Eye Dazzlers in Nature

Autumn Leaf #8 (Turquoise Sky), 2014. Oil on carton panel, 4" x 6".
SOLD

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower."

—Albert Camus

Another red leaf, with a turquoise sky in the background! 

Thanks for taking a look. Enjoy a wonderful week.

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Image and text ©Carol L Adamec, 2014. All rights reserved.

Cottonwood Yellow

Autumn Leaf #7 (Cottonwood Yellow), 2014.

Original oil painting on cartonboard, mounted on panel, 6" x6"
SOLD

There are several cottonwood trees in the neighborhood where I live—most quite large and undoubtedly quite old. I am sure a few of them were here long before the conquistadores ventured into this area.

There are two cottonwoods on the property I rent. Over the past two months they have changed from green to light yellow, to golden, to deep yellow, almost orange, with most of the leaves still on the trees.

I went out in the yard a few days ago and picked up a leaf to paint. It's nice to have something so colorful right outside your door, waiting to be painted.

Thanks for taking a look. Enjoy your day.

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Image & text ©Carol L Adamec, 2014. All rights reserved.

Cottonwood Leaf

Autumn Leaf #5, 2014. Oil on cartonboard, mounted on panel. 6"x6"
Available for Purchase at Daily Paintworks.

A cottonwood leaf I found I the yard, just beginning to take on its autumn color.

Thanks for taking a look. Have a great day! 

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Image and text ©Carol L Adamec, 2014. All rights reserved.

The Changing Season

Dried Leaf #3, 2014.  Original oil on cartonboard, mounted on panel.
SOLD

Another painting from my "Dried Leaf" series, showing the colors and forms of Nature changing during this season.

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Image & text ©Carol L Adamec, 2014. All rights reserved.

Nature's Handiwork

Autumn Leaf #1, 2014. Oil on cartonboard, mounted on panel. 4"x6"
Available for purchase on Daily Paintworks

In the same way no two snowflakes are the same, neither are the changing leaves of autumn. Each leaf has its own pattern of color transformation. The handiwork of Nature is amazing!

Thank you for taking a look at my newest artwork. Have a wonderful day!
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Text and image ©2014 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Another Reminder of Autumn

Dried Leaf #2, 2014. Original painting, mixed media on carton board, 4x6"
Available for purchase on Daily Paintworks

I love autumn — cool days, clear nights, and the change of seasons taking place in Nature.

This is the second painting in my new mixed media series, "Dried Leaves." To create the image I used oil, acrylic, and color pencil. To get all the nuances of the brittle edge of the leaf, I used a toothpick! As has been said, "Necessity is the mother of invention."

The painting is mounted flush on a stiff 3/16" panel for support and the edges painted, ready to be displayed on a small easel or hung without a frame.

Thanks for taking a look. Enjoy your day!

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Text and image ©2014 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Last Glimpse

Carol Adamec

"Black Leaf:
Missing Data"
Original oil, alkyd
on gessoed panel
20" x 10" approx
$525 + S&H

As you can see from previous posts about artists Louise Pryor, Ellen Van Fleet, Joanne Kamiya, and Sondra Diepen, the "Be Leaf It or Not" exhibit at the Harwood was quite diverse in materials, media, content, and intention, with each artist drawing upon Nature to express herself in an individual way.

As the fifth artist in the exhibit, I showed 4 paintings that you've seen on this blog: Wake Up Lily and Morning Tulips (posted on May 21), Rose Glow (posted on July 7), and Leaf Bouquet (posted on July 23).

I also created 3 new paintings, quite different from those, that are part of my new "Data Series" which addresses global warming. These paintings spring from my own frustration over the impasse between decades of scientific information and the corporate/political denial of factual data that thwarts any real progress in solving this global challenge.

The painting featured today, Black Leaf: Missing Data, looks at the ploy of distortion, dismissing some data and handpicking other facts to support an opinion, rather than seeking and dealing with the truth. Meanwhile, the Earth's survival (represented by the black leaf)....indeed, our survival....hangs in the balance.

Thanks for taking a moment to read this entry. If you would like to share a comment about my painting, please do so by clicking the COMMENTS link below. Or you can email me. Either way I look forward to hearing from you.

I hope you are enjoying a good week. See you Friday. ———————————————————————————————————————————
Image and text ©Carol Adamec 2008. All rights reserved.

Exhibit Glimpse 4

Sondra Diepen

"Shadow Weavers"
Original archival digital print
25" x 19" framed • $350 + S&H

Today's post features the work of Sondra Diepen, who is originally from California but relocated to New Mexico in 1974. Sondra majored in art at University of California-Davis, where she befriended Louise Pryor, Ellen Van Fleet, and Joanne Kamiya—artists whom you've met in this blog over the past few weeks as exhibitors in the "Be Leaf It or Not" exhibit at the Harwood.

Sondra is a fine painter, a world traveler, and an wonderful photographer. I've spent many an evening enjoying slides of her adventures in New Mexico, Utah, Alaska, Florida, and her off-the-beaten-track trips to Mexico, Peru, Egypt, Turkey, and Nepal, to name a few.

Over the past few years, Sondra has focused mostly on producing photo-based digital prints. As exemplified by "Shadow Weavers" featured in today's post, Sondra has an intuitive sensitivity for color, pattern, and light that is deeply felt. In fact, I have worked up paintings of my own from several of Sondra's photographs that she has given me (along with permission) to use.

As the curator of "Be Leaf It or Not" Sondra's own personal love of Nature was the guiding force for this exhibit. As she states in her Artist Statement, "I love the vast landscape and the delicate detail Nature provides. A leaf edged in sunlight, a reflection captured in a sandstone pool, or light filtering through the rain forest prompts me to get out my camera and see if I can preserve that moment....When I see something extraordinarily beautiful, I have this strong desire to press it into my body. I want it to become a part of me. Photograph and painting are the closest I can get to doing that."

Thanks for taking a moment to read this entry (which I apologize for posting a day late). If you would like to leave a comment about Sondra's work, please do so by clicking the COMMENTS link below. Or you can email me and I'll forward it to her.

I hope you are enjoying a great weekend. See you Monday. ——————————————————————————————————————————— Image ©Sondra Diepen. Text ©Carol Adamec 2008. All rights reserved.

A Bit of Green....Done!

Leaf Bouquet, 2008
Original painting, oil on canvas panel
8" x 6" unframed
Private Collection
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Here's the final version of the painting I started last week. The challenge of doing this painting was working with greens. I found that the trick is to use just "a bit of green" from the tube and to mix it with a variety of other colors, such as cadmium orange, Indian yellow, yellow ochre, cerulean blue, burnt sienna, Naples rose, and alizarin crimson!

I'm trying out some new Italian canvas panels in a 6" x 8" size, which is a format that plein air painters often use. The panel has a very fine weave which I really like, and has a nice proportion to it, too.

Even though this painting has no "flower", I think it still turned out bellissimo, no?

Thanks for taking a moment to read this post and see today's painting. See you Friday!
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Text, images, and artwork ©Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.