorbed by the old varnish so I must remember to go darker and lighter in value to combat this phenomenon. It doesn't seem to matter - it all ends up monotone.

From Nicotiana to Lilacs- starting the block in- carving out shapes

Day 1-Black almost covered - allowing this layer to dry a bit

Saturday is not so gray and the sun actually shines forth from time to time. But in keeping with what I had started, I turned on the overhead lights. My thought was even if I don't finish the study, it has been fun painting from life and fighting the substrate at the same time. Today's effort felt less like a wrestling match and more fluid and easy. 

Day 2- Big shapes defined

Day 2 before quitting for the day- Lilacs holding up so far 

Day 3 Sunday is just to finish the vase. Which is really for drinking wine, I believe. I inherited it from my parents and is from the 60's when we first moved to Germany. I am not sure what it says on it but I believe it has to do with cultivation of wine.  It does have a handle but I have ever only used it for a vase.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

After: Waiting on new window-back to original size. plastic for now

This week's painting is interior. I had my main floor bathroom remodeled during the month of July -I live in a house built in 1890 or thereabouts, so no ensuite bathrooms in this ole gal-and to save $1000 I took on the painting of said bathroom with assistance from my daughter and son-in-law. Then, since the basement is not finished according to modern standards, there was quite a bit of dirt, dust and other detritus that fell through the old floorboards during the tear down and rebuild onto the basement floor. Since the floor and surrounding area had to be cleaned anyway, it seemed a good time to paint the old wall and floor, at least in that section. I am not a glutton for punishment, after all! Between that, having a friend come for a long weekend along with the two of us driving back and forth to a Kaiserslautern High School reunion, it has been a busy time. Then the bathtub refinish was the last item and happened Monday. That was less than stellar so now the same kid is coming back today to try and buff out the many imperfections in the new finish. When he masked off the bathroom - all sparkling new - his tape ripped off the paint in several areas so I need to go back and touch that up once he is gone today. Not sure if he will tape it off again, so I am not willing to do it any more than necessary. 

Before: ceiling above shower raised back to be level with the rest of the room; toilet, medicine cabinet, light and sink replaced.

Here is the painted floor in the basement-nothing glamorous but looks fresh :

Door series

Two weeks ago

A month ago

Since this is how I sent what I was working on to my aunt in a letter, (yes, I still write letters, and she is 96) this is how I am presenting them here as there is no other means now to show the progression. In the bottom image is the first image I sent her on where I was at that time, about a month or so ago. Mostly blocked in and taking shape if not yet pushed to finished. The first painting in the bottom image going from left to right, Georgetown CO, Morrison CO, the green door is from Bavaria, the blue door is Orleans FR from a photo I took in B&W back in the early 70's, and the old metal chair is in front of my garage, and the only one painted plein air.

The top image has most of them nearing completion although since I took this photo a few weeks ago, Georgetown hadn't made much progress, but now is almost done. I have also worked more on the Bavarian Green door. I will post the updated grouping once I finish Georgetown. 

I have been working on some larger paintings and I started to do these 9x12's as a way to break up the monotony I sometimes get into while working on large (30x40) for me paintings. I hardly paint this small anymore unless doing studies from life. It has been fun, and I have a few more in mind to continue and riff on this theme. I showed them to some friends of mine recently and I was surprised that they both liked the same painting the most, the one I expected the least attention from. Can you guess which one it is?

Wow! How time flies...I had not realized I had been gone so long. It has been a struggle for me to write as I feel that with so much information pouring in from everywhere, who needs one small artist's thoughts on any given topic, even on art. However, I made a decision to attempt a come back for my sake and hopefully yours as well. 

Here is a painting I finished up this spring. It was started a year ago but I could not seem to work on it much until finally it called me back to the easel to getter done.

Just an Illusion, 30x24, oil on panel SOLD

Here is the block in almost finished. I wanted to see if I could get the warm yellow transitioning to cool shadows in the white house. I think that is what initially stumped me for this was about where this painting sat for so long. I would venture into the tree on the side and the foreground and even into the reflections in the windows, but not that daunting white clapboard. Once I got started on it though, I ran with it and gotter done. This painting was submitted to the Framed Image show, on blues and greens, and it sold in the first week the show was up. That is very gratifying.

I had done a poor sketch of the doorway to capture the warmth of the light even in shadow at the time I took the photo reference for this painting. I had also done another study on the back of the property to get a grasp of the feeling I wanted to remember of the whole. My on-site sketches are just that - to instill a memory of what caught my attention. I don't usually show these sketches but here we go...I did this first as this is what I came upon as I was walking around during the Georgetown Plein Air event. (of which I did not participate) I try to do these very quickly and think about the shapes. Essentially, a block in. But as you can see, the shadow side had a warmth to it that I did not want to forget.

Then the quick grab some basic info before meeting friends for lunch:

I bought this linen oil pad for just his purpose and I find it is working out well for me since I really don't plan on doing a completed painting most of the time. It does get awkward so I added a binder clip after this trying day to hold the pad pages from flapping in the breeze as I try to paint.

This years Georgetown Plein Air is the end of this month, so I am going to plan on going up to paint again with a few friends. Seeing what catches other artists eyes if always fun to observe and inspire.

Save the Date - Holiday Show - Dec 4, 2021

 

Cherry Creek Art Gallery Fall Invitational

 Hope y'all can come! 

Please join us for this Special One Night Art Show of Colorado 

representational and abstract artists at the B-Spot in RiNo Art District,

2750 Blake Street, Denver Colorado, 80205

Friday, October 8^th

5:00 – 9:00

PARKING

Free parking at the B-Spot and on the street.  

$5 parking lot available 1/2 block north of B-Spot on Blake.

MAKE A NIGHT OF IT!

Visit “Events” on our website to find 

a list of nearby restaurants:  www.cherrycreekartgallery.com /events

PLEASE RSVP  

http://evite.me/X6EvVdNYtE

or

art@cherrycreekartgallery.com

Day Lilies in the Garden

 

Day Lilies in the Garden, 12x9, oil, Available

 

 

I started this smaller work as a way to paint with my friend who comes over once a month for us to catch up and paint together for the day. It seemed one I could do while talking without too much investment in the outcome. I am pleased with the outcome which is a bonus. I finished it up on my own but it was mostly done in this friendly and congenial atmosphere. 

To start work in garden in early spring after all the snow we have had and waiting for the so soil to not be so saturated, I began to dig up those plants that are taking over my main flower bed in the backyard. The tubers of day lilies and the bulbs of grape hyacinths both tend to be in clumps with not as much dirt around them once they get thick from lack of thinning. I have not thinned the thicket of where these particular day lily plants are, but I did ravish the other side of the butterfly bush - the purple flowers and the green tube shaped remnants of the flowers which divide the bed, east vs west. Most of the foliage in this painting is from the other plant that has taken over, spearmint. A veritable thicket. I purposely let it get out hand the past several years because it is the last flowering plant in the fall for the bees. A neighbor has a bee hive in my back yard and I want to do my best by them. However, I got after the mint as well. I have no doubt it will be back, but it gets to start all over now. I threw in some Zinnia seeds last year that I really enjoyed so I want more room for those this year. 

I have left this painting in my dining room for now, so that every time I walk by it brings joy to my heart. I am posting it on this Easter 2021 as a sign of hope for things to come. May the blessings of this day be with you now and always.

Seat in the Sun

 

Start of a New Year - A Seat in the Sun

I forgot to post this on New Year's Day...oops!

A Seat in the Sun, 9x12, oil

To start this new year it seems a good time to post this painting. To remind me that the sun is still shining!

A couple of my painting buddies were over before Thanksgiving to paint together. As it was a beautiful Colorado day we set up outside my back door. It was very interesting as we all painted "the same thing" yet they could not have been more different in approach. I pulled out an old plein air painting that was not worthy of the title "painting" to begin afresh. I do enjoy the challenge of that and I am always surprised by how it turns out if allow myself to not cover every inch of the preexisting image underneath. I believe this one to be fairly successful in that regard, especially in the interesting colors and shapes coming out of the darkness of the interior of my garage. Keeps the imagination wondering what is in there? I did not plan it this way, but the color of the chair is also coming through on the wall behind it, which originally was a brick wall with white trim.

 

I don't consider myself a plein air painter, but I always enjoy being outside painting. If I keep it simple, as I did in this piece, the exercise is more successful. As I mentioned above, there were three of us painting together. I was the most zoomed in on the subject. Jeannie added the whole garage, and Marianne had the whole garage plus sky and trees and behind the garage, on a much smaller sized canvas, I might add. How she manages to do that is a mystery to me. That is what makes the world go round! That we are all unique individuals. Thank God for that~

 

 

Cathedral Rising

 

Cathedral Rising, 18x36, oil Available-contact me

This one has been a long time in the making. It is hard for me to fathom that I have been working on this painting for 2 years!! I just could not make it work for me despite many friends and family telling me it was fine. One would not think such a 'simple' scene would be so hard for me to get right. It is because it is so straight forward that I felt it had to be a certain way. Can't tell you how I studied snow, and the light on the snow at a certain time of day. No two days are the same conditions but to get a feel for it. I still did not delineate details, going for an overall sense of a bright, yet crisp winter morning.

I clearly remember this morning. My walking buddy and I were at Washington Park in Denver bright and early. It was one of those crisp but beautiful blue sky winter day. As the sun was rising. Hardly any one else at the park. It was magical. We walk the park every day, most always in the early morning. I know this park so well, yet some days it takes your breath away. 

Morning Glory - EAST

 

Morning Glory-East, 24"x24" oil - available - please contact me

 

Here is another one I started over a year ago. I think I have determined I really don't like this canvas, that I once thought I did. I have a hard time taking good photos of any paintings I do using this substrate. That alone is not the problem, as it just reveals things to me I don't want to see, which is a good thing overall. I just don't like how the paint works on this slick linen. I am currently working over an old painting on cotton and on a board substrate and those paintings are coming along swimmingly. 

As I was raising the blinds in my bedroom one November morning this scene was a beautiful reminder of how unique each sun rise is. I ran to get my phone and then ran out to the back deck, and thankfully, the sky was still spectacular. This is looking East on Iowa Street towards Downing St. That is my garage in the lower right hand corner. When I was working and had a dog that needed to be walked prior to going to work at 7 a.m. I saw the sunrise way more than I do today as a retired and a dog-less individual. So I am far more moved by them now that I see them less often, and I have always been in awe of the beauty of nature.

I painted the whole street scene trying to keep it within a certain value group; enough variety to know what it is and differentiate between the houses, but still reading overall as a whole. The lighter values help you move within this larger dark shape. but not enough to take away from the sunrise. Hopefully, they compliment each other.

Lone Tree

 

Lone Tree, 14x11, oil

I needed something fun and simple to work on and so I went browsing through my phone to see if I could find anything on it that fit the bill. I came across this lone bare tree taken in the Fall of 2016 in Sedalia Colorado. It was exactly what I needed. I picked up a plein air painting I had done in the fall of the Boat House at Washington Park which was no great shakes, turned it on its side, and went to work. I let some of the color come through from the boat house painting which can be very difficult for me to do. There was more I wanted to do in this painting initially, but this is one time I actually stopped myself before going any further to leave more of the under painting elements come through and add to the interest.

The story behind the tree. I was in Sedalia for a 2 day silent retreat. My first time doing a silent retreat. I knew no one else there and we were not to talk to anyone outside of our group meet ups a couple of times per day. I went wandering around the vast property there as I meditated. I was going through divorce and I think this tree captured how I felt. Alone, bare, stripped down to the bare skeleton. A time for reflection and rebirth. Solid, buffeted by the winds, yet still standing.  Maybe this is why I was able to stop before I normally would. To remind myself that I am still a work in progress - that some of the old is still showing through but that is what brought me to where I am today.

The wee Western Grebe

 

Western Grebe, 12x16, oil

This juvenile Western Grebe was seen in Washington Park here in Denver where we often see birds stopping by on their migratory journey. It is rare to see a grebe, though, so it was a day to note. I took a number of photos before this was immediately 'the one' to render in paint. The patterns in the reflection reminded me of  a tapestry or damask fabric. Verifying that it was a Western grebe took me some time before I stumbled on a photo of a juvenile. Then it was Bingo! I knew the beak was right, not that I am a birder.

 

I started off painting over an ugly snow scene I had done a few years back from my office window on Lowry. Not a beautiful view, but it was 'my' view. I started out figuring out where I wanted the bird, and since I wanted the bird to stand out I flipped the painting upside down so I could keep my eye on it while developing the water around it. . Then started to indicate the movement. This next image was taken under lights in the evening hence the different lighting, but I am using it to show how I started to build up the water thinking in shapes and leaving negative space. It might have been easier to paint the water a solid color and then add the reflection but this is how I see: very abstractly with shapes and negative space.

I was thinking of a title using a tapestry term as the water does have a somewhat damask feel to it. Yet nothing is sounding good to me. If you have any ideas for a title besides my uninspiring Western Grebe, I would love to hear it! Many thanks.

Wildflowers Revisited

Years ago, when my children were young and we were getting them started on hiking, I began to draw and paint wildflowers during our many pit stops along the trail. It was a way to help me learn the names of the 100's of flowers that are found in the Rocky Mountains. This year is a banner year for wildflowers and I decided to pick up where I left off in 2003, the last drawing I did and when I had put together a little book of my drawings.
My first attempts to draw small after drawing with a paintbrush on large canvases seemed difficult for me. I felt the drawing was way off and stilted.  The relationships were off between the leaves and the flower.

potentilla, false start

Cinquefoil (pontentilla) 2003

I redrew flowers I knew I had done before just to see how much my style might have changed in the intervening years. I would say it has changed quite a bit! To me I think the older version would be better for keying into and identifying the flowers in the field.

Low Penstemon, 2020

This low penstemon I did the other day I had to lay on my belly to see it at eye level. I made sure that there was no flora that I would crush, just a dusty dry gravel. The trail was running between the flower and me.

Low Penstemon, 2000

Here is another one I thought I had done before and I wanted to see which was the 'better' of the two. Lo and behold, I had not done it before! This is called Butter and Eggs and I thought it was a Golden Pea. Obviously, it has been awhile since I have seen the golden pea! They are alike in color, height and similar in structure. Otherwise, very different.

Butter and Eggs, 2020

Golden Pea, 2000

I had a good illustrative style going after doing so many every summer back in the day. I need a bit more practice before I will use any of my newer drawings. They are too different and need some refining. The one exception might be this Sego Lily. Amazingly, this is one I had not done before. They were in two colors, white and pale pink. I think I prefer the drawings without doing them in pen. I will leave them done in pencil in future. Your thoughts?

Sego Lily, 2020

I am enjoying using this renewed interest to get me up hiking in the high country. It has been a long time since I have gone hiking this much and it has been good for renewing my soul, if not yet my drawing ability!

Rock Study

On this Rock, 11x14, oil on panel

I went up painting this past week with a few old friends and now some new friends, as well. One of the women offered her garden in Evergreen, about a 30" drive from my house. Even though it is not that far from Denver, it was still lovely to get out of the city and into the foothills. On top of offering us her property to paint on, she also fixed us lunch!

Her garden, being at a higher elevation, had plants blooming that left my garden in the past few weeks. ie her Iris were at their peak and mine peaked at least two weeks ago. At any rate, there were these lupines growing in the crack of where the yellow straw meets the dark under-hang of this boulder. I struggle with rocks for some reason. I found out that I am not alone in this as none of the women I was with like to paint rocks...They all painted flowers or a path including flowers. I decided to take this opportunity to just study rocks. To do this, I was looking at them abstractly. Looking for shapes, values and color. Whether the lupines found their way in or not was not a concern of mine. It took everything in me not to wipe this study off as has been a recent pattern of mine. I don't want more paintings lying around. I will normally take a photo and then wipe the slate clean. I won't say I am glad I kept this painting but there is something about it I like. It is strong graphically, I give it that! And I may add the lupines. TBD.

The panel I used here had been painted on so many times prior to this one that the texture was almost a hindrance.  It did slow me down. This may be the last time I can use this particular panel. So be it.

Continuing the Farm/Ranch theme -the Big Barn

Big Barn, 9x12, oil on linen panel

Continuing not only the theme from my last post, but also another uninspiring title! I lack creativity in that area...I "finished" this painting months ago and I let it sit all this time because I wasn't sure what I thought about it. Still not sure what I think about it. So I am throwing it out there for commentary or critique.

Then I decided I could not post this image. In life it looked better - in a photograph - all I can say is ugh. Back to the easel it went. The first thing that I did, even though it was the clouds that I dislike so much, I pushed the mountain back a bit. I felt the color was too strong. Next, the trees on the right. The far right one especially reminded me too much of Charles E. Burchfield (his trees are very stylized). Which was a distraction to me. Still avoiding the sky, I did a few adjustments to the foreground. None of this took very long as the structure is in place and it is a small painting. It continues to look better to my eye. Then I decided to redo the barn; the value of it wasn't off per se, but it needed something. Finally, I had to face the clouds. I have been studying clouds, especially when they hang over the mountains. The bottoms of the clouds here really can get very dark. So the value of that dark blue wasn't the problem. Nor was it the color. I discovered it was the  middle value that was the problem. That middle value was too light. And I had tried too hard to add pinks and yellows to it making the clouds look dirty.

Big Barn, 9x12, oil on panel

Usually, I prefer to put the 'New! Improved!' image at the top of the page...today I decided to leave what was originally going to be the posted photo and text where they were. I have taken more time on this silly little painting than I do on some of my larger paintings. I just don't paint this small much anymore. It took 5 days of taking photos, taking it back to the easel before I am done with it.

I went out to paint in my garden yesterday on an 8x10 panel. It was pure torture..

Hello from the Twilight Zone

Gosh, it has been over two months since my last blog post...feels like confession time. I don't know about you all but it has been difficult to focus during these "stay at home" times. Not that I have been good about staying in place, but the whole tone of the time is so disconcerting. I won't go into all that except to say, painting has not been getting done, thus nothing really to write about or post. It isn't that I haven't painted at all, just not motivated overall. I went out to Washington Park last week and yesterday just to get outside with those willing to be out and in public painting. Nothing done that I want to post except that yesterday we had so many comments from those stopping to say how nice it was to see artists back in the park and activities to make it seem more 'normal.' A young man took a bunch of photos of us at work. He said he would text them to me but I have not received them yet. I am sure it will be awhile as he will need to process them; ie he was using a real camera not a phone.

Farm Buildings, 12x24, oil on panel

I will share this one with you. I took the reference photo at Hidden Mesa Open Space outside of Castle Rock, CO. I am calling it Farm Buildings unless someone can help me out with a better title. Y'all are way more creative in naming my paintings than I am.

It was just over three years ago that we (Plein Air Artists of Colorado) were invited to a local Parker artists studio for the morning and then on to paint plein air as a group. I did not choose to paint this scene at the time but I came across the image recently while browsing for inspiration.

As usual, the block in for it really excited me and then,  slowly, but surely, little by little,  voila! I do believe it is done. Don't you like the white house smack dab in the middle of the composition? I think it works due to the red outbuildings off setting it. What do you think?

Farm Buildings blocked in

Mary Dunn and Linda Petrie Bunch, Washington Park

Here are my compatriots out last week. We all painted the same scene looking west across the south lake. It was a gorgeous day both days I went out. 

Plein Air - oh how I miss you

Last week I went up to Evergreen Colorado to paint with some mountain artist friends. It was a glorious fall day. We were fortunate enough to have access to a private retreat location that was previously a camp for girls. Bear Creek ran through the property, it was well kept and just an amazing spot to have all to ourselves (with the exception of one lone workman). My first one was done from one of the bridges crossing Bear Creek. We are not talking high art here, but rather a study. The bridge was concrete and I can only stand on concrete for so long so I whipped this thing out concentrating on large shapes of color and hoping to get a bit of the movement of light and water. I had found this masonite panel laying around the day before so I quickly gessoed it to take along with me. It has been a long time since I painted on masonite and even with gesso it was a slick and slippery surface. Always fun to have extra challenges along with painting outdoors. The paint just did not want to stick to the surface. A bad brush contributed to the struggle.

Upper Bear Creek, oil, 8x12

This second one (and of the 4 of us I was the only one to do 2, telling you how fast I did the above study) I found a chair so was able to take a load off my legs and sit in the shade. There was this long out building that was full of fun shapes the whole length of it which I may someday play with in its entirety. I chose to crop this bit off for a myriad of reasons. Of course I loved the truck door leaning against the wall as well as the pink doormat to go with it. That it is a Wash House only added to it and of course the diagonal ladder and the yellow whatever it is diagonal was an extra treat.

Wash House, 9x12, oil on panel

Being Catholic I love the idea of this retreat house. It is a perfect place to go and be with God in all his handiwork. Peaceful with one way in and one way out. Come on your horse, there is a hitching post. We were allowed access to all the buildings  with the one caveat to be sure all doors were closed! Oh my. To paint outdoors and have toilets and running water is always a bonus. The Lodge is beautifully furnished and includes a game room. I could not interest anyone in a game of fuss ball much to my chagrin. I do hope to get a chance to go back there, sooner than later. Already have my spots picked out. Another reminder to get my butt in gear and paint outdoors more often.

Conglomerate

Today I am playing a bit of catch up. First, here is a photo from the August First Friday pop up show that I participated in with Cherry Creek Art Gallery.

Thanks to Larry Pritchard for this photo

This is me and my wall. We each had a section of wall and a post. As the sun set the lack of lighting became a problem as evidenced by the spotlight on the floor only shining on the bottom section of the wall. Still, there was a constant stream of people coming in for a solid 4 hours and I talked to a lot of people. I was fortunate enough to be closest to the windows on this side of the space so had more light than most. We picked our 'spot' by pulling a number out of a bag. There were 15 artists participating in this one night art show.

study in apple green, 6x6, oil on panel

Here is a little study I did this past week of this little apple I found on the ground while walking my dog in the neighborhood. It must have just fallen as it was still looking so perky. I set it up on the ledge of my easel for a study in apple green. We were hit with such hail this year that very few fruit trees in our area have any fruit on them so this was somewhat of a surprise to find.

And then shockingly, I went out to paint plain air last Friday. I really cannot remember the last time I did that. I went up to Evergreen and 3 of us painted this little cabin. It was a beautiful day. I did this profile facing North, Betsy painted it facing almost due East (ie the front porch) and Debbie was facing south, so on the other side of the cabin.

Here is my first sketch of the cabin. I painted it over another landscape (maybe from the last time I painted outdoors) of a tree with fall foliage. I turned the old painting on its side so the cabin is over the orange and golds of the tree. I was told to stop right here so I did.

This is my second sketch, again painted over another, much older plain air painting of church spires and a one way street sign. By this time the sun was getting to me so you can see, the cabin has lost some width! Both of the boards are the same size, 11x14.

New Years Day-Roxborough

New Year's Day- Roxborough State Park, 16x20, oil on panel

So Here We Go Again. I had just decided to not do anymore 'before and afters' on my blog. Afterall, I consider myself a 'professional.' Professional artists don't make mistakes of such an egregious nature. Of do they? I know this artist does.

2 or 3 years ago version

But then last night I had a call from a dear friend of mine. She is also an artist and I value her input and her eye. As we were talking she mentioned how helpful she found my 'before and after' posts. That they contain valuable information. Jeez Louise. Now what? I laughingly told her how I had just vowed to do no more of those as I spent the last week or so excitedly redoing paintings I found to be flawed in one way or another. Some of them I wasn't even sure what it was that bothered me but I just knew they were  not for public consumption. I was telling how much fun it was to all of a sudden 'see' with such clarity what was wrong in a number of these 'face to the wall' paintings.

Here is one such failure. The bottom one was done from a photograph (yes, you read that correctly. A 3.4 x 5' photograph to be precise). This scene is from before digital cameras if you can even remember back that far. I came across it as I was culling my old morgue file. Before throwing this photograph away I decided to paint it. From a photograph. Like I used to. How we did that is so hard to fathom these days.

Let me start with the fact that the shadows are not united in form. Add to that the fact that the grasses are so bright against the purple and are not reading as they should; that some of those plants are in fact, in the shadows. If I remember correctly, I was in a hurry when I painted the original. Looking back I do see that the photograph is brighter like the original version is. So at least I got that right. That dark bullseye purple shadow in the middle did nothing but detract from the whole, drawing your eye right to it. How did I miss that?

In the new version my first step was to change the sky color. I darkened it down a wee bit in value and put some violet in it. Then on to unite that shadow shape and tone down the purple, adding value and temperature shifts within the shadow. Adding a variety of plants-they are not all grasses! In the plants I added greens and cooler yellows and some deep reds as well as keeping some of the oranges and warmer yellows. I remember that originally I wanted the deer to blend in to the scenery and now on this version I want them to stand out. Even though it is not overall as bright and sunny as the original, I believe the new toned down version reads better overall. And if I did not show the original you would not know the difference. It is always a crap shoot redoing a painting. Always someone who prefers the old vs the new. But though I may still decide to brighten it up and add more warmth to it I am much happier with it now.

Degas at Denver Art Museum

Monday I met a friend at the Denver Art Museum to see the Degas show. I had heard already from others who had already been to see it that it wasn't that great in their opinions. I went with an open mind, because often times, the artist has a different takeaway than they average person, but I did respect both of these people's opinions. One studied art history in college and the  other works as a volunteer at DAM.
Both me and the friend I went with had the same assessment, though. As artists, we felt that if this was our work, we would not want it on public display! It was like an attempt to show 'unseen' work of a master, as in scrapping the bottom of the barrel. That is not to say there weren't some good pieces by Degas in this show. But it is an extensive exhibit which meant going through a lot of chaff to get to the wheat.
Here is one that looked great from across the room. The graphic shapes and abstract quality were what drew me into it. However, it wasn't something you thought attractive up close. The woman's face on the right especially her nose and right eye were a sickly gray and even in this photo I think it shows up as a bit weird. The painting below it is one of the few in the show of his more recognizable ballerina paintings.

In the following pieces are the two of horses that were worth noting. I liked the top one for the same reasons I liked the three women above. The simple shapes and the abstract quality of the composition.

This second one is more a typical finished racing painting.

This is probably my favorite: very simple but a great composition. Nothing more needs to be said.

This exhibit is on view through May 20, 2018