I'm Working Away on an Upcoming Show!

Something I didn't really expect this year was to be putting on a show, but a new art friend inspired me to do just that!  We'd met at a women's event at the National University of Ireland -- where both our husbands are this year.  We exchanged our details and agreed to talk later.  Then I went off to Valencia, Spain and spent a month working mainly on sketching.  She was following me on Facebook and really liked my sketches so she suggested we do a show together.

"Abstract #1", 20 x 20 cm acrylic on
Canvas by Adrienne M Finnerty.

The idea intrigued me, but at first I was confused about what we could do together since her work and mine are so different.  As you can see by her piece at the left, Adrienne does abstracts, and I'm a realist.

Work in progress for show -- Oil on canvas
Night View of Galway Cathedral, by Tracy Feldman

But her enthusiasm, and our realizing that we had so many other things in common, changed my mind.  We both have a similar sense of fun.  We share a spiritual point of view.  And we were brought to Galway because of our husbands' work. She's from Ireland's East and has been in the area for  three years, while I've lived here going on four years, but the time has been split up between sabbaticals -- with us coming here for one year at a time (with 5 year absences) when Arny is on sabbatical doing research at the National University of Ireland Maths Department.  Our last commonality, and the title and theme of Bill Bryson's book "I'm a Stranger Here Myself", suggested the name of the show:

   "We're Strangers Here Ourselves: Love Letters in Paint to Galway and the West."

    Another wonderful thing that convinced me that this show really is meant to be is the fact that we found a great venue in downtown Galway, and not a year from now, but in May of this year.  Our work will be on display at the Portershed off Galway's Eyre Square, and we'll have an opening (with all the work in our exhibition) on the evening of the 4th of May, from 6 - 8:30 pm.  We are so grateful to the Portershed, and their sponsors (AIB) for welcoming us, not only for the night of the opening, but for all month.  At other times, you can visit the venue and see some of our work any Monday to Friday from 9:30 to 5 PM.

     If you can make it to Galway in early May, you are invited.  If you want to see more of the work that will be in the show, check out my homepage, or my or Adrienne's Facebook pages and instagram accounts.

Persimmons and Cranberries

Persimmons and Cranberries, 12 x 16", Oil on Canvasboard by Tracy Feldman

This piece is a continuation of my Vegetation on Oilcloth Series. I chose cranberries and persimmons to have together in this work because I like the way their shapes mimic each other, and the way the warm-colored fruit looks on the black and white oilcloth.   I played a lot with the composition to get it "just so."

I started doing this painting by using the underpainting technique I learned in Dreama Toll Perry's course this fall. But I didn't complete it using her using Dreama's ala prima painting style because getting the colors to work well together well involved a lot of experimentation.   I like the result in the end, and I hope you will too. 

I'm considering putting this series up in my gallery on the Fine Art America site because I believe they'd make great subjects for people who wanted to make cards or to get prints of the series for their kitchens, etc.. What do you think?  Should I do that?

A Better Way To Spend My Time

View From Elaine's Place, Inverin, Co Galway, IE

Persimmons and Cranberries on Oil Cloth - sketch by Tracy Feldman

I produced these three sketches yesterday during a long wait. Creating them was a fun challenge that kept me in the moment -- which really helped me not fret too much and also helped me be present.

Fall Light in Coole Park, Co. Galway

The first sketch is the view in from my friend Elaine's home in Inverin, Co. Galway. I am thinking about turning the second sketch into one of my vegetation on oil cloth portraits. And the third one is of late afternoon light as we walked along a forest path in Coole Park. 

I used sharpies, colored markers, a brush pen, and watercolor on sketch paper to do these pieces. All in all, a much better way to spend the four hours than sitting in a waiting room and watching the same news stories recycle dozens of times.

Vegetation Portraits on Oil Cloth?

Cyclamen on Oil Cloth - 16 x 12" Oil on canvasboard
 by Tracy Feldman

     This is another in the series that I am painting of objects on the wonderful oilcloth I bought for my kitchen table.  I had been calling the series, "Vegetable Portraits on Oil Cloth", but I think I'm going to need to change the name to "Vegetation on Oil Cloth" because as the growing season is coming to an end locally, I am going to need to look further afield for my portrait models.  What do you think?

     This one is of a lovely plant that a friend brought me and suggested would be a great subject for a portrait.  It's called a cyclamen.  Several varieties grow here in Ireland.  Some, like this one, are hardy enough to over-winter here (at least in mild winters).  Others go dormant over winter but return in very early spring (February) to brighten the forest floor.  Their vivid hues are very welcome during Ireland's particularly gray months.

 Cyclamen underpainting

      As you can see on the right, I used the under-painting technique I learned this fall from Dreama Toll Perry.  But because I could not finish the piece in one sitting, I used my painting medium when completing the painting.

           I chose to show the plant from over head because that point of view made the cyclamen appear to be growing out of the tablecloth  -- and that appeals to my "reality with a twist" sensibilities.  I also took several portraits of the plant from the side. I'm also going to paint one of those because I loved the way the perspective changed how the "leaves" look on the oil cloth.  So keep your eyes peeled for that, and for a persimmon and cranberry portrait that is also in the works!

Revisiting Paintings

Redone picture of geraniums.

Sometimes when I walk past a painting day after day, elements of it start to bother me. If  I get bothered enough, I'll just go in and change the painting to make it better for me. 

This is one of those pieces.

Original version.

 I didn't like that lack of vibrancy of the geraniums. I got more and more bothered by the thickness of the wood between the window panes. And, the very bottom of the painting bothered me too.

I more pleased town and I hope you are too.

Finding Autumn (Fall) color in this area of "rocky beauty" -- as it is called in the tourist literature -- what I loved about living in Galway during This Week

Last week, we went walking in some unusual woods with old trees in County Galway: The Barna Woods (in the Galway suburbs) and Coole Park -- the grounds of Lady Gregory's estate in southern County Galway.  Lady Gregory was WB Yeats' patron and confidant as well as a writer in her own right, and a founder of Dublin's Abbey Theatre.  It was wonderful seeing the color and smelling the scent of fallen leaves.  Enjoy -- we certainly did!

Coole Park Pictures:

Barna Woods Pictures

 

What I loved about Living in Galway during Halloween Week 2016

Macnas 2016 Parade - music, costumes, giant puppets,
folk on stilts, acting, dancing -- what Craic!

 Macnas's 30th Anniversary Parade for Halloween! 

They say in Galway that the Halloween celebrations started in Ireland.  It spread to the States with the people escaping from the potato famine.  Like so many things,  American Halloween celebrations -- through the influence of TV, films, and folk returning to Ireland --  have come back to influence how the event is celebrated in the 21st century.  For instance, we first lived in Ireland for the year in 1999/2000 , and tThen the majority of children who came to our place were dressed as ghosts and ghouls. This Halloween, the costumes are closer to the ones we'd see back home:  more superheroes,   Disney characters, princesses, rock guys and gals, etc. than we saw in 1999.  Also, like at home, kids are much less likely now to trick or treat on their own, without a parental chaperone.  

One thing that makes Galway, Galway, is how much Galwegians enjoy "the Craic" -- pronounced "the crack".  It refers to fun-loving people  getting together to have a good time with friends, perhaps at a special event.  That is why a wonderful, community-based puppet/parade company has thrived here for the last 30 years. This Galway-based, non-profit street theater group puts on huge, elaborate parades that incorporate music, drumming, dance, and giant, human-powered puppets. Its parades are so wonderful that the group (Macnas)  has been invited to perform in many places in the world.  The Halloween-themed Macnas parade celebrating its 30th anniversary was a truly wonderful spectacle.  But the spectacle did not stop with the Macnas performers.   Many of the individuals and families who packed the streets to watch the parade also dressed in wonderful, elaborate costumes of their own.  Craic indeed.  And even though we were only visitors (and not dressed for the occasion), we loved  it.

        We got a lot of fantastic images of the event, and I might paint something this year based on what we saw.  Periodically check on this blog or my website for the work I produce this year.

Second in my "Vegetables on Oilcloth" Series

Can't Beet Them - 16 x 12" oil on Canvas.

 This is the second in a series of vegetable portraits that I've started since arriving in the Galway (Ireland) area. The series was inspired by a wonderful oilcloth I bought here, and Ireland’s beautiful vegetables.

I adore the oilcloth's graphic quality contrasted against the natural shapes and intense hues of the beets.   Galway has a thriving farmer's market, and a number of Fruit and Vegetable shops in the area at which I can buy beautiful, fresh veg (as they say here) that still have their greens attached to them.  Including them reminds me that they come from the earth - which I love.

Hope you enjoy!  I haven't figured out how to sell these pieces on-line yet -- because I don't know how to handle the shipping, etc. from here.  But, I'm working on trying to put together a show here, and if I still have them when I return home, I'm going to ship them home in a bike box. Then,  I'll make them available for sale. 

Note: to return my home page.

Grateful for Beauty -- Wherever I Find It

Gift Bag in Oil, 10 x 8", Oil on Canvas, by Tracy Feldman

       Beauty sometimes comes in unexpected placed.  For instance, we had friends over for Valentines Day, and friends brought us some kit to use for dipping bread in olive oil.  It came in a beautiful bag. And while it probably was not intended to be a work of art, it was so lovely that I knew I'd wanted to paint it as soon as I saw it.  

       As you can see from this post, I did just that TWICE: first in watercolors and then in oils.  I  like the feel of the oil painting better than the sketch, but I've included it so you can compare them.

Gift Bag in W/C, Watercolor on Paper

      Notice that I changed the setting and the cloth on which I placed that bag, and I think I think those choices also make it more interesting than the sketch.  I ever paint it again, I'll center it a little more. But even so, I had a great time painting it and like how it turned out.  I hope you do too.

      As is usual with the small oils I paint (this one is 10 X 8"), it available for auction in my gallery on dailypaintworks.com.  Check it out if it interests you.

Watercolor Sketching and Oil Painting

Arny Relaxing With A Good E-Book, watercolor on paper by Tracy Feldman

 As part of my effort to keep growing as an artist, a while ago I joined a daily sketching group.  I am not as faithful as some people are about doing and posting work each day.  But, seeing other's work inspires me to do more and stretch in ways that I might not otherwise.  For instance, lots of people often work al la prima, while I am more used to working from photo references.

The sketch to the left was inspired by those brave souls. I call it, "Arny Relaxing With a Good E-Book.  I did it yesterday from life. Arny is my husband, and he was such a good sport posing for me. Like any good model, he had to stop in the middle when his feet fell asleep. I painted it because he looked so relaxed (and cute) while nestled in all those pillows. 

His response was, "I look so much like my dad", and, basically, he is right. True ... he is taller, has somewhat more hair, and has a mellower personality, but otherwise, he's the spitting image of his dad.
Unless someone specifically asks me, I won't put this piece up for sale.

 The other piece I'm featuring today is a piece I am making available on auction in my dailypaintworks.com gallery.  The painting is called, Snowy Day at F&M 1.

    It is of a clock on the campus of Franklin and Marshall College during the huge snow storm we had a A couple of weeks ago. Arny was on the campus for part of it because he is a mathematics professor there, and he used his iPhone to take a number of beautiful photos of the campus in the falling snow. 

I particularly loved this one, so I painted small (10 x 8") version of in oils.  I am putting the painting up for auction in my Daily Paintworks Gallery. I call it "Snowy Day at F&M 1" because I might paint some other of the images he captured that day. Check it out there if you want. 

Guest Room on a Snow Day

Guest Room on a Snowy Day, 8 x 10",  Oil on Canvas, by Tracy Feldman

Watercolor sketch for this oil painting.

Here is the oil painting I said that I'd create the earlier watercolor sketch I did of my guest room. 

I like both, but I prefer the texture and value range I was able to capture using oils. I also love the way the snowy day view outside the window came. Notice that I added some of the brick colors in the bedspread. Doing that helped visually tie the piece together and using a warmer hue in the foreground also helped draw the side of the bed closer to you. It was that image that initially captured me and inspired me to create a painting. 

I wanted to paint this piece because of how that beautiful snowy view contrasted against the still, formality of the bedroom.  The composition brought to mind Van Gogh's "Bedroom in Arles", and I thought it would be fun to capture the feel of that piece. He used oils, so maybe that is another reason I prefer my oil of the same scene.

What is funny to me is when I went on-line to see Van Gough's work, I realized that while both have a bed, paintings, and a window, they are very different.  But, even so, they still give me a similar feeling. 

Today I am posting this little oil on auction in my daiypaintworks.com gallery.  So, if it appeals to you, check it out.  For the first three weeks, it will be listed on auction -- starting at $25.  After that, I'll list it for sale at its normal, higher, on-going price. 

The Best Laid Plans

Guest Room on a Snowy Day, watercolor on drawing paper, 8 x 10."
by Tracy Feldman

It's funny how things work out sometimes.  Today I opened the door to our guest room and saw such a beautiful snowy scene out the window that I had to paint it right then. 

 Unfortunately, I started with the bed area first and part way through realized that almost none of the view out the window would fit on the page. 

The view that inspired today's work.

 I still like the piece, but I took a photo of what inspired me, so you don't totally miss out on what inspire me.  

I am thinking about painting a small oil of my guest room and putting it up for sale in my dailypaintworks.com gallery.  I think the texture would add another dimension to the work, and  I don't like how the whites of the sheets turned out.  

Mea-Culpa Me

Mea-Culpa Me,  Watercolor on Paper by Tracy Feldman

Didn't get enough sleep last, but I still wanted to complete a sketch/painting. So, I checked out my photos and up came this image of me that I took to illustrate my next newsletter. I wanted to communicate the feeling I was saying "Mea-culpa" for the month's delaying to my newsletter for a long time. I thought doing a sketch might be fun. The techniques and materials I used included starting with a pencil sketch done on my Strathmore Drawing Pad, then adding watercolor, and finishing with Sharpies and white gel pens.

I don't know if I'll use the piece to illustrate my next newsletter, but I had a great time doing it. Hope you enjoy it too.

Cranberry Cordial 1

Cranberry Cordial 1, Oil on Canvas, 10 x 8",
by Tracy Feldman

This little painting is largely about memories. The tablecloth used is one we got on our first trip to Europe 30 years ago. 

We were visiting Burano, Italy and loved the lace/cut work table cloths they made. The glasses are antique "thistle"-style cordial glasses that an old family friend got to help commemorate our having spent a year in England.

 I added the cranberries because the color and the shape of the berries seemed like they would complete the composition.  I'll probably paint another version of this tomorrow because I think zooming out would add something to the work.

I am putting this on up for auction in my Daily Paintworks gallery.  Check it out if you are interested in it.

Nested Pear

Nested Pear, 10 x 8", Oil on Canvas by Tracy Feldman

This painting is the second in my series of pear paintings.  I realized that I wanted to do a piece where I featured just one piece of fruit.

Because I worried that it would look odd just sitting there on its own, I wrapped it in a nest of white tissue paper to create the impression it was a gift that had just removed from a carefully-packed fruit box.  It was fun playing been with the rounded shape of the pear and sharper angles created by the crinkled up tissue paper.

As usual, I'm selling this small piece at auction in my on-line gallery on dailypaintworks.com.  Check it out!

Cranberry Cordial

______

Go to my Facebook Page to see the watercolor sketch I also completed today.  It is called Cranberry Cordial.

Winter Pears on Silvered Platter

Winter Pears on Silvered Platter,  10 x 8", Oil on Canvas
 by Tracy Feldman

I have been experiencing a block when it comes to doing what I need for my art.  So to inspire me, I am reading Carol Marine's book "Daily Painting".   She advocates that people paint small and often to grow as artists.  She also encourages her readers to blog and sell their work on-line.

Watercolor sketch
of the same topic

I have not finished the book yet, but I can tell it is starting to help get me moving again with my art because I created two small paintings today.  I am calling each "Winter Pears on Silvered Platter" because they are of the same topic.  The pieces aren't identical, however.  One is a watercolor and ink sketch on paper.  The other one is an 10 x 8" oil on canvas.  If you look closely, you'll notice I changed the composition in the oil painting and added directional lighting to add dimension and interest to the piece.

         It felt good to feel more productive again. That doesn't mean it is not scary to do the second type of activity Marine recommends: blogging about, and posting the work for sale on-line.  Wish me luck as I post the oil on dailypaintworks.com and offer it for sale at auction.  Eek!

       If this piece interests you, check out my auction in my dailypaintworks.com gallery!

Another Batch of My Self-Portrait Sketches

Me, On a "Fine Soft Day"

Me, My Pretty

Me, Right Profile

Me, With Glasses

Me, Left Profile

         I've been busy continuing to work on my 30 days of self-portrait sketches.  To keep it interesting, I've been challenging myself by choosing poses and situations that are different.  In this batch of drawings, I thought about different ways to see me that just head-on.  So in Me, On a Fine Soft Day, I painted  myself at a distance, hiding my face under an orange umbrella on a gray and damp day.  In Me, My Pretty,  I thought it might be fun to play with perspective (and give myself an opportunity to draw hands in perspective.  I was thinking me as a Brobdignagian (from Gulliver's Travels), but what I got seems to me to be closer to the wicked witch in the Wizard of Oz -- maybe I was unconsciously inspired by the fact that this is the month of Halloween. 

           The final three sketches are normal portrait type of sketches, but they capture me from a different angle than most photos of me do:  specifically from the side or with my glasses on.  I normally wear contacts instead of glasses, so most people don't see me in my glasses unless they are overnight guests at our home, or I'm sick or have a problem with me contacts.  Me, With my Glasses  is that view, and while I like the sketch as a sketch, I have to admit it's me minus 15 pounds and years.  I was feeling a little guilty about that, and maybe that's why another sketch I like, Me, Left Profile, ended up (I think) adding pounds and years to my normal look.  

      Doing this 30 day personal challenge has been good for me in a number of ways.  First, it is challenging me creatively.  Second, it's helping me hone my drawing skills.  Third, it's an exercise in self-honesty. What I mean is that normally when I look in the mirror, I see myself as younger that I am, but working to draw what I see (no matter how successful that effort is) forces me to look at me so much more closely -- which is useful, but illusion-shattering.  Speaking of creativity.  I'd love to hear any of your suggestions for poses.

Beginning the Exploration of Me on Paper

       This weekend, I decided to start something that combines two things that  I've heard are good for art artists.  For the next month, I want to do a sketch of me each day.  It will be good drawing practice, and will challenge my creativity.

            

        Since I want the practice to be interesting for me, I'm going to working from pictures and try to capture me at odd times and at different angles.  The first image I used was a selfie I took very close up, and from an odd angle.  Even in the photograph, I almost don't recognize myself.  I like the attitude I have and the unusual angle, as well as the face that the right side of my face is so heavily shadowed.  It adds a nice third major value to the piece.

                                                                                                     The second drawing is based on a picture my husband took of me when I was sitting in bed and texting a sponsee (I'm in a 12 Step program and I sponsor).  Arny has pictures of me talking to sponsees at monasteries, castles, beaches, etc., so he thought it would be neat to take a picture of me at home doing the same thing.  

         The third day's sketch of the challenge to myself is of me at a mid distance.  It's from a picture Arny took of me at Longwood Gardens.  (It's a world-famous ornamental garden within an easy drive from us -- I LOVE I can do that.)   I am in a watercolor sketching group, and I decided to try out a technique I learned there and applied to a floral sketch I did yesterday.  After I laid the basic shapes with pencil, I used washes to define and add depth to the piece.  I then went in and used a Bick fine-line marker to give some final definition to the piece.  I discovered something important for the future if I use that technique again.  I did realize that the paper was still wet in the area of my face, so when I went to define my mouth, the ink ran --making me look as if I were trying out for the role of "Joker" in a Batman movie.  I thought about the material I had and made a great discovery -- a combination of the the white (and later the orange) "Inktense" pencil covered a lot of the offending run areas.  Yea!   I like the wash and pen combo, but from now on, I'll either wait for the washes to totally dry or use a permanent marker.  I'll periodically post my self-portraits over the month. Check them out!

Flowers for Betty, WC on sketch pad
by Tracy Fledman

I'm working on sketching more, and here are two watercolor sketches that I did yesterday.  I had committed to bringing a meal to a friend who was getting an operation. As I shopped for ingredients at Costco, I ran across these flowers, and I thought, "how nice to bring some flowers to cheer her".  Thus, I bought some to give to her and draw.  After buying, them, however, I realized I didn't know if she or her family had flower allergies, so I split the bunch in two, figuring 3 blossoms would cause fewer problems than I whole bunch.  That gave me the opportunity to sketch "Betty's flower" and "My flowers".  I experimented with this putting down color first and then adding ink from a marker to better define the shape.  I love that when people do that.  It was neat, but I realized that using an ultra-fine tip marker would have worked better.  

Flowers for Me, WC on sketch pad
by Tracy Fledman

    The funny thing is that after I left the meal and flowers on my friend's stoop, she called me and explained she wasn't going into surgery until Wednesday. Oops!  I feel a little like Winnie the Poo when he did all that work to build a home for Eeyore -- only to later discover that the pile of sticks he found to build it were already the "home" the donkey had built for himself.  Fortunately, like Eeyore, my friend appreciated the outcome -- even if the effort was a little off in some ways.   I used my inexpensive sketch pad to do the drawings, and used watercolors, a Bbic marker, and a white gel pen.

Oil Sketch #2 for the Dahlia Commission

Dahlia Sketch from the front -- 16 x 20 Oil on Gallery-wrapped canvas

 This is the second of the Dahlia oil sketches I created as part the process for my last commission. But because I wanted to focus on the large commission, as you can tell (by comparing the sketch to the left to the painting below),  I decided to put aside this piece until now.  Creating the piece wasn't a waste of time --even at this stage of its development, the work helped my client realize which version of the image most appealed to her.  

Dahlia of My Heart (commission)

 I'm really happy I kept the unfinished sketch at the studio to inspire me as I worked on the final piece. It also proved very helpful when I met with my client near the end of the painting process.  The meeting's purpose was to find out how she wanted to have me finish the work-- specifically how she wanted me to handle the 1.5" sides of this gallery-wrapped canvas.  

I explained to her that I could go two ways. If she wanted the work to have a more traditional presentation when hung, I could paint the sides black and she'd have the painting framed.  If, however, she wanted to have the work have a modern feel, I'd wrap the image around the sides and put a hanger on the back of the piece.  I explained that if she wanted the latter,  she'd be able to have a beautifully finished piece -- without needing to think about framing. And I was able to use the sketch to show her what I meant.  She quickly decided on the more-modern look; then we went on to talk about why this type of Dahlia held so much meaning for her and her family.  But as we spoke about other things, my eyes kept on returning to this sketch.  I couldn't understand why until it dawned on me.

Dahlia Sketch from the right side 

If you look that this photo of a side view of the sketch, you may be able to spot what it took me a while to notice.  The petals wrapping around the right side of the painting were wrong.  I had truncated them -- as if the flower ended long before it would in real life.  Thus, when viewed from that side, the image felt wrong.  I pointed that out to my client, and assured her that that wouldn't be the case on the finished piece, and it wasn't.

After the Labor Day weekend, I'm going to be working on this oil sketch again.  It will stay a "sketch" so I won't dilute the uniqueness of my client's piece. Because it is a sketch, I'll be able to sell it for about half of what I'd charge normally for a work -- which will be great for some lucky buyer. 

As I said earlier, the piece will cost substantially less than I would a standard work on my site.  If you are interested in buying this piece before I put it up on my gallery on dailypaintworks.com, email me at tracyfeldmanartist@gmail.com.