Day 20 :: WINDOW BOX :: #30in30 Painting a Day Challenge

WINDOW BOX
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

Sold!

In person, this painting is more nuanced. Some dark blues here are scary bright (like in the shutters) and that's not how the painting looks on my shelf next to 19 previous paintings. This painting has a lot of contrast in dark and light color and warm and cool color temperature. Perhaps I made the scanner tired with all of this intricate color.

Tonight I chased everything about this painting. The greens of the plants were too warm, too cool, too bright, too dull, and you get where that's going. This happened for nearly everything in this piece. At one point I thought I picked up a cream colored pastel only to discover it was IRIDESCENT! Oh no! Perhaps that is why my scanner balked. Sparkly glittery whites!!

Each hunt and chase and trying again ended. When I finally put down my last pastel stick, I was happy because I won and am happy with my result. Since I have been painting every day for 20+ days now, I'd presume that painting would get easier. "Ha!" says painting. But it does. What's making the process more difficult are my expectations.

Yesterday I had a study in simplicity, and today is anything but. Architecture, reflections, soft edges and hard, a dramatic light story, and color all play a part in the piece. When I look at it on my desk I am pretty excited about how it came out. Just enough detail to be the way I like it. And, like with every piece I've posted this month -- I learned a lot in simply painting it.

Thanks for reading! -kmw

Going grander

Some wonderful things happen in my paintings when I work small. The scale of my mark is grand in small works, so the little marks I make mean something. Everything is large and effective for me when I work small. Scaling things up is tricky. I don't do it easily. The simple large stroke with the side of a brush or pastel in a little painting doesn't have the same 'umph' when you are working larger.

©2013 Kim Morin Weineck
DIANNE'S FLOWERS
original pastel, 18x12"

To improve my larger works, I've been working up studies in smaller sizes and then creating the larger works once the smaller piece is successful. With the small piece I can work out the glitches, take a chance without so much risk, experiment, and try something freely. When the pieces are successful, then on to the larger surface. It's an academic approach.

©2013 Kim Morin Weineck
STUDY of DIANNE'S FLOWERS
original pastel, 7x5"

In the past I've done thumbnails and value studies, but the studies I'm working on now are more complete small works.

At one time I told my husband that I thought today's larger painting "Dianne's Flowers" was probably going in the trash -- it was coming along that poorly.  Listening to the advice I often tell my students, I forced myself to work through the 'yuck' period and finally saw the possibilities of the piece. When Tim saw the painting again he said, "Ah! You brought it back from the dead!" It was totally affirming.

Thanks for reading! -kmw

Temperature

It's nearly summer - a lovely mid-June with still so much goodness and light yet to come. We've had days that you dream about and lately a lot lot lot of rain. (Did I say there's been a lot?) Whenever the weather has cooperated I've been out painting on our patio. This small piece was completed last week, right before the onslaught of rainy days.

©2013 Kim Morin Weineck
DIANNE'S FLOWERS
original pastel, 7x5"

Lately I've been interested in amping up my color and pushing the boundaries of warm and cool temperatures in my work. A sunlit window box of gorgeous flowers with some warm, raking light was the perfect place to explore some color theory. With new pastels at my disposal, it was wonderful to consider warm greens vs. cool greens, warm whites and cool whites, the temperature of the blue, etc etc. 

Can't wait to do it again!! 

Thanks for reading!-kmw

Small works :: Starlight Mint

If you have been following my Small Works postings on this blog you will recognize this favorite subject of mine: red and white. My goodness, this wee mint sits on my desk with other treasured still life objects. Once Tim tried to eat it -- I think he still can recall my scream. Ha! Important for future happiness: Don't eat the still life!

©2012 Kim Morin Weineck
STARLIGHT MINT
original pastel, 6x6"
framed to 10x10
available

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

Small works :: Sky Afire

Despite the fact that I often discourage my students from painting sunsets because it can be difficult to make a sunset painting look believable, here I present another sunset painting! In the previous post I referred to the juxtaposition of dull and bright colors and this is another example of the same theme. In person the colors are brighter and duller simultaneously. Try as I might, this is the closest to accurate I could get.

©2012 Kim Morin Weineck
SKY AFIRE
original pastel, 6x6"
framed to 10x10
available

Notice my friends, the cedar trees, at the middle right of the painting? I also liked the loose details in the distant bank of land.

Email kimweineck@gmail.com for more information about this painting.
Thanks for reading!~kmw

Small works :: Cloud Strata

Clouds and sunsets in the landscape offer such opportunity for an artist to use colors in bold new ways. This subject had me reaching for the oft-unused sticks of color: orange, magenta, bright yellow (!) and couple them with the grayed blues and greens. Who wouldn't have fun doing that? Want something to appear brighter? Surround it with darker, duller tones. Wham! Bright gorgeousness!!

©2012 Kim Morin Weineck
CLOUD STRATA
original pastel, 6x6"
framed to 10x10
available

Email kimweineck@gmail.com for information on this piece.
Thanks for reading!~kmw

Small works :: Late Summer Marsh

This marsh on the North Shore of Massachusetts is a continuous source of inspiration for me. A delightful spot with ever-changing color and texture, I get giddy driving there anticipating what I'll see at various times of the year. 

©2012 Kim Morin Weineck
LATE SUMMER MARSH
original pastel, 6x6"
framed to 10x10
available

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

Small Works :: Warm Clouds

Marshes are my favorite subject, yet of late I've not painted a lot of them. Tim had started calling me Marsha. Alas, I cannot stay away! In person, the graded color in this work is much smoother a transition and the sky is beautiful (if I do say so myself.)

©2012 Kim Morin Weineck
WARM CLOUDS
original pastel, 6x6"
framed to 10x10
available

Email kimweineck@gmail.com for more information about this piece.
Thank you reading! ~kmw

Small Works :: Cedar Sentinels

What a time of year...I just love it!

The house is decked for Christmas. We have been cooking and baking and enjoying, and it's not even December yet. As is our tradition, the tree was cut down the weekend after Thanksgiving and here I sit enjoying the comfy house warmly illuminated for these darkest days on the calendar. 

In the studio lately I've been working on small works for various upcoming shows. Over the next few days I'm going to showcase these paintings here. Such fun to do these small pieces. So thoroughly enjoyable!

©2012 Kim Morin Weineck
CEDAR SENTINELS
original pastel, 6x6"
framed to 10x10
available