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"
SOLD

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" 
SOLD

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. 

Sunset Strip 11: Pink Fire (WIP)
Original painting:oil, alkyd on panel

4" x 12"

 

Today's post shows a Sunset Strip I worked on a few weeks ago and set aside. I want more pink in it, and instead, it's too orange and yellow. The challenge is to warm up the pinks to meet the heat of the oranges and yellows. When I have it figured out, I'll post the final image.

Thanks for taking a look. Have a good weekend and a safe Fourth of July.
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Text and image ©2011 Carol Adamec. All rights reserved. 

After Sunset

WIP: Night Palm

Oil, alkyd on panel

6"x6"

Since last week's post, I've "finished" two paintings which are pretty ugly (to use an oxymoronic description). 

Fortunately, a photograph taken by my granddaughter when she was vacationing in Jamaica inspired me to work up the painting posted for today. It's not quite "there" yet, but coming along. Sometimes 1 out of 3 is just part of the learning curve.

Thanks for taking a look. Have a good week.

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

True Confessions

Sunset Strip #10 (Above the Storm)
Original Painting: 12" x 4"
Oil, alkyd on gessoed wood
Hanger installed on back.
$145 / Free Shipping. Contact Artist to purchase

I am always jealous of artists who are able to capture their subject matter with a few quick and sure brushstrokes. The skill of these artists give their paintings liveliness and energy, as though the work was spontaneously executed, easy to do, no sweat. I do know better than that. As Edgar Degas noted, "Painting is easy when you don't know how, and very difficult when you do." (This statement sounds better in French, too.)

Meanwhile, back in my studio, I still cling to my love of subtle blending of colors. For some reason I find it exciting to have one color transition into another. It seems magical to me, even when I am the one doing the painting! Still, I am sneaking more lively brushwork into my paintings lately, as you can see in the upper portion of today's painting. 

The Sunset Strip Series allows me to do both—brushing on some quick dashes of color and experimenting with some interesting color transitions.

By the way, Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there. Enjoy your day!

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