Sunlight and Shadow on Islesford

"Sunlight and Shadow on Islesford"

7x5

Oil on Panel

starting bid $25

click here to bid

It was the last painting day of my Henry Isaacs/Ashley Bryan workshop on Islesford and the first sun we had seen, so we were quite joyful. After painting a couple of small pieces looking out at the harbor, I turned and saw this sunlight shining through the trees and hitting the little one in the back. It was fun to paint!

"Art in the Barn Barn" (Framed)

Art in the Barn Barn

8x8

oil on panel

Natural Maple Contemporary Frame

$190

This time is perfect for this painting! Tomorrow, my friend Barb Harrold and I are traveling to Cushing, Maine (near Rockland, ME) for "Art in the Barn" a two person show in this lovely barn pictured in the painting. It is on the grounds of the Cushing Historical Society. Cushing is where the whole pink chair project started, just last year, in June, when I stayed there to paint. We will have a reception on Friday, and be open all day Saturday and Sunday. I will be showing my whole pink chair suite, along with all of the new paintings that I did this June in Maine. Barb will be showing her soft sculpture creatures, puppets, and hats, and she will have her sewing machine set up so she can demonstrate her techniques. I put 6000 steps on my pedometer just packing my car.

"Yellow House by the Sea"

Yellow House by the Sea

8x8

$195 Framed

Oil on Panel

This was part of my view off the deck on the place where I stayed in Stonington. Fabulous. The waterway is called the Deer Isle Thoroughfare and it is just studded with island after island and a gazillion lobster boats. It was heaven being there! I loved the way the little yellow house kept watch.

Remembrance - The Pink Chair Project #2 "Between Sunlight and Shadow"

Between Sunlight and Shadow

12x16

Oil on Panel

$565 Delayed Sale

available 

I was taken at how the chair sat on the line between light and dark in the yard and decided to paint it there. I had been reading Alla Prima, a Richard Schmid book on painting, at the cottage, and I decided to follow some of his advice to create a strong painting. I took a lot of care with this painting, doing an under painting first, so I could check the composition and value areas. I was not prepared for what happened. As I carefully started to paint the pink chair into the work, all of a sudden I sensed the presence of my mother. She was there! in the chair! And she has stayed with me through this adventure.

The underpainting I did first

I completed the painting on site but later touched it up in the studio. When you first do a plein-air painting, there often are areas that are missed or need enhancing. It is a delicate dance to touch up without losing the original feeling. As I sat there ready to work on this piece in my studio, I felt again the sense of Mom being there.

I am now sharing my current show with my readers and daily paintworks viewers. This show is currently traveling and will be available for purchase after the travel is completed, around mid-2014. Art work may be held until then with a 10% down payment. E-mail me or see my pink chair project blog, for details

This exhibit tells the story about painting a pink plastic Adirondack chair. The chair represents my mother, Carolyn Elizabeth Pedersen Schulte, of Rochester, NY, who passed on June 5th, 2011. She was a wonderful woman, full of love for everyone around her, and she loved this bright color pink. She was proud of me as an artist and would love what I am doing. I take the chair to favorite places of hers and to places or situations I know she would have liked. It is a way for me to grieve and to celebrate her life. I talk to her as I paint and make sure that she would want to be where the chair has been placed. 

Matted "Around the Bend"

Around the Bend

10 x 8

oil on paper

matted archivally

$190

The piece is from streamside in Vermont - I can't remember where (unusual for me) but maybe it is good because it could be in any of a gazillion places in Vermont.

Matted "Yellow Hillside"

Yellow HIllside

15x11

Oil on Prepared Paper

Archival Mat

$400

This piece is one of the more exciting ones from the summer I spent 3 weeks at Skidmore College in a fellowship program for high school art teachers ,started by professor Regis Brodie, to renew their creative juices. (An awesome program, btw) I painted all over the campus, and it was here I did my first multi-small-paintings series, building to almost 70 of them over three weeks. Needless to say , I got freerer and freeer as the time moved along. This is one of the last ones; I think it is pretty special; it would probably take me at least a month of warm ups to get that loose again.
Note: click the link to find out more about the program - it is still running, but application is closed for this year. If you teach high school art, seriously consider it for next year.

Stonington Sunlight

Stonington Sunlight
10x10
Oil on prepared paper
$295

Some of the best painting opportunities are found in the town of Stonington, Maine. It's enough off the beaten path to avoid huge crowds, and the hills surrounding the harbor make dramatic compositions. I painted this right off the porch I was staying in. I love painting on porches!

Framed "Porch Rockers"

 "Porch Rockers"
11x14
Oil on Panel
Gold Frame
$375

This place was absolutely heaven. I was in Franklin, NC, on the side of a mountain sitting every day on this porch. I sat to eat, to listen, to paint, to write in my journal, to think. I had it all to myself for a week. It was a safe haven in a sometimes scary world (night noises? no one else around?) I loved the orange light and the bright turquoise cushions, and the brilliant pink crepe myrtle. I also loved the tiny neon blue salamander that often kept me company.

Cove and Dock

"Cove and Dock"

Oil on Panel

8x10

sold

Cape Porpoise in Kennebunkport Maine had a place with very interesting colors in the tide-exposed rocks and I loved the light glinting on the roof of the building and on the dock. I was painting it from the sweet spot I told you about yesterday when a few people stopped by to see what I was doing. They enjoyed the art, and we discussed some of the problems of painting. Later we maintained an on line conversation about the challenges we faced and how we did it. In the fall, they contacted me to buy the painting as a holiday gift. It was all pretty special and we still write!