Art Without Painting Out

Greetings to All,

With another massive weather system already engulfing New England, it looks like we're not going out again this week. The forecast has a 90% chance of rain on Thursday morning and plenty of wind also.

So I hope you all have a painting or two going in the studio. I'll be trying to paint from a model again at Brush & Palette. I guess it's a good week to work in the studio, with the Madison show receiving this coming Saturday from 9:30 to Noon. Although if you've not already finished your entry or framing it yourself, it might be getting a little late... The opening for the Madison show will be on Thursday, May 8, from 5-7 PM at the Scranton Library.

By the way, last week, I heard from Lisa B -- Larry's wife. She said she is fully recovered from her surgery and feeling fine. Although now she faces the prospect of follow-on treatments, she sounds very upbeat and is looking forward to getting her studio setup completed, so she can get back to making art. I hope to connect with her in person if both of us make it to the opening of the first show of the season at Essex  (this Friday night 6-8 PM). --  Our own Kay is co-chair with Lisa for that show, which already had many exciting pieces of art submitted when I was there on Saturday, with another day of receiving yet to go.

Think Spring!

/j

Madison Surf Club -- 24 April 2014

Greetings to All,

A feeler email to regular painters initially brought out little interest in painting in Thursday's wind. But as the day wore on, several people came out of the woodwork. Thinking we were not going to paint out, I made plans to go in to New Haven for the final sitting of the current model at Brush & Palette Club. But after a quick sketch and color study, I left at 10:45 to catch up with our intrepid group in Madison.

What I found was two groups of two painters who were totally unaware that they were not the only two there. Hans and Betsey were ensconced on the seaside patio of the clubhouse, where there is really good protection from the wind, and where you can have a wonderful sun trap on these days when the wind is from the northwest. Sally and Cheryl were on the waterfront beyond the grove, painting in the lee of their cars. Sally was tail-gating with great protection, but Cheryl's car is kind of short, and she was hanging on to everything. Both she and Sally were infused with sand. Hans had a different problem. He had spilled his water into his palette, and when he went to spill out the water on the beach, his paints fell into the sand. He got them back somewhat worse for the wear...

But everyone had a great morning painting, and that is apparent from their work and their from their happy faces. Let's all think about that as we face the challenges of early-season painting that are yet to come. We always seem to have a good time.

/j

MADISON SURF CLUB

Calling it Off

Greetings to All,

I've just sent a note to all our regular painters, calling off tomorrow's paint-out. The forecast says 30's and windy, well into the morning. That just doesn't sound like fun, in spite of the sun.

This seems like a good time to reiterate that, if having company while you paint is important to you, you should always check your email and/or the blog before going out, especially on these days when conditions are not ideal.

My apologies for not having spotted the change in the forecast earlier. We'll try for the Surf Club again next week.

/j

Call to Paint -- Thursday, 17 April 2014

Greetings to All,

Looks like it will be a bit nippy and breezy, but sunny, so let's go for it. This is a place where you can get behind either a building or your car to block the wind.

Madison Surf Club -- 9 AM or whenever you want to get there. I'll be there early, because I have a commitment back in Branford and will need to quit painting by 10 AM.

Directions below.

I hope to see you there.

/j

MADISON SURF CLUB, 87 Surf Club Road, Madison

From I-95, take Exit 61. Turn south off the exit onto Route 79 South (Durham Road). Travel on Route 79 for approximately 0.7 miles. Turn right (west) at the traffic light onto Boston Post Road. Travel on Boston Post Road for approximately 0.5 miles. Turn left (south) onto West Wharf Road. Travel on West Wharf Road for approximately 0.3 mile to the end of the road, where you will find the entrance to West Wharf Beach. Turn right (west) onto Surf Club Road. Travel on Surf Club Road for approximately 0.5 miles to the Surf Club entrance, then follow the drive (counter-clockwise) around to the far side of the parking area, near the grove of trees by the beach. We will meet there.

Young's Pond -- 10 April 2014

Greetings to All,

We had five painters - Judy, Betsey, Silvia, Jay B-t, and me -- and three just checking out the lay of the land -- Jay B-a, Jeannette, and Elena, who was there and then she was not!? We were a little hard to find, as three of us painted across the street on the golf course. Only Silvia painted the pond, and Jay set up straddling the shoulder line on the road. He was still there when the rest of us left. In an email from him later there was no mention of his getting mowed down by motorists, so I guess he is safe!

Jay's sketches are at a very early stage of development and so do not show clearly in my photos. The final three photos in this sequence were shot by Jay, to use as reference material. I'm always interested in how Jay sees the world.

Beautiful day. Nice to get out again, even though I've been fighting it for the past month. Next week, we'll plan to paint at Madison Surf Club, assuming we have reasonable weather.

Meanwhile, two Guilford shows you might want to check out:

IMAGES 2014 -- 33rd Annual Connecticut Photography Competition & Exhibition -- at Guilford Art Center-- in place until April 26th, after which many of the photos go to CT Hospice in Branford for another month. (I have one modest photograph in this show.) Noon-4 daily, 8 PM on Thursdays

GREENE GALLERY -- Our own (if I might use that term affectionately) GAYLE ASHER is doing a show "We Love New York" with one other artist, opening on Saturday from 5-7 PM. Gallery hours Wednesday through Saturday 11-5, Sunday Noon-4.

/j

Young's Pond

Call to Paint -- Thursday, 10 April, 2014

Greetings to All,

Are you ready?!  I think we finally have a painting day. At least in the morning, before the wind begins to build. So even though the temps are in the low 40's, I'm going to say 9 AM. I may get there earlier.

Let's make it Young's Pond, in Branford, which is nice in the early spring before the greens begin to obscure the views and long before the algae bloom!

So -- just a month beyond our hoped-for starting time, there WILL be a paint-out tomorrow.

Just in case we have new people who don't know how to find Young's Pond, directions are below.

Come on out and taste the open air!  I hope to see you there!

/j

YOUNG'S POND, Blackstone Avenue, Branford:

From I-95, take exit 55. Turn west on Route 1, heading toward Branford Center. After about 0.2 mile,  take your first left, (south) right after the Mobil station, onto Windmill Hill Road. After about 1/2 mile, turn left (east) on Damascus Road. After about  0.6 mile, bear right (south) on Totucket Road. After about 0.7 mile, Totucket Road becomes Blackstone Avenue. Continue for another half mile. You will pass fairways of the Pine Orchard Country Club on both sides. Young’s Pond Park will be just beyond, on your right. There is a sizable dirt parking area, which hopefully will not be too muddy. (If you reach Pine Orchard Road, you’ve gone too far  by about 0.1 mile.) 

No quorum

I heard from just one person about painting tomorrow. Let's wait for a bit warmer weather.             /j

Call to Paint

Greetings to All,

Yesterday, Thursday's forecast was looking unbelievably good. And then it got sort of iffy. The temps are a bit cooler, and it looks like mostly cloudy, and damp after overnight showers.  On the other hand, there's hardly any wind in the forecast, and that is from the northeast, which puts all of our southwesterly facing venues in play.

The back side of all this, for me, is that Thursday is the final sitting of a great pose in my figure-painting group at the Brush and Palette Club in New Haven.  I had a drawing that was really working until I messed up with a background that was not right. So I would like to paint in New Haven on Thursday. But if it's nice and if we have a quorum of at least three, I also want to paint out with you.

So here's how I'm seeing it -- If three of you want to paint on Thursday morning, let's go to the Branford Supply Ponds. If it's not rainy or gloomy, I'll plan to be there early, and then maybe I'll leave at 10 and run in to catch the last two hours of the pose in New Haven. I'll not be with you to shoot photos of the paintings, unless you're still there at 1 when I come back through, but you could designate a photographer or email me pics of your work.

If you want to paint, please let me know by email.(jghartworks@gmail.com)  If you don't know how to get there, I'll send you directions. I'll get back to those of you who plan to paint, so you'll know who will be there.

/j