Japanese cherry blossom festival

The second annual Cherry Blossom Fest at the History Museum in Buffalo was perfectly timed with the best show of seasonal pink flowers. While I worked on my final larger picture, 'Cherry Blossoms on Saturday', the flowers cascaded like rain, carpeting everything in pink. WHen I returned home my tweezers picked a branchful of leaves and petals out of the wet painting. The NFPAP artists also worked here on both Saturdays of the festival. Everyone plans to return next year. 

      Pink carpet. 5x7 palette knife oil

Cherry Blossoms on Saturday 12x16 oil

Framing History 7x5 oil

30 in 30 days, # 27 Red Boat at the Cherry Blossom Fest

I was originally inspired to paint two lovely boats, one pink and the other red, but they would not stay still. Free rides on Mirror Lake kept them busy all morning until one of the guides took a break, leaving this red boat modeling for me.  This was during Saturday's Cherry Blossom Festival in Buffalo, NY.

There seems to be tree tilt here and there really is, I'm not sure if it is wind blown or the trees are aiming for the water. This garden was established in 1970 and they are actively promoting it, planting new trees, gardens and upgrading the walks. It already was lovely!

Red Boat and Cherry Blossoms. 9.5x12.5 oil on Carton, c.2015

30 Paintings in 30 Days #8

After delivery of 3 paintings to Impact Gallery the east side of Buffalo's Main Street glowed as I drove in the mid afternoon sunlight, especially the odd combination of buildings on Canisius College campus. The central tower blocks most of the Greek Revival center behind it, but the angles of the buildings intrigued me. I parked in the Forest Lawn across Main Street. Someday, I will walk around and investigate these varied buildings built decades apart.

I remembered my tiny cigar box paint set, with a 5x7 panel in the bracketed lid. Sample tubes of paint fit nicely, but all I had were a few tubes so this was a study in resourcefulness. No mineral spirits or mediums, no way to clean paint on the raggedy brushes I found there except the two Dunkin' Donuts napkins in the door pocket. Plus, I worked in my lap, wearing white jeans. I stayed neat and clean painting this from the car, at least until I got home when I pressed my sleeve into the wet paint and it spread everywhere from there.
Gone.
Canisius Perspectives, 5x7 oil on birch panel, 2015

In the collection of the Burchfield Penney Art Center

I am now personally in the collection of the Burchfield Penney Art Center, or at least this photo of me. David Moog is creating a series of photographs of Western New York artists for the museum. One of the uses will be for a 100 year retrospective, 2115! Be there. 

David Moog (b. 1944), Kath Schifano, 2015; Archival inkjet print, 20 x 15 inches; Gift of the artist, copyright David Moog, 2015

Burchfield 'Artists Seen' Photo project

David Moog, a Rochester based and well known B&W photographer is in residence at Burchfield Art Museum, he was given a studio on the first floor for the next three years. His project involves photographing WNY artists for 'undecided' uses right now, but especially for a 100 year retrospective in the museum to be shown in the 22nd century. Talk about planning ahead!

I was invited to sit for my portrait and also enjoyed an afternoon discussion of art, artists, introspection and philosophy with both Mr. Moog and Don Keller in their photo studio, meeting a few Museum staff and reviewing the Alexander Levy exhibit that filled most of the first floor.

I had been advised to choose whatever I wanted to wear, and there would be no props. I spent at least a week thinking about what  to choose to wear and do. I had a vision of leaning against a wall, standing. The 100 year later photo of Me that I imagined needed to be comfortable and natural, so I chose jeans and a vest, the Andy Warhol pin already on the pocket flap. Walking into the room, Mr. Moog told me he had decided to do closeups this week. Although many of the photos involved looking directly into the lens, the one he chose of me was relaxed and looking down, two hands to the side of my face.  Clothes were not the subject, once again I was unnecessarily concerned about a detail.

'Photo of the Photographer'

P4P doesn't always work

 

The original expansive Delaware Court structure had a lovely curved facade; Painting for Preservation artists had gathered there on a brilliant Fall Saturday to bring attention to the fact that the Chippewa Street businesses and stores were moving out to demolish the classic building and replace it with a monster huge structure. 

At a quick stop at Spot Coffee exactly a year later I see the new building is in progress. Fortunately the architect preserved the curved facade, it will be interesting to see how it is finished and how it effects the area as time goes on.  I am glad I had an opportunity to capture the original building, spend some time with it and paint a dignified portrait.

Delaware Court, oil, 10x12, 2013

'You Are There' a P4P art exhibit

Eight plein air ocean paintings based on the Ohio Street Jetty are displayed at Artists Space Gallery on Main Street in Buffalo as part of the Painting for Preservation group. The title of the exhibit is "You Are There". Without a written explanation, I hope you would feel the power of water and weather, the changes around an ocean barrier and the mood of an ocean.

Sara Zak invited a group of the P4P painters and photographers to show, but the focus was not our preservation paintings, rather, work of our own choice that illustrated the theme. Looking at the work, I was intrigued by the powerful images displayed. 

They are shown here grouped within an architectural plaque on the entrance wall, but by the time the final show was hung they were moved a bit further down the wall, into a wider format. 

Save the date!

  

More than just cookies

Merry Christmas in paint

December is a time of wonder, the first snow, decorations, great music and joy. I spent a quiet day, early in the month, surrounded by an acre of poinsettias. This is probably only possible because they have no scent! I snuggled next to a particularly pointy leaf variety and used my palette knife to capture the angular shape of the leaves. If you find some time to visit a Botanical Garden it will pleasantly reward you with new views every time.

I think we made 9 varieties of cookies this year, it was an ongoing project for the month and just as satisfying as painting is at this time of year. Come January, there will be lots of time to work in the studio.

Merry Christmas, may you share your days with your friends and family and find the joy in each moment.

Poinsettia with points, 5x7, oil

Painting for Preservation, Delaware Court

Super Saturdays! About once a month, Sara Zak invites artists to join her to bring attention to an 'endangered' or at risk building in Buffalo. Delaware Court, on the corner of Delaware and Chippewa in Buffalo was our most recent event. It may be replaced by a modern steel and glass tower, but no building would have the character and beauty that is on the corner now.

The curved facade gives the appearance of a building that goes on forever, decorative plaques are embedded on the pilasters and in the top molding, bump out 2nd floor balconies increase the visual delight. The group was gathered by Spot Coffee for a kiddy corner view, but I choose to sit across the street in the sun on a crisp fall morning on the patio of an obliging restaurant.

Me

Sara Zak

  Carol Case Syracuse

Delaware Court, oil on oil paper 11x14, K. Schifano 2013

Silo City, Buffalo

Light in the Tunnel

As much as I love natural landscapes, and often omit buildings, powerlines and other built elements in my landscape paintings, preservation of historic structures remains important to me.

I have created a series of drawings and paintings that chronicle endangered buildings in Buffalo, on Saturdays with Sara Zak's Painting for Preservation initiative. Her work on behalf of architectural gems keeps in mind the history of our city, formerly one of the largest in the United States, the gateway to the west for wagons, boats and trains.

Silo City, location of 'City of Night' and other public concerts and events is in Buffalo's Old First Ward, is rocks and gravel, weeds and massive impressive grain elevators, some still in use, all awe inspiring. Having annually painted this area from the other side of the river with Sharon Fundalinski and Margaret J Walker, working on the grounds with the Preservation group during a convention of out of town visitors was a fun challenge.

One of the huge open indoor spaces was converted to a meeting area while caterers provided buffet food and drinks on the waterfront. Painters scattered around the site as convention 'entertainment', and talking to people from across the country about our unusual location was energizing. The huge scale of the silos is enough to challenge understanding of the purpose and investment that originally created this modern concrete playground, more than a century ago.

This long alley was partially out of bounds for the conventioneers, I was intrigued by the natural  landscape framed by the overhead walkway as well as the tiny bright red folding chair waiting for a guard or perhaps a graffiti artist. Capturing the curved sunset shadows before the entire area was in shade was the challenge here.

Light in The Tunnel oil, 20x16, 2013

Allentown Association Art Exhibition

The Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site preserves the elegant Ansley Wilcox house  on Delaware Avenue in Buffalo. There is also a lovely restored carriage house which will showcase paintings of the Allentown area in early August, with a reception on Friday, August 2. This show is sponsored by the Allentown Association for its 50th anniversary and includes works of the area's features by artists who live, work or paint in Allentown.

One of my two paintings is this driveway side view of an elegant victorian home on Pearl Street, just a few buildings down from Allen Street. Painted this year, I was intrigued by the tans and browns of the structures hi-lighted by the forsythia bush and its glorious yellow presence.

I like to feature yellow flowers in paintings, it is a challenge for me, but it also holds its own on some of our drearier days, the yellow in nature paintings sparkles through the gloom of a long winter afternoon.

The second painting in this show is a colorful blue corner porch with morning glories winding up the column. It is a pastel, framed to 20x16. Pretty little bits of Allentown are making their way back to Buffalo from Grand Island for this exhibit.

Pearl Street Spring 14x11 oil,  2013

My most recent art show!

 Burchfield Penney Art Center invited area member artists to display their creative art work, naming the show 'Artists Among Us'. 669 responded to the call for work and a great opening night on May 18th featured crowds of artists and guests from one end of the huge building to another. Both Carl and I are included in this show, due to stay at the museum for a few months.

I took the pictures before we found our pictures, my tall vertical composition 'Shadow on the Pulpit' is nearly visible in the second photo bottom right, next to the portrait. Carl's digital collage, 'The Path' is right around the corner attracting a large crowd of admirers!

K. Schifano 'Shadow on the Pulpit'

Spring in Buffalo

Now that I have returned to weekly paintouts at the Buffalo Botanical Gardens, I see signs of Spring in every greenhouse. All the plants are stretching, greening, budding and turning to the light. The volunteer gardeners are furiously trimming before the big growth spurts crowd out the visitors.

Each week, I walk around, nodding to familiar plants, noticing reorganized displays, new splashes of color and seasonal installations. The desert cactus room is grumbling and plumping, buds are just barely showing on new shoots and flowers. A massive Prickly Pear cactus in the center garden display looked fatter and happier than ever stretching to sunlight and longer days.

The narrow viewing halls make it difficult to set up for drawing or painting, but I was able to snuggle into a doorway and capture some new and old paddles on this mature cactus. Despite the needles and thorns, it is a beautiful thing.

No Leaning, pastel 9.5x12.5 2012

Music is Art 9/17/2011

Please join us as we celebrate the talent and culture of Western New York Saturday, September 17, 2011, 10 AM-10 PM @ Delaware Park behind The Albright-Knox Art Gallery!

I'll have a tent there, it is my big fundraising supporter effort for the Fall; so take a chance on winning an artwork submitted by selected exhibiting artists. Music is Art supports the instrument drive for instruments in the schools program as well as new musicians. The September 17th event is an amazing chance for everyone in the family to have a good time. It is totally all ages, lots for the little ones to do for free and at least four stages of continuous music for everyone. FOrmerly on the grounds of the Albright Knox art gallery, now it is now across the street in Delaware park, Shakespeare hill area.

Delaware Park Rose Garden

Slipping off to Buffalo to paint the beautiful Delaware Park Rose Garden doesn't bring the Albright Knox Art Gallery to mind. All of the other painters-there were about 8-headed for the beautiful colonnade, surrounded by steps, columns, roses and trees. I had spent a full year painting only roses, so I was up to this challenge and liked the idea of varicolored bushes, clusters, longstems and bunch roses.

As I perused this lovely location, the sight of the Albright's E. B. Green 1905 building peeking over the end of the gardens grabbed me. I turned my easel around and accepted the challenge. Having painted on the grounds and having a profound respect for the institution, I did appreciate this distance view.

However, I ended my visit with about 50 new rose photographs, with all the varieties and colors one could imagine.

Look What's Growing in the Rose Garden, 11x14 oil on masonite 12x18

Photo; in progress plein air painting

THE ELECTRIC TOWER paint out

This summer I had the opportunity to ascend 'The Electric Tower' to paint, it's the dramatic building where the outdoor New Year's Eve party & fireworks is centered in Buffalo. Built as the terminus for long distance electricity from Niagara Falls for the 1904 Pan Am Exposition, most of it has served as offices, the first two floors used to be an elegant store for electric household tools-vacuums! Waffle irons! Electric lamps!

The current owners (ISKALO) have been restoring the dignity of this round building and converting it to offices & condos. We were invited to paint on the 15th floor & quite a few Niagara Frontier Plein Air Painters took this opportunity to 'see the sights' 2/3 of the way up the building where the white section starts. This level was due to be renovated, so we were able to explore original boardrooms totally carved and decorated with dark wood, built in furniture and secret doors in the panels. Each painter selected a different window, our floor was small enough with all the walls and dividers removed that we could talk to each other about whether it was really plein air painting or not! The windows were huge, but we were protected from the wind and sounds of the city.

In addition, few of us had ever painted anything by looking down for the whole painting. This created perspective & compositional challenges; most buildings were much lower than us, roofs full of electrical systems, the lake and Canada in the distance, hockey & baseball stadiums within a few blocks.

I selected to paint a long view-the old first ward and grain mills with windmills & Lake Erie in the distance. As an outdoor painter I have discovered so many new streets & hidden treasures in downtown Buffalo, side roads off Ohio Street take me to 'Elevator Alley' a majestic remnant of 19th century glory when Buffalo was one of the largest cities in North America and the gateway to the west. Now these river alleys are quiet with age and home to geese, boaters and tugboats instead of crowded with great lakes ships.

Where I Like to Paint, oil 15x30 2010

The Electric Tower photo from website http://www.electrictower.com

'Music is Art' at Albright Knox Art Gallery

What was it like at 'Music is Art'? The title 'Magic Mayhem' suits Saturday perfectly---beautiful weather, lots of people, wild costumes, multiple bands & stages, delicious food, kids & more crowds.

It was fun to paint & have little kids light up when they recognized that my painting was of the roofline peeking out of the trees, I watched them look from my canvas to the trees over a

& over before they grabbed a parent to share their discovery. I had a wall display of work from local places & people of all ages asked questions and commented on places that were familiar.

The day was a feast for the eyes and ears, so I have included a few sights from my tent area.

For more pictures, go to Buffalo.com, even I am featured in the photo news as I was captured painting during the day. At Flickr, a photographer [pharaoh8] has posted individual images of many performers and spectators.

I painted in the afternoon-it is the house roof next to Albright Knox Art Gallery, peeking through the trees, catching afternoon light on the yellow brick chimney.

Music is Art 8x10, oil 2010

Picture Postcard!

Summer is TOO busy-but so much fun. We go to many gallery openings that include our work or to see artworks by others, but this was a particularly special show. My painting was selected for the postcard, and you can see both sides here.

The opening was spectacular-and crowded-and the work submitted under the theme 'Garden Mystique' was varied & interesting. Doreen DeBoth at Artsphere Studio & Gallery hangs this show to coincide with the Buffalo Garden Walk. Each year it is better and more inclusive of art forms, so I am doubly pleased to have been selected to grace the invitation. Marcus had openings across the street at Gallery 464 and Blink, so Amherst Street was hopping happy with art, music & people.

Shadow on the Pulpit, oil on canvas 30x15 2008 [Postcard]

WIlliamsville Waterfall

I'm not a fan of the color blue in my home. However, blue paint is another story altogether. Since September 2009 I have been painting skies--actually the same sky view as the weather & seasons change. That's a lot of blue, and a lot of gray as well.

Now that I paint plein air outdoors more, I have been returning to close ups- an inspection of single elements or parts of a whole. The sky paintings fit that category as well. This is a April view of the waterfall behind the red mill in Williamsville. The vertical composition was painted in the morning, while I had afternoon light for the horizontal oil. Same water, but the sun had moved.

It was pure pleasure to paint again with Sharon Fundalinski & Peggy Walker; each of our paintings captured the day, but each view was completely different. Painting with varied blues is a whole different category from living with blue in my home!

Red Mill Falls Vertical, oil 7x5 2010

RedMill Falls Horizontal, oil 8x10 2010