Winter Blues!

This winter I am busy painting in the studio now that I am back in NY.
It is too cold for me to paint outside so when possible I use plein air
studies as a reference.  I usually have winter blues but I think this year I found
a way to combat this.  Paint with lots of summer blue!!!

Here is the painting that I have been working on
from my memory and experience. It is quite liberating to have painted
a subject so much that it can be done from the mind and heart without a
reference photo or even a sketch in front of me.

Preparing for Martha's Vineyard Exhibit
 at the Nikki Sedacca Gallery opening May 22nd.

My aim when painting landscapes is to engage not only your mind as you recognize
the subject matter but include the feeling of being in the warm air. I want you to feel as if you were there in the moment.  If you do, then I believe I achieved my objective.

I feel my way through the
painting. If a color is too bright, it looks garish and feels weird in my belly. If it is too dull, it feels like a weight to me and looks
more like a photograph which is flat.





Sure, sometimes paintings "look like a photograph" and amaze us. I
look for something more...  the sun warming the space, the light dancing across the canvas, the good feeling inside we have when we are in nature. I attempt to not only capture what I see but how great I feel when on location.


Tips for capturing a feeling of warmth and sunlight when painting...

 Use warm colors in the light- the yellows, reds and oranges.
Add cool colors to shadows. Which ones, it depends on the time of day
 (more on this another time.)
If you are an artist, practice with color blocks in sunlight.

My oil painting of colored boxes in the sunlight.

See how the colors play on a  the white box?Have you ever noticed how a white sheet in the sun and shadow looks?

Practice, practice, practice. Seeing color is a gift for me yet, you can learn. It has come to me naturally.

You can learn.  Look at one color. Isolate it by making a circle with your fingers.

Look through your fingers and see the color all by itself.

What color does it resemble?

Now look around at your scene.



Let's say you said green. Where else in the scene in front of you do you see green?
Which green is warmer ?  The first one you selected or the second?
Which green is cooler? Not sure what this means?
Consider a workshop to learn. Join me in Sarasota, Fl March 21& 22nd.
Beginners are welcome.  More info click here.