Hello, I'm Back!

Floating Rose, 2014
Original oil painting on panel, 6" x 4"
SOLD

Hello, Dear Readers,

No, I haven't forsaken you or my blog. I have been out of town for most of the summer and just recently returned. And here it is, the end of July already!

Before my travels, I had been painting the late spring and early summer flowers and thought I would have time to post them online. That (obviously) didn't happen.

So, I am now ready to share these colorful little beauties with you over the next week or two. I hope you enjoy them.

Thanks for giving a few moments of your time to take a look. I hope you are enjoying your summer, too!

_______________________________________

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

Studio Tangerines

Tangerines, 2011

Original Painting: oil, alkyd
on 5" x 7" canvas panel unframed

SOLD

Since there are still nice, ripe tangerines on the tree outside, I picked a few more for this studio still life painting.

I used the same palette of colors that I chose for my last painting ("Frostbitten") and again painted from direct observation. However, this time the image is infused with lots of light, giving the painting a completely different feel.

Thanks for taking a look. Enjoy your week.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Text and image ©2011 Carol Adamec. All rights reserved.

Out in the Garden

Mimosa Pods, 2010

Original: oil, alkyd on panel
Unframed size: 7" x 5"
To purchase, contact the Artist

Although I haven't posted for a couple of weeks, I've been painting almost daily. I started five new paintings--mostly small ones---all different subject matter. This is the first one dry enough to scan for uploading.

I'm still into painting the greens, accented with some hot reds and bright yellows. It turns out that the palette knife practice that I struggled with on those palm tree paintings a few weeks ago finally paid off. I knifed in the background on this little painting to layer the color and keep it loose. It was actually fun!

I hope your week is going well. Thanks for taking a look, and keep cool!
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Text and image ©2010 Carol Adamec. All rights reserved.

Success en plein air

Cottonwood Reflections

Original oil, alkyd on canvas panel
7" x 5"
SOLD

When I go out to paint, I usually prefer a sunny day....better to capture distinct lights and darks/sunlight and shadow. Saturday began as an overcast day with thick clouds overhead. Oh, well, as a plein air painter, you go anyway. That's part of the challenge, to see if you can get a decent painting out of whatever weather and natural elements are available on a given day.

Sandia Lakes is just a few miles north from where I live. I met my friend Carmen there and we drove around to select a spot with a good view. Because of the clouds, the great view of the Sandia Mountains was pretty hazy. So I picked a closer view of old cottonwood trees reflected in one of the man-made lakes. The issue was to keep the colors subtle yet interesting.

Fortunately I had brought a panel toned with a thin wash of burnt sienna, so I allowed that color to show through in places, providing a warm "highlight" here and there. After a couple of hours, the painting, as seen here, was done. I was happy with it ...a success en plein air for me!

Thanks for taking a look today. See you Thursday.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Text and image ©2009 Carol Adamec. All rights reserved.

Plein air...stage 2

Piedras Marcadas (WIP)

Oil, alkyd on canvas panel
6" x 8"

Today's post shows what I had hoped my "on location" painting would have looked on Monday, after a morning of plein air painting at Piedras Marcadas. As you can see, I definitely needed the white paint for the pale blue sky, distant mountains on the far right edge, foreground light, and highlights.

Although I took a few photographs of the the view, most of what you now see has been painted from memory and invention, and, in my opinion, better than the "reality" I observed. It proves what Pablo Picasso is famous for saying: "Art is a lie that tells the truth."

Many thanks to those who sent me email comments about Monday's post. I truly appreciate your encouragement!

I'll be finishing up this little landscape and post the final version next week. Thanks for taking a look today. See you Monday.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Text and image ©2009 Carol Adamec. All rights reserved.

Plein Air rough

Piedras Marcadas (WIP)
Oil, alkyd on gessoed panel
6"x8"

A few months ago I joined the Plein Air Painters of New Mexico. Due to schedule conflicts I hadn't been out to paint with the group yet....until today. Since I hadn't done plein air since living in Florida, I was really looking forward to this session, since it was clear, cool, and quite pleasant this morning.

I spent part of yesterday setting up my plein air paint box and priming a few 6x8 panels to paint on. So this morning when I left the house at 8am, I thought I was all set to paint. The location was on the westside of Albuquerque, an undeveloped open space, called Piedras Marcadas, meaning "marked rocks", because of the petroglyphs in the area.

I hiked around, lugging all my painting gear, and found a shaded spot with a nice view. While setting up my palette, I discovered that I had forgotten my white paint, a huge deficit when working with a limited palette of 5 or six colors. Darn! Not wanting to completely give up on this opportunity, I worked up a tonal rendering of the scene, concentrating on the composition and lights and darks.

Fortunately I did remember my camera. So this rough start will be completed in the studio.

Enjoy the short work week! See you Thursday.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Text and image ©2009 Carol Adamec. All rights reserved.

Monday's "Balanced Universe"

Cosmos in Sunlight
by Carol Adamec
Original painting: Oil, alkyd on stretched canvas
6" x 6"
SOLD

To see a World in a grain of sand
And a Heaven in a wildflower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand.
And Eternity in an hour.
from "Auguries of Innocence" by William Blake

My mother is a Midwest farm girl who can nurture a dead stick into a mighty oak tree. She always had lovely, blossoming flowers around our house, in every season but the cold, snowy winters of Chicago.

I guess it's one of those genetic things that evidently skips a generation. Thus, my gardening skills are not my strong suit. Usually I choose hardy cacti and the ever-forgiving peace lily for my houseplants. However, I do believe I may plant some cosmos seeds outside my door.

According to various gardening websites, the colorful varieties of cosmos thrive in hot, dry climates and produce more flowers if underwatered. Now this is my kind of plant! And perfect for Albuquerque, too. Cosmos are related to sunflowers, daisies, and asters. Having an even number of petals around a yellow center, the cosmos received its name meaning "balanced universe." I like that concept, too.

In the meantime, I'm posting this 6"x6" oil painting on canvas, Cosmos in Sunlight, to start off the week. I usually don't choose a palette of pinks and lavenders to paint with, as I think of those hues being "softer" or more subtle. However, it seems this painting comes across as a pretty strong image.

I hope your universe stays in balance this week. See you Thursday.

__________________________________________

Artwork and text ©2009 Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.

Morning Glorious...Almost Done

Morning Glorious
by Carol Adamec
Original: Oil, alkyd on gessoed panel
6" x 8"

I worked on this painting late into the night yesterday, so I am posting late today (on Thursday).

This painting of morning glories is very close to completion. I have the center stamens to add. Some of the green leaves seem a bit to dark, and I'll probably light them up a bit.

I have a couple of other small floral closeups that I am looking forward to getting underway this weekend. I have prepared canvas primed with a neutral gray gesso, so this is another new approach for me. We'll see how that turns out.

Have a great weekend. See you Monday.
________________________________________________
Artwork and text ©2009 Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.

Morning Daffodils...done!

Morning Daffodils

by Carol Adamec
Original: Oil, alkyd on gessoed panel
10" x 8"

And here it is....the Morning Daffodils painting all done.

I'm taking a break this weekend by going to Santa Fe on the Railrunner this Saturday. I want to see the current show at the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, "Modernists in New Mexico."

If I don't have a new painting/finished piece to share with you on Monday, I'll still have a report on my trip to Santa Fe. It's always a fun adventure to travel north to "The City Different."

Thanks for taking a look today. See you on Monday.
______________________________________________
Artwork and text ©2009 Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.

Fresh Chiles

White Jar, 2009
Original: Oil, alkyd on canvas panel
8" x 8"

Despite my good intentions to get ready for tomorrow night's Harwood Open Studio Night, I worked on this painting instead. Let's face it: I'd rather paint than clean any day!

Anyway, I went to the grocery store Monday and bought fresh chiles so I could finish the piece. And I ended up mixing up a whole lotta greens to get the right "chile green." I do like the complementary contrast between the peppers and the copper lid. So, it all worked out nicely.

Well, I gotta go now and clean the studio. See you Monday!
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Text and image ©2009 Carol Adamec. All rights reserved.

Win some, lose some

Green Chiles & White Jar (Work in Progress)
Oil, alkyd on canvas panel • 8" x 8"

I am posting late today, after spending the day in the studio and getting nowhere fast.

I had three (very wet) paintings that I worked on over the weekend. One-- I finally just threw away--a total loss that was just too frustrating to continue painting on. Another is a small 5x7" that I hope (and pray) I will be showing you in the near future.

The one you see here is the third one, and the most promising, at least at this point in time. The challenge will be getting that copper lid on the white jar to look like reflective medal. I hope that my "studio angel" will be present and in a good mood when I am working on that part of the painting in particular.

Thanks for taking a moment to look at my work. I hope your week is off to a good start. See you Thursday.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Text and image ©2009 Carol Adamec. All rights reserved.

Light & Air

The Kitchen Window
Original oil & alkyd on stretched canvas
18 x 24"
Contact Artist to purchase.

After posting so many "works in progress" it's nice to start the week off with a completed painting to show you.

I began this large horizontal 22" x 28" painting while living in Florida. It depicts the kitchen at my brother-in-law's workshop in Orlando where I had my studio last year before moving to Albuquerque. I walked into the shop kitchen one evening, just before going home for dinner, and the light and breeze coming in the open window were truly lovely, on both a visual and sensate level.

You may remember that I posted a detail from this painting titled Supper Dishes on July 15, 2008 (http://caroladamec.blogspot.com/2008/07/details-details.html). That was only a 10" x 8" painting but really helped as a "practice" for doing this larger painting.

Technically, The Kitchen Window painting involved interesting color work, ranging from the bright yellow-orange highlights of sunshine to the deep purplish darks of the shadows in the curtains. Then, too, I had to consider how to show the translucent quality of the curtain material as light and air passed through it. The warm and cool gradations of light within the room, and light falling on, passing through objects, or reflected off different surfaces required multiple color decisions, too.

In all, I am pretty happy with the results and have submitted the piece for a local exhibit in Albuquerque. I'll let you know the juror's results when notified later this month.

Have a good Monday, and a happy Groundhog Day (today)! See you Thursday.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Text and image ©2009 Carol Adamec. All rights reserved.

Courtyard 2...revisted

"Courtyard 2" (in progress)
Original oil & alkyd on canvas panel
10 x 8"

Last time I showed you this painting in-progress (on January 12), I had just the basic values laid down. I've started adding color to determine the "light of day" and the "temperature" of the painting--whether it will have a warmer or cooler feel to it.

While it's my natural tendency to heighten the contrasts, tighten up edges, and add more details, I'm rather liking the overall diffused softness of the image. My challenge, then, is to finish the painting without overworking it. Unlike Photoshop, there are no "un-do's" or "re-do's" in painting....Darn!

I hope you have a good weekend. See you Monday.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Text and image ©2009 Carol Adamec. All rights reserved.

Blue Gate ... Done!

Blue Gate, 2009
Original: Oil & alkyd on panel
10" x 8" unframed
SOLD

I enjoyed a very nice weekend, moseying around the Pena Blanca, Santo Domingo and Cochiti areas located between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. My artist friend Sondra Diepen and I spent several hours just driving down the road, stopping to take pictures whenever something caught our attention.

The day was warm and sunny, and artistically successful, too, as I took several photos that will lead to new paintings. Already I am working on one that will be on an 18" x 24" stretched canvas. I'll keep you posted as the painting develops.

I did work in the studio last Friday, completing the Blue Gate painting, featured as today's post. This was a fun piece to do and felt "right" from the start, even when doing the grisaille (see January 5 post). A few readers told me that they liked that version, before any color was added. It will be interesting to see what they (or you) think of the completed image. Please feel free to post your opinion below. Just click the "Comment" link just below this text.

Also, I will be leading a discussion, along with ShaRi Brooks, entitled "Creating an Internet Presence/Selling Your Artwork Online" at the Rainbow Artists meeting, this Wednesday, starting at 8pm. The event is free and open to the public, and being held at the Cesar Chavez Community Center, 7505 Kathryn SE, Albuquerque, (south on Louisiana, east on Kathryn). Free parking is available.

Hope your Monday is an easy one. See you Thursday.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Text and image © 2009 Carol Adamec. All rights reserved.