Tea for Four

I have not posted anything for a while. Here are four experimental pieces. A bit of a new way of working for me. I like the sketchy quality and unfinished look to these. Hopefully this will get me working again. It has been a while since I made a painting in or outside of my studio. Summer is usually the time to start some serious plein air, but it has been so hot and sticky here in Wisconsin. No excuses, but it is time to start working in earnest. I miss it!  I will be sailing up in Door County next week, so stay tuned for some new work.

Plein Air Exhibit

 

Wisconsin Plein Air Exhibition...Bergstrom~Mahler 

in Neenah Wisconsin. 

July 9-September 18. 

Opening reception is July 8 from 5-8pm.

Three Tomatoes

I recently painted some still lifes with fruits and vegetables. Two of them are part of a local show called Visions XIII. The opening was last night and several friends came to see the show. The problem was they all gave me such a hard time about my titles. Yes, I realize they are pretty lame. Is it certainly something I can work on to improve? Absolutely!  Instead of Three Tomatoes they suggested Pre-Salsa. I don't know what do you think?

This is the painting that goes with the following poem. It is part of the Verse and Vision project held recently at the Q Artist's Gallery in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. The poet, Jim Pollock is a talented poet who helped organize the event. Over 300 poems were submitted; 61 were accepted into the show.  Local artists read the poems and were inspired to make art. For me, I loved the image of a river, as it flows through all the seasons.

 If You Are a River

If you are a river,
you most likely spend your summers
meandering through quaint villages
and cuddling up to canyon walls.

Come winter,
you probably freeze your skin
and entertain dark and murky thoughts
beneath your cold exterior.

Until spring,
when you burst forth, invading fields,
tearing up those little villages,
carving up those canyon walls.

Unfortunately by fall,
you end up as
mere stain in the ocean’s current,
mere silt on the ocean’s floor.

At such time, river,
it is worthwhile to remember
that now you know what every river knows,
and you have gone where every river goes.

By Jim Pollock
copyrighted and printed with permission of the poet

If You Are A River

High Water

My friend Carol and I have been outside painting the last few days at a nearby county park. The water levels in and around here are so high, a bit scary really. The water is just rushing by, black and churning. None of the cool rocks that we had seen in the fall are even visible yet...all under water.  I set up on top of the dam for this view.  I liked the shadows on the building and the lovely grays in the trees. Soon buds will be popping out and it will be all green again. It has been a long winter in Wisconsin.

Artichoke

I have been working on some still life lately. I have noticed that I am getting a little tighter than usual. I don't know what that is about. I am struggling with backgrounds and shadows. I have also been experimenting with some transparent glazes. This will be good practice I think in the long run. This subject reminds me of Easter when we used to have these for lunch on Easter Sunday. I don't think I even ate one of these until I was an adult, but our family loved the process of eating one. They are pretty yummy.