Snow Day - Thoughts on Studio Landscapes- Day 7 #jan30in30

6"x8" oil on linen mounted on archival panel

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Now I know you're thinking..."this is not your normal high-chroma big load of whopping color" that you usually paint. True, and like I said earlier these 30 paintings in 30 days are like "research & development" for artists. My plan was to explore some of the things I had put off exploring for one reason or another.  Those who know me, know that "I don't paint snow"...heck, I don't even like snow, and a single dose of it is plenty enough to get my "snow ya-yas" over with. Winter does have it's own beauty, and the quiet that descends when the snow muffles out all sound, is quite remarkable.

So,  I did not go out & stand still to paint in the cold...(can't tolerate the temps)...but had been wanting to do something that Dan McCaw spoke of in his (excellent) book, "A Proven Strategy for Creating Great Art"...in one of the paintings, he took a summer scene & re-painted to make a winter version...from imagination & memory. So I took one of my Barn Island paintings...sat it next to my easel set up & used that as the 'stepping off place'...

For me, it was a great exercise in trying to mix colorful grays, ie, how to keep it close in value range, yet still have color (and not be like one slab of 'battle-ship gray'!). Winter is not my favorite season...so it's a stretch for me to even WANT to paint a winter scene. My inner FL girl LOVES the high-chroma zing...I'm finally getting my butt out of the house during winter...as long as I can keep moving (like x-c skiing), but to stand still in these temps to paint, is just a slow hard soul crushing death for me! I know I'll probably try more winter scenes like this....as long as it's from a place that I'm really familiar with....where I've spent time hiking through....Once it gets above 40 degrees with no wind...I can tolerate it...(hoping I can hang on 'til Spring returns!). As for tomorrow's painting..my eyeballs need some intense light & color! 


Stay warm folks- winter is doing it's thing out there!

Spring Sky Awakening - Coastal Landscape by Roxanne Steed

40"x30" oil on gallery wrapped deep canvas 

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Skies seem brighter, days are a bit longer, the snow is melting away...it's "mud-season". The tips of the tree tops get a bit of 'red' tinge to them...they are waking up, too. 

Spring is always filled with hope and more than a bit of excitement for me. The dried winter grasses out in the marsh still rustle their blond tops. Birds migrate through. All the earth is awakening!

High Tide Morning

 

40"x40" oil on 1.5" deep gallery wrap canvas

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There are places for each of us, that resonate deep within our souls. They restore us, rejuvenate us...in any season.  Being out in nature, whether you call it, "Forest Therapy", Vitamin D-Soaking up the Sunshine moments; we all need that...for inner and outer happiness.    

High Tide...and catching up after travels!

8"x10" oil on linen mounted on panel

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I made it back out to the marsh at Barn Island this past week. This time, it was high tide when I got there. Fortunately, I blocked in those big shapes FAST when I first set up. Why is this so crucial? Well, some times when you're out painting, not only the light changes quickly through out the day, but tidal changes can vary greatly in a very short amount of time! To make my point, here's two photos I happened to shoot while I was there. They are taken about an hour and a half to two hours apart. When I was bringing this painting to completion, the place looked quite different.

Mother Nature, you never cease to amaze me! I was really happy to see the tide as it was, I really love the shapes of land vs. water in these vast expanses of marshy areas. As it turns out, this was a study for a design option for a commission I'm currently working on. And yes, I'm very excited about it! It's great to be back home in my own studio after lots of travel time this summer.

Summer Morning; Ebb Tide

6"x8" oil on linen mounted on panel

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Lately we've been having really nice weather....the kind that other places should be very, very envious of. The kind of weather where you can leave your windows open all day and night and be very comfortable ...and it's August! 

So one early morning last week, I planned to get up early and head back over to Barn Island, to continue my quest of marsh scenes in all seasons of the year.  In the early morning, the sun is just warming up the grasses, illuminating them to their brilliant limey green color. The distant tree line is still back-lit, but starting to warm through at the edges as the sun begins to climb it's arc through the sky.  

Birders are out in the preserve, hoping to spot that one particular species that will complete their "bucket list" of birdies.  Another older gentleman walking two golden retrievers, one of them a gangly five month old pup as tall as the other dog. Two joggers light through, seeming to barely touch the earth beneath them, their footfall is so light. And one painter, that's me.  We are the "usual suspects" of who frequent this sacred space.  It IS sacred to me, I love being out there. It reminds me how important it is to have public open land for recreation just like these mornings. 

 

Clear Autumn Morning, Variations & Improvisations

6"x6" oil on gessoed masonite artboard, $110

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I like to take some of the small studies I've done and make small color variations of them. Hence, the "Variations and Improvisations" series! It's a fun way to take these familiar views of my favorite hiking spots and try out different brushwork/techniques or color variations. Sort of like musicians take familiar tunes & musical phrasings and do the same with those. 

To help me remember which ones are which,  the plein air scenes done on location are the 6x8 size, and my variations/improvisations are in the 6x6 size.

"Improvisation I - Variations on a Theme" Marsh and Woodlands

6"x6" oil on archival panel, $100

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Improvisation - to make a variation on a theme.  This little painting is a variation on a plein air painting that I did just recently in fall.   I'm wanting to do a much larger painting from the original, but I've made some slight alterations in color and shape/composition.  So I'm trying these out in this small piece before I jump back to a 40"x30".  

This has been a fun project for me, all these marsh paintings from Barn Island. I was going through them this afternoon, to label them, and found that I've neglected to  blog a couple of these! So, I spent the rest of the afternoon labeling paintings, photographing the two large ones I recently finished, and getting my desk organized again (well, I'm still working on that).

Winter Thaw, Barn Island

6"x8" oil on linen mounted on archival panel

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Wow, this morning was a winter heat wave, 43 degrees F! Which makes for a great day of painting outside. The sun was trying to burn off the haze, but never did quite succeed. Much of our previous snowfall has melted. Only stubborn little patches of ice persist, though most have yielded to mud. Tide was going out, which I wasn't aware of until I heard some ice pulling against some crackly reeds along the edge of the water.  Most of the grasses have faded to a pale golden wheat color at this point in the winter, though I did see a few tufts of faded green emerging from some snowy clumps.  As I was setting up to paint today, a big egret came in for a landing behind me.  He became too busy stalking his prey to worry about me though. Life in the marsh goes on.  

"Tide's Coming In!"

11"x14" oil on linen mounted on archival panel

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One of my favorite places, Barn Island Wildlife Refuge.  I think it's a wonderful refuge for people, too; judging by the number of people I see out there from time to time. On the weekends there are many hikers, dog-walkers, etc.  This past weekend we had snow - and I went cross-country skiing there with a friend! It is a place of beauty and refuge in all seasons, not just for the wildlife, but all of us who need a bit of nature to remind us how to be calm.

High Tide Before The Storm

8"x6" oil on linen/panel

$200 unframed

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These plein air color studies out in the marshes at Barn Island have been great fun for 'exaggerating' color, focusing on shapes and values of the land masses.   I'm looking forward to the larger studio paintings that I'll be working on from these - one is on the easel right now!

Coastal Fog, Plein Air

6"x8" oil on linen mounted on archival panel

$200

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The fog comes 

on little cat feet.

It sits looking

over harbor and city

on silent haunches

and then moves on.

-Carl Sandburg

I love Sandburg's image of the still, quietness of a foggy day. Last week when I went out to paint this - difference in appearance to my previous days on the marsh out at Barn Island were quite interesting. The colors do go rather 'soft' and grayed. I've begun a large (30"x36") studio painting from one of the previous studies, still in the middle of that!   

 

Changes Coming (Storm Clouds Over September Marsh, Stonington plein air)

6"x8" oil on linen mounted on archival panel

$200

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Autumn brings a bit of introspection.

Not just cooler air,

but a change in the wind altogether. 

Thoughts about summer passing, a reluctance to see it go....

Yet a bit of excitement 

for what's to come. 

September Marsh

12"x12" oil on gessoed masonite archival panel

$400 unframed

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I did get out to paint last week in one of my favorite places, the marshes over at Barn Island in Stonington.  Early morning, and the weather has a bit of crisp chill in the air already this month.

Incoming Storm, Plein Air Sol Legare Road

6"x8" oil on Belgian linen mounted on panel

$200

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On this morning during our stay in Folly Beach, SC it was really overcast, but I thought I might be able to get a painting completed before the storm rolled in. I had scouted out some locations nearby like the end of the Bowen's Island Road. But the next road north of that I believe is Sol Legare Road. At the very end of the long lane is a boat ramp that drops out into the creeks amidst the surrounding marshes.  Every point in the day or any kind of weather holds its own special beauty, but stormy skies over the marshes always fascinate me. The dark clouds were rolling in, and quickly changing their shapes. I knew I didn't have long to make decisions about this painting. I chose a simple sky study again - the rapid changes and the brilliant green of the grasses across the water were so compelling. 

I was almost done when a mist of a rain sprinkle started....quick, finish those last decisive strokes of paint - BOOM! - Now it was pouring and time to pack it all up! Luckily, I have lots of practice at keeping the gear easy to manage! Thunder and lightening is no place to be out painting in! Whew!

Winter Walk in the Marsh

6"x8" oil on linen mounted on archival board

"In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer." -Albert Camus

Yesterday I mother nature provided exactly what I needed, a gorgeous sunny day mid-winter here in Connecticut. I'm sure it hit at least mid-forties. It truly felt like spring and of course I knew I'd take the opportunity to go outside and paint.

I kept my supplies small, so I could bring along the least amount of weight, and hopefully get a painting in quickly before the wind picked up and froze me out! This little 'thumb-box' pochade is something I found at the Utrecht Art Supply store a few years ago. I don't use it that often as the egdes that hold your panel in make it difficult to paint with a knife. So I figured, I'd use knife AND brush on this one. It holds a 6x8" panel, and the palette slides in & out to store a few small tubes of paint underneath as well as brushes (short ones!). Finding special plein air supplies can be such fun- and less calories than going through the candy store!

Here's a link to buy this pochade box at Utrecht, scroll down the page to "Utrecht Wooden Pochade Box w/ Shoulder Strap, Lightweight" they're asking $89.99 for it, but watch for some of their online coupons and specials.

I take this little box when I truly am interested in hiking out to a spot and don't want to lug much at all. I'll put that little box, along with 7 tubes of paint inside (a warm & cool of each primary + white)and brushes & painting knife too, inside a tote bag, with some paper towels, plastic bags for trash, small camera (or cell phone camera), 'hand-warmers', a pair of pliers, a 'bulldog' clip to hold the trash bag on to the tote (so it doesn't blow away). It's all pretty light to carry this tote bag on one shoulder, while the on the other side, I'm carrying a little 3-legged folding camp-stool to sit on to paint. Yes, normally I'm standing to paint, but for winter painting, I try to be as comfortable and warm as possible. I figure keeping a low profile will keep me out of the wind, or at least be less of a target!

The other handy thing to go with this little box, is short handled brushes. Now you can either just tote along your regular long handled brushes, or saw them off to fit in your box, ...or just get some short handled brushes that are made to fit into a small pochade. Judson's Art Outfitters carries some that I've been using for many years now (when I bring along the small box). They offer filberts and flats and mine have held up quite well over the years.

When mother nature provides the sunshine, it's up to me to show up! and just paint!!

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Lift Off! Waterfowl & Marsh (Barn Island)

5"x7" oil on gessoed masonite artboard

Who got startled first? Ever been on a hike and the sudden swishing and flapping of wings startles the daylights out of you?!

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Price: $150 USD
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Serene Solitude, November Marsh

6"x8" oil on Belgian linen mounted on archival board (Raymar Feather Lite)


"The smaller the boat, the more you use it." - Judy Benson

Hope there's more days like this before the cold sets in. Truly delightful to be outside painting in this! The marsh grasses are drying to their golden hued splendor, the cool mud flat shimmering before it...just enough to know that it is wet and damp, yet the tide is still low. The trees have started loosing their leaves....some without evening turning color. It's been an interesting autumn to say the least.

I've been spending some time catching up with varnishing and cataloging a lot of the paintings that I did this summer and into the beginning of fall. I guess I've felt like I'd rather keep up with painting while the weather is cooperating rather than miss out. But sooner or later, the business end of things needs to be tended to.

Another 'house-keeping' task I've started is checking on supplies to see what I need to order more of. I've been a fan of Raymar panels for years & years, but have recently tried their 'Feather Lite panels'- which are great! They are a bit thinner yet they are still the same strong panel, with a wonderful surface (I really love working on their oil primed panels). The big advantage is that it keeps your gear really light weight. So if you need to hike out to a great painting spot, you don't feel like you're "moving house" just to do it! No point in wearing yourself out hauling gear before you even break out the paints!

Now the quote I offer today is from a friend that I went kayaking with a couple times this summer. I was thinking of that today as I dragged my easel gear with me. It's my 2nd lightest set-up, but it does have a nice big paint mixing space. I set out with small painting panels today, as I didn't know how chilly it might be down by the water today. I found a bit of a sheltered spot on a nature trail there at Hammonasset and it was delightful.

This painting is available directly from me at my DailyPainters.com gallery, or contact me here.

A Promising Morning

6"x6" oil on gessobord

"Promises are the uniquely human way of ordering the future, making it predictable and reliable to the extent that this is humanly possible." ~Hannah Arendt

Another small study for a grouping of 6x6 marsh scenes.

For more information about this painting, contact me here.

Heron Study II

5"x7" oil on gessoed masonite hardboard

"Man's heart away from nature becomes hard." ~Standing Bear


Yet another study of the marshy area behind Waterford Beach....and some of those wonderful herons that hunt for dinner there!

This painting is available from my DailyPainters.com gallery or send me a message here.

Heron Study I - sold!

5"x7" oil on gessoed masonite archival artboard

"In wilderness I sense the miracle of life, and behind it our scientific accomplishments fade to trivia." ~Charles A. Lindbergh

Today I'm packing my art bags and equipment to head down to Norfolk, VA for the annual "Out & About Norfolk Plein Air Event". I'll be painting on Thursday and Friday, Saturday we will hang our wet paintings for the show & sale on Saturday evening at Waterside in downtown Norfolk. For more information, click the link above! I'd love to see you there!

Today, in between packing, I got out some of my sketches of egrets, I'm putting together in a much larger painting. But today is a color study of what's to come!

This can be purchased directly from my DailyPainters.com Gallery or by contacting me here.