The Newport Paintings: Part II

This one I painted during the day. Again, this landscape painting features Newport Harbor, and is 5 x 7" done in oil on canvas board. This is another view from where I stayed looking to the bridge and Goat Island. The U.S. Naval War College is on the other side of the bridge. I would sleep with my windows cracked, although it was cool at night. This way I could hear them play the National Anthem at dawn, and Taps at night. I did not mind waking up so early. It was beautiful the way the water was so deserted that the sound carried over the Harbor. I chose analogous shades of green and blue to represent the brightness and crispness of the day in Newport.

Check back on Monday for my third painting in this series.

The Newport Paintings: Part I

Here is the first of the 3 landscape paintings I painted entirely en plein air while I was in Newport, Rhode Island a few weeks ago. This one is an Impressionist 5 x 7" small oil painting on canvas board. In all three, I featured Newport Harbor as my subject, as we were staying right on the edge of it, and it was quite comfortable to sit outside and paint these small ones.

This painting was done at dusk on my first day in Newport. I felt relaxed, but filled with anticipation as I thought of all the beauty I would be sure to see in the next week. The sun slid behind the other side of the harbor, turning the sky orange, and lit up the harbor water until it turned a very light yellow. The homes across the way at Goat Island are deserted until the season begins. A lone sailboat is docked in the harbor, waiting patiently for its owner to come back as the day slips away with the sun.

Check back tomorrow for my next painting in the Newport series.

New Painting: Semi-Abstract Landscape of Sunset

Here is what I've been working on this past week. This oil painting is yet another view of the Newark, Delaware Reservoir. It is 18 x 24 inches on stretched canvas, part of the series I am currently working on every day.


I chose Cadmium Red and Alizarin Crimson to be the stars of this painting. It seems like the brighter springtime weather in DC calls for a brighter color palette.

This painting was giving me a lot of trouble at first. I wanted to try something new and it just did not satisfy the painting in my head, so I left it when I went to Newport and returned to it when I got home. Now I am very happy with the result because it incorporates how I am feeling now and how the Delaware landscape made an impact on me 4 years ago when I took these reference photographs.

Beautiful Landscape: Cherry Blossoms in Washington DC

I took the Metro in and spent Saturday at the Tidal Basin in Washington DC, for the first day of the 98th Annual National Cherry Blossom Festival. Every year I go and it is more beautiful (and a lot colder) than I remember from previous years. I don't spend enough time appreciating the landscape of DC, so this is always a great opportunity to take a look around and appreciate the beauty all around me. I think I walked about 5 miles all over the city. Every time I go I get a renewed sense of pride in being from the DC area. It really is a nice city, but I believe it is under appreciated. While I love to travel and adore all the different landscapes that make up America, I do love home.

Here are some more photographs I shot for inspiration, maybe even for future semi-abstracted landscape paintings:

WIP Update: Metro Landscape Painting

I worked some more on this painting, changing around the lines a little and adding more dimension to the radiating circles.

I also started another painting, which I will post about tomorrow.

Now on Exhibition: Landscapes/Dreamscapes of the Delmarva Peninsula

Here is my painting from the last post, "Dreamscape- View of the Newark Reservoir" on exhibition at the Newark Arts Alliance:

The Artist's Reception on Friday went well.  I loved meeting the other artists and seeing different depictions of the beautiful landscape that makes up our wonderful Mid-Atlantic region of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia.  My painting is at the end of one wall in the gallery's exhibition space:

If you are in the Newark, Delaware area at all this month, I would recommend you come see the exhibition, especially if you are partial to landscapes as I am.

New Painting: Dreamscape- View of the Newark Reservoir

I finished this painting last Friday, the emotive landscape/dreamscape painting of the Newark Reservoir in Newark, Delaware:

My brush took me somewhere special.  I just kept painting and painting wherever I felt was right at the time.  I sketch for general composition, but not for details, so I did not really plan where I was going.  I am really satisfied with how it turned out.  To me, it was about depicting the emotional response I have to the landscape in the paint.  The saturated colors and exaggerated lines reflect how I view the landscape.  Even though it is abstracted and exaggerated, to me it looks realistic of the landscape as I know it.  Again, it is in oil on 24 x 36" canvas.

This painting is now on exhibition at the Newark Arts Alliance in Newark, Delaware.  It is part of the open juried show, "Landscapes/Dreamscapes of the Delmarva Peninsula" and is on exhibition until May 30th.  Come stop by to see it!  It's a great exhibition full of beautiful landscapes.

Idea: Using Cadmium Red For Vibrancy In Any Painting

I listened to this podcast, Views from Santa Flamingo (now Aisling D'Art) while I was working on my painting yesterday.  The name of the episode was "Little Things in Art and Life", which you can find here.  In the podcast she suggests using a tiny dot of Cadmium Red/Chinese Red in every painting to add a little spark to your paint, helping the eye to move all around the painting.  I tried it when I was mixing the sky color and the peach sunset color.  I think it did make a difference.  What do you think?

Aisling tells in another one of her podcast episodes that Claude Monet used to do his underpaintings in this color, to give each painting a vibrancy.  I usually do my underpainting in Cerulean Blue or Ultramarine, but I think I will try the Cadmium Red next time.  I hope you enjoyed this link, and stay tuned for an update on the painting.

WIP Update: Newark Landscape Painting

Thank you all for the wonderful comments!  While I think I am pretty positive about my work, as I am an eternal optimist, these comments certainly encourage me to continue producing work and uploading pictures.  For that I thank you!  

Here is an update on one of my WIPs (Works in Progress).  I worked on the upper half today, trying to get the sky done first while the oil paint is still dry.  I definitely want the paint to create a mood of awe.  I am trying to create a smoothness and fluidity throughout the composition, introducing more and more colors, and mirroring the landscape below in the cloud formations.  I wonder where this dreamy landscape will take my brush next.

New WIP (Work In Progress): Newark Landscape Painting

I just started another one today, so now I have several paintings in progress.  It will be an "emotive landscape" of Newark, Delaware.  The Newark reservoir will be a little sliver in the background.  It is an oil painting on 24 x 36" canvas.  I would love any feedback.  Right now I'm just trying to put down main colors and tweaking the composition as I see it in my sketchbook.

New Painting: Edvard Munch-Inspired Self-Portrait

Here is one of the 3 self-portraits I completed this weekend.  They are all 9 x 12" oil paintings, inspired by a famous artist.  This one is inspired by Edvard Munch, specifically, his painting, The Voice.  I used Munch's painting and changed the landscape to one that has significance for me, Old Lyme, Connecticut, with views of the Long Island Sound.  

My Self-Portrait:

Inspiration: Edvard Munch's The Voice

I like Munch's style, how he makes his figures look like skeletons, and the way the landscape is Expressionistic and dreamy.  Using this one for my self-portrait was a choice so that I could show the intuitive-side of my personality, using the landscape from my memories.  This landscape is a place I retreat to in my mind to ground me.  Those nights spent walking alone on the beach are some of my most contemplative and relaxing moments.  Also, the figure resembles the character I once was in a play, another strong part of my memory.  This was definitely an interesting project to undertake.  I like the smaller-format of these paintings because it was easier to work on in small spurts of time.