Wet

The grimness of the late fall is upon us -
even the dogs are sidelined by cold wet weather and dim skies.

During our saturday painting session the rain came down heavily and the colors were so rich I had to take a few photos out my back door. Why is it that colors outdoors pop when it's overcast? I guess the brighter the sun the more the reflection. Maybe Arizona would look better if the sun didn't shine all the time. I suppose that's why traditional art studios face north so the light will be ambient and allow true color vision. I honestly thought it was so it wouldn't shine in your eyes while you were trying to paint until I began this train of thought.

I'll tell you what - given the chance to build a studio from scratch - I'd opt for a western exposure. Who wants to shiver in the stingy northern light and listen to the wind whistle all winter. As for summer - you can always get bamboo blinds. I think the newish Smith College Museum and art studios have a northern clerestory for the perfect light but I'd rather have bright light anyday.

My idea of preparing for the long winter is to replace all my 60 watt bulbs with 75 watt bulbs - the place is operating room bright now.

I started this piece on saturday - it's not finished - the lower area is a bit shaggy and needs some smoothing. I could wet it a little or I could pile on more paint - I'm not sure. The blue is very bright and rich. I'm not going to change that part. The middle is less defined than usual. My palette is clearly changing with the landscape although often the fall can look very much like the spring. Until you look down at the ground and see all the dead stuff.

I've picked an off-white mat with a black bevel and a narrow gold frame for my pieces that are due at the gallery in a couple of weeks. Much agonizing and consulting have led to what I hope will be a focused, simple, rich look with a wide appeal. (lay it on thick Holly).

I'll post again with the finished version of the above painting although editing sometimes goes awry but if that's the case I will turn it over and begin something new. If that goes south also, I will tear it up. If I can't get at least one good fragment that will work in a 5x7 mat, I'll post a photo of the huddled shredded pieces.


Holly