Roselle’s Blue Bathroom by Chelsea James 24 x 24″ Oil on Panel
I love work that is fresh and different. I think that describes Chelsea James work perfectly! Interesting paintings of everyday things. I love these! These are scenes that are familiar to many of us. I think the color variations are fabulous. It’s not just a blue wall, look at all those colors. Chelsea paints with just the right amount of detail.
Utility Sink by Chelsea James 36 x 36″ Oil on Panel
Love this palette! Why do old sinks suddenly interest me so much? The detail is there in more abstract shapes and its wonderful! Chelsea has been in some pretty spectacular shows… what an honor… wow! See details on her blog!
“Painting is a study of our existence, spirit, and environment, derived from experiences in life. I choose objects that evoke childhood memories, create situations of atmospheric mystery, and bring visual interest through interaction. I’m intrigued by subtle shifts in value and color; yet seek a personal interpretation of the objects rather than a replication. Personality is revealed through the process of painting. Abstract remnants from my process remain visible in the final product. The hand must obey the spirit. “
All images via ChelseaJames.com with permission from the artist!
Connie Hayes. One of my all time favorites. I’ll never forget the first time I saw her work at Dowling Walsh. I was floored. Speechless (which doesn’t happen often). Large, gorgeous paintings, one after another. It was magnificent!
Six Boats, Vinalhaven is a wonderful painting full of all the wonderful colors on Connie’s palette. She catches that perfect light which just POPS out at you against a dark background, so, so nice!
Connie is part of a show at Dowling Walsh Gallery in Rockland, Maine, along with artists Robert Pollien and David Vickery!
The show begins today June 6, 2014 with an opening reception this evening from 5-8PM. This show runs through June 28, 2014.
I am a sucker for interiors, and Connie’s are stunning. Room at Apple Farm #2 is no exception, that wonderful light spilling in the window creating those dancing shadows. LOVELY! I still go back and look at older pieces that I love (but are far beyond my price point), its fun to dream, and I do have Connie’s book, Painting Maine: The Borrowed Views of Connie Hayes (STUNNING) – if you ever see that when you’re out and about, buy it!! It’s out of print now…
There is a surprise element to this show… some of the main paintings I have not featured… just so that you will be surprised! Go look…
Read the artist’s statement from the Dowling Walsh website, click HERE to read more about Connie as well as to see a critique of her show!
My paintings currently involve flowers, brooms, rakes, and workspaces related to gardening. Colors range from high key to very muted. I continue to be interested in glowing light, believable space, and color surprises. Greenhouses, barns, sheds and the ways tools and supplies are organized or untamed offer interiors quite unlike domesticated interiors. Tools for digging, harvesting, raking, transplanting, and organizing nature’s elements bring outside chaos into shed and barn interiors, appearing to win the game of weeding and edging of garden rooms. Portraits of flower heads present the garden’s individuals. Subject matter gives this new group of work a narrative quality, but I still like to teeter along the same edge of abstraction. The visceral quality of paint itself invites departure from explicit depiction.
Conjunction by David Vickery 48 x 42″ Oil on Panel
Those trees! That spectacular moon! The gorgeous blue sky with the twinkling stars, what is not to love about this painting? It is perfect in every way! It’s kind of like when you were a kid and you had the time and freedom to lie in the grass looking up at the stars. Ahhh, what a life, huh?
David is part of a show (along with fellow artists, Robert Pollien and Connie Hayes) at Dowling Walsh that runs this Friday (June 6) through June 28, 2014! There is an opening reception from 5-8PM. So… if you’re anywhere near Rockland, Maine I would hightail it to this show! Check out the Dowling Walsh Gallery online if you can’t make it!
David Vickery is an artist based in Cushing, Maine. He has been working from his studio there since 1991. He is known for his precise realism.
ARTIST STATEMENT
My work is about the merger of nature and culture—an attempt to make sense of our place in the world. I look at interior spaces and our imprint on the landscape with an eye for the imperfect, quirky, and sometimes elegant adaptations we’ve made in order to live here.
Catch you back here tomorrow!
All images via DowlingWalsh.com used with permission…
Robert Pollien has some wonderful work at the Dowling Walsh Gallery, and guess what? If you’re in the Rockland, Maine area you are in luck! There is a show including Robert Pollien, David Vickery and Connie Hayes that begins this Friday!
Spruces on Great Head, Mount Desert Island is a wonderful piece by Robert. His trees have such character, they take on a life of their own. This is a wonderful scene that really makes you wish you were there, snow and all!
UPCOMING SHOW at Dowling Walsh Gallery in Rockland, Maine: June 6 – 28, 2014. Opening receiption June 6 from 5-8PM!
Read a blip about Robert from the Dowling Walsh website:
Robert Pollien received his M.A. in painting from Trinity College and his M.F.A. from the University of Pennsylvania under noted Maine painter Neil Welliver. Following Penn, he attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture.
In 1992, Robert Pollien became the first Artist in Residence at Acadia National Park. Pollien was awarded a Maine Arts Commission Individual Artist Fellowship in Painting in 2001. And in 2004, he was awarded Carina House Residency on Monhegan Island.
Robert Pollien’s work was included in Art of the Maine Islands by Arnold Skolnick and Carl Little.
Robert lives in Bar Harbor, Maine on Mount Desert Island. He paints landscapes of the Maine Coastline, working from direct observation.
Artist Statement
“My paintings are generally small, compact and simple. My goal is not to portray the land in an overly picturesque manner, but to paint the landscape in a way that rings true.”
All images via DowlingWalsh.com used with permission…
Ralph Bush… an amazing artist! Fred and I first saw his work, an impressive large watercolor hanging at the Lupine Gallery in Monhegan, Maine. It was breathtaking. Well, it appears that Ralph paints many stunning scenes… here are just a few! Wash Day (above)… that brilliant orange sky, the clothes blowing in the wind on the clothesline, the very cool cottage and those luscious greens in the landscape. Lovely! Monhegan Island is one place where scenes like this actually happen, and happen quite often. You hear people talk about the “light” on the island. It IS different… and oh so spectacular.
Quiet Harbor… oooh, another fabulous painting, darker and moody with the brilliant sky that just makes this painting P-O-P ! As you’ll read below, Ralph Bush’s paintings are being featured at the Island Inn on Monhegan. Each year a different artist is selected, and their work is showcased in the Inn’s fabulous dining room. It’s so exciting to see the work from year to year. The Lupine Gallery will be hosting a reception for the artist on Wednesday, June 25th, be there if you can!
Read a blip from an email from the Lupine Gallery on Monhegan Island:
RALPH BUSH, 2014 ISLAND INN SHOW
We are pleased to present the 2014 summer solo exhibition at the Island Inn: Selected Oils and Watercolors by Ralph V. Bush.
Ralph Bush is a Copley Master at Copley Society of Boston, a member of The New England Watercolor Society, Rockport Art Association and North Shore Arts Association. His painting The Old State House In Boston was selected from 3,000 entries as a winner in the First Annual Arts For the Parks competition, exhibited at the Great Hall of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC. He is a three-time recipient of Yankee Magazine’s prestigious Robb Sagendorph Memorial Award for Art, presented by the Copley Society.
The paintings will fill the Inn’s large, light-filled dining room, and will be on view May 26—July 26 and August 11—October 13. The Island Inn will host a reception for the artist on Wednesday, June 25 at 2-4 pm; all are welcome.
Well, it’s official, Spoleto kicked off on Friday and it’s in full swing right now! If you’re in the Charleston area this is something you do not want to miss… Theater. Music. Opera. Dance. Jazz. Art.
Click HERE for info on all the performances, shows, etc. The city is booming with people right now, it’s a festive time here in Charleston!
This is where the [HOT TIP]comes in…
Spoleto has plenty of free events, which is what makes this city so cool… but another “free” thing to do is to stop in the wonderful galleries in Charleston! We have an abundance and they are all amazing. Be sure to head on over to Historic Gallery Row, located on Broad Street, this is Charleston’s “Fine Art Destination”. Pop in Galerie on Broad! I hope to see you there!
Landscape with Gray by Julie Schumer 50×40″ Acrylic on Panel
Gray is hot right now… I love the light pinks and the grays, very nice… beautiful soft palette with some darks to make it all p-o-p!
Barra de Santiago by Julie Schumer 60×48″ Acrylic on Panel
This one is a bit more colorful, and I love the bright colors that Julie has chosen, I like the airiness of this painting as well as the drips at the bottom, very nice work! You must take a look at Julie’s collection. The colors, ahhh, wonderful! All are different, very fun!
Julie Schumer began painting at age 5 and continued through high school. She was an abstract expressionist early on, being chastised by her elementary school teachers for her drippy non-realist work.
In college her practical nature asserted itself and she became a lawyer instead of an artist. In the following years she collected art, wishing all the while she had painted what she collected.
Finally, in 2000, she reconnected with an old friend, artist James Koskinas. He sensed her long suppressed desire to create art and asked her why she wasn’t painting. Schumer answered she didn’t know. Koskinas brought her several pieces of wood, acrylic paint and a few brushes and said, “Paint.” Schumer hasn’t stopped painting since. She and Koskinas joined forces and moved to New Mexico from the Bay Area, California, in 2002. They paint companionably together in their Santa Fe studio, a modern day Jackson Pollack and Lee Krasner.
Since reengaging with her art, Schumer has studied at the College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, California and with artists Robert Burridge, Mira White and Edward Gilliam. Her paintings immediately resonated with viewers. Her work has been exhibited across the United States and in Europe and is in many private collections.
Deer Skull on Blue by Sarah Sedwick 23×28″ Oil on Canvas –Available
Intriguing painting, isn’t it? I like Deer Skull on Blue by Eugene, Oregon artist Sarah Sedwick. Its got a cool feel to it! I love the wall with the subtle differentiations in color. The skull… wicked good, and I’m not even from Maine! Nice shadow cast on the wall… If you like it too, you’re in luck… this painting is still available!
In the Gallery is a nice painting… nice gallery was my first thought! I really like seeing the tree through the window and the paintings within a painting. Be sure to check out Sarah’s work! Sarah has a great BLOG be sure to check it out! She’s also on FB and Pinterest (among other social media sites)! If you’re in Eugene, OR be sure to check Sarah’s work out at The Gallery at the Watershed… what a cool gallery WOW!
Born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1979, Sarah Sedwick began oil painting at age ten. In 2001, she earned a BFA from Maryland Institute, College of Art, with a focus on illustration and painting, and a minor degree in art history. She and her husband live in Eugene, Oregon, in a house on a steep hill surrounded by cherry and pine trees. They welcomed a baby daughter in 2009.
Sarah writes a studio blog, and teaches painting workshops. Her paintings have found homes across the globe, and can be seen locally at The Gallery at the Watershed in Eugene, and at her home studio, by appointment.
Catch you back here tomorrow!
All Images via SarahSedwick.com with permission from the artist…
Forsythia Spring by Carole Rabe 24×18″ Oil on Canvas
Stunning, right? That gorgeous sunlight exploding on that fabulous yellow wall, wow! This painting was done by artist Carole Rabe.
What a great window… ahh, I could spend a lot of time in this room!
Night: Blue Chair by Carole Rabe 30×20″ Oil on Canvas
What a great nighttime painting of this cool chair… look at all the colors! I think it makes it so interesting when everything isn’t perfect, like a photo… you can see the cool reflections in the windows which really adds a lot of pizazz! Nice work!
Another great piece, more subdued in color but equally as fascinating. I really like the base colors showing through, and that wonderful shadow on the floor… Not to mention a glimpse out of the window and a painting within a painting! Love it!
Intense observation and my response to what is around me is how I receive my inspiration. The way light hits a countertop or the side of a chair is the spark that gets the painting started. The color of light influences the color of objects and creates interactions between disparate things. My paintings are about the relationships between these elements. My imagery is personal; I need some connection to my subject matter in order for me to claim it in a painting. I work from direct observation; I am very interested in how the human eye perceives the things around us, and how the hand and heart work to put the image down on canvas. It’s a wonderful feeling when the reality of the painting takes on a life of its own and exists on its own, apart from the objects observed. It seems like such a simple thing but there is something magical and transcendent about this aspect of representation that has a very strong power for me.
All images via CaroleRabe.com with permission from the artist…
Bright Light by Alice Kirkpatrick 10×10″ Acrylic on Panel
You must check out Alice Kirkpatrick’s work! Alice is an artist from Maine and she paints everything from interiors, to landscapes, florals and abstracts! I love how she painted this lampshade a little askew. Adds character to the painting… and I’m all about character!
Red Couch by Alice Kirkpatrick 24×36″ Acrylic on Canvas
I think this is a fabulous painting. I love the red couch, and that warm light making gorgeous shadows on the floor. The colors all work so well together. Very cool to have a glimpse into someone else’s world! I would like to visit this room. I love it! Great work!
Alice also sells her work on the Daily Paintworks website… but… you’ve got to be quick! If you see something that you love, don’t hesitate!
I am drawn to quiet places that reveal more about the human spirit by their emptiness than those that bustle with human activity. I’m inspired by light, and the power it holds to move us, whether inside our own private spaces, or out in the world. While I work from photographs of places I visit regularly, what I’m seeking to express is a more universal connection we have with places of spirit–whether from dreams, from places deep in our memories, or those that are part of our daily lives. I work primarily in acrylic, preferring its immediacy and the ability it gives me to work quickly and intuitively.
While I have lived outside of Maine, I find the landscape, sea, and spirit of this corner of the world ideally suited to me, and to my art work. The opportunities for, and appreciation of both solitude and community are deeply ingrained here, and I am grateful to be a part of it, and it a part of me.
I earned my BFA in art from Colby College, and have pursued numerous art workshops and courses at Maine College of Art, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, and others. I maintain a studio at my home in Pownal.
Additional Note: Many of my paintings of interiors are of Hiram Blake Campon Cape Rosier, on Maine’s Penobscot Bay. My sister and I have spent a week or two there for the past 14 years, returning each summer for rest and renewal and inspiration. Places like Hiram Blake Camp (of which there are few remaining) allow us to pause in our busy lives and reconnect with the land and sea, with others, and with ourselves. I am grateful to my sister for suggesting we take that left hand turn off the windy Cape road on a summer day years ago…
Ooooowie! I was so happy to run across artist Sandy Welch’s paintings! I was looking at some Joan Mitchell type art and ran across her work… WOW! Her use of color makes me so happy! I Love You Joan Mitchell (above) is so vibrant with a few dark undertones to really make it stand out. I love the thicker areas of pink. WOW! Amazing…
If you aren’t familiar with Sandy, check out her website, it is so full of fabulous paintings, one after another… it took me forever to choose only two! A few remind me of Peter Max’s work, similar but different… happy and vibrant!
Spring by Sandy Welch
Then I ran across this one… oh no… Spring is a perfect name for it… like the blooms on flowers just exploding with color. This painting makes me smile, how could it not? I love all those pinks, and the light greens in the background and little pops of yellow to make it all fuse together oh so nicely!
Read a blip about artist Sandy Welch from her website:
Sandy is the consummate artist, who consistently endeavors to catch the essence of her subject, be it the pose of a fashionista, a sun-drenched luxurious meadow, or a coquettish shoe. Painting is her pulse, and her canvasses POP with provocative color and a flirtatious style.
Sandy attended the Cleveland Institute of Art and has studied with professional artists, Bob Noreika, Beth Ellis, Charles Slovek, Stuart Shils and Ilona Levitz, among others. Sandy has exhibited at the Fisher Gallery at the Farmington Valley Arts Center in Avon,Chase Gallery at the Jewish Community Center, West Hartford, West Hartford Art League, Asylum Hill Congregational Church, Hartford Stage, Real Art Ways, On Twenty, and the New Britain Museum of American Art. Sandy has been featured in the Hartford Courant numerous times, West Hartford Public Television, Farmington Valley Arts Center Connections, and Artist Magazine’s featured artist.
“Painting is vital to my life. I paint from a youthful, fresh, feminine and passionate perspective. Summer is my mirror, and fashion is my muse. My palette is filled with the delicious colors of summer. The many faces and inner beauty of women fascinate me. I’m excited by the beauty that surrounds me. This is how I choose to create my life and my art”.
All Images Via SandyWelch.com with permission from the artist…
Nightlines by Steven Walker Winner of Plein Air Salon “Best Nocturne”
Amazing painting, right? Nocturnes amaze me. Steven really packed a lot into this painting. This painting has such a nice feel to it with the soft light from the lamps in the house and the nice light showing fabulous shadows from the street light. Very nice how the power lines were illuminated just enough to catch your eye. Steven’s work is fabulous!
Can’t you feel that bright sun in your eyes? This painting is a treat… look at those clouds.. oooh how they highlight that orangy yellow so nicely… the sun kissed landscape, very nice! Be sure to look at Steven’s website, it’s chock full of fabulous paintings!
Read a blip about Steve from his website (also check out his blog):
Born in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and raised in Richmond, Virginia, Steven has been captivated by art for most of his life. He earned his bachelor’s degree at Virginia Commonwealth University with a concentration in illustration. After only a few years as a freelance illustrator, Steven earned his master’s degree at Marywood University and began focusing his efforts towards fine art.
After a string of small shows at coffee shops and libraries his focus turned to gallery exhibition. Since his venture into gallery life, his landscapes have been well received by collectors. His paintings are part of several private collections such as Hilton Hotels, the Boy Scouts of America, Dominion Resources and the United States Air Force.
Steven has been included in several local and national juried competitions including the Richeson 75 Landscape Competition, the American Landscape competition in Maryland, several juried shows throughout Ohio and Virginia, the International Salon Competition and most recently, the Oil Painters of America Salon. Steven also had the privilege of being a part of a statewide traveling exhibition with the Virginia Museum of Fine Art. Recently he’s participated in several artist in residency programs in Michigan, Indiana and Iowa through the National Parks Service.
Steven, with the assistance of his lovely wife Evelyn, continues to work hard in the advancement of his career. Currently, his work is represented by the B. Deemer Gallery in Louisville, KY, The Sharon Weiss Gallery in Columbus, OH, the Vision Gallery in Atlantic Beach, NC, and the Glave Kocen Gallery in Richmond, VA.
“I should have quit years ago but that would have proved so many people right.” – SW
Ooooh, what a place to be right now! Florida’s Forgotten Coast Plein Air event is happening through May 11, 2014. Then there is a workshop with Ken DeWaard and Greg LaRock. If you want to see if there is still an available spot HERE is the link!
What an impressive list of Artists they have this year! Check it out! And if you’re in the area, by all means… GO! What fun!
Plein Air Painters To Capture Forgotten Coast on Canvas
More than 20 nationally acclaimed artists will gather on Florida’s Forgotten Coast to participate in the 9th annual Forgotten Coast en Plein Air Invitational, America’s Great Paint-Out, May 1-11, 2014. Painters will set up their easels and pull out their brushes to document the landscape and culture of this last vestige of authentic “Old Florida” – the coastal stretch of scenic North Florida between Mexico Beach and Alligator Point.
“Plein Air”, a French word, simply translated means “open air”. The roots of plein air painting are found in 19th-century Europe. An Englishman, John Constable, believed that artists should forget “formulas” and trust their own vision in finding truth in nature.
About the same time in France, in a small village called Barbizon, a group of artists focused their attention on a subject matter that had never been done before: everyday life and the natural world surrounding it. These realists laid the ground work for the next development: Impressionism. Plein air forever changed how artists see the world.
A true plein air painting is done on location, capturing the atmosphere of the moment. The majority of the painting must be completed on site with little to no work to be done in the studio. Most artists agree this is the true test of skill as it requires complete confidence in placement of color and brushwork in a short amount of time. For example, a sunset may only last 30-40 minutes. That would be all the time the artist has to capture the scene.
The event includes 5 exhibits across the coast, daily artist demonstrations, 2 workshops, art sales and a series of public receptions. Art enthusiasts can visit the exhibits and attend the many free special events that occur throughout the 10 day event. “Many artists from across the region gather and paint alongside the event’s invited artists; it is amazing to see the art being created” stated Joe Taylor, Event Chair. The “Wetroom”, which alternates each year between the Apalachicola Center for History, Culture and Art in historic Apalachicola and a location in downtown Port St. Joe, is always stocked with fresh paintings that the artists deliver daily throughout the event.
The Forgotten Coast en Plein Air is coordinated by the Forgotten Coast Cultural Coalition, a non-profit organization established to produce regional multi-community cultural events that improve the quality of life for the coastal area. The communities of Mexico Beach, Port St. Joe, Cape San Blas, Indian Pass, Apalachicola, Eastpoint, St. George Island, Carrabelle, and Alligator Point have joined forces to produce the most impressive art event seen along the coast. Support from the Gulf and Franklin County Tourist Development Councils, Mexico Beach CDC, and Visit Florida has helped to gain the event a national following.
A selection of America’s finest plein air artists are scheduled to participate in this year’s event, please look over our artist list to see the diverse talent.
I am excited to have run across Laura Shubert’s work! Any of you who read this blog know how much I love paintings of interiors. I just don’t run across them very often, but I did today! Check out artist Laura Shubert.
What. Amazing. Paintings!
I love the light streaming in the window, the blinds on the door, and all the paintings on the wall!
#22 by Laura Shubert 24×24″
Another favorite! What a sweet vase of flowers. The brightness of the green against the rich color in the flowers is so nice!
#26 by Laura Shubert 40×30″
Light and shadows, a comfy sofa, light pouring in… I want to curl up with the stack of magazines that I have sitting here waiting to be read…
Laura Lacambra Shubert, daughter of a Basque father and American mother, grew up in Florida and Spain and chose art as a career at an early age. She studied painting, drawing, and printmaking at Southern Methodist University, where she received her B.F.A. in 1986.
After studying painting at Academie Port Royal, in Paris, France, for one year, she returned to the United States, where she began exhibiting in solo and group shows across the country. In 2000, she was named a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in London, England (established in 1754).
Her work can be found in private and corporate collections in the United States and abroad.
All images via LSSStudios.com with permission from the artist.
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