Monday, November 29, 2010

tender season

This painting was on my easel through the Thanksgiving holiday and it cheered me each time I looked at it. With Christmas less than a month away, we are in the tender season. Emotions run high, challenges and opportunities are magnified. This painting is the second test of the pastel ground recipe I'm trying to mix. This time the test is on rag mat board (instead of masonite) and it feels better because it is softer.

On another note, my long-ago instructor, William Cumming, passed away last week at age 93. I am honored to have a painting he gave me when I was his student. I found this interesting quote from him: "We are not creators -- we are created. I hold the brush, but what holds me? These are troubling thoughts for me as a practicing atheist."

2 comments:

  1. This is wonderful, Barbara - both the composition and the palette. I love the splash of the blues and turquoises you used in the foreground grasses.

    And thank you for sharing your experiments with the grounds/surfaces you've been trying out; I am always interested in hearing what other artists use.

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  2. Wow, that's gorgeous! I love the softness between the trees and the sky. Looks like this surface works well for you!

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