Day #23 :: FARM SUNSET :: January Daily Painting Challenge

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

$125 +$8 shipping

This painting brings me back up to date with the daily paintings. It's a relief. Funny how, while sick and resting, I'm thinking of painting and getting caught up. It was really bothering me! 

Today's final painting was the last from this series of three made today all of the same road. (For those local to me, it's Myrtle Street from the corner of Main to Hanover Street by Holmes Field.) 

Farm Sunset is the western side of the street and so the sunset was a glorious vibrant fireball while across the street for the previous two pieces you could see the moon in a warm blue sky. 

I struggled with the sky in this. As a rule I don't paint sunsets because they always look fake to me when depicted in paintings. I doubt whether the color was that vibrant, that intense, etc. My judgy artist self thinks sunsets are better left to photographers. That is how I felt until I've seen so many beautiful paintings of sunsets by those participating in this challenge! And so I thought I'd try. 

The rock wall was such fun to paint. I love the framing it gives to the composition, too.

Here they all are -- from the same ride home, same moonrise and sunset.

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

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

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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!

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