Pastel to oil

Yesterday I tried to paint with pastels. Oh, I wanted them to work!

Instead the first try went into the trash and the second was scrubbed off with a high-pressured hose. 

As is my usual pattern, I went to the studio, put away all my pastels and took out all my oils. The switch is on! Last week I'd used my oils for an afternoon after oiling out paintings in my 'painting graveyard' and figuring out which I wanted to finish (or attempt to finish) for my upcoming show. 

SUNFLOWERS
original oil, 20x24"
not quite finished but almost...
The scale of this is a bit skewed,
but the colors feel right. 

Pastels are wonderful things. When I use them my color sense gets honed to a great level. "I need to use a middle value, warm yellow green" and I find it. When I venture back to oil the decisions are helpful. Now I can mix whatever color I would search for in pastel stick. And the great thing about oils: There is always the color possibility you were looking for! 

SUNFLOWERS
original oil, 20x24
in progress
The colors in the original are
much cleaner than this photo. 

The pastels I attempted yesterday were unsuccessful because of the nuances of color. One image had too much subtlety in the sky blues. My collection of pastels didn't have the colors I needed. Honest. And then there's green. Never the right one in pastel.

Going back to oil yesterday was thrilling. I mean it - THRILLING! 

And I had every green I needed. 

Thanks for reading! ~kmw

Interview with Smart Creative Women

Mid-August I was interviewed by Monica Lee of Smart Creative Women. It was a humid, gorgeous, summer day and the conversation was easy and fun.

We talk about all sorts of art-related things and Monica is a delight - so upbeat and at ease.
I had a great day and seeing the interview now brings me back to those dog days of summer only a month or so ago.

Enjoy!

The art of cooking

Continuing to 'embrace autumn', today I'm posting about cooking with a little mention of art. Here's a photo of my dining room table with the recipe for me to type out. My oil paintings in-progress are on the distant wall's chair rail. 

Recipe, Apples, Art
We have art everywhere right now as
I'm getting ready for my show October 5th. 

Beef and Carrot Ragu is kid-friendly and delicious and already in the slow cooker for tonight's dinner. 

What a relief it is on the days when dinner is a no brainer. 

For the Compost
I used roma tomatoes from the garden
but threw in a small heirloom because it looked
lonely in the bowl after the romas left. 

BEEF AND CARROT RAGU

1 to 1 1/4 lbs boneless beef short ribs

salt and ground black pepper

10 (!) cloves of garlic

8 oz peeled fresh baby carrots, chopped

1 lb chopped roma tomatoes

6 oz can tomato paste

1/2 cup red wine

pappardelle noodles or something you have on hand

Place salted and peppered ribs in slow cooker. 

Smash garlic and place on ribs. 

Add tomato paste and wine, carrots and chopped tomatoes. 

Cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours. 

Stir, shred, mash up the carrots and tomatoes. 

Serve over pasta or crusty bread or what-have-you. 

ENJOY! 

The house already smells good!

 Thanks for reading ~kmw

Embrace autumn?

Much of my posting extols the glory of summer. My goodness I'm such a summer girl!

Fall is pretty - of course it is - with its perfect weather, cool nights for easy sleeping, gorgeous pink light and beautiful clouds and colors. Wow. It's the oncoming decline in temperatures and the diminishing light which make me glum.

©2012 Kim Morin Weineckon easel
LONG AUTUMN SHADOWS 
original pastel, 12x18

And then there's the season next on the horizon, but let's keep that in the ether for now. We can call that time of cold and snow 'the-season-that-shall-not-be-named.'

As a painter I cannot help but be inspired by this weather and color and change in the light. Last week I finished this piece.

©2012 Kim Morin Weineck
LONG AUTUMN SHADOWS 
original pastel, 12x18"

While I worked on it while the girls were in school (a MAJOR change in my life's schedule) I thought about my autumn angst and some of it abated but only for a fleeting moment.

Thanks for reading! ~kmw

Three things -- pretty big ones at that!

Please visit and bookmark my new website (!) where I'll be posting new work, work as it sells, updating shows, etc. etc. The site is a work in progress which I think makes it a bit more exciting to follow.

As you browse through, please feel free to suggest things that may make it better --- like getting rid of the 'read-me' at the top. I'm working on that one.

Secondly, this October 5, 2012 will be my THIRD annual First Friday show at Gallery9 in Norwood, MA. Lately I've been working on mixing things up a bit and hopefully the body of work for my show will do just that. I'm putting some major pressure on myself and that's a good thing.

Seven years ago in the hot hot heat
Would happily do it again

Finally, it's been a flurry of activity in our household. Change is everywhere!

Tim and I celebrated our 7th anniversary (love you, darlin') on Labor Day and enjoyed kayaking until our hands blistered and our shoulders, arms, and backs were screaming with happy pain.

And here we are today - enjoying a cone
Happy summertime 2012!

Lucy started kindergarten this morning leaving Tim and I and a melancholy Pippa behind to watch as the bus pulled away.

Hey Lu, smile!
And she's off....

Worry not! Pippa starts her own preschool next week. Wowie! So much change, so much momentum, and all is well.

Pippa wearing her favorite shirt while we await Lucy's return

Thanks for reading! ~kmw