Walk 'n Draw

 Yesterday was a good day to go out, walk and draw.  Of course, I didn't walk and draw at the same time.  I can't do that.

Tours

Reflections in Tours.  12x12 oil on canvas.

Reflections

A reflective view of London.  12x12 oil on canvas.

Gallery 4 Hanging Wall

With seven other artists, I am exhibiting thirty-one paintings in a group show at a pop up gallery, Gallery 4, at 4 Water Street in Williamstown, MA.  Here's my hanging wall, done salon style.  The gallery opens June 1st, with an official opening on Friday, June 3rd, 5-7 PM.  The gallery will be open June, July and August.

Road Side Trees

Trying to draw a tree a day is not easy.  What I mean is that it's hard to get out, or the weather interferes, or all the trees have moved away.  Anyway, I worked on this set of road side trees today.

Store Front

A store front at the corner of Dartmouth and Montgomery Streets in Boston's South End, which had a big part in my life many years ago.  Today it's been gentrified a bit.  A 9x12 oil on canvas.

South End Stoop

Here I'm revisiting an old project of a couple years ago, painting views of Boston's South End.  This is a 9x12 oil on canvas.

Quick Tree

Yesterday I made my daily tree drawing at a nearby farm field off Luce Road in Williamstown.  This is a quick small drawing done with a grease pencil.  I was scouting the location out for plein air painting.  I'll be coming back here too.

From the Ramparts

A view from the ramparts of Carcassonne, a walled city that is older than Disney World, but "phoney" according to some because of the questionable restorations of Viollet-le-Duc in the nineteenth century.  At least it's in France on the original site.

Through the Trees

This morning, while on a short hike, I noticed this view through the trees to the barn in the distance across the hay field.  I decided to return to make a drawing, since I had fallen behind in my regimen of a tree a day.  The drawing is approximately 9x12, with charcoal and pastel.  I will probably go back to this location to make a painting.

Long View

Another long view of Saint-Emilion, a 12 x 16 oil on canvas.

Rooftops

A 12x16 oil on canvas of a rooftop view of Saint-Emilion, which is built on hillsides, presumably land that was ill-suited to vineyards; just a guess.  At the entrance to the town, which is flat, vines are planted around the remains of an old church, including what would have been the area within the church.

Up The Hill

The weather may be a factor today in getting another tree drawing, but in the meantime we can look up the hill in Saint-Emilion.  A 12x16 oil on canvas.

Tree Frame

This morning I found my tree for the day on the hill behind the Clark Art Institute.   I added some pastel  to suggest what I wanted to frame with the tree trunk, the new grass in the cow field and the new leaves in the distant bank of trees.

A Tree A Day

Finally, I had a chance to get out today.  I drew a tree.  Trees don't move (much), but the sun moves a lot and quickly.  So I drew with charcoal to try to capture this particular tree.  I'll try it again tomorrow.  A tree a day keeps the ... whatever.

Wet Plaza

Crossing the plaza in front of the Opera House in Bordeaux during the rain.  A 12x24 oil on canvas.

Minimalist

This time a minimalist 12x12 oil on canvas of one car in one alley with seemingly one color in Bordeaux.

Bordeaux Evening

Another French painting, a view of a main avenue in Bordeaux in the early evening as the lowering sunlight streaks across the city, creating deep shadows. No rain.  This is a 12x12 oil on canvas with an essentially limited palette of raw umber, prussian blue, and Naples yellow.

Raining and Strolling

A rainy evening in Bordeaux, this time as a 12x12 oil on canvas for a change of shape.  I also used predominantly three colors: Prussian blue, raw umber, and Naples yellow, plus titanium white.  Everyone is looking for some place to eat, or strolling after eating.

The Sky

A steep walk in Saint-Emilion.  Some shutters are closed and some partly open.  The sky.  A 9x12 oil on canvas.

Singing in Saint-Emilion

This time I set up a less typical composition: this 9x12 oil on canvas painting is like a cubist painting with depth.  Down the stony incline, and beyond the buildings to the distant fields, we go.  It's another view of Saint-Emilion, where everything sings on a sunny, blue sky day, even the dark stony walls.

Rainy Day

Even in France, a day of sun can be followed by a day of rain.  This 9x12 oil on canvas represents the plaza in front of the Opera House in Bordeaux.  Wet marble reflects the light and passers-by (well, one) are bundled up against the cold.  I've been wanting to try my hand at painting a rainy day painting.  I tried to keep it simple again. The colors were limited to burnt sienna, yellow ochre and ultramarine blue, plus white.  I like the way this composition works, an "H" in the middle, with balancing variations.  It's a "found" composition in that it was there and I took it.

Tight Shutters

Today I opted to keep the painting simple: it's a 9x12 oil on canvas of an alleyway in Saint-Emilion.  I suppose the residents keep the houses cool by using the shutters which fit exactly in the window and door openings.  Or maybe nobody's home.

Dreaming of Illiers-Combray

This looks like a simple painting, but it was difficult to do.  I painted it quickly, but I had to dream about it before applying any paint.  What's an Illiers-Combray?  The painting is a view of the intersection of Rue Saint-Hilaire and Rue des Trois Maries in the small town of Illiers-Combray.  The tree seen in the back at right is in the garden of Aunt Leonie's house.  Young Marcel's family would exit the gate here to walk the "Guermantes Way."  The town of Illiers added Proust's fictional name for the town "Combray" in 1971 hoping to attract tourists who wanted to search for lost time.