Tuesday, June 29, 2021

2021 Catskill #2


mini original watercolor    $250.

NO white paint was used in this painting!  
Glen Falls in Round Top, NY.  What a surprise this falls was, a short walk in the woods and there it was!  We were the only people there.


Here is another "big sky" painting.  This is from my bike ride near Hershey, PA.  The colors are a bit brighter, and the farm has sharper lines. I love that bright red roof.  This sky has a few wispy clouds floating across but study the sky, it has a lot of understated shades and colors.

"Hot Spell"   framed 19x19   $1500.

Monday, June 28, 2021

2021 Catskill #1

 
SOLD!
mini original watercolor  $
250.


This beautiful lake is the North-South Lake
in Hunter, NY.  A one mile hike (walk!) from Kaaterskill Falls.  It feels like you could just slip a canoe into it!

A year sitting at home during Covid forced me to paint more landscapes.  Without my usual traveling and sightseeing I spent more time studying our land.  I have been really concentrating on improving my skies, experimenting with washes and texture and color values.  This is actually quite hard, with watercolor you save the negative space, that means painting the blue around the white clouds.  In other mediums you can add puffy white clouds on top of the blue.   With my latest paintings I am using the sky as a focal point.  1/3 landscape with the silo and trees pointing you up to the sky which covers 2/3 of the paper.  This painting has a bit of cloud drama with the feeling of being overcast.  Meanwhile the foreground stands on its own.  Beautiful yellow across the field sweeps you in.  


"Cool Front"   Framed 19x19    $1500.


2021 Waterlily


SOLD!  $145 (unframed) 4x6” mini original watercolor

Available to the 1st person to email
(framing $35 - shipping available at cost)
If unsold by 6/30 the price goes to $250.

This little gem was standing tall in our pond, daring me to paint it!


We are blessed with wonderful friends; we were invited to Ocean City, NJ for a few days last week.  The weather was perfect.  We had some beach time, some game time and good food.  Blessed!

Sunday, June 20, 2021

Family visit...

FINALLY... after 11 months we were able to visit Abbey and Ben... Family time!  We spent several days at their cottage in the Catskills in NY.  A very good reason I was off the blog for a few days!  As you can see our days were filled exploring the area, hiking, waterfalls, lakes and lots of forest.











Ben cooked and made amazing cocktails and we sat under the stars with a fire.   

We own a few adirondack chairs that Linda's Grandfather made.  We were not ready to give them up so we asked a very gifted friend to use one of our chairs and make a pattern and then build 6 chairs for Abbey and Ben.  They are red Oak and are beautiful.

Next we will be spending a few days with friends at the beach...Then I have two 8x10 commissions to paint and THEN I will be back to A Painting A Day and I am thinking it will be the Catskill mountains or beach scenes!

Monday, June 7, 2021

Update

 I am still concentrating on my commission.  This one is a lot of work but it is coming along nicely. 

 I want to remind everyone this weekend is my June Open Backyard. Bring a friend and stop in!  Let everyone know, spread the word, everyone is welcome.
June 11-13:  Andy Smiths Backyard is Open
                     4 N Spruce St.   Lititz, PA
                      Open 10 to 4    Closed if it is raining but I am expecting a beautiful weekend.
Original Paintings and Prints will be on display and I will be demonstrating.


Question of the Day:   Do you follow trends in decoration or use the color of the year?
NO! I do not even pay attention.  A trend becomes popular for a while and then the next best thing comes along.   I do not even know what the latest color is.  I simply paint, I am looking for longevity.   I have a solid color pallete, I do not add the latest colors, I mix whatever color I need.  I am not interested in remaking myself every year.  I do not change my style or subject matter to try to fit into an area.  I am not painting beachy pastel things just to fit into Florida.  I believe traditional subjects in realistic style are always in fashion. 
 Luckily my clients agree!  I have been blessed to simply paint what is in me. 



Thursday, June 3, 2021

Thursday catch up...

We took a mental health day on Wednesday! Linda planned some tandem riding time. We drove to Elizabethtown PA for the Conewago Recreation Trail. (crushed stone they filled in with bigger stone making is very bumpy! Linda was not happy with this section and it will be the only time we ride this one!!) 5.5 miles and it meets the Lebanon Valley Rail Trail (one of our favorites) which goes through Mount Gretna. We rode 10.5 miles to the Barrel snack stand and exited to the Blue Bird Inn for lunch. Then turned around and rode 16 miles back; 32 miles round trip.


I have been concentrating on my commission which I cannot show because it is a gift.  While not getting much painting a day paintings done I am still  painting every day all day, except for Wednesday!







Tuesday, June 1, 2021

2021 Landscape #22

 
 6x4” mini original watercolor     $275.

This was the view from our campground in N. Connellsville, PA

My latest commission was picked up on Saturday.  They loved it!  Now on to the next one!


Question of the Day: What is the hardest part of creating a painting?
I consider my self a realistic painter... here is the definition:

ART TERM: REALISM     In its specific sense realism refers to a mid nineteenth century artistic movement characterizes by subjects painted from everyday life in a naturalistic manner; however the term is also generally used to describe artworks painted in a realistic almost photographic way.


This means my painting look like what I saw.  For me the hardest part of creating is the drawing.  I ONLY draw free hand, using a photo as my guide and occasionally I use a strait edge.  I have a pretty steady hand!  No help from computers, projectors or tracing.  Why?  This is only my opinion, I feel there is a greater connection to the painting when I hand draw.   It is not totally perfect like a traced drawing.  It helps me understand the perspective and gives me time studying it so I also understand the light and dark areas. That drawing is the foundation of the painting.  This stage cannot be rushed, I work on it until it is correct, however long that takes.   Here are four examples of four totally different subjects of finished drawings on my watercolor paper, ready to start painting.