Best in Show!

Newburyport Art Association, 2012

Spring Members Open Show... Best in Show award goes to.....

What a surprise, it feels good!

Here it is...

This triptych of 18x18" panels with thin maple framing is an original oil on stretched canvas and is part of a series I'm working on called Bear Hill Road.  There will be 4 very large canvases and several medium-sized canvases and so far 10 small paintings of this wonderful area here in Merrimac MA where I walk in the mornings.  There will be a variety of paintings of all seasons of the year.


There is another painting of this scene that is 12x36" stretched canvas with a gold plein air frame.

2 more for Sage Gallery

5x7" oil on board

8x8" oil on stretched canvas

These two small original oil paintings will be added to many others I have hanging at the Sage Gallery in Haverhill, MA.  "Rocks are hard", a famous artist once said so I've been working on painting rocks.  I don't have many more small paintings to do for the "Bear Hill Series" I'm working on for November at the Cutter House in Arlington, MA.  The small ones will accompany larger ones, that at this time in the planning stage will be big sky paintings.  I'm starting one of those today--it's on the easel ready to go.

Refusnicks

11x14" oil on canvas "Where the Woodbine Twineth"

9x12" oil on canvas "The Old Boatyard"

I overcame one hurdle trying to enter the NAA Regional Show which is taking the photo of the paintings with the correct lighting and camera settings and  formatting the jpg correctly and doing the on-line entry form.  Unfortunately, I didn't get in. 

Gerhard Richter Film at MFA

One of the world's greatest living painters, the 79-year-old German artist has spent over half a century painting all kinds of experimental work.  I had a fly-on-the-wall perspective of his daily activities and painting sessions.  It was truly inspiring to watch him create very large-scale abstract canvases with oil paint and various large brushes and other things like squeegees, layer after layer, creating and deconstructing, seeing how he planned his shows, etc.  His oil paint comes in gallon and 2 gallon containers.Gerhard Richter paintings

My friend, Ed Lemay, and I attended the last showing of this film at MFA at noon today, a great piece of luck, since the second showing on the schedule was canceled.

Small ones for Bear Hill Road series

I'm painting some paintings that will go with my larger works for the Bear Hill Road series that I am presenting next November in Arlington MA at the Cutter House.  In the meantime, these small ones will be on exhibit and available for purchase at The Sage Art Gallery in Haverhill Ma until the end of June.

These were done in the past couple of days. 

1.  Rock on the corner of BHR and West Shore Road.
2.  Small red barn overlooking cornfield.
3.  Swing on old apple tree.
4.  Tree house overlooking large open field.
5.  Contemporary version of wheelbarrow and old barn.

The Crooked Shed

The Crooked Shed 6x6" stretched canvas original oil

p.s.  Watch out for Leprecons.

I need to have some paintings for the Sage Gallery in Haverhill for the next three-month exhibit and my plan for the Bear Hill Road Series is to have some  large ones (18" and up), some triptychs and diptychs (also large), and several small ones.  So I'm doing the small ones in time for this Sage Exhibit.

Bear Hill Road is a rural road that travels from 110 in Merrimac MA to Newton NH.

Woodworking practice and fun

I made this frame from scratch using wood and molding from the lumber yard, glued it up, sanded, sealed, painted, varnished, etc.  It has a red undertone, gold overall, with gray-green glaze to suit the painting.  I am donating it to the Newburyport Art Association's Silent Auction in June along with another painting for the silent auction and one for the actual auction.  This is the major fundraiser for the association so it is important to lend them my support to help with their success.

First plein air this season, Whittier Birthplace

John Greenlief Whittier Birthplace 8x10" original oil plein air

I went out two days for this one in Haverhill at Whittier Birthplace.  I started out to do a traditional tonalist version and changed to a more impressionist version because of the color of the house.  This view is uphill looking down, still capturing the entrance and with a back view.  There are barns, sheds on the other side of the street and while I was there two guys came by and worked with tractors that were beautiful to look at, especially the red/orange one, so another painting or two might come from that. Whittier Birthplace

Sunset on Bear Hill Road is at Rockport Show

12x36" oil, Sunset on Bear Hill Rd. $900

This painting is currently at the Rockport Art Association in Rockport MA.  

There is a reception this coming Sunday afternoon from 2-4 open to all.