Day 5 :: SWIMSUITS :: September Daily Paintings

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

From our days on the beach for Labor Day weekend, I continue to be inspired by sparkles on the water. Of course I'm also inspired by our daughters. The beach is still a place for them to dig and play and I am holding on to that as long as possible. 

Their swimsuits are these awesome colors: bright neon orange and turquoise and vibrant red and purply ultramarine blue. The water struck me as striped in a way. The beach we frequent offers vistas to a lighthouse, distant land, and closer harbors. It really offers all an artist could want to soak in. 

A voice in my head is always critiquing my work. WOW! This voice is LOUD! Sometimes I think that is why social media is a helpful aid. Having support and comments and purchases (!!!) from you all really matters. Thank you! 

SWIMSUITS
original acrylic, 18x18"
©2016 Kim Morin Weineck

The acrylic is fun to see, much larger and flat and free and still sparkly. I'm going to revisit this one again when I have more time. I need to elongate an arm (can you tell which one?)

Since it's the Monday holiday, my family is waiting for me to finish these paintings and posts so I can go for a bike ride through the wonderful field in our neighborhood. I'm sure I'll continue to be inspired.

Yesterday the girls and I made homemade marshmallows. I took a bunch of photos of them and now I want to paint them! We shall see.

PRICING NOTE:  I am taking this challenge to heart and taking risks. The work created is a labor of love and learning. For this #30in30 challenge my pieces are experiments and priced accordingly. Each piece is $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! 

Thanks for reading! ~kmw

Day #29 :: SNOWY STREAM :: January Daily Painting challenge (in February)

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

$125 + $8 shipping

After a short hiatus, here's another painting from the January daily painting challenge. I know it's February. We get done what we can. Winter packs a wallop, and with it come issues of cold and snow, power outages, commitments, and other motivational difficulties. Funny, too, because our surroundings are quite inspiring. Seems the problem lies in time management and, perhaps more appropriately, light management. When it's dark at 4:30pm, I swear I'm ready for bed at 8pm with the kiddos. 

This painting was a challenge from the start. It's on a bright red surface which I thought would be a good way to warm up a cool subject. While that was the case, after a while the surface wouldn't take any more pastel and so I had to be quite deliberate about my warm and cool color notes. 

Perhaps it's more abstract than my usual work. The color harmonies make me so very happy. 

Again, this is a subject in my neck of the woods. We're so happy to have landed where we did, two years ago from February 1st. 

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 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 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 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 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