Vertical or Horizontal?

Vertical or horizontal? How orientation affects your view of a painting.  

One of the “givens” of any painting is its orientation: vertical (“portrait”) or horizontal “landscape.” You see these orientations most clearly with a rectangular canvas, regardless of how big or small the overall dimensions are. But even a square canvas has an orientation. My choice of orientation is part of the experience that I’m creating in a painting and part of what you experience when you view it.  

So how does this work? Shown are two of my paintings from my Tree of Life series. “Rite of Spring” is a big painting (my favorite working size, 4’ wide x 6’ tall). It’s standing “on end” with the black/grey/dark brown Tree of Life dead-center: a deliberately strong vertical, the tree seeking, reaching, striving upward toward the warm spring sun and air.

 “Shading the Heat” is on a canvas that is only slightly smaller, at 60” wide and 40” high. But its strongly horizontal, and this Tree of Life is off-center, its immense, thick leaf canopy anchored by the thick trunk at left.

In both orientations, there is very little “negative space” – the area around an object (in this case, the trees).  In “Rite,” the negative space is evident in the upper left quadrant, the distant azure sky. The positive space is crowded, partly with the tree but even more with the abundance of plants emerging, leafing, blossoming with it. In “Shading,” negative space is at the very top and bottom: the “burning” sky, sultry and ominous and the sheltered, cool, invitingly shaded earth beneath the tree’s canopy.

 The orientations guided my application of paint – take a look at the two closeups below. In “Rite,” the varied brushstrokes apply thin layers of paint, even with the tree’s branches and trunk. The effect is lightness, a communion of color: earth, plants, tree and sky seem to permeate each other, striving upward. In “Shading,” I applied paint much more thickly and densely especially for the canopy. The leaves draw life from the sun while creating a green shield to shelter more life.

Do YOU find yourself preferring one or the other? Vertical or horizontal?

When I paint on a square canvas things get more ‘fluid’ and even more exciting. But that’s for another day! 

 

Spring is Here!

"Emerging Life," measuring 48x48, is a portal into a realm where earthy tones dance in harmony with cool hues, creating a mesmerizing tapestry of colors, is below on the left. This was my second ‘take’ on this theme. The first attempt below on the right, was Winter into Spring: Season of Hope.

Same theme but slightly different interpretations. The freedom we have as artists!

My medium of choice for this piece was oil, this medium allows layers of washes to be applied without any drying between them – wet on wet painting. This helped me capture the essence of nature's ever-changing landscape. The dynamic marks and washes of white, tan, brown, and black evoke the rugged beauty of rocks and geological structures, while swirls of lighter tones add an ethereal sense of depth and movement.

But what truly sets "Emerging Life" apart are the pops of bright green and yellow scattered throughout the composition. Here are the small leaves and flowers peeking out from under a blanket of snow at the end of a cold Winter, suggesting the rebirth and renewal that come with the changing seasons.

As I created this artwork, I found myself inspired by the sight of ice and snow melting, giving way to new life in the vastness of Asian Tundra, Greenland and Northern Scandinavia. The process was a journey of exploration and discovery, as I allowed the colors and forms to guide me towards a vision of emerging natural beauty.

"Emerging Life" is more than just a painting—it is a testament to the cycle of life and the resilience of nature. It invites YOU to immerse themselves in a world where the boundaries between the real and the imagined blur, and where every brushstroke tells a story of growth and transformation.

What do YOU look for as nature’s harbinger of Spring and the end of Winter?

I invite you to experience "Emerging Life" for yourself and embark on a journey of discovery and wonder. Look up and around you as you walk, jog, even trudge around. Everything in nature is changing! Feel colors and forms wash over you and feel the mysteries of the natural world come alive before your eyes.

Gay 

Serenity and Action

Hello art lovers,

"Dawn on the Mystic Waterlily Pond." Is a 48x48 oil painting in which I wanted to capture both the beauty and tranquility of a floral water landscape, and the sense of life and movement under the surface.

I achieved this by using a thick impasto underpainting. This technique allowed me to build up texture and create a sense of depth in the painting, enhancing the overall visual impact of the scene.

The painting features a vibrant and expressive scene with a rich tapestry of colors in predominately dominant hues of purple, blue, green, and pink. Through heavy brushstrokes and a thick application of paint, I aimed to create a sense of underwater action while thinner coats of color gave an impressionistic view of lily flowers and lily pads on the water's surface. The reflections and movement in the water are suggested through streaks of light blue and white paint, adding depth and dynamism to the piece.

Dawn on the Mystic Lilypond Oil 48x48

My inspiration was the visits to Longwood Gardens, PA., our fishpond in our last home in MA., and the memories of a childhood garden pond, each of which capture the natural beauty and serenity of lily ponds.

Join me for a peaceful morning by the water, where the sunlight dances on the surface and the flowers bloom in all their glory. Immerse yourself in the beauty of "Dawn on the Mystic Waterlily Pond" and experience the magic of nature captured on canvas.

Thank you for joining me on this journey.

Gay

Getting Help

Revelation – This work is the last in a trio of paintings (the first two were Roots in Search of Water and Water in Search of Roots). In this final painting, I wanted to capture the mysterious and transcendent relationship between water and all growing things. I researched some of the most revered and amazing water plants and selected the lotus. The blue lotus flower (Nymphaea nouchali var. caerulea), also known as The Egyptian lotus, is an aquatic plant found in rivers, freshwaters, and pools. It has been traced back some 3,000 years in Egypt, where it was considered sacred. This work visualizes a blue lotus emerging from the first moment its roots form underwater.

My biggest struggle was deciding on the painting’s title. Finally, I ran a competition among my newsletter subscribers to name the painting. The winner’s prize was a painting. Thank you, Lorraine, for your fabulous suggestion of “Revelation.”

What would YOU have titled it?

Places and Memories

Sometimes a place, its beauty, uniqueness and the unforgettable impression it makes on us can inspire our creativity.

One series I began several years ago and have added to over the years is called Transcendental Songs. These have been among my larger paintings, and each has been a response to a special memory or series of experiences.

Here are 2 such paintings - each is a ‘composite’ of the place and experience not a snapshot.

The First of the two is below. its title is Transcendental Songs” Rose Window.

This work is part of the “Transcendental Songs” series. Each work is a visualization of a flowing relationship among memories, objects and colors. Songs are music and words, and visualizing these means creating a larger picture about what the music and words evoke – going beyond our intellectual boundaries to emotion and spirit, and to our true relation to them. I want to visualize not simply a memory but the effect of that original experience.  

Here, the starting point is the huge circular windows in cathedrals. But instead of replicating the window, I wanted to show the effect of light through the window and on the interior.  As the sun moves, the light shifts through the unmoving shards of glass: the light comes alive over the structure’s interior surfaces, as if making fluid their masses. I wanted to stay close to the original colors in the real windows, so I layered successive colors at each stage of the painting.  

The burst or blossom shape in the center captures the effulgence of light through the center of the window and creates a kaleidoscopic sensation. I suggest the cathedral’s stone tracery and the window’s lead seams. The painting’s edges are not “finished,” suggesting that there is “more” beyond the edges, as the day’s light unfolds progressively through the window and the cathedral interior.

The second one below is Transcendental Songs” Sevilliana. This was one of my responses to a magical vacation we took to Spain for our 25th Anniversary. The time in Seville included a wonderful evening of authentic Flamenco music and spectacular dancing. Lunch was spent under a vine laden trellis and after dinner and the flamenco evening we went to a small bar and toasted our anniversary with glasses of Cava!

This painting I wanted to capture the color of flamenco music, the lace mantillas and gorgeous silk shawls, the unique window shapes and the happiness of a small bar at the end of a romantic day.

What special places do YOU have memories of?

Spring is in the Air

Thank you for joining me on this artistic journey. Here's to a spring filled with creativity, color, and endless possibilities! Excited to share my latest artwork, "Spring Frenzy"! For a short time, I thought it was unfinished – needed a few touch ups, but then realized I just LOVED its energy. When to stop is an ongoing battle for many artists, after all there’s always another painting just around the corner!  

This energetic 12x12 mixed media piece bursts with vibrant colors. Drawing inspiration from the beauty and thrill of spring, the abstract, expressive use of paint captures the essence of the season with its dynamic brushstrokes and array of hues.

I am tapping into some of my more abstract ‘roots’ to emphasize the dynamics of growth which I see each day as the first buds and flowers of Spring appear.  #SpringFrenzy #NewArtwork #AbstractArt #MixedMedia #ArtistLife

So. immerse yourself in the world of "Spring Frenzy" and let its vibrant hues and dynamic brushstrokes uplift your spirits. Allow yourself to be transported to a realm where color reigns supreme and the act of painting itself is a celebration of life.

Changing a Title

(Spanish Moss#2)

From Spanish Moss #2 to Nature’s Breath

Sometimes even my rarely stymied imagination just needs help, especially when it comes to a series of paintings each depicting a similar theme. I have 2 paintings about Spanish Moss which seems to create great swathes of lace-like greenery on the oaks in the deep south. I just didn’t want to have a series titled by number. So I used an AI program – Theobot – to help me! Now Spanish Moss #2 is - “Nature's Breath." This piece is a 24x24 oil painting that I completed during last year’s sidewalk outside painting demo put on by Red Raven Art Company’s artists. A whole new experience for me.

As you take a closer look at "Nature's Breath," you'll notice that it's an impressionistic painting that embodies the beauty of a forest or a grove of trees. I wanted to bring out the depth and life within the foliage, so I used a variety of green tones throughout the painting to create a sense of dimension and movement.

One of the key elements in this painting is the way sunlight filters through the leaves, giving rise to spots of bright yellow and white highlights that suggest a canopy opening above. It's as if you can feel the warmth of the sun on your skin as you immerse yourself in this scene.

I depicted the tree trunks and the forest floor at the bottom part of the painting using strokes of dark green and brown, aiming to anchor the composition and give a sense of grounding to the entire artwork.

When it comes to the brushwork, I wanted to capture the organic and wild quality of the vegetation. That's why you'll notice a mix of thick and thin lines throughout the artwork. This loose and dynamic style adds a sense of movement and brings the entire scene to life.

So there you have it, folks! "Nature's Breath" is an exploration of nature's tranquility and the breathtaking beauty it reveals. I hope you find as much joy and serenity in this artwork as I did while creating it.

 

 

Serene Paintings?

Today I submitted 4 pieces into another juried online competition “Serene Scenes.” at the Dragonfly Art Gallery. The Hummingbird & Dragonfly Art Gallery (hummingbirddragonflyartgallery.com)

It was an interesting activity as serene seemed a difficult perception among my colorful work especially in landscapes. But here are my choices and I’ll let you know how it goes.

What do you think? Are these serene?