It has been an interesting few days since the last post. Carol, Harper and I made an excursion around Rhode Island looking for the trolls that reside here. There are five in all, one is quite close to home and we have visited that one several times as it is right off the bike path. When we were in Breckenridge this past fall we visited a troll there. The trolls are by Danish artist Thomas Dambo, and made of recycled wood.
We had a great day and visited three of the trolls hiking over some ice and snow at times but a grand day out. The first troll we visited was Young Boulder who is at Browning Mill Pond in the Arcadia Management Area and one of our favorite hikes in Rhode Island. The other two we visited are in Ninigret park in Charlestown where the walking was a bit less treacherous. The last of the trolls we decided to leave for another day as the weather and daylight were working against us.
Due to the snow, the opening for the ‘Fakes and Forgeries’ show was postponed by a week and scheduled at exactly the same time as the show at the Portsmouth Arts Guild’s Members Show. The day following the trolls was going to be a busy day. We made plans to with our friend Bob to doo the gallery tour. Both galleries are on Aquidneck Island, where Bob lives, but one show was at the North end, the other at the South end in Newport. We elected to visit the Portsmouth Arts Guild first. It was a very nice show, the members made some wonderful art. My painting of ‘Winter Shadows’ won the Peoples Choice Award - which in my mind is the highest honor one can receive. Thank you everyone
At the Portsmouth Arts Guild Members Show opening with Harper
We left Portsmouth earlier than I wanted but we needed to be at the Spring Bull Gallery by 3:00 to hear the awards. It is always interesting to hear the judges opinions and why they made their decisions. Parking is always at a premium in Newport and with snow piled along the roadside we were not too hopeful to get anywhere close to the gallery, but it worked out and we got a spot close by. It was crowded and the artwork for the show was spectacular. I am amazed by the high quality of ofcreativity and effort everyone put into this show. The best of show was a fabulous forgery of a John Singer Sargent in oil. Thanks so much to my friends who made the trek down for the shows - it was a fantastic day, ending up back in Middletown at Bob’s house for great pizza and conversation.
At the Spring Bull Gallery in Newport with Fakes and Forgeries
Meanwhile, back in the studio, I have been messing about with watercolor again. I meet frequently with a group of East Providence painters on most Monday mornings to go out into the wild and paint ‘en plein air’. However winter has interrupted the regularity of this. so we are meeting less frequently. A recent Monday morning brought us to the Nature Lab at the Rhode Island School of Design. Here we can study, paint and draw many many different varieties of animals, birds, insects, fish along with skeletons and so many types of plant life - it is a fascinating place to experience. However on the was back to the car I snapped a photo of one of the historic houses along Benefit Street in Providence. It became a watercolor later in my studio.
House on Benefit
Somewhere in the middle of all of this we also had a huge snow storm which required way too much shoveling. I think in total - over two days - we got just over 18 inches of snow.
Good weather to stay in the studio
I have had several things going on at the same time in the studio, as a matter of fact they seem to be stacking up. It is funny how the inspiration strikes, it comes in waves and then sometime disappears altogether. It is here now so I am trying to make the best of it. Next up on my list was something nautical. I came across a picture of an old rust fishing boat and thought it would be a fine subject. This is just the sort of image I love so I rearranged it a bit, adding and subtracting, changing the mood. I tried to make a nice dark and dramatic sky to make the boat pop a bit… The final painting is 20X14 inches. This was completed in four painting sessions over three days.
I call this ‘Resolute’ - it seems a proper name for this well worn sailor - Resolute is for sale in my store.
I also got a request for a painting this past week from a patron. It was a request for a tall vertical painting to fit a place on their wall where a couple of other works of mine are hanging. (Obviously this person has no taste at all) I mentioned I seldom do tall vertical paintings but the thought came into the conversation to convert my recent pen and ink that is on exhibit in the Fakes and Forgeries show into a vertical watercolor. So far I have done a couple of small color studies and have sketched it out to its final size. I made it somewhat larger than the pen and ink. The final size will be 11X29 inches. What made this easy was that I had the foundation drawing done. The concept had been finalized for the pen and ink - proportions were done, location was finalized - all I had to do was redraw it on watercolor paper. Then work out a proper color scheme for a dramatic sunset. The subject here is Southeast Light on Block Island. The sky and landscape are completely made up, which, if you know the light house, you already figured that out.
