Maryland Dawn

Maryland Dawn

Oil on gessoboard panel, 5x7, $75, framed

sold

As I write this, the sun is starting to set, and it's spilling over the snow, throwing long blue shadows over the undulating surface of the yard. The wind blew our plastic Adirondack chairs over. Squirrels and bunnies have left tracks in the snow, as have hundreds and hundreds of birds.

I am starting to find a rhythm here, and I think it is working. I've been able to paint for most of the days of the past couple weeks. Not every day, and not for the entire day, but for most of the days, and for enough time to make progress. 

I've begun doing these small pieces, minis, as Lori at Center Framing & Art calls them, and I find they are good for limbering up, and for finding where the problems will arise if I do the painting larger. Also, people like them and buy them. 

I am gearing up for the first show of the year, which for me is in February at the Wallkill River School, with artist and teacher and animal lover Susan Miiller. Save Saturday, Feb. 12, which as far as I know, is the date of our opening. It's going to be an excellent show, with landscapes large and small - and animals galore! 

Miscou Mini

Miscou Mini

Miscou Island, New Brunswick, Canada

Oil on canvas, 2x2, $30 with tiny easel for display

On this trip, I've made a series of tiny paintings that I like very much. I started making them just to get the values of the scene down quickly, but I soon found myself charmed by the pieces. They will stand on mini easels I have. They are fun, and really, they are pretty.

Choosing the shape of the canvas is often a challenge for me. I've been tricked many times, for instance, into thinking that a long arm of a beach should go on a long arm of canvas, one that's three times as long as it is high, perhaps. But then, you end up with a skinny stick of sand, a skinny piece of water and a skinny bit of sky - nothing like what really makes the scene.

So the little canvases help me choose the bigger ones. They help me find the problems with the composition, too. And they help me capture the light, quickly.