Day 720 "Bare Trees" 9 x 11 ink with pastel

Exploring shapes from the local trees at night.  I painted a rectangle of ink, then applied pastel on top leaving the tree shapes behind.  I added the moon, and some moonlight in the sky radiating out; then softened the edge of the trees.
I am interested in these beautiful shapes.  As always, thank you for looking. You know I love your comments.

"The Violin Maker" William Bicknell at the MFA

I have been visiting Boston's Museum of Fine Arts every few weeks, on Friday nights.  The museum is always lovely, but it is magical at night, quiet, personal, with the windows blocking out the world as they reflect in.  This wonderful painting is a new favorite of mine, and epitomizes something I love about the MFA.  The painting is beautifully designed and rendered... and hanging in the hall outside the coat room, almost like an afterthought.  It grabs my eye every time I see it.  So, I looked it up and began studying it a bit. The light is so subtle, and well-designed.  

       






I love the sliver of light in the upper left corner sneaking in behind the curtain or blanket strung over the windows.  I was showing it to one of my rambunctious 7th graders who is in my art project at school.  We talked about why that little area of light is effective, and is it necessary.  Removing it wouldn't change the focal point of the painting but my eye moves around so much more of the picture space with the sliver back there, and the command of values is astounding.  

Thanks for looking, and if you're at the MFA, check out this beauty, right across from the coat check.    

Childe Hassam silhouette - Nocturne, Railway Crossing

My classroom has no windows, although I can see light from across the hall through my doorway.... small consolation some days.  I have filled my classroom with visual interest, posters the students have made, art posters, a word wall, etc, etc... and my Smartboard which arrived this year.  Everyday, I choose an image or two to grace the Smartboard when I am not using it for academics.  It has great resolution.  I have displayed Calder wire faces, Eric Carle's joy, Homer, Sargent, Sorolla, today a Paul Rand, illustration... vivid, powerful, deceptively simple genius.   

Seems this winter, now spring, we have seldom seen the sun, and in fact, this mid-week of April, it was dreary and cold and drizzly, and enough is enough.  So, I called on Childe Hassam for a "wow the rain is beautiful" image, and here's what I got.  "Nocturne, Railway Crossing Chicago" from 1892.  Suddenly, the gray day that merges into a gray night, is not so dreary...  I am mesmerized by the silhouettes and tonalism in this quiet watercolor, and spent a little bit of time studying its gracious lines... what a masterpiece.   And, hey, the sun is coming out tomorrow!!

"Auld Lang Syne" 6 x 8 oil on board

The Girls Just Wanna Paint challenge theme for December was "memory".  We have spent part of New Year's Eve in Boston each of the past few years.  Our plan has always been to head in town late afternoon, wander about enjoying the pageantry and excitement.  We then watch the parade.  I love parades!!!  Always have.  After the parade, we grab dinner somewhere and meander back home well before midnight.  We brace for the cold, (New Englanders, after all), and love the evening.  My memories of these Dec 31st outings are vivid, the lights, the fireworks, the congenial nature of people walking about, cold fingers and face, warmly glowing windows.  The city is beautiful and elegant. History pours out of its alleys, nooks, crannies.  Lovely evenings each.  


See all the Girls' entries here.  Thanks for looking and may your New Year be just what you are looking for.    

"Under the Stars" oil 8 x 6

Our challenge for this month in my painting group was the theme "open".  I mulled it over for awhile, and decided on "Open Air Concert".  Especially during this long, long, long gray winter, I pine for the evenings of summer outside, listening to music, or in this case, watching Boston's Commonwealth Shakespeare Company on the Common.  
Thanks for looking!  

"Wednesday Evening" 16 x 16 oil - leading the eye

I have written about this painting in its early stages.  You can read about its progress here in these two earlier posts:
 "Newbury at Night" start
"Newbury at Night" in process

Years ago I asked my painting teacher how I can know when a painting is finished.  His response was that you need to know what your painting is about, know the idea behind your painting.  When you can do nothing more to support the idea, then you are finished.  At the time, I'm not sure I had enough context to understand what that meant, but over the years it has stuck with me, and is the drive behind my painting process.  

Wednesday Evening - detail

So... "Wednesday Evening" has always been about the transition occurring at dusk in this Boston intersection - the juxtaposition of commuters' speedy exodus and pedestrians meandering into evening.  I designed the painting to use the people in the foreground as your path into the painting, while leading the eye along the road and into the acceleration out the ramp to the Mass Pike. I used many, many shapes in the painting to lead your eye into the distance, into the dusk.  As an example, the detail shown here shows two   street signs and the upper tail light of a car in the middle ground.  These three shapes are intentionally angled to point to the blur of light as the cars exit the city.  I also supported that idea by softening all the edges in the high contrast areas of the painting, the lamp posts, the large dark structure, etc.. but I left the edges crisp in the taillights' glow along the Pike.  The tall building on the right side acts as a stopper so your eye doesn't leave, and I added the idea of architectural detail which  points down to the same area of light.  

My intention was to lead the eye, and to keep the viewer engaged in the painting, observing the contrast in tempos between the Pike and the street.  As always, interested in your thoughts.  Thanks for looking.

"Newbury at Night " in process 14 x 14 oil

Next stage of "Newbury at Night".  I have kept the glow, actually haven't touched the original wash in the sky.  It's been interesting working with the cool of distant neon lights, against the glowing sky.  I'm still moving around a few elements, have begun blocking in the pedestrians in the middle and foreground.  I've moved people a few times, and may again.  The light coming from an (unseen)  store window on the left is greenish so I'm wrestling with the small amount of light on the walkers, don't want them to appear green, but want to keep them less warm than the distance, and the lights. 

  I'm happy with the indication of street lights on the upper right, gives a sense of the cross street, actually, Mass Ave, without any other indication.  Stay tuned for the next iteration. Not much more to do in the painting, I'm proceeding very thoughtfully, not that I don't as a rule, but even more so, in unfamiliar territory... kind of an adventure.  I like adventures.