Last Blooms of Summer 1

Original Painting: Red Lily, 2015, gouache on panel, 6"x6"

Here in the Land of Enchantment, one can find evidence of three seasons happening simultaneously: There are still plenty of green leaves on the trees and a few lingering blossoms in the flower beds from summer. Meanwhile, the cottonwoods are taking on a range of autumn hues—from sunny yellow to deep gold. And then this morning, there was light powder on the Sandia Mountains, as winter nudges its way into our psyches here in New Mexico.

I have a few paintings of summer flowers that I finished back in September and hadn't yet posted. So here's a bright red lily for today's post. 

Painted using acrylic gouache which dries very quickly—especially here in the Southwest—the painting has a looser, painterly feel to it. I didn't have time to fuss with the blending like I usually do. I rather like the more spontaneous, lively look.

Thanks for taking a moment to visit my blog. Enjoy your weekend.
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Image and text ©2015 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Bird and Hand

Bird and Hand, oil on carved panel. Image: 14"x14." Framed.
SOLD

Today's post features the painting I have in the current Wild + Life show at Page Coleman Gallery in Albuquerque. The piece is called "Bird and Hand" and began as a panel that I hand carved and then painted with oils.

At last Friday night's opening, I received several comments about the painting and questions about its meaning. So here is what I was thinking while creating it: The hand represents Mankind; and the bird, Nature. Is the hand going to help the bird, or harm it? In turn, are we humans going to help Nature or destroy it? The ambivalence of the image is intentional.

There are many truly great art pieces in this show, and several were sold on opening night—a great way to support the Wildlife Rescue of New Mexico. You can still see the show on Saturdays, now through December 5. I think you will enjoy it.___________________________________ 
Text and image ©2015 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

You're Invited....Tonight's Opening

I am very pleased to be included in this exhibition at the Page Coleman Gallery in Albuquerque. With artworks by 70 artists, the show will be diverse and interesting, as well as a benefit for the Wildlife Rescue of New Mexico.

Tonight's the opening from 5:30-8pm and I'll be there. The Gallery is located on Linn Avenue, one block north of Central Avenue, and a half a block east of San Pedro, very close to the NM Fairgrounds. There's plenty of free parking. 

White Blossoms

SOLD White Blossoms, 2015. Gouache on ricepaper, mounted on panel. 6"x6"

Last year I was pleased to become a "Rainmaker" in the Small Works Auction, an annual fundraiser in support of the George A. Spiva Center for the Arts in Joplin, Missouri. An artist receives this designation when his/her artwork receives a bid of $300 or more during the auction.

The painting posted on my blog today is a small version (6x6 inches) of "White Blossoms", a 12x12 inch painting submitted to this year's Small Works Auction at Spiva. Both versions are painted in gouache on rice paper, mounted on panel. In both versions, the rice papers have bits of leaves embedded in the paper fibers which are part of the composition and surface texture.

Thanks for taking a moment to visit my art blog. I've been on the road for over a month, visiting my mother who just celebrated her 92nd birthday. (And she looks great for her age!)
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Image and text ©2015 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Evening View

Evening View (Sandias, July), 2015. Oil on gessoed panel, 3"x9"

It's been quite awhile since I posted a plein air painting. My favorite time of day to paint outdoors during the summer months is after 6pm, when the heat of the day and the blinding scorch of the sun are over.

Living near Balloon Fiesta Park, I have a great view and convenient place to paint the Sandia Mountains at that time of day ... like a ringside seat in Paradise.

Thanks for taking a moment to read my blog. I hope you enjoyed it.
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Image and text ©2015 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Why Paint Stripes?

Sugar Pot Stripes, 2015. Gouache on panel, 6"x6"

I have a 2015 daily calendar, featuring an art object from the Metropolitan Museum of Art for each day of the year. The June 19th image was a photo of a sugar pot from North Carolina created back in the 1820's. I loved the colors of the stripes and decided to paint a square using those same hues. 

There are several famous abstract artists known for painting compositions employing stripes or striped patterns: Agnes Martin, Bridget Riley, Barnett Newman, come to mind. 

For the viewer, such efforts may seem mindless or too simple to be a "real" painting, i.e., "So, what's the big deal with that?" 

As an artist I enjoyed the simple pleasure of laying down gouache paint in bands of color on a clean white surface, challenging myself to do so freehand (no taped edges), and getting a consistently smooth surface of coverage. Believe it or not, it took 2 days to get this little square "just right". 

Thank you for taking a moment to visit my blog. Enjoy your weekend. 

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Image and text ©2015 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Summer Drawing

In the Garden: Cinderella's Lost Shoe (and Key), 2015. Ballpoint pen on paper.

There are quite a few unfinished paintings I've got going right now....nothing to share with my faithful readers yet. So in the meantime I'll share a drawing from my sketchbook. (Maybe you can find the shoe and the key in the drawing, too.)

Enjoy your day! Thanks for taking a moment to visit my blog.
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Image and text ©2015 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Bloom in the Desert

Red Hot Desert Bloom, 2015.
Original painting, oil on gessoed panel. 6"x6"
SOLD

It always surprises me when something with such ferocious spines as a desert cactus brings forth such a lovely bloom.

I discovered this blossom atop a small (8") barrel cactus in the flower beds one morning when I was out strolling around the house. The brilliant reds and oranges of the barrel cactus flower are stunningly intense. 

Often, an artist must tone down the colors that come out of the tube to capture a faithful likeness in Nature. Not so in painting this cactus flower!

Thanks for taking a look. Enjoy your day!
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Text and image ©2015 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Revisiting Coronado

Plein Air Landscape Sketch #12, 2015.
Oil on cartonboard, mounted on panel. 5"x7"

A couple of weeks go, I joined the Monday Painters at Coronado State Monument for a morning of plein air painting. It was warm and hazy, with clouds overhead. We've been having more rain than usual, so the Sandia Mountains are green with vegetation, looking velvety from a distance.

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there! Enjoy your special day tomorrow.–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Text and image ©2015 Carol L. Adamec

Mercury Retrograde Re-do

To the Quiet Place, 2013-2015.
Original plein air painting in oil, alkyd, 6"x8"

As a casual student of astrology, I do pay attention to Mercury retrograde periods and use those weeks to re-do paintings that are unfinished or need an overhaul.

This is a plein air piece that I painted up in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains back in May of 2013. I was never quite satisfied with it. So a few weeks ago, during the recent Mercury retrograde (May 18-June 11), I put the painting back on the easel and reworked the composition and color. I'm much happier with it now.

Thanks for visiting my blog and taking a look at my artwork. Have a great week!
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Text and image ©2015 Carol L. Adamec

Painting the Greens

TOP Image:
Edge of a Wood by Theodore Caruelle d'Aligny (French), oil on paper, 1850-55, 
from the Metropolitan Museum of Art "Art 2015 Calendar", March 17.

BOTTOM Image:
My copy of Edge of a Wood (by Theodore Caruelle d'Aligny) ,
done in oil on gessoed panel, 2015

While traveling through  several southern states (Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana)  during March and April, I became aware of how many greens there are in Nature—especially during the Spring season!

Arriving back in Albuquerque, I decided to practice mixing greens and to copy a painting done by Theordore d'Aligny, since there were quite a variety of greens in the image.

Thinking this would be a simple exercise, I was surprised that I ended up spending 3 days painting and tweaking the colors. Considering the human eye can distinguish about 10 million different colors, I should have figured that getting a "perfect" copy of this painting would be more challenging than I expected.

Still, as they say, "Practice Makes for Improvement."

Thanks for taking a moment to read my blog. Enjoy your day!
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Image 2 and text ©2015 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Garden Square–RED

Garden Square—Red, 2015.
Mixed media on mulberry paper mounted on panel, 6x6"
SOLD

As I mentioned in my last blog post, I have been revisiting the Boogie Board drawings I created over the last two years and reformatting and revising some of the images from "Garden Varieties Series."

Today's image—GARDEN SQUARE RED—is rendered in luscious warm colors as an exuberant 6"x6" design based on abundant foliage and blooming flowers and buds. I like some of the textural effects, too that came about, using inks and Prismacolor pencils on mulberry paper.

Thank you for taking a moment to read this blog, and please feel free to leave comment if you wish. I appreciate your feedback!
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Image and text ©2015 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

A Full Moon Tonight!

Garden Square: Moonrise I, 2015, mixed media. Private Collection.

Yesterday evening I was outside, watching a nearly full moon rise above the Sandia Mountains here in Albuquerque. The full moon is always a thrilling sight to me, and often inspires my artwork. 

A few months ago, I revisited one of my Boogie Board digital drawings from my "Garden Varieties Series" and reconfigured it to a square format, printed it on mulberry paper, handcolored it with inks and Prismacolor pencils, and finished it up by mounting it on a hardboard panel. Some friends loved the piece, and it's now in their collection. 

I'm posting the artwork today in honor of the "Full Moon in Scorpio" which my professional astrologer friend, Eleanor Kibrick, describes on her blog Eleanor Kibrick, Astrologer.

I always find Eleanor's explanations regarding the energies of the cosmos to be worthwhile, encouraging, and helpful. Perhaps you will, too. 

Thank you for taking a moment to read this blog, and please feel free to leave comment if you wish. I appreciate your feedback! 

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Image and text ©Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

You're Invited…..

(Click image to enlarge)

I'm in North Carolina for a reunion exhibition by members of Center/Gallery, an organization I helped start up back in 1977. The exhibit will feature artworks by the members and those they have mentored. I'm looking forward to a fun week with dear friends and good memories. The show will include my painting "Catching the Light" and a pencil drawing my granddaughter did of her beloved dog Sweetie, entitled, "My First Birthday."

I was interviewed as part of an article about Center/Gallery which appeared in The News & Observer (Durham), which you can read HERE.

I hope you enjoy a wonderful week, too!

UPDATE April 21: I've been out of town for several weeks and unable to post while on the road. I did enjoy a wonderful reunion with dear artist-friends at the Carrack Modern in Durham, North Carolina—some I hadn't seen in 35 years! I'm back in New Mexico now, returning to my studio endeavors, and looking forward to posting more often in the weeks ahead.
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Image and text ©2015 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Thinking of Spring...

Garden Square: Spring, 2015. Original mixed media on gessoed panel, 6"x6"
SOLD

I know, Faithful Readers, that I haven't posted as often as I promised or intended. However, I have been working in the studio, and I'm ready to share some new artworks with you!

Today's post features a small mixed media painting, done on a 6"x6" square gessoed panel, based on one of my "Garden Varieties" series of Boogie Board drawings.

I guess seeing all that snow and ice on the TV weather reports that folks are contending with in some regions of the US makes me (and probably many others) long for spring, summer, and warmer days.

Thanks for taking a look. Enjoy life wherever you are!
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Text and image ©2015 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Happy Valentine's Day...

Hearts and Flowers, archival digital print in 8x10" matt.
Available on ETSY

With Hearts and Flowers!

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Image ©2015 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Another Colorful Valentine...

Hearts and Flowers (Dotted Swiss), 2015.
Mixed media (ink, metallics, Prismacolor) on mulberry paper, 7"x5"
Available for purchase on ETSY.

Now there are less than 10 days until Valentine's Day, and I'm posting another version of "Hearts & Flowers" — this one with golden flecks like dotted Swiss—along with lots of bright colors and plenty of gold ground.

It's available for purchase on ETSY via this link: https://www.etsy.com/listing/221436408/hearts-and-flowers-dotted-swiss?ref=shop_home_feat_1

Thanks for taking a moment to read my blog. Enjoy your day.

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Image and text ©2015 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

It's "Hearts and Flowers" time!

Hearts and Flowers (GOLD), 2015

Mixed media (ink, metallics, Prismacolor) on mulberry paper, 7"x5".

Available for purchase on ETSY

Here it is February already, and we're only 10 days away from Valentine's Day. So I'm in the mood to do some variations of my "Hearts and Flowers" image.

Today's post features "Hearts and Flowers, Gold"--lots of yummy reds, with greens yellows and golds--which I just finished today: Hot off the drawing table, you might say. It's available for purchase on ETSY via this link:  https://www.etsy.com/listing/221437087/hearts-and-flowers-gold-valentines-day

Thanks for taking a look. Enjoy your day.
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Image and text ©2015 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.