Finding the Extra in the Ordinary

In the month of September, I'll be having a 2-person show with Carol Sanzalone at the Artists' Gallery. We were brainstorming a name and a theme for our show and Carol found inspiration from an old post called Finding the Extraordinary in the Ordinary in this very blog. Our show will be titled:

Finding the Extra in the Ordinary
A Refreshing Perspective on the World Around Us

and our paintings should demonstrate how we each find so much inspiration in the most ordinary of things. I'll be showing my landscape oils. Carol paints landscapes and still lifes in watercolor and acrylics. The show will have a really good variety of style and subject matter, and each body of work should compliment the other nicely.

The show runs September 7 through 30, 2007
Opening reception is Saturday, Sept 8, from 6 to 9 pm
We'll have an artists' talk on Sunday, Sept 16 at 2 pm

I have to admit I'm a bit nervous about the Sunday afternoon artists talk (it was Carol's idea). I'm still trying to think of what I might talk about, but please come out and heckle me - it'll probably do me some good. We'll have pie and soft drinks during the talk. If you prefer wine and cheese, just make sure you're at the Sept 8 opening reception.

I'll write more about the show in a week or 2. In the meantime, I'm finalizing which paintings to hang, and making sure they're properly varnished and framed. Getting ready for a show like this is a lot of work, but I'm not complaining - it's something I really enjoy doing.

The show will be held at:

Artists' Gallery
32 Coryell Street
Lambertville, NJ 08530
609-397-4588
[map & directions]
Gallery Hours: Friday, Saturday & Sunday 11:00 am - 6:00 pm

A Little More Knife

This weekend I was out painting near the Prallsville Mills again. Instead of painting the mill, this time I was looking down-river towards the bridge between Stockton, NJ and Center Bridge, Pa:

"Stockton Bridge"
8x10 oil on panel

This painting was another exercise in knife work but a bit more selectively - most of the painting is my usual brushwork, but I used the palette knife extensively in the water:

The palette knife also came in handy for the bridge - it's an 8x10 inch painting so the bridge was very tiny. I painted it by getting a thin bead of paint on the edge of the knife, then just lightly touching it to the painting. It took a very steady hand, but I don't think I could have done this as easily with a brush.

Knifework

On Sunday I had the urge to paint by water. The first 3 places I went to were busy with fishermen but I was looking for solitude. My 4th try panned out and I stopped along the Wickecheoke Creek near Stockton, NJ. I've done about 5 paintings from this exact same spot already, but it's such a peaceful place, I'll never tire of going back. The only thing that disturbed the peace was the sound of a large blue heron taking off from the river behind me - it made such a burst of noise that it scared me! But the sight of a blue heron in flight quickly brought back that peaceful feeling.

"Wickecheoke Creek, August"
8x10 oil on linen panel

Normally I paint with brushes, but once in a while I'll use a palette knife. Painting with a knife is very different than painting with a brush, but they're great for getting your color down cleanly. A brush will tend to mix into any paint that's already on the canvas so it's good for blending. A palette knife can lay down a color cleanly without disturbing the paint that's already there. There can be some mingling of paints, but it's a very different effect. Some closeups which show the knife work a little better:

Holcombe Farm

I painted this one at the Holcombe-Jimison Farmstead Museum near Lambertville, NJ. The place has a Civil War connection and the 104th PA Infantry & McClellan Rangers were setting up for a reenactment that weekend. I believe they said they would be recapturing their flag. It was a bit odd painting next to a Civil War encampment.

"Holcombe Farm"
11x14 oil on linen on panel