The Beauty of a Golf Course

Who knew there was such magic and beauty to be found on a golf course? 

I am staying in a condo community in Brewster.  The houses are surrounded by a beautifully kept golf course. The irony is- I don't golf.  But I do enjoy the nearly 3 mile loop I can walk, and photographing the landscape from the path. Last year I made the awful faux pas of walking on the golf cart trails, and was promptly chided how dangerous that was- from both the cart and ball perspective.  So now I stick to the bike path, and explore from there.  

I am rapidly chilling out from 12 days in a row of work, and a very busy year of reinventing myself. It takes an incredible amount of work....and is emotionally taxing at times. So having a week of sleeping in, writing, reading, strolling, some sun and lots of ocean inspired cuisine, is much needed and cherished. 

Off to Truro to find some adventures.......

Time for Plein Air....

Two paintings of William's Lake, Kingston/Rosendale area of NY.

 Watercolor sketch at Montgomery Place, Red Hook, NY

Late afternoon on a hot and hazy day at Olana, Hudson NY

In between work, classes, storms and steamy weather, I have managed to get out and do a few paintings "en plein air", which is a fancy french word for "painting outside".  

Plein air painting became popular during the Impressionist movement. With the invention of the paint tube, artists now had a method to carry their paints with them out of the studio into the open air.  Since impressionism was about the observation and notation of light/color, painting outside was the perfect way to paint the effects of light on the landscape. 

Monet painted the same subject matter and different times of the day and during various times of the year, the Cathedral at Rouen, haystacks, waterlillies, and more. 

I have been a studio painter for most of the past 10 years that I have been using oils, working from photographs I have taken on my journeys.  I have done many watercolor/ink sketches plein air, as it all packs very neatly in my backpack   This year I decided to explore plein air painting with my students and on my own as I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

It is difficult as you have to have the correct set-up, and either be able to park nearby the painting site, or have a cart or strong arms to carry the equipment to the vista you are going to paint.  I work with what I have as new equipment just for painting outside is not in the budget.  Having done it a half a dozen times this summer, I have managed to narrow it down to bringing the following:

• a 12 x 16" plastic sealable palette box with a disposable palette inside that I bungee cord to:
• a wooden paintbox with a handle that functions as an easel and stores my paint/brushes/rags
• a small folding light-weight camping table
• a camping stool. 

I have bungee corded them to a luggage cart , or else I have carried them short distances. I have not hiked up any mountains, or done any long distance walking, because let's face it, I'm not into carrying a ton of stuff far distances. 

This summer I have plopped myself down in the shade of the cool woods by a lake, or at Olana where I did not have to walk terribly far to get a view of the Hudson River from the top of a hill.  What I have noticed is that by painting plein air, I have a sense of place that my photo paintings don't capture. I cannot use my wax method, in which I work in layers...as you have to capture a majority of the painting using a thicker paint in one layer of paint. I still end up taking back to the studio to touch up some areas, or do another layer of paint in some sections, but the paintings have a more fresh direct look.  

I am hooked...and will take my oils to the Cape this summer vacation. I am going to Barcelona in the fall, and though I would love to take my oils, it may be too complicated or expensive to pack/ship. I have been asked to give a class in Barcelona...the details not yet figured out. Stay tune for more info.

Open studio tour at my 18 Garden Street, Rhinebeck, NY studio is August 30 and 31st from 11-5. 

It will be a celebration all weekend of my being in business 8 months. If you are in the area, stop by and see what's been going on!  Paintings/sketches from 25- and up. Plenty of affordable art, handmade greeting cards, journals and more!

Weekend Update

This week was Rhinebeck's sidewalk sale. Friday it poured all day, so that was a wash out. Saturday and Sunday were lovely, but since I am off the main street, we had very few people wander over.

In conjunction with Rhinebeck Historical weekend,  I  ran a seminar on printmaking methods of the 19th century and you could make your own greeting cards using my antique paper. One excited person showed. My mistake was to make it from 5:30-7:30, a time when most people were eating. DUH. Of course, us artists don't eat, we live on air, and don't think about simple things when running workshops...like interfering with people's dinners. I laughed when I realized it later.

But I keep in the forefront of my mind that it's only been 4.5 months that I have been here, most of them terrible winter months. I just have to show up when I am not working my other jobs, and do the work. Eventually the money will follow.  And since we artists live on air, money isn't the objective of making art.
Kidding aside, I have learned to give up a lot of things, and I have wonderful friends who bring me food or make me dinner, and life is beautiful.

Sunday I set up my small easel and worked on a few paintings outside.  It was lovely to be sitting in the sun on a cool spring day in a beautiful little town.  Nearly done with my small landscape of the notch facing Hunter Mountain, and took a paintbrush to another painting which I was not fond of, and decided to do some markmaking/pattening on it. Not finished, but it was a lot of fun working on something that I no longer had interest in by giving it a make-over.

The peyote stitch bracelet with Susan Spivak is running this Wed, the 21st, from 3-5.  Contact me to reserve a seat. Painting class full on Thursday Evenings, but am looking to open a Saturday session. Since I have been working non-stop, I am taking this weekend off from the studio. Though we live on air, artists need the fuel of inspiration, and I hope that I have some adventures this weekend to revitalize and fill the creativity think tank.

Featured Artist!

Wow. It's been two weeks since I posted last. Maybe three. That is a tribute to how hard I am working. I   get sucked into doing things on the computer-web work, marketing, Facebook, emails...I never realized how much  work it takes to run my little studio, and until I am known and the word travels.....I will be doing a heck of a lot of self-promoting.. 

Today I am the featured artist this week on the blog that was written by Rebecca for Manny's Art Supply Store in New Paltz.  How did I get this honor? By seeing a call for artists for Manny's blog. I sent my online links and portfolios, filled out a questionnaire, and voila! I am only able to do a fraction of what I see - someday I will have an assistant and let him or her do all this work so I can paint!

A quick work about Manny's. Its been there in New Paltz as long as I have been making art, which has been a long time. It has the BEST art paper selection around ! They have large sheets and also have some smaller pieces cut so that I can go home with a large selection of patterns, colors, and textures. Thanks Manny's for featuring me!!!

Today's photo is of a Jack-in-the-Pulpit. I went to Wilderstein to dash off a few quick watercolors. Then I realized that I forgot my brushes.  Not to be thwarted, I went for a walk in the woods, checking out the various baby plants and wild edibles growing along the side of the trail. Mustard Garlic, nettle, trout lilies. No ramps or morels however.  I was chased out by May flies or gnats....but not without getting a walk in the woods down by the river. Life is good.

Spring is in the Studio

 

I am like a kid in a candy shop when it comes to bringing new things into the studio. I have to be very selective and creative with my display as it is a small space, and I never want it to look overly crowded. It serves as both my display space, and my working and teaching space, so it is a delicate balance.

To celebrate spring and Easter, one of my fave artisans, Stephanie Stillwell - from Stillwillows, is being featured in my shop - adorable pin cushions made out of up-cycled materials and vintage objects, rabbits, carrots, and strawberries made from tea dyed fabrics, quirky folk art Dame dolls, funny stuffed chickens, and narrative wall hangings. Her work fits so nicely in the gallery, and I LOVE having it there!  In addition I have amazing handmade Easter/spring/flora/horse/cat cards,  a new selection of collaged journals, some lovely late 1800's fruit botanical prints, and the famous "Art for the 99%" bin.

Stop by Saturday evening the 19th of April, at 18 Garden Street, from 6-8, for a nip of chocolate and a tasty libation, and see what's been happening at the studio!

Finding Inspiration Part 2

This is a painting that I did LAST  week that I had been itching to do. Sadly this week - no painting or  creative work as the week was filled with working on mundane things like course descriptions, my taxes, working on accounts etc. After next week I will be working from the right side of the brain again!

This piece was inspired by a turn-of-the-century postcard of the Notch, looking towards Hunter Mountain.
Normally I work from my own photograph, and when I can, plein air, but I was intrigued by this image and wanted to paint it. It needs a few touch ups here and there..a little more brightness and color in a few places, but I was totally inspired by such a small piece of paper, from a time where there were no billboards,  few cars, and the Catskills were far less marred by the existence of our culture.

Back to the grunt work of running a business. It's got to be done!

Finding Inspiration

Quite often I am asked "where do you find your inspiration", and what do you do when you are blocked?

First of all, let's get one thing straight - I am never blocked. I work in enough media that if I feel blocked or tired of working in one, I can move to another. I bounce back and forth between painting, collage/design and exploration for future classes; I am always working on something!

Regarding inspiration, nearly everything in life is a source of inspiration for me. I live life to the max, and when I encounter something that makes me say AH HA! I write it down, or let life's experiences simmer inside of me-and something usually comes out of it. I have learned not to push the muse. She is always there;  I just have to be willing to be part of the journey and it usually works out.  I had a conversation once with my accountant about this, saying: "John, EVERYTHING that I do should be tax deductible as an artist". My conservative, but kind accountant just laughed at me. "No, REALLY JOHN, I am serious." I understand that some things I can only take a portion of..such as food, wine, and chocolate (OK I buy if for the kids who come to the studio so it IS deductible) but nearly everything I do finds its way into my art.

An example is today's layouts of some collaged journals I am working on. I saw the movie "The Invisible Woman" about Charles Dickens and his secret lover  .  Thought I felt it lacked the passion that Dickens must have experienced, I was entranced by the costumes and interiors of the early Victorian era. Several days later I started laying out my journals, using 1840s prints from antique ladies magazines that I had been collecting, mixed in with incorporating 1920's French seed labels and other papers.  Mix them up with my perchance for the surreal, and your have very cool journals to document your own secrets.

Stop by the studio if you are in Rhinebeck. I can be found teaching/creating/thinking Wed thru Saturday, 12ish to 6 or later if I am in a creative flurry! When the journals are finished, they will reside here, and also be hosted in my pagibbons shop on Etsy!