Daily Painting Sept 2017 :: No. 18 of 30

It's been a struggle to get these daily paintings complete. They are small little works, and I thought they'd be easily integrated into my schedule, but September is a true challenge of time management. 

Mixing color is the name of the game. Painting with pastels is about selecting a stick of pigment and determining color harmonies. Oil painting adds mixing the paint on top of all of it. Fun and difficult as a challenge.

Daily Painting No. 18 of 30

3x3" original oil

 This marsh piece is starting to feel more like autumn. A little different palette for me, but I like it!

Thanks for reading! ~kmw

Daily Painting Sept 2017 :: No. 17 of 30

Back to some palette knife and some brush and trying to say a lot with fewest marks I can muster. It's tricky. 

Daily Painting No. 17 of 30

3x3" original oil

This ominous sky was inspiring. I took it in an abstract route and liked it in the end. The nuances in blue make are beautiful in person. In fact, the whole piece is some sort of blue.

Thanks for reading! ~kmw

Daily Painting posters available

Today I posted the last of the pastels of my #30in30 daily painting challenge for January. Doing a painting every day -- even if I don't do a 6x6" and post on my blog (I am always painting,drawing, and working) -- is such good creative exercise. I can feel myself getting more confident as I venture to new areas and expand my comfort zone.

I also went through the collection of pieces, blog posts, and Facebook entries and am humbled by the support I receive about my work. For those who comment and "like" and share their feelings about the paintings, I sincerely thank you.

January/February poster 11x17"
30in30 (c)2016 Kim Morin Weineck
available for $15 + shipping
email kimweineck@gmail.com
to purchase

The poster is one of the best things about the #30in30 challenge. Seeing the pieces all together like this is such a feeling of accomplishment. Winter is one of my most difficult seasons. For January and much of February I learned that the colors of winter are gorgeous. The light is different and the colors are beautiful!

What I think gets to me the most about wintertime is the light. Time management is tricky generally, but in winter, time management problems seem to double for me. Sun setting at 4pm means I am ready for bed by 8pm. Geez! I don't honestly go to bed at 8pm, but I am not the productive self that I can be other times of the year.

Here is the poster from my September #30in30, the first one that I did. Gosh, it was fun.

September poster 11x17"
30in30 (c)2015 Kim Morin Weineck
available for $15 + shipping
email kimweineck@gmail.com to purchase

If any artist out there is interested in taking on a Daily Painting challenge, please consider doing so. The benefits are many and your capacity to create is bigger and better than you may credit yourself for ;)

Thanks for reading! ~kmw

Day #28 :: LATE BLOOMERS :: January Daily Painting Challenge

LATE BLOOMERS
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

$125 + $8 shipping

The two florals I did at the beginning of the month are like beacons to me about spring and summer to come. When deciding what to paint today, earlier I chose a scene from a Cape Cod beach, and now I'm going back to a happy floral. 

I had a poor photo of these sunflowers I had bought from an enterprising local gardener in early November. I was jealous of the blooms still being produced from this green-thumb's garden and scooped them up from their flower bucket on the table at the side of the road for some ridiculously inexpensive price. When I remember back, I think I bought all of the flowers remaining, and the whole lot didn't cost more than $10. 

Today I struggled trying to make this piece cohesive. There's something fun about the entire top half. The bottom half I'm not sure about. I'll give it some time in the studio and revisit BIG! I have a hankering for some BIG work after a month of littles. 

When I studied for the trans-formative summer in Brittany, France, the artist Susan Lichtman was my teacher. Seeing her paintings was quite important to me in my artistic development. Another artist I follow posted an interview with Professor Lichtman and I immediately went to her website and ogled the paintings. Inspiration everywhere! Her process captivates me and drives me to take more risks and capture more in my work. 

The chair in the right top corner reminds me of her paintings slightly. It's imperfect and I find that imperfection simple perfection. 

Thanks for reading! ~kmw

Day #26 :: APPLE :: January Daily Painting Challenge

APPLE
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

$125 + $8 shipping

We all have these days -- when you aren't in the flow. Wow! I threw away three painting starts tonight. It was hard. It's like my alter-ego showed up tonight in my studio and decided to 'have a go' at pastels.

Ha! The struggle is usually overcome with ability or vision. Tonight I lacked both for a while. 

Here is my single apple. The colors are fun. The marks are vibrant. Some of the color notes are unexpected. 

Tonight I could have fallen upon my comfort references and painted the landscapes I love. A marsh or a hay field or a beach would have been fun, but I really took the idea of a painting challenge to heart and thought I'd push myself. 

After all that challenging work, I'm tired, BUT ----

I'm also quite pleased with my apple. 

Thanks for reading! ~kmw

Day #25 :: MORE ACORNS :: January Daily Painting Challenge

MORE ACORNS
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

Sold!
Thank you 

Not being a big still life painter, these acorns are fun. And they are so diverse in their color and shape. Each has its own variety of oak tree. This spring, I'll have to pay more heed to the varieties of oaks we have in our neighborhood!

This assortment seems to be a collection of oddballs. The top left is so long and pointy. What fun that was to observe! The colors and shapes and indented tops of each are amazingly different and intricate. It was difficult to make them good paintings because part of me wanted to become a botanical illustrator and paint every little bitty detail. 

Funny that when I look at my collection of work, 20 of the 25 are from my neighborhood. The two acorn pieces are included in the 20. 

Five days to go. Twenty-five down. Feels great! I'll be hosting another open house in the future. More information on that to come. 

Thanks for reading! ~kmw

Day #14 :: WARM SPOT :: January Daily Painting Challenge

WARM SPOT
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

$125 + $8 shipping

This afternoon I had to pick up our youngest from an after school activity and left a teensy bit early so I could scope out the area near yesterday's painting. I had such fun painting last night's piece, and thought I could take more inspiration from the spot. I wasn't let down. 

With sketchbook and camera phone in hand off I went. A quick notan sketch, color notes, and a click from my phone helped to get to this result tonight. Of course after taking the photo I had to go to school, come home, make sure homework was done, clean up, help with dinner, help clean up, etc. etc. before painting. Still, I was excited to see what I could make, and that is such a great feeling!!

When I stepped back and looked at the light in this piece I knew I had got it right. Yay, me! ;)

And I have an amazing painting idea for tomorrow. What crazy color! What beautiful light. We shall see if I can pull it off, but as my friend told me once before an art show, I got this! 

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 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 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 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 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!