In the beginning . . .

Some people have asked me about my watercolor underpaintings and how I begin on a project - so, here is what I am working on right now.

I am going to be in an art show in St Michaels on Saturday, August 10.  This show is part of the BIG Bicentennial Celebration - Battle of St Michaels event.  It's sort of a themed show - St Michaels, War of 1812, Eastern Shore, local scenery, etc.  Since I seem to be in my 'children' period (who knew I would categorize my paintings into 'periods?'), I am working on "Children of the Eastern Shore."

Some time ago I had taken a picture of a cute little squatting boy who is looking at something on the ground.  I love this pose - it's so kidlike.  So, I am using his 'squat' and have put him on a dock. He is now looking at a crab.

I sketched it, put it on sanded pastel paper and then loosely painted the watercolor underpainting.  When I stood back and looked at it again, the dock looked strange.  (See the slanted vertical lines?) Often when you combine two photos the perspective or shadows are off.  To correct this, I scratched in some horizontal lines and added more of the blue/green water across the back. The great thing about an underpainting, I can get an idea . . . and then go over it and make further changes when I get to the pastel.

Well, I got this far and took it to my watercolor class for review. One of the suggestions was to make the crab bigger and move him more to the center . . .and closer to the little boy.  Now, if that were my grandchild on the dock he would NEVER be that close to a crab . . .especially wearing flip flops, but since I made up the whole thing, it may work.

I started with some pastel today and decided to experiment with changing the color of his clothes . . .I may end up going back to a blue shirt - will keep looking at it for awhile. I like to look at paintings from across the room for a few days. It will usually tell me what to do next.

The crab needs a lot more work. I am going to try to make him stand up more and wave his claws around. Those crazy crabs like to threaten small children! (and grown-ups, too)

So, this is what I have so far . . .  I'll post the finished painting at a later date!

House Drawings

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY everyone!  In keeping with the holiday spirit, I am posting about a holiday today.  No, it's NOT about today's holiday.  I'm a bit out of sync, I fear.

I am thinking back to many years of summer camp in northern Wisconsin (Camp Osoha) and thinking of "Christmas in July" . . .a celebration that we had there with a decorated canoe parade and more . . .   And yes, we did also celebrate the 4th - we were always looking for excuses to have extra ice cream sundaes for dessert!

So, my artwork today is for Christmas - actually for Christmas in St Michaels which is correctly celebrated in December.  And the story is this . . .CISM is a weekend in December  - a fundraiser for local non profits - with a parade, Santa Breakfast, gala dinner dance and House Tour.  Members of the St Michaels Art League have volunteered for the past 30 years to make drawings of the houses which are on the tour.  Scanned images of the pictures are used in a booklet and the originals are framed and given to the homeowners who have generously offered to have their home on tour for the weekend.

I volunteered to do two drawings - they are due the first of August - and they are finished!  I am patting myself on the back to be done early.  Even though it was fun to draw them and I do appreciate all the work that goes into this event, it's wonderful to cross this off my list.

There are usually 'in town' and 'out of town' houses on the tour.  Here are two of the 'in town' homes.  Check the St Michaels website for info on this event and find out more.  Then when you come to town, see if you can find these houses!

  

Enjoy your holiday - whatever it is!

Thinking it Through

I've just finished another pastel - this one is more muted than I others have done lately.  I'm not really sure why I chose this particular picture to paint, except that I love the poses. . . and I guess that's what it's all about anyway.

I have discovered that when I take pictures of my paintings I can very often see what to do next - sometimes when I am right there on top of the painting, I can't 'see' it.  So, I tried to take pictures along the way to show myself what the camera sees - not what I am seeing.

It all began in my watercolor class - I was looking for something to paint that week, because there didn't seem to be anything blooming right then. (When there are flowers 'in season' the class usually paints a still life arrangement)

Here is the original sketch:

Next I drew it on the watercolor paper and painted it. When I got home, I looked at what I had done and I found myself putting pastel on it! So then I decided to just make it a pastel. I began again with a watercolor underpainting on pastel (sanded) paper.

I love doing the skin tones using the 'Margaret Dyer' method.  Forget about local (the 'real' color) and concentrate instead on value.  I begin with light values - blue, green, yellow, purple, pink, orange - and they magically blend themselves into beautiful skin. The same is true for the dark values - any color works as long as it is a dark.

I went back and forth between working on the skin tones and background - playing with the water and the splash. I also concentrated some on the clothes, faces and hair.

The girls were close to the water's edge so I had some foaming, wavy water across the bottom.  When I showed this to a friend (my trusted critic) she suggested that I get rid of the wave at the bottom - she thought it was distracting.  I think she is right, soooo . . .

Pastel  12x16     $300

Here it is!  I think I've finished tweaking and will go with this for now.  However, it's needs a title!  Any ideas? Suggestions?

Red, White, and Blue

Egads! It's almost July... I know, we haven't officially begun summer yet, but the warm weather is here and school is out... and there is another exhibit coming up at the St Michaels Library.

Several years ago, when I threw myself into involvement with the St Michaels Art League, I made a promise to myself that I would work to put something into every exhibit the SMAL sponsors. So far, I have kept that promise even to the extent that I entered the Oil and Acrylic Only exhibit (see posts on June 7 and June 11, 2011) - though I don't use either medium.

This year the July exhibit theme is Red, White, and Blue - original, huh? When we picked the theme, it seemed like a great idea. I have been thinking about what I wanted to enter and since I am in my 'paint children' period, I, of course, found some pictures in my file that I could tweak (change the colors) to reflect the theme.

Here is the first one:

"Red, White and Blue "               Pastel - 12x16          $150

The red suit was originally striped, the white shirt was originally purple and the blue suit was a blue, yellow, orange (I think) pattern.  Leighton, the child in the middle is very fair and her mother made her cover up that day because the sun was so strong. When I showed her mother the painting she thought that this might make Leighton feel better about the shirt (which she hated wearing) - after all, she is now the center of the painting!

We are allowed to enter two pictures in this exhibit.  Here is another one that I just finished.

"Little Wave Dancer"    Pastel - 9x12     $125

She was at the water's edge, oblivious to anyone around her.  She was just playing with the waves and dancing all by herself.  So carefree - how wonderful to be young!

The exhibit will hang in the St Michaels Library for the month of July. Drop by and have a look at what else might be Red, White, and Blue.

Happy Graduation, Maizie!

This weekend my first granddaughter, Maizie, will graduate from the 8th grade.  (Actually, my second granddaughter is also graduating from the 8th grade, but the Baltimore County schools don't make as big a deal of it as the school that Maizie attends in Vermont...so this is about Maizie.  In the interest of 'equal time' the little gymnast in a prior post was Graeme, the other 8th grader.)

Maizie has attended Orchard Valley Waldorf School in East Montpelier, VT... forever - and she is delighted to be finishing up her final year there.  She and I have talked and messaged in the past few weeks about her dress, her shoes and the upcoming festivities.  It is all very exciting - a true rite of passage.

I have been going through lots of pictures of her recently - from those very first baby ones to various visits we have made to Vermont, vacations together in Florida and visits here in Maryland.  It continues to amaze me how the time has flown by and here we are at another milestone.

There was one picture that repeatedly caught my eye - so, of course, I had to paint it! This is soooo Maizie - she just loved to get into that paint all the way. I especially love the hand print at the top. Can't you just picture her doing that?

9x12 Pastel 

WOW, next fall, she's off to high school...lots of love and Happy Graduation, Maizie!

Trinity House Church

For the past two years I have been involved with a small group at my church - the Vision Team.  We were asked by the Chapter (the governing body) to develop a new vision for our parish.

Our team has read, marked, learned and inwardly digested a lot of material.  We have interviewed parishioners about their experiences, hopes and dreams for our parish.

This started with the idea that we were in a 'financial crisis' (a place where MANY churches seem to be today) and we have concluded that we are in a 'spiritual crisis.'  Many people have complained of not being nourished by the traditional church on Sunday morning.

We believe that small groups offer a partial solution and have looked/are looking at different ways of bringing people together to experience God - to share our beliefs, voice our concerns and listen to the ways that God has touched our lives.

For the past couple of months we have offered "House Church Live"  - a gathering in a parishioner's home to share in a lay led Eucharist.  It is an opportunity to participate in the service through an exchange of ideas about the biblical message, passing the bread and wine to one another, and singing and praying together. At the end of the service there are refreshments and an opportunity to talk about the experience.

So, why does this appear on my art blog, you ask.  Well, with the help of our team we have developed a logo to go with this new program.  It is our plan that this will be 'out there'  - inviting others to join us as we experiment with this new (actually it is a very old) form of worship. But, that story is for another time.

ALL ARE WELCOME!  Our next service is Sunday afternoon, June 23 at 4:00pm.  Please be in touch with me and I'll give you directions!

How much to crop?

She had been taking gymnastics for several weeks and it was time for the class to end.  Parents and grandparents were invited to come on the last day and see what the children had learned.

I snapped a picture at the end of her 'routine.'  She's so proud of herself - she got her feet up on that bar . . .with help and . . . amazement.

Now my dilemma is this:  I really like painting relationships and I like painting children, BUT can this child stand alone without the other figure?  I think we need to see the 'helping hands' but am not sure that the helper's face and figure need to be there. They feel distracting to me.

So far, I have just sketched in the helper, but am leaning toward cropping her out. I really want to focus on the pleasure in the child's face.

Before I work on painting in the helper . . . I am asking for advice. . .

I want to call this one "Helping Hands." (I still have more work to do on it)

This one has no title, as yet . . . the helper is mostly the watercolor underpainting.

Shall I finish the helper's features and keep her in?    or shall I crop her out?