Edge of the Woods

Edge of the Woods
Boogie Board Drawing

 Hello, Dear Readers,

I apologize for the many weeks that have passed since my last blog post in August. My time and attention have been occupied with moving my mother into assisted living and preparing for my return to New Mexico next month.

For the next few weeks, while my mother acclimates to her new environment and living situation, I am staying at my sister's house here in Florida. With my painting supplies all packed up and in temporary storage, I have once again turned to my Boogie Board to do some drawing.

Today's post shows a view across the backyard from the breakfast table. My brother-in-law has done a fine job of edging the lawn with colorful tropical plantings, gigantic elephant ears, and a variety of palms. Further, beyond this well maintained area, is a natural greenbelt of dense vegetation that drops down to the river. The greenbelt is home to a variety of wildlife, too—deer, raccoon, owls, and a few alligators that can be heard bellowing on occasion.

Thanks for taking a moment to read this post. Enjoy a great week!
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Text and image ©2012 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Back to the Garden

Garden Varieties #9
Boogie Board Drawing

I'm so addicted to drawing on the Boogie Board. It's a stress reliever and a relaxing way to unwind.

Just set the stylus tip on the tablet surface and let it flow. Since there's no eraser, there are no "mistakes." You never know what will happen.

Thanks for taking a moment to read this post. Enjoy a great weekend!
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Text and image ©2012 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Florida Wildlife Encounter

Shorebird (Ibis)  / Boogie Board Drawing with color pencil.

 Living in Florida is a sensate experience. There are exotic flowers of every color and fragrance, along with tropical palms and shrubbery in every hue of green. There are plenty of critters, too—from black bears, alligators, lizards, and chameleons to pelicans, hawks, sandhill cranes, and great blue herons. With the plethora of lakes, rivers, and waterways, wildlife encounters within the urban area are common.

Back in May, while painting with the local plein air group, I photographed a white ibis strutting along the shore, with waterlilies and reeds in the background. I rarely do animals, but there was something arresting about being so close to wildlife that day.

Over the past two weeks, I've been working from that photo of the ibis, starting with the drawing done on the Boogie Board. When it was finished, I photographed it and uploaded the image to my computer. With Photoshop I added the white and orange colors, and printed it out on rice paper. To give the image a bit more dimension and color variation, I added some hand coloring with color pencils. I guess you could call this piece of work a "digital mixed media drawing."

Available at www.ArtByCarolAdamec.ETSY.com 

Since my last post, I also acquired a Boogie Board RIP, another Kent Displays / iMPROV Electronics product that I mentioned back on July 10. It's a bit larger, has the save feature, and connects to the computer for direct upload. I've done a bit of scribbling on it, just to get acquainted with how it operates. I'll be posting more information about that e-Writer tablet in upcoming post.

Thank you for taking a moment to read this post. Have a great Monday!
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Text and image ©2012 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Summer Fun Boogie

Boogie Board Drawing by Renee Adamec

Summertime is fun time, and I had a blast taking my 18-year old granddaughter around to the Florida beaches and tourist sites while she was visiting me.

We perused the show at the Orlando Museum of Art, drove over to the new Dali Museum in Tampa for the day, enjoyed "Nunsense" at the Winter Park Playhouse one evening, spent a day at Universal Studios to experience the Harry Potter attraction (I did ride one roller coaster!), and beached on both the Gulf side and the Atlantic side.

And we drew on the Boogie Board too!

One evening while I made dinner, Renee took up the Boogie Board and drew the design posted here today. She really enjoyed the smooth drawing surface and drawing easy.

Since my last post a month ago, I also acquired a Boogie Board RIP, another iMPROV Electronics product that I mentioned back in July. It's a bit larger in size, has the save feature, and connects to the computer for direct upload. I've done a bit of scribbling on it, just to get acquainted with how it operates. I'll be posting more information about that tablet in a future post.

Thanks for taking a moment to read this post. I very much appreciate it. Enjoy a great weekend!
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Text and image ©2012 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Garden Varieties #8...Done!

Garden Varieties #8
Original Drawing, Boogie Board Tablet

As promised, here is the completed version of yesterday's Boogie Board drawing Garden Varieties #8.

I must admit that I did not take a good photo of the completed drawing (and I pushed that "erase" button too soon!) So I compensated by doing far more tweaking of the image on my desktop in Adobe Photoshop Elements than usual. I am hoping that the end justifies the means.

Now, to answer this question from a few readers:

Will prints of your Boogie Board drawings be available?

This week I started printing out the completed Boogie Board drawings onto different rice papers. I like printing on rice paper because of the natural color and the texture of the paper. It makes each print truly unique, since the surface of the paper is varied and takes the ink differently each time.

Since the rice papers are a natural color rather than white, the final colors in the prints are varied. Some look just great, and other prints are less striking. So I am in the "Artist's Proof" stage of production. I'll let you know when the prints will be ready for purchase, perhaps by next week. Thank you for asking!

To all my readers, thank you for taking a moment to read this post. I very much appreciate it. Enjoy a nice weekend.
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Text and image ©2012 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Garden Varieties #8 WIP

Garden Varieties #8 (WIP) / Boogie Board Drawing

Today I thought I would share with my dear friends and readers a Boogie Board drawing in progress.

The image you see with this post shows Garden Varieties #8 after I drew the basic lines for the drawing and started to rough in the lighter areas. (I was at my car dealership getting an oil change, and took my Boogie Board tablet along.)

Once I got home, I photographed the unfinished drawing on the Boogie Board, transferred it to my desktop computer, and did a little "prep work" on the image to enhance the image readability for today's post. I increased the contrast and saturation, removed dust specks, and put the black border around it.

I am posting this WIP (work in progress) as a visual illustration to answer the following question from an artist friend about the Boogie Board tablet:

Does the Boogie Board have a range of colors?
No. The blank surface of the Boogie Board is a blackish color. When you write or draw on it, those areas become a lighter color, sort of a greenish gray, depending on the light. So it's like doing a white line drawing on a black background.

When you want to clear the Boogie Board tablet, you press the round "erase" button at the top. The Boogie Board flashes for an instant and the working surface goes blank, back to the blackish color.

The variation of greens seen on my Boogie Board drawings is the result of changes I make to the drawing images (increasing the exposure, contrast, tone, and color temperature) after I transferred the drawing to my computer desktop.

Of course, if you have an image manipulation program like Adobe Photoshop on your computer, you could do all sorts of color alterations to the drawing once it is transferred to your computer desktop.

Tomorrow I'll post the finished version of this drawing so you can see how it turned out.

Thanks for taking a moment to read this post. See you tomorrow!

PS: And, oh yes, I changed the look of my blog page. You are welcome to comment on that, too.
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Text and image ©2012 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

So, What is a Boogie Board Tablet?

Boogie Board 8.5 LCD Writing Tablet (with Garden Varieties #7 drawing)

Several of my readers and artist friends have emailed me questions about the Boogie Board tablet that I've been using to draw with for the past few weeks. So, in today's post, I thought I'd start off by sharing some basic information.

The official name of this eWriter is the Boogie Board 8.5 LCD Writing Tablet, developed by Kent Displays of Ohio and sold through iMPROV Electronics. You can see the different Boogie Board models (and in pretty colors, too!) at http://www.iMPROVelectronics.com/us/en/

Today's post shows a picture of the Boogie Board I am using, sold under the Brookstone label, that I first saw "in the flesh" at my local Staples office supply store.

The Boogie Board tablet is thin and very light, weighing only 5.6 ounces—much lighter than most paper sketchbooks—and comfortable to hold when drawing. The writing/drawing surface measures about 7" x 5", a nice standard size familiar to artists.

The writing/drawing surface is smooth with a kind of semi-matte finish that the stylus just glides across with ease—having less resistance than pencil on paper. The tablet is pressure sensitive, so you can vary the line weight as you draw.

Pictured to the right of the Boogie Board is the dense plastic grey stylus which comes with this tablet. It's about 5" long and fits nicely in a slot at the top of the Boogie Board tablet. Also pictured are the rubber tipped paint erasers that I used on my last drawing, Garden Varieties #7.

I like drawing on the Boogie Board tablet because I can carry it around with me anywhere. It doesn't require electrical charging or being plugged in, and drawing on it is a spontaneous process—there's no going back, re-doing, deleting, or erasing a line or "mistake" while drawing. You just keep working until the drawing is finished—good or bad—and then do another one! I find the Boogie Board tablet a great device for drawing practice, which is exactly why I bought it.

Which brings me to these two questions from readers:

You make these beautiful concoctions and then erase them? and

How do you get the drawing from the Boogie Board to your blog?

I photograph the drawing on the Boogie Board with my digital camera, transfer the image to my computer, and save it to my hard disk. Then I use image software to even out the color, sharpen the edges, and resize it for uploading to my blog.

There is a new Boogie Board tablet that has a "SAVE" feature, designed to store up to 200 pages (or drawings) and made to connect to your computer. It's called the Boogie Board RIP (for "Record Image. Preserve.") You can see that device, too, at the website noted above.


Thanks for your interest. I hope you are enjoying a good week. 
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Text and image ©2012 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Boogie Board Drawing #7

Garden Varieties #7

Original Drawing • Boogie Board Tablet

Here it is, the end of the week already; and I have another Boogie Board drawing to share with you.

This drawing is a bit different from the previous ones, as I added a few new tools to work with on the Boogie Board—in particular, a set of rubber tipped paint erasers—tools I usually use for painting!

Using these implements allowed me to more quickly fill in areas than just using the Boogie Board stylus and gives the drawing a different texture, which I like.

Along with many nice comments about the new Boogie Board drawings I posted over the past week, I've received a few questions, too. In my next blog entry, I'll post answers and a few photos to answer those inquiries.

Thank you for your interest. Have a great weekend!
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Text and image ©2012 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

The Power of Art

Garden Varieties #6

Original Drawing, Boogie Board Tablet

 

"I believe our memories have a much better idea

about what is art than our eyes do...."  

 —William F. Reese

Many thanks to those readers who left nice comments or emailed me kind remarks about the Boogie Board tablet drawings posted last week. I appreciate your enthusiasm and encouragement!

Today I would like to share one email in particular. It's from my sister, writing about my drawing and connecting it to memories of her daughter Emily, who is all grown up now and will be married next Saturday. 

"When Emily was little, there were no houses at the end of our block—it was all woods and weeds. We used to take a walk in the early mornings during warm weather to see a cluster of morning glories in full bloom. We would go to "see the colors" and count how many there were altogether and how many of each color.

"A few years ago sewer lines were put in and the land at the end of the block was "developed". There are now several homes lining the cul de sac. The other morning I took a walk and looked for the morning glories, but they were gone. Yet in my mind's eye I saw a little girl with a head of wild yellow curls bending over a thicket of blooms, marveling at the beauty of the colors and carefully counting, "1, 2, 3 blue ones, Mama!" (the blue ones were her favorite).

"Your drawing reminds me of those sweet moments shared so very long ago. There is a certain irony that your drawing, like the morning glories, is only temporary. I find that sad somehow, but I am thankful you shared it with me, if only for moment."

Thanks for taking a look. Have a wonderful day.

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Text and image ©2012 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

I'm still Boogie Boarding...

Garden Varieties #5

Original Drawing • Boogie Board Tablet

Did I mention that I am having FUN drawing on my new Boogie Board Tablet? Here's today's drawing. Have a great weekend, and thanks for taking a look.

Boogie Board Drawing #4

Garden Varieties #4 • Original Drawing, Boogie Board Tablet

A friend sent me an email, asking me what prompted my interest in using the Boogie Board tablet to make drawings.

Well, I love to draw and have been wanting to do some drawing for awhile, just to loosen up and indulge in creative "play." However, while preparing for the April show in Albuquerque, I had neither the time nor space to do so, and lacked enthusiasm for "traditional" methods and materials.

A few weeks ago I came across an electronic writing/drawing tablet called a Boogie Board on eBay, and bid on it. Since its arrival, I've been doing a drawing a day, enjoying the process immensely, and excited about the possibilities.

I also like that the Boogie Board Tablet is a "green" alternative to paper. After finishing the drawing, you just press the erase button to clear the image, which brings up a new blank "page" (screen). The Boogie Board will erase 50,000 times, so it replaces quite a few traditional paper sketchpads!

The Boogie Board Tablet comes in colors (bright pretty ones) and retails for about $40. I bought mine on eBay for $29 and a few dollars for shipping. Of course, you can purchase one on Amazon, too.

Thanks for taking a look. Have a great day!

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Text and image ©2012 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Boogie Board Drawing #3

Garden Varieites #3 • Original Drawing, Boogie Board Tablet

And here's another drawing done on the Boogie Board.
Thanks for taking a look. Have a great day.
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Text and image ©2012 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Rainy Day in Florida

Garden Varieties #2 • Original Drawing, Boogie Board Tablet

After a rainy weekend, it rained again, all day, here in Florida today. I wish I could send some of this moisture to my friends out west in New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah. They could use some relief from the fires.

Meanwhile, back in Orlando, it was a good day for reading and doing another Boogie Board drawing. So that's just what I did.

Thanks for taking a look. Have a great day.
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Text and image ©2012 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Boogie Board Drawing

Garden Varieties #1 • Original Drawing, Boogie Board Tablet

Hello, Dear Readers,

No, I haven't abandoned my blog...just took a little vacation from the studio and painting over the past several weeks.

I did acquire a new "toy" called a Boogie Board tablet. It's pretty cool and loads of fun to work on. The picture on today's post is my first Boogie Board drawing. I can see all kinds of possibilities.

Instead of a lengthy explanation from me, here's a link to more information about the Boogie Board tablet, designed by Kent Displays and distributed by iMPROV Electronics:

http://www.improvelectronics.com/us/en/boogie-board-LCD-writing-tablet/boogie-board-8-LCD-writing-tablet.html

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Text and image ©2012 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Back in the Land of Enchantment

Black on Black, 2012

Original Painting: Oil, alkyd on panel
20" x 20"
Collection of Bernalillo County Public Art Program

I arrived Wednesday afternoon in Albuquerque after a long but pleasant drive. Although there's much to do to get ready for the "What Remains" show opening April 6 at the Harwood Art Center, I thought I'd give my dear readers another preview of work I will be exhibiting in the show.

If you are familiar with the black-on-black pottery style invented by Maria Martinez of San Ildefonso Pueblo, you will understand the inspiration for the painting posted on today's blog. The work of Maria Martinez and her husband Julian is a fascinating story that you can read about via this link: http://www.mariapottery.com/bio/bio.html

It was fun and a challenge for me to achieve in paint the matte vs. shiny surface quality of this world famous blackware pottery.

To bring out the rich black of the design I used a high gloss medium in my paint mixture, which I later painted over again with several coats of varnish to further increase the gloss. What appears as white dots was done with silver metallic pen.

Thanks for taking a look. Enjoy your weekend.
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Text and image ©2012 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Sneak Preview #2

Pueblo Pictoral, 2012

Original Painting: Oil, alkyd on 8"x 12" panel

$195
Contact Artist to Purchase

I'm about 10 days away from leaving Orlando and driving to Albuquerque. As I mentioned in my last post—'way back in February—I'll be one of four artists in the exhibit "What Remains" at the Harwood Art Center in Albuquerque during the month of April.

To reward my faithful readers out there, I am posting another small oil painting I've completed for the show based on a Native American Pueblo design...another little "sneak preview" for you.

Thanks for taking a look. And enjoy a Happy St. Patty's Day this weekend, too.
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Text and image ©2012 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

A Little Sneak Preview

Anasazi Sherd #1, 2012
Original Painting: Oil, alkyd on gessoed panel

8"x 8" (unframed)  •  $150
Contact Artist to purchase

Dear Faithful Readers:

I apologize for my irregular posting since the beginning of the year. I have been painting away in the studio for hours every day in preparation for an upcoming exhibit at the Harwood Art Center in Albuquerque during the month of April.

Once again, I will be joining my friends Sondra Diepen, Louise Pryor, and Joanne Kamiya in our 4-person show called "What Remains."

If you have been following this blog for awhile, you may recall seeing images of "sherd paintings" that I've done off and on over the past two years inspired by Indian pottery fragments. For this upcoming exhibit, I am preparing an entire body of work based on Native American pottery sherds and design fragments. And I'm very excited about this new work!

Although I have several large paintings underway, today's post is one of the smaller pieces to be in the show...a little "sneak preview" for you.

Thanks for taking a look. I hope you are enjoying a great week.

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Text and image ©2012 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

New Year's Resolution

Sunset Strip #21: Showtime!, 2011


Original Painting: Oil, alkyd on gessoed wood


3" x 9.5" (unframed)


SOLD

One of my New Year's resolutions is to use more color when painting. So how's this? Seems to work for this painting, inspired by a stunning Albuquerque sunset I witnessed last September.

Thanks for taking a look. Have a great week.

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Text and image ©2012 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Sunset in Florida

Sunset Strip #20: Lake Howell, 2011
Original Painting: Oil, alkyd on gessoed wood
3" x 9.5" (unframed) 
 

Here it is...the 11th of January and my first post of the New Year!

Today's painting is the last Sunset Strip Series I finished in 2011. It's an early evening view across our neighborhood lake here in Orlando. I'm posting this painting for all those readers living in cold and snowy weather zones: Keep warm!

Thanks for taking a look. And I hope your New Year is off to a great start!
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Text and image ©2012 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Season's Greetings

Winter Gate, 2011

Original oil, alkyd on stretched canvas

10" x 8" unframed • $375

Contact Artist to purchase.

To All My Dear Readers, Friends, Family, and Supporters...
Best Wishes to You and Your Loved Ones
for a Happy New Year!

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Text and image ©2011 Carol Adamec. All rights reserved

Painting Like Monet

Lake Bridge, 2011
Original oil on canvas panel
4.5" x 5" unframed • N/A

I trust that all you faithful Readers out there have recovered from your Thanksgiving feasts and survived the traditional weekend shopping binge. True Confession time: I stuffed myself at the relatives' house (Thank you, Elena and Praveen for a wonderful dinner!) and cyber-shopped for 3 days.

However, the Saturday before all the hub-bub, I went with the local plein air painting group and enjoyed a quiet morning, sitting at the shore of Lake Lily in Orlando, painting the waterlilies, like Monet. Since I am in Florida again, I may as well take this opportunity to practice painting water, especially since it is so plentiful here. There are hundreds of lakes—large and small—all over this city, and Lake Lily is a nice one.

This first attempt started out as a 5" x 7" painting. Over the weekend, I cropped it; and then cropped it again, down to the current size (4.5" x 5"), as the composition of the original version was just never going to "work." I wonder if Monet ever had to do that?

Thanks for taking a look and have a great week.
                                                                                                   
©2011 Text and image by Carol Adamec. All rights reserved.

A Thing of Beauty...

Black Cross, New Mexico, 1929

by Georgia O'Keeffe

Oil on canvas, 39" x 30"

Collection of the Art Institute of Chicago

I am having one of those weeks where every painting in my studio is either unresolved, uninteresting, or just plain ugly. So, rather than assaulting you with an awful painting of mine, I'm posting one of my favorite works of art.

This painting has been a comfort and an inspiration to me for 46 years(!)...most recently as Sunset Strip #13, which I posted on July 13, 2011. Check it out, and I'm sure you'll see the influence.

Like Keats said, "A thing of beauty is a joy for ever."

Thanks for taking a look. Have a great weekend.

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New Mexico Still Life

Indian Things, 2011

Original painting, oil on gessoed panel
10" x 8" • $375 • Framing available
Contact Artist to purchase.

I'm going to blame Halloween for missing my blog post last week. I consumed too much candy corn and fell into a sugar coma for the rest of the week. Now that I've recovered...

Today's featured painting was begun over two years ago, and then "misplaced." Well, you know how the story goes: Last summer, while looking for something else...there it was, along with another painting I had given up for lost.

So while in Albuquerque during September, I worked on "Indian Things" and finally finished it just this weekend. I especially enjoyed painting all those hot reds.

Thanks for taking a look. Have a great weekend.
                                                                                                  
©2011 Text and image by Carol Adamec. All rights reserved.

The Old and The New

Mogollon Sherd: Motherboard, 2011

Original oil on canvas panel
8" x 8" • $150
Contact Artist to purchase.

I'm still fooling around with images inspired by patterns found on traditional Native American pottery sherds. This painting has been in the works since August, before my sojourn to New Mexico. Despite the fact that the image consists of (only!) 2 basic colors, the painting has been through several sandings (where I completely sanded the paint off the panel) and repaintings. I wasn't quite sure what I was after, but it certainly wasn't "there" yet.

The sherd pattern is from the Mogollon culture, one of the four major prehistoric Native American cultures which occupied a large area in what is now New Mexico, Arizona, and northern Mexico from 150AD to 1450.

Finally, sometime during the repainting process, the entire 40 watt lightbulb in my head came on. I realized that this ancient pottery design is quite similar to contemporary computer circuit boards. Adding the dotted circuitry in gold metallic ink made the painting image, and ideas, come together.

Thanks for taking a look. Have a great weekend!
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©2011 Text and image by Carol Adamec. All rights reserved.

Fall Flowers

Blue Vase, 2011
Original painting:  oil on paper, mounted on panel
Private Collection

Here's another small painting I completed while in Albuquerque. When I arrived at my friend's home this bouquet was on the table to greet me....flowers fresh from her garden. Now, who wouldn't be inspired by these great colors and such a kind gesture by a thoughtful hostess?

However, the preparation for this painting started a few years ago when I saw a painting done on brown paper, mounted to a panel. I liked the way the oil paint looked on that paper; so I prepared this small panel with brown paper and coated it with a clear gesso (for archival purposes). Then it sat around my studio waiting for the "right" image. I'm really glad that I packed it with my painting gear for my trip to Albuquerque. It was ready to go the day I painted this blue vase with flowers.

Thanks for taking a look. Have a great week!

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©2011 Text and image by Carol Adamec. All rights reserved.

Sunset #19: Beyond the Mesa

Sunset Strip #19: Beyond the Mesa, 2011

Original oil on wood panel • 2" x 6"
SOLD

I've returned to the "Land of the Palms." However, today's painting was completed a few weeks ago while in the "Land of Enchantment." This was the view from Balloon Fiesta Park one evening, looking west at the setting sun beyond the mesa.

Thanks for taking a look. Have a great week!

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©2011 Text and image, Carol Adamec. All rights reserved.

Albuquerque Sunset

Sunset Strip Series #18: Looking West

Original Painting: oil, alkyd on wood panel

7" x 2.75" 
SOLD

How could I be in Albuquerque for almost a month and not yet posted a sunset?

Well, the first two weeks I was here, it clouded up and rained every evening....a very good thing for Albuquerque, not so good for viewing the sunset.

Since then, however, I've been out at sunset with my trusty camera, and here is the first of several Southwest sunset paintings in the works. The beauty of the Southwest landscape is, not only the variety of colors in the sky and clouds, the scope of the view...360 degrees, incredibly breathtaking.

I'm happy to share this with you and appreciate you taking a moment view this blog. Thanks, and have a great day.



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©2011 Text and Image by Carol Adamec. All rights reserved.

Blue Gate 2

Blue Gate 2 (Dappled), 2011

Original oil on canvas panel • 8" x 6"
SOLD

Today's painting may seem familiar to those of you who are longtime readers. I painted the first version of this blue gate at my friend's Albuquerque house over 2 years ago, posted on my blog January 19, 2009. Today's painting is hot off the easel, just dry enough to put on the scanner.

It was interesting for me to compare the two paintings. The first version is much more photographic, intended to capture the subtleties of light. The new painting is more "impressionistic" with stronger contrast and higher keyed color. Same gate, different days, different light, different intention, different paintings, same artist!


Thanks for taking a look. Have a great day.

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©2011 Text and image by Carol Adamec. All rights reserved.

Red Door

Red Door, 2011

Original Oil on gessoed panel

6" x 6" (unframed) 
Private Collection

This was another sight at The Casa Rodena Winery in Albuquerque, which I photographed last Monday while out painting with the Plein Air Artists of New Mexico. I didn't have time to paint it on location, so I worked up the painting in the studio over the past week. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.

Thanks for taking a look. Have a great day.

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©2011 Text & image Carol Adamec. All Rights reserved.

Monet, Again

Sunset Strip #17 (after Monet)

Oil on gessoed wood, 6" x 2"

Private Collection

Good Morning, Dear Readers!

I'm still in New Mexico, painting away, enjoying each and every day. I have five new paintings near completion, still in the drying stage, to share with you.

In the meantime, here's another "baby" Monet sunset, this one from his painting "Puesta de Sol en Etretat." Copying Monet's brushwork is like painting confetti--lots of little slivers of different colors.

Have a great day. See you later this week.
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©2011 Text and Image, Carol Adamec. All rights reserved.

New Mexico Plein Air

The Winery, 2011
Original plein air painting, oil on linen panel

N/A

This past Monday I painted with the Plein Air Artists of New Mexico (www.papnm.org). The group met at 9am at Casa Rodena Winery in the lovely Albuquerque neighborhood of Los Ranchos. It was a bright and sunny morning, so we all clustered along the banks of the acequia in the shade of ancient cottonwoods.

The winery grounds have multiple, classical buildings with green tiled roofs and, of course, rows and rows of grapes, as you can see in this view that I painted.

Many thanks to the PAPNM folks who allowed me to paint with their group as a guest. I look forward to being back in New Mexico as a full time resident in the future and a longtime member of the group.

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©2011 Text and image Carol Adamec . All rights reserved.

New Mexico Greeting

Photo by Carol Adamec

Well, it was a 1,897 mile drive from Orlando to Albuquerque; and I arrived safely on Saturday afternoon. Making a pitstop just north of Roswell, I pulled into a rest area and was greeted by this sign. Ah, yes, I'm definitely in the "Land of Enchantment"!

I have unpacked my painting gear and will be out painting in "The Land of Enchantment" this weekend. I hope you have a great weekend adventure, too, wherever you are.

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©Text and photo Carol Adamec, 2011. All rights reserved.

August Lilies

Sophisticated Lilies 1, 2011
Original oil, alkyd on gessoed canvas panel
4.5"x8" unframed
SOLD

Sophisticated Lilies 2, 2011

Original oil, alkyd on gessoed panel
4"x6.5" unframed
SOLD

And now for something completely different...

In between painting the Sunset Series and the new potsherd fragments, I worked up these two small lily paintings. A couple of months ago I had taken some not-very-interesting photos of a lily bouquet, and then fooled around with the compositions until the images were more enticing to paint.

In the meantime, I am packing up my studio supplies in preparation for my trip to New Mexico. So the next post on my blog will be from the beautiful Land of Enchantment.

Thanks for taking a look. I hope you enjoy a safe and relaxing Labor Day weekend.

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Text and images ©2011 Carol Adamec. All rights reserved.

Call of the Southwest: Part 2

Sherd Fragment: Ebony & Ivory

Original oil, alkyd on gessoed canvas panel
8" x 8"

Now that I have six(!) paintings based on potsherd fragments, it appears that I have a new series underway. Here's the second painting, completed in the past week.

The image is based on a potsherd found on private property near a pueblo in New Mexico. That kind of find certainly gives one a sense of history.

Thanks for taking a look. Have a great day.

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Text and image ©2011 Carol Adamec. All rights reserved.

Call of the Southwest

Salado Fragment: Cathedral
Original oil, alkyd on gessoed canvas panel
8" x 8"

In just a few weeks, I will be traveling to New Mexico for a monthlong visit, to see friends, scout out the scenery, and get in some painting, of course! With the upcoming trip on my mind, I guess it's not surprising that Southwest inspirations would be showing up during my studio sessions.

Longtime readers of this blog may recall the small paintings of pottery fragments that I posted 'way back in 2008 and 2009, which culminated in the larger painting, "Stones & Sherds" (posted Feb 2, 2010). That was pretty much the end of that thematic effort for me, until this past week. Now there are three new paintings based on Indian pottery sherds and patterns, completed on an 8" x 8" format.

It's truly amazing to really look at the intricate patterns and skillful craftsmanship rendered hundreds of years ago by the Native American artisans, especially considering that their materials were all handmade and natural—no fancy brushes or manufactured pigments for these artists!

Then, too, there is a seemingly unlimited variety of designs and variations in Indian pottery (still today, too). I am reminded of Georgia O'Keeffe's design ideal "...of filling a space in a beautiful way."

Thanks for taking a look. Have a great day.

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Text and image ©2011 Carol Adamec. All rights reserved.

Making an Impression

Sunset Series #16 (Monet's Sunset)
Original oil, alkyd on gessoed wood

Approximately 6" x 1.5"
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A few months ago, my sister April sent me my favorite kind of art book—one that's mostly pictures and very few words. The title is "Monet's Impressions", published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Today's Sunset Strip #16 was inspired by one of Monet's paintings, Setting Sun on the Seine at Lavacourt, Winter Effect (1880), featured in the book. You would think that copying a painting would be easy; but, oh no, not so. Painted 130 years ago, Monet's painting is still striking in its boldness, color subtleties, and complex layering of brushwork, even in reproduction!

The more I looked at the picture and worked away on my version of Monet's painting, the greater my appreciation for Monet's masterful style and my growing desire to see his work again "in the flesh." Wouldn't a trip to New York, to the Museum of Modern Art to stand in front of Monet's 40-foot triptych of Water Lilies be a cool (and cooling) treat—especially for these dog days of August?

Thanks for taking a look. Keep cool...with art!
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Text and image ©2011 Carol Adamec. All rights reserved. 

Still Under the Influence

Sunset Series #15 (Homage to Albert Pinkham Ryder)

Original Painting: oil, alkyd on gessoed wood

6" x 1.5" 
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Albert Pinkham Ryder (American, 1847–1917) is one of those artists who defies easy categorization. His work is often described as moody, poetic, surreal, allegorical, and dreamy. Considered a "Tonalist"—an artist who relies on light and dark contrasts rather than color to describe form and distance—Ryder painted mostly landscape and seascapes. His work is also notable for the number of forgeries that have been done. It's estimated that over 1,000 fake Ryder paintings exist, in private as well as  museum collections!

I've been a fan of ol' Albert since art school days. I find his work mysterious, even mystical, especially his Seacoast in Moonlight painted in 1890, which inspired my Sunset Series version posted on today's blog. Other famous works by Ryder are The Race Track (Death on a Pale Horse) and The Flying Dutchman.

Thanks for taking a look. Have a great week.
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Text and image ©2011 Carol Adamec. All rights reserved. 

Under the Influence, Again

Sunset Strip #14 (after Winslow Homer)

Original oil, alkyd on gessoed wood

SOLD

After working on last week's Georgia O'Keeffe inspired Sunset Strip, I got curious about sunset paintings by other well known artists. I happened to come across a painting by Winslow Homer called "Crossing the Pasture" (1871-1872) shown below.

Ironically, my favorite part of the painting was the distant sky, beyond the hills. So I "appropriated" that portion of Homer's painting, modified the shapes and colors, and tinged the far clouds with color to suggest the coming sunset.

It's interesting—and quite educational to copy the work of a great artist, even from a reproduction. Within even this small segment of the painting, there is a lot going on—color variations, light changes, and spatial dynamics—all happening in the background of this larger painting.

Thanks for taking a look. Have a great week.
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Text and image ©2011 Carol Adamec. All rights reserved. 

Under the Influence

Sunset Strip #13 (O'Keeffe Sunset) 
Original oil, alkyd on wood panel

7" x 1.5"
SOLD


I can't deny it. I've been a fan of Georgia O'Keeffe's paintings since I was a freshman in college, standing dumbstruck in front of "Black Cross, New Mexico" at the Art Institute of Chicago.

If you take a look at that painting, you'll see that I was still under its influence this week when I did this study. Sunset Strip #13, measuring 4" x 36" is currently in progress (a lot of blending to do). I'll share it with you when it's finished.

Thanks for taking a look. Have a good week.
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Text and image ©2011 Carol Adamec. All rights reserved.

Caliente!

Sunset Strip #12 (Red Rising)
Original oil, alkyd on panel
4" x 12"
$145 with Free Shipping

Contact Artist to purchase

It's hot in Florida. I guess in some subliminal way, that heat is seeping into my sunset paintings. Hence the strong reds and oranges in the lower portion of the painting.

Thanks for taking a look. Keep cool!

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Text and image ©2011 Carol Adamec. All rights reserved.