Painting wild places...

Tuesday July 20 I will head over to Keeseville to take part in their plein air event, which is part of a Community Arts Celebration. Keeseville is a historic village located near the amazing Ausable Chasm - maybe I'll go paint there. Tuesday - Friday we can paint, and then framed paintings need to be dropped off at the Block Gallery on Front Street. There will be a reception Friday evening and then the work will remain on view Saturday and Sunday. 

I used to go to plein air events and do as many paintings as I could - a morning painting, an afternoon painting, an evening painting and maybe even a nocturne. It was fun and it helped me hone my painting skills so I could just get into a zone and paint intensely for a number of hours.  It's like I put my brain on hold - I don't feel like I think about what I'm doing - I just do it. I work intuitively. I have the skills, I have the background and I have the experience, so I just sort of let things flow. Look. Paint. Repeat.

However, I did come to the realization that just because I had a great time painting on location at a beautiful spot, it doesn't mean I produced a beautiful painting. So I have now backed off on the "see how many I can do" philosophy and am focusing more on the quality. As mentioned in previous blog posts, the light is so important. One may be out painting in the middle of the day, when the sun is high overhead and everything is bright, or it may be overcast and flat light. I might paint under those conditions, but my philosophy now is basically to get the landscape painted, incorporating a strong composition, and then watch for the best light, the best cloud formations, etc. If those conditions don't happen while I'm on the spot, then I'll plan to come back in the early morning, or evening, or with better weather conditions and work on the painting more, capturing more of what makes it a unique location. Come see what gets produced!

July 24 ArtWorks ArtMarket

The ArtMarket is an outdoor art fair, held along the shore of Lake Flower, near the public boat launch, in the village of Saranac Lake. I will be set up there and plan to debut a number of brand new paintings as well as have some special deals on some others.

I've been busy painting - ready to drop whatever I'm working on if a friend texts "Do you want to go out and paint today?" Absolutely! So I had a backlog of nearly finished paintings waiting in my studio. I've been finishing them up and getting them in frames so wil bring them to the ArtMarket. I have a number of the High Peaks and some of the Ausable River.

I will also bring some boxes of unframed paintings. I paint so much, I would go broke if I framed them all, so when a painting is new, it gets framed and is usually displayed for a month or so at the Adirondack Artists Guild Gallery, a co-op that I belong to, or submitted to other shows. But after a while, if not sold, it's back in my studio and I take the frame off and put it on a new painting. Frames and paintings get switched for different shows and events, but ultimately I end up with a pile of good paintings that I simply am not putting on display because I have a bunch of new good paintings! So that is a benefit for anyone interested in owning an original painting. Prices reduced! 

Check out my "Event" page for more information about the Keeseville Plein Air Festival and the ArtWorks ArtMarket. And I also have 28 paintings on display at the Paul Smith's College VIC - all done along the trails at the VIC. Go for a hike and then see paintings of where you were!