Going to new home: Near Snowmass (Acrylic Mixed Media Painting)

I based this mixed media painting on a photo taken during a family trip back to Colorado, my home state.  Yesterday I learned that this painting has been sold.  Today I had it packed up and sent off to its new owner and its new home.

Walter J. Manninen Center for the Arts

This morning I took a ride up to Endicott College to drop off a painting for an upcoming art show.  The campus is quite beautiful, so I decided to take a walk.  I took a lot of pictures, starting with this building, where the art show is going to be.

Two Pink Peonies at Long Hill

Here's another photo from last Sunday's outing to Long Hill for tea and a walk.  Lots of things were in bloom.  I took this photo of two enormous peonies. Tonight I cropped the original image and did some basic retouching in iPhoto.  

Peonies Near the Gate

This is from last Sunday's outing: belated Mother's Day tea and walk at Longhill Gardens.  The peonies were amazing, and I liked how this lineup looked near the gate, so I took this picture.  Today I edited the original to get this composition.

Early Mother's Day Bouquet 2023

On Wednesday, I received this beautiful bouquet, an early present for Mother's Day.  Of course I took a picture!

Two Paintings in Porter Mill Artists Show

Here are two of my paintings, currently on display in the Porter Mill Artist Show.  The show opened last week during Open Studios, but will be up for a while, in the lobby -- convenient for taking a quick look, perhaps on the way to grab a beer at "Coastal Mass Brewing," also in Porter Mill. The paintings are "Layers of Green" (top) and "Sun on Dark Green Mountain".  Both are acrylic watermedia, 16 x 20 on Aquaboard.

Rosa (Codfish Project)

This is Rosa, the wooden codfish that I decorated for the Cod Auction, to benefit Marblehead Festival of Art.* This year, I decorated my codfish with "rosa rugosa" (aka beach roses) peeking through white lattice.  Late last week I finished up, attached the hanging hardware, and put her up on the wall to see how she would look.  This is the last photo of Rosa before I drove to Marblehead to delivery her.  I have become quite fond of Rosa and am sorry to say goodbye but she will soon have a professional photo and her own web page for the auction.  Hope she will find a good home! 

*(Every year, area artists are invited to decorate a codfish. These creations are displayed in Marblehead and then auctioned (on-line so people can bid from anywhere.)

Rosa (Codfish Project) finishing up

Here is Rosa, my decorated codfish, as she looks today. This is for the Codfish Auction, wherein area artists decorate wooden codfish cutouts which are auctioned off to benefit Marblehead Festival of Art.  I have participated for a few years now, and it is lots of fun.  Although the decorated codfish are displayed in Marblehead, the auction is online so people are able to see all the entries and bid from anywhere.  This year, I decorated my fish with pink beach roses peeking through white lattice.  Those lovely roses that grow near area beaches have a scientific name: rosa rugosa, which why I decided to name my fish Rosa. I am ready to say that this is finished.  I added an extra rosebud to balance the composition, and then repainted everything, especially the rosebuds, and the design is completed.  I have painted the sides and the back.  Still to do: apply a coat of transparent matte medium to seal this, sign this (on the back), and attach the hardware for hanging. Then she will be ready for the trip to Marblehead next weekend.

Rosa (Codfish Project) as of April 25, 2023

Here is Rosa as she looks today, still a work in progress.  'Rosa' is the title of the wooden codfish cutout that I am decorating for the annual Cod Auction to benefit Marblehead Festival of Arts.  I named her Rosa because I am decorating her with beach roses (also called rosa ragusa).  When I last posted, three days ago, I said I was going to just fix mistakes, do some cleanup, and then post a picture when I was ready to deliver Rosa to Marblehead.  But after I worked on this today, I decided Rosa looked sufficiently different to warrant a post.  I have painted over the primer, and the titanium white brightens things up.  I have also been working on some of the lines.  And today, I repainted the flowers, which now are a bit deeper pink.  Still more cleanup to go, so consider this a progress report. 

Rosa (Codfish Project) as of April 22, 2023

I had a chance to work on this project this afternoon. I am creating this codfish for the annual Cod Auction to benefit Marblehead Festival of Arts. Each year, area artists decorate wooden codfish, which are then displayed in Marblehead and auctioned on line. (People can bid from anywhere.)  This year, my codfish is decorated with beach roses on a white lattice.  Beach roses are also called rosa rugosa, so I decided to name my fish Rosa.  Today I added the blue background in the squares (as well as blue outline and Rosa's blue eye).  This is the final design as I planned it, but the white areas are still just primer and need to be painted with titanium white.  And there is a lot of cleanup to do and tiny changes to make so that Rosa will look her best. When all of that is done, I will post a picture before I deliver Rosa to Marblehead.

Rosa (Codfish Project) as of April 21, 2023

I worked on this project this afternoon.  I am decorating this wooden codfish for the annual Cod Auction, to benefit Marblehead Festival of Art. All the artists begin with the same wooden form. The decorated codfish are displayed in Marblehead and then auctioned online.  This year, my fish is named Rosa, because I am decorating her with beach roses (rosa rugosa)  on a white lattice. Today my focus was painting the pink flowers.  To be continued. . .

Rosa (Codfish Project) as of April 20, 2023

Here is Rosa, my codfish project, as she looks today.  This year, Rosa will be my donation to the annual Cod Auction to benefit Marblehead Festival of Arts.  (Area artists are given wooden codfish cutouts to decorate so they can be displayed in Marblehead and auctioned online.)  Rosa is going to be decorated with white lattice and beach roses (also called rosa rugosa).  Today I finally began adding paint, starting with yellow centers of the flowers and the green leaves.  I am using acrylic paint and teeny-tiny brushes.  The white area is still just primer, which will be covered with a couple of coats of titanium white. I am happy with the way the pattern is turning out.  Over the past few years, I have learned that when you decorate a codfish, you have to adjust your pattern to accommodate the shape of the fish..  This year I did that by substituting rosebuds for roses in the smaller areas.

Rosa (Codfish Project) as of April 19, 2023

Here is Rosa, my decorated wooden codfish, as she looks tonight.  I am doing this for the annual Cod Auction, to benefit Marblehead Festival of Art. Some 50 area artists are given codfish cutouts to decorate; they are displayed in Marblehead and then auctioned off online to benefit Marblehead Festival of Art.  I named my fish Rosa because I am decorating her with lattice and "beach roses", also known as "rosa rugosa".  Tonight I started outlining the design with Sharpie pens. As I added the ink, I made changes, mostly simplifying the leaves so that everything would fit. You can see some of what I changed  because a lot of the pencil marks remain, but they will be covered up as I add paint. (The white background is just primer.)  I am already quite fond of Rosa, and I hope she will find a good home. . .

Magnolias Waiting for Spring

When took this photo (April 18th),  it was still cold, but the magnolias were having a hard time waiting for spring.  So was I.

Rosa (Codfish Project) as of April 18, 2023

I worked on this project today.  I am decorating a wooden codfish for the Marblehead Festival of Arts Cod Auction.  Participating artists are given a wooden codfish "blank" to decorate, and the decorated codfish are displayed in Marblehead, and then auctioned (online).  This year, I am decorating my fish with lattice and beach roses. The scientific name for the "beach rose" is rosa rugosa, so I have named my fish Rosa.  Yesterday I drew lines for the lattice on the wooden form, working from the cardboard pattern I had created.  Today I drew on the wooden form again, working out the placement of the flowers, drawing freehand but following the sketch I made yesterday on paper. This meant drawing on a gessoed surface with pencil. That can get messy so I was hoping not to have to make many changes, but while I was working, I decided modify my plan for the smaller areas. Although I could make the flowers fit, as planned, in some of the smaller spaces, I wanted it to be less crowded to enough of the background color would show through.  So for many of the smaller areas, I replaced a blossom with a rose-bud with just two leaves. That decision--plus several just plain mistakes--has left me with more erasing than I hoped for, which is annoying but worth it because I like the way the pattern is turning out. Anyway, the extra marks won't show after I apply color. I am getting excited to see how Rosa will look. . . To be continued.

Rosa (Codfish Project) as of April 17, 2023

This is the wooden codfish cutout that I am decorating for the Cod Auction, to benefit Marblehead Festival of Art. Some 50 area artists decorate a codfish, to be displayed and then auctioned online. (People can bid from anywhere. . .) This year, I am decorating my codfish with white lattice and the beach roses that grow near the water around here.  The scientific name for the beach rose is "rosa rugosa", so I named my fish Rosa. I have been priming my wooden cutout and meanwhile working out my design on paper and cardboard.  But today was the first day I actually began drawing the design onto the wooden cutout.  I drew in the lattice, working from the cardboard pattern I made. I measured carefully and made delicate lines in case I need to make changes.  Now I think the lines are all in the right place and I am eager to see what Rosa will look like. . .  

Rosa (Another Pencil Sketch of Pattern)

This is a very rough sketch of a pattern I am working on. These are beach roses (rosa rugosa) on a lattice, and I am going to use this design to decorate a wooden codfish cutout. This is for the annual Codfish Auction to benefit Marblehead Festival of Art. I name my fish every year, and this year's fish is called "Rosa".  I had already developed the pattern, and yesterday posted a version of four of the squares in color.  But because I already have laid out the lattice pattern on a piece of cardboard, I know that there will be many irregular shapes to fill with flowers.  So I decided to do a second sketch to get some ideas for placement in those irregular shapes. (It's much easier to work things out on paper as a dress rehearsal, because it is much harder to fix mistakes on the final project.)  Some of the shapes are going to be small triangles, and I decided that for the smallest shapes, I will use a bud instead of the open flower. Despite the rough state of the sketch, I feel more confident having done it.  

 

Rosa (Color Sketch for Pattern)

This is a color sketch of the pattern I plan to use for Rosa, the wooden codfish I am decorating for the annual Cod Auction, to benefit Marblehead Festival of Arts. Wooden codfish decorated by some 50 artists will be displayed and then auctioned off.  (The auction is on line, and people can bid from anywhere.) This year my fish will be decorated with white lattice and beach roses, the bright flowers that grow near area beaches. The scientific name for these flowers is rosa rugosa, hence the name of my fish. I am getting ready to paint the wooden form, but before I do, I need to work out the pattern.  I had already traced the form onto cardboard and worked out the layout of the lattice.  Then I made a rough pencil sketch on paper of the flowers, to scale.  Yesterday, I modified that sketch and then added color with Sharpie pens.  In my sketch, I changed the leaves, putting three per stem.  Although I wanted really wanted 5 leaves on each stem, which would be botanically accurate, but too crowded.  I decided on a blue background for the flowers and am happy with the color scheme. 

Rosa (Rough Sketch for a Pattern)

Once again, I am decorating a wooden codfish for the annual Cod Auction, to benefit Marblehead Festival of Arts. Some 50 artists participate, and everyone starts with a 'standard' wooden cutout.  The decorated codfish are displayed and then auctioned off in June. (The auction is online and people can bid from anywhere.)  This year, I am decorating my fish with lattice and "beach roses" (scientific name: rosa rugosa). So naturally, I have named my fish Rosa. I am still applying primer to the wooden codfish form, but yesterday I traced  the form onto a big piece of cardboard to lay out the design.  (See yesterday's post.)  Today, I worked out the design for the flowers.  I drew some lattice to scale on a piece of paper, using the dimensions worked out yesterday on the cardboard sketch.  Then I worked out the design and placement of the flowers. The design is simple, but the placement is a bit different in each of the four squares. Although the sketch is rough, it will work well for my purposes. 

Rosa (Pencil Sketch on Cardboard), April 12, 2023

I have started applying gesso (primer) to the wooden codfish form that I am decorating for this year's Codfish Auction.* But before applying the next coat of gesso, today I traced the wooden form onto a big piece of cardboard so I could lay out the design. This year, my fish will be decorated with "beach roses" on lattice. Since "rosa rugosa" is the scientific name for the roses that grow near the beaches around here, I have named my codfish Rosa. Today, while the gesso was drying on the wooden form,  I spent an hour with cardboard pattern, pencil, ruler, and eraser to lay out the placement of the lattice. Here is how it looks so far.

*(Some 50 artists decorate a wooden codfish form; the decorated codfish are auctioned to benefit Marblehead Festival of Arts).