The Orchard - en plein air paintings

The Orchard, 9"x12"
Beats me what made me do it , but I painted this last Thursday at midday when the temperature was in the 90's. I placed my box under a mulberry tree and once I started painting I wasn't that aware of the heat. It was done in about an hour--thus the level of detail, but one of the advantages I see on working fast on location is that one is forced to make decisions on the spot about placement of objects and values.

This year the orchard will be remembered as the year of fallow because besides the perennial bed, garlic, a tomato plant and a few herbs the rest is weeds and more weeds due to the work we are doing on the house.

The following are the previous paintings I've done from the same spot:

The Apple Trees - 2009, 9"x12"














The Scarlet Runner - 2008, 11"x11"

















The Garden - 2008, 13"x17"

The Old Barn, 10" x 10"

I wanted to have this piece finished and framed for the Lavender Festival last week but I had reached a point where careful consideration was needed, so very reluctantly I decided to let it rest for a little while.
Even today, after having taken a few final shots I impulsively added some blue green to the background tree, and that had the effect of tying things together.

Nick Lake and Moose River, 5" x 7"--SOLD

The 4th Finger Lakes Lavender Festival at Lockwood Farm was great, and from what I heard it's getting better each year.

Nine of my small paintings found new homes, including these two from the Adirondacks, and the one from the previous post. I loved this event because I had the chance to talk to lots of people, meet other artists, and even educate people about the pastel medium.

From my booth I had the opportunity to take lots of pictures of people picking lavender, and I have already been editing some for future paintings. I rarely include people in my landscapes so this project will be interesting.

Distant Pond, 8" x 10"-Sold

This little one was finished last night in preparation for the Finger Lakes Lavender Festival in Skaneateles next month.

I have been on a slump of sorts with respect to painting simply because I've been painting with a wide brush: my house facade is finally getting the TLC it needed and my husband, daughter, and I are doing all the work. It's not easy to stand up in front of your easel when you are physically tired from the morning chores.

The house is looking nice and I'm starting to feel that I can produce new paintings again.

Fall Reflections (reworked) 8"x10" - Sold

Sometimes a blurry photo is the perfect beginning for art exploration. Over a year ago I painted two very different fall scenes based on such a reference (see Two from One). The main objects in the photo that triggered my interest were a pond, a pasture right behind it, and a hill.

When the other objects that compose the landscape are not clearly defined you just make some up! Sometimes this works, but other times the made up objects look too out of place.
This was the case with my first version of this painting which I'm posting here so you can compare it to the newer version:

I had it framed for a local group exhibit because I did not have anything else that was new, but when I brought it back home something about it kept on nagging me. So I took it out of the frame and reworked it. It has gone through so many changes but I think this is it. I feel that this newer version is more poetic or romantic and certainly less static than the first.

Now I'm letting my paintings rest for while before framing them.

Spring Flow, 10" x 9"

Rocks have never been my favorite subject to paint but at a recent workshop with Robert Carsten, one of his paintings inspired me to challenge myself on this subject; after all, what's the point of taking a workshop and paint easy things?

This was my second workshop with him, but this time I spent most of the two days working on a single scene with a rocky wall. Robert kept me going at it when I would have given up or would have considered the painting done. His point was that I need to learn to go the extra mile! I also learned that you reach a point in the painting when you need to stop, think, and make decisions that sometimes deviate from what you originally wanted.

Most of this scene, was done during the last hour of the workshop, by then, rocks did not seem so scary a subject anymore.

Redbuds, en plein air, 9" x12"

This is my 3rd plein air painting this year, and so far, the only one I'm happy with.

One thing my 1st one taught me was to paint the center of interest right away. I wanted a blooming peach tree among the delicate green of leafing apple trees, but the painting ended up being about the old, tall house behind my orchard because that's where I started!

I'm not sure exactly what my 2nd has taught me... Everything came out being too colorful, so perhaps to beware of painting under complete shade when your subject is in full sun? I just hope to get the chance to practice some more this year.

This wonderful garden in the middle of a city block belongs to my friend Parmalee and her husband. The garden is the setting for her photographs.