The Daily Spectrum - Gallery Wall Talks #37

   We're going to take a massive detour on today's work - unlike all the other Gallery Wall Talk blogs to date, this piece is not a painting. This sunflower print was carved out of a block of wood. The creation was part of an art class I was teaching while at the old A.D. Gray Middle School in Waldoboro Maine.

   The kids in the class were free to design anything they wished. I, being the forever lover of beauty as well as sunflowers, chose to proceed in that direction. The procedure was to draw out the design before we were allowed to cut the design, as there were only enough blocks for one attempt at this.

   I began carving from the center and worked my way out toward the edges. I discovered that I have a gentle hand when it comes to carving as I didn't make really deep grooves. I wish I could say the same for when I tried pottery...

Until next time,
The Happy Painter,
Jill

The Daily Spectrum - Gallery Wall Talks #36

   A few years ago when I lived in Thomaston Maine, I had a conversation with a friend of mine who purchased a large Victorian house on Main Street. Thomaston is still mostly a bedroom community with all its commercial properties on the east end of town. The original, historic downtown section still has a select number of businesses, all housed in brick buildings that were constructed and preserved from the 1800's.

   My friend relocated from California. In the general conversation, I asked what brought her and her family to Maine. She said she loved New England and coastal Maine in particular. She loved the old houses, whether sea captains houses or old farm homesteads. She loved the sense of history.

   Unfortunately, there aren't many actual working farms left in the midcoast Maine area. Primarily due to the expense of running such an operation, from animal and property upkeep to taxes, as well as other state and federal laws, make farming a venture not for the faint of heart.

   Today's painting is of a sheep farm that used to be in neighboring Cushing Maine. I captured the workings of it in its last year of operation. Like many farms before it, the owners were retiring, wanted to live closer to town, and no one wanted to take over the operation. All the livestock were sold, then the farmhouse was rented out. Approximately two years later, the property was sold. The house and out-buildings still stand, but much of the acreage has been sold off with the plan to build more plain-jane housing.

Until next time,
The Happy Painter,
Jill

The Daily Spectrum - Gallery Wall Talks #35

   Many of you know that I reside in coastal Maine. Most of the time, the weather can be pretty temporal, considering the state is part of northern New England, thanks to the help of the ocean that's just over a quarter-mile away from my home. Normally, the winters are less harsh, cold, and snowy than other parts of New England or even the Midwest, as well as cooler in the summer. This past winter was quite the test of character with a way-above average snowfall amount within a short span of time. As I write this, however, the snow is gone save for the snowbanks. Some people are saying they can't wait for summer, while others are predicting we will be complaining in two months about how hot it will be.

   Today's Wall Talk painting was actually an experiment performed in the heat of summer back in 2008 to elicit the "cool" feeling of winter. I remember working on it over the course of two days in early August when the temperatures soared into the upper 80's... and it was humid to boot. I kept the color scheme very simple as well as the design. Due to the humidity (and no air conditioning - we don't need it here in Maine), I didn't want the paint to take triple its normal drying time.

   This was another painting where the scene was mentally inspired - it didn't come from a picture I took the previous winter or from any other source. I painted the entire canvas blue, then added the white to represent snow. The only other colors were the green and brown for the tree.

   The finished piece measures 18"x24" on canvas and is in the procession of my oldest daughter. She too, liked the concept of a winter scene "cooling things off" during the heat of summer. This is despite the fact that my husband commented after the work was finished; "You know - we'll just be complaining how cold it will be four months from now..."

   Everybody's a comedian...

Until next time,
The Happy Painter,
Jill

 

The Daily Spectrum - Gallery Wall Talks #34

   This was one of those moments I wished I had my camera with me. Several years ago, I was on my way to work. The fog was lifting as the sun was rising as I drove down my usual route. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a quick glimpse of a red maple as I passed by it. I had a few minutes to spare, so I turned around to get a better view of it. I parked my car and took in as many details as I could - the colors of the tree as well as the surroundings. The way the sun lit the maple. How the fog still danced and blocked some of the details.

   Once the painting was finished, it was one of my favorites for quite some time. One particular aspect about the piece was the beauty of that moment as I remembered it. To this day, I call that painting my "drive-by tree"!

   The painting measures 16"x20" and was done on Masonite board. I sold the work to a woman who shared my passion for color and beauty. It's hard to believe it was sold almost three summers ago to help finance our trip south.

Until next time,
The Happy Painter,
Jill

The Daily Spectrum - Gallery Wall Talks #33

   Whomever came up with the expression, "Grace under pressure" should have their head examined. This is just my opinion, as I have close friends who absolutely revel in last minute deadlines or the occasional "pressure cooker" situation. I've never been one to frequently work in stress. However, the painting I'm blogging about today was created under pressure. I was teaching an oil painting class at an area high school and did a "live demonstration".

   I began with the sky, layering on colors until one-third of the canvas was covered. I then put in the reflection of the water. Next, I painted in the tree line as well as the shore. The rocks and outcropping followed with the egret being painted last.

   I will be honest - I do not like painting in front of people. So the fact that this painting came about in the first place means there is more to this story. My students came to this first class with whatever they had for supplies. The schools' secretary forgot to pass out the supply list when these people signed up. Mistakes happen - it was a slight oversight. "No big deal...", I thought. "I'll just do a demonstration. My students don't have the proper materials to work with and I don't have enough for everybody."

   As it turned out, it became a big deal. Multiple students dropped out and the class ended up getting cancelled. Did I intimidate people? Make things look too easy? What did I do wrong? When people were asked why they were not continuing the class, they pretty much all said, "I can't do this class. The instructor is great, but I can't paint like she did! She did an 18"x24" painting in under an hour! I'm not that good!"

Live and learn. I learned never to do another demonstration...

Until next time,
The Happy Painter,
Jill

The Daily Spectrum - Gallery Wall Talks #32

   The painting I'm writing about today is called... hold your breath... "Ocean". I hope I didn't keep you in suspense for too long! In all seriousness, when I painted this piece back in 2000, it was my first "large canvas" painting that was done 100% from my imagination. Many people who view the painting ask, "Where did you paint that?" I usually reply, "In my head... then in the studio."

   I did this painting in layers - I began with a dark blue sky, then filled in the moon, then added the swirls around the moon. The creative process was quite a bit like the movement of the ocean. The blue water went in horizontal wavy movements, same with the waves, as well as the moonlight.

   Ironically, this painting actually changes hues, especially the moon, depending on how the light hits it. It can even be the same type of light - be it natural or artificial. To this day, I'm unsure if it was the unique paint I used for a while during that year, or if it's just the way the painting "flows"...

Until next time,
The Happy Painter,
Jill

The Daily Spectrum - Gallery Wall Talks #31

  
   Remember in my last blog I touched briefly on something called "artist liberty"? In yesterday's post, I mentioned how I took liberty with the clouds in that painting to give the work, what I felt, was the right feel for the scene. Today's highlighted painting has quite a bit more of that liberty.

   I started with a snapshot of the Camden Hills that rise about 800 feet just west of the towns' harbor. I deleted all the buildings from the waterfront area. I was primarily after nature and all of her glory - including the wind in the sails of the boats.

   The original is in California with my dear friend Cindy. It was a going-away present several years ago as she was moving from mid-coast Maine to (at that time) the southern United States. Even though it was created 15 years ago, and I still see this same area frequently, the piece still has a soft place in my soul.

Until next time,
The Happy Painter,
Jill