Kim Morin Weineck's Art: 2011

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Happy Christmas!

It's a busy time of year for everyone and, since I've gotten a new part-time job, things are busier than ever!

My blog is a bit neglected now, but worry not! I'll be back with photos and fun when I can. The first few weeks' adjustment to a new job is intense. Coupled with Christmas, I've had no time to paint.

I've such a hankering to make some art! I may not until 2012, but it's on my agenda.

Until then, classes continue and I'm delighted with my new position as Downtown Manager for the nonprofit organization, Friends of Norwood Center. What an opportunity!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Inspiring artwork

Sometimes I get in a bit of a lull in terms of making new art, especially after a spell of some intensive creation as I did this June through September. It's an odd feeling for me to be in the 'off' time.

To restart the idling engine, I figured I'd look through some inspiring work and share a few pieces here.

Painting by David Lussier.
I love the 'sparkle' in his loose plein air paintings.

Autumn Pastel by Liz Haywood-Sullivan.
Glorious marks in this piece!

photo by Katy Elliot.
What an inspiring blog she has!

Oil painting by Laurel Daniel.
I enjoy checking in often on her blog to see her latest work.

Lisa Daria's daily paintings are wonderful, loose studies. I love them.

Hope you enjoyed peeking through these artists/designers as much as I do.
Thanks for reading.
kmw

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Pastel surfaces demonstration

Pastel painting surfaces are myriad, and it's quite important to select the right one for how you work and what you'd like the final outcome to look like. This precise topic was the subject of my demonstration two night's back for the Foxboro Art Association.

The nearly two-hour demo concentrated on four different surfaces and somehow I quickly was able to sketch four (!) paintings to show just how varied these surfaces can be.

Sennelier's Pastel Card is my favorite and so it was my opener. I created this landscape with two hay bales on dry-mounted charcoal colored Pastel Card. I find the paper, with its cork tooth, grabs color vibrantly. This is a work-in-progress, but I stopped at this point because it demonstrates the point.

The next surface was Canson Mi-Teintes paper, which has two distinct sides. The 'right' side (with the Canson watermark) offers a zillion small circular 'nubbies' on it which I am constantly feeling the need to overcome. I have a hard time with this paper on the 'right' side.

I created this sketch on this paper, again selecting paper in a charcoal tone for continuity to the above sketch. A member made the observation that this piece looked like it had a netting over the entire surface - the exact 'nubbies' I'm describing! Yes, it does look just like that!

If you turn this Canson Mi-Teintes paper over to the 'wrong side, an entirely different effect is achieved. No 'nubbies' are there. It's smoother and, for my way of working, I am not fighting the paper the entire time I'm painting. The pastel pigment sits nicely on the paper, I find.

To finish up, I painted this incredibly dull start of a pastel which needs so much work I nearly didn't post it here. For the purposes of the demonstration, though, I'm including it.

PastelMat by Clairefontaine is a relatively new surface which is so mind-boggling in its ability to accept more and more pastel and yet confounds because it has no tooth or grit to grab the pigment. The paper I had was white, and a lot is still showing through. More work to be done, but those in attendance got to see how one works on the surface.

My goal is to finish up what I can on these and post when they're completed. I hope I can keep on this positive flow of energy since the demonstration this week and get to them soon! Please cut me some slack on these studies. They were done in great haste and aren't refined yet.

People asked me some wonderful, pertinent questions about materials. Keep in mind that this is my opinion. Please experiment and enjoy your own process of discovery! I'm reluctant to use the word 'best' here, but in my opinion, that's what they are!

The plein air set

The best go-to set of pastels for plein-air:
Sennelier's 80 half-stick set for Plein Air

The best paper for plein-air:
Sennelier's Pastel Card pad in either size available

The best fixative to protect your pastel and not have too much dulling of color:
Lascaux fixatif

The pastels I used for the demonstration:
Sennelier (so beautiful with Sennelier Pastel Card), Unison (loved these with the PastelMat surface), Terry Ludwig, Nupastel, and Girault.

The best sources for on-line ordering of pastel supplies:
Dakota Art Pastels
Dick Blick
Jerry's Art A Rama
Terry Ludwig

Please find me online at kimmorinweineck.blogspot.com and follow my blog, should you like.
I'm also at Gallery9 at Custom Art Framing as the Gallery Director. I'd be delighted to see you there.

What a wonderful experience it was to test myself for this demo. The crowd was wonderful with amazingly on-point questions and such encouraging comments.

Thank you to Foxboro Art Association for having me!

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Surfaces for pastel

Tonight I'm doing a demonstration for the Foxboro Art Association.

I have to say that I love doing demonstrations. Standing up in front of a group and discussing your talent is a sure-fire way to solidify how you work.

I'm taking the girls with me to Jerry's Art-A-Rama this morning for a fun materials buying spree. A little art supply fix also is a sure-fire way to get inspired about your medium!

The focus of tonight's demonstration is about pastels and contrasting the various surfaces available.
There are so many but my time will concentrate on Sennelier's Pastel Card, Clairefontaine's Pastel Mat, UArt paper, Wallis paper, and perhaps Canson Mi-Teintes paper (I never know how to pronounce that last one.)

More information on supplies I use in making pastel paintings as well as sources for everything can be found here on my blog.

I enjoy making pastel paintings thoroughly. It's my hope that tonight's demo will impart this joy to other artists. What a wonderful opportunity!

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Morning painting

Today is the last day for me to do some finishing touches on my work for the show which opens tomorrow.

I loved reading Kathy Weller's blog post about how she 'closed up shop' on her work recently. She'll be displaying her amazing work along with me at Gallery9.

While I was organizing and fixing and cleaning and all that, my girls were curious and interested in what was going on.

Lucy grabbed their paints and I set them up in the dining room. Lucy finished early before I could snap some pictures with her in them, too.

For fun, though, here's Pippa, early this morning with bed head, painting away and enjoying every moment!

Thanks for reading!
kmw

Monday, October 3, 2011

Color vocabulary: green and white

"All or nothing" seems to be my motto. I'd been working in pastel exclusively for a long spell and then I had a show requiring oil paintings and I took a three-month hiatus from them. Feels a bit funny that I haven't touched a pastel stick since the beginning of the summer.

These three pastels were done in quick succession, and I was pleased with them. During the summer I worked to enrich my color vocabulary in greens and whites. Seems that I was delving into this study with these three!

All are 16x12" and are all done on PastelMat archival pastel boards. If you're a pastelist and haven't tried PastelMat, you really should. It's smooth and yet somehow holds pastel as if it were gritty sandpaper - utterly contrary!

Each of these pieces is available at Gallery9 in Norwood for my show opening October 5, 2011.
Comment on which you like best. Your feedback is appreciated.

Thanks for reading!
kmw

Sunday, October 2, 2011

A sweet ending to a good day

Lately I've been concentrating on painting for my upcoming show at Gallery9 (this Friday coming!) but today was sort of a day off. Instead of working outside or in my studio, Tim and I worked on the yard: edging the driveway, mowing the lawn, removing much of the garden, etc. It was a productive day outside and that's always fun.

Caramel crackers with walnuts and sea salt. Yum.

We've recently altered our diets in my household, focusing on fresh food concentrating on increasing our vegetable intake. It's paying off. Our Lucy, 4, and Pippa, 2, aren't complaining and that feels like we're being good parents. I know I feel better, too.

All that said, we do have indiscretions, of course. Take tonight, for instance. Tim took Pippa to the grocery store and I cleaned up. I had a hankering for a sweet end to mealtime so Lucy and I got to work on my little made up dessert creation.

Making this treat got me thinking about how I used to usher in October with a small fete where my brother, sister-in-law (although she was just a girlfriend then), my parents, and anyone else invited to attend that year would make peanut brittle, caramel popcorn, carve a pumpkin, and watch "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." Fun times. Can't wait until the girls are older and we can start up October with some such tradition. This dessert is an adaptation of the caramel popcorn because we didn't have any popcorn on hand.

Caramel Crackers

Saltines - 12-18 or so
Granulated Sugar
Sea Salt
Light Cream/Butter or both
Walnuts

Arrange saltines on a sheet of aluminum foil. In a frying pan, add around 1/2 cup of sugar to around 1/4 cup of water and cook on medium until the sugar melts and the water evaporates. There'll be a great amount of bubbling sugar goodness. Watch the pan until the sugar starts to turn brown. (Once it starts it goes fast fast!)
When brown, remove from heat, add a splash of light cream or a pat of butter (or be decadent and add both!). The mixture is SUPER HOT and will bubble, so take care with this step. Stir and spoon onto the saltines, being as generous as your amount of crackers allows. Before set, sprinkle with scant amount of finely grated sea salt and some walnuts if desired. Enjoy!

Thanks for reading!
kmw

Friday, September 16, 2011

Marshland sunset

The last painting in my marshland series of four, this is the same scene as two posts back, but this time the marsh is at sunset and so slightly lighter than the other. The nuances between twilight, sunset, and dusk are fun to try to capture.

Yesterday I felt like trying to paint was like voluntarily going to the lion's den - I've been so beaten up by my efforts. Late in the afternoon my diligence was rewarded with a painting I can't wait to have framed and shown at the reception, October 7th at Gallery9. The BIG news for me -- drum roll, please -- it's 20x20"! Large!!

Have a great day!
Thanks for reading,
kmw

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Marshland path

Yesterday was spent on the patio working on a bunch of paintings that were unfinished and unresolved. I'm not sure if anything has gotten better or instead is just getting more muddled. Argh! Painting can really take you on a roller coaster!

Today's painting is a scene I have worked on a few different ways and sizes, both in oil and pastel. This manifestation is my favorite. Seems to me there's a great distance toward the water. I hope it appears that way to you, too!

For inspiration I've been looking at a lot of artists' work lately. Check out David Lussier's page at the Harrison Gallery. In class I showed a few of his paintings on my phone's web browser. We were discussing the sparkle that he gets with well-placed 'random' marks. Gorgeous, really!

I'm hoping to get more time painting in today. And the fever to jump to pastels is imminent. Looking forward to making that change shortly.

Thanks for reading!
kmw

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Marshland twilight with bonus girlies

Twilight is a bit later than sunset, right? I love the subtle nuances between sunset, twilight, and dusk. The light for each is a challenge to capture because it's changing at the speed of...well...light!

Here is another in my Marshland series. In person the foreground reads a little more resolved than my photo. My skills in taking photos of my work are improving, but I still have lots to learn.

In keeping with yesterday's post, here's a bonus picture of my girls playing in their room. Love them and their awesomeness! While typing this post, Pippa just came in and kissed me. What fun!

Thanks for reading!
kmw

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Marsh series and bonus Lucy!

In painting, I often embark on a series. I find doing this to be utterly valuable. A wonderful exercise, creating a series of work based on a singular subject.

Taking the thought out of "what will I paint" opens doors to learning new things as I delve into all aspects of a single subject. Rather fun!

The latest series focuses on the marsh landscape, my ultimate favorite place to be. So far I have four 8x8" oil paintings completed, so for the next four days, these will be the subject of my blog.

And for good measure, here is a photo of Lucy at her first day of preschool.

She melts my heart. Four years old and the time is flying by!

Thanks for reading,

kmw

Monday, September 12, 2011

Sixth of six

Here is the last of my series of Cape Cod cottages.

It's been fun posting them daily like this.

Yesterday I was able to paint on the patio and finished up a few lingering unfinished works as well as another that I may just have to keep for myself!

More artwork in future posts, and no cottages are included in the next series.
I'll give you a hint -- marshes!

Thanks for reading!
kmw

Sunday, September 11, 2011

The fifth of six

Here is another painting from the Nantucket series:

Hydrangea blooms are so big and yet delicate. Fun to tackle!

Today I hope to spend some time painting in my backyard while my girls play. Yesterday I got in a great painting late in the afternoon. Having a show to paint toward makes such a difference in my diligence!

On this somber anniversary, make the day you have count.

Yesterday I read a wonderful interview of the sister of a 9-11 victim. Her perspective offered that the slogan, "Never Forget" is a tricky one for those personally touched by the tragedy, because to move on, you must forget on some level. She ventured the slogan "Always Remember" as its replacement.

Always Remember.

Thanks for reading.

kmw

Saturday, September 10, 2011

The fourth of six

We're now on number four of the six Nantucket-inspired paintings. It's a Saturday - gorgeous outside after what felt like a seriously rain-soaked week.

Today I'm off to judge a show of the Taunton Art Association and am looking forward to it. It's always inspiring to judge, and this art association offers a great, high-caliber show!

I am always working on greens. Greens can make paintings look fake if they're not believable. I'm always tweaking my greens.

Have a great day. Until tomorrow!
Thanks for reading!
kmw

Friday, September 9, 2011

The third of six

My posting of the six additional paintings continues this morning with this piece, Hollyhocks. I was delighted with the light in this one and the way the day lilies and the hollyhocks were painted.

Garden scenes aren't new things for me to paint, but this combo of buildings, road, shadows, and flowers was. I had fun dotting in the darks on the left, and making it feel balanced.

Again, too, there was a lot to be learned about white and its temperature. After doing a lot of paintings in this series, by the time I got to this one, I was feeling more confident. What fun painting is when you've been diligent.

If you're not already a fan, click over to Gallery9 and Custom Art Framing's Facebook Page. At work today we'll be doing another in a series of giveaways featuring trivia about the shop. Fun stuff!

Thanks for reading!

Thursday, September 8, 2011

The second of six

As promised here is the second painting in the remaining six I recently completed. I'd been working toward some looser shapes, and somewhat succeeded. I love the right side of this painting particularly.

Again, it's inspired by our trip to Nantucket and it's from Siasconset, the town on the other side of the island filled with rose-covered cottages.

The colors in the original are different with the shadows not being as dark and being more blue. The little triangle of blue on the first cottage on the left is more transparent-looking in my painting. The rain isn't making picture taking that easy.

Thanks for reading!

kmw

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

The first of six

Being an extremist, when I had a deadline for six paintings I ended up painting twelve. Today through Monday I'm going to post a photo of one of these additional paintings.

I was certainly inspired by the imagery from the Neponset Vallery Artists' trip to Nantucket, but in making these paintings I tacked a lot of issues surrounding greens, crossing shadows, and buildings.

I'm really working on my photographs and it's evident I need to figure out a better set up. This photo is blurry and doesn't convey well-enough the actual painting. Maybe I'll have solved this for tomorrow's posting.

Thanks for reading!
kmw

Thursday, September 1, 2011

September 1st

The calendar in the kitchen shows September. My husband is elated for the dwindling of summer, but I'm not as happy. Summer is my favorite. I have been outside with the girls painting while they've been playing, enjoying the sunshine. It's been a stellar summer season.

While painting outside I focused on making six strong paintings for SIX PACK, a show at Gallery9 I'm in which opens tomorrow, September 2nd (September's First Friday show). Six artists each painted six paintings and each painting is 6x6" - I love the idea for this show!

In July, the Neponset Valley Artists went on a painting extravaganza to Nantucket courtesy of NVA charter member, Haydi Hurley. When I think back on the summer of 2011 this trip will be a highlight. For sure. This series of paintings came evolved from that trip.

All these works are from Siasconset, Nantucket where I was inspired by the light streaming across the narrow lanes of gray shingled rose-covered cottages. Wonderful. Those familiar with my work know that I don't paint buildings often - so I decided to take this on.

I had visions of what the collection would look like in the end, and of course, this doesn't quite match up to what I had in mind. BUT I learned so much. As many of my students will attest, the vision is a loose, colorful painting but it seems impossible to let paintings stay loose and painterly. Instead they get tighter and tighter and more fussy.

Of these six paintings, I have some I'm partial to more than others. One frustrates me horribly! And I learned about white. I think I'll be able to do a workshop on using white! More on this at another time, maybe.

Everything is available for sale, so email me should you be interested. It'd be wonderful to get red dots on my work at the show. Always happy to ship it to you!

Finally, I didn't only finish these six paintings. I made twelve. I'll be showing those soon.

And come to Gallery9 if you're in the area for a wonderful show featuring Polo Barrera, Ann Gorbett, Mark Logue, me, and Steve and Sue Zafarana. What fun!

Thanks for reading!

kmw

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Small oils of 'Sconset, Nantucket

Here is a group shot of the recent paintings I've been working on:

12 paintings of 'Sconset, Nantucket

oil, 6x6" each

I've often spoken with my students about the benefits of working in a series in order to address issues you'd like to tackle, and, from experience, I can vouch that this is true. This is not the first series I've done, nor I'm sure it's not my last.

Check here for more to come, including close ups of each painting and discussion of what I learned/figured out with this particular series.

It feels amazing to see these 12 pieces lined up like this. Ahhhhh.

Thanks for reading!
kmw

Friday, August 19, 2011

More progress

Completed two additional paintings yesterday and taught a wonderful class last night. Today I'm off to work at the gallery, rounding off an art-intensive week!

Photos to come of the paintings. I am taking my time with them and making sure they are the best I can make them be.

Have a great day and thank you for reading!
kmw

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Threshold paintings

Well, I've been painting a lot lately -and with oils. A strange feeling, those mushy, buttery blobs oil paints give me, especially when I've been working with clean, albeit dusty, sticks of pastel.

I'm excited about what I'm learning.

We've discussed this before when I'm critiquing the work of my students:
It seems that you plateau for a while and then there are advances. It's as though you crossed a threshold.

And so, I call these "threshold paintings" - not too original, yet terribly appropriate.

Lately, in working on my " 'Sconset Series" from Nantucket references and research, I'm feeling like I'm leaving a plateau. Will it be to another threshold? It will take some time to tell.

Let me take photos of them when I think they're officially done. Even this is a change for me. In the past I was all about production. Now I'm consciously trying to slow down and paint what I see the painting could become.

Quite the process, to say the least.

Thanks for reading!

kmw

Friday, August 12, 2011

Dusting off my oil paints

Painting for a show is a true motivator. Lately I'm working in oils for a show which opens September 2nd with a First Friday reception.

Here are the details:

SIX PACK

Six artists,

Six paintings each artist,

Each painting is 6x6"

I'd been interested in painting something in a series, but felt stymied by this idea. Then, in a flash, it hit me - the perfect 'non-theme theme' - "What I did on my Summer Vacation."

I have five paintings begun. Two are mostly completed and I'm pleased with them. More than pleased. The other three have some work yet to be done.

Going to oil painting after all this time working in pastel was quite interesting. Pastel painting for me is quicker and the colors and application can be much cleaner. Four months of pastel painting alone made it feel for me like I was starting oils at square one. Argh!

Here is a bad, dark photo of the two that I like. The others are coming and there are figures in them. What? Me and the figure? Perhaps that is why I struggle. I'm desperately out of practice!!

And yes! There are six artists in this SIX PACK show:

Ann Gorbett, Polo Barrera, Steve Zafarana, Sue Zafarana, Mark Logue and Me!

Thanks for reading!
kmw

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

More from Nantucket

Yesterday's I posted a bunch of photos of small works from the Neponset Valley Artists trip to Nantucket last month. Because it's such fun to reminisce, here are four photos of us enjoying the trip.

Ann Gorbett took this photo of me pasteling on the porch. What a view this was. Looking at this photo brings me right back here. Ahhhh.

Before we went to the Artists Association of Nantucket's small works opening to see Haydi's three pieces in the show, we all sat on the steps for this group shot. Love the light and how happy we all are.

Top to bottom and left to right

Nancy Bacevich, Cindy Kerr,

Polo Barrera, Haydi Hurley, Ann Gorbett,

Tony Donovan and me!

A photo of Haydi and Ann with Haydi's watercolors on display. Well done, Haydi!

After the show we enjoyed a spicy dinner, good company, and conversation.

The NVA at the Starlight on Nantucket

Left to right: Ann Gorbett, Polo Barrera, Nancy Bacevich, Cindy Kerr,

NVA Spouse Jeff Kerr, Haydi Hurley, yours truly, and Tony Donovan

I did promise to post more artwork on my blog, so here is a piece I recently completed. At least right now I think it's completed. And I do have to get better at making appropriate representations of my work on line. So tricky. The sky doesn't quite look like this and the greens are richer in person.

CLOUDS OVER CEDARS

original pastel, 16x12"

Thanks for reading!
kmw

Monday, August 8, 2011

Pastels of Nantucket

Last month my art class, the Neponset Valley Artists, went on a painting trip to Nantucket. Even the memory of this trip makes me giddy. Imagine having three days away from the normal routine, three days without kids, and three days of art with art friends!

'SCONSET PATH

original pastel, 5x5"

What fun it was!

'SCONSET COTTAGE

original pastel, 5x5"

To gear up for painting on location, I did a series of pastel studies at home from references I had from previous time spent on the island.

'SCONSET ARBOR

original pastel, 2.5 x5"

assorted original pastels on our fence gate, sizes vary

Working on location can be daunting. I find it less intimidating to do small works and studies which can later hopefully work into larger, more developed pieces in oil or pastel.

NANTUCKET MARSH LANDSCAPE

original pastel, 5x3"

Our host, NVA member, Haydi Hurley, is a Nantucket native. Apart from acting as our first-class tour guide, she secured access for us to paint at some wonderful private locations.

BRANT POINT ROSES

original pastel, 5x5"

While there I stopped in at Peach Trees of Nantucket, a gallery gift shop at 19 Main Street, with my artwork. The owner there bought a selection of my paintings for the gallery. Hurrah!

BRANT POINT VIEW

original pastel, 6x2"

It was a delight to have so many of the NVA together for a painting experience on the island.

BRANT POINT

original pastel, 2x5"

Haydi mentioned having us to the island again next year(!) for part two of this painting extravaganza.

BLUE ADIRONDACKS

original pastel, 4x5"

Looking forward to September 2012 already!