One last road trip in the Eco-Warrior
I’m off on a harebrained excursion to nowhere in particular. On this trip, I put four easels, three painting kits, one pastel kit, three chairs, three umbrellas, luggage for three people for eight days, a solo art show, three computers, and three passengers in the Prius. When your adult child says, “do you want to …
Monday Morning Art School: the color of light
In winter, we’re in warm light from sunup to sunset, because the sun never really climbs very high in the sky. That’s our payoff for putting up with this weather. Three photos of the golden hour, courtesy of Jennifer Johnson The golden hour is that period after dawn and before sunset when the light is …
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It was the best of tomes, it was the worst of tomes
I’m flailing around in the undergrowth in this new-to-me medium. In Control (Grace and her Unicorn), oil on canvas, 24X30, is heading to Rye Arts Center for the month of March. Last fall, I made the commitment that I’d spend a day a week this winter writing a painting book. That should be easy; after …
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Resisting learning
Every one of us knows, in our heart of hearts, that we’re geniuses. If only we didn’t have the distractions of life, we could be brilliant at [insert discipline here]. Lobster Pound, 14X18, oil on archival canvasboard, available Yesterday, my student Terrie told our Zoom class about something she’d read in a composition book. “Wow, …
Monday Morning Art School: brushwork
Mark-making can be loose and gestural or very controlled. It’s personal, but it’s also something you can learn. Dining Room in the Country, 1913, Pierre Bonnard, courtesy Minneapolis Institute of Art. Bonnard used small brush strokes, intense colors, and close values. Brushwork is, on one hand, the most personal of painting subjects. It’s also (especially …