Invitation

Here’s an invitation for you gentle reader? Really? Yes here it is: I invite you to walk outside at a time when you can meander. If you live in Raleigh, NC, I’ll share a specific location for this activity.

But first, I want to welcome new readers to this blog (Welcome!) and describe the focus and nature of these colorful, weekly posts.

Small Spaces Special Places

Each year, I select a theme for my weekly paintings. This year’s is “Small Spaces Special Places.” One of the reason for this theme is I have been surprised, even delighted, with the small spaces in our house that have captured my eye.

Then, there are the special places I see on my daily dog walks here in Raleigh. You would be amazed at the glimpses of beautiful moments I see. Each morning, rain or shine, I love getting outdoors and looking for special places to paint.

So there you have it, the straight story about this post and blog. If you know someone who you think might enjoy a weekly dose of color, please encourage them to sign up here for this weekly blog.

Here’s the Real Invitation

If you live in Raleigh, there is a fantastic place where you can surround yourself with gigantic Magnolia trees. There’s a path that goes between the two trees. When you look up, you feel as if you are being embraced by these magnificent trees.

If you ever get a chance to see these trees, please do. They are located on the grounds of the Gregg Museum at 1903 Hillsborough Street Raleigh, NC 27607.

This week’s painting is at the entrance of the two Magnolia trees. The morning light is from the left and just gorgeous this time of year.

Inspiration

Now it’s time for me to share a bit of art history and inspiration with you. Lately, I have been studying landscape paintings I love. What does ‘studying’ mean to me? Well, in February I decided to select landscape paintings that I love and paint them for a short time, say 20 minutes. The purpose of these exercises is to help me improve my pace and analytical skills as I paint. What better way to do this then to copy a Master Painting, four times, with a timer ticking away. You might say these exercises are a runner’s version of “Wind sprints!”

One of the paintings I copied this week was, like last week, a Monet. But this one caught my eye because it’s even more abstract than last week’s. Here it is:

See below for a photo of the 4 timed color sketches I did. The first thing I notice as I write this blog is how much darker this painting is in the book I used. This is especially true compared to the image on the Met Museum’s website. The darker values can really impact the mood of a painting. It’s notable how much more atmospheric and dreamy the lighter, online version looks to me. What do you think?

Compositional Studies

After I finished these studies, I still wasn’t quite sure which view of the magnolia grove to paint. So I did some compositional studies and a color sketch of a different angle of the trees. You can see the sketches I did here.

After all that I decided to select a slightly different point of view and time of day for this painting. Originally my plan to use afternoon light seemed right. But on a recent morning walk, I was dazzled by the sunlight streaming on the top right Magnolia tree. I knew I had my paint worthy composition in mind.

In case this seems like a lot of preparation for a painting dear reader. You’re right! It is. Why? I confess some nervous jitters about using an 11×14 inch panel. But all this planning helped me take on that blank slate with a plan.

One More Invitation

Before I sign off, gentle reader, I have one more super fab and fun invitation to share with you: sign up for the Google Arts and Culture App! It is so much fun and has the collections of thousands paintings from museums from all over the world.

But the coolest part of the app? You can see what a famous piece of artwork looks like in your living room! Here’s what I mean. That Monet painting? I searched for it by title in the Google Arts and Culture app and – voila – there it was. Then, I point my camera / phone at the floor and move it in a circle. Pretty soon, this week’s favorite Monet painting is on a pedestal in my living room. Here’s a photo of that Monet painting by our front door, Mr Himself’s slippers, too. Ooops!

Enjoy

I hope you have enjoyed this week’s painting and post. Yes, this painting is for sale for $375. Questions? Contact me here. Please share your thoughts about a recent invitation you have received in the comments below.