Bushels of Pumpkins (with Woodcut Effect)

This image began with a photo that I took earlier this month at Tendercrop Farms, here in Beverly, MA.  I loved the fall displays so I started taking pictures.  I thought these little pumpkins would make a nice image for today.  I used Painter's digital pastel to do some cleanup on this pumpkins, to make them more presentable.  Then I added Painter's woodcut effect.

At the Edge of the Pond

Here's another photo that I took during our walk around the Cummings Center Pond, back on October 19.  I liked the way the water looked through the trees, so I took a picture.

Path at the Pond

This is a picture that I took ten days ago (October 19).  It was a nice warm day and we took a walk around the pond at the Cummings Center (here in Beverly, MA).  I took a lot of pictures, but am partial to this one, a photo of the path.

Flowers (Pencil Sketch with Woodcut Effect)

I just wanted to post something simple tonight. This afternoon I came across a pencil sketch of flowers that I published here a few years ago.  So tonight I used Painter's woodcut effect to make the lines darker, and then added a bit of posterizing effect to get some subtle color in the background.

Candle (Reposted)

Back in 2015, I made this little animation of a memorial candle, using the Brushes app on my iPod.  Reposting tonight in memory of those at the Tree of Life synagogue.

Layers of Blue (Acrylic Watermedia) FINAL

Yesterday when I posted a photo of this painting, I said that it was finished.  But when I woke up today, I realized that I wanted to adjust the values to create more of a contrast between the green mountains in the foreground and the blue mountains in the distance.  So I used some transparent washes to create the difference in value: white washes to make the distant mountains paler and blue-green washes to darken the mountains that are closer.  I don't know if this will make any difference to anyone but me, but I think it looks better.  This painting was inspired by a photo that I took last summer near Central City, Colorado (posted here Oct. 18, 2018).  This is acrylic used with water on a cradled panel, 16 x 20. It is part of my "Mountain Daydream" series, inspired by the Colorado mountains.  This is going to be one of my entries in the December show at Galatea Fine Arts (www.galateafineart.com). 

Layers of Blue (Acrylic Watermedia)

This is the painting I have been working on, part of my "Mountain Daydreams" series.  It is inspired by a photo that I took last summer, near Central City, Colorado.  (The photo is posted here Oct. 18, 2018.)  What interested me was the lines of the mountains (seven or eight of them, at least), and the graduated colors.  Today I worked on the color, trying to make the colors gradually shift from dark teal green to pale ice-blue. I put in the basic colors and then made many, many tiny changes.   Now I am ready to say that this is finished.  This is acrylic paint used with water on Aquabord, 16 x 20 inches. I hope to display it in the December show at Galatea Fine Arts.  (If you want to know more about Galatea, visit www.galateafineart.com.)

Layers of Blue (Acrylic Watermedia) as of Oct. 24, 2018

Today I did some more work on this painting, which is based on a photo that I took this summer near Central City, Colorado. (The photo is posted here on Oct. 28, 2018.) Today I worked on color, adding blue washes to try to get gradations of blue.  To be continued. . . .

Layers of Blue (Acrylic Watermedia) as of Oct. 23, 2018

Here is my current work-in-progress, a painting inspired by a photo that I took last summer near Central City, Colorado. (You can see the photo posted here October 18.) Today I made one more set of changes to the shapes of the mountain peaks in the distance.  I decided the shapes were pretty close to what I wanted, so I mixed up some very pale blue and (finally) painted in the sky. Next up, I need to work on those layers of blue. To be continued. . . .

Layers of Blue (Acrylic Watermedia) as of Oct. 22, 2018

This is a painting I have been working on, inspired by a photo that I took in Colorado last summer. (The photo is posted here on October 18.) I didn't have a lot of time to work on this today, but this morning I made some more adjustments to the lines of the mountains in the distance. I am happy with the changes, but still see some adjustments that i need to make.  

Layers of Blue (Acrylic Watermedia) as of Oct. 21, 2018

I did some more work on this painting this morning.  This painting is inspired by a photo that I took near Central City, Colorado, this summer (photo posted here October 18, 2018).  There are six, maybe eight, lines of mountains in the photo, all shades of blue. I am trying show all of the subtle layers, while still maintaining the main bands of color that define the overall composition. This is a bit tricky. This morning,  I made some adjustments to the lines towards the top of the image.  Then I started adding layers and color to the lower part of the image. This is acrylic watermedia on Aquabord, 16 x 20 inches

Layers of Blue (Acrylic Watermedia) as of Oct. 20, 2018

Today I worked some more on the painting I started yesterday.  My inspiration is a photo that I took in Colorado back in June.  This was taken near Central City, and ridges of mountains seemed to extend one behind the other into the distance. (I posted the photo here on October 18.)  I count six or seven mountain ridges in the photo, all in shades of blue.  Although I am not trying for a realistic copy of the photo, I do want to capture the effect of those layers of blue. The trick will be to create a sense of depth with the shapes and to create all those shades of blue. This morning I worked on the distant mountain ranges (in the upper part of the image).  Of course, I already see things I want to fix, but I am happy because this seems to be a good challenge. 

Layers of Blue (Acrylic Watermedia as of Oct 19, 2018)

Today I got this painting started.  I only had enough time to rough in basic lines for the composition, but it felt good to begin. I am using one of my recent Colorado photos as inspiration.  (See yesterday's post, "Layers of Blue," Photo Taken Near Central City".)

Layers of Blue (Photo Taken Near Central City)

It is time to paint and am getting ready.  Today I looked through some of the photos that I took in Colorado back in June.  I cropped this image out of one of the pictures I took near Central City.  I am thinking about using this picture as the basis for my next painting. 

Necklace with Red Aventurine, Wood, and Silver

Today I finally finished the necklace I have been working on.  I started with red aventurine spheres, in almost a dusky rose color.  I liked the way the aventurine looked with wood and with silver.  It took several tries to get the combination of shapes and textures that I wanted. This is strung on a cotton cord and long enough that a clasp isn't needed.

Mountain Paintings in Porter Mill Studio

Today I brought some of my small mountain paintings up to the studio at Porter Mill.  Last spring I sold a set of nine small drawings, which was great, but I needed to do something about the empty space the sale had created on my wall.  I decided to hang four of my "mountain daydreams" in that space. These are all acrylic on paper, 9 x 12 inches. Each of these little paintings has spent some time, over the past few years, on exhibit at Galatea Fine Arts in Boston. 

Necklace in Progress

I have been working on this necklace on and off for a couple of weeks.  Today I took it apart and started again.  Now I think I will be able to finish it tomorrow. Here it is on the design board.

Yellow Leaves and Blue Sky

About ten days ago,  I drove up to Manchester-by-the-Sea for a checkup with the eye doctor.  (Following two eye surgeries, these visits always make me super aware of/ very grateful for vision.) On the way in to the doctor's office, I saw a line of beautiful trees with bright yellow leaves. That yellow against the blue sky was a knock-out, so I stopped to take some pictures.  I think this is a honey locust; I have seen a lot of these trees in Boston's Back Bay.  Tonight I cropped the original photo to get this composition.

Sailboat Seen from Lynch Park (with Prisma Filter)

Yesterday's post was my photo of a sailboat, seen from Lynch Park (a beach-front park here in Beverly, MA).  Today's post is the same image, but with a Prisma filter applied.

Sailboat Seen from Lynch Park

On Wednesday, it was still warm, so we went for a walk at Lynch Park, a beach-front park here in Beverly, MA. There were a lot of boats out on the water, including three sailboats.  I had to hurry to get photos of them before they sailed away. I cropped this out of one of my photos; I wanted this composition, even though this image is a bit too blurry.  But I also made another version with a Prisma filter, and it worked fine.  I plan to post it tomorrow.

At Crane's Beach

Day before yesterday, the weather was close to 80 degrees, and we headed to Crane's Beach with the dog.  It is always wonderful to walk on the beach, but this time there was a surprise: a big tide pool had formed in the sand, creating a shallow wading pool. In addition to taking videos of the dog enjoying the water, I also had a chance to take a few photos.  This one was taken looking toward Castle Hill and beyond. The tide pool is on the right.  You can see the bright sand beyond, and then the ocean. Tonight I cropped the original photo to get this composition.

Grasses and Sand at Crane's Beach (with Woodcut Effect)

Yesterday I posted one of the photos that I took at Crane's Beach, a view of grasses and sand.  Today's post is the same photo, but with Painter's woodcut effect added to emphasize the lines of the grasses.

Grasses and Sand at Crane's Beach

The weather was unusually warm today so we took off for Crane's Beach, up in Ipswich.  Warm weather in the fall means we can walk the dog. (Dogs are allowed on beaches from labor day to memorial day.) I started taking pictures before we even got to the water.  Here I was interested in the contrast of the beach grass and sand.

Sunflower Bouquet (Posterized Photo)

Yesterday's post was a photograph of sunflowers with purple ornamental grasses.  It was one of many pictures that I took this weekend at Tendercrop Farms, here in Beverly, Massachusetts. The little store was decorated for October, inside and out.  Today's post is the same image, but with the addition of Painter's posterizing effect to make the colors pop.

Sunflower Bouquet

Yesterday we drove to Tendercrop Farm to buy some fruit. The whole place was decorated for fall, inside and out, and I took a lot of pictures.  My favorite was this display of sunflowers and purple grasses, combined into bouquets. Today I used Painter to get rid of some price tags.  I also made a posterized version which I hope to post here tomorrow.

View from Dane Street Beach

Yesterday we took a walk on Dane Street Beach, here in Beverly, MA. The air was cool but it was sunny and the colors were great!, so I took some pictures.  Today I cropped this one to get the composition I wanted. You can see Lynch Park on the left, and if you look closely, you can see the islands on the right, on the horizon.

Found Art: Veggie Rainbow

Yesterday we went to Long Hill to pick up our farm share from our CSA, "The Food Project".  We were about ready to leave when I noticed that someone had arranged vegetables by color on a piece of wood.  It looked like a color wheel or a rainbow. I took a picture because it made me smile to see this color exercise carried out in veggies. Today I cropped the original photo to get this composition.

Bees and Flowers (Video)

Last week, at Long Hill Garden, I was taking some pictures of these purple flowers when I noticed the bees. So I switched to video instead. If we want to continue to have flowers, we need to pay attention to the bees.

She Pulls Back Her Hair (Figure Drawing)

This is the drawing I came across yesterday, a figure drawing that I made back in 1982. Yesterday I took a closeup of this drawing, and posted the here.  Although I don't usually post my figure drawings here, I decided to post this one, because I think it is one of my best.

She Pulls Back Her Hair (Closeup from Figure Drawing)

Today,  while I was trying to organize the studio at Porter Mill, I found a drawing that I hadn't seen in years. I was looking through old portfolios when I came across what I think may be one of my best figure drawings ever. It is dated 1982. At that point, I lived in Lawrence, Kansas, and was part of a group of artists who hired models and drew from life for three hours every weekend.  The group was called "Artists and Models," and we eventually had a show at the Lawrence Art Center. Over time, I learned a lot during that three-hour block every weekend, and my figure drawing really improved. Well, all those memories came back today when I saw this drawing.  I took some photos of the whole drawing to preserve it, and then also took this closeup to post here.

"Spring Green Mountains" at Galatea

Today I took this painting to Galatea today. It is going to be on display this month in the in the Artists Alcove.  I liked the way my painting looked on the wall, so I took a picture.