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 #7 :: WINTER HOPE :: January Daily Painting Challenge

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

$125 + $8 shipping

Today was a difficult January day -- as many days in January can be. Apart from the temperatures, which were rather mild for this time of year, today was about change. Changes that have happened and changes yet to come. 

I went to a wake tonight for a dear former boss. He and his family offered me such opportunity when I was in my twenties. Somehow I knew to work hard for them and see where the opportunities would take me and I went all sorts of places! Nantucket was particularly wonderful. So many years ago now. 

In the end, I could and should credit them with directing me to art school because they owned galleries. I spent my days working for them selling other people's artwork, figuring out what people wanted to buy, and studying what I sold. 

Funny how paths make sense in hindsight. 

Today we also got news of a family member's diagnosis. When you're hoping more than you can hope that it's not cancer and then it is....And I have no other words. Only prayers and making art. 

When I'm not sure what to do or when I feel lost or apprehensive, making art helps. 

Today's piece was a challenge again. Simple in construct, this solitary tree with some depth in the flat plane against a treeline and an oddly colored sky isn't as complicated as say a marsh with a dramatic sky and boat and and and... Simple in art is never simple. Instead simple is often a nightmare. How can it be done in a simple fashion and still feel professional/deliberate/confident/finished/etc? It takes some doing and experimentation to get there. 

My notes and reference weren't these colors, but when I painted them as they were there was no hope in the grays and dull browns. Those tones are for another day. Instead, what fun for me to empurple (a great word and joke for my art students) and redden and warm up the color notes! 

The piece is now more hopeful in its feeling. I kept at it with layer upon layer and finally arrived at a place I love for my painting and my head. 

Thanks for reading! ~kmw

Day 31 :: SNOWFALL :: original pastel, 6x6"

SNOWFALL
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

SOLD! Thanks!

It's October 1st and I'm still painting. Before September I painted often, too, but the discipline of making art daily has been a good exercise and is adding a little balance to my life.

This painting is from a stack of photos in my studio which I've been collecting for years. It's been such a joy to tackle these references and see them through to fruition. Excuse the subject of snow, it is only newly fall and the first of October, but this image was on the top of my pile and the colors were so appealing to me. I think it made a good painting.

Snow is tricky to paint. Cold paintings don't look warm and inviting. How can you make snow look warm and inviting? You have to play with the temperature. Cooler in the foreground and warmer as it goes back in space. This atmospheric perspective for white is the opposite of how we usually paint.

And again this is from the field near our home. It's such an inspirational place for me.

Thanks for reading! I'm off to teach my Thursday night class -- 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

Snow Shadows

This winter took my spunk and buried it under the non-stop snow that wouldn't go away. Now it's spring and the grass is getting greener and everything is in bloom. Perhaps now I can appreciate this pastel for its color and winter-ness.

©2013 Kim Morin Weineck
SNOW SHADOWS
original pastel, 24x12"

This piece was FUN! In person the blues in the shadow make me feel the undulation of the land. Love them.

Thanks for reading! -kmw

Small works :: Shadows on the Snow

Ideas often percolate and emerge when they are ready. This painting came about in much this fashion. I've had this subject in mind with differing colors and layout for a spell. It's from a park in the town where I grew up. Love the blue tones in the shadows on the snow. 

©2012 Kim Morin Weineck
SHADOWS ON THE SNOW
original pastel, 6x6" framed to 10x10"
available 

For info about this piece, please email kimweineck@gmail.com.
Thanks for reading! ~kmw

Small works :: Conifer

The more I paint, the more I learn about composition and successful paintings. This simple construct is something I'd never have thought to try up until just recently. Lately, though, I'm terribly attracted to clean, simple paintings and I'm seeing them in galleries and museums and my art books.

©2012 Kim Morin Weineck
CONIFER
original pastel, 6x6"

The colors in the painting differentiate between the whites and purples a bit more. If this doesn't sell, it's one I'd be delighted to have in my own home.

Email kimweineck@gmail.com for more info on this painting.
Thanks for reading!~kmw

Small works :: Snowy Hillside Path

Pieces of paintings make me giddy sometimes. The bottom left of this one gives me a shot of adrenaline. Love the looseness and edges. 

©2012 Kim Morin Weineck
SNOWY HILLSIDE PATH
original pastel, 6x6

Love the color palette in this, too. It's snowy without being the expected blue tones. The light violets evoke just enough chill. 

Email kimweineck@gmail.com for information about this piece. 

Thanks for reading! ~kmw

Small works :: Snow Day

My subject matter was pretty consistent with landscapes and such. When I looked around at what was going on in my life, I was inspired to try new subjects from our everyday. 

©2012 Kim Morin Weineck
SNOW DAY
original pastel, 6x6"

My girls make snowmen any time there's enough snow. I thought I'd try to paint their latest creation - with some liberties!

This piece is included in the Neponset Valley Artists' Winter Show at the Walpole Public Library.
My painting class, the NVA, is full of talent and I'm delighted and proud to have the work of my students displayed!

If you're in Walpole, MA - stop in and see.

Thanks for reading! ~kmw