Evening at the Farm

Evening At the Farm 6 x9 pastel on watercolor paper

I recently put together a smaller set of soft pastels to use on a short trip to our cottage up north. The weather had been rainy and cool and my color selections reflected the warm shadows and cool lights of  these gray days.  This little pastel painting is a memory piece. A collection of old farm buildings clustered against the sky served as inspiration. The color harmonies are pure invention. Soft grays and warm saturated shadows can help create a moody painting. “Evening at the farm”  is one of those. These are the pastel sticks I used - I’ll be needing some more yellows, reds and cool blues and purples for the sunny days ahead! By using a watercolor under-painting  I can “stretch the colors to fit the day.

Autumn Rain

Autumn Rain 10 x 10 pastel over watercolor on sanded paper

Pastel, impressionist, rural, nature

My favorite medium has always been soft pastel. It has an expressive quality that suits both my temperament and my interest in honoring a mark on the paper. I use a watercolor underpainting  on an archival sanded paper or board which allows me the freedom to manipulate the pastel in a painterly manner. I recently had carpal tunnel surgery and I am delighted to once again add pastel back to my methods.
This small study was influenced by the rain that has softened my view of the rural landscape that is near our cottage up north. Small homesteads like this one remind me of growing up near pastures and corn fields. It reminds me of the farm my mother grew up on. It reminds me of our time midst the small farms and orchards in Door County too.
Autumn always seems to breath a little easier than summer. It is a time to savor before winter arrives, a time to exhale.

Pink Sunset

Pink Sunset watercolor on 140 lb acid free watercolor paper 6 x9

When I first began to paint, my medium of choice was watercolor. In the early years I had small children and limited space ( and time ) and works on paper that dried quickly fit well into our busy lives. I have continued to use watercolor as an under painting for most of my pastels. Lately, I’ve had an “itch” to work in pure watercolor again. It is definitely a big change from my work in the opaque mediums. I enjoy using watercolors for small studies and sketches. They are immediate, fluid and at times very challenging.
One creative venture always leads me to another. Participating in a variety of mediums often enhances my work in ways I don’t immediately grasp. This little painting is available matted and simply framed. The subject is a memory of a little town above the bay in Door County.
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A Bridge too Far

A Bridge too Far 6 x 6 acrylic

Pathways, reflections,  and simple patterns of light and dark values have always appealed to me. One theme that has made an appearance since I began painting professionally has been imagery depicting a bridge. For  years I’ve explored the idea of movement from here to there in many semi-abstracted works.
Occasionally, someone will say, “You’ve moved in a new direction”. I often find myself holding back the information that the fundamentals of abstraction have always been with me.
Early in my professional career, I submitted three abstracted paintings ( that included a bridge themed  piece) for a major show at a midwestern gallery. They refused to hang those three along with my more tradition work with the words, “we’ll never sell abstract art.” Guess what’s hanging there now?
That experience was  a serious blow to my confidence and for many years I painted abstracted works just for me. When I began to confront my fear of exposing too much with abstract work, I found that my collectors readily accepted both my representational works and what I have come to call work of abstracted realism.
A Bridge too Far  harkens back to those early days -it marks a journey that is both personal and artistic. Perhaps it says, come, travel with me.

The Copper Dome

The Copper Dome 6x6 acrylic

I treasure our nightly walks. Each and every evening seems to lead us to a new discovery or , at the very least , to a new point of view. The copper dome of the Court  House has lost much of it’s original patina due to an unfortunate restoration. The beautiful green, gold and copper tones of old are now modified to a more simple harmony. As a society, we often seem to see new as better than old. Patina as tarnish, and shabby,  as less than aesthetically pleasing. I once read a quote from an old timer and well known artist of the 1950’s who said , “ ...if they keep fixing things up artists won’t have anything to paint!” . I can relate to that.
Even tho the old dome has been fixed up, it is still a grand structure, full of character as it rises above the court house square.
My muse on this evening’s  walk was the idea of the dome, it’s place in history and in the fabric of the community it serves.

One Night The Moon

One Night the Moon  6x8 acrylic

Trees have taken on a special importance for me this summer. Several weeks ago our cottage up-north in Oconto county was visited by a tornado. Huge old growth trees; oaks,maples, ironwood, birch, beech and pine snapped or toppled like  dominoes in the woods surrounding us. Amazingly, our small house was mostly unscathed. But our propane tank, the drive to the house, the ravine and the forest roads nearby were severely impacted by the fallen trees. It is as if dear friends have died. This is not to say that a tree is like a Human being. It is as if a spirit , the spirit of the woods has been damaged beyond belief. We and our neighbors are in mourning. Like most intense experiences in life, this one has brought dismay and gratitude, hope and fear , and a very real sense of the beauty and fragility of life.
Buying our small bit of woods was a return to my roots. As a child, my safe place was a small park near our house and the Great Lake and forest country Up North where we rented a cabin each summer. We came out of the storm in far better shape than many. The fifty or sixty trees that went down did not take a life or destroy our house. The storm has redefined my feelings about the forest, but it did not take away my joy and awe of it.
Close to one corner of the house nine large trees went down in a tangle of trunks and branches. As we cleared most of the debris, we discovered a little stand of very small pine trees right behind the mess. They were previously hidden from us and now stand ready to reach for the new light that now can reach them. I understand that adversity can make a place even more precious. Once, I thought,  why would someone rebuild in the aftermath of a storm? The answer is clear now, somethings are worth more than they seem.
One Night the Moon is about light in the darkness of night. It is a celebration of trees.