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.