Day 30 :: SELFIE :: #30in30 Painting a Day Challenge

SELFIE
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

NFS

Last night there was a comment on my Facebook post mentioning a grand finale to this Septmeber daily painting challenge. I had a hard time sleeping after reading that. While I had always thought the last day of #30in30 would be simply another painting, I realized it was a chance to really try something different.

When I'd wonder aloud what I should paint for subjects, I would often hear self portrait as an option. It's not my first, but I hadn't done one in quite a long time.

At times I look at this painting and see me. Other times I look at it and see someone with a big chin. Whether or not it looks the way I wanted, I'm quite happy with it. The marks, the texture, the lighting, and the temperature all feel good to me. It's only with practice that I'll feel more confident about my figure painting.

"Selfie" speaks to the purpose of this whole challenge, and that was to be vulnerable. It's in that strong place of vulnerability that growth happens. Now that September is through, and I've painted every single day of it, I know that I've grown as an artist.

What comes next? Do I keep going? I keep going but with a new focus? Ack!

Thanks for reading and for staying with me during these past 30 days. It's been great! -kmw

Day 29 :: ACORNS :: #30in30 Painting a Day Challenge

ACORNS
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

Sold! 

Since the girls went back to school I spend a fair amount of time outside walking in my neighborhood. It's a great spot to walk: hills, fields, rivers, ponds, forests, and so much to look at. Lately when I've been walking I've been stopping to notice small things at my feet: feathers, seed pods, interesting rocks, and of course -- acorns.

Acorns are everywhere right now. While waiting for the bus they seemed to be raining down on us. During my walks I am always picking up interesting acorns and bringing them home, my pockets stuffed. How many kinds of oak trees do we have in my neck of the woods? I had always lumped them together simply as oaks. Now I have been observing more closely--northern oaks, pin oaks, black oaks, red oaks, among others. Such interesting fun.

Last night I sat to write my blog post about Blue Coat and took an inventory of paintings for the month. Landscapes dominate, obviously, I am a landscape painter. I decided I needed another still life before month's end. Today in my studio I decided to paint acorns.

In art school, I was always working on a still life. My view from MassArt's Kennedy building was not my scene, so I'd set up my leather bag, or some other art supplies, and paint. It was then I learned that when painting a still life, the thing you're painting is important, but so, too, is the background -- even if it's a mass of a solid color. This is HARD to do! Professors often said (and now I repeat this to my students) that you should spend as much time on your background as you do the subject.

Today in the studio I really understood about the importance of the background in making a still life painting interesting. In person, it's almost as great to see the pinks, grays, blues, and yellows in the light neutral background as it is the collection of acorns.

Thanks for reading! -kmw

Day 28 :: BLUE COAT :: #30in30 Painting a Day Challenge

BLUE COAT
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

$125 + $8 shipping

This month has been something else. Knowing I have a 6x6" to paint every day has been quite important to me. Can I find the words to say how? Let me try.

For years now, since I became a happy mom (eldest cutie is now eight) my painting time is different than at any time before children. Since having children, my attention has been multi-focused and scattered. My short time in the studio had a specific motive. Instead of painting to paint, I was painting to "get something in" during a nap. Rather than take on a challenge or consider trying something that I felt could be a good painting with work and development, I'd focus on the subjects I could do with ease. I loved painting salt marshes and hay bales because I was good at painting them.

If I could find the time to paint, I felt I had to spend that time taking on something I could do well (and hopefully sell.) During this time I felt there was no room for error. If I had two hours to paint (and neglect the jobs I had/house/laundry/dishes/groceries/etc etc) I had better make art that was good and would sell. I put a lot of pressure on myself, but I also put a lot of constrictions.

Now both children are in school. After a long while (that also flew by) I have TIME. The truth in that statement is that I have no excuses.

On my desk, in a box, is a hefty pile of mediocre photographs I took (and had printed out!) with the intent to make beautiful paintings of them. This pile grew for years. In the midst of the #30in30 this month I have started working from that pile. Can you imagine how good that feels?

This studied portrait I'm posting today was one in the pile. The photo was taken a couple of years ago, when I saw my friend's beautiful daughter in her gorgeous blue coat standing in the doorway of our happy old house. The light was bisecting the composition just perfectly. I was smitten with the idea of painting her. We shared a silly moment when I asked if I could take her photo and staged her to return to her previous pose.

I don't know if anyone else will like this piece as much as I do. It's a figure, and that's not my strong suit (yet) and the less confident marks show. Even though I know this is my friend's daughter, there's something about her in this painting that could be anyone. I love how she came out, looking just like her but a little wiser and older than in the reference.

Part of this #30in30 process has been showing artistic vulnerability. I'm posting pieces that aren't all salt marshes (only three have been, so far) and have pushed me in new ways. It's been scary, exhilarating at times, and freeing.

Thanks for reading! -kmw

Day 27 :: REFLECTION :: #30in30 Painting a Day Challenge

REFLECTION
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

$125 + $8 shipping

This September has been a busy one, and adding a daily painting to the mix has been a tall order some days. Today was one of these days. Nevertheless, the painting got done. And despite the fact that I have eight paintings that were 'back ups' painted before "just in case" I have been diligently going into the studio nightly to make a painting. The discipline has been great. Like I have mentioned before, though, I sincerely miss seeing my husband.

Reflections was a fun piece, and one I was able to play with and stretch the colors. Again there is a specific light story. I wonder that you can tell the time of day this was from? For me, it's obvious. A lot about this piece is obvious -- the time of day, the season, that it's New England. Try as I might, tonight I could not see this piece with new eyes.

I was in my studio working away, listening to the "While She Naps" podcast and getting into the zen of painting when Tim called to me with the latest supermoon lunar eclipse status update . Outside we'd go to see the supercool supermoon. After taking in the celestial phenomenon and not thinking about how old we'll be when this happens again, I'd go back into the studio to continue the piece.

In my classes I am a big advocate of the "walkabout" where you walk away from your piece to come back to it with a new presence. Strange that tonight these walkabouts didn't yield the same result. Is it that I'm spent? Is it that I'm content? Perhaps I'll know the answer to this in time.

Right now, I'm liking a lot about this painting. There are nuances (I may use that word in each post I've made this month, ah well) to the colors of the darks that make me smirk knowingly. The blues in the piece move in an interesting way from purple-blues to turquoise. I love blues. Some parts I'm not sure read for what they are, but then again, the abstractness of them isn't wrong. This need for things to be buttoned up and neat is something I've continually been working on in my paintings. I'm sure I'll continue to work on that for a while ahead.

Off to see the latest status of the moon.

Until tomorrow...with only a few short days remaining in September...
What will I do when this month is through?

Thanks for reading! -kmw

Day 26 :: DUSK :: #30in30 Painting a Day Challenge

DUSK
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

at The Drawing Room, Marion, MA 

When I ask what painting subjects people would like to see, the response is often twilight skies and night scenes, and that is a tall order. Painting night and unusual light may be the last subject painters can call their own. Before cameras, artists were the recorders of light and history. With no imperative to record what is seen in a time when we are overwhelmed with visual imagery, dusk, dawn, twilight, and night are still open to wide artistic interpretation. For me, the camera can't quite capture the essence of unusual light. 

In class I often mention that the best reference for me to work from is a terrible photo and my own sketches and notes. When the photo is a crisp and accurate representation of what I'd like to paint, I feel compelled to recreate exactly what I see and become a human photocopy machine. 

References at the times of day that light is tricky for a camera -- dusk, dawn, twilight, night, etc. -- are often the best of photos to work from to make good paintings. The photos are grainy and dark. The color is exaggerated or underwhelming. It's all about interpretation, and that is when artists get to show off their creativity. 

As I've mentioned before, our neighborhood includes a fantastic field which has been featured in six of my prior #30in30 paintings. As September comes to a close, the light continues to change and darkness comes earlier. Our late summer sunset walks are now at dusk and twilight, even when we start them earlier. The color has changed and the greens are browning. I was struck by the colors during a walk in the field. Purple seemed everywhere.

As homes in the neighborhood turn on their lights, there is a new flicker in the landscape. You'll see that first beacon in the distant tree line. When I saw it, I knew I had my next painting subject!

Thanks for reading!  -kmw

Day 25 :: CRITIQUE :: #30in30 Painting a Day Challenge

at The Drawing Room, Marion, MA 

Recently I wrote how friends and I had been to see the Wyeth exhibit at a local museum. I so so so love the Wyeth family and their legacy in American art, so it was a huge boon for me to go to look at paintings during my month of intensive painting.

Artists know that during the course of making a painting we have conversations with ourselves about infinite painting subjects. Since I've been having such thriving creative life as of late, those conversations have intensified.

In art school the professors used to tell me to "go to the museum" when I'd ask a specific question about how I might do something in a painting. While I may argue that their line was a cop out, I would love the opportunity to skip my studio class (although I was still in an artist mindset) and try to discover the answer to my specific questions in time for my next studio class.

For those reading this who aren't painters, my questions were about the techniques of painting specific things. Often I had issues with transitions in paintings. During this month of daily painting, three questions keep coming up: How does one transition from light to shadow? How can an artist make a large color field interesting? What sort of color harmonies make the most captivating paintings?

My first go-'round during the Wyeth show was to get an overall sense of the work on exhibit. After this I went on a hunt for answers to my three questions. I learned a ton and have been trying to implement some of my new artistic awareness. I did say trying.

It was during my second viewing that I came upon my friends viewing an NC Wyeth landscape. They struck me as being fantastic painting subjects themselves. I'm pretty sure they didn't expect that they'd be a subject of one of my #30in30. I do hope they'll recognize themselves. Tim did!

We're getting to the end of the month. Geez! It's been fun.
Thanks for reading! -kmw

Day 24 :: AUTUMN DUSK :: #30in30 Painting a Day Challenge

AUTUMN DUSK
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

at The Drawing Room, Marion, MA

It's getting darker earlier and earlier. It's a time of year that starts to make me sad. If I had to find a silver lining to this dark cloud, it's the the color of September light is warm and glowing. At dusk and twilight this warm, glowing light bathes everything, and I immediately have an imperative to paint it.

Tonight as I drove to teach my art class I was compelled to turn around and double back to take a photo of this river as it wend its way through reeds and grasses. The river reflected a gorgeous warm pink in the sky. I ran out and quickly snapped a bunch of photos.

In class we again discussed the idea of successful paintings having a specific light story. If you want to have a successful painting, it's important that the composition include some dramatic effect of the light - like in this piece which speaks to me of distinct warm autumn light.

I'm off to bed. It's the 24th of the month. Only six paintings to go!

Thanks for reading! -kmw

Day 23 :: PLANT SALE :: #30in30 Painting a Day Challenge

 harPLANT SALE
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

$125 + $8 shipping

This weekend past I volunteered to work at a local plant sale fundraiser. Volunteering is always time well spent, but this volunteering was doing double-duty as a super-duper workout! The woman I worked with and I moved and watered and arranged and sold and restocked a TON of plants. And it was fun.

The sunlight of the morning at the antique building we were at was GORGEOUS, such a beautiful contrast in warm and cool. I have been working on temperature in my paintings, so I thought I'd take this on as a painting subject today.

The lesson from this piece is that it's difficult to paint the warm gorgeous light on clapboards. It's difficult to keep the color clean and cool where needed and differentiate shadows. What I find most problematic is keeping the painting loose and painterly while still maintaining enough detail to ensure that the piece reads appropriately to the viewer who probably wasn't there and isn't familiar with the scene as I am. (Whew! Long sentence, that last one.)

In the end, this piece was a true challenge, and this is the reason for painting every day this month. I'm stretching myself and enjoying the process. (Italics to remind me of that fact.) Working to include people in my work and cutting myself enough slack that to become familiar with specific subjects means taking them on with intent. I only have mastered marshes because I have been working on them for --- GASP! now that I think of the actual time --- 14 years! ACK!

I'm proud of this one, despite the changes I'd make should I decide to take this one on as a larger painting. Already some of the small works here have been re-imagined as bigger paintings. It'll be fun to show you which ones they are at my show at Gallery9 in Norwood, MA this November.

Thanks for reading! -kmw

Day 22 :: SUNFLOWER COTTAGE :: #30in30 Painting a Day Challenge

SUNFLOWER COTTAGE
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

$125 + $8 shipping

Today I went to see The Wyeths: America Reflected at the Heritage Museum in Sandwich, MA. The exhibit closes this weekend and it was an imperative for me to get there. So happy it worked out. Three generations of Wyeths inspired me a bunch. I went looking at paintings with key questions in mind. It's fun to find answers by looking at paintings you admire.

The show was in this super-cool military building at the museum.
Its starkness went with the show impeccably well. 

The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere
original oil by NC Wyeth
just one of the gorgeous nocturnes on display

Today's painting is inspired by sights from my drive home. Before getting on the highway, I was getting quick views of so many gorgeous Cape Cod homes and cottages. This one is part of some efficiency cottages all available for rent. I saw the overflowing sunflowers and decided to turn around and take a photo and make some notes. It's fun and a little funny to be in a parking lot with a sketchbook making frantic marks that only make sense to you.

The palette for today's piece is so far from the colors of the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere above. I was in awe of NC Wyeth's nocturnes. His oils had jewel-like tones. I have eight more days of painting with pastel. I'll be interested in playing with oils on a larger scale in October, I'd bet.

Does the car read properly? It was a beat up jalopy of a vehicle which sort of went with the vibe of the efficiency cottages. It is to scale as painted since this road ventured far back to distant tiny houses. I'm not sure if I pulled it off, though. After working on something closely for a decent spell, it's difficult to have new eyes. If it doesn't read properly, I'm going to have to revisit it.

I suspect I'll be making it larger in the near future.

It's day 22 and this is a draining but wonderful exercise. Life isn't well set-up to make this painting schedule too possible on a consistent basis, which is too bad.  The real bummer is that I'm really missing seeing my husband at night. The good from this, though, is artistically and emotionally really good. I can talk about that more in the future. I've got to go to bed!

Thanks for reading! -kmw

Day 21 :: SNOWY TRAIL :: #30in30 Painting a Day Challenge

SNOWY TRAIL
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

This post will start as a complaining tirade about the painting that sits on my shelf for my eyes only until I either burn it, tear it up, or start a new version of itself. After 21 days of painting, my expectations soared and I decided to stretch a bit. Again painting laughed at me before beating me up.

This snow scene was on top of my "I'd like to paint this someday" photo pile, so I painted it with a quick intensity and confidence because landscapes are my comfort zone. Snow isn't my favorite thing in January, February, and March but even in those months is a great subject to paint and show the effects of light.

In my classes, ten minutes doesn't pass without me lecturing that artists say a lot with few marks. The confidence in great works shows in the strong strokes of the artist's knowing hand. This piece helped me get back some confidence. Strokes of blue and white carve through the trail. Single vertical and horizontal blips are trees and shrubs and light, and that is what I love!

Thanks for reading! -kmw

Day 20 :: WINDOW BOX :: #30in30 Painting a Day Challenge

WINDOW BOX
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

Sold!

In person, this painting is more nuanced. Some dark blues here are scary bright (like in the shutters) and that's not how the painting looks on my shelf next to 19 previous paintings. This painting has a lot of contrast in dark and light color and warm and cool color temperature. Perhaps I made the scanner tired with all of this intricate color.

Tonight I chased everything about this painting. The greens of the plants were too warm, too cool, too bright, too dull, and you get where that's going. This happened for nearly everything in this piece. At one point I thought I picked up a cream colored pastel only to discover it was IRIDESCENT! Oh no! Perhaps that is why my scanner balked. Sparkly glittery whites!!

Each hunt and chase and trying again ended. When I finally put down my last pastel stick, I was happy because I won and am happy with my result. Since I have been painting every day for 20+ days now, I'd presume that painting would get easier. "Ha!" says painting. But it does. What's making the process more difficult are my expectations.

Yesterday I had a study in simplicity, and today is anything but. Architecture, reflections, soft edges and hard, a dramatic light story, and color all play a part in the piece. When I look at it on my desk I am pretty excited about how it came out. Just enough detail to be the way I like it. And, like with every piece I've posted this month -- I learned a lot in simply painting it.

Thanks for reading! -kmw

Day 19 :: HYDRANGEA BLOSSOM :: #30in30 Painting a Day Challenge

HYDRANGEA BLOSSOM
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

$125 + $8 shipping

This pastel is born from some place I didn't know I had in me. I spent the day in hard physical labor in the glorious September sun meeting some fantastic people and chatting and laughing and talking about and selling perennials at a fundraiser. My daughter fell out of bed last night and when I went to check on her she was laughing. I had to be up and at 'em early, so to say the least I am tired. 

The kids in bed, I went into the studio. How odd and lovely to hear the clinking sounds of dishes being finished by my supportive husband so I could get my painting done for today. (I really did marry quite well.)

When I painted the still life of pears earlier in this challenge I spent time working on making something like a pear look painterly and interesting. When the pear was interesting enough I had to then make the bowl and the background also interesting, but not be competitive unless that is what I wanted. The process included decisions, debates, deliberations, trying color, making adjustments and changes.

In class I often discuss how simple subjects can only be painted well by accomplished painters. It's much more difficult to pull off a single anything on a simple surface or background than it is to paint a marsh resplendent in sunlight and shadow in full bloom with reflections and and and and....Like my fun-to-paint colorful full-sun marsh paintings. 

And so I have been thinking of this hydrangea that my dear friend gave me on Monday. She said it was the sole blue blossom remaining on her hydrangea bush. My friend so kindly said seeing it that morning reminded her of my wedding 10 years ago, and she wanted me to have it. 

It's lovely now to have this painting which will certainly last longer than her thoughtful gift which will sadly fade. It gave me trouble as I painted it -- with its simplicity and light and shadow. In the end, what made it a success was not thinking of the process as intently but instead thinking about all that was behind the subject. 

Thanks for reading! -kmw

Day 18 :: CHICORY :: #30in30 Painting a Day Challenge

CHICORY
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

 

at The Drawing Room, Marion, MA 

How much can I be inspired by the field in my neighborhood? A lot!

It was an overcast day recently and the blue chicory by the fence made me pause. Tonight, in my studio at 10:16pm I decided to give this recent inspiration a go. At 11:07pm I'm posting it. I'm beat.

Like today, tomorrow I'll be selling autumn perennials at the Norfolk Grange Hall to help fund community programs. If I didn't have to be somewhere at 7:15am, I'd be reworking a few things in this piece (and I still might.) In the meantime, here's my painting.

Foregrounds are tricky. Backgrounds are tricky. Middlegrounds are tricky. And so I'm off to bed.

Thanks for reading! -kmw

Day 17 :: SETTING SUN :: #30in30 Painting a Day Challenge

SETTING SUN
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

$125 + $8 shipping

Whoa! Today was a whirlwind ending with teaching my art class, enjoying our customary afterparty, coming home and heading to the studio. This piece is the only of the 17 that I may have to revisit tomorrow when I look at it with non-tired eyes in the morning.

We live in the best neighborhood! This is an abandoned road near our home. The light was setting and the colors were vivid and lush as they were laid out in streaks across the grasses and pavement. People walking their kids and their dogs were scattered throughout. I added one walker with a red skirt because how could I not?

Thanks for reading! -kmw

Day 16 :: RED BARN :: #30in30 Painting a Day Challenge

RED BARN
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

SOLD! 

This barn has lovely funky angles. At sunset the angles are more pronounced with shadows hanging and falling to accent the angles even more. Offset by the lush greens in the landscape and the gorgeous blooms in front, I think it's obvious why I'd have to paint this scene!

Full disclosure: Argh!! This piece caused me a bit of trouble. Red when lightened is often pink or orange. It's pretty tricky. In shadow colors are cooler. Cooler red is purple. I have so many tones here in the barn reds that I am not used to using. My usual color palette wasn't accessible to me for this building, much as I mentioned in the post for the yellow barn.

Apart from the color, the rigid lines of architecture can be tricky to make feel painterly. It's a bunch to juggle. And so this piece sat on my standing desk waiting until I'd try it again. Feels good to have resolved it.

Friends of ours showed me this place and I was instantly smitten. Instantly! It is magical all times of day all times of year. More paintings will come from this place if all goes according to plan. I pray it all works out and soon! (It's fun to be cryptic.)

Thanks for reading! -kmw

Day 15 :: CAFE :: #30in30 Painting a Day Challenge

CAFE
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

$125 + $8 shipping

In a quest to stretch myself from the usual subjects I may be inclined to paint, I took inspiration for today's painting from this past weekend where Tim and I went into Boston to celebrate our 10th Anniversary. We stayed somewhere luxurious, dined somewhere delicious, walked down memory lane, and enjoyed breakfast on Beacon Hill before hitting the Brimfield flea market. You can imagine there's a lot of inspiration to be gleaned from such a great time.

CAFE is from Tatte Bakery and Cafe on Charles Street. While waiting for the most delicious egg, bacon, and cheese sandwich on amazing sourdough bread, I took notice of a few impeccable moments that felt to me like they should be paintings. Perhaps there will be more artwork inspired by our breakfast. We still have half of the month of September to continue to stretch my creative self.

Thanks for reading! -kmw

Day 14 :: BOWL OF PEARS :: #30in30 Painting a Day Challenge

BOWL OF PEARS
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

at The Drawing Room, Marion, MA

On my studio shelving sit all of the pastels I've done for this September challenge. When I see them in a group I can assess subjects I should revisit and consider my work as a whole. Some artists approach this #30in30 painting a day challenge as a time to fledge out a theme or concept. Seems to me it's been more a chance to establish a discipline of making time in my life to make art. 

This still life is the only one of its kind in the collection of work thus far. I have a lot of landscapes. One animal. One garden. Two architectural. Today is the first still life. I think I'll be revisiting this classic subject.

Thanks for reading! -kmw

Day 13 :: MARSH ROCKS :: #30in30 Painting a Day Challenge

MARSH ROCKS
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

at The Drawing Room, Marion, MA

Last week I was visiting an artist friend in Sandwich on Cape Cod. He took us on a pretty incredible safari to scout out painting locations. This spot is a gem! It was low tide -- really low. The sun was a bright streak in the distance. I think I could still play with the color in the distance on this one. 

Thirteen days in and I am noticing some interesting things about the collection as a whole. If you'd like to see them, click on the #30in30 link on my website homepage.

Some of these small paintings are being worked into larger compositions. Wait until you see those -- no sooner than November, if I had to wager a guess. Who knows, though. I'm excited to show what I'm working on and I'm in a new gallery! Be sure to plan to visit Palette Fine Art Gallery if you're near Sandwich, Massachusetts. Comment on this post if you'd like suggestions on where to eat and what to see when you're there. 

Thanks for reading! -kmw

Day 12 :: FEELS LIKE FALL :: #30in30 Painting a Day Challenge

FEELS LIKE FALL
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

at The Drawing Room, Marion, MA

We live near a special field, as I've posted about before in posts from Day 5 and Day 6. It's such an inspiring place to say the least.
     The sky is big and uninterrupted.
     The grasses grow and are hayed.
     The light is gorgeous each season.

The light has started to change with the seasons. When I was there recently, after the field was partially hayed, the smell was intoxicating and the colors had altered. While the grasses were green there was a tinge of rusty orange. The treetops are drying and the foliage is just starting....

Here is my attempt at catching this first glimpse of a new season. I painted it softly on an archival suede board to help with the fuzzy atmospheric feeling of the day. 

Day 11 :: YELLOW BARN :: #30in30 Painting a Day Challenge

YELLOW BARN
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

$125 + $8 shipping

One thing I have been working on in my paintings is color. Specifically I'm working on enhancing the color in the shadows. I am trying to make the temperature of the color as well as my selection of hue more interesting.

In this piece from a farm near our home the barn was in shadow overwhelmed by bouncing light from the ground. Yellow is a tricky color to make cool and warm and dark and light. Yellow always seems light! The yellow in light is bright and whitish like lemonade. This yellow is deep as I tried to portray the shadow version of yellow.

You'll also notice the greens in the piece. Cool temperature greens lean toward blue. Warm greens are filled with yellow and orange. I hope you can tell where the shadow line from the barn is quite clearly. And there is one stone that shows sunlight as the rest of the stone wall is in shadow. A fun and quite tricky piece for my eleventh day of painting every day in September! 

Thanks for reading! -kmw

Day 10 :: MARSH FOG :: #30in30 Painting a Day Challenge

MARSH FOG
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

at The Drawing Room, Marion, MA

It's day 10 and it's quite something to see my paintings all lined up on my studio shelf. If you'd like to see my work for this September challenge, take a look at my website and click on the #30in30 page. I'm uploading my new paintings there nearly daily.

When I look at my #30in30 paintings I am struck by the amount of contrast of dark and light that comes through. When my students discuss possible painting subjects, one constant we discuss for success is that the work should have a distinct light story. When a piece is from sunset it's easy to know the light story is the drama of the brilliant sky against the darkening land.

Sometimes the light story is that there is no light story. This is acceptable as long as it's deliberate. In today's painting the marsh is fogged in. The greens in the distance become blurred together. There is little contrast. It's a great study in greens and edges and feels like fog. In essence it's the perfect explanation of a light story telling  a deliberate story of having little light. In this foggy day, the light story is diffused.

Two notes:
I've had questions about an exhibition of my paintings for this challenge. In October I'll be hosting an open studio event at my home. More on this to come!

Yesterday I was signed on by Palette Fine Art Gallery in Sandwich, MA. I'm excited to be among their talented artists. If you're in that area on Cape Cod, please do stop by!

Thanks for reading! -kmw

Day 9 :: BLUE DOOR :: #30in30 Painting a Day Challenge

BLUE DOOR
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

                                                                             

$125 + $8 shipping

Sometimes there is so much of visual interest in a place that it's easy to become overwhelmed at the options presented. This spot with its forested lot, dappled light, adirondack chair, adorable garden shed, vibrant roses, blooming window box, swaying ornamental grasses, and good company was overwhelming to say the least. It was also 100 degrees.

Here is the pastel I created en plein air. It was a true study in editing and in making greens interesting. When I had looked at my previous postings I thought it was time for some architecture. Blue is my favorite color. My friends' home has it everywhere. I was in heaven for so many reasons!

Thanks for reading! -kmw

Day 8 :: SUNFLOWERS :: #30in30 Painting a Day Challenge

SUNFLOWERS
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

$125 + $8 shipping

Sunflowers are beautiful. A local farm plants a field of them and when I'm there I feel like I'm in Europe. Stopping by at all times of day, we see their heads facing the sunshine -- that's how I feel in the wintertime.

Rather than paint something straightforward, I tried to mix up the color notes a little bit. Brown centers are boring. My notes include purples, magentas, and pinks!

Frugal me comes out when I have a piece of prized pastel paper 16x20" and a frame that's 16x16".
I trim the rest and make small pieces for studies as tests for future works and explorations of color. In fact, some of the 6x6"s that I'm working on for this #30in30 are being scaled up into larger pieces. (More on this later, just to tease a bit.) This sunflower was fun. I loved the turquoise and royal blue notes in between the stems. 

SUNFLOWERS SMALL STUDY
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 3x3"

Thanks for reading! -kmw

Day 7 :: FIELD SUNSET :: #30in30 Painting a Day Challenge

FIELD SUNSET
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

at The Drawing Room, Marion, MA 

We are a week in to Leslie Saeta's 30 in 30 painting challenge. I'm developing quite a system: Go through the day, Make dinner, Clean up, Kids to bed, talk with Tim, Head to the studio and paint!

The scene I painted today is near our home. We moved to a wonderful suburb of Boston less than two years ago and have been enjoying all that our new neighborhood has to offer. When we originally drove by this field en route to see our potential house, I was struck by this beautiful open land. I recall having had a feeling deep inside that we had found our home because I was supposed to be near this field and find inspiration in it. How funny to have felt that way when we hadn't even seen the house! And yet, here we are. The little wish I made came true.

This is my second painting highlighting this spot. My piece, "Two Trees" from two days ago was from this field. In that piece the trees are out of view of this composition and are sort of three inches to the right off the painting surface.

When I teach on Thursday nights my students often show me some things they are considering painting. We generally get into conversations about light and how the "light story" is foremost. A week into this challenge I am noticing my paintings have a distinct light story. Whew! It's good to know I follow my own advice!!

Thanks for reading! Until tomorrow --- kmw

Day 6 :: MARSH SUNSET :: #30in30 Painting a Day Challenge

MARSH SUNSET
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

SOLD!

It's been a fantastic day and I'm totally tired. We returned home at 8:50pm and helped put the kids to bed for the night, tidied up from our overnight trip, and I came down to the studio and painted this.

It's not quite a nocturne but it's close -- it's the light just before everything is blue and then black with nightfall. It's so warm at this time of day. And light like this is so summer.

And just like that it's Labor Day weekend and summer is over. We'll miss you, to say the least.

Thanks for reading. More to be written here tomorrow. -kmw

Day 5 :: TWO TREES :: #30in30 Painting a Day Challenge

TWO TREES
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

Sold! 

Day five is a whirlwind --- it's Labor Day weekend and there's fun to be had! I'm off with family for barbecues, walks, conversations, and making great memories.

This painting was fun and a challenge. The entire scene was green! I'm trying to make the color more interesting. My students will also recall that foregrounds are often tricky. The resolution of this one made me quite happy.

Those who live in our happy neighborhood may recognize these two trees. I've painted them before in nearly all seasons. My suspicion is that I'll revisit this scene before the month of September is over.

Thanks for reading! -kmw

Day 4 :: LATE IN THE DAY :: #30in30 Painting a Day Challenge

LATE IN THE DAY
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

$125 + $8 shipping
(Some day I'll figure out how to center the "Buy Now" button.)

Tim asked me what the purpose of #30in30 was and I told him it's to set a discipline of daily painting and, with daily exercise, to expand my artistic repertoire.

Holding true to this aim, I've been struggling with green in so many aspects for so long.
     *Green in shadow versus green in sunlight.
     *Green that's in the foreground and greens in the background.
     *Green that's muddy versus green that is intense.
Green causes problems especially in summer when everything is green.

For a big birthday present a few years ago my family gave me the Terry Ludwig set of 90 greens. Ninety! You'd think if you have 90 greens you'd have them all. Not me. I found I was always wanting a variation of the color that wasn't available. Eventually I figured it wasn't the selection but the user. I wasn't using green to its best effect.

This painting is a study in green in sunlight and in shadow. It's from a field near my home near where the town school buses are stored. This field is beautiful all times of the year, and it's a place that I find intimidating for it's simplicity -- gorgeous field, a stone wall, the sky, tall grasses. When a composition is simple, it doesn't allow for hiding a weak result in the architecture of a farmhouse or the dancing light and shadow on clouds. As an artist you're exposed and it's rough.

This painting went through some rough spells. Apply pastel. Keep applying more pastel. Wipe that all off. Do it again. Wipe it off again. Start over. Here's where I ended up. I love it. It's better in person. I need a better camera or the real Photoshop not Photoshop Elements.

Thanks for reading. We'll see what I paint for tomorrow. -kmw

Day 3 :: BLUE MOON :: #30in30 painting a day challenge

BLUE MOON
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

$125 + $8 shipping

Day 3 of the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge is a nocturne. Night paintings always get me excited. They are a great example of the artist being more than a camera. We tell our viewer so much that the camera cannot.  

Blue is my favorite color, so I love the chance to play with blues. The camera can't capture all the subtleties of this painting. 

This painting is inspired by this summer's full moons. The field and river in my painting are well-known to artists in my area. Some call this place "Hunter's Field" after the renowned painter Robert Douglas Hunter of the Boston School who oft painted here. I'm lucky to have met him and had a great conversation a few years back when he awarded me an Honorable Mention at the Adams Farm Paint Out event. I was elated to have him recognize my work. He passed away in October of 2014. 

If you're local and want to paint here some day, let's connect! It's a great spot in any season. 

Day 2 :: HEN'S PERCH :: #30in30 painting a day challenge

HEN'S PERCH
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

Sold

Day 2 of the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge is this wonderful Barred Rock hen.

What fun it was to paint all the tones hiding in the gray, black, and white of the patterned feathers.

The best part of painting this, though, was the comb. My pastel box is filled with landscape-painting colors: greens that are abused and often used and assorted values of blue for water and sky.

It was a treat to play with and explore the reds. It is strange to see a completed piece of mine and have it be absent of green!

Day 1 :: DAY'S END :: #30in30 painting a day challenge

DAY'S END
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

Sold! 

The first day of Leslie Saeta's #30in30 painting a day challenge is a daunting prospect. Staring at September I wonder what my collection will look like at the month's end. Questions come to mind: Will I paint daily? Can I keep up with the demand? How will I find the time? What about Labor Day?

As a mom to young girls starting school this month I have to think I'll be afforded new time. Summer is wonderful but finding time to paint has been its own challenge. We shall see....

DAY'S END is a piece I was jazzed up about when began the painting process. The light was just so. The colors were intense. In my art studio I've been pushing color in terms of hue, value, intensity, and temperature. This composition allowed me to stretch color in all of those ways. 

When I was finished I was happy enough to fledge this into a larger piece for an upcoming show in November. Can't wait to show you how it came out!