"Gina"I returned to drawing class this morning, and our model, Gina, returned with a wonderful shawl. The first three images are 15 to 20 minute poses, and the last image was an hour. I rather liked the ones I worked on the least the best.
"Flirtatious Peonies"You will see that I added the award in the right frame, along with my seven favorite things related to art. Now I am passing the award along to seven artists that I admire (some who, like some winners of Oscars, might already have received this award from others):
Arthur Simo
Sheila
Peggy StermerCox
Nancy Eaton Dunnelon
Barbara joan
Annelein Beukenkamp
Theresa Miller
"Flirtatious Peonies" was the first piece I started in Annelein Beukenkamp's workshop. It was done from one of her photos and I spent about 45 minutes in class. I went back yesterday and today to complete the piece. The title comes from a poem written by one of the artists in attendance who read it to us. The poem created an image of peonies as the flirts of the flower world. I wish I could recall the artist's name as she could paint with words and watercolors -- very multi-talented. This piece is much more highly saturated color than "Glamorous Peonies," thus I think the title fits it well. I find myself more fond of the supporting actor in the right corner than the star at center.
"Glamorous Peonies"
Still life sourceI have a bit of art to show for my trip to Vermont. I attended a lovely one-day workshop given by Annelein Beukenkamp at an old church in Burlington, Vermont. Annelein had hoped to paint plein air in the church gardens among a profusion of peonies, but nature did not cooperate. Annelein provided many photos and bouquets of peonies from which to paint. In the afternoon, I took many photos in the garden for future reference. Eleven artists attended the workshop from as far away as Montreal and Southern Vermont.
First Annelein did a 45-minute demo of the way she approaches florals. She begins with a very quick contour sketch, so she will not be tempted by a detailed sketch to do a coloring book approach. She loads her Number 12 round brush with lots of water and pigment and pushes it loosely over her image. She varies the paint saturation and pigments, and she smushes, slaps, dribbles, and encourages blooms, unlike many artists trying to achieve the perfect wash. She preserves whites by avoiding those sections. Then Annelein begins the fun part, negative painting, carving out the shapes suggested by the vigorous application of paint. She continues to layer negatively, and sometime positively until she has filled her support with lovely shapes and colors. To see Annelein's beautiful demo piece, go here:
Then it was our turn. In the morning she asked us to do a quick (about 45-minute) sketch and painting on a half sheet from photos she provided. I didn't quite finish, but will do that today and post tomorrow. Annelein emphasized that we were painting from her photograph, so this was an experiment only. In retrospect, I liked my first painting better because I went for deeply saturated color and very large shapes. After lunch, I selected a bouquet of pink and white peonies and got to work. Annelein came around checking our progress and making suggestions, and I found her teaching technique to be very helpful.
In the final half hour, Annelein posted all our work on the wall for critique. She had an interesting approach, asking us to critique our own work, and then she added comments. I especially like how I was able to suggest the white peonies with little detail. I left the workshop very satisfied that I had learned a lot about painting with gusto and the power of negative painting. The following afternoon I sat out in sunshine in my son's flower gardens painting white irises. I will also complete that piece and post it here.
I received my first blog award while away! I am just catching up and will post more on that tomorrow.
"Gina"
"Rosicrucian Cactus"
Source photoI usually don't post twice in one day, but today is the exception. I finally finished a painting! I started this piece about 3 weeks ago, but the Open Studios work, cycling education, and traveling got in the way. The piece had its roots in a plein air session with Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society at the Rosicrucian Museum in early April. We had a lovely sunny day and I was so taken with this sturdy old plant that I took several pictures. I knew then that I planned to paint a structure that day, so the photos would be for reference later. I liked the shapes and the suggestion of color.
I selected an Adjacent-Complementary Tetrad color scheme from Nita Leland's book, "Confident Color." So basically I used yellow and green against magenta and blue. I painted the piece using lots of artistic license and then added some sumi ink with a bamboo pen to the star of the show. I like the abstract qualities of the background against the defined, colorful branch.
I seem to be a serial painter. Somehow I must finish one piece before beginning another, so I would not allow myself to start the Memorial Day paintings I have in my head before I completed this work. I've always been very goal-driven, perhaps the result of being the oldest of seven children. I want to learn to have several paintings in process at one time. Next up is a scene from the San Luis Obispo railway station that is in my head and not my camera. I will begin the sketch today.
"Summer Vases"I finally am back to painting, but I don't have something finished to show you here. "Summer Vases" is a full sheet painting done in a Mike Bailey Workshop. It was the last of the series and emphasizes shape, color, and line. The painting was done quickly and lacks perfection. I rather like the freshness I achieved. At the moment, this painting is hanging in my livingroom. I plan to buy frames when I see a good sale and put up some more art in the house. People who come to our home always enjoy seeing the art. I plan to rotate the pieces more frequently.
I have a bunch of paintings in my head right now and must really get to work to set them free. Two are from Memorial Day and some are related to the Paquet Farm. I took some candid shots at the railroad station in San Luis Obispo, and they all have great potential, but the one I want to paint is only in my mind. We'll see if I can do people without reference material.
I mentioned that the Paquet Farm is celebrating its centennial as part of the Barre Heritage Festival in Barre, VT. I was asked to design a poster. I had to keep it very simple with requirements for black and one color. I also am not an illustrator and don't know the software that would be ideal. With a deadline of a week, there was not time to learn. I ended up using one of my paintings of the farm, and I removed the color. The view is known to everyone in the area. The family is happy with the results. You can see the poster by pasting this link into your browser:
http://www.barreheritagefestival.com/
From this page, take the link on the right side for Paquet Farm 100th Anniversary to see the poster. The posters are going into print this week and I am promised one for my archives.
"Watching"
"12th Street Landmark"An old man was sitting smoking his pipe, dressed in his everyday cowboy garb, a common dress in an area of ranches and vineyards. He was sitting among the flowers watching the activities around him. At one point I looked up from my sketch and he had moved on, but I was able to complete the sketch and watercolor from memory. The building is a replacement for a landmark building that crumbled in a pretty severe earthquake a few years ago. They reproduced the tower quite nicely, though the remainder of the building is obviously modern. One family came by and admired my sketch of the building and the father pointed out to his little son the building that I was capturing. I really enjoyed my little sketch adventure and peaceful moments on a weekend filled with socializing.
"Jeff's Sunflower"Today we prepare to head to the Great Western Bike Rally. Some years we've ridden the coastal route on our touring bicycles, but that takes three days, which we don't have at the moment. So we will be taking the Amtrak Coast Starlight down and back. We camp with our bike club at the rally and do lots of rides in very beautiful wine country in Paso Robles. More inspiration for the art! I will be taking an art travel kit.
Laura, artist and illustrator
Laura's work on display at Open Studios
"Garden Shoes"
"Parking Lot Floral"The next two pastels were done in my most recent two drawing classes. Neither are finished pieces, but I don't intend to do more work. Bob brought in his old athletic shoes and a bandana two weeks ago. My friend's reaction was amazement that anyone would bother to draw such a subject. Bob is always looking for ways to challenge us to apply our knowledge of perspective and creating form and volume. He is not concerned that we create a piece of art to display or sell. I actually found it challenging and fun to recreate those soiled and worn shoes and old bandana. The second one was a subject we came up with this morning. Bob had brought some potential still lifes, but someone wanted to understand how to draw florals, so Bob gave us a demo. Rea went out to the parking lot and picked some weeds and popped them into a vase on top of a gold drape. Voila! Instant florals.
"California Poppies"
"Judith's Flowers"Yesterday we were on the coast shepherding our cycling academy through a 63-mile graduation ride. We do this ride on the coast to avoid heat, but unfortunately, that plan didn't work this time. Part of the ride is one ridge from the coast, a ridge we have to climb, and the heat in the interior valley was brutal. Once we crossed the ridge, the temps dropped a bit. With stops at Gizdich Ranch for their famous pie and other rest stops for food along the way, we were on the road 8 hours. Today I have some barbecue fund-raising duties at church, so I have another busy day.
Part of my display, including "Two for Tango" and "Mujer del Gaucho," sold on Day 2
My flower bike welcomes patrons to the studio
A lovely Mother's Day gift from my dear friend, Pam
Our Greeter: Emerging Artist Arleta Moore
Laura Schiller's computer-enhance artwork
Part of my display
Artist Alison Turner demos her work
Artists Diane Martarano, Don Paquin, Alison Turner, and Penny Morales We had a very successful first day at Open Studios. The artists worked both Friday evening and Saturday morning setting up displays. Promptly at 11:00 a.m. opening time we had our first visitor, a person who chose to visit our site from the Open Studios catalogue! We were delighted to hear that a number of our visitors came as a result of the colorful SVOS signs we put out in the final mile to my home. Many visitors were collectors or friends that we had invited. You see the artists above, all except Laura Schiller -- somehow I missed her in my photos. I will get a picture today.
Several of the artists sold work. I personally sold three pieces of framed art, including "Mother's Tea" that is displayed on this blog's banner, some unframed art, and lots of cards, which proved very popular.
Today being Mother's Day, we are hoping that people will treat Mom to a viewing of art. The day has dawned with perfect sunshine. Perhaps the wind will not come up quite as strong as yesterday. We have some lovely displays in the gardens. If you live in the area, consult the information on the Silicon Valley Open Studios website (link to the right) for the Mary Paquet Studio. We hope you will join us for some fine art, fine food, and fine fun.
"Block Island Light"In 2001, a newly found art friend, Joan, and I decided to share a room and take another Mel Stabin workshop on Block Island, which is a two-hour ferry ride from the mainland. We stayed in the annex of the Surf Inn, a wonderful old Victorian hotel where multi-generational, New York City families still come to relax on the beach, the "veranda," and in the livingroom with it's myriad of genuine antiques from it's early days. On the final day, Joan and I opted to go to the lighthouse and paint. This was the piece I completed "plein air." I decided that it's a Mary classic to include among the matted art I am offering at Open Studios. Most of the pieces I will show (some 60+) are new within the last year or two. It's fun to see my work evolving.
Joan and I have continued our bi-coastal friendship and meet once a year for an art-centered vaction. Last year we rented a casita in Taos; the year before we did a workshop in Tuscany; you get the picture. Joan had hoped to entice me to China in February, but my South American trip was all planned by that time. We are hoping to grab some time in July when I go to Vermont for the Paquet Farm Centennial. As you can see, one of my joys in life is travel, and I readily give up spending my money in other ways to pursue the pleasure.
For those of you in the San Jose, CA, area, here is the open studios information:
May 9 and 10
11 to 5
Take the link on the right to the Silicon Valley Open Studios website and you will locate a map for Mary Paquet Studios.
