A Little Southwest Flavor

Bordello Abandoned

by Sondra Diepen
Photo-based Giclée
Various sizes available.
To purchase contact the Artist:
canyons@swcp.com

For me, one of the best perks of being an artist is knowing other artists. Then, too, I think the greatest compliment one artist can give another is to say "Gee, I wish I had done that!"

Today's image is by my artist-friend Sondra Diepen. If you have been following this blog for awhile, you may recall the post about Sondra back on October 4, 2008 (Link: http://caroladamec.blogspot.com/2008/10/exhibit-glimpse-4.html). Sondra was the curator and one of the artists in the Be Leaf It or Not exhibit at the Harwood Art Center last fall.

Sondra has photographed many wonderful images. This one, "Bordello Abandoned", is a favorite for many folks and one which made my Gee-I-Wish-I'd-Done-That list. There is something quintessentially "New Mexico" about this image which has captured the eye of many jurors as well as eager buyers.

Sondra has a keen eye for the color, texture and translucence of flowers, photographed up close to reveal the thrilling details of Nature. She also sees great beauty in unlikely subject matter such as rusted surfaces of old abandoned cars and faded artificial flowers on worn graves in small town cemeteries. You can see a sampling of her work at http://www.NMArtists.com. Enjoy!

Have a good day. See you Thursday.
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Artwork and image © Sondra Diepen. Used with permission.
Text 2009 ©Carol L Adamec. 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.

Color Caliente!

Late Siesta, 2008
Oil on canvas panel
10" x 8" unframed
SOLD
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I did this painting in February, based on a photograph taken by my Albuquerque artist-friend, Sondra Diepen. However, the colors just didn't have any "zing." So, over the past 5 months, I've repainted the background (the adobe wall) more times than I care to recall.

Nevertheless, it was rather interesting to see how all the other colors were altered each time I repainted just that one color in the background. That single color change could alter the "temperature" of the painting and the time of day.

Last week I got extreme and really pushed the color, and....viola! That did the trick. All those bright, high key colors felt like the heat of a summer day just beginning to fade and cool into a lovely evening in the great Southwest.

Thanks for taking a moment to read this post and see today's painting. I appreciate all the comments that readers have posted. Thank You!

See you Wednesday!
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Text, images, and artwork ©Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.

Fourth of July

July Flag, 2008
Original painting
Oil and alkyd on canvas panel
10" x 8" unframed
In Progres
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Back in April, I photographed this Eola Heights front porch in Orlando, in preparation for the Central Florida Plein Air Artists paint-out event later that month. Many of the homes in this historic neighborhood were built between 1900—1920's. Except for the palm trees, the neighborhood has a Norman Rockwell flavor about it...kind of like this painting.

As I mentioned in Wednesday's post, photographs are very handy for capturing a moment "right now." I saved this photo with the intention of having the painting ready for today.

Well, it's almost done—done enough to share with you on this 4th of July. I'll complete it and show you the "final" version next week.

I hope you enjoy a pleasant and peaceful Fourth of July.

Have a great weekend. See you Monday!
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Images and artwork protected by copyright ©Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.

Painting from Travel Photos

"Shanghai Goldfish" 2005
Oil, alkyd on canvas
Original: 30" x 36"

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While I do enjoy working "live" in the studio, I am quite aware of the limitations of painting only from direct observation. Things change, even indoors: flowers die, fruit rots, the light varies from day to day. Painting outdoors is even more challenging, with shifts in light and shadow, wind, cloud drifting, and weather moving in. So having a camera to capture the way something looks "right now" is very useful for completing paintings.

One of those times when having a camera handy is when one is traveling.

Shanghai Goldfish was developed from a photograph I took in 2000 at at tea house in China. We were on our way out the door when the goldfish in the Chinese porcelain bowl caught my eye. A quick snapshot made this painting a possibility. Without the photo, the idea for the painting would have vaporized into a forgotten memory from the trip. It still took 5 years for the idea to crystalize in my mind as an image to paint. I was glad that I had the photo to keep the idea alive.

The original painting is for sale, along with a giclée on stretch canvas (various sizes) in limited edition, and an open edition art print. Email me for additional purchase information.

Thanks for coming along and looking at my painting.

Have a great day. See you Friday.
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Text, image, and painting ©Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.

Two Realities

"Pines" 2008
Original, oil on gessoed panel
5" x 3.5" unframed

Since returning to painting this year, I have been rethinking my past working processes.

A lot of my previous work has been "idea driven" —meaning that I had an idea and would then develop the imagery to express or embody that idea. The other component of my artwork has come from an interest in rendering the phenomena of light falling on objects. My source material for developing my artwork came from photographs—ones I took myself or photos given to me by friends to use for my paintings.

Working from photographs is very convenient and helpful...especially when painting light effects. At the same time, working from photos is also limiting, and, in some ways, boring. For me, painting was becoming the challenge of meeting or exceeding the "reality" of the photograph; and I found myself wanting to take a perfect picture to ensure that I would get a perfect painting.

Over the past few months, I have been weaning myself from relying on photographs and painting from direct observation. This has been a completely different experience. There's more looking and seeing involved, many more color decisions to make, and more "do-overs"—wiping out and scraping paint off the canvas. At the same time, unpredictable stuff happens that makes the painting and the reality I am painting come "alive." Painting has become an adventure again!

This little "mini-painting" of tall pine trees was done from direct observation, looking out my studio window.

Thanks for coming along and looking at my painting. You are welcome to forward this blog to others, too.

Have a great day. See you Wednesday!
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Text, image, and painting ©Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.