Summer Street Project

1. Developing the perspective and selecting the light for this Summer Street painting turned out to be the easy part.

2. My photo references were in brilliant sunlight with dappled shadows from tall trees in neighboring yards, so I established the lights & darks & placed the various plants and objects.

3. Starting to paint the assorted plants, I faced a real challenge-green. My first view of this house, several weeks ago at the Buffalo Garden Walk, I exclaimed about the front of the house-the green of the house & the Hydrangea leaves coordinated to emphasize the flowers. Now that I was painting the greens, I wanted to find differences. Kitty had used blues & light green leaves in her garden, but the light on the building had already created a variety of greens for background. I love a challenge, but this one took a while to work out!

4. Thank goodness for flowers! Notice the white lilies & the begonias on the porch rail, the blue hosta.

I continue to wonder if it is harder to grow & maintain a garden, or to paint it--as my own has overgrown in this sunny-& rainy-summer as I painted in the studio upstairs.

Chasing the Sun on Summer Street, oil 11x14 2008

New painter in town

It took until after 1 am to arrive in Buffalo, but Sandi & Bobbie were here for the weekend. They left the bad weather in NYC to enjoy blue skies & barbecue here. We took Bobbie to the airport today, but Sandi will be staying through the week. Tomorrow she will paint plein air after a morning visit at Riverwood.

Jet Blue adventure, August 2008 [photo by BTP]

Torrit Grey Competition

An annual painting contest limits artists to painting with white, black & the annual 'Torrit grey'. It is created by the Gamblin company by cleaning the filters of accumulated gook & giving tubes away at art stores. It is a 'green' use of mixed paints that would otherwise be garbage. This is my 2nd time entering the Torrit competition, the first was in 2006. The scene is from Buckhorn, a late snow on budded trees. Click here for details, you can see last year's entries.  Gamblin Artists Colors: Torrit Grey Competition

Spring Interrupted by Snow, 8x10 oil

402 Summer Street

NFPAP artists visited the cottage district again this year for one of our summer paintouts, with GVPAP.

I had walked the area on the weekend with Carl, discussing several options for painting on Tuesday. However, we were there in the afternoon, and the light was reversed & all wrong for me on the second morning visit with paint & canvas. This spectacular painted brick cottage had caught my eye-the green of the house behind the hydrangea leaves made the lavender & pink snowball flowers look like fireworks in the garden, & the morning light made it even better. Fortunately, there was a little shade tree across the street for me. Peggy Walker & Joan Shaw were painting close by & the homeowner, Kitty has a lovely daughter, Emma, who engaged us all as she painted her own first plein air of a newly planted street tree.

Although this is basically a plein air, there were so many details and architectural delights that it took three sittings to complete. If you think this house is sweet, go to the Buffalo cottage district-one house after another is a delight!

Summer on Summer Street  oil 11x14 2008

2009 Calendar Goes to Press

The calendar went to the printer today. There were a few glitches along the way-my errors, because the screen images could not match the proofs. Of course, I knew that, screens are backlit with light & paper proofs are ink on paper. I guess that's why they make proofs. Everything is fixed, thanks to Carl's endless patience with my impatience.

What was the hardest part? Choosing January. I just could not decide how the year should start, but my interest in night pictures caused me to paint this one...just a few weeks ago. As soon as I had it half done, I knew it would be right for 2009. There are actually 4 paintings from Niagara Falls again this year, they just are not as obvious.

If all goes well, there will be calendars at the Lewiston Art Festival this coming weekend!

Backpage, 2009 Calendar

7-7-77, 9-15-95

A house is just a building, but when does it actually become a home? Capturing the shadows on the porch, rear dormer, power lines and the side entrance fence are reminders of independent features. The size of the trees, seasonal colors & light on the windows invoke memories. Painting a house captures it at that particular time, as a home it is subject to constant change.

The corner at 91st & Jayne oil 8x10 2008

Lewiston Art Festival

Lewiston Council on the Arts sponsors an annual juried fine art show. Nothing is to be mass produced, commercial or less than best quality art. 

Text from their website...

The Council's original event, the annual  Lewiston Outdoor Fine Arts Festival  (now in its 42nd year), will be held August 9 & 10 this year, and has become the premier show in Niagara County.  Festival attendance is estimated at 30,000 with over 170 participating artists from the U.S. and Canada.

My art tent-space #222-is  in Academy Park, halfway between Tops market and Hibbard's Ice Cream. It's the same location as last year, with a bench & shade. The park lot will be open to cars----you can park on the grass again there this year.

I plan to release my 2009 calendar next week at the art fest, as well as many new paintings of the area. Be sure to say hi, Carl & I are looking forward to seeing lots of friends strolling among the tents next week.

Historic Frontier House, 1824, Lewiston, NY oil 16x20

Bursting Bud

Lifted from the Perry, NY website-with permission, of course, this is the rose bursting out of it's borders at the Perry Chalk Festival July 12.

Click on the link above to see more images from the festival.

Perry Chalk Festival

July 6 Buffalo News stated that the July 12th Perry Chalk Festival was a 'best bet' in entertainment for the day. The Central NY Times & Perry News both published lengthy articles that included my pictures & photo. Having been selected as 'master pastelist' at this festival kept me busy preparing a sketch, a plan and a presentation. In addition, I brought my tent and some prints & cards featuring my pastel art in particular.

Perry is a lovely small town, nestled in a particularly pretty area of rolling hills, near the center entrance to Letchworth State Park. They have a particularly nice bookstore in the center of town-good books, excellent magazines, assorted books, fresh coffee & pastries.

The fest featured 20 adult artists chalk painting on the street & about 10 teens on the sidewalks and was accompanied by the Saturday morning farmer's market, two live bands, some crafts & food tents. Everyone was very friendly & interested in the artworks.

The morning setup was bustling with volunteers & the sun was cooperative, too. It got ridiculously hot on the asphalt, so the shade of my tent was welcome to many. I painted a demo square using a rose closeup; not bound by any rules, petals & stem spilled out of the frame. This was a technique the kids always wanted to do at Lewiston Chalk Walk & couldn't because of their rules.

Returning home from an overnight in Perry, I had a jar of local honey, cherries, and a bag of vegetables to add to my art experience.

Letchworth State Park Paintings

So many beautiful days to make paintings & other public art responsibilities in such a short time set my paperwork, record keeping & photographing back a bit, so here are the late  Letchworth pictures-finally.

1. Letchworth Falls & Train Trestle, watercolor 5x8

2. Clearing Behind 'A' Cabins, oil 16x20

3. Early Morning Cabins, oil 11x14

4. Old Gorge Staircase, pastel 12x9

Featured at the NACC

Click here--
The NACC - Niagara Arts and Cultural Center

That's my painting, 'Youngstown Secret Garden', featured on their website & in the press release for their annual 'Beyond the Barrell'  show!

Secret Garden 12x24 oil, 2007

Positively Main Street

All day Saturday, people were smiling & visiting on Main Street of Niagara Falls from Cedar to Chilton for art, music, food and entertainment. I set my tent up with only two walls showing some representative work, cards and small prints.

Since this was the first event of this kind, I also brought my easel & was able work on a small painting of City hall. It took all day due to the fact that it was nearly impossible to see the building with all the trees around it. It is possibly the best collection of elegant full size trees outside the parks & cemeteries in one place in town. 

Carl & I sat in the shade in our new 'art chairs' with pockets, water bottle cooler & attached table & enjoyed one of the nicest days of the year so far. It was great to see so many familiar people come out for the beginning of the renaissance in Niagara Falls-you think??

City Hall from Cedar 8x10 oil, 2008

NACC press release features KS painting

My painting, 'The Secret Garden' was selected to head a press release for the NACC summer exhibition 'Beyond the Barrel'

Go here to see it.

The NACC - Niagara Arts and Cultural Center

East Aurora NY weekend art show

It was called the 55th East Aurora Art Association Show, but I would call it a rainy weekend. Friday, June 27 Carl & I set up the tent and on Saturday morning after the rain it was still dry inside. We had about two hours of dark clouds and a deluge on Saturday the 29th, then on Sunday the threatening clouds really acted up from about 3:00-a noisy rain event that filled the street to the curbs continued until we were packed & gone. It was lovely the rest of the time & sunblock was needed, too. 

Only problem is the wet tent & walls that still need to be aired before being packed-for next week in Niagara falls.

I was pleased to be awarded a Merit ribbon in Oil for my painting-Seven Apples & the Light-which is near the tent pole. I was situated next to Sharon Fundalinski [white skirt], & Peggy Walker is seated there too. They are the two best painting buddies I have-my Thursday artists. That's my back at the easel-there was a lovely old oak tree trunk in front of the red bricks that I was able to work on.

June at Niagara Falls

There was a chance of showers, but the sun was out, so I headed to the State Park to challenge the rapids. The 2006  'Islands in the Curve' was purchased by staff at the State Parks, I especially liked the painting-it is July on the calendar, so I decided to try the composition again. The islands have grown, and the weather was sometimes overcast-in addition there was a misty breeze swirling that kept me, the painting & palette slightly damp. The photo was taken by a California tourist. I gave their daughter a business card to look up the painting when it was complete. Dad took the picture & used my address to send it. A few plein air painters don't enjoy interruptions, but not me. It is a chance to look away from the subject and the paint & look back with a 'fresh eye'. Most people are cautious & wary, they just want to see real art, murmur 'lovely' or 'so talented' & walk on. Kids pay attention to the palette, the brushes & process. So many say they paint at home & school. Life is good, so I stayed to paint a close-up of a dent in the Falls further to the right side-a rock & it's splash. While working on the second painting, the first blew over-the dark spots in the cataracts are not fish, that is plein air painter's dirt, stuck to the oils.

'New Curve of the Falls-2008' 8x10, oil on panel 2008

'Horseshoe Divot' 5x7 oil on board, 2008

NACC opening preview

Friday, June 20 is the opening for the 5th annual 'Beyond the Barrel' show in Niagara Falls, NY. I have two pieces accepted in this show, & Carl has two digital collages in the show. Also, it is his birthday. 

One is the wide plein air painting 'Secret Garden in Youngstown', the second is pictured here. This large studio oil painting shows the sunlight rising over the trees & shining into the mist.

Morning Light on American Falls, 24x24, oil, 2008

Letchworth State Park Weekend

Spent the last weekend en plein air & completed three oils, a pastel & a small watercolor. Sherrill & I went to Letchworth State Park & stayed in a cabin, with indoor water, fridge, etc, so we were quite comfortable eating & sleeping. The weekend consisted of several sudden showers & misty sunlight, so we toggled between indoors & out. Caught only once by the weather,  we were drenched-every bit of equipment, palette & brush was floating, but oils are forgiving, & the cabin was nearby. The deluge was followed by sun and a breeze, so our assorted articles dried on the big porch. My french box easel appreciated the moisture, all the sliding fittings and connectors are much tighter now.

The best part was painting down behind the cabin in total natural beauty & light-and being watched by a deer for a long morning. She thought she was hidden behind a tree, 50 yards away.I think we were her first artists, on the other hand, her fawn may have been just born & camouflaged in the leaves right near us.

On the negative side, I managed to ruin the digital camera & will not be posting images until that is resolved! I really liked that camera, & will buck modern times to try to have it fixed.

Plein air rain out success

Sometimes a painting chooses itself. A few fresh cut carnations sat in the studio for several weeks. After removing some spent stems & replacing the vase I realized there was a composition in front of me, similar to the April calendar picture [a few posts below]. The next day's plan to paint plein air was rained out so I was able to spend the day sketching & structuring the canvas; the foreground was nearly complete in a full day's studio work. Waiting until night to capture the reflections & complete the layout, I was able to mull over the differences in the two pictures, besides the obvious ones of shape & surface. The Primula was painted when the sun was down by 6, I had to wait for dark until after 9 to work on this one. Both flowers sat on my work table for a long time before they 'spoke' to me. It all goes back to 'paint what you know'.

Considering the daylight background, I could have used the leaf greens of outdoors for a very different painting, and someday I will. The most fun with this picture-the challenge to paint the glass vase & the black stones I use for stability.

Carnation Reflections, 24x12 oil, 2008

Frontier House, Lewiston NY

The yellow building is now known as The Chocolate House, while the larger one is the Frontier House, a classic 'Lincoln slept here' location. This was painted from the Keybank corner last week with the NFPAPainters. We started at Piper's Village Inn, and returned there for a wonderful lunch.... Jill Paolone & Brad Smith came to visit me painting twice-about 3 hours apart. We all thought it was almost finished during their first visit! 

 I marked locations of lamps and handrails in wet paint at the end of 7 hours on Center Street & went home. As the paint got a little stiffer, I was able to finish the lamp posts and rails in my studio.

Lewiston's Historic Frontier House oil 16x20, 2008

A Florida Room in South Park, Buffalo

My final indoor Thursday painting at Buffalo Botanical Gardens was right before Easter. We stop painting there during holidays because the crowds come for the seasonal shows. Then we work outside instead. Their new Florida installation room  features a lot of water, including waterfalls, ponds & fish. This lovely hosta-like plant was thriving in the stream at the entrance to the tunnel under the footbridge. It reached out of the dark with brilliant yellow darts.

PipeLily 9x12 pastel 2008

Spring in Prospect Park-Niagara Falls

Unfinished, I have to share this bit of Springtime. Tulips, forsythia, fruit trees in bloom, buds & blossoms everywhere. Started yesterday, I laid in most of the colors & shapes you see before I lost the light & got frustrated. For the first time, I returned with a wet painting to the same site to finish it. It was still overcast, but bright and I was able to put in the bench & streetlight. It just needs to get a little skin on the whites so I can glaze the big white tree with a bit of yellow & punch up the white gloss of the globe. The whites were entirely too wet to do anything with yet. So much for plein air. At least the national definition is 85% complete on site. It won't take more than 5 minutes to glaze once the paint sets up. 

Spring in Prospect Park, oil 11x14 2008

Niagara Falls Paintings

Painting outdoors is definitely seasonal. Although I paint outdoors in the winter, the warm weather has a greater appeal. It's time to paint Niagara Falls and capture the Spring greens. I just hope I can still open all the colors in my traveling easel.

The April Calendar picture

Last Spring I purchased this Primula at the Botanical Gardens. It spent weeks-months, maybe, in the dining room before I brought it up to sit on my easel. One evening I noticed the reflection of the back of the plant on the dark window glass. I could see all the flowers of the plant. Out came the palette & brushes. It was so exciting to paint a flower-close up-after doing so many landscapes. It also convinced me that I could easily paint indoors safely if I left the window open a bit and continued to use no solvents to paint.

Along with the December Holly, it represented April and my 16x20 studio oils at the show, and gathered lots of attention. I have really enjoyed having this painting around, and now it has found a new home as a Mother's Day gift from Fran Volpe to her daughter. Nice choice! Time to turn the calendars to May.

Primula Reflections, oil 16x20 2007

Travels as it Dries

This juicy rose is home again, and pleasing me at the end of the hall. It was delivered, still wet, to the NACC solo show February 1st. It dried very nicely there for two months, with plans of relocating above Martha's couch. Well, it went 'fine with the rug', but clashed with the pink pillows and afghan on the couch. The gold & black frame had too much drama, too, so the other newer painting will remain there. It spent a few days at the Albright Knox, too, but I fortunately have it back, ready to do the 'wall-dance' at 1575.

The varnish goes on late this summer.

Complementary Rose, oil, 24x24 2008

Buckhorn State Park

As I pack up sweaters and gloves for the season, I find myself putting snow pictures away as well. Painted last year, this is the road through Buckhorn that I use to drive to Niagara Falls. Having had less snow than cold, I rarely was on a snowy East-West Park Road this winter. That's a good thing.

The painting was acclaimed at Quaker Bonnet, it created a contrast with the Allen Street buildings-kind of a window to the country.

The Road to Work 22"X28" pastel

Painting Night in Winter

This gem was inspired by the best (and final) snowfall of the winter. It had snowed lightly, but steadily all weekend, trees were spectacular weighted with snow. This is earliest morning light, facing East on Huth Road. The streetlights are yellow-orange in color, casting long violet shadows. These trees are now blooming with Spring leaves; the painting took me longer than any other I have done. I also learned a great deal about using glazes and multiple layers of color to build depth while I worked up a sore shoulder from all the strokes required to create the branching. This is the absolute opposite of plein air, but is influenced by all I have learned by painting on location as well as the series of studio oils completed in the past few months.

Out of place with blooming Forsythia in the yard, I look forward to the summer, as I look back at what I was able to capture during the most beautiful weather event of the winter.

Snow Before Dawn 28"x22" oil

Painting at Night

Painting at night seemed like  a serious challenge, and the coolest gift of 2006 was a hat with headlights, so I could see the colors on the palette or pastels. However, my first night painting was in Houston, from a 3rd floor porch at Jeremy & Robin's apartment. No hat & headlight in sight, so the indoor lights illuminated my page and I perched on the edge of a chair to see the commercial building out the complex & across the road. Night painting? I am hooked.

From the Porch in Houston, pastel, 9x12 2007

Not so black & white

I thought it was Spring & awoke to fresh white-but not a lot. It was just enough to cover almost budded branches and create a winter wonderland-in earliest Spring. From my favorite Buckhorn road, you can see me surrounded by beauty. I am considering a B&W painting, but I still see the colors-shall I leave out the pinks or the golds?

Watch for the painting!

Turkey Vultures?

The seasons are changing here & apparently there was some carrion was under the melted snow. These turkey vultures roosted just down the street-all day. Sideways is appropriate for April Fool's Day, but this was no joke. They are about 30" in size, with a wingspan of 6 feet-and look like eagles when they swoop.

Final NACC pictures

The end of the exhibition at the NACC was quite exciting. Since the show was held over for a month my family-Bobbie, Chris & Sandi Peters had an opportunity to see this show in the Garden Gallery. In addition, I was asked to speak at the Finally Friday event, which was sold out. This is a catered lunch & talk that is held on the final Friday of several months of the year. I neglected to ask the attendees if they came for the food or the art. The art & discussion was well received & my prints remain a favorite for new Niagara area art collectors. Thanks to Gina, Kelly, Kathie, Ray & Carl for all their help & support to put this show together & bring my work to the Niagara Arts & Cultural Center for the past two months.