New painting underway...(Part 6)

WIP: Kimono for Modern Girl, 2020, oil on canvas, 36x36"

The painting is still on my easel. I keep thinking, "I'm going to finish this painting today." And then I paint on it some more. Hopefully, after just a few more sessions, it will be done. Stay tuned!

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Text and image ©2020 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

New painting underway...(Part 5)

WIP: "Kimono for Modern Girl", oil on canvas, 36x36"

I reworked some of the drawing on this painting over the last few days. Usually, if I am dissatisfied with how a painting is shaping up, the reason is the drawing. Now I'm ready to go forward with the painting. 

Stay tuned!
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Text and image ©2020 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

New painting underway... (part 4)

WIP: "Kimono for Modern Girl", 2020, oil on canvas, 36 x 36"

Here's the latest progress on my newest painting on the easel, after another day of work. Thanks for taking a look.

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Text and Image ©2020 Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.

New painting underway ... (part 3)

WIP: "Kimono for Modern Girl", 2020, oil on canvas, 36x36"

After another day of painting, here's how my new kimono painting looks now. Thanks for taking a look.

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Text and image ©2020 Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.

New Painting Underway (part 2)

WIP: "Kimono for Modern Girl", 2020, oil on canvas, 36"x36"

Here's the first round of putting some color on the painting. The drawing is still rough and will need further refinement.  There's much more to come. 

Thanks for taking a look.

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Text and image ©2020 Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.

New painting underway...

WIP: "Kimono for Modern Girl", 2020, O/C, 36"x36"

The idea for this painting has been simmering for several months and has finally made it to the canvas.

Today's post shows the first stages of the painting: 

     1) Gray underpainting

     2) Drawing in dark blue color pencil
     3) White gesso applied to areas that will be very light in color.

Why start with a gray underpainting, you may be wondering? A lot of this painting will be done in reds and blues, colors that are similar in value (tone) to the gray underpainting. It is easier to get good color coverage if the underpainting is similar in tone, rather than trying to cover a white canvas with darker colors. Likewise, I've kept the white areas where very light colors will be applied, so those colors will not be altered by the darker underpainting. (Things I learned in art school.)

There's more to come and I'll keep you posted. Thanks for taking a look.

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Text and image ©2020 Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.

Irises in the Buddha garden

PHOTO: Carol L Adamec

Just outside my door: such a delightful gift from Nature!

"Art in the Time of Coronavirus" ... food for thought

Original: Tribal Kimono, 2020. 24"x36", mixed media on panel.

How is it that being under New Mexico's "stay-at-home" mandate provides so much "free time" at home, yet the days seem to fly by during the current Covid19 crisis? I know I could be/should be in the studio painting away for hours on end, since there are no places to go or things to do to distract me. But that is not happening, and I am flummoxed by it all. 

I do try to resist the newsfeed and emails on my cellphone, computer, and iPad. I have avoided watching daylong media reports on the TV as well. I even put my cellphone in another room while I am working in the studio. 

Yet, the notification ding on my electronic devices is seductive and being "informed" is addictive: Is it good news or bad? Is the curve flattening? Are the number of infections rising? The death rate increasing? Is there a test yet that is truly reliable? Any progress on a vaccine so this can be over? When will my stimulus check arrive? Will our country go broke for working people? Or will working people die if they go back to work? Whom to believe: Wall Street? or Scientists, Doctors, Healthcare Professionals? 

How will I know if I don't at least look at the headlines to know what is going on in the world at large? And then I am hooked for hours on end, reading every incoming scrap of news and related story. And day after day, another day has slipped by.

Back in my small, personal world of home and studio is Tribal Kimono, a painting I finished last month just as Coronavirus was replacing our "Normal Lives" and cancelling my April exhibit at LRoss Gallery in Memphis. It's quite different from many of my other kimono paintings which are based on organic, harmonious, nature-based forms. 

Tribal Kimono is geometric, map-like, with strong opposing arrow shapes, rendered in  black white, grey, red and gold. There is chaos and order, light and dark, pattern and randomness.  

As I look at this painting today, I ask myself: Did Covid19 seep into my subconscious as I worked on this kimono painting during January, February, and March? Are the horizontals and verticals the charts and graphs of coronavirus spreads, deaths, recoveries? Are the dotted areas hotspots of outbreaks? Are the curves rising or flattening? Which beliefs, opinions, and facts are right--in the blacks, whites, or  greys?  Which "authorities"--government, scientific, healthcare, corporate, political, religious--should we follow? Which arrow is the direction our country should take? Are the red areas warnings and dangers? The gold ones, truths and solutions? 

Since "We're all in this together", does this painting somehow represent the current "tribal" kimono that America is collectively wearing?

What do you think? And how are these days in the Time of Coronavirus going for you?

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©2020 Carol L. Adamec, text and image. All rights reserved.

"Art in the Time of CoronaVirus"....

Kimono Swing 2, 2020, oil, gold on canvas, 36" x 48"

It's been several weeks since I last posted. Since Christmas, I have been working 6-8 hours a day, almost every day, painting new work for a solo exhibit “In a Japanese Garden” that was scheduled for the month of April at LRoss Gallery in Memphis, TN. Last week the show was (mutually) cancelled, hopefully postponed until later this year, or rescheduled for next spring.

I am feeling part disappointment; and part relief to not have a 1,000 mile drive from Albuquerque to Memphis ahead of me and being away from home during this turbulent, unpredictable time.

However, I thought I’d use this blog to share a sneak preview of some of the new work that I completed for the show. Enjoy!

The painting posted today is “Kimono Swing 2”, oil on stretched canvas, 36” x 48” (yeah, it’s a big one for me!)

The work "kimono" means "something to wear" so there are many styles of kimono for different occasions. This painting is based on the furisode, a woman's kimono, and the fanciest Japanese kimono worn for various special events. Traditionally the furisode kimono was worn by young, unmarried women and was made with the finest fabrics, the most lavish designs, and embellished with metallic threads. The word "furisode" means "swinging sleeves" which can vary in length from 15 inches to three feet. If a young woman wanted to attract a certain young man's attention, she would gently swing the long sleeves of her furisode kimono to signal her interest.

Inspired by these factors, I composed this painting to portray the layering of materials and colorful patterning with gold accents of a furisode, along with the excitement of youthful romantic attraction on a lighthearted, breezy spring day.

Thank you for taking a look at my work. Please stay safe and be careful during this time.
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©2020 Carol L. Adamec,Text and image,  All rights reserved.

Happy Valentine's Day...

Carol L Adamec: "Hearts & Flowers" mixed media on rice paper.

...with Hearts & Flowers for you!

Painting for my next show...

"White Bouquet" 2020, oil on gessoed panel, 18"x18"

Wow! It's already February. 

I've been in the studio almost every day since the holidays, often painting for several hours, preparing new work for my next "In a Japanese Garden" exhibit to be shown in Memphis, TN. 
A few weeks ago, this painting came together. I'm happy with it.

Happy New Year!
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©Text and image, 2020 Carol L. Adamec, All rights reserved.

Happy Holidays!

Peace on Earth.

Goodwill to all!

Going bold...

"Sashiko Red" mixed media on panel, 8x8"

If you like red....

"Sashiko" is a Japanese word meaning "little stabs" or piercings which describes a sewing style that eventually developed into the Japanese art of beautiful stitchery patterns.  The "mixed media" used in this piece: ink on paper mounted on wood panel; Williamsburg Handmade Oil Colors (the greens); GellyRoll metallic pens (the gold); and that luscious flat red, Turner Acrylic Gouache.

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Text and image ©2019  Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Adding paint.....

"Nature Sketch", paper mounted on wood panel, 8x8"

I just couldn't resist adding some color to this "Nature Sketch." I'm sure there's more to come.

Thanks for taking a look.

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Text and image ©2019  Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

New Artwork Underway ...

Nature Sketch on paper, mounted on panel 8x8"

I've always loved drawing. This one was done several months ago with pencil, pens, and inks in my sketchbook.

I came across the drawing a weeks ago and decided to cut it out of the sketchbook and mount it onto a wood panel. I'm not sure where I'll take it next, and will post it for you to see.

Thanks for taking a moment to visit my blog. See you next time.

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Text and image ©2019  Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Now showing...

"Kimono Anasazi", mixed media on panel, 12x12".
Available at L Ross Gallery, Memphis, TN

Part of my summer travels this year took me to Memphis, TN, where I dropped off six paintings at L Ross Gallery. I was pleased to meet the new gallery owner Laurie Brown and to see the newly renovated gallery space at 5040 Sanderlin Avenue, Suite 103, in East Memphis. The new space is very lovely, and I am looking forward to having my one-person exhibit, "In a Japanese Garden", shown there next spring, April 1-26, 2020.

The Gallery is open Tuesday - Friday, 10am-5pm; and Saturdays, 11am-3pm. Check out the website, send an email to get on their e-list, or give them a call at 901.767.2200 to see the current exhibit and upcoming shows.

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Text and image©2019 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Done! "Summer Hollyhocks"

Original painting: "Summer Hollyhocks (Red)" 2019. Oil on gessoed panel, 12x12"

Once the red areas were roughed in and dry, it took another day to get the background color right and a few days for those areas to dry. Monday in the studio was spent refining the edges and tweaking the details. And now it's finished.

Thanks for following the progress on this painting. If you would like to leave a comment, please do. I always appreciate hearing what viewers see in my work—sometimes things I don't even notice myself!

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Text and image ©2019  Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

In the meantime...

"Cactus Blossom", 2019, original oil painting on panel, 6"x6"

I'm still working on the Hollyhocks painting. In the meantime, I painted this cactus blossom.

Folks who haven't spent time in the Southwest think that everything is "brown."  Those who have been here for awhile know where to look for the blooms and bouquets of brilliant color proffered by the numerous cactus varieties native to The Land of Enchantment.

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Text and image ©2019 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Waiting for the reds to dry...

"Summer Hollyhocks" 2019, oil on gessoed panel, 12x12"  WIP

Now I have the reds of the hollyhock blossoms roughed in, and waiting for them to dry. The "reds" include Permanent Rose, Persian Rose, Pyrrol Red, Cadmium Red Deep, Magenta, Mauve, and Provence Violet Bluish for mixing the deeper purple colors.

Next to be painted are the background shapes; and then the edges and details refined. Stay tuned!
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Text and image ©2019 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Painting the greens today...

"Summer Hollyhocks" 2019, WIP, 12x12 oil on gessoed panel

I had the most beautiful hollyhocks growing my yard this summer, in a variety of colors: white, pink, red, and deep deep crimson. I took hundreds of photos—more than I'll every have time to paint!

Today's post shows my first painting underway inspired by these beauties. Today I'm roughing in the various green hues. Next will be the reds. There is more to come....

Thanks for taking a look.

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Text & image ©2019 Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.