Posts Tagged ‘landscape paintings’
Princess Anne Days
Before the days of the Revolutionary War, America was a British colony, and, as such, named many of its towns in honor of British influential personalities. Baltimore, Georgetown, and Kingstown come to mind, as does Annapolis and Princess Anne.
Princess Anne is a small town about 30 minutes south of my home and every year they have “Princess Anne Days” where, one can visit several homes still in the original Colonial décor. This year they also had an art show for the first time. Jennifer and her sister visited several locations, including the Chincoteague Paint Out to see how others planned, set up the facilities and carried out the work of displaying and selling the paintings.
Their display location was a room at the FireDepartment. They had 32 black panels, each 4’ x 8’, of compressed wood, held together with a beam and with lights attached to focus on each panel. There were 28 artists in attendance and a fine Artist’s Reception on Friday evening. One artist did abstract paintings, but most did still life or landscape paintings. There were also several pottery objects available. It was really a very nice show, well organized and attended. I don’t know the dollar amount, but they sold several paintings and pottery objects.
Sketching Natural Models
Today, I’m not writing about landscape paintings, but rather about sketching natural models – specifically musicians and children. When or how should the artist tip these folks? Should the artist ask first before sketching, or not?
An artist sketched members of a country music group. She gave the band some sketches but took the rest home to further develop and sell them, identifying the band on the drawings to be sold. A college art instructor who frequents a favorite restaurant photographed the musicians. He never uses a flash, always buys the cd and tips well. Another artist sketches musicians but finds out their contact information after the show and sends them a digital image of his final work. Another artist sketches children. He doesn’t ask first, but shares his drawing with the child and/or parent. They find a miracle in his efforts. Friendship is not far behind.
The conclusion? Respect everyone and everything. Share your blessing. The universe favors the givers.
Coping with Burnout
Burnout is defined in Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary as “exhaustion of physical or emotional strength or motivation usually as a result of prolonged stress or frustration.” But, as one author noted, “In order to burn out, a person needs to have been on fire at one time.”
I’m guessing that many of you who are reading this blog must do landscape paintings, or are artists in some venue. (However, one doesn’t have to be an artist in order to get burned out!) Are you tired of exhibiting work when sales are dismal? Tired of painting when it seems that no one cares? Here are some suggestions that may help.
First, play more. Take time off from work and do something you would really enjoy doing – take a swim or hike, dig in the garden, go on a picnic. Diversion can make a big difference and laughter is always good medicine. Secondly, read – for learning or amusement. Reading is actually a time for growth and/or refreshment. Thirdly, review your accomplishments. Review your past shows, sales, or note the amount of work done. All these can give you a much needed mental and emotional boost.
Goin’ Home
On Friday, I left Dayton, OH, bound for Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The land in western Ohio is very flat with trees here and there. After all, this is the corn belt, wonderful farming land, but east of Columbus it becomes gently rolling with more dense, fluffy deciduous trees. By the time I reached the eastern border of Ohio, I was in the foothills of the Appalachians.
My journey takes me through West Virginia, Pennsylvania, WV, again, then to MD. In WV, there is always an extra lane going up the mountain for slow traffic, and it ends at the top. Then there is a warning sign, a 5% – 7% grade for 5 or 7 miles. The longest one I found was a 6% grade for 13 miles! Going down, frequently there is a runaway truck ramp off to the right, paved with gravel, hopefully not needed, but available just in case.
It is exciting to travel through the mountains and the scenery is beautiful. For one who does landscape paintings, it is a feast for the eyes.
Keeping in Touch with Your Roots
With the rapid urbanization taking place around the globe it can be difficult to preserve our vision of nature. Few of us have the opportunity to live in areas that have rich wildlife and scenic landscapes. One of the easiest ways to satisfy your desire to experience the wilderness or countryside is through artwork.
As citizens from rural communities continue to migrate to cities, it can be therapeutic to maintain a connection with the country. A landscape oil painting is an easy way to quench your nostalgic thirst for home, but don’t think you need to go out and spend hundreds of dollars on a professional piece. When I find myself longing for the pastoral pleasures of home, I pull out my art supplies and create my own landscape. Not only does this help squelch my homesickness, I also get a sense of accomplishment and ownership through the piece.
Illinois
The land along I 74 in Illinois,where I am traveling, is very flat. Years ago, the glacier smoothed it and left it in wonderful condition for growing corn, wheat, beans and anything else one would care to plant – and trees here and there. Only along he rivers can one find thickly wooded areas. As one who does abstract landscape painting, I am thoroughly enjoying the fluffy deciduous trees, scatterred with abandon across the land.
Also, along my travels are some wonderful names like Galesburg (why not Tornadoville or Stormburg?), home of poet Carl Sandburg, Spoon River, Knoxville, Peoria, Normal, Bloomington, Le Roy, Mahomet, Lake of the Woods, Champaign, Ogden, Fithian, and Danville. I wonder who named those places.
Trees
I love trees! Could you have guessed? And the more odd and gnarly, the better! These are the old soldiers with personalities! In my neighborhood on the Eastern shore of Maryland, there are very many “Christmas tree” pines as well as the tall loblolly and slash pines and deciduous trees, and I love them all! Unfortunately, my neighbor has lost 5 pines due to the pine borer. I’ve lost 2.
On my trip west, along I 70, the highway is often lined with dense forests of tall beautiful green pine trees, giving me a luxurious feeling. Further west along I 68, are mountains, ski resorts and a variety of deciduous trees.
Ohio and Indiana have mostly farm land with trees here and there, but north of Chicago there are many lakes and the trees are often pine, but many others as well. I drove past one stretch, about ¼ mile in length with one beautiful large weeping willow after another!
As one who does abstract expressionist art and loves trees, all these trees are truly a feast for the eyes!
Getting Back to My Roots
Much of my childhood was spent on a rural ranch in the middle of the great state of Wyoming. You could drive for miles in any direction without seeing a soul, which was somewhat frustrating as an adolescent. As you can imagine, as soon as I was old enough I packed up my belongings and headed west in search of a more fast-paced lifestyle.
Now that I’ve lived in a metropolis for over a decade, I find myself pining for the pastoral pleasures of my homeland. When I was younger, I never imagined that I would be homesick for the amber waves of grain, but lo and behold, I am. I expressed my yearning for the Wyoming scenery to my parents, and they recently mailed a painting of landscape to satiate my desires.
The Art Walk at Val’s
My friend, Val, has an art-and-antiques gallery called “My Studio” in a nearby town. She, herself, is an artist and sells her own artwork as well as that of her friends, including me. On Friday night her gallery was open, along with all the other galleries in town for the Second Friday Art Walk.
Betty was the featured artist and had previously given Val 15 paintings to be hung. We had a good crowd, partly because Betty is a local gal and has many friends. Also, a new shop has opened next door, rented to an architect whose wife is interested in art. They drew a large crowd because they featured a well known, big name local artist who was doing a demonstration.
By the end of the evening, Val had sold a few antiques, but Betty had sold 2 oil paintings!
The Art Walk
The Art Walk was a nice invention. Some towns set aside one day a month, usually the first or second Friday or Saturday when all the galleries are open and folks can visit and see the latest art work from the local artists.
Sometimes a town, like Chincoteague, VA, for a certain month, will have a Paint Out, invite local artists to paint the area for a few days, and display their landscape paintings the night of the Art Walk. Of course, this is heavily publicized and locals and tourists alike know and are encouraged to buy. And sometimes the local art organization, as well as the artist, are well rewarded.