Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Quick Draw Painting from Carmel Festival


The response has been great as I sent out my blog address to my whole address book today. Several of you asked me to post my 3rd painting from the Carmel Art Festival Quick Draw. So here it is .

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Scott Shields Part 2

He prefaced his remarks on individual paintings with general ideas on contemporary plein air painting. He likes paintings that are romantic in a good way vs nostalgic in a (My word)corny way i.e . period costumes on people. He likes it when you can tell paintings are painted today and have a style that makes them contemporary vs reproducing the past.

For instance, in oil paintings where scrubbed out areas are used to create light areas. Where the bold brush work or economy of brushwork is used so that brush strokes become the thing they are depicting. And are simplified so that a blob of paint has an almost magical amount of information or emotion to express. Or areas that work on their own as abstract paintings .(His phrasing was much better than this. ) It is clear he loves art and thinks clearly about why he enjoys a particular piece and can express himself. It is too bad they don't do a critique with him at Carmel.

He actually spoke about my painting ...that in watercolors, I paint an old subject in a new way and he hadn't seen anyone else paint like this. ( breaking the subject into shapes)

It was gratifying that he liked my painting and remembered me from the Carmel Art festival ..see May's posting about the Carmel Art Festival.

It was a small crowd, so everyone got to speak to Scott or Ira if they wanted. A few red dots on the walls from sales, not as many as I would have liked, it makes me feel good about selling all my paintings at the Carmel Art Festival.

Scott Shields lecture 6/10 I WOLK gallery Part 1

I enjoyed meeting Scott Shields. He is an engaging speaker. Scotts' Lecture was very good. I took notes and it reminded me of my art history classes and how much I loved them. The first half summarized his work in his new book . "Artists at Continent's End. The Monterey Peninsula Art Coloney 1875-1907 " Here's what I learned:

Plein Air actually started in Northern California not South
Started earlier, in Monterey, not in Carmel after earthquake
1875 a french artist Tavernier.

His book took 7 years to write and covers 40 artists from 1875 to 1907.

He pointed out artists who never let the facts get in the way of a good painting and who took nature beyond what was there in intepretting the landscape.

Lots of artists I had never heard of. Many are unknown because their work was destroyed in a fires(note to self, distribute work widely in coming years)

Artists to look up:
Julian Ricks
Elizabeth Strong
Yelland
Innis
Keith
Peters- spooky nocturnals painted from memory
Arthur and Lucinda Matthews
Redmond- quiet tonalist works vs the poppies
Francis McComas - early wild and bold watercolors became conventional
Evelyn McCormick- Arizona gardens
Mary Brady- not well known, undervalued rare. (Wouldn't it be fun to find one)
Isabel Hunter-pastels able to flip between tonalist and impressionist styles.
Mary de Neale Morgan
William Ritchell- battle between land and sea
Armand Hanson

The second half of the lecture was a walk through the exhibit. Next post.

Saturday, June 9, 2007

Nila Oakes Exhibit

I went to Pleasanton to see the Nila Oakes show. The paintings are exquisite, graceful sky scapes set near the coast, in Marin I think. She wrote that her oils become gummy in hot weather and that she prefers painting in the winter. The coolness came across....very refreshing during the 80 degree valley weather.
The paintings were mostly large and the balance between abstract and real was good with lots of movement in the rain clouds. I like her veils of color making the clouds luminous and her meandering lines in the narrow slices of land along the bottom. Every stormy sky had a lovely area where the sky was clearing. The subtle purples and lush greens knocked me out. I am glad I went as this is the first art I have seen in person since Carmel. It really makes a difference as the images online don't convey half of the appeal.

Friday, June 8, 2007

About O Keefe

Lately I ' ve been thinking about Georgia O'Keefe. I read that new biography recently. My theory on her is that until Steglietz got a hold of her and insisted she switch to oil painting, she was destined to become a great watercolor artist. At the end of her life, with macular degeneration, every artists' horror, she was depressed and said those first abstract watercolors done at the beginning of her career were some of the best things she'd ever done.
I have a collage I made of her floral paintings and altho they are oils, with their clean color and lots of white they look like watercolors. Every so often, I think about switching to oils but I think works on paper are my direction.

Tuesday, June 5, 2007

Open Studios Wrap up


September in Sunol

I had about 60 people over two days. Sales were Ok, but I will probably skip it next year. I got some interest in my workshop for the fall, and a lot of compliments, but no one wants to buy at gallery prices at one of these events. I was busy talking so my demo did not get very far. It was fun telling people about the Carmel Art Festival, and my other upcoming events. I loved saying "my art is in Carmel now at the Nancy Dodds Gallery" and in Napa at the Napa Valley Musueum in yountville until July 8. Since don't I have a demo to post, here is one of my paintings at Nancy's.