Wheat Field (revisited) 9x12" -Sold

While looking for framed artwork for an upcoming show in January, I found and oldie that needed fixing.

The original (here) was done on location two years ago, and at the time, I felt compelled to paint just what I saw. Because back then I needed some work for a show on plein air, the painting was framed almost right away. As it often happens after I frame something, I became more aware of the mistakes I did, so I simply stored it in a closed. Every time I took it out I would add one more thing to my mental list of the things that needed fixing: the repeated shapes of the hills and the stands of trees, the strong colors, the barrier formed by the wheat field and tree stand.

I think I have addressed all those issues, and for the time being, I also think that this version speaks more of fall.

Almost Gone, 7x5"--SOLD

Another small painting I had in last weekend show.
It's loosely based on a photo I took last year. Fall colors were not as spectacular this year, very likely because of so much rain.

Some good news: I'll have a show in September next year at the Edgewood Gallery here in Syracuse. I'll be sharing the show with another pastel artist who paints mostly flowers, and a woodcarver. I'm already thinking of a theme...

Willow in Fall, 7x5" -SOLD

The Plowshares Festival went very well: I sold 6 paintings on Saturday and 3 on Sunday (which in previous years have been a dud). Of course, it helped that there was no snow. Thank you to all the locals who came and stopped by!

This painting is a rework of one I did in April. I liked the mood in the original one but the bare tree trunk looked so menacing, more like a big spider, so I took a brush and removed pastel from some areas. Most willows from around here still had their green leaves on a few weeks ago, so that was my inspiration for the colors. The mood is not quite the same but still gives the idea of a rainy, and somewhat cold, fall day.

The Blue Fence, 7x5"

I've been on painting frenzy because this coming weekend is the Plowshares Festival here in Syracuse. With so many things going on lately, I thought I still had two weeks to prepare for the show, so imagine my shock when I learned I only had one week to get things ready!

Anyway, things are coming along better than I expected. I have created some new paintings (like the one here, from the Phoenix Flower Farm), finished others, and have also resurrected and improved old ones. Right now, I'm working on three small paintings at the same time. This might sound weird but it's working just fine for me: when I get stuck on one I move to the next and so on, and because I have them on a shelf where I can see them, it's not likely that I'll forget to finished any of them.

On another note, Thank You to all my followers! This blog is three years old, and I probably wouldn't have continued it if it weren't for you. I started it as a way of forcing myself to work in my studio during the cold winter months-- and it worked! Now, if I do not post something at least every two weeks, I feel guilty. I'll try to post more often though.

Below is the way Phoenix Sunset (sold)-which was in last post, looks now:

Workshop with Marc Hanson in Arizona

For several years I have been wanting to take a workshop with Marc Hanson and finally, two weeks ago I had the chance and headed to the Scottsdale Artist's School in Arizona.
The emphasis of the workshop was painting from field to studio and the main issues related to both situations.

B&W Study 1-Getting acquainted with the flora













Day 1. After introductions and a demo by Marc on how to do black and white studies, we went to Papago Park to find subjects to paint. That first day outdoors was tough mostly because of the the heat and my not being familiar with the plants and colors of the desert. I worked from a shelter all day and at the end I had 4 small studies, all done on 4.5 x 6" Canson paper. I had left my white and black pastels at home so I had to work with a range of purples. After struggling with the first one, I decided to work on the smooth side of the paper and the going got easier.

B&W Study 2













B&W Study 3, Saguaro



















B&W Study 4, Papago Buttes













Day 2 . Color study day.

Color Study 1, 12x9"
We arrived very early at the park in order to avoid the heat. I looked around for something really appealing to paint and found a pond surrounded by palm trees --an oasis!









In the afternoon I did a color study of some bushes. One thing that called my attention were the shadows: right under them they were reddish, becoming bluish as they came closer to sunlit areas. I have never seen this so clearly before.

Color Study 2, 9x12"














Later on I did a panoramic view of the mountains beyond the buttes. The colors of the mountains kept on switching from warm earths to cool blues because of clouds to the south and the problem was that I liked both colors!

Color Study 3, 9x12"













That day we stayed late at the park to try capturing the sunset colors. It was very hard as in my eagerness to work fast it didn't occur to me to use my hand to keep the sun from blinding me. My sunset wasn't that great but I knew that with some work it could look better.

Day 3. In the morning, two other participants and I decided to go back to the park very early and do more painting before class.

Saguaro Color Study, 9x6"
I worked some more on my pond painting but got quite frustrated with the changing reflections on the water and my going after them instead of sticking with what I originally had.

Back in the classroom, Marc did a large color demo. It was so enlightening! He basically finished the whole thing in a few hours. He said that one needs to visualize the finished painting before starting it. This came as an epiphany! I think this is a key point: once you have your composition and color scheme worked out and you have a mental painting, it's probably easier not to get side-tracked with unimportant things.

In the afternoon I did a color study based on my black and white study of the saguaro. I found this exercise very valuable as sometimes I tend to get carried away with color, forgetting to match the correct values.


Day 4, I started my large painting on a 16x20" Ampersand Pastelbord. I thought the mountain view of my previous color study was more interesting for a large painting.













Things were going well at the beginning but somewhere I got lost. I do remember fussing about color intensity from background to foreground. Also, comparing it now to the color study, there is so much deviation in color... I definitely need to rework it.

Large painting, unfinished, 16x20"














After my frustration with the large painting, I worked on the sunset from day 2.

Phoenix Sunset, 7x9"














Day 5 In the morning I worked on my pond painting.

Pond at Papago Park, 12x9"
For critique we had to select two pieces of work. I chose the large painting (the one that had given me so much grief) and the one of the pond.

He said for me to work on being more suggestive or expressive with shape (especially with trees) and not to give much detail to areas that aren't important. Something else he suggested was to work on the substrate that was right for me. He thought my pond painting was the better one (and I agreed with him on that). He said that I seemed to be struggling with the Ampersand board because of its texture, so he suggested I redo that scene on a different support. Having worked on Ampersand boards before and with good results, I think the real problem for me was not having imagined the painting finished beforehand thus not having a clear idea of where I was going with it. I do not like to leave things unfinished so I'm hoping to resolve those issues soon.

Coming home after a 5-day workshop with only two finished paintings would have seemed ridiculous to me before, but not this time. Even if I had come home with no finished paintings at all, I wouldn't have been totally disappointed. I enjoyed every minute of the workshop and feel that I learned very important things, which if applied to my work, might yield better results.

Adirondack Shack, 12x9"

Two weeks ago a friend and I went to Old Forge to catch the fall colors that were supposed to be at their peak there.
We weren't disappointed at all and came back with lots of reference material.

This little shack is next to View, the new arts center at Old Forge. I don't know if it was a cabin or some kind of station, but it's been abandoned for several years now. I like to imagine it as a summer cottage with the bare necessities.

This was supposed to be a quick study but it took longer than I expected because I had to make several value adjustments between the background trees and the sunlit areas of the foreground trees.

Rural Twilight, 11x14"

This house, located near Ansonia, Pennsylvania, has intrigued me ever since I saw it for the first time. Perhaps is the spruces behind it that frame it so well and make it look imposing from the road.

Anyway, for several years I have been wanting to paint it but did not like the thought of just painting the photo reference. I wanted the painting to tell a story. Then, a few months ago, the idea of something happening inside the house in late evening came to me while I was painting sunsets, and this is the result.