Abandoned Fort

Alert readers will recognize this climbing structure from my profile photo. For some reason it always cheers me up in times of trouble, sitting out in the back yard pointing onwards and upwards, and reminding me of happy times watching the kids play on it. I’ve done a lot of drawings and paintings of it over the years; this one I started back in the winter and put finishing touches on recently. It uses only burnt sienna, yellow ochre, ultramarine blue, and titanium white. I started the painting as the snow was falling, with overcast sky and very dim and diffuse light, then went out and worked on again the following day with the sun out. But the view is due south, so the light was actually coming from behind the structure. In the course of developing the painting in the studio, I decided I really wanted the light to be falling on the front, and fabricated a situation that never happened. I'm pretty sure it never could happen, unless we had a midsummer blizzard. I'm considering doing a companion version with the snow falling, like Goya's Majas.

Academic Artists Association Annual Exhibition

“Linden” has been accepted for the Academic Artists Association Annual Exhibition, which will be in digital form this year. I’ll miss going to the reception; OTOH, more people will be able to see it on line.

http://academicartistsassociation.org/exhibitions/70th-2020.html

My solo show “Paintings and Paraphernalia” at UMass Science and Engineering Library, starts September 3 and goes until December 13, 2019. The opening reception is Wednesday October 23, 4-6 PM.

The exhibit includes new and recent oils, watercolors, and drawings, including landscapes, figures, sketches, and works from imagination. Also on display will be custom equipment and measuring devices invented by the artist, with descriptions of construction and use.

The Science and Engineering Library is located in the Lederle Graduate Research Center Lowrise, Floor 2, Room A273, 740 North Pleasant St., Amherst, MA.

Preparing panels

Making panels to paint on. I’m following the procedure recommended by Stapleton Kearns. The panels are hardboard, cut to size on a table saw, and given two coats of oil based primer (Zinsser also makes a shellac based primer, but you need the oil based one). Stape throws his on the grass to dry, but when I tried it, they picked up a bunch of random plant matter and insects, so for the second coat I moved to an improvised platform in the driveway. After a light sanding I painted the backs to prevent warping and moisture getting in. Looking forward to actually painting on them.

Portrait sketches from life drawing group. Cretacolor Nero pencil and white gouache on toned paper, 45 minute pose.

Early Snow was accepted for the Academic Artists Association 69th Annual National Exhibition of Traditional Realism.
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I got it a nice new frame in honor of the occasion.

Artists Magazine Over 60 Contest winner!

My painting Three Women is featured in the April issue of the Artists Magazine.

The caption (based on my more verbose submission) reads “Three Women depicts three generations of women, suspended in a moment of existence: the daughter is bursting to take flight, the grandmother is soon to leave this world, and the mother is fully occupied trying to hold their world together. Each has her gaze fixed on her own future, and an approaching storm has different implications for each of them.”