Lexington Tulips

"With winter's blast, can spring be far behind?" anonymous
Finally, spring is here and I went to Lexington Cemetery to draw the tulips. All winter my backpack sat in the corner of my studio loaded with pastels and paper and today, at last, I plopped it on my back and walked the cemetery grounds looking for that perfect spot to view the tulips.
The Lexington Garden Club plants the flower beds every fall with fresh tulip bulbs and the spring display is gorgeous. Today many viewers were out taking photo of the tulips especially with little kiddos posing in front of a background of beautiful tulips.

"Lexington Tulips" 8'x12" plein aire drawing on Wallis Belgium Mist sanded paper

"Italian Rhythms"

Pondering yesterday's disappointing drawing, I looked at which ones were working and which seemed lost. Rhythm was the common denominator of those I felt were more successful. I'm more interested in the rhythm of the shapes and colors. Rooftops, buildings, shutters, things that repeat but vary.
Late last night I read an article in American Artist Magazine May 2011"Escape to the Outer Cape: Landscapes of Brenda Horowitz" where Brenda talks about her admiration for Mark Rothko's "pure and bold" color and Hans Hofmann's "Vibrant and fresh" color. "Pare down pictorial compostions to essential elements of color, line and form," she says.
That's what I'm looking for. 

"Rooftop Rhythms" 8" x 12" on Wallis sanded paper

Which one is the plein aire/on location drawing from Italy and which one was today's studio piece? Too easy, isn't it?

"Florentine Rooftops" 8" x 12" on Wallis sanded paper

After filing my taxes today, I think my trip to Italy was well worth the expense and needs to be repeated. SOON! There's nothing like working on location.

"Cetona Flowers"

"The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things but their inner significance" Aristotle
I'm still struggling with images from Italy. The experience was so wonderful that I can't seem to make my images equal the feeling of the trip. I worked on this one yesterday, wiped out half of it and reworked it today but am not satisfied. I feel like I'm totally missing the point. Aristotle has the right idea, but why can't I seem to even get close to that.
Frustration.

"Cetona Flowers" 10" x 7" on Wallis sanded paper

This is closer, but still not there. It's a poor attempt at realism and shouldn't even be realism. It should be expressionism or abstraction.

"Cetona Flowers" - close-up

And yesterday's question. Which drawing was plein aire and which was studio created? "Cetona Pink Pants" is the studio piece. I bet everyone guessed it correctly.

"Cetona Streets"

"Ain't nothin' like the real thing, baby. Ain't nothin' like the real thing." who sang that?
So here's my dilemma. I created 30 plein aire drawings on my trip to Italy, but to me they are the essence of my trip and I won't sell any of them. However my 5 friends and I are having a show of our work and I'm creating new pieces for the show.
Here are my two drawings. Can you tell which one was drawn on location in Italy and which was was drawn today in my studio with the reference photo as my inspiration?
The answer will be in tomorrow's blog.
Which one do you like better?

"Cetona - Pink Pants" 12" x 8" pastel on Wallis sanded paper

"Cetona Backstreets" 12" x 8" pastel on Wallis sanded paper

"Daffodils"

"I am no greater for one man's praise, nor less for his criticism." anonymous
One art fair down and 11 more to go. Let's hope the others are better than this one, but I always say, I'm there advertising my work and you never know when someone will think about something they've seen and decide they can't live without it; buying it at the next fair.
So here's little piece of cheery spring from 2010. I'm looking forward to getting back into plein aire drawing in the coming weeks.

"Daffodils" 8" x 12" on Wallis sanded paper. Plein aire drawing

Day 60 "Corn Rows 4"

Pray for Japan and all the people who are suffering. They are amazing people. If you wish to give money be sure it's a legitimate website. There are always lots of scammers out there during a crisis.


I made it. It's day 60 of my 60 days of "Pastel a Day" and it's the last day of work before leaving for KYCrafted the Market. Wholesale days are March 17 & 18, and retail days are 19 & 20 at KY State Fair and Expo Center in Louisville, KY. 
Talk to you all next week.

"Corn Rows" 6" x 6" on La Carte sanded paper

Day 59 "Piggies 4"

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep." Scott Adams
Continuing the "Animal Quilt" series is "Piggies 4"
No time tonight for writing.... how did I get so behind to be ready for KYCrafted?

"Piggies 4"