Plein Air Drawing

Bear Canyon, 2013. Boogie Board Drawing en plein air

I went out to plein air paint last Saturday—a beautiful clear sunny day in the 50's. No excuse not to go! I had all my gear ready, so out the door I went for a pleasant drive to the Sandia foothills on the east side of town.

I must admit that I suffer from the typical novice plein air painter's dilemma: I see too many details (which excite me) and try to cram all of the view into a little tiny panel, which is impossible to do in a 2-hour window of changing morning light.

Most plein air instructors encourage students to do a few quick preliminary thumbnail sketches to get down basic shapes, values, and composition. Since I am a slow painter and want to get going ASAP, I never want to take the time to do this. Well, it is a new year and I am trying to change my ways...

So I took along my Boogie Board thinking that, since it works fast, is limited to dark and light, and is about the same size as a painting panel, I would enjoy doing a preliminary sketch. And I did.

In fact, I got so absorbed in drawing the view in Bear Canyon on the Boogie Board that I never did get my paints out! (sigh) So today's post is my plein air drawing.

Thanks for taking a moment to visit my blog. Enjoy your day.
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Text and image ©2013 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

A Whole New Flavor

Old China #1

Today's image may seem familiar, since you may recall having seen it featured in a post last summer as the original Boogie Board drawing, "Garden Varieties #4."

I made color changes to the image which gave it a whole new flavor. The title of this version is "Old China #1" and it's available for purchase in my ETSY shop  www.ArtByCarolAdamec.ETSY.com

Thanks for taking a look. I hope you are having a good Monday!
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Text and image ©2013 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Another DIY Project

View of Boca Negra Canyon, Albuquerque, NM

After getting my new art table together Monday, another project arrived in the mail this week. I purchased a Guerrilla Painter 6x8 Pochade ThumBox a week ago, and it arrived Tuesday.

Pochade, from French word poche for pocket, is a type of painting sketch done in a small, portable format. Artists from past eras painted such sketches on small wood panels that would fit in a coat pocket along with tubes of oil paint. Fast forward to today, we now have lightweight compact boxes for painting en plein air with all of our gear.

The two pochade boxes I have been using were wooden boxes that I adapted for painting outdoors. They were workable but had a few shortcomings that became inconvenient after awhile.

My new Guerrilla Painter pochade box actually arrived ready to use (it's cute as a button and very nicely made!), except for some custom alterations I wanted to make. I added a carrying handle, some rubber feet, the metal tripod plate, some removable mixing trays, and I covered the palette mixing area with plexiglas for easy cleaning. Then I gessoed and primed some panels to paint on and loaded the pochade box with oils, turpentine, brushes, and other necessities.

I was all set to go out painting with the Plein Air Painters of New Mexico today—even though it was only 46 degrees this morning, even though the skies were gray with dense thick clouds (my least favorite lighting)—until it started raining, a good soaking drizzle that lasted for several hours. Oh, well, when you live in the desert, you never complain about rain or snow.

I did drive out to the site—Boca Negra Canyon located on the far westside of Albuquerque—and took some pictures of this volcanic rock-strewn area. It's not a landscape you can just see anywhere, and it offers the chance to see petroglyphs, too.

This is New Mexico and there will certainly be a multitude of sunny days to revisit this site and paint. I'm looking forward to it.

Thanks for taking a look. Enjoy your weekend!
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Text and image ©2013 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

"Assembly Required"

I've been in the studio this week, working—not with paints and brushes—but with screw drivers and Allen wrenches.

For Christmas, my son and his family gave me an art table, which has been in the box—Assembly Required—in the back of my car for the drive back to New Mexico after New Year's.

Monday, I decided, was the day to tackle this project. The box was too heavy for me to carry up to the second floor, so I made a few trips until I got all the parts into the studio. It took about 3 hours to put the table together. Actually, it went together pretty well, thanks to good photos and clearly written directions.

It's nicely made, and the top can be adjusted from flat to various degrees of slant. Cool! I'm really happy with it and look forward to using it.

Thanks, Kids. I appreciate the nice gift!

PS: The painting hanging above the art table is Salado Cathedral, oil and alkyd on panel, 30” x 30”. The painting is part of my Ancient Sherd Series and was exhibited  at the Harwood Art Center in the "What Remains" show during April, 2012.

Thanks for taking a look. Enjoy your day.
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Text and image ©2013 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Color of the Year

Winter Lilies, 2013. Boogie Board Drawing.

If you haven't heard, the "Color of the Year" for 2013 is Emerald Green.

Officially, the exact color is Pantone Emerald 17-5641, as decreed by Pantone, "...the global authority on color and provider of professional color standards for the design industries..."(All quotes are from the company's press release of December 6, 2012, available at www.pantone.com)

It is a beautiful color, indeed, and as stated by the Pantone Color Institute spokesperson, "Green is the most abundant hue in nature – the human eye sees more green than any other color in the spectrum...As it has throughout history, multifaceted Emerald continues to sparkle and fascinate. Symbolically, Emerald brings a sense of clarity, renewal and rejuvenation, which is so important in today’s complex world. This powerful and universally appealing tone translates easily to both fashion and home interiors.” And "art", I would add.

My image for today's post is a bouquet of lilies—another floral still life done on the Boogie Board—presented in the 2013 Color of the Year.

Thanks for taking a look. Enjoy your day.

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Text and image ©2013 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

January Bouquet

January Bouquet, 2013. Boogie Board JOT drawing.

It's so nice to have a bouquet of cut flowers in the house during winter...and fun to draw on the Boogie Board, too.

Thanks for taking a look at today's post. Enjoy your day!
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Text and image ©2013 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Happy New Year!

New Year Rose, 2013. Boogie Board Drawing.

Happy New Year!

For this first day of 2013 I am posting a rose drawing done on my new "Jot" eWriter, a Boogie Board device that I'll write about in a future post.

Thanks for taking a moment to read today's post. I very much appreciate all my readers and thank you for following my blog, viewing my work, sending me your comments, and purchasing my artwork. Thank you so much for being a part of my art adventure!

Garden Varieties #7: Gold Series

Garden Varieties #7: Gold, 2012. 

The opening at the Weyrich Gallery last Friday was quite nice. Since it was an Albuquerque citywide ArtsCrawl, all the galleries were open; and being a lovely evening, lots of folks were out looking at art.

I was pleased to sell 5 of my Boogie Board handcolored works on paper during the opening. (Many thanks to my buyers!)

Today's image is one of the pieces in the exhibit. It is from the Garden Varieties Series and has been embellished with metallic gold and color pencil. It's available framed for $115, or unframed for $85 (plus S&H). If you are interest in purchasing, contact the Weyrich Gallery at 505.883.7410.

Have a great day, and thanks for taking a moment to visit my blog.

Showtime!

Tonight is the opening reception for the Weyrich Gallery exhibit in Albuquerque. And here's your "official" invitation. The exhibit continues through December 28.

Boogie Board Drawings on Exhibit

Golden Garden Varieties w/ handcoloring, 2012

For the past two weeks I've been tweaking and handcoloring the Boogie Board drawings that have been featured on this blog over the past few months.

Today's image is Boogie Board drawing #4 from the Garden Varieties Series that I revised and then handcolored with Prismacolor pencil and gold metallic ink. All those extra embellishments give this version a bit of "wow!" factor. It is rather amazing to see how variations in color and material can alter the visual impact of each image.

I'm pleased to announce that the entire handcolored Garden Varieties Series, Ti Plant, and  Albuquerque Rooftop Series are included in a group exhibit at the Weyrich Gallery here in Albuquerque, The exhibit "Universal Expression, Change" opens this Friday (December 7), 5-8:30pm and includes fine art, jewelry, sculpture, photography, glass, and mixed media work by eleven artists.

If you are in the Albuquerque area, please come by Friday evening to say "hello" and see the show. I'll be there! and look forward to your response to the Boogie Board drawings.  The gallery is located in the NE Heights at 2935 Louisiana NE at Candelaria. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

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

Autumn in Albuquerque #2

Autumn in Albuquerque #2, 2012  SOLD

This has been a most lovely autumn season in Albuquerque­­--warm, clear sunny days with brisk, get-under-the-covers, frosty nights.

Today's image is the final Albuquerque Rooftop Boogie Board drawing that I've handcolored. Titled Autumn in Albuquerque #2, it has stronger fall colors, captured in the clear light of the late afternoon.

Thanks for taking a look. Have a great day!

Night Glow

Night Glow 1, 2012. Boogie Board Drawing w/ handcoloring

Here's another handcolored variation of the "original" Albuquerque Rooftops Boogie Board drawing I posted on October 30. This one is called Night Glow.

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

Rose Glow

Rose Glow 1, 2012 Boogie Board drawing w/handcoloring SOLD

The response to last week's post was all positive for the hand colored version of the Boogie Board drawing, "Albuquerque Rooftops." (Many thanks to Readers who emailed me their comments.)

While I had the Prismacolor pencils out, I handcolored a few other variations. I will be happy to hear your response to these, too.

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

Adding Color

Autumn in Albuquerque, Boogie Board drawing w/handcoloring (SOLD)

Well, I just couldn't resist. I got out the Prismacolor pencils and "colorized" the print of the Boogie Board drawing, Albuquerque Rooftops. Now I really like it! And I hope you enjoy it, too.

Thanks for taking a moment to read this post. Have a great day.
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Text & image ©2012 Carol Adamec. All rights reserved.

Digital Printmaking

Albuquerque Rooftops, 2012, Boogie Board Drawing on ricepaper (SOLD)

As promised in my Tuesday blogpost, I am posting version #2 of my Boogie Board drawing "Albuquerque Rooftops."

For version #2, I eliminated the green color and printed the image on a natural color rice paper having a pronounced fiber content that activates the surface. To me, the image has a look similar to a "traditional" hand pulled print—the kind we did in art school, way-back-when, before the digital age. I like it.

Of course, this version, with all that blank space, seems to beg for some hand coloring. So, I may get the color pencils out and see what a few touches of hue do for the image.

Thanks for taking a moment to read this post. And thanks to those readers who emailed me your comments about this image. I appreciate it! Have a good weekend.
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Text and image ©2012 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Albuquerque Rooftops #1

Hello, Dear Readers,

The weeks have flown by, and I finally arrived in Albuquerque 12 days ago. I am fortunate to once again be renting living space from my dear friend Sondra. And, just 48 hours after arriving in town, I obtained a studio at the Harwood Art Center. How lucky can one person be?

While setting up my workspace Saturday afternoon, I took time to do a drawing on the Boogie Board. I was attracted to the view out my second floor studio window, which overlooks the rooftops in the neighborhood with the Sandia Mountains in the distance--a beautiful sight in the late afternoon light.

Once the drawing was finished, I uploaded it to the computer and developed three different variations. The version posted today is the "original", after a few tweaks in Photoshop. I'll share the other two versions with you later this week.

Thanks for taking a moment to read this post. Enjoy your day.
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Text & image 2012 Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.

Going Tropical!

Tropical Garden #1: Ti Plant
Boogie Board Drawing and Adobe Photoshop

As I mentioned in last week's post, I'm staying with my sister and brother-in-law in the Orlando area for a few weeks. After my stroll around their yard last week, I looked to the lovely and colorful tropical plantings on the property for some creative inspiration.

One of the plants that caught my eye is the ti (pronounced "tea") plant, also known as cordyline. The rich green color of its leaves transitions into deep pinks and brilliant magentas towards the tips and edges, making this tropical shrub a real eye catcher in the garden.

The image posted today started out as a Boogie Board drawing, and looked similar to the "Garden Varieties" renderings I posted on this blog over the summer. However, the finished image just seemed so lackluster, so bland. Hmmm....well, of course! It's a tropical plant. It needs color!

Thanks to the digital graphics power of Adobe Photoshop, I was able to add color—and a whole lot of visual excitement—to transform the Boogie Board drawing into the image you see posted today. Available in my ETSY shop at www.ArtByCarolAdamec.ETSY.com.

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

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.