30 in 30 for the 3rd Time

This January I am returning to the 30 in 30 painting event sponsored by Leslie Saeta.  My goal is to do a floral painting in oil each day.  I am traveling as I do this, so it should be especially challenging. Here is day one.  This format is especially small 4 x 4 panel,  but it has a 1/2" depth not shown in this photo which gives the appearance of an object rather than a painting, a concept I would like further to  explore.

Auction

When the local Arts council hosted a fund raising auction,  a feature was a series of 8" square works in all kinds of media.

This particular painting, based on an earlier summer photo, tells the wonderful story of a retriever and his owner enjoying a day on the water.   The dog clearly thought this way of experiencing the lake was superior to previous watery encounters.

A painted band of Mission lettering, proclaiming the name of the vacation spot, provides a frame for the panel.

Vacation Idyll

Jamaica.  

Away from the beaches it feels very old and foreign.  Definitely its own country.

From the beaches the water is that glowing, translucent blue that means the tropics to us northerners.

I chose to travel with pastels thinking it might be easier.  But Jamaican customs had other ideas.

Near Negril   

Pastel 6" x 8"

Glass Bottom 

Pastel 6" x 6"

Catching Up

Not having posted this year, due to dramatic changes in my life, I decided posting was severely overdue, lest I gave it up altogether.

The painting below was started as a plein air last summer, finally finished a few months ago.  It's the painting underway in the blog post of me in the red apron under the umbrella.  The photo was taken at Duck Dance Farm, which was part of Pioneers of the Blue Ridge event.

In the coming week I'll be at the second North Carolina Plein Air Open, a great event with many interesting and talented artists. It takes place in Salisbury which has many finely restored homes and a wonderful train station.  The Waterworks Gallery is the center for this event.

The Pond at Duck Dance
5" x 7" Oil on Panel

New Pioneers of the Blue Ridge

My painting group has mounted a gallery exhibit focusing on the new agricultural practices in our Blue Ridge mountain community.   Tobacco is no longer the main crop.  Young people have pioneered organic farming and the farm to table movement.

This farmer, Jim Edwards, caught my attention at the weekly farmers' market.  He was so proud of his pumpkins.

In a later conversation he disclosed that he worked at the youngest on the some of the same land he farms now.  Then it was a dairy farm, now there are beans, corn, pumpkins and bell peppers.  To fund his college education Jim raised beef and tobacco.

The Pumpkin Man

Oil  8" x 10"

       
                                                 

The Maritime Life

There is more to the Jersey Shore than the beach.  There is also a maritime community that was pounded by Hurricane Sandy, but has been renewed.

Here's a little boathouse and dock that's been rebuilt.  Beyond is Little Egg Harbor, although vast it can be very shallow, 2 to 3 feet in many places,  making for distinctive boats with low drafts.

Maritime Life
Oil 5" x 7"

Camp Yonahnoka and Grandfather Mountain

A plein air event was held at Camp Yonahnoka with a stunning view of Grandfather Mountain and Lake Kawahna.  The best part was meeting new painters in the Linville area.  What a blast.

In this painting I was interested in creating values and thereby form with each brushstroke.  It's quite a discipline.

Grandfather and Lake Kawahna
Oil 6" x 6"