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

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

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 18 :: CHICORY :: #30in30 Painting a Day Challenge

CHICORY
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

 

at The Drawing Room, Marion, MA 

How much can I be inspired by the field in my neighborhood? A lot!

It was an overcast day recently and the blue chicory by the fence made me pause. Tonight, in my studio at 10:16pm I decided to give this recent inspiration a go. At 11:07pm I'm posting it. I'm beat.

Like today, tomorrow I'll be selling autumn perennials at the Norfolk Grange Hall to help fund community programs. If I didn't have to be somewhere at 7:15am, I'd be reworking a few things in this piece (and I still might.) In the meantime, here's my painting.

Foregrounds are tricky. Backgrounds are tricky. Middlegrounds are tricky. And so I'm off to bed.

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

Day 16 :: RED BARN :: #30in30 Painting a Day Challenge

RED BARN
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

SOLD! 

This barn has lovely funky angles. At sunset the angles are more pronounced with shadows hanging and falling to accent the angles even more. Offset by the lush greens in the landscape and the gorgeous blooms in front, I think it's obvious why I'd have to paint this scene!

Full disclosure: Argh!! This piece caused me a bit of trouble. Red when lightened is often pink or orange. It's pretty tricky. In shadow colors are cooler. Cooler red is purple. I have so many tones here in the barn reds that I am not used to using. My usual color palette wasn't accessible to me for this building, much as I mentioned in the post for the yellow barn.

Apart from the color, the rigid lines of architecture can be tricky to make feel painterly. It's a bunch to juggle. And so this piece sat on my standing desk waiting until I'd try it again. Feels good to have resolved it.

Friends of ours showed me this place and I was instantly smitten. Instantly! It is magical all times of day all times of year. More paintings will come from this place if all goes according to plan. I pray it all works out and soon! (It's fun to be cryptic.)

Thanks for reading! -kmw

Day 15 :: CAFE :: #30in30 Painting a Day Challenge

CAFE
by Kim Morin Weineck
original pastel, 6x6"

$125 + $8 shipping

In a quest to stretch myself from the usual subjects I may be inclined to paint, I took inspiration for today's painting from this past weekend where Tim and I went into Boston to celebrate our 10th Anniversary. We stayed somewhere luxurious, dined somewhere delicious, walked down memory lane, and enjoyed breakfast on Beacon Hill before hitting the Brimfield flea market. You can imagine there's a lot of inspiration to be gleaned from such a great time.

CAFE is from Tatte Bakery and Cafe on Charles Street. While waiting for the most delicious egg, bacon, and cheese sandwich on amazing sourdough bread, I took notice of a few impeccable moments that felt to me like they should be paintings. Perhaps there will be more artwork inspired by our breakfast. We still have half of the month of September to continue to stretch my creative self.

Thanks for reading! -kmw