Thankful for Onions

Blue Onion 6 x 10

Red and Yellow  8 x 10

 I just shared a satiating, satisfying, wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends.  It was filled with fabulous food, hugs, laughter, stories, play, walks, memories, a few mishaps which will become legend ("remember the year...?").   The holiday was replete with the hectic hubbub I relish.

This year, my  brother concocted a hearty turkey stew/soup from whatever he could find in the kitchen the morning after.  Turkey carcass and leftover
 meat were essentials, but in the process while chatting and chopping, I saw carrots, shallots, garlic, celery, pasta, spices and onions.  I noted that as he sauteed the onions, he poured some of the stock into the sautee pan just before adding the mixture to the stew pot, dredging up all the sweet carmelized yumminess and adding layers of flavor to the stew which was scrumptious.  So...

I started thinking of onions and how often I have chosen them as subject. Here are a few of my onion paintings from over the years.. some you've seen, some not. Onions in the sun, in the shadow, on Mom's favorite plates, with other ingredients, sprouting, peeling, always enticing, color glowing as it bounces onion to onion. Though I love to cook with onions, I am often tempted to let them sprout, and sprout some more.  Those sensuous, organic greens are wild and alluring.

Thanks for looking and Happy Thanksgiving. 
                     

Sunny Onions 8 x 10

Red on Red 12 x 9

Onions 6 x 10

Flavorful 10 x 8

Onions n Oil 10 x 10

"Dockside" 6 x 6 oil

My entry for the Girls Just Wanna Paint's October challenge, theme - hats. This couple was sitting on Monhegan Island's dock, waiting for the afternoon ferry. Or, maybe they were just sitting because it's a wonderful place to be... for hours.  Salty, sunny, breezy, and beautiful.

Truth is, the hats are a little crisp and new for Monhegan,  making the couple's energy  more about movement, than just being in place, but I loved their silhouettes, and their juxtaposition against Monhegan's lovely Manana.

Thanks for looking.

"Tide Pools" oil 12 x 9

Thinking about the surf along our coast today during Hurricane Sandy.  I love to stand above the waves, watching them move, roll, crash, recede, invade, but certainly not today.  Be safe. I'm painting in the studio while we have power.

"Shake All Your Blues Away" 6 x 6 oil

Our painting group, Girls Just Wanna Paint, was handed "chic" as the theme for September by our member Pam Copeman. She was unable to attend the meeting as she was at New York Fashion Week.  Pam epitomizes chic, so we painted her (as a surprise).  Pam bears an uncanny resemblance to famed dancer Ann Miller (in my opinion) so this is my painting "Shake All Your Blues Away", Pam as Ann Miller (Nadine Hale) in Easter Parade, one of my favorite movies.  

By the way, Ann Miller has the reputation of fastest tap dancer, ever.  (Not sure if 

 her record still stands, but check out a video of "Shake All Your Blues Away" and you'll see why.)
Or, watch the whole movie: Fred Astaire, Judy Garland, Ann Miller, Peter Lawford... just the ceasar salad scene is worth it!   Chic.

"Horizon" 6 x 6 oil

Horizon  6 x 6 oil original oil painting

This is my third in a series of working boat paintings. "Horizon" was pulling traps off the Pemaquid Point in Maine. I am enjoying painting these small, closely cropped, semi-abstract images.  When I look at the boats, I can hear the intermittent start-stop-start as they move from trap to trap, and can hear the gulls following, smell the salt, feel the air, and the sun.  The small format is working very well for me this busy autumn.  More to come.   

Thanks for looking.

"September Dusk" 8x8 cut paper

 
I like to cut paper.   Let me elaborate.  I like to cut paper with scissors to make interesting shapes and forms without drawing them first.  I use it in my math classes to demonstrate symmetry to my students.  I cut paper shapes iconic of certain holidays that our church youth group then uses to make one-of-a-kind note cards which they sell to fund their mission trips. I like to cut paper.  

 "September Dusk" image stretched to square proportions

So, when North River Arts Society kicked off this year's Outside the Box fundraiser, inviting artists and non-artists alike to create an 8" x 8" work, different from their norm, I decided to paint with paper.  

I chose one of my favorite paintings of our local river and stretched its image into a square for the proportions.  I bought a number of sheets of patterned paper, no solids,  considering only the colors and values, not the patterns, then proceeded to cut shapes, and to use them like paint.  It was very interesting to decide how to layer up, how to soften edges, how to build in atmospheric perspective and texture.  I used the paper much like I would use paint, blocking in with large shapes, then continually subdividing those shapes.

original "September Dusk" 7 x 5

The result is a "paper painting" filled with paisley, polka dots, peacock feathers,  floral images, toile, and stripes that comprise "September Dusk". When I compare the original oil and the paper version, I'll admit, I am drawn to the oil more than the paper. However, I love the paper painting, the thinking and the process. My goal was not to recreate the original oil painting.  My goal was to create a piece of art that stands on its own, using the oil painting as reference, much like my oil paintings are intended to stand on their own, using life as reference. 

 I'm planning to explore this idea again, and am considering skipping the middle step altogether, bringing my paper, scissors, and Modge Podge outside to paint with paper en plein air. 

As always, interested in your thoughts.  Thanks for looking.

"Open Mic" 6 x 6 oil

My entry for August's Girls Just Wanna Paint challenge, theme "music".

Last spring, my daughter sang at Club Passim in Cambridge on open mic night, great fun, with a variety of performers of a variety of ages, styles, and talents. She sang an original song composed in her high school music project, and is performing here with her music teacher.  This is a study for a larger painting which will include her friend and classmate playing guitar.

Thanks for looking.