"Assateague Island Sunset" (oil on linen panel, 8" x 10")

 

"Assateague Island Sunset" (oil, 8" x 10")

 

Assateague Island in the Eastern Shore of Virginia and Maryland is famous for its wild ponies. My family and I went there twice this summer for two short vacations. You can tell we love the place. We usually stay at Chincoteague, a small, less-touristy place than let's say Ocean City or Mytle Beach. 

There are beaches and salt marshes, of course, but Accomack County, Va, where the city is located, itself is a gem which makes you feel like you are thrown back seventy years with quaint towns and tiny islands to explore. We will be going back and I have already painted this lovely area quite a few times and more paintings are coming up.

In this image there were no ponies although they usually graze in this patch. After an overcast and rainy day, the exquisite sunset and its golden hues permeating the marshy landscape took our breath away! 

 

"Queen Anne's Lace Country" (watercolor on paper, 12" x 9") sold

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While driving along the St Croix River in Minnesota a few years ago, we saw this lovely view of the summer country dotted with delicate and elegant Queen Anne's Lace. My job was to recreate the sensation in watercolor. Do you think I succeeded?

"Elizabeth at the Lake" (oil on linen; 11" x 14") sold

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The boyfriend of Elizabeth commissioned me to paint this painting of a figure in landscape as her birthday gift.  The peaceful setting is Emerald Bay, near South Lake Tahoe, CA.  One thing the couple were not able to do for their idyllic vacation was bring her dog Slick, which she would have loved. Tommy asked me to paint Slick, an English springer spaniel, into the picture with her.  How can I say no to such a sweet request?

"Summer Marina" (oil on stretched canvas; 12" x 16") sold

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The original state

Lately I have been busy reworking old paintings, trusting that I have become better and can spot and improve troubled aspects of unsatisfactory paintings. "Summer Marina" is one such example.  I never liked the chalkiness of the background trees, although I was happy with the composition of the colorful boats and their sails all grouped together and sandwiched between the dark shapes of the trees and reflections.  So I tackled the background chalkiness and, at the same time, jazzed up the water and boats with dots.  How do you like the new and improved painting?

"Scarlet Heaven" (oil on stretched canvas; 24" x 18")

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I started "Scarlet Heaven" before my medical crises in late October and have been working on it on and off.  Happily, it is finally finished!  Can you believe I saw this incredible field of scarlet poppies, stretching for miles, in an island off southeast Sweden?  It was one of the happiest days of my life.  I hope there will be in 2016 many happy days like the day on which I walked with my daughter in the poppy fields in the Swedish sun.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

"Lavender Harmony" (oil on linen; 12" x 12") sold

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On a hot summer day, stand in the middle of shimmering purple lavender fields. You will feel heady in a perfumed air.  Speaking of summer, the entire East Coast is experiencing an unseasonably warm weather--in the 60's and 70's.  With the mild temperature and humidity, it feels like Kauai!  A white Christmas is out of the question; there is instead a flash flood warning.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! 

"Shady Cove" (watercolor; matted, 12" x 10") sold

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I thought I would play around with watercolors for a change of pace, starting with this small landscape.  It depicts a lovely shady cove along the Potomac River.

"Glorious Poppies" (oil on stretched canvas; 12" x 12")

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We had an afternoon to kill during our Scandinavian vacation, so we decided to drive around Oland ("o" with an umlaut), a big island off the southeast coast of Sweden.  Rick Steves's guide book said that Oland with its mild weather was considered the "Provence of Sweden".  Even so, when I first saw the poppy fields, I couldn't believe my eyes.  Poppy fields in Sweden?

My daughter and I got out of the car to find out what was going on.  Poppies were growing amid wheat for miles. We tried to walk the miles until we got tired.  When we asked around later, nobody seemed to know why. Most people seemed to think that poppies were just growing wild.  I believe they were planted alongside wheat.  For whatever reason, the poppy fields of Oland made my day!

You can see how happy I was!

"Swedish Sunset" (oil on linen; 11" x 14") nfs

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The day after my daughter's fainting, she had recovered enough to go to visit my husband's fifth cousin on the Stockholm Archipelago.  After a long day of trains, ferries, and car rides, we came home for a feast to remember, prepared by Hans's sister and brother-in-law.  The dinner started about 7:30 and went on until midnight. 

The sun set around 10:30, with the sky of the ever-changing, spectacular colors of gold, pink, mauve, and blues.  The family started playing a "Viking" game of throwing sticks.  I was more interested in watching the sky, trying to remember the night for this painting I had in mind for Hans.

My family were privileged to be invited to this intimate family gathering.  We were in Sweden, not as strangers, but as family and friends.  We were neither tourists nor outsiders.  We were home, thanks to Dr. Hans Andersson.  I am grateful for his warm hospitality.

Annakaren on the far right and her husband who is at the grill.

Hans, on the far right, is the patriarch of the family.

The rest of Hans's family and my husband and daughter (to the left).

"Lupine Fields of Prince Edward Island" (oil on linen; 12" x 12") sold

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Imagine coming upon a meadow filled with lupines like this in early summer.  It could be Prince Edward Island or Maine. Wow!

" Covered Bridge of Yesteryear" (oil on linen; 10" x 8")

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I saw this charming bridge somewhere in New Brunswick, Canada.  After trying many shots, I finally found a perfect angle when I crouched down.  The field of white daisies, purple clovers, and other wildflowers, taking up two-thirds of the frame, sweeps up to the bridge!

The transparent underpainting done.

I started building up the opaque layers and foreground wildflowers.

"Queen Anne's Lace by the Lake" (oil on linen; 10" x 8") sold

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I saw Queen Anne's lace, my favorite wildflower, everywhere I visited during my recent vacation.  Of course, I had to paint it!  Here we go--gentle Queen Anne's Lace blooming by a silvery lake.  How do you like the painting?

"Dupont Circle Fountain" (oil on linen; 8" x 10") sold

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I have a good friend, a fellow artist who happens to be a purist.  She only paints from life, whether she is painting a landscape, figure, or still life.  She went to the famous Iwo Jima Memorial in Arlington, VA to work on a 16" x 20" painting seven times!  It is indeed a marvelous painting.  I joined her only once and whipped out a painting in one session.  Both paintings got juried into the same show at the Art League Gallery in Alexandria, VA.  How about that!

Anyhow, this friend suggested that we should paint the Dupont Circle Fountain in Washington, DC on location.  This well-known local landmark happens to be at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue, Connecticut Avenue, New Hampshire Avenue, P Street, and 19th Street.  Imagine the noise, not alone the crowd and possibly heat and wind as well!  I ain't a purist.  I said no, took some pictures, and painted "Dupont Circle Fountain" in the comforts of my studio.  Am I bad?

"Country Morning" (oil on linen; 10" x 8") sold

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One summer day last year, during a plein-air painting workshop in Fairfield, PA, I was up early to start painting.  I arrived at Willow Pond Farm, where the workshop took place.  It was going to be another hot day.  With morning dews in the grass, all was still fresh and filled with hope.  I looked up as I was walking by the 200-year-old stone farmhouse.  This scene filled my vision. I was momentarily transported to heaven.

If you send me your pictures to kimstenbergart@gmail.com, I may make paintings out of them.  How fun is that!  At the end of September, I will do a drawing and one lucky person wins a free painting.  You can buy the painting anytime, but there is no obligation.  Thanks!

Today is Day Nine of Leslie Saeta's 30 in 30 Challenge.  21 more paintings to go!

"Red Boat" (watercolor on Yupo; 8" x 8") sold

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The scene depicts a small charming marina at Luce Creek in Annapolis, MD.  The red boat sings in this green, blue, and purple landscape, doesn't it?  Its actual color was dark blue!  I had a lot of trouble with this painting.  I wiped out and repainted the sky and water.  Still something bothered me.  But I liked the middle section with the boats so much that I couldn't give up.  So I redid the water one more time.  More disappointment.

I was about to toss it into the waste basket, because one cannot mess with a painting forever.  Suddenly a light bulb went off.  Why not crop it and get rid of the offending bottom portion?  I am raising the attitude of "Never give up, never surrender" to an art form!

Reference photo

"Fountain at the National Gallery of Art" (oil on linen; 9" x 12") sold

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Monday last week was my daughter's 15th birthday.  She wanted to do some water sports like kayaking or white water rafting to celebrate it.  But her dad was swamped with work.  So, instead, she suggested that she and I should go to look at Renaissance paintings at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.  What?  This is the girl who used to be bored to death with the world-famous art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City a few years ago?  I was glad to oblige her request.

Outside the world-class museum on The Mall, which is also free for all to enjoy, I saw a marble fountain transformed into an enchanted fountain by dappled light.  If I hadn't told you where I found it, you could have easily believed it was somewhere in Europe! My daughter and I had a wonderful afternoon together that day.  I also got a beautiful painting out of our date.

"Blue Canoe" (oil on linen; 8" x 8") sold

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I have a soft spot for dappled light.  Almost any subject looks mysterious and enchanting in dappled light.  Not everything is exposed to the full glare of the sun. Light bounces and shimmers.  Things in the background are bound to be in deep shadow.

Look at this ordinary summer scene.  It was a weekday last week.  A friend of mine and I took a walk through the woods to Luce Creek in Annapolis, MD to see boats.  On the way, a blue canoe, resting with kayaks on a canoe stand, stopped us in our tracks. Dappled light turned the scene into a setting for a fairy tale!

"Sail Away" (oil on linen; 8" x 8") sold

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Reference photo of the sail boat

Fishing Creek

Last Thursday, an artist friend of mine and I went to Annapolis, MD for a day of sketching.  The weather could not have been better--sunny, low humidity, and in the mid-70's!  We visited several sites for my friend's future workshop, had a nice lunch, and did a sketch or two at a park.  At the end of the day, we visited Thomas Point Park, from which one can get a nice view of the Bay Bridge.

On the way to the car, we saw a sail boat returning for the day. I was dying to paint a scene like this, but the background of the reference photo lacked poetry.  So I superimposed the image on another picture of the same place, Fishing Creek, just a few minutes' walk from the first location.  I changed the time of the day to a sunset too. How do you like my artistic license?

"Lavender Patch by the Barn" (oil on linen; 9" x 12")

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"Lavender Patch by the Barn" was painted last summer during the plein-air painting workshop with Bobbi Pratte at Fairfield, PA. It had been an exceptionally hot spring AND hot summer last year.  Regardless of the sweltering heat at the lavender fields of Willow Pond Farm, we painted away, sweating profusely.

After the morning session and a nice luncheon buffet, the workshop participants were supposed to rest and take a siesta.  Did I?  Of course not.  I noticed a lavender patch by the barn glowing in the afternoon sun.  I sat down under a big tree and painted the scene.  I worked on it in my studio later in the summer to the current glory.  I am quite pleased with this painting, and that is why I am sharing it again for Leslie's challenge.

Anyhow, when the class met for the late afternoon session, I was pooped out.  Did I rest?  What do you think?  I painted again!  In two days, I produced five paintings all together, breaking the class record.  Here is what I learned from my experience.  DON'T OVERDO IT!  I was so burned out that I didn't go out to paint again for the rest of the year.

"Lavender Fields on a Summer Afternoon" (oil on linen; 8" x 10") sold



"Lavender Fields on a Summer Afternoon" (after)
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"Lavender Fields on a Summer Afternoon" (before)

The scenery captured in "Lavender Fields on a Summer Afternoon"

"Fair Lavender Fields" (oil, 11" x 14"; after)

"Fair Lavender Fields" (before)

The scenery for "Fair Lavender Fields"

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you may remember my experience during the lavender workshop with Bobbi Pratte in June.  Well, it's been a month and a half since the unforgettable workshop and I have completely recovered from painting six paintings in two days!  I felt up to revisiting these paintings to see what I could do to make them sing.

Although nothing beats the freshness of alla-prima paintings done on location, the truth is that they are not always the best work an artist is capable of.  There is so much pressure--heat, bugs, fatigue, limited time, etc.--that if you capture the essence of the scene, you should give yourself a pat on the shoulder and do a little victory dance. 

I uploaded the photos of the sceneries I captured in the paintings above to show you how I edited things while painting on site.  I didn't just slavishly copy what was in front of me, did I?  So much thinking goes on while painting that one feels exhausted just for the brain exercise!

Now, back in my air-conditioned studio, no longer sweating like a pig and about to pass out of heat exhaustion, and instead in full control of my faculties, I could clearly see what was working and what could be improved.  I didn't change much of the composition in either painting.  But colors are richer and there are lots and lots of texture!  Both paintings now sing LAVENDER, don't they?

By the way, painting lavender fields of Pennsylvania got me thinking.  Why not go to Provence and paint acres and acres of lavender fields?  Why not?  Or, as the French say, pourquoi pas?