Hiatus Continued. . .

Fabulous Fall Foliage here in VT. A lovely mountain stream I shot while hiking near Camel's Hump Mountain, and a shot of our driveway with the changing leaves on the young maple trees. It is so beautiful here this time of year. Everywhere you look is a picture.

My hiatus from painting continues another week at least. I am having a long-buried wisdom tooth removed tomorrow, so will recover in this beautiful place for the rest of the week. Assuming all goes well, I will be back to NY and art classes next week. For now, enjoy my photography. . .

Keep painting friends.

A Brief Hiatus

Sometimes life intervenes. I will be going to VT for the rest of this week so John Henry and Marie will go unfinished. No great loss. I am not happy with my work in either of the classes. Having a bit of a crisis of confidence in my figure painting abilities. I knew I would struggle after the summer off, after spending time painting from photos not life. Suffice it to say, I am struggling. I have taken the unsuccessful attempts down from the blog. I'm also re-thinking how I deal with the blog. Not sure I can handle posting all the work in process. TBD. . .

Hopefully a little time off to attend to a few things will put me in a better frame of mind. For now, I am going to post two of my best from last year to encourage myself to keep going. I'll be back as soon as possible!

Keep painting, friends. I'll be watching you for inspiration and encouragement. Don't hesitate to get in touch by email or by Facebook. "Friend" me if you FB! Take care. . .

"Moored in the Marina" 8x8 oil on panel

Point Bay Marina where we dock our boat is in a lovely little harbor with the Green Mountains off in the distance. I snapped the photo as we were coming home one evening. My first attempt at painting sailboats.

"Caught Napping" (v.2) 6x8 oil on panel

A few final touches on my napping gentleman at the South Street Seaport. I also think you can see the colors better in this photo, except for a little glare in the forefront. I'm starting to inventory supplies for figure painting classes, thinking toward packing up the VT studio and moving the painting down to NY. It feels like "back to school" time. Excitement, anticipation, a little nervousness. Hopefully I can do one or two more daily paintings this week, and then back to school.

"Late Summer Field" 8x8 oil on panel

A quick sketch today, a little daily painting, but finally I am able to get back to it. It feels so good to be painting again. I wanted something quick and easy for my re-entry. Nothing frustrating or difficult or discouraging. It seems like it has been forever, and I've really allowed "life" to get in the way. It's been a good summer, though. Lots of family this year. But very, very good. I'm hoping to paint several more days over the next week and a half before I start back to the National Academy. Then I will have to find my way as to what i want to post on the blog. Figure painting from life is so much more of a struggle than these little paintings from photographs. . . Oh, well, we'll see. For now, a little taste of Vermont's late summer fields.

Finally!

Tomorrow. . . I get to paint tomorrow.

"Pigeon" 18x18 oil on canvas

I haven't had much time to paint and consequently no postings. Today I am working on my re-stretching project. Two of my figurative pieces from last years class with Sharon Sprung seemed to lend themselves to "cropping" when I photographed them. So, here is the 2nd one, being re-stretched from 18x24 to 18x18. This model, whose name was Pigeon (my apologies if I'm spelling it wrong) was so incredibly beautiful. And a sweet personality to match. So I think she will make it to a wall somewhere. The other one is on a previous post on the blog.

Oh, worth noting: my museum visits have been incredibly inspiring. Especially this week when I re-visited the Matisse exhibit at MOMA and then drove up to Williamstown, MA to the Clark to see the Degas/Picasso show. There were a few pieces of both Degas and Picasso that I had never seen. "Woman Ironing" by each artist were so moving, so expressive, so absolutely wonderful that I kept returning over and over. The Picasso one is angular and textured and very, very sad. The Degas is luminous and beautiful. Nothing beats seeing them in person. Reproductions just can't capture the colors, textures and vibrancy of oils. I was so inspired! Can't wait to get back to figure painting in September!

For now, the busy-ness of August continues. . .

"4th of July - Nature's Fireworks" 9x12 oil on panel

Such a gorgeous weekend, I wanted to paint a little of nature's splendor. Found a photo from 4th of July weekend at a friend's house on Shelburne Bay. Fun and fast little painting.

I hope to keep up with some daily paintings as the Summer winds down, but August seems to always be a busy month with guests, family, and friends trying to make the most of the season. We also have a construction project begging for my attention, along with several trips to NY. I can't believe this summer is almost over. It has been such a good experience to do these little daily paintings and post them on the blog. But August calls, and then September brings a return to NY and classes at the National Academy. So, this is a preamble to say I just don't know how consistent I will be with my posts to the blog over the next couple of months. And I'm even more unsure of how it will all work when I am back in figure painting classes.

But I will continue to post what I am working on, and I will continue to follow all my blog friends who are able to do their daily paintings. I hope we can all keep in touch one way or another. Thanks for visiting! And please be in touch! I love hearing from you either by comments, email, or facebook.

"Conference Room" 8x8 oil on panel

Another race-day image. I wish I had had more time for this one, and maybe I will re-visit it either on this little painting or in a larger format. I just love the guys body language. The tree looks like it is listening in on the conversation.

"After Sorolla -- White Roses" 12x16 oil on canvas

Something old, something new. The painting is old, a copy of a favorite by one of my favorite artists Joaquin Sorolla. I had wonderful day yesterday in NY with a very good friend. We ended up at my apartment looking at art books including one of Sorolla's work. It reminded me of this painting that I did a long time ago.

Two things to see in NY if you have a chance. One, Sorolla's work at the Hispanic Society. He is truly one of the most amazing artists, and the murals are totally staggering. I could look for hours! There is also a fantastic book available through Amazon that is written and edited by his grand daughter. Email me if you want more info.

Also, (and the reason I don't have a new painting to post) the Matisse exhibit currently at MOMA!!!! Just amazing. Many paintings I have never seen. Many I was not familiar with. The show is so well done. Such a fantastic learning experience. Go, if at all possible!!!!

A new painting tomorrow, I hope. . .