Around the corner

 Around the corner from the conservation area near my son's house in Exeter, NH was this nice view of a barn.  11" X 14" oil on canvas. I may work on it some more. I found that my hands are no longer steady enough with a brush to do a good job on straight lines (architecture for example). We were visiting NH and MA for Passover this year and I enjoyed the ocean as well as the early spring scenery.

Atlantic Ocean in Rye, NH. Windy day.

Piscassic River, Wildlife Management Area, Epping, Exeter, Newfields, NH.

I'm not sure the painting is done so I'm not posting it yet to my website. I will think about it for a few more days. Meanwhile, I have signed up for more plein air painting. Still struggling with that, but enjoying the challenge. I only bring very small canvases with me to experiment with.

Looking forward to our synagogue's annual retreat in McCall (Idaho) soon. We missed that the last 2 years because of the pandemic. 

Celebration Park, Melba Idaho

I went out again with the plein air painters group, but it was raining. I took lots of photos, decided not to paint outside. I didn't want to set everything up and have to take it down quickly. Meanwhile I walked around the park, over the bridge and enjoyed the views of the Snake River in Melba. I had not been here before so I am enjoying finding new places to paint with the other artists.https://linda-feinberg.pixels.com/featured/celebration-park-linda-feinberg.html

The top painting is The Path Not Taken, 8 X 10, water mixable oils on canvas board. The next one is Celebration Park, 10" X 20" water mixable oils on stretched canvas. I made a watercolor sketch first to see if I liked it enough to spend time on it. It was complicated with the fence and road.

watercolor sketch (study)

More photos from my walk around and here is a link to the park website.  The last part of the drive was over a pot holed dirt road. I had my tires checked the next day but they were fine.

Being Thankful

I have so many things to be thankful for this year despite all the pain I've been in with a torn meniscus and osteoarthritis.  I'm thankful that I will finally be having surgery next month and I'm hopeful it will get rid of the pain, or at least diminish it.  I was very sad this year that I could not go hiking, but I enjoyed a couple of easy walks in the woods and viewing my old photos from old hikes.

The painting above is a small  (8" X 10") oil study that I am working on of the California poppy fields in the spring. I was there in 2010 with our children and grandchildren. That part of our family has now dispersed from that area (Antelope Valley/Mojave) to Idaho, Oregon, Colorado with only one grandson who has decided to remain in Mojave.  I have good memories of our time visiting there.  We plan on moving to Idaho sometime in 2017. That will be a big move for us after being in New England over 40 years.  Except for my years in Belgium (1969-1974), I have always lived somewhere on or near the East Coast. I'm looking forward to the move, but not the packing up of the art studio and the rest of the house.  We need to make a few improvements to our house before we put it up for sale next June.  We've been here over 30 years and some things are pretty worn out. Also have some puppy damage too.

Sculptured Rocks Geologic site (NH) study. This is one of the trails I was able to walk a little on. I could not go down to the creek below because I was afraid I would not be able to hike back up even though I had my hiking sticks with me.  I played with my acrylic paints for this one, 11" X 14". I still need more practice with shadows, but I was trying to get the light showing through the trees in the background too. The rocks were very interesting there.

I am only doing one craft fair this year, on Dec. 10th in downtown Manchester (1000 Elm St., Holiday Market).  I still have most of my paintings up on display a the Provident Bank in Bedford, NH (115 River Rd). The bank made a lovely reception for me this month, but I didn't sell any paintings. I had to take two down since they needed space for their holiday decorations, but there are still 18 more paintings up there. They have a great program that helps artists get exposure by giving them space in their branches for 6 months at a time.

I'm really and truly thankful that my wonderful husband encouraged me to take art lessons late in life. Painting is very enjoyable and while I may never sell many original paintings, people do seem to enjoy viewing my paintings and they buy cards and prints.  I get to enjoy the whole process of creating something beautiful.

We went to an interfaith service last night. The topic was "gratitude" - appropriate for Thanksgiving.  So tomorrow I cook the turkey and stuffing to bring down to family on Thursday.  I am grateful for the family here on the East Coast and will miss them when I move out west, but I'm looking forward to new challenges ahead and spending time with the family out west.

Happy Thanksgiving all.

Fall in New Hampshire

The beautiful fall weather has been very distracting and I haven't thought much about writing. I've been enjoying walking on some of the trails I usually go cross country skiing on and I'm looking forward to snow.

 

This scene is one I had painted with a snowmobile in the winter.

The sled dogs need their exercise even without the snow. They were happy to be out on the trail too.

We took a long drive (over 2 hours) to the southwestern corner of New Hampshire, Chesterfield, NH, to see the Madame Sherri Forest. I'm not sure if I'll try painting this, but it was certainly interesting.

The trails were not well marked to we didn't walk there too long. That corner of the state also has Pisgah State Park which has well marked trails that we have enjoyed in the past.

And home sweet home. This is the view of my yard. Most of these leaves are down today and I'll be raking them up for a while.

I'm still working on some of my paintings in my class. I'm not happy with them yet. I'll post them when they are closer to being finished.

Exhibit and Reception on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015

I have two paintings on exhibit through the Manchester Artists Association. While the reception is this Saturday, the paintings will be up at the Audubon Center in Auburn through the middle of February.

There are hiking trails at the center. If there is enough snow, these trails are also available for cross country skiing and snow shoeing. There is no fee to use the trails.

For more information and directions: http://www.nhaudubon.org/about/centers/massabesic/

Big and Small

Waterfalls, Red Butte Garden (Utah)

I love visiting my daughter in Salt Lake City and walking around there, both in the city and in the parks. I think I have finally finished this painting. It took me quite a while since it is oil paint (Winsor & Newton Artisan, water mixable) and I had to let it dry for a while so I could continue doing some layers.  I'm starting to get a little more patient with this process.  This is the largest canvas I have worked on so far, 18" X 24" (stretched canvas), and I like working larger on some pieces. Red Butte Garden

Siesta Time

This painting is a lot smaller, 8" X 10" on canvas board. The calves were resting quietly at the farm I visited in Vermont. I guess they are used to seeing all the tourists and customers at the farm.  They were behind barbed wire, but I did not include that in my painting.  This is also water mixable oil paints.  It was my first time painting cows, but I have painted and sketched other animals before. You get see earlier versions of these two paintings in the previous posts.

Fall is finishing up here in New Hampshire.  While we still have leaves to rake up, snow is on its way. Meanwhile, Joe and I took a walk in a conservation area in nearby Londonderry, NH. I'm looking forward to the snow and getting out again on my cross country skis.

Sun-dappled creek

Sun-dappled creek, 8" X 10", water mixable oils (Winsor & Newton Artisan) on panel.  This was an experiment on a different surface for me.  I had taken a photo of this scene when we were out bicycling around Tower Hill Pond in Auburn/Candia, New Hampshire. (I'm never sure what side of the town border this pond is on). The pond is part of the watershed for our city's (Manchester, NH) water supply and feeds down to Lake Massabesic.  We have walked it many times and this summer we tried it by bicycle.

I found the surface a bit different from working on canvas and it was interesting.  I had to let the layers of oils dry for many days in between.  The first layer of the "creek" part looked really strange and not at all like water when I painted it.  The painting is a bit more impressionistic than my usual, but I was just trying to create an impression of the sunlight coming through the leaves and onto the water.  I really admire the painters who say they are painting the "light", but I haven't figured out how to do that myself.

My art group, Friends of Art Manchester, completed a 30' x 3' mural at 720 Union Street in Manchester (on the side of a laundromat).  This was my first time working on this scale and on brick.  It was the first time for several of the other artists.  I'm not sure I would want to work on this surface again, but my other artist friends are painting murals again and enjoying it.  I painted the hawks from photos I took in the winter while out walking in my neighborhood. No leaves on that tree then.

Friends of Art Manchester, mural at 720 Union Street, Manchester, NH

Linda Feinberg and Red Tailed Hawks

Spring, finally!

Spring has finally come to New Hampshire and we are enjoying our new trail bikes. We went out on the Heads Pond trail (in Hooksett, NH) which we have walked many times. It goes much faster on a bike! Anyway, we biked as far as the "No trespassing" sign, turned around and came back a different way.  That was on the dirt road that is usually monitored by the Fish and Game Department.  It seemed a bit longer, but was an interesting ride.

I'm not sure what kind of snake this is, but is was swimming pretty fast and I was happy to get a picture. This was a flooded area of the grass, not the actual pond.  Here is a link to the NH website about snakes:  NH Snakes

We hadn't seen this beaver dam before.  This was a view from the dirt road.

We weren't sure what kind of butterflies these were, but there were a lot of them.

We walked back along Route 3 from the dirt road back to the trailhead parking lot. The photo does not do the actual view justice.  It flattens out the view of the pond and wetlands. The trailhead is across the street from Green's Marine on Route 3 in Hooksett, NH. An easy walking trail along the old railroad bed, with beautiful views of ponds.

 

Also, if you want to find more information about my e-books (poetry), just put my name into Google or other search engine. I have 3 books up on Kindle now, one on Nook. Do a search for "Linda H. Feinberg".  There are other Linda Feinbergs who are authors too, so they show up as well on your search.

On my easel today

Catalpa Blossoms on Webster Street

This was a fun exercise and is almost done. I bought an 8" X 10" piece of gessobord (which is a prepared board that has gesso on it already and is not canvas). I decided to work with my acrylic paints in a watercolor fashion.  First I did negative painting of the leaves in a light green (ultramarine blue plus yellow). When that dried, I painted the flowers. Then I darkened up the leaves and background. (I used sap green and yellow for that.) I am almost finished. I'm letting the paint dry, then I'll do a little more with contrasting values.

I looked in my tree book and this tree is listed as "Southern Catalpa".  I'm not sure what it's doing in New Hampshire, but it has lovely leaves and flowers.  I took a photo, then cropped it and focused in on the blossoms.

I have paintings up in two exhibits this month in Manchester and Bedford (NH). My paintings are part of a group exhibit at City Hall Gallery (first floor hallways at City Hall).  We have ten artists/photographers exhibiting from my group Friends of Art Manchester.  The artwork is in all different styles, both representational and abstract.

I also have some of my paintings on exhibit at the Bedford (NH) Library, lower level.  That is part of a group exhibit too, from Manchester Artists Association.

Spring is very slow getting here this year. I have been out on my bike twice now.  I'm really enjoying learning how to ride again and the mountain bike is more fun than the city bike since I like being in the woods.  I bought a used bike, then decided to turn it in for a new one. Waiting for better weather to try it out.  Photo below taken on the rail trail by Lake Massabesic (Auburn/Manchester, NH).  That was my first ride. I fell in the mud, did not get hurt, and was happy to be out on the trail.

More studies

This is on my easel today, a value study (sketch) and a color study (5" X 7" acrylic panel) for a larger painting.  I took many photos when I was at Canyonlands National Park last fall.  Then I had to decide which one would make a good painting.  I played around with several of them and cropped them in various formats (vertical/horizontal).  I decided to make a small study first before I tackle a larger canvas.

Spring is slowly getting here to New Hampshire.  I saw my first spring flower yesterday when I was out walking, a snowdrop.  The snow is gradually melting as the temperature warms up a little.  I'm looking forward to doing some outdoor work on our yard this weekend.

I think this is the final version of the last painting I posted.  I always let my paintings dry for a while before I varnish them in case I decide they need a little more of something.  It's hard to decide when a painting is actually finished, but other artists tell me the same thing.

Meanwhile, I'm making some miniatures for a craft show we are doing later this month.  I'll have my cards, prints and some small paintings with me.  The Home, Recreation & Food Festival is sponsored by the Alton Centennial Rotary Club.  Saturday, April 26, 2014. 9:00 am - 3:00 pm. Prospect Mountain High School, Alton, NH. (off Rt. 28, 1 mile south of the Alton Traffic Circle). My husband will have his books for sale and we will be sharing a table.  Please introduce yourself if you come.  It's a great show in a beautiful part of the state.

I'm also happy to report that the "Matzah Factory" painting I posted a little while ago has a buyer. I'll be framing that over the weekend.  Passover starts at sundown on April 14th, so the painting will be at its new home in time.

Going up - WIP

I'm still working on this acrylic painting. I notice that my photo looks a bit dark. I will lighten this up when I am done.  We were hiking up to the fire tower at Pawtuckaway State Park when I saw this scene and liked the composition.  We have lots of granite in New Hampshire, but I don't always want to use realistic colors.  I'm not sure if I'll gray out  the granite rock or leave it something more interesting. It is a good hike and we've done it before on a different trail.  I liked this trail better.

This is  a small color study I did first.  I also did a pencil sketch and decided to move the tower a little left (from the photo).  It was too centered in the photo.  I'm hoping to be able to finish the 16" X 20" painting this week.  Then I can go back to my other unfinished paintings and work on them a bit more.

My exhibit at the Derry Public Library this month will be finished on Friday.  I'll be taking down the paintings that day.  It was a bit strange for me, but I actually missed seeing some of them in my studio while they were gone.  I don't usually have emotional attachments to my paintings once they are finished, so I was surprised that I felt that way.

When I am thinking about what I want to paint, then working on the composition, then the actual painting, I feel creative and satisfied.  Once the painting is done, I'm on to the next one and I don't usually think about the ones that are finished.

More snow predicted this week, so it will be a good week for more painting. I like snow, but I'm also feeling ready for spring to appear. I guess I'll have to wait a little bit more.

I have been putting some old drawings and paintings up on eBay.  This is the link:     http://www.ebay.com/usr/avisiblevoice

Winter 2014

Some people complain about the snow and cold weather, but I love going out into the woods on cross country skis. I've always felt something spiritual out in nature, no matter where I lived at the time.

My old skis gave out on me last week and I bought a new pair.  It is amazing how much better the new skis are.  They are wider and shorter.  Even though the snow was a bit icy, I did not have any difficulty staying up and moving along.  These trails are only about 15 minutes from my house.

The sun was out last week (photo below) and the snow was better quality. This was a different trail than the one above, but near it.

And this is what happens to old skis. It's called delaminating.