Tag: easel

Palette Progression

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Here’s a look at the process…

Having come a tad late to the painting party my process and palette have evolved from a rather spotty beginning. Well over two decades passed between those mid-70’s intro to color classes in college and the decision to paint full time at the beginning of this century.
Today I use a pile of disposable waxy palette sheets tucked into an old plastic watercolor box. It thoroughly offends my aesthetic senses but it does the job nicely when it comes to the daily rituals of setup and cleanup.
I have six drawers full of oil paint tubes. Most of them are Old Holland colors but along the way I have tried many others and if it gets reordered once…it’s a favorite. The main players change depending on the subject matter but for the most part the palette is arranged chromographically (a word ?) by hue.
The medium I use is Fine Detail Liquin and I use so little of it that even the smallest caviar jar dries out before it is emptied. (Notice how I dropped that fancy culinary delectable in there ?)
That tiny jar along with two former artichoke jars half full of odorless turp sit next to the palette and the brushes…well they surround.

A while back I took some progressive shots of the palette as I worked through a painting for the Granary Gallery show this summer. I typically use one palette for the entire painting unless I’m working on a mammoth panel and then I go through many palette changes. For this painting, I kept the same one going and you will be able to see subtle changes from day to day. I also took photos of the panel at the end of each day for comparison.

So here’s a look at the road to… The Caretaker

 

Inspirational

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After removing a finished painting from the easel the other day I found this note hiding next to a well splattered photo of Herself…

Which made me take a closer look at what else is taped to my easel…

This one below is a bit obscured from a decade of wiping my brushes…”There’s a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” from Leonard Cohen

And I love the extra notes reminding me to plant garlic in November and to do a painting of my spoon carving. Both of which I did.

And two favorite pics of our sweet second Berners, Gulliver, enjoying two spots she used to love on the Vineyard. She’s there at her post, by my side, watching me every day.

Just some of the things that inspire me… so what’s on your easel ?

 

 

Repeat after me…

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F-R-I-E-D Motherboard

After spending the better part of two days watching the slow train wreck of my studio computer and learning that they call the window that kept popping up… the BSOD which is short for Blue Screen of Death…I filled my teacup, went to the bathroom, charged up my phone and called India.

Simon and I got right to it and I was with him…swapping out memory cards and testing and retesting the slots…listening as the fan noises got worse each time…right up until the thing started to smoke. OK he says, I’ll put you on hold and speak to my supervisor. Tap tap tap… glad I took those earlier call precautions…on hold musak…then yep we are sending out a technician to replace the motherboard. My Dell extended warranty at work.

So I left the mess in the office and as I was closing the door behind me I saw this painting which I had finished a couple weeks ago…

It’s title is The Tinker and it’s headed out to Denver next month but it’s prescient composition made me laugh…all I needed for today’s tinkering was a screwdriver and a man 5000 miles away.

And yes, that is the number 3 !!! which perplexed so many of you. I’ll get you a better shot in a day or so. For now…I’m heading back to the easel and something that does not require electricity or motherboards…although I could use a few more memory cards if you know what I mean.

 

Credit where credit is due…

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We had a little helper here last week.

Zoe is now 2 and a half and is the sharpest crayon in the deck. She is also big enough to pull her own weight…as well as a wagon full of sticks…and Mima put her to work in the studio as my apprentice.

I had developed this painting up to the shadow stage and so Zoe mixed up some ultramarine violet and paynes grey … and got right down to it.

After a long day in the studio she retired to the log cabin to watch some flicks with Gran and Bear Bear…

and I somehow managed to finish the painting on my own…

but I do believe in giving credit where it is due…soooo…

if you look closely…there is a tiny little Z (she’s not got the hang of the umlaut yet) that will live forever on the signature of this painting. You made Mima proud you special little girl.

A new year, a new knee, a new wave of creative energy…

Posted on by heather • 1 Comment on A new year, a new knee, a new wave of creative energy…

and a good time to catch you up on the progress here in the studio…
It’s now been two months since my first knee replacement surgery and by all accounts things are moving along swimmingly. The first month was all about learning to walk again…

and the second month has been about taking a defibrilator to my mojo. Even though I was able to walk over to the studio by week three…the creative muses had decided to take a longer vacation and it was many more weeks before I had the energy to lift even the tiniest of brushes. But…thanks to my long suffering nurse and team of PT helpers… I’m back !

Before this saga began I had decided to get a painting started so that I would have all the setup work done and, post surgery, could just sit and paint. I had posted a facebook photo taken early one morning as I came to work in the studio…

and the muses must have been working on that website because the responses made it clear that I HAD to paint this. So with a few tweeks I  I painted right up until the day before surgery and had a pretty good start…

And after sitting patiently on the easel for weeks, it was more than ready for my impatient attentions. The first few days were short controlled bursts of playing with puddles of paint but finally the spark returned and I put the finishing touches on this work in the very last hours of 2012 and it felt great.

And day one of the new year found me in the studio beginning again to fill requests from galleries for new work. My goal is to sharpen the focus of who I am as an artist and to lay back and enjoy the gift of being able to do what I love right up until the fat lady sings…or at least until she has finished her mending.

May all of you find your sparkles alive and well in this new year.

 

The Season of Solstice

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Celebrating the season of long winter nights and welcomingly fragrant evergreens, a grateful return to my seat at the easel, the twinkling of colored lights, newsletters from loved ones, the trail of cookie crumbs from studio to cabin…and back, and the sparkle in the eyes of our sweet lapdog Finnegan who is thoroughly enjoying the frosty morning walks with her buddy.

Wishing you all manner of love and laughter and light…

Pat, Heather and Finn

Healing

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A sunny crisp winter morning greets me here in the studio after a long quiet month of healing days. Slow and steady progress finds me able to negotiate the short commute across the lane to the studio yard and to catch up on the piles of paperwork and take short naps in the warming sunshine.

Now that the new body parts are settling in it is time to rouse the sleeping muses. It is a somewhat disconcerting phenomenon that the creative energy levels have been slow to resurface and I’m just going to have to try and trick those atrophied muscles back into gear. Perhaps just sitting in my easel chair will spark something. Or maybe aroma therapy ? sniffing an open jar of turpentine ?

Well, while my muses have been on vacation… some of my favorite artist friends have been working hard and I wanted to pass along news of these spectacular shows that are must sees…

Robert Jackson
Bob’s crazy quirky humor is on display in a group of stunning new works at the Gallery Henoch in NYC. This show was delayed due to flooding in the Chelsea Art District after Hurricane Sandy and it is winding up now but well worth a look to see the fun that his boxes have gotten up to lately.

Scott Fraser
Oh the pleasures of viewing new works by Scott. In a few days, Dec. 15, his solo show will open at the Jenkins Johnson Gallery in SF. Below is a photo of the invitation which was slightly bruised in transit by the US postal system but it will provide a link for you to see more of the current work.

Michael Allen and JD Wissler
A study in… studies. These two friends have been part of a group of plein air artists who have spent hours and indeed years together out in the wilds of central Pennsylvania capturing the atmospheres on canvas. Their work has been featured in an article in the current issue of Plein Air Magazine.

My idle brushes are lifted to them all and with a bit more

It’s been a while…

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and the muses are calling…
calling me back to the studio…
the brushes are flirting with me as I walk by them from kitchen to office and back again… oh how the empty panels stacked up alongside the easel do tease.

I am listening, but there are a few more tasks to be swept away before I can return to my easel. Today, for instance, I have added some new prints to the website shop. Here’s a quick peek…

 

There are over 40 prints listed on the site now but if you have a particular favorite which you do not see there please contact me and I’ll let you know if it is available.

And remember…shipping and handling is… FREE ! 

 

Small works in a big way…

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All hail the return of civilized weather. When that first waft of cool air hit my lungs I all but fell to weeping. The edges of my soul were beginning to get crispy and my eyes felt like thickly glazed donuts.

With the earlier sunsets and the thin carpet of leaves, the studio is poised for a hiatus. We are once again returning to Martha’s Vineyard for an autumn sabbatical and an opportunity to work among the gulls and the waves in person.

But I haven’t been idle in the last few weeks. My brushes have been flying in pursuit of some smaller panels but no less meaningful gestures. I will shortly be loading the car to bring up new works to fill spaces on the walls at the Granary Gallery…and will be sending a parcel of new paintings out to Denver, to Gallery 1261, for their upcoming small works show in November.

Meanwhile, I thought I’d give you dear readers a sneak peek. Here, for your perusal, are the latest musings from the studio… I hope you will enjoy them with a fresh mug of  cider…or warm cup of tea.