Impresssions of a Realist --

Impresssions of a Realist - Longwood Gardens In Spring,
8 x 10", Acrylic on Canvas, Tracy Feldman

This is the third of my Longwood Gardens in Spring series of paintings.  The day we went to the garden, we had a great time seeing the flowering beds in the main ornamental area.  Lots of folk were having a wonderful time absorbing the beauty of the day and the plants.  But we realized that the real area reserved for painters and photographers was at the opposite end of the gardens.  Huge, colorful beds of spring flowers were surrounded on all sides by painters and photographers recording the plants.  This little impressionistic piece is of two sets of such "realists" -- a painter in the foreground and a couple of photographers in the background.  Either one could have been me, so it was even more fun to capture them for posterity. Tell me what you think.

Since I've written this blog post initial, this piece has sold on auction -- to the realist (whom I didn't know). Her friend spotted the piece on Daily Paintworks, and called and told her about it.  How cool is that!?!

Longwood Series # 2

Spring Impressions -- Longwood 2014, 8 x 10"
Acrylic on Canvas, Tracy Feldman

I love the patchwork feeling of these tulip gardens at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA.  They reminded me of a patchwork quilt.

As with the first piece of this series, the small scale of this work helped me be willing to move away from wanting to paint a totally representational rendering of what I saw.  But I couldn't resist adding more representational versions of the dark linear branches that spread over the near floral patch because they added another needed dark value and their thin linearity beautifully complemented the shapes within the tulip and daffodil beds.  I'd love to hear your impressions.

This work is also up for auction on the Daily Paintworks site.  Bidding will start at $30.  If it doesn't sell at auction, I'll include it in the small works section of my next show, for considerably more than the starting bid. Click here, or on the Daily Paintworks icon to the right to get to my gallery and bid.

Back In the World of the Sharing!

Back in the World of the Sharing!

Spring Abstract 1, Longwood Series, 2014, 8 x 10",
Acrylic on Canvas, by Tracy Feldman, May 2014.

It's been months since I posted on my blog, not because I wasn't doing work, but because I was having a sharing block. But, I've been working on that, and have recently committed to doing work and getting it out there.  Yesterday,  Arny and I went to one of the premier ornamental gardens in the US, Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA.  We had a wonderful day, walking in the sun, taking in their wonderful spring plantings, and as I started taking pictures, something broke free.

     The chronicling morphed into something more than just taking snaps of beautiful things.  I realized that I wanted to create a series of small paintings for my Daily Paintworks gallery.  So, I consciously worked to create compositions, capturing images that would be worthy of becoming part of this series: my Longwood, Spring 2014 series.  In painting lingo, I wasn't merely taking photographic images, I was creating source material.

I love the strong diagonals and vibrant tones of this little piece.  Initially, I considered creating a totally representational piece; however, I soon realized that on such a small canvas, a true representational rendering of the image would distract from those strong diagonals that I loved when I first composed the source material.  Thus, I chose to adopt a more abstract approach: one that got more abstract as the viewer's eyes went up and to the left in the painting.  I'm really pleased with my decision.  I believe the softening of focus did what I wanted, and I hope that you enjoy it.  I'd welcome comments.

         As part of my "getting my work out there", I'm going to put the piece up for auction on the Daily Paintworks site.  Bidding will start at $30.  If it doesn't sell at auction, I'll include it in the small works section of my next show, for considerably more than the starting bid. Click here, or on the Daily Paintworks Icon to the right to get to my gallery and bid.

        Since writing this blog post, Spring Abstract 1 has sold.  It's so nice to know that my work is going home with someone to be enjoyed.

Sailing Potentials

Sailing Potentials - Oil on Canvasboard,  10 x 12" by Tracy Feldman

This small work is one of several paintings I did based on photos we took in Kinsale, Ireland on a beautifully sunny day.  I love the composition of this piece, as well as the clear value range that its sunny day shadows made possible.

The other works were interesting, but not as successful as small pieces because they were too busy.  It's a good lesson that maybe will inspire me to let go of my almost lifelong love affair with busyness and complication.

If you are interested in this piece, go to the Daily Paintworks and check out my gallery.  They have a new option on the site now: you can participate in the auction, or buy the piece at a set price before the auction begins.

Painting Process for Peninsula Impressions.

Peninsula Impressions -  12 x 9"  - by Tracy Feldman
Watercolor and ink on canvas panel.

This little painting is another one inspired by our trip this summer to Wisconsin's Door Peninsula.  It also incorporates elements of the Zentangle style that I've been playing with.  Notice the birch boughs, and the cheese and cherries for which Wisconsin is justly famous.  The "string" running through the piece creates the impression of swim floats which, along with the background and small boats, communicates how important water is on the peninsula.  I also added some wheat stalks because I loved the warmth of their golden color against the cool blues and greens of the rest of the area.  As a piece of whimsy, I had yellow perch (which I ate when there), swimming along the center "string". In the smallest loop, I included a wonderful little unexpected find I came across on the peninsula: fossils along the eastern (Lake Michigan) beaches.  How cool!  

My sister in-law Mae suggested that people might find it interesting to see the process I went through to create this little piece.

I started the painting process by doing a watercolor and ink sketch on paper.

Notice that when I transferred the sketch to 

canvas, I modified the "string" and started 

moving away from my initial design, waiting 

to add vignettes to small loops.

The next phase of the  painting process had me lifting the watercolor pencil lines before adding other color and the vignettes to the small loops.  I knew I couldn't leave it like that.  The painting  needed a background color to balance the composition and help the painting's other  element pop.

At first I thought this version of  the piece 

was the final one.  I wasn't  happy with it, 

but I wasn't sure what was off.

 I slept on it  and realized

 the "water" was too saturated 

and detailed compared

 to the "tangle".

Thus,  I did what watercolorists call "lifting",
 and now I'm happy with  the final result, shown on the right.  I hope you like it.  As always, I'm 
initially making this piece available on auction 
at my DailyPaintworks.com.   If it doesn't sell, 
I'll raise the price to its normal sales price.  
Tell me what you think.

. 

Fun on the Water - second of the Great Lakes beach pictures

Fun on the Water - Door Co, Wisconsin - by Tracy Feldman
Watercolor and Ink on Canvasboard

Although we were largely on land ourselves when we visited the Door peninsula in Wisconsin, I was struck by how water-oriented it was.  Locals and visitors alike spent much of their leisure time on the water, swimming or in boats of all stripes.  The fascination with being on the water seemed to suck everyone in.  This playful figurative "abstract is my homage to that fact.

I hope you enjoy this piece.  Tell me what you think.  Once again, I'm auctioning it on my Daily Paintworks gallery. The bidding will start at $20, but if it doesn't sell at auction, I'll raise the price to my normal (much higher) price.

Travels through the Great Lakes States 1

Lighthouses, Water, and Sky -- Door County, Wisconsin  by Tracy Feldman
Watercolor and Ink on Canvasboard, 10" x 10"

We've been away from home, visiting family in Pittsburgh and the mid-west.  The next few days’ paintings, therefore, are part of my beach-inspired work.  This piece, Lighthouses, Water, and Sky was inspired by the trip we took with Arny's sister and brother-in-law to a place that Arny and Elaine had visited when they were kids.  It's the Door Peninsula, which sits between Lake Michigan and Green Bay (yes, the one that the football team is named after).

I loved the idea of visiting a place that Arny had such fond memories of.  Then we went there, and I found I loved it myself.  We stayed at a charming bed and breakfast, called The Garden Gate, in Sturgeon Bay, and each day, we'd go out to hike and explore what the county had to offer.  People who don't live near the Great Lakes would be surprised how much shipping travels through the lakes and how wild the water can get in bad weather -- particularly in the winter.  Thus, the shorelines of the Great Lakes -- including the ones of this lovely peninsula -- are dotted with many interesting lighthouses.

As part of my effort to move toward abstraction, I used four area lighthouses as design elements.  Between them, I celebrated the beautiful green and blue waters that typified of that area.  I love seeing the range of greens, turquoises, and blues of the water for itself, partially because as a young person, I assumed that only the sea around tropical islands could be so beautifully hued.

I hope you enjoy this piece.  Tell me what you think.  Once again, I'm auctioning it on my Daily Paintworks gallery. The bidding will start at $20, but if it doesn't sell at auction, I'll raise the price to my normal (much higher) price.