Primrose at the Library

Most of my oil paintings are spending the holidays on the walls at the Norwich Library.

Seeing thirty six paintings gathered in one place brought some things into focus for me. My first thought, after dealing with the details of hanging the show was, "Wow! I've done a lot of work."

I was struck by the warmth of color and to see the range of my palette. I began to paint with oils because I wanted to paint dark, it seems that I also wanted to paint warm.

My show is up until the end of December and hope that lots of people take the time to see it.

Carol Egbert

AVA Holiday Exhibition 2009

This Friday, November 27th, the 2009 AVA Holiday Exhibition opens and runs through December 30. I have entered two small oils, the first shown here on the blog last week and the second, below....

"Fall Farm"

The Holiday Sale and Exhibition has an abundance of wonderful, hand-made artworks and crafts on display. With well over 300 original pieces in the gallery – including painting, photography, and sculpture, as well as greeting cards, jewelry, and textiles -- it's a great place to see and purchase beautiful artwork at nominal prices--most everything is under $400--and support the arts in the Upper Valley.

Tweeking

I'm still at work on the Tuscan landscapes. Some have moved from very early stages to near completion. A couple are still pretty "raw" but could resolve themselves rather quickly if I just keep working. My goal is to finish the series by early next week so that I can close up my studio in anticipation of our annual move to Sydney. I'd like to have these finished rather than having them awaiting my April return.

I have been "tweeking" the four pieces that were in my last post. By simply playing with the color of the "sky" I think I've been able to make the landscapes come more alive.

Here's the painting with the sky lightened.....


compared to before.......




Here's the painting with the sky lightened.......



.....compared to before

These little changes seem to make a big difference. It's worth experimenting, even when work feels like it's about finished.

Taurus

Cynthia Emerlye:
Recently I was asked to cut some kirigami mandalas with Taurus symbology. Here are three:

Longhorn Taurus

Goofy Taurus

Hindu Taurus

Upside down world

The other day in the studio, I found myself looking at a photo of a salt marsh I took in New Brunswick last September and wondering how to make a painting out of it. Because working from photos has never been my forte. I get tied up in the static details recorded by the camera. I feel distanced from the actual landscape as an experience. I tighten up. It becomes NOT fun. My memory of this landscape was of spaciousness, light, warmth, aliveness and freedom, and that's what I wanted to experience and to capture.

Then I had a bit of an inspiration taken from the days when I was teaching drawing. What if I turned both the photo and the canvas upside down? Upside down drawing helps to simplify the experience when one is having a hard time separating descriptive line from, for example, the labels "nose" or "eye".

Well, what can I say? It worked! Suddenly the photo became shapes and colors, lines and values. No sky, no water, no grasses, no clouds. Loosened up by this detachment from "reality" I was able to paint more freely and create a painting that worked.

"Salt Marsh, New Brunswick"

This is a small painting for me--only 8" x 10"--it has become a study for a larger work I started this week. I like this new way of working...

Reindeer Kirigami

Reindeer With Tree - Kirigami Bifold Heart

Reindeer Diamond - Kirigami Mandala

Late Autumn Colors

This series of designs was inspired both by East European folk art and the reds and oranges that tint my world this week. These images are a combination of water colors and Photoshop magic.

I replaced the white with black and resulting design has a richer feel.

More orange - less yellow for a third look.

I am using these designs on my food blog Carol Egbert.com in a series of posts about sweet potatoes.

--Carol Egbert