Autumn paintings 2009

Here are a couple of pieces I worked on this Autumn. I am going to work on the landscape some more (thinking about removing the barn and putting in more sky in it's place.) The still life is finished and I am quite happy with it. Still need to varnish it which will enhance the reflection on the table.

Boston Museum of Fine Art

Recently, I visited the Boston Museum of Fine Art and thoroughly enjoyed what was around each and every corner. Standing in front of John Singer Sargent's "The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit" was like a religious experience, and I actually had a lump in my throat. You can see famous paintings time and again reproduced for you in a book or on line, but still nothing matches standing in front of the actual work. This piece was much larger then I ever imagined - it's practically wall-sized. Magically, the two large Chinese urns in the painting appear in real life flanking the painting. It's dark wood floors seem to extend onto the museums own dark wooden floors making the viewer feel as if they are standing in the room with these little girls. It's a heady feeling and a lovely one.

I also enjoyed viewing a another Sargent painting nearby that I hadn't seen before - "Rehearsal of the Pasdeloup Orchestra at the Cirque D'Hiver". It almost looks nothing more then a quick study, but the curves and the movement in it actually feel like the music the musicians must have been playing.

Another room I had trouble pulling myself away from (and came back to frequently) was the John Singleton Copley room. Here many of his find portraits hung including depictions of early American settlers. The most captivating piece though, again a wall-sized one, "Watson and the Shark". I was stunned and absorbed immediately with this dramatic work that insists on pulling you in to the terror filled scene. It even caused a rather horrific nightmare that night involving a hungry shark! Again, seeing this work in books versus standing in front of it holds no comparison. Everyone must see this work in person!

If there was one disappointing moment in my visit, it would involve viewing J.M.W. Turner's famous work; "Slave Ship". This is a very important piece which made a declarative statement on the heinous behavior between humans. Instead of being given it's due as a centerpiece, it was forced into a cramped corner with another work hung above it. This work should stand alone in a prominent place for all to view and study.

In a nod to the Chicago Art Institute, while looking at the Impressionist collection (small in comparison, but really enjoyable), the requisite heavy frames surrounding these delicate works caused a scalloped shadow to cast on many of the upper areas of the canvases, something I have never seen in Chicago. They either need to rehang or rethink the lighting in these galleries.

This museum is full of treasurers and some beautifully rendered rooms with thoughtful touches such as artist-rendered benches to enjoy the views and a rotunda with Sargent murals that make you dizzy looking up! Another favorite touch was a room painted in various soft gray tones mimicking mountains in the atmospheric distance. I hope to visit this museum again sometime.

Photo anomoly

Participated in a recent exhibition at our Village Hall and asked someone to take a photo of me with my work. I had forgotten my camera so they used my cell phone. Looking at the photo on the computer when I got home, I was struck by how the glare from the ceiling light ended up appearing as though there was a bright sun emanating from the corner of my painting!

Sculptured figure

Back in college, I created my one and only sculpture, and inspired by seeing the Rodin exhibit, I decided to post it here. The female figure is less remarkable then the process to make it.

1. Carved the figure out of stiff Styrofoam.
2. Buried the Styrofoam form in a bed of mud and motor oil with the mud firmly packed around it.
3. Let it dry and harden with a long metal tube meeting it in the mud, and the other end sticking out.
4. Poured melted aluminum down the tube to the Styrofoam form, melting the Styrofoam. The aluminum filled the space where the Styrofoam once was.
5. Let the aluminum cool a couple of days and then dig out the sculpture.

Can you tell I was a fan of Henry Moore?

Rodin Exhibit

Went downtown Saturday with some friends on the train, with plans that included seeing the Burnham commemorative sculptures and visiting the Loyola Museum of Art for a visiting show of Rodin's sculpture.

I was very dismayed to visit the Burnham White sculpture at Millennium Park, because I was so enthralled with it during my first visit. It looked in terrible condition and there were signs everywhere saying "Please do not climb on sculpture" Apparently some miscreants had been climbing on the various soft curves, eroding the materials and chipping away the skin of the sculpture. The neighboring sculpture was surrounded by construction fence and all sorts of building materials and looked equally a mess while workers continued installation. Not the right day to show your friends what you thought would wow them.

Instead, we grabbed a cab and took off for LUMA at 820 N. Michigan Avenue, which turned out to be next to the historic Water Tower that survived the Chicago Fire. There's a pretty little green park and modest fountain there and parking for horse and buggy rides which were constantly pulling up on the small divided avenue. The Loyola Administration building, with a beautiful facade, lies just west of this peaceful space, and next store, oddly out of place, is a crowded Hershey's Chocolate store. We climbed the dozen steps inside to find a very modern space and the entrance to the museum along with a modest gift shop. The entry fee is only $6 (a bargain compared to The Art Institute) and the price suits the modest size of the museum.

The exhibit consisted of roughly 25 pieces. Several sculptures were heads or "masks" as Rodin refers to them, and there were two alarmingly large full figures - both holding palettes (see picture I managed to shoot with my cell phone before I was told no photos allowed), and a pair of hands (one of an adult, one infant sized.) The most striking to me were the many male figures in various poses. The really intriguing bonus of this show, which is called "In his own words" is that each sculpture was accompanied with a paragraph by Rodin explaining his motives, feelings, public reaction to his work, and his aesthetic.

Rodin wrote about how he purposely pumped up and slightly exaggerated each muscle and hyper stretched and extended every limb to exude life and energy within. He was thoughtful about where light would hit each fractured surface on his sculpture. This really added to the feeling of power and movement. His work revealed a very different portrait as you walked around it. I was especially entranced with how beautifully he could portray the arched bottom of a foot - it expressed so much about the figure. There was a replica of "The Thinker" there, but my favorite was "I am Beautiful", a strong figure of a male lifting a female high and close so her legs are curled under her - it's an unusual and beautiful pose.

In the rooms beyond was an interesting photography exhibit with photos of both Parisian and Chicago architecture. I must say Chicago holds it's own! Upstairs, in lovely deep jewel colored rooms are a very nice collection of Renaissance art - definitely worth the trip to the second floor.

Three Ladies

Working on a new landscape I am calling Three Ladies. Somehow these trees strike me as rather feminine and they seem to have befriended one another in the way their branches cross and intertwine.

This is an 18" x 24" linen canvas. I am using a limited palette of Zine White, Lemon Yellow Light, Alizarin Crimson and French Ultramarine Blue. I am sticking with fairly large brushes with the exception of a small round for the branches. It all feels very modern to me and I want to limit the detail and stick with color as the main interest.

Studio Envy!

Just got back from a weekend away in South Haven, MI and enjoyed walking in and out of many art studios in the area. The picture here is of an artists' studio down a country road, off into the forest. It's everything an artists studio should be ~ outside; lots of color and flowers and surrounded by lovely woods; inside paintings scatter shot everywhere and inspirational images pinned to the walls. Lots of big windows with views of the woods and plenty of room to have several canvases going at once. Oh, how I envied this wonderful creativity-inducing space. Maybe someday!

Also picked up a nice wood gold gilt frame at an antique shop for $20, in good condition, sized for an 8" x 10" canvas. Currently it holds a cheesy dated print, which I will probably discard.



Played around with my Sakura watercolor set both at the beach and at breakfast on the wrap-around porch of the old Victorian where we stayed. Here is an amateur attempt at a shed across the drive, covered in grape-vine. The water chamber brush takes some getting use to when it comes to controlling the moisture. Need more pratice, but it's a practical portable toy for travel, when the spirit calls for some creativity!

Took lots of nature photos this trip which will hopefully yield some good reference photos down the road for paintings.