WIP - Drake's Brook

This is a painting of Drake's Brook in Waterville Valley, NH (Acrylic painting on canvas board). We hiked there a couple of years ago. It's a beautiful area for hiking. I'm a little frustrated with my painting, but will keep working on it. I'm not happy with some of my rocks and I still need to use a glaze to make the water over the rocks look more like water. I'm going to take a break from it for a little bit and start something else. Then I can try again and hope to finish it off.

This hike involves crossing the brook several times. It's best to go when the water level is a bit low. The trail connects with the trails for Fletcher Cascade, Noon Peak, Jennings Peak and Sandwich Mountain.  I have photos of some of these on this blog in earlier posts. (5/30/2011; 8/1/2010; 7/25/2010)

Happy Holidays

May you be blessed with many happy memories and joy during this holiday season. I will be celebrating the 5th night of Chanukah tonight with friends and family. We have very little snow here (unusual for NH) and I am looking forward to seeing more in the new year.

Hungry Bluegill

I did spend a little more time painting the bluegill and I think the fish looks better now. I made some cards and sold them at the downtown Holiday Market on Thursday. Only one more to go. It has been a long day on Thursdays this month, but interesting. I met some old neighbors and friends I had not seen in a long time. I'm glad I don't have to do these fairs very often. Also happy that my children will all be here for dinner tonight. 

Chanukah starts at sunset on Tuesday, Dec. 20th this year. Happy Chanukah and a happy holiday season to all.

Small paintings

I worked on two small (6" X 6") artist panels today. Not sure if these are finished, but I had fun with them. I enjoy doing the small paintings. Top one is a hungry bluegill going for a lure. Bottom one, just some pretty water lilies.

Mosaics

I have not had time to do any painting or posting since I am busy with craft fairs. Only two more, then I should have more time. Actually, I'm hoping to get in some time to paint tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I've been working with a new group of artists, "Friends of Art". We are trying to get something organized in our city (and funded) for more street art. We hope to involve children.

This link will take you to an inspirational site in Brazil. The artists brought their ideas, designs and help to a city to make mosaics with the kids. I thought that was a great idea.

Three today

This is an acrylic painting on panel, 11" X 14" of a canal in Leuven (Louvain), Belgium. I lived there from 1969-1974. I'm not sure which year I took the photo, but probably around 1970. I had scanned in the photo from an old 35mm negative and thought it would make an interesting painting. I haven't been back to Belgium so I don't know how the city looks now.

This is also an acrylic painting on panel, but very small, 6" X 6". I enjoy painting small panels since they go much faster. These are poppies that could grow anywhere, but my photo was taken in Israel several years ago at a kibbutz that we were visiting on our tour.

And finally, just for fun, I played with my acrylic paints on 300 lb cold press watercolor paper, also 11" X 14". These were old pieces of paper that came in a sample pack. I still have one more to play with. Acrylic paint is a waterbased paint, so it can be handled like watercolor, diluted with water, or mixed with medium and used on canvases, like oil.  The painting is based on a photo taken several years ago (are you sensing a theme here? -- old photos are useful). 

This is Hopewell Rocks on the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick, Canada, a very interesting tourist site.

I am finished with my fall painting class and I think I learned a lot about handling acrylic paint. I won't be able to take another class until spring, but I'll keep on painting, drawing and taking photos. There will always be something to blog about.

Ruth and Mike's Barn

This is a small acrylic painting on 6" X 6" canvas. I enjoy working on the small canvases since they don't take as much time. I made a couple of small cards from it for our next craft show, on Saturday in Stratham, NH.  Looking forward to this show even though it is a lot of work. We have heard good reports from our friends who have done it in the past.

The painting was done from a photo I took at our friend's house when we were invited to share a meal in their sukkah last month. Their farm is in Hollis, NH which is on the border with Massachusetts. Ruth is also an artist and showed me her new studio. It is beautiful and I am a little bit jealous (but not too much). I prefer living in the city and having easy access to the library etc.

I have another view of the barn and may make another painting of it at some time. I am working on another small painting (also 6 X 6) of poppies, and a larger one (11 X 14) of a canal with buildings in Leuven, Belgium. I lived there from 1969-1974 and have some old photos. I found one that was interesting and decided to start on a painting of it. That will probably take a few weeks to finish.

Marsh in Hooksett

This is an acrylic painting I made from an old photo of a marsh in Hooksett, NH. It is on the snowmobile trail behind Dube's Pond. Acrylic on canvas board 12" X 16". I am going to make some cards with this image for the holidays.

I had done a charcoal drawing of this marsh several years ago. I like both versions.

Craft Fairs

After the October snowstorm of last weekend, we were happy to have sunshine and pleasant weather for the Brookside Church (Manchester) craft fair. We both did well with our sales and are looking forward to the next fair (in Stratham) in 2 weeks.

I hope to finish another winter scene I am working on soon and will post it when it is done. I was happy with my framing (you may notice some of the earlier work I posted is now framed), but some of the frames appear to be soft wood and damage easily. These are the frames I ordered through the internet. I will be more careful in the future, but I couldn't find the sizes and colors I needed locally. It is hard to know the quality of a frame from a picture in an online catalog.

Lion at Ein Hod

This is an acrylic painting on canvas (11" X 14") from a photo I took in Israel several years ago. The statue is by Ursula Malbin, who is now 91 (and has many beautiful statues throughout Israel and other places). I thought this would be a challenging painting to do and it was. I had a very hard time with the face. The statue does not have irises or pupils, but I felt the painting needed them. I used light modeling paste to give the lion's mane and some other places texture. When it dries, I will varnish it.

This statue is at Ein Hod in Israel, an artists colony. I hope to go back there again in 2012. There was a big fire last year, so I hope that the artists have had a chance to rebuild and create new art.

Mount Superior (Utah)

Small (6x6) acrylic painting on canvas (wrap) done from a photo I took while hiking a few years ago with my daughter and her boyfriend in Alta, Utah. It was June, but there was still some snow in spots on the mountains. This is a popular ski area.

Downtown art project (Manchester NH)

I had seen my photo on this building last week, but didn't get downtown in time to actually take a picture before it was taken down. I am in the middle of the group (older woman with white hair and glasses).  Luckily for me, the local newspaper (Union Leader) photographer had taken a picture and it was in the paper October 12th. I went to the library and took a picture of his picture. (Silly, isn't it? But I wanted to post it and send it to family.) This art project was a local part of the Insideout Art Project (that seems to be global one). I don't know much about it, but you can check the link and see if your city is involved.

More information about the city project at this link: http://www.manchesternh.gov/website/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=3OYuv5EDeqM%3d&tabid=3075
Anyway, this was an interesting project. A photographer (Ann Kelly, I believe) took lots of photos of people at the Peoplefest festival in the fall. Various artists and others helped her put up the photos all over the downtown area.

Last night Joe & I met with another group of artists and we are hoping to organize more fun downtown projects. Funding is always an issue, but we have a core group and lots of great ideas.

Edna Creek (in color)

Edna Creek (Idaho) again, this time in color. This is a different view from the last one, but it is the same creek. The painting is acrylic paint on a 12" X 16" canvas panel. I just have to varnish and frame it. It will be a holiday gift for my family in Idaho. I enjoyed working on this one. I used glazing medium on the water to make it shinier. Lots of good suggestions from my teacher too. I finished my 4 week composition class, but there is still more to learn.

Edna Creek, Idaho

This is a monochrome study done in acrylics using only Payne's Grey and white paint on a canvas panel. It is 11 X 14. I am also working on a color painting of a different view of this creek. The idea behind a monochrome (one color) study is to learn how the values (light/dark/medium) help you show 3 dimensions on a 2 dimensional surface.  The rain has finally stopped today and I'm going to varnish this one and frame it.

I won an "Artist of the Month" certificate on Monday for my small painting Red Rock Canyon panorama. That will get to hang in a public place this month (Bentley Commons). I'll be bringing it there later today.

in the tent on Rosh Hashanah

even the raindrops are holy

dripping down from the tent

plastic covering the ark

with the sacred torahs

the prayers are the same

from one year to the next

only my intention changes

next year the rabbi says
we will pray in a building
but I like to pray outdoors
the leaves are changing color
the grass is still green
the perennials are slowly withering
the cycle of the seasons
is comfortable for me

mothers with young children
come later to make sure
they hear the shofar blown
the whole service is too long
for the babies and little ones

finally the time comes
the rabbi tells us all
to come forward to see the shofar
the women on one side
men on the other
we all hear the sound
no matter where we stand
and we celebrate again
the birthday of the world

©Linda H. Feinberg
2011 (5772)

“Happy are the people that know the sound of the shofar.
O God, they walk in the light of Your spirit.”

Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year)

The Hebrew words say "a sweet new year" - part of the traditional greeting. The holiday starts tonight at sundown. May it be a year that brings good health, and peace to all.

Honey cake is traditional - also apples with honey (for the "sweet" part). I enjoyed baking this morning.

Round challah (instead of the regular braid) with raisins. More for the "sweet" part. The round shape reminds us of the crown ("keter"), a symbol for God as "king". There are other explanations for this as well.

If you would like to learn more about this Jewish holiday, there is good information online. Try this Wikipedia link or Chabad.

Dove

Today's lunchtime visitor. We have a bird feeder in the backyard, but the dove just appeared to be hanging out on our railing. The sun wasn't out, it's overcast today, so I'm not sure what that was about. Anyway, I took a picture through the kitchen window which had the screen down, using the zoom lens. I'm surprised it came out as well as it did.

I drove out to the next town to visit a friend and noticed how pretty the leaves are. Autumn is here and I'll be taking more photos soon. Hoping to do more painting this weekend. Despite being retired now, I am constantly busy. I'm happy with the  busy, though. Even got some orders through my website, filled them and mailed them out.

Art and Ducks

Red Rock Canyon, acrylic painting 6" X 12", on board. I just have to varnish this one. (Click on the picture to enlarge it.) Finished it in my class on Tuesday. I did the mountains with palette knife. That was fun and I would like to learn more about painting with a palette knife. I had done an earlier 8" X 10" painting from this area (my photos) but I enjoyed doing the panorama style painting more. The other one focused more on the yuccas in the foreground. This view is more about the mountains themselves.

Finished this one in my class too. I had started these two paintings before I was back in my painting class. I couldn't get the feel of dappled sunlight. The teacher said this would probably have been better with watercolor. I agree, but I'm trying to learn to paint with acrylic paints now. Anyway, I still like it. This is the largest acrylic canvas I have tried, 12" X 16". This painting was done from a photo of koi swimming in the pond at Red Butte Gardens, Utah.

We are part of a committee hosting Gershon Peleg from Society for Protection of Nature in Israel this week. We took a walk today to show him Dorrs Pond. The trees are just starting to show a little color. I don't think he was used to our cold morning (48F, 7C), but he had a hat and jacket and enjoyed the walk. It's a beautiful, but windy day today. It's starting to warm up now. We'll be having a large group for dinner tonight, but I've already cooked (vegetarian Mediterranean style stuffed cabbage) and this is a potluck dinner so there will be lots of food and good fellowship.

Steam Boiler

I didn't feel like painting the other day. I did a little illustration from one of my Idaho photos. This is the old steam boiler we saw in Idaho City. I used a Sakura Pigma pen for the outlines and Caran D'Ache watersoluble crayons for the color on Bristol Smooth paper. Originally I was just going to sketch a little, but then I decided to put some color on the sketch. If you are playing with these crayons, it would be better to use hot or cold press watercolor paper. Since I only used a little water, the paper did not buckle. This was a fun project and a nice change from my attempts at landscape painting.

You can see the original photo in the August 25 post below.

Sad day today 9/11

stretching out my arms

     to float on the water

carried away in my dream

     gliding silently

past birches and sumacs

to rest in a cove

     but only for a moment

for life flows on

never stopping

     never yielding

through the rapids

     and onward

while I search for

     another moment

          in still waters

Psalm 23

He leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul.

This is an old untitled poem written after my divorce in the 80’s. I put it in a collection called “red poppies and green clover”. There is also a free download of a 1990’s chapbook on my website.  Life does go on, but we remember the past and learn from it. Sad day today.

Koi (work in progress)

Acrylic painting in progress. Koi swimming in pond at Red Butte Gardens, Utah (Salt Lake City). From photo taken in 2006. I'm going to stop at this point in my painting and wait until I start classes again next month. I'm not sure what else I need to do to make this look better. I keep fiddling with it and I think if I keep doing that, I might make it look worse! This is a larger canvas for me. I am getting more confident as I learn more (12" X 16")

Idaho 2011

Wonderful trip to Idaho to visit family. This picture was taken in Idaho City. I posted the album with more pictures on Picasa, in my web album

The synagogue was moved from downtown Boise to another area where they built an adjacent school and administrative building.

I teased our son that the only animals we saw were the stuffed ones at Cabelas! Finally, toward the end of a long loop on a dirt road through the mountains, we did see a black bear.

Beaver Brook Falls

I think this is just about done now. I will bring it with me to class in September and see what the teacher says. I am happier with the changes I made. Always tempted to keep fiddling, but I will stop and give it  a break.

secrets

dancing cloud watches the wind

blowing the clouds

maybe snow tomorrow

dancing cloud hears

the beat of the drums

feet stomping in time with them

but her hips would rather sway

to salsa rhythms

dancing cloud is quiet

and shy as she listens

to the girls chattering

all around her

she doesn’t know who she is now

but soon she will find her voice

and be heard

 

watching clouds moving

and changing shapes

she knows she is changing too

blending old and new

growing from girl to woman

a quiet feeling of joy inside

with her secret name

and she is dancing once again

copyright 2011 Linda H. Feinberg

Still playing with paint

Worked on my abstract painting of Beaver Brook Falls again today. I'm not happy with the right side shrubbery. I'll keep tinkering with it for a while. I like the rest of the painting. This was a very different way for me to work on a landscape and I enjoyed the process.

Just playing with paint today

I think I like this one enough to work on it some more and finish it. I used a palette knife and brush, odd colors, acrylic paints on canvas board. The original photo is from Beaver Brook Falls in Colebrook, on the way to Pittsburg, NH, but I abstracted it. This was fun to do today.

Another fun project. Just drip paint on the paper (either watercolor or acrylic paper) and then use an old credit card or flat palette knife to pull it down vertically. To keep white space, drip glazing medium first. I probably won't do anything with these, but I enjoyed making a big mess! Make sure you have newspaper underneath or something that's easy to clean. As you pull the paint down, it gets all over the bottom of the paper. You can use the pooled paint with your brush and paint with it. If the paint is still wet, you can use stamps or other items to make marks in the paint.

Havurah retreat in Rindge, NH

The annual retreat we attended last week was held at Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, NH. We also took a detour to Cathedral of the Pines which was nearby. The photo above is from the home of the  founders of the site. We enjoyed the walk around, the tower and sculptures, the beautiful gardens. They have services here from all denominations at different times. Even though we have gone to Rindge many times, this was the first time we went to this historic site.

This is a view of Mount Monadnock from our dorm room at FPU. We had a wonderful time at the retreat and enjoyed the classes as well as meeting interesting people from all over the U.S. and Canada. I took a class on "Jews, Jazz and Swing" and another class on "Giving Songs in the Night: The art of singing for consolation" - this was appropriate for the holiday of Tisha B'Av (Fast of 9th of Av, starts this evening, lamentation for the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem thousands of years ago). We also discussed the Hevra Kadisha (Holy Burial Society) and singing while doing the taharah (cleansing of the body). Joe took some classes that were a bit more intellectual, but I preferred to just enjoy myself and not think too hard while on vacation. I also did the "shuk" (marketplace) and sold my cards there.

That is Joe and a new friend, Natalie, on the trail down to the pond at Cathedral in the Pines. This is a trail made by the local Eagle Scouts. We found some delicious black raspberries and high bush blueberries along the way.

I don't know what these flowers are, but they were pretty. We enjoyed the gardens and the statues as we walked around. This is a beautiful site to visit.

Clark's Pond, Auburn, NH

We are leaving tomorrow for a weeklong retreat, but we took a nice walk yesterday with our neighbor's dog, Sonny. If you have been reading this blog since last winter, you may remember my winter painting of Clark's Pond with that bridge. I used that painting for holiday cards.

I am working on finishing up a painting of Dahlias. The flowers and leaves are all done, but I'm not happy with the borders. I tried another experiment yesterday and that was worse than the first one. I hope to have time to work on it some more today, but I also have to pack, that includes all my gear for the craft table during the week. I'm just bringing a sketch book and notebook with me on retreat. I don't plan on doing any painting while we are away. I have some words and images in my head for poems, so I hope to have the time and inspiration to write at least one.

Here are some more views from the trails on the other side of the street (hiking and biking trails). I found the uprooted trees interesting. Lots of water lilies and pickerel weed in the pond. (I did colored pencil drawings of those in the past and they are somewhere on this blog too.)

Boston

Blown glass art by artist Dale Chihuly

Wonderful trip to Boston with our Idaho family. Jeanne had not been there before. If you have not been to the Dale Chihuly exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts you are really missing a wonderful museum. We also toured the new American art wing and saw many other parts of the museum. It was too big to go through in one day.

As it was a very hot day, we joined up with Seth, our Boston tour guide, for a trip down to the harbor and a wonderful dinner.

That's Joe and Joe! Joe Smiga Sr (NH) and Joe Smiga Jr (Idaho)in the museum.  Joe and Seth Freedman, Joe and Jeanne Smiga at the harbor. then Linda Feinberg and son Seth Freedman.