Time for a Change

Pumpkin and Asters, 10x8, oil

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Autumn is in the Air

Afternoon in the Park, 30x20, acrylic

Walnut Hill Park, New Britain, CT

Autumn Arrives, 20x20, acrylic

Red Marsh at Sunset, 14x11, acrylic

I love this time of year! The change of seasons from summer to autumn, on through the fall into the stillness of winter is magical for me. Yesterday, I bought a fabulous ceramic mug with a green and earth colored pattern on it and an unglazed, raised maple leaf, and a burgundy colored leaf shaped tealight candle holder with apple cider scented tealights to go in it. I have some delicious Mercedes Apple Spice herbal tea from the English Tea Store and I bought two wonderful poetry books, A Dream of Summer: Poems for a Sensuous Season, The Heart of Autumn: Poems for the Season of Reflection and I have every intention of brewing tea, lighting my candles and curling up with my new books and celebrating the natural rhythms of life in the coming weeks. It's so important to take time to fill your soul with good things so when you need to draw out creativity, patience, kindness etc. the well is full and you can easily give to others.

Are you on Facebook? I have recently joined set up a profile and a business page for my artwork. Look me up, join my "friends" list and become a "fan" of my page!! I am having waaaaaaay too much fun, making "pieces of flair" out of my paintings !! I've entered them into the directory so they are available to everyone on Facebook, (thought I think most are still in the "pending" stage they should be approved soon). Facebook has been a twilight zone experince as I find classmates from high school, whom I haven't even thought about in years and years, and barely recognize names from my college alma mater. It's fascinating to see where their lives have taken them!! It also gives me a chance to interact with my teenagers and family members who live across the country. It's free and fun, maybe a time bandit, but there are worse ways to spend your time!

Review of American Art Collector Magazine

If you're an artist, an art collector or just an art lover you probably already get American Art Collector Magazine. But if the name is new to you here's a good review of the magazine. I love it and have been advertising my work there over the past few months, with a new ad coming out in the September issue. I like AAC for its straight forward style. It presents beautiful, large full color images, quotes directly from the artists, galleries that represent them and collectors who purchase from them. I particularly like the "red dot" section that documents painting sales that are a direct result of a collector seeing the painting in AAC. I also like the price range indicators that let you know right up front how much a particular artists work sells for and the short interviews with gallery owners, talking about what's hot and what's not in their geograophic area. You can pick up an issue at larger bookstores like Borders, or you can subscribe, which comes with a nice on-line feature. You get a link to the entire new issue in you inbox about 10 days before the hardcopy arives in your mail boxor hits the stores.

Prints from Fine Art America

Poppy Field Inspired by Monet

Poppy Field in Sun and Shade

Monet's Poppy Field

I finally got around to ordering a print of one of my poppy paintings from my gallery at Fine Art America. I wanted to be sure that the quality was good and I am very pleased. I ordered a small size print on their standard archival paper and had it matted. I should have had them frame it too, since I don't have a frame on hand in the proper size. So now I gave give you my seal of approval and let you know that you'll be pleased when you order prints.

Wonderful Workshops and Plein Air Frames On Sale

Poppies in Summer, 24x20, acrylic

I have never had the pleasure of travelling to a picturesque place like Tuscany or Provence to paint, but maybe someday I will. Meanwhile, I wanted to pass on to other artists who visit here the website of Sam D'Ambruoso. Sam is a teriffic artist and along with his lovely wife Mary Ann they lead fabulous workshops and paintouts in some of the most beautiful places in the world, like Amalfi, Sardinia, Tuscany and Provence! If I ever am able to get away it would be on one of Sam's excursions! If any of you do go, make sure you e-mail me and I'll put up pictures of your trip and you can post a review here! Don't forget to sign up for Sam and Mary Anne's e-newsletter the Traveling Palette, which includes Mary Ann's Italy featuring delicious recipes.

I also wanted to let everyone know that http://www.pictureframes.com/ now has a new line of very nice, simple plein air frames in a variety of finishes and they are on sale right now. Since things seems to be getting more expensive everyday this might be good time to stock up on your favortie sizes. The sale page is here.

Personally, I'm getting tired of the standard gold plein air frame and was pleased to see Crackled Gold, Espresso, Deep Cherry, Crackled Silver, Sandy Driftwood and Grey Driftwood offered. It's interesting to watch the trends in frames change. When I first started seriously selling my work about 5 years ago fancy baroque frames were popular. Then the wide gold plein air frame became the favorite. Now I see customers wanting simpler, narrower, more minimal and contemporary frames in natural finishes. It pays to occassionally buy a home decorating or interior design magazine and follow the trends in home decor, having the right frame can sometimes make a sale!

FaceBook and # 1 on TopBlog List

I just recently joined FaceBook!! There's a badge in the sidebar that links you to my public listing. For those of you already on FaceBook, you can become a "fan" of my FaceBook page, share content with your other FaceBook friends or even be added to my "friends" list! I'll be using both my profile and my page there to announce news and events and share photos, poetry and great art links. Come on over for a visit!

As I was browsing around on the net today I checked in over at TopBlog List to find that my other blog www.thepaintingadayproject.com was #1 in the arts category! Hurray!!

The Art of Diplomacy

Luminary of the Autumn Night Sky, 40x30, oil

Evening Falls, 36x24, oil

These two paintings are now on their way to the US Embassy in Tegucigalpa, Honduras as part of the United States Department of State Art in Embassies Program. They are being installed along with other paintings by American artists to mark the appointment of the new US Ambassador to Honduras, Hugo Llorens, and they will remain on display until the end of his term in approximately three years. The Art in Embassies program, created in 1964, functions as a global museum exhibiting over 3500 original works by American artists in approximately 180 diplomatic residences worldwide. They share with the international community the quality and diversity of contemporary American art and culture and play an important role in our nation's public diplomacy. I am very honored to have been selected as one of the artists in this program and hope that my paintings are a positive reflection on this country.

FREE Painting Give Away- We Have A Winner

Brenda Mullaney, Ohio, is the winner of the above painting, Celebrating the Autumn Garden, 24x18, acrylic. This was my first FREE FRIDAY give away at my other blog, www.thepaintingadayproject.com . Why am I giving away paintings you ask?? Several reasons, first I'm getting ready to move and I'd rather give away some of my older paintings to appreciative, loving homes than pack them and move them or sell them on e-Bay. Second, the economy is shaky and many people who would love an original painting just can't fit a purchase into their budget right now and this is a way to get real honest to goodness original art in to people's homes where it can be a blessing. Third, I ask the recipient to forward an e-mail with links to my website and blogs to family and friends because I truly believe that word of mouth advertising from one person to another is the most effective.

So keep your eyes open. I'll always announce the next Free Friday give away here, a few days ahead of time. The winner is always the first person to e-mail me requesting the painting. Now I have to go pick out the next painting. I'm picky about this. Though it will be an older painting it will only be one that I will be proud to have hanging in someone's home with my signature on it!

What's Happening on August 22nd???

Something special is about to take place on my blog www.thepaintingadayproject.com on Friday, August 22nd, 2008 !! It just might have something to do with a FREE painting!

Marsh at Sunset- Contemporary Impressionism

Marsh at Sunset, 30x20, acrylic

Look for this painting in my ad in the September issue of American Art Collector Magazine! Several people have asked me how I get that warm, rosey glow in my sunset paintings, and I'm happy to share my method. For quite a while now I've begun my paintings with a loose under-painting done entirely with transparent red oxide. This is painted on linen which has a lovely texture for landscape work, and because this pigment is transparent it allows the white of the primed linen to show through the color, just as in watercolors. I'm working here with Chroma Interactive Arylics. I mix some of their Fast Medium into the paint so the underpainitng is dry in a matter of minutes allowing me to begin overpainting in color immediately. The trick is to decide where you want the underpainting to show through for a light effect and then resist the urge to cover every inch of the canvas with new colors. The texture of the linen also helps to diffuse the edges of the paint stroke and you can get a dry brush effect over the under-painting which also allows a lot of the warm color of the transparent red oxide to show through. Using the transparent red oxide underpainting in combination with a reddish purple in the water and sky is also particularly effective for getting a sunset, (or sunrise for that matter), glow.

She sweeps with many-colored brooms,

And leaves the shreds behind;

Oh, housewife in the evening west,

Come back, and dust the pond!

You dropped a purple ravelling in,

You dropped an amber thread;

And now you've littered all the East With duds of emerald!

And still she plies her spotted brooms,

And still the aprons fly,

Till brooms fade softly into stars

And then I come away.

Emily Dickinson

Here's an art related analysis of this charming Dickinson poem found I found at Yahoo! Answers:

Dickenson is referring to "painting the landscape" with all the colors of the sunset as she "sweeps with many colored brooms". The brooms don't represent anything in particular other than a broad paint brush to paint the landscape with all the colors of nature - she refers to emeralds, amber, pearl and so on, and these are the colors found in a sunset.
1 year ago
Source(s):
She Sweeps with Many Colored Brooms", Emily Dickenson, quoted in http://www.about.com/poetry

27 Thoughts on Blogging for the Artist

Motif #1, Rockport, MA

If you're an artist and blog already or want to blog, this is a must read. In fact there are some pithy, pointed, tidbits that every artist blogger or not needs to hear!

I particularly like #'s

15. Though tempting, you’ll never crush your own mediocrity working only four hours a week.

22. Remember that the mainstream culture has yet to catch on to the power of the individual artist online. Keep working.

25. Do not work for the good opinion of anyone. Work for joy, wonder and the Lord God Almighty.

Read it all and post your favoprites in the comments section!

New Impressionist Summer Landscape Paintings

Queen Anne's Lace, 20x20

Painted at Hammonasset State Park, Madison, CT

View from St. Mary's, 30x20

Painted in St. Mary's cemetary, Clinton, CT

McKinney Wildflower Garden, 12x24

Painted at the Stewart B. McKinney Wildlife Refuge, Saltmarsh Unit, Westbrook, CT

I love the months of August, September and October. The frenzy of spring and the burst of growth in summer has peaked and now, nature matures and comes to fruition (this may be a metaphore for my arrival into mid-life, but I'm not sure LOL). But I do just love these three months, they seem so bountiful, and overflowing with good things like wildflowers, tomatoes, zucchini, daylilies, black eyed susans, goldenrod, hickory nuts, peaches, crickets, herons and geese. The days are still very warm but the nights and early mornings already have a tinge of coolness to them anticipating the autumn to come. The air smells different too. All of nature, rather than growing and striving has just begun its slow, steady decline. I love to walk in the park and look over the marshes and meadows and drink in the incredible amount of texture and color that is everywhere. Fullness and completion at its satisfying best.

"In August, the large masses of berries, which, when in flower, had attracted many wild bees, gradually assumed their bright velvety crimson hue, and by their weight again bent down and broke their tender limbs."- Henry David Thoreau

"Fairest of the months! Ripe summer's queenThe hey-day of the yearWith robes that gleam with sunny sheenSweet August doth appear."- R. Combe Miller

"Whilst August yet wears her golden crown, Ripening fields lush- bright with promise;Summer waxes long, then wanes, quietly passing Her fading green glory on to riotous Autumn."- Michelle L. Thieme, August's Crown

"When summer gathers up her robes of glory, and like a dream of beauty glides away."- Sarah Helen Power Whitman

Ah, Sun-flower, weary of time,Who countest the steps of the Sun,Seeking after that sweet golden climeWhere the traveller's journey is done:Where the Youth pined away with desire,And the pale Virgin shrouded in snowArise from their graves, and aspireWhere my Sun-flower wishes to go. - William Blake