Thursday, October 30, 2008

Late Night Movie

Inspiration can come from anywhere. Yesterday it came from glancing at a postcard from Spring Bull Gallery in Newport, RI. They sent me a Call for Entries, listing the shows they're holding over the next few months, and one in particular called Ticket Please caught my eye.

Sometimes I'll create a painting specifically for a show, which is a fun way of getting the creative juices flowing and perhaps painting something you wouldn't normally paint. The theme for Ticket Please is the "creative expression of an event in which you purchase a ticket" so I decided on "going to the movies" as my subject matter. As it happens I'd actually taken photos of the inside of a cinema a few months ago, as strange as that may seem, so I had reference photos on hand. I'm a big fan of Edward Hopper and his painting "New York Movie", which inspired me to take the photos in the first place.

I did a sketch yesterday, and began painting today. Hopefully in the next week or two I'll have the finished result.


"New York Movie" 1939 - Edward Hopper

Thursday, October 16, 2008

We are just the monkeys...


"Golden Sunlight", 5x7"

I bought the new Keane album this week "Perfect Symmetry", which I think is fantastic. I loved their first two albums so it wasn't surprising that I'd take to this one too, but it's proving to be my favorite. While it still has some of the bittersweetness of "Under the Iron Sea", the tunes are more upbeat and toe-tapping.

I love buying new music and listening to it for the first time, then again, and again. I listened to the whole album while I painted my first picture of the week "Golden Sunlight". I always have music on when I paint but today put me in such a good mood that I produced it in record time.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Miniature Portraits

I finally got back to painting yesterday. I was inspired by our new kitty Aggie, and decided to do portraits of our three cats based upon 18th and 19th century miniature portraits. At 2.4x2.8" inches it was a challenge but surprisingly the small scale enabled me to loosen my painting style. I really enjoyed myself.


"Agatha" - "George" - "Frankie", 2.4x2.8"

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Recent Painting


"Under the Summer Sun," 10x10"

My last painting before adopting Aggie was "Under the Summer Sun", a beach scene from Pt Judith, RI in front of the restaurant George's of Galilee. In July I'd lunched with a friend and snapped a few pictures of beach-goers, hoping for an interesting shot. Beach umbrellas have become a favorite of mine so I was happy to find them lining the shore, adding color and pattern.

Back to Work!

I've had a hiatus from painting recently. My husband and I added a new member to the family, a 2 1/2 year old black and white kitty we've called Aggie (short for Agatha, after one of my favorite authors Agatha Christie). She's settling in now, but it took all my time and energy to see that she was comfortable and getting along with our other two kitties Frankie and George. She's such a joy though. At the Potter League, where we found her, she was a very quiet kitty, but at home she's playful and loving. She has the unusual habit of lying behind me on the pillow, wrapping her paws around my neck, and resting her head against mine, all the while purring loudly. It's adorable!

I'm keen as mustard to paint again, though. It's like riding a bicycle, but at the same time it can be hard to get back into the saddle, even after only a couple of weeks of painting abstinence. I haven't been totally inactive in the painting arena, however. This week I entered into the Juried Members' show at the Portsmouth Arts Guild and got in! Yay! Two pieces "Through the Fields" and "Around the Bend" were both accepted. The show opens this Friday, with a reception from 6-8pm, and runs until November 16th.


"Around the Bend" and "Through the Fields", both 8x8"