following the path

 Following the path 

18X24           Oil on panel

This is a little section of wood in a local park near where I live, I love that transition from maintained grass to forest. I always respond to the shape of this path as it stretches between the towering trees on either side. It gives these great swaths of shadow across the grass and under the trees. 

This is the first oil in a while, quite a shock to the system after so many Acrylic paintings where you can be so lazy about drying times and thickness of paint. Made me feel like I should do some more, to get the feel back again.

Harmony

I usually paint in quite a high key range, but sometimes it's great to wallow in some darker hues. I love this rich purple maroon tablecloth and the color bounce of the warm lemons and oranges...Last few still lifes, have all featured some form of fractured or broken chairs in the background. Perhaps it's time I got out the nails and glue and stuck some of them back together! ;-)


It's a difficult painting to photograph this, cameras dont cope well with strong reds next to green hues, and the tonal range is big too. A lot gets lost in those darks, that the eye can enjoy but the camera misses.

'Harmony across the darks'

36X24

Acrylic on board

Tulips

The latest Still life, and a recent favorite of mine. This is a standard size for me 36X24, and quite a regular or normal size. But sometimes I enjoy creating the illusion of length, by stretching the composition within the frame. Squashing and pulling the table forms and adding length in the vase. The stems of the flowers if anything are shortened to allow the flowers to arrive in the right space on the canvas. But the illusion is still complete  - narrow and tall, one of elegant length.

The color choices are similar to many I used fairly regularly a number of years ago, it was fun to return to them, the yellow oranges, really sit well over the somber greens and cerulean blues.

The title 'Still life with sections of a chair' was also important to me, it allows the viewer to think about the split chair in the background. It's an object that at first glance is only there to frame the table and vase, strengthening the composition. However including 'it' in the title draws some thought and an extra depth to appreciating the object within the work.

Still life with sections of a chair

36X24    Acrylic on board

The Paley collection at the De young

Yesterday I dropped of some new pieces of mine at Chloe fine Art in SF and then went on to look around the De Young Museum, primarily to see the exhibition of 'The William S. Paley Collection'. Paley was a broadcast pioneer, CBS being principally his baby. He funneled a small amount of his fat pockets into picking up paintings to decorate his home that at the time weren't desperately in vogue. (I think most people were off buying 'newer' moderism, abstraction and expressionism, around this era).  In time this became the collection we know today, which has some fantastic paintings from the post-impressionist era and the birth of moderism.

The  Collection includes paintings, sculpture and drawings that range in date from the late 19th century through the early 1970s. The collection includes multiple works by  artists like Cezanne,  Matisse,  Picasso, Degas, Gauguin and more.

As some of you may remember I'm huge, huge fan of Toulouses paintings and the exhibition had a couple of nice ones. I also like much of the Nabis movement; Bonnard seems to be usually very good and two of Gauguins were also great. (I find I like Gauguin more and more as I get older.)  There were of course a share of things that I didn't care for, but I wont bore you by listing them too.

Unusually they allowed photography in the exhibition. I took a few pictures rather quickly and some what guiltily, consequently they're not the best. Most viewers enjoyed their art with their smart phones close at hand photographing each and every piece at point blank range. A strange and interesting sight, and a sign of our times.

One nice feature is the exhibition had a little adjoining corridor between spaces that featured large photographs of the featured paintings actually in Paleys home. This was nice to see, to give you a feel for how he chose to present his home and the paintings. Personally I feel they're better now is a plain elegant museum, but of course I wouldn't mind having one, on one of my own walls! (in case anyone's offering?)

Charity

This painting went into my kids school auction today as part of their annual pledge drive. The schools principal was the happy winning bidder!

Vegetables with lilies
20’ X 27.5’
Acrylic on canvas

Catching up

I've been slow to post these last few weeks, so here's a few paintings to catch up with the work/posts...

Beyond the fence line (study Nr San Teresa CP - CA)
18X24   Acrylic on board

A local plein air painting. I often come back to this field and this horizon but more commonly paint the field from the right hand edge. This has a good light feel to it, so I was pleased with the results.
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 Canada Geese

18X24              Acrylic on board

I don't often do this type of subject, but I enjoy painting groups of animals, people or in this case birds. Often it's how the objects (in this case birds) overlap that interests me most. In this respect it holds very similarly to my still life work.
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Clematis with fruit over orange & blue
30X48                   Acrylic on wood

This is loosely based of a previous Clematis painting, it's size gives it a good sense of drama and power, I like the counter change of the warm backgrounds with the compliment foliage color.

Workshops

I'm in the process of adding another page onto my web site, quite a daunting task since the site was built and designed by a we expert. I'm now going in with my blunt hammer and trying to fit in another page... check it out!

http://anguspaintings.com/workshop.php