Tonal Study

 

Tonal Study done with limited colors, yellow ochre, ultramarine blue, raw umber, burnt umber, sienna, white. Not sure if I really used any white. I was inspired by an online video from Nial Adams (bottom photo was my original).  Then I couldn't decide what to finish the painting with. I looked across the street in the evening and I've always admired the tree there no matter what season, so I painted the winter branches and fence, then added more bare branches. I'm letting this dry before I do any more details.

Oil painting on 12" X 16" canvas board.

Winter plein air

 

It was too cold for me to stand outside with my easel and paints (although the other artists did that). Instead I just sketched from inside the car. I will go back to this park (Pamela Baker park in Eagle, Idaho) when it is warmer and paint the view of the foothills.  I sketched the geese too, but did not take a photo of that sketch.

Ths snow in the park was mostly gone, but more will come soon. It is not spring here yet. This photo shows the other artists from the back. The group was having a good time despite the wind.

Working in my studio I decided to paint a small study in color from my drawing and the photo. I plan to go back to this park wen it is warmer.

Winter Wonderland

 

I'm happy to have three paintings in this show.  Although I now live in Boise, Idaho, I submitted paintings from NH. That was my happy place for winter before I became a senior citizen (euphemism for "old lady").

Here are the three that will be up in the gallery.

This is a very small painting, 5" X 5" of Clark's Pond in Hooksett, NH. Sold today at the reception. 

This is a snowmobile trail in Auburn, NH. We shared it with the sled dogs, cross county skiiers and snow shoers.  It was a great trail to walk on in any season.

A winter marsh in Hooksett, NH near Dube's Pond. Also a good trail in any season

All of these images are also available as prints, cards or other printed items through my Fine Art America website.

Happy winter to all. (Winter is mild in Boise, Idaho. Not much of a challenge, but it works well for me now that I am older. I can walk my dog almost every day without any problems.)

Enlarging my studies

 Gathering of Elks, 16 X 20. Oil on board. I had a hard time with this painting. I had made an 8 X 10 earlier, but enlarging it and painting it was difficult. 

Warm winter's day. This one was also difficult. 11" X 14" enlarged from my plein air paintings last week.  I changed some of the buildings and added them (from my photos). I wanted to include the hawk that was in the tree too.

I found it easier to work on canvas than board in top painting. I guess I need to practice more. I noticed a big difference in color palette. The Elks photo was taken in Alberta in early summer. The cattle were observed in early winter in Idaho. 

Palette knife exercises

I have not felt like doing any serious painting this winter, but I played with paint and followed along with a lesson on palette knife painting for the magnolia painting on the right.  I had to buy a couple of new palette knives to match up with the exercise.  The one on the left came out too dark. That was done from life, a yellow rose in a tall vase. The video was all in French, but I only needed some help from a French speaking friend to translate the pigments used. I could follow along with the rest.

Meanwhile I've enjoyed meeting other local artists and exhibiting some paintings through the Treasure Valley Artists Alliance.  I have two small ones in the mini painting exhibit at the Meridian (Idaho) Library.

This is the first time that group had an exhibit there and space was limited so they requested submissions of small paintings.  It was the first time I framed a 4" X 4" painting and that was an interesting exercise.  I had to buy a 5" X 5" frame (the 4" sizes did not fit). I mounted (glued) the little canvas on black matboard and made it look like a float frame.  I was pleased with the way it came out.  The painting of fuchsias was just wired in the back. It is on a stretched canvas. It is only 8" X 8".

My painting of Valley of the Ten Peaks (Alberta) was juried into an exhibit at the Boise State Public Radio station.  This is the last time the group is exhibiting there and my first time in a juried exhibit.  I think the other exhibit I had with them were curated exhibits.  My husband also had his photograph of a sunset on the Mediterranean Sea exhibited. It was his first time exhibiting in Boise.

We are learning new terms. A juried exhibit is one in which a professional picks items to be exhibited from the submissions.  A curated exhibit is one in which the curators pick at least one of the items submitted to be displayed.  They picked two of mine for the mini exhibit so I am happy about that. I'm enjoying the art association and even stretched myself to go downtown one evening to meet with the Urban Sketchers group. It was too cold to sketch outside, but we sketched inside the coffee house instead.  I need a lot more practice on that before I post any sketches here.

All of these paintings are available for sale directly from me. Prints, cards and other printed items came be purchased directly online through my website on Fine Art America.
Hungry Bluegill
Nancy's Fuchsias
Valley of the Ten Peaks

More fun painting

I enjoyed working on this acrylic painting during the snow storm the last few days.  The wind is really howling outside my window now although the snow is almost finished.  We had 13" on Friday and probably another 10" today. It's a good thing I really like snow!

Meanwhile I saw an image of brightly colored fish online and I knew I had many photos from my trip to Israel in 2012 so I pulled some of them out.  I combined several photos. There were many different kinds of fish in the aquariums at Eilat (Israel) and I enjoyed taking photos.  This painting is 11" X 14" acrylic paint on canvas board.  I used a brayer and fan brush at the top right to try to indicate some light coming in.

I don't want to start another serious painting until after I have my eye surgery next month.  Hopefully I will be able to see colors better once the cataracts are fixed. First the right eye will be done, then 2 weeks later, the left.  I have trouble seeing the different shades of green, also my night vision is terrible.  I'm looking forward to being able to see my toes without glasses!  The new lens that will be put in my eye will also correct my nearsightedness and I'll just need to pick up reading glasses.  I've been wearing glasses for 60 years so this will be a big change and I hope it works.

This one is not done yet. I'm not happy with the cirrus clouds and will need to work on them some more. These are hot springs at Yellowstone National Park. 16" X 20", Oil paint on gesso'ed hardboard.  I do enjoy working on this surface and I have one more board prepared, but have not decided what to paint on it yet. I'm leaning toward a more abstract sunrise or sunset idea, but need to think about it more.

Apparently I have always liked snow. This is a photo of me at almost 2 years old enjoying my sled in front of our house in New York. The storm was in February of 1948.

A snowy winter and painting process

It's been a good winter for cross country skiing, but we are getting a little tired of shoveling and snow blowing. I feel sorry for the birds too. Any time I put out seeds, they get covered by the snow, or the squirrels dig them out first. Anyway, I still like snow and cold weather, but I'll be happy when the seasons change too.

Meanwhile, I have been enjoying painting.  I have started on the 4' x 5' canvas for my art project with Friends of Art Manchester.  We are painting big panels for Webster House.  It has been interesting just figuring out how to paint this size canvas since it is not on a frame or stretcher bars. We tried curtain rods (and that is how they will be hung when finished).  I took down paintings I had on the wall in my studio and stapled the large canvas up.  The wall already had some holes in it and needs repainting anyway, so I will do that in the spring. We bought the primed canvas online. I posted a review (before I started actually painting).

This is the same scene that I have at the top of the blog.  The top painting is 16" X 20".  In my last post I think I wrote about scaling up from 8" x 10" to 16" x 20".  I did a grid for those studies.  I borrowed a projector to scale my original photo up on this big canvas.  It was much easier than doing a grid and I'm thinking about buying a small projector for myself (although I am happy with 16" x 20" and don't know if I'll go much larger with my painting).

Meanwhile I signed up for an oil painting class (continuing education) at New Hampshire Institute of Art and I'm back to doing still lifes.  I don't actually enjoy them, but I'm determined to learn how to paint with the water mixable oils so that I can eventually do more plein air painting (that's very hard to do with acrylic paints as they dry so quickly).  I am not going to post that first painting here since I was very unhappy with it. I'll try harder this week and hope to get the proportions and colors correct. I did learn one very important thing to share - do the darkest darks first. (With acrylics, you can always add layers). Because the oils take so long to dry, you really can't keep going over them to make them darker. Hope this helps some of my readers.

I'm also working on another urban painting scene, but this one has to wait for me to finish the big canvas first.  Here is a little glimpse of this work in process. I have been taking photos of this painting along the way and I will post some of the steps when it is all done.

And a few more winter scenes from cross country skiing in Auburn (NH). The top scenes were in Hooksett, NH at Dube's Pond. It was a much sunnier day on the trail in Auburn.

Urban scene

I decided to try a sketch of an urban scene instead of my usual landscapes. I found that I didn't like this as much, probably because I find more inspiration in the trees, woods, mountains and lakes of my region (New England). When I travel, I tend to look for the same kind of scenery too.

Meanwhile, these buildings have stayed in my mind since 2006 when I was on a trip to Israel.  I found the apartment building in Tel Aviv interesting (photo below of actual building). I had taken a picture from the hotel balcony, so I was looking down at the scene. I was impressed with all the solar panels on the roofs of so many buildings in Israel. These are not as practical in our climate, but some people do have them (including my son).

I found that I do not have any desire to paint this scene, but I did enjoy sketching it in pen and ink (in pencil first).

We had a big storm here on Thanksgiving and lost power for two days. Brr.... It was very cold and we spent the third night at my son's house (he had power and heat). We were very thankful when we came home to find that the power was back on. I still like winter, but we do not have a fireplace or woodstove.  Several of our neighbors have purchased generators. Some photos below of my wintry neighborhood.

The snow was very heavy and broke some of the branches off the pine tree. We cleaned it up and now most of the snow has melted (until the next storm).

We have one more craft fair this weekend. I have been very disappointed with sales at fairs this year. I probably won't do many next year. I'm going to continue painting as I enjoy it, but I'll have to figure out another way to sell my artwork locally. My cards have been selling well on my website and I'll continue to post new work there as well. You can now buy cell phone covers and throw pillows with my designs directly from the website.

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.

Haiku - Dorr's Pond

an overcast day

birds chirping, ducks quacking

walking at Dorr's Pond

I had a successful day at a craft fair on Friday. I sold my painting of the snowy egret.

Clark's Pond winter trail (WIP)

Heading out for vacation soon, but I thought I would post one last painting. It's not quite finished, but I like it so far. This is part of my trail series, 8" X 10". Small paintings that reflect my love of hiking and nature.  This trail is actually part of the abandoned railroad bed and runs for many miles starting in Manchester and Auburn, NH, near Lake Massabesic (the city's water supply). During the winter it is used by snowmobilers and cross country skiers. During other seasons it is popular with bikers, hikers and walkers (dogs love it too). Across the street there are other trails that are also used by sled dogs in the winter.

If you filter the blog by category "winter", you will find other posts on this trail. Click on this one with photos of Clark's Pond in winter. There are others, including some poems. (In right column, "posts by category")

Canoe at Back Lake

The photo for this painting was taken several years ago when we were in Pittsburg, New Hampshire during the spring or summer. Pittsburg is at the top of the state, bordering on Canada.  It is a very large land area with very few people, a good place to have a quiet vacation.  Many people go there in the winter to snowmobile. We prefer to go in the summer to hike and fish and see the moose along the main road. There are many lakes and I've done other paintings from our trips there in the past.

This is a small acrylic painting on canvas board, 8 X 10. You can buy a print or card of it at my new website:
http://linda-feinberg.artistwebsites.com/featured/canoe-at-back-lake-linda-feinberg.html

I have just started working on a series of "trail paintings". I am using 8 X 10 canvases as I work my way through them. Trails can be a metaphor for our journeys through life, or they can just be trails that we enjoy walking or hiking on. Once I'm done with the small paintings, I'll see if I like any of them enough to actually do a larger canvas. I have one left at 16" X 20" and I'm not sure what to put on it.  I still haven't finished the bison painting since I'm unhappy with the sky, but I bought a frame for it so I hope that motivates me to finally finish it.

I'm enjoying the winter and I love looking out at the beautiful snow outside. It's a good time to paint although I do get outside every day to walk too.  The birds are enjoying our bird feeder in the backyard. The birds on the branches of the lilac are juncos. They are small birds. I think the one on the feeder is a sparrow.

Cold Beauty

Waiting for inspiration to come

     on a frigid night

Minus six outside and dropping

     icicles hanging down

Too cold for stargazing

     even the windows are frosted.

Yet the sun was out today

     although the high temperature

     only hovered around zero.

The squirrels were out too ‑‑

     snatching stale donuts

     from a hanging basket,

     chasing away the starlings.

 

The children stayed out to

     ride the sled

          laughing down the hill

          ignoring the cold

Cheeks all rosy

     when they came in

          to warm up at the stove

Hot cocoa and popcorn

     to fill them.

 

Others may choose milder climates

But I prefer it here

     the snow frosted tree limbs

          delight the eye

And the changing seasons

     satisfy the psyche.

ã1990 Linda H. Feinberg from “red poppies and green clover”

This is an old poem probably written around 1983 when I was living in Derry, New Hampshire. I thought it was appropriate for winter. I am looking out my window today and watching the beautiful snow falling. I remembered that line "snow frosted tree limbs" -- that's what made me think of this old poem.

Bison on Antelope Island - WIP2

I have made some progress on this painting. I'm going to leave it for a while and think about it some more.  The day I was there, it was very overcast. I think I need more gray in the sky, but I don't want to make it too dingy.

Meanwhile, I am going to change my website during the first quarter of 2013.  I have been researching and found two artist websites that I think will work.  One of them will actually print the cards and prints. That site will also ship them to anywhere in the world. I just need to post the images.  The other is more for Fine Arts and will be a bit more professional.  I'm not sure yet whether I will do both.

I framed my snowmobile painting. It was up at the Bedford (NH) library for the month of December. It was an "Artist of  the Month" winner from the Manchester Artists Association last month. I am happy looking at it and now that we have some snow, I hope we can get out on that same trail with our cross country skis soon.

Happy new year to all.

Bison on Antelope Island - WIP

This is a new piece I am working on. Obviously, there is a lot more to do. I don't think I'll put as many of the bison in as in the photo. I am having difficulty with making my brown paint splotches look like them.  There were many in the herd (also known as buffalo).

Antelope Island is on the Great Salt Lake, near Salt Lake City, Utah. Great place to visit. I'll keep working on this painting for the next few weeks.  I changed my photo around and put different mountains in the background from another photo taken on the same day at a slightly different view.  There was only a little bit of snow on those mountains on that day in November. It was overcast and very gray. Not sure how my painting will turn out. I will probably darken the sky more at the end.

Happy holiday and happy new year to everyone.

View from the Lodge

Full disclosure -- I am not a downhill skier. However, I enjoyed watching the skiers from the lodge on Thanksgiving Day.  I painted this from my photo.  I spent my holiday this year with my daughter in Utah and we had a wonderful dinner at the lodge at the Alta Ski area in Utah. The lodge is about 9000 feet in elevation (3000 meters), the mountains are much higher.  There weren't many skiers out as it was getting to be late in the day on the holiday.

Acrylic painting on canvas, 8" X 10".  I will probably make a few cards from this one too. If you are interested in purchasing the original, or cards, please feel free to contact me.

Winter Trails

I'm looking forward to winter and cross country skiing this year. Last year we were away and there wasn't enough snow when we returned in March. I painted from a photo of a snowmobiler taken the year before, when we were skiing in Auburn, NH.  There are lots of trails nearby and we have our own equipment so we don't need to pay fees. We do have to watch out for the snowmobiles and the dog sleds (they have the right of way), but there are still many quiet places to go where it is not crowded with machines. We also hike on these trails during the other seasons.

This painting is almost done. It is 16" X 20" acrylic paint on stretched canvas.  I am leaving it up on my easel for now to see if I want to do anything else to it.  Once I've made my final decision I will varnish it. Meanwhile, it's still fall here and we have a big cleanup of the fall leaves from the storm. We were lucky and did not lose our electricity with the hurricane, but it is a mess here. Last year we did not have power for 3 days (and it was cold then) due to the surprise October snowstorm. I don't mind cleaning up the leaves and I can wait a little longer for the snow.

Along the way to Eilat

This painting went quickly. I did the mountains with a palette knife. Still need more practice with that. The mountains were seen from the bus window so my original photo was not too clear. We were traveling down the highway to Eilat (Israel) at the end of the winter. The mountains are in Jordan, the desert and date trees are in Israel. I was impressed with the way the sunlight hit the mountains in certain spots. I tried to take a few pictures, but it's hard to do that through a bus window.  I still need to finish a little glazing on the painting and then varnish it. My teacher felt that the gray sky needed to be lightened up a little, but it was a very gray day, so I think I will leave it as is.

Acrylic painting, 11" X 14" on canvas panel. Available by contacting me directly.

I'm not sure if I will have access to internet to post next week as I will be traveling. I will try to put something up if I have a chance. I will have my laptop with me. I did more pen and ink work on the earlier drawing (Old City), but haven't decided whether or not to add any color to it.