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 17 :: SIMPLE GIFTS :: September Daily Paintings

SIMPLE GIFTS
original pastel, 6x6"
©2016 Kim Morin Weineck
$50

When I first saw the work of Wolf Kahn I was confused and wondered where the detail went. The more I have looked at and created artwork the more I have come to understand the beauty of a grand scheme of design and the play of composition, color, and simplicity. 

My mantras for the month: Do the work and Keep it simple are well-represented here. My acrylic came first. What fun until it wasn't. The fun was in the sketch and then later in the treeline and sky. What fun! The not fun: windows windows windows. Funny that, too, because the windows are what makes the subject appeal to me. 

SIMPLE GIFTS
original acrylic, 18x18"
©2016 Kim Morin Weineck

The acrylic is 18x18" and large and playful because there's space to spread out. The pastel was getting bogged down with the challenge of saying what needed to be said in a 6x6" surface. When I looked at the color combination and the composition and my marks I decided it was done.

I love these! The subject is a lovely classic home in my town. This is architecture I adore.

PRICING NOTE:  I am taking risks with this challenge. The work created is about learning and  my pieces are experiments and priced accordingly. Each piece is A BARGAIN at only $50 ($10 shipping if you're not local) rather than $125 for my usual gallery-worthy work. Only my pastels will be available at this time. Email kimweineck@gmail.com to purchase. Of course, thank you! 

Thank you 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 #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 #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 #13 :: THROUGH THE TREES :: January Daily Painting Challenge

THROUGH THE TREES
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

$125 + $8 shipping

Our neighborhood is an enchanted place. Being an artist, I spend my time looking at things around me seemingly with a viewfinder in my mind taking snippet notes of my surroundings and thinking "someday it would be nice to paint something or other...."

This daily painting challenge makes the 'someday' turn into TODAY! 

Tonight's painting is from the marshy area on the Charles and Mill rivers in our neighborhood. As you drive home at sunset/dusk/twilight, the light coming through the trees creates this magical twinkling of the spectrum. 

During winter this color show is vibrant with only silhouetted evergreens and the tree branches. I find the scene foreboding and yet also hopeful simultaneously, such a contrast of feeling, much like the painting construct is a contrast of dark and light and of warms and cools. 

I have SO MANY IDEAS swimming through my mind. Maybe tomorrow I'll have some time to fledge them out a little more fully. Bigger pieces are jonesing to be painted. I taught an oil painting class today and their buttery quality made me want to get smooshing around some oils. We shall see....

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 36 :: WINTER NIGHT :: original pastel by KMW , 6x6"

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

Sold!

Late this past winter, I visited a farmer friend in Vermont. She took me on the best ride through her neck of the woods. It was late afternoon when we departed, and as we toured the area the sun went down, dusk settled in, and twilight quickly followed. During those months darkness comes early and so quickly.

There's a magic hour that artists refer to about the light at day's end. In the winter this time is so true to its name. The light dances on things in an enchanted way. The trees I painted appear cold silver against some warmer small trees that were catching the golden light perfectly.

As we came down the small mountain, I stopped the car to take a photo, my friend laughing at the tourist-stereotype-ness of it all. "You know, we all laugh at how people do this here: Stop the car and get out to take photos." And then her friend drove by and was laughing at me standing next to my car in the middle of the road taking photos. What a fun, silly moment. The image I captured. The timing of her friend driving by. The fun we were having. All of it.

And now I love my painting from that moment. Darks are difficult to capture in painting. Sennelier used to sell a great set of darks, and I used them to great effect here. The original piece shows more of the variation from warm to cool, deepest maroon to most intense navy.

So much is happening in my studio right now! I've been talking to someone about art licensing and have a fun idea that had been percolating now getting fleshed out on some illustration board (exciting!). Open Studio is coming up this Friday and Saturday to show my #30in30 for September. It's been something else to figure out how to display the work (30 paintings is a lot.) On Friday, November 6, I have an opening at Gallery9, Norwood, MA. It's an annual show I do. I am going to have to look back and see how many years it's been now. Fun times, for sure!

Thanks for reading! Until tomorrow -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 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 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. 

Small works :: Night Owl

Our family vacation in Vermont last year offered a lot of inspiration - but vacation is not the best time to explore the inspiration deeper. Good news: when the time is right, the inspiration returns. 

Not sure which part of this piece appeals to me more: the light in the window, the abstract shapes of the garden remnants, or the warm light toward the back of the house. What fun this was!

©2012 Kim Morin Weineck
NIGHT OWL
original pastel, 6x6"
Sold!

This piece has sold, which is always nice. The person who bought this is such a lovely person who is ridiculously talented herself - so that makes the sale doubly wonderful!

Thanks for reading, as always. ~kmw