"Spring Creek" (oil on linen; 12" x 12")

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"Spring Creek" half finished

Reference photo

Last Friday was the last day of Gregory Packard's workshop.  I was sneezing, headachy, and burning up with fever.  Besides, I had a two-hour drive back home on I-95 to deal with.  I could have skipped the last session, but you know me better.  I pulled out a photo of Holmes Run running through Green Spring Gardens Park in Alexandria, VA. Using the same palette as the day before, I painted "Spring Creek" quickly.  The grays have become a lot subtler in five days.  Even without darks and brights, the painting looked luminous.  Greg told me several times not to overwork the painting.

But Greg lives in Colorado and I am on my own now.  Ultimately, I am the one who has to live with the painting.  It looked chalky and unfinished.  So I got to work.  Please don't tell me I ruined it!

What did I learn in Greg's workshop?  I learned a lot about color harmony.  The whole point of mixing piles of grays with a limited palette is to ensure that all the colors in the painting are related to each other.  The predominance of grays--muted, grayed down colors--allows the bright colors to sing.  I am finally beginning to understand what Kevin Macpherson says in his two books.

During the workshop, I also experienced the southern hospitality firsthand.  After the plein-air painting session last Thursday, I was packing up to head back to the hotel.  A local artist whom I met a couple of days ago asked me if I would like to come to her house for a drink.  Of course!  After a nice cold beer on her deck, she asked me to stay for dinner.  After a delicious dinner her husband had prepared, she suggested a walk in the neighborhood park.  Wow.  I made a good friend that day.

The workshop organizers of the Richmond Art Workshops too went out of their way to make the workshop experience memorable.  After the Wednesday sessions, they took us to Laraze Gallery in Charles City, VA, about 45 minutes from Bon Air, VA.  This premier, privately-owned, gallery offers a breath-taking view of the James River.  Once you step inside, you are whisked away to the world of the Russian/Soviet Impressionist art.  You know what?  We were amazed to see how many paintings were made beautiful by the wondrous grays.

The view of the James River from the grounds of the Wurdeman family estate

Kathy Wurdeman on the right greeting us in the main level of Lazare Gallery

The upper level of Lazare Gallery

"Azalea Woods" (oil on linen; 8" x 10") sold; "Iris Shadows" (oil on linen; 14" x 11") sold

sold

On the second day of Gregory Packard's workshop, Greg didn't do any demo.  What to do?  I did have some photos, but couldn't resist the fresh irises, azaleas, and many other flowers that some local workshop participants kindly brought from their gardens.  So I set out to do a still life painting of yellow and purple irises.  Boy, it was a big mistake!

My still life setup

"Iris Shadows" in original state

"Iris Shadows"
sold

Although the Bon Air Community Center, where the workshop was held, was a spacious, beautiful place, one thing it lacked was the spot lights.  Light was defused in the interior on a rainy day. There were shadows on the table, but they were faint. There were no distinct lit/shadow variations on the flowers.  I struggled for four hours, making up sunlight that didn't exist.  The yellow iris on the right opened up, so I had to change it from a bud to an open flower.

In the end, both Greg and I agreed that enough was enough.  The shadows were so big and dark that they competed with the flowers.  I filled the canvas with the flowers to the brim, so the painting became claustrophobic.  The flowers were overdone because I kept fiddling.

After I returned home, I decided to fix the painting.  Why not?  There was absolutely nothing to lose.  I introduced the table to break up the background.  I shrank and lightened the shadows.  I also decreased the size of some flowers and made some bluer, or purpler, etc. so that they were not all the same.  All in all, I think, the painting looks better.  It feels airy.

To get frustration out of system, I decided to do a landscape during the remaining hour.  I pulled out a photo of azaleas blooming in sunny woods.  Using the piles of paints on my palette, I whipped out "Azalea Woods" so fast that even I, a notoriously fast painter, was surprised at my speed.  Greg was impressed too.

The difference between the two painting experiences that day is that when I have a game plan, I paint decisively, assured of what I am doing.  When I try to make up things as I go along because I don't have a clue, no matter how hard I work at a painting, it goes nowhere!

"Spring Woods" (oil; 10" x 8") sold; "Spring Woodland" (oil; 14" x 11")

"Spring Woods" (oil, 10" x 8")
sold

"Spring Woodland" (oil, 14" x 11")
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When trees start budding, they turn yellow green.  Leaves are not yet big, so they don't cast heavy shade.  Walk in the early spring woods.  It's airy and bright; it's an enchanting place!  Both paintings are based on a real place--the Virginia native plant trail in the Green Spring Gardens Park in Alexandria, VA.  I haunt the park in early spring, which has always been my favorite time of the year.

Did you notice a red bridge up a small stream in the first painting?  Many flowers populate the second painting, In the distance, one can see the pink redbud in bloom. In the middle ground, the dainty white bells of the common silverbell arc gracefully above the carpet of yellow woodland poppies.  I think I captured in both paintings the light-filled atmosphere of springtime in the woods.

"Spring Woods" (oil on linen; 10" x 8") sold

sold

When trees start budding, they turn yellow green.  Leaves are not yet big, so they don't cast heavy shade. Walk in the early spring woods.  It's airy and bright.  I see a red bridge up a small stream.  Ah, what a wonderous place to be!  This is a real place--a Virgina native plant trail in the Green Spring Gardens Park in Alexandria, VA.  I haunt the park in early spring, which has always been my favorite time of the year.

"Winter Shadows" (acrylic on canvas; 24" x 18")

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In case you are wondering why I haven't been blogging often lately, here is why.  I came down with shingles over the Christmas holidays.  Yes, shingles.  Yes, it really hurts!  So I have been taking it easy.  Yesterday I felt a little better and overdid things.  Boy, a big mistake.  There is no reason, however, why I should always talk about new paintings.  I have plenty of old paintings to share with my readers.  Today I am going to share one of my all-time favorite paintings.

In northern Virginia, where I live, we get very little snow in some winters.  2012-13 seems to be such a winter as well.  Anyhow, this particular winter was one of those disappointing ones.  So when we had a little snow overnight, I was eager to take a walk in the neighborhood park.  There I saw this scene of the mellow winter afternoon sun casting long shadows over the fallen logs.  You wouldn't believe from the painting, but on top of the hill were suburban homes, which I edited out.  The painting was juried into The Art League show in Alexandria, VA in 2007.

"Winter Shadows" hangs proudly in my living room.  I don't paint this big very often, which is a shame.  I could play with subtle changes in color temperature and soft/hard edges throughout the canvas, while maintaining the mood of a brilliant light pouring through and uplifting the viewer.  Do you feel like you are standing in the woods and looking up?

"Walk in Winter Woods" (oil on linen; 9" x 12") sold

"Walk in Winter Woods"
sold

"Winter Morning" (oil, 9" x 12")
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"Winter Afternoon" (oil, 12" x 9")
sold

"Fresh Snow" (oil, 9" x 12")
sold

"Snowfall" (oil, 8" x 10")
sold

"Central Park Snowed In" (oil, 10" x 12")
sold

I painted lots of snow scenes this winter, which required hard work.  It  was not because snowscapes were particularly difficult to paint.  It had everything to do with the snowless winter in northern Virginia!  I don't ski or snowboard, or didn't travel to snowy places to visit relatives this year. Alas, my plein-air painting friends and I waited for snowfalls in vain, with our new snow boots still in their boxes.  It is practically spring here.  I've spotted crocuses, snowdrops, lenten roses, daffodils, dwarf irises, cherry blossoms, and forsythia, so far.  Somebody told me that her tulips are blooming too!  We may still get a blizzard in March, but I doubt it.

Yesterday I reached the very bottom of my pile and completely exhausted the reference material for my favorite subject by painting "Walk in Winter Woods."  All the things I've learned by painting in a series went into it.  It is the grand finale, so to speak, and I am proud of it.

I've included in today's entry some of my favorite snowscapes for your enjoyment.  Until next winter, good bye, snow paintings.

"Silent Night" (oil on linen; 10" x 12") sold

"Silent Night"
sold

"Snow Valley" (oil; 10" x 15")
sold

Snowscape is another favorite subject of mine.  So much so that, I am in danger of running out of my reference material for snow paintings, as I live in an area that doesn't get much snow.  Of the two latest snowscapes, I like "Silent Night" better.  Snow is inherently a cold matter.  Unless much care is taken, a snow painting will be too cold to look at.  I thought that the warm-toned clouds in "Snow Valley" will balance out the cool colors in the rest of the painting.  But, over all, it feels too icy for comfort.

So I am going back to painting snow scenes in early morning or late afternoon light.  Sunset is even better.  Snow reflects everything around it and, of course, the ambient light. The brilliant colors in the sunset sky seem to bring out the best in snow.  If only it would snow!

"Autumn Brook" (oil on linen; 9" x 12") sold

sold

Reference photo

It was a picture-perfect autumn day when several members of the Art League Plein Air Painters went to Green Spring Gardens Park in Alexandria, VA.  It had been a busy, exciting week, and I was tired.  I walked around, taking numerous pictures of last roses, trees with their fall colors, etc.  But I couldn't settle on any particular view to paint.  So I continued walking down the trail in the woods until I came across the above scene.  This was it!  Except that I had left my painting gear back on the main lawn.  The thought of having to go back to fetch the stuff, drag it down by the brook, set up the gear, and actually paint the scene tired me out even more.

Among my artist friends I am known for my workaholic (or shall I say, artaholic) habit of painting fast and furiously every day.  Not that day.  I decided to give myself a break.  Gasp!  I sat by my teacher and friend, Bobbi Pratte, and watched her paint an overgrown garden.  We kept company, got to know each other better, and had a great time.  It's sometimes good to kick back and relax.

I painted "Autumn Brook" from the photo yesterday.  The background trees with their fall colors are brilliantly backlit.  Tree shadows caress the foreground and middle ground forest floors.  And there it is--a tiny waterfall in the center of the painting.  It was a glorious day to take a walk in the woods.

"Autumn Woods" (oil on linen; 12" x 9") sold

sold

Reference photo

I went to paint on the grounds of Madeira School in McLean, VA last Friday.  Before leaving the school, a friend of mine and I decided to take a walk to Black Pond within the grounds, most of  the 376 acres of land is wooded.  We got hopeless lost and ended up back at the parking lot!  The walk itself was lovely, though, as the sun had finally come out, casting dappled light on the path, grass, and trees.  Nothing ventured, nothing gained, I must say. 

I painted "Autumn Woods" in Bobbi Pratte's landscape class yesterday.  This term's focus so far has been trees.  I've noticed that you just cannot get away from trees if you are interested in landscapes.  Whether they are the center of interest or serve only as a backdrop, trees pop up in so many of my landscape paintings.  It will take many years of serious contemplation and practice, I think, to become truly at ease when it comes to painting trees.  Let the fun begin!