VT Workshop added! :: Oct 13-16, 2013

Paintings from a Vermont Farm 

October 13-16th, 2013                    
An artists’ workshop & retreat with Kim Morin Weineck

My photo of the free range chickens at
Sweet Georgia P's CSA @Amee Farm

To sign up or for more information, email kimweineck@gmail.com or call Becca at (802)746-8061. Thanks! 
Good paintings often spring from the inspiration provided by a location.  Surrounded by mountains, fields, ripening crops, rivers, and farm life – your paintings of Amee Farm in Pittsfield, VT will be truly inspired! 

my photo of the view from Amee Farm Lodge, Pittsfield, VT

Dates :  Sunday, October 13th through Wednesday, October 16^th 

Please arrive any time after 3:30pm on Sunday to settle into your room and get acquainted with the landscape. A welcome dinner will be provided with participant introductions at the gathering.

Schedule :  Each day begins with breakfast, followed by a painting lesson with handouts and a demonstration by the instructor. Locations for the day’s painting will be determined before breaking for lunch, which each participant is responsible for daily. On-location painting continues after the lunch break with individual instruction throughout the remainder of the day. All mediums and painting levels are welcome.

The group will convene for lively critiques of the day’s work before dinner.

Tuesday night is an extra-special Farm-to-Table dinner comprised of  selections from Sweet Georgia P’s at Amee Farm: a perfect send-off meal together. What a treat this will be! We'll be painting from the landscape, creating still lifes of veggies and foliage from Sweet Georgia P's at Amee Farm, and then enjoying a fantastic meal with cheeses and soups! This is the French idea of terroir at its best -- just for us!

If the weather cooperates, those interested can paint the sunrise and enjoy a brown bag picnic breakfast. Wednesday’s lesson and final painting session concludes with our last critique over a catered lunch. The workshop ends at 1:30pm on Wednesday, October 16^th. 

The livestock barn filled with gorgeous goats.
Too bad you can't see any of the cutie kids in my photo. 

Lodging: Workshop participants are housed at the rustic luxury bed and breakfast, Amee Farm Lodge, just across from Sweet Georgia P’s at Amee Farm. The inn is reserved for the group solely, providing a wonderful opportunity to be immersed in the art experience alone and in collaboration with others.  Take a  look at their site for pictures of their rooms and be sure to check out their blog for some amazing photos of the landscape.

.

My photo of rte 100 near the free-range
chicken field and the Pittsfield General Store

*The inn offers many different rooms, some with private bath and some a semi-private bath (shared between two rooms). Rooms are granted on a first-come first-served basis. When you pay, you reserve your room choice, so reserve early!

Pricing:  $ 850 includes 3 night’s lodging and breakfast daily. A welcome dinner is provided on Sunday as well as a private Farm-to-table dinner event on Tuesday and lunch on departure day. Participants receive three days of in-depth art instruction with painting demonstrations.  Not a painter? You are welcome to join us, too. Retreat only, no instruction is $695.

For a slideshow of painting locations and the Amee Farm Lodge, check out this slideshow. Enjoy!

To sign up or for more information, email kimweineck@gmail.com or call Becca at (802)746-8061. Thanks! 

The artist/instructor: 

Kim Morin Weineck is an accomplished artist who has been teaching all mediums of painting and drawing for more than a decade. Kim concentrates on the beauty of interpretive landscapes in her own work. She is a juried member of the Pastel Society of America (PSA), Signature Member of the Pastel Painters Society of Cape Cod (PPSCC), among other art society memberships. Founder and Instructor of the Neponset Valley Artists (NVA), Kim holds a BFA in Fine Art, 2D from Massachusetts College of Art and Design where she graduated with distinction and found her artist-voice studying in Pont-Aven, Brittany, France. Kim has served as Gallery Director at Gallery9, Norwood, MA.

Inspiration overload

Have you seen the slideshow of photos from our quick Vermont trip? If you scan through them, you can see there's a true abundance of inspiration. As I typed that I loved how the word "abundance" came to mind because abundance is probably the most perfect word for a farm.

Since my return I've been working on my marketing materials for my workshops (!) as well as creating new works based on drawings, photos, and other references from my trip.

Here are two finished pastels:

©2013 Kim Morin Weineck
AMEE FARM BARN
original pastel, 12x9"

©2013 Kim Morin Weineck
FIELD SHADOWS
original pastel, 12x9"

I cannot wait to post more paintings as they are completed. New work wants to percolate out of me quickly,  and I'm trying to keep up!

Thanks for reading! -kmw

Vermont Slideshow!

Going grander

Some wonderful things happen in my paintings when I work small. The scale of my mark is grand in small works, so the little marks I make mean something. Everything is large and effective for me when I work small. Scaling things up is tricky. I don't do it easily. The simple large stroke with the side of a brush or pastel in a little painting doesn't have the same 'umph' when you are working larger.

©2013 Kim Morin Weineck
DIANNE'S FLOWERS
original pastel, 18x12"

To improve my larger works, I've been working up studies in smaller sizes and then creating the larger works once the smaller piece is successful. With the small piece I can work out the glitches, take a chance without so much risk, experiment, and try something freely. When the pieces are successful, then on to the larger surface. It's an academic approach.

©2013 Kim Morin Weineck
STUDY of DIANNE'S FLOWERS
original pastel, 7x5"

In the past I've done thumbnails and value studies, but the studies I'm working on now are more complete small works.

At one time I told my husband that I thought today's larger painting "Dianne's Flowers" was probably going in the trash -- it was coming along that poorly.  Listening to the advice I often tell my students, I forced myself to work through the 'yuck' period and finally saw the possibilities of the piece. When Tim saw the painting again he said, "Ah! You brought it back from the dead!" It was totally affirming.

Thanks for reading! -kmw

People!

I know! Shock!! I mean, I'm a LANDSCAPE painter...

©2013 Kim Morin Weineck
BEACH DAY
original pastel, 5x7"

...This is a painting with PEOPLE! People I know and love, to be exact. In the back is Lucy, running out of the sea while Pippa is combing the beach for shells and such on the sand.

Versions of this painting have been floating in my mind's eye for a while now, and it's been percolating in my head that figures need to enter my paintings. For some reason, this was the one that started it. We'll see what happens next. 

Thanks for reading! -kmw

Temperature

It's nearly summer - a lovely mid-June with still so much goodness and light yet to come. We've had days that you dream about and lately a lot lot lot of rain. (Did I say there's been a lot?) Whenever the weather has cooperated I've been out painting on our patio. This small piece was completed last week, right before the onslaught of rainy days.

©2013 Kim Morin Weineck
DIANNE'S FLOWERS
original pastel, 7x5"

Lately I've been interested in amping up my color and pushing the boundaries of warm and cool temperatures in my work. A sunlit window box of gorgeous flowers with some warm, raking light was the perfect place to explore some color theory. With new pastels at my disposal, it was wonderful to consider warm greens vs. cool greens, warm whites and cool whites, the temperature of the blue, etc etc. 

Can't wait to do it again!! 

Thanks for reading!-kmw

Put yourself out there

As an artist, I honestly find art shows a bit scary. Having your work out for all to see is an invitation for a response. Talk about vulnerable! I've always felt that by the time you're ready to put yourself out there, you're ready for the response, whatever it may be -- good or bad. It's easy to say but harder to pull it off.

Gallery9 hosted a wonderful group show called "The Great Frame Up" where we had to create a piece to coordinate with a frame we selected in a blind draw -- totally backwards from the norm. When I opened my frame and saw the 1" flat turquoise wood burl I'll admit I knew this wasn't going to be easy. My still life came together well and three judges awarded me 3rd place. Hurray!

My painting with the 3rd place
Golden Brush award above it
©2013 Kim Morin Weineck
BLUE JAR
original pastel, 10x8"

The very next day my work was shown in the Norwood Art Association's 35th Annual Arts in the Park event. Imagine my feeling when I walked up to my piece and saw this blue ribbon on it! The beautiful sunshine-filled day got even better! 

©2013 Kim Morin Weineck
MARSH RAIN
original pastel, 12x9"

For all the painting going on in solitude, it feels quite nice to have my work recognized, and I'm so appreciative. 

Thanks for reading! -kmw

Art supply order!

After a self-imposed hiatus of nearly two years, I splurged and ordered a BUNCH of new art supplies.

As a pastel painter, I always want to try another brand to see how I like them and if their colors will be the resplendent glories I imagine. The problem is I probably will like them and then I'll simply need EVERY color in the line. Since I began pastel painting in earnest, I dreamed of the day when I'll order the complete set of some brand of my choosing. What a day that will be!

Diane Townsend's Soft Form Landscape sets A and B were my selection this order. They are beautiful and the sticks handle well on the Pastelbord I have and the Hahnemuhle velour paper. Lovely. If there's any negative it's the selection in these sets - a LOT of muddy warm greens that I seem to have too many of in my general pastel collection. If you're looking for a go-to set to bring with you on a plein air painting outing, this would not be my set. Instead I'd bring the Sennelier plein air 80 half stick set. The colors are perfect.

At a workshop with Deb Quinn-Munson, she mentioned that she uses Cretacolor hard pastels rather than Nupastels. I figured I'd give them a shot and so far so good. The color assortment is just beautiful!

Since the pastels arrived I've been squeezing in painting time. So far so good. Love getting new supplies. What a treat it is!