Daily Painting Sept 2017 :: No. 16 of 30

Nocturnes make their way into my work every so often. In past #30in30 challenges, I see the nocturnes pop up. They are favorites of my patrons and I should do more. It's a difficult thing for me to paint because night isn't about color so much and you have to work from life and from memory. This can be done, but it takes more effort.

Daily Painting No. 16 of 30

3x3" original oil

And so here is a marsh I love and have visited and painted often. For today's painting I looked at paintings from the day and made the scene into night. Ha! What exhausting fun that was!!

Thanks for reading! ~kmw

Day #21 :: WINTER MOON :: January Daily Painting Challenge

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

$125 + $8 shipping

In the midst of this Daily Painting Challenge I got pretty sick. The girls had been ill, along with Tim. The rascally germs were bound and determined to get me, too, despite my best efforts of hand-washing and over-sanitizing. It's now three days later and I'm still sick, but I'm painting! 

Here is a painting from my ride home. The light was just perfect as the final light shone warm and constrasting against the cool shadows. Trusty camera to get a poor-quality photo along with some composition notes and later today in the studio, safe from the first BIG snowstorm of the season, I made this painting. 

I could have spent forever on limbs. But I need to play and experiment with saying enough without having to say every little last word. Detail is important but only in balance. 

This was the first of three today. Off to post the next!
Ah-choo!

Thanks for reading! ~kmw  

Day #20 :: BLUE NIGHT:: January Daily Painting Challenge

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

$125 + $8 shipping

Another night I wish I could have offered a painting rain check -- the girls are sick and now I am, but that was certainly bound to happen.

Tonight's painting is an idea that has been kicking around since Christmas Eve when we visited my in-laws for a wonderful family party. This Christmastide was downright balmy, with temperatures unseasonably warm. That night, on the ocean, the fog hung low. The night was a color I'd not seen before. The effect of fuzzy silhouettes struck my perpetual-painting-viewfinder eyes as completely and utterly captivating. Again, I took a fuzzy (this time TOTALLY fuzzy) iPhone photo and made shape and color notes on a cocktail napkin as well as a quick notan study. 

When I studied in Brittany, France the light always struck me. It was different - warm, subtle, deep. The sun set at 10:30 and night didn't fall until after 11pm. The streetlights all went out at 11pm. It was so strange! I remember learning the phases of the moon to figure if I needed to bring my flashlight for the walk home in the dark. When I'd forget to bring a light, my eyes would adjust and scenes like this painting were always in front of me. 

What fun it was to make this painting tonight, in this tight color and value range, and be channeled back to the streets of Pont-Aven, France for that impressionable summer of making art and friends and solidifying the person I am now. Funny what art can do!

Of course this piece was such trouble to scan and color correct. In person the color is a warm, purple-blue. I love it. The telephone poles, the silhouetted cedars, oaks, and other abstract shapes transport me: Christmas Eve night and that summer in France simultaneously. What art can do! 

Thanks for reading! ~kmw  

Day #18 :: COLD SHADOWS :: January Daily Painting Challenge

COLD SHADOWS
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

$125 + $8 shipping

Blue is my favorite color, and it is so prevalent during winter. The shadows, the sky, and the snow all feel so blue. Tonight I went out to shovel the four inches of snow we got last night and the light flakes all sparkled with crisp white and blue. Teeny electric blips of blue. It was beautiful -- but it was still winter and shoveling, so don't get me wrong ;)

This piece looks great on my bulletin board of work from this month. Next to yesterday's piece it is around the bend from that riverbank. My neighborhood inspires yet again. 

And how does this piece read? Is the blue water? Marsh? Field? It's not up to me. What I loved about this composition was the space and the light. 

Remember how I mentioned that new set of 200 pastels I bought at the beginning of the month? It's great -- but I need more blues! The Terry Ludwig Best of the Blues set of cobalts and ultramarines should do nicely. My birthday is in March, hint hint. :) 

Thanks for reading! ~kmw

Day #16 :: ICE :: January Daily Painting Challenge

ICE
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

$125 + $8 shipping

The notes and iPhone photo for this painting look nothing like this image. In fact, I'm going to show you my thought process for this piece! I had fun and think you may like to see the progression from start to finish painting. 

This painting on your screen doesn't do the painting justice, either. The sky here is odd and fluorescent where in person, the effect is more dynamic and smooth. The bottom photo gives the best representation of the painting.

As I said in a previous post, my mind is like a viewfinder, scoping out new paintings everywhere I look.  Sometimes when I see big shapes and angles, I take a cruddy photo with the intent of working it out better in a painting. Sadly, this intent is often not followed up on, and I have a ZILLION poor photos laden with the potential to be something better.

Until today!

My photo with big shapes and GRAND plans! 

Sure, this photo (which I cropped perfectly to be a fantastic square composition) is fine. If I were to paint it as is, the result could be a lovely calm piece. When I originally sketched out my shapes at the onset, I had in mind I would do a color scheme similar to the one shown, but give it a bit more oomph. You can see my original color mapping below. 

(left-top) The draft close to the photo and
(right-top) finished piece with imagined color
The finished piece under my two drafts

Something gnawed at my creative mind and told me that the grays and blues were too staid. Even my intellectual mind agreed! I drew the image again and laid in color on top of color and played with color relationships and balance. It took a few layers and corrections to get where I thought the piece was best before I started on today's painting. 

Tim just visited me in the studio and asked if the painting were from a place we frequently walk on a Cape Cod beach. I smirked knowing that this piece is actually from the newly constructed neighborhood being built near our home. 

He then mentioned that the piece looked and felt cold. Isn't that neat? The painting is oozing pinks, yellows, deep maroon, orange -- all warm colors, and he is agreeing with my thought the the painting looks cold. What power we artists wield! 

How great is it when your spouse totally backs you up and they don't even know that they are doing it? Tim so affirmed the lesson of tonight's studio time: 

 
*You don't have to paint exactly what you see. The viewer is only going to know what you make them see. Make it matter. 

*Play with color relationships. Convey what you want, but stretch yourself. Say more with color than what is there, and study color relationships. Work them out before getting into the painting. The effort will pay off in the end result. 

A big painting and seeing lesson tonight. I feel so teach-y!

Thanks for reading! -kmw

Day #15 :: JANUARY :: January Daily Painting Challenge

JANUARY
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

$125 + $8 shipping

For those who paint with pastels, I've been painting with a lovely complete set I purchased at the beginning of this monthly painting challenge. When looking at my work, I would guess the new set arrived for the eighth painting. The marks changed a bit and my palette broadened.

My go-to set for a while was Sennelier's plein air half stick set of 80 colors (funny how 80 color options isn't enough) because of its range of intense color and neutrals. My newest set is Gallery Mungyo Handmade soft pastels full set of 200 colors from Jerry's Artarama. If you're interested in adding to your pastel collection, take advantage of sales, coupon codes, and free shipping. Today's price is waaaaay more than what I paid, FYI.

With 200 pastel colors to select from in this set, I finally don't find myself saying "I wish I had this one color..." For this manufacturer, this is it. And so I force myself to make it work, and that is good practice!

Of course, despite the 200 (!!!) colors to choose from, I needed different blues (of course I did.)
What an important lesson that is. It took me a spell to figure out what sort of blue I wanted for the sky, the roof, the house itself, the snow, and the large evergreen. Some of that negotiation is visible in the finished product, but I am thrilled  with my result.

I'm getting good practice on painting buildings and it's obvious this monthly painting challenge is in winter --- everything is snow and cold and I have so many nocturnes. It's been SUCH FUN! For those in my neighborhood, this is the wonderful antique home on the corner of Miller and Myrtle streets. The candles in the window are still up and they make me happy each time I drive by.

All my posts end with a thank you, but, goodness! It's day fifteen and I have to thank all who have read, commented, liked, and encouraged me along the way. I appreciate your support more than I have words to express.

Thanks for reading! ~kmw

Day #12 :: WINTER BLUES :: January Daily Painting Challenge

WINTER BLUES
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

Sold!

Today is the perfect example of why a challenge like daily painting is great.

I did not want to paint tonight. I wanted to call it in and catch up tomorrow. Our youngest has a nasty cold and we were together for the entire day after a draining night. Tonight it's snowing big, attractive, romantic puffy snowflakes, and I have lit a fire in our cozy fireplace. We read earlier tonight by the fire before the girls went to bed. Goodness, it was the essence of winter warmth at our house tonight! 

Still, though, I came downstairs into the chilly studio and made this painting. Hunter and I are good walking buddies and here our puppy is exploring the marshy field streams at that fleeting time before the light disappears. 

I've written before about night and twilight and dusk and about how I love paintings depicting these elusive and fleeting times of the day. This piece worked up in a classic complementary palette of violet and yellow. I love when things like this happen -- I feel so academic and that I really learned a thing or two in art school. ;) 

When I look at artists whose work I enjoy, again I bring up Marc Hanson. When I analyze his color choices, I see that white is hardly present, and when it is, it's in tiny dots and emphatic small gestures. What an impact that restraint can have. 

Today's painting was about exercising that restraint. My notes and reference about this scene were that it was so dark it was near impossible to see. Of course I took liberties with these notes, and in the end feel that I made a good painting. 

Hurray for challenging yourself! 

And now back to the cozy warmth of upstairs, watching the snow fall, and embracing winter. 

Thanks for reading! ~kmw

Day #10 :: LIT WINDOWS :: January Daily Painting Challenge

LIT WINDOWS
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

$125 + $8 shipping

Nocturnes are some of my favorite paintings. I am captivated by the way artists are able to capture the subtle colors of night. I wrote of this in September's painting challenge about my painting Blue Moon. Since the creation of the camera, it seems that night paintings are some of the most authentic ways for an artist to really insinuate themselves into a painting. Cameras take photos of any scene but night paintings say more than a night photo often can.

I'm in need of practice for nocturnes. The color palette isn't what I'm used to at all. The marks I made, too, are different for structures rather than features in nature. With practice I'll improve, and that right there is the nugget that makes these #30in30 painting challenges worth their weight in gold!

Off to watch Downton which started 40 minutes ago.

Oh! I haven't forgotten about my new pastels. I'll post about them hopefully tomorrow. They are still being tested. and so far, so good!

Thanks for reading! ~kmw

Day #8 :: RIVER COLOR :: January Daily Painting Challenge

RIVER COLOR
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

$125 + $8 shipping

The art supplies I ordered came in and yes, they are pastels. Perhaps tomorrow I'll take some photos of them and link up to where I bought them in case you're wanting an excuse to buy some new color! UPS was to deliver them "by the end of day" and dang it! They arrived at the END of the day --- 4:58pm! 

As is my norm when I have new tools, I fall back to subjects that I'm comfortable with to familiarize myself with my new (wonderful) materials. The juncture of land and water is a magical place for me, and I'm always striving to make a painting sing as the actual scene does -- and maybe stretch the color a bit the way I'd like to see it. 

This piece is inspired by my neighborhood and is painted on archival suede board. Usually I love the softness the board provides. Today, though, I would have loved the chance to get some straight, hard lines for the reeds. Next time! New surface. Perhaps a Sennelier sanded board. Or a UART mounted board. It's fun to make these decisions. 

After yesterday's draining day, it was wonderful to have some support from you. I always end with "thanks for reading" but today there's a deeper meaning in that phrase. 

This challenge is shaping up to be a most interesting journey. Puppies and people and still lifes are bound to make an appearance shortly ;)

Thanks for reading! ~kmw

Day #6 :: PATH AT DUSK :: January Daily Painting Challenge

PATH AT DUSK
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6

$125 + $8 shipping

Today's painting was completed at dusk, which this time of year is like around 4pm -- too early! 

The girls were playing and I sneaked into my studio for some quiet time to think and paint and be on artistic auto-pilot.

My last two pieces, the Bright Bouquet and the Enamel Pitcher, were using a different brain for me. This painting today was back to my old painting brain but I was flexing my color muscle. I wanted to tweak the colors to read like that odd chilly light that is so very January. 

I think I communicated that light pretty well ;)

Thanks for reading!  ~kmw

Day 38 :: STANDOUT :: original pastel, 6x6"

STANDOUT
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

$125 + $8 shipping

One of the farms near our home plants a field of sunflowers each year. It feels like a spot of Tuscany in Millis, MA. What fun to feel worldly in your own provincial place.

My painting from a few days ago, Flower Farm, had me thinking of my paintings and photos from Tangerini's Farm. A bunch of my paintings are inspired by their farm. This sunflower piece was worked from a photograph I had taken while experimenting with perspective. I knelt on the ground and took this photo of the sunflower from that position so it really takes center stage. It was fun to do that.

Tomorrow is Open Studio for the original #30in30 from September. I'm enjoying tidying up the studio a bit and making final touches on the paintings and their display. It'll be nice to welcome people in to my work space and hear the reactions to the work.

Thanks for reading! -kmw

Day 37 :: ROWBOAT :: original pastel, 6x6"

ROWBOAT
by Kim Morin Weineck
 original pastel, 6x6"

Sold! 

Sometimes when I paint I am stuck with being a slave to reality. The thing with art is that I don't like paintings that are strict interpretations of what is seen. The paintings I respond to are the ones that interpret reality through the artist's filter. Funny how there is a disconnect when I start to paint and amp up the abstraction meter. My inner critic starts to question.

With this piece I tried to make marks that informed the viewer enough about what was happening. The lighting was important in this piece, and the colors I chose reflect that time of day. The marks I made are strong and informative.

In the end, I love this piece. My husband said it's one of his favorites. The blues in the distance aren't as zingy as they are in this post. Eventually my Photoshop skills will be up to that task.

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 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 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 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 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 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 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