plein air painting – Page 15 – Marianne Thompson

October 27th, 2013

October 27th, 2013
Boreas Sanctus Gallery and Studio
Studio 105
122 Western Avenue
Lowell, Massachusetts
01851

Although I did paint on Saturday, my mind and heart weren’t really in it, and my paintings always know when I’m insincere – and punish me by being ugly. I may try to fix it, but decided to spend today working to set up the gallery. It is looking great, and I hope that everyone will come on November 2nd, 2013 – any time between 12 – 5pm – to see me and my work in person. (Go up the wheelchair ramp on the left of the loading dock,* enter, walk straight ahead past the elevator, take a left down the ramp and walk a long way until you find #105 on the right!) There will be paintings for sale in all price ranges (some even under $100!) I really hope to see you there. And I look forward to November 3rd, when I can return my energy and focus to creating new things.

October 19th, 2013

Finished

October 19th, 2013
Cox Reservation, Essex MA
Oil on Canvas, 18 x 24 in

When I began this painting, the sky was bright blue and the sun was high – as a result, the bleached log was blue (as in the painting) from reflecting the sky. As the day wore on, the sky changed as did all the colors. I had the same struggle I keep having – I’m painting with the conscious intention of making it look fairly real, but I’ve chosen the scene because I love the rhythm I see in the design. You can’t serve two masters, as they say, and I keep getting torn between the literal and the ornamental – and making a mess. I was happy, though, taking this picture on site, that the color of the leaves (oak) is so well matched you can hardly tell where the painting ends and the ground begins. I’ve decided I may do 10 mins of work on it tomorrow, maximum. The worst thing I can do is overwork these things (see last week’s.)

NB- It is now Sunday, and I’ve decided to leave it as is. Yesterday David Curtis told me it was better than I thought, and that I should go home, get something to eat, get some sleep, and look at it again in the morning. I did, and I like it enough to not want to take the risk of “improving” it.

October 14th, 2013

October 14th, 2013 & Thereafter
Western Avenue Studios,
Lowell, Massachusetts

I don’t know if anyone has noticed that a lot of my paintings this year involved very little in the way of horizon, and a lot in the way of confusion, commotion, constrictiveness. Like I’m perennially trying to make sense of thousands of different elements crammed into a small, often enclosed space.

It’s all proof that there is no hiding what’s going on in one’s mind when one paints. I’ve been feeling increasingly captive, increasingly stuck – to a large degree, simply because I have had nowhere to paint (except outdoors) since I realized the basement has been making me sick. I’ve been very stressed out, every week adding to my collection of work that is building up in the attic, and predominately going unseen. Hence the overflowing tight spaces in my paintings.

However, I have terrific news! I now have a studio where I can both work and show. It’s in Lowell, MA – where the town motto is “Art is the handmaid of human good.” There are open studios the first Saturday of every month, and viewing can also be arranged by appointment. I feel liberated and very excited to get to work and show my work in my own space. I’m also expecting this revitalized attitude to impact and hopefully improve my work. I will be putting up a new “News & Events” page, with more details on where and when I’ll be showing shortly.

October 12th, 2013

October 12th, 2013
Sumac Attack
Cox Reservation, Essex, MA
Oil on Canvasboard, 16 x 20 in

This painting needs a little settling down, but I’m posting it as it stands for the time being. It was a dark, overcast day and the sumac was festive among the bare bushes it grew in. I was looking through the leaves and branches to a stone bench nestled within.

Fireweed

Fireweed
October 5th, 2013
Lake, Ipswich MA
Oil on Canvas, 18 x 24 in

I was driving to the usual place this morning, and came across this pond I’ve seen and wanted to paint many times. It was all lit up and aglow with fall, and I had to paint it. It was an overcast day which really gives the colors life, and I tried, as usual, to communicate my experience of that spectacular riot of color. Once I had the piece home to finish, away from the location of the scene (the canvas was fully covered, it was just a matter of finishing / settling) the focus was on balance of color, line and motion. This photo doesn’t do it justice, I will retake when the weather / light is better.

Sept 21st, 2013

Sept 21st, 2013
Cox Reservation, Essex Massachusetts
Oil on Canvas, 12 x 16 in
(sold)

This is a “before” picture – parts of the painting are ok, parts have to be fixed. It was a beautiful day out, hopefully in time the painting will be a better testament to the fact. Update – Added a bit of vegetation in the foreground I had missed initially. It helps temper the color of the water which was accurate but seemed unlikely when the violet tone (a result of the clouds directly above which are invisible in the painting) was the dominant note.

September 15th, 2013

I decided at least momentarily to leave both versions up – though I’m surprised after a morning of retooling how similar the two photos look. Certainly need to take a new photo of the new version, as it was taken in full sun which makes glare a problem in the mid-ground. I realized while I was painting that my problem yesterday was a case of not being able to see the trees for the forest. I was so dazzled by the harmony of various facets of the landscape that I wasn’t able to focus well enough on the parts to reproduce the whole I was seeing. In the finished painting, as a compromise, I decided to focus on the impression individual players made on the whole.

September 14th, 2013

September 14th, 2013
Cox Reservation, Essex Greenbelt, Essex MA
Oil on Canvas, 20 x 24 in

This is a long way from done, but I am posting it as it stands right now because I left the field today just teeming with shame and frustration, I thought the painting was so horrible that I couldn’t do anything but race to my car and try to drive away and forget. I took its picture (in a dark driveway, so don’t take the colours and light too literally) as a sort of punishment to myself, so I could look at it all night on my phone and brood about my failure. But when I looked at it on my phone, prepared for the weeping and gnashing of teeth these things generally warrant, I just thought “Oh. Huh. Well, that’s actually a little pretty. Maybe I overreacted.” There is still plenty I can see to improve. But it’s nice to be free of some of the drama I had bound myself in.

September 7th, 2013

September 7th, 2013
Cox Reservation, Essex Greenbelt, Essex MA
Oil on Canvasboard, 16 x 20 in

This painting is a testament to how comfortable I can be with chaos. I believe that ultimately order will emerge, and in the meantime, I’m content to sit within the friction between tones. There’s a rhythm to this painting. I was looking into a tangle of vines, there was a stunning cluster of glowing red leaves. The sun filtering into the bush resulted in some pretty incredible jewel tones. It’s the surprise of that incredible glow that struck me, and I think that’s why I’m not interested in making that firey centre look more literal. I captured the surprise. I captured what happens when I look into a tangle of such beauty as this – the devolution of form to the intrusion of glorious light. I have yet to get a really good photo of it, I’ll keep trying and update.

NB – Just added this to “Matching Scene to Painting”

September 3rd, 2013

September 3rd, 2013
Cox Reservation, Essex Greenbelt, Essex MA
Oil on Canvas, 12 x 16 in
(sold)

My spot this time was predicated on the painting that was being done of me as I painted. The colors at the marsh this time of year are surreal, and lovely.