Finding Color

After a long, cold and snowy winter, spring has finally arrived and it's nice to be able to get back outside to paint again.  But as nice as it was to paint outdoors, one problem was that everything appeared so gray and colorless, more so than usual - maybe because of the brutal winter we had. The challenge was to find some color in the scene and exaggerate it enough to make a good painting while still keeping it realistic.

This painting was done on the last day of winter along the D&R Canal in Ewing, NJ.   The foreground bridge is the Septa commuter rail line running from West Trenton to Philadelphia. The bridge in the distance is Lower Ferry Road:

"D&R Canal, Last Day of Winter"
8x10" oil on board

The rusted railroad bridge provided a nice bit of color, but I really played up the warmth of the trees and the blue of the sky reflecting in the water.   I think this contrast of the blue and the warm browns in the water really brings some life to the painting.

This next one was done on the 2nd day of spring at the still undeveloped Mercer Park North West off of Cold Soil Road in Lawrenceville, NJ:

"Mercer Park North West, Beginning of Spring"
8x10" oil on board

Here, the sky really was a beautiful blue, but the field needed some help.  In real life it was a cool gray but had some warm browns in the distance.  I played up that warmth and also the hint of red in the tree line caused by the swelling buds on the trees.  The color was there but you really look to find it.

And speaking of color, this coming weekend is the last weekend of my show "Local Color" at Artists' Gallery in Lambertville.   The gallery is open regular hours:  Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 11am to 6pm each day.   We're not closed for Easter.

Opening and Grand Reopening

In my last post, I mentioned that Artists' Gallery had moved to a new location.  What I failed to mention is that this is a pretty significant event for us.  Artists' Gallery is an artists' cooperative of 18 equal partners who staff and run the gallery - there is no gallery owner to fall back on, we do it all ourselves.   So after 15 years of being on Coryell Street, an opportunity came up to move the gallery to a much nicer space at a much nicer location.  It was too good to pass up so we signed the lease in mid January and have been working hard ever since so that we were ready to open for business at the new location in March.   Physically, the building was in great shape but there were still so many details and unexpected complications to work on.   Did you know that you need permits and approval from 3 different local government bodies just to put your business's sign out front?   I certainly didn't.  I bet you don't know how expensive a gallery full of new halogen light bulbs is either!  So the permanent signs are not up yet but the inside is well finished, well lit, and if I say so myself, the gallery looks absolutely gorgeous.   We started with a pretty blank slate:

and finished with this (permanent signage yet to come):

The photos above are from my 2-man show "Local Color" with Michael Schweigart.  The wall of black-framed paintings are mine, the gold-framed paintings are Mike's.  I'd love to say that we planned this show so thoroughly, right down to the frames that each of us would use... but that would be lying - it was pure chance but I really like the end result.

Besides the main room where our 2-man show is hung, the gallery has other rooms, nooks and crannies where the other members' works are on display:

If you made it this far, I'd like to remind you that the Opening Reception for "Local Color" is Saturday, March 13 from 5-8pm.

And this opening also serves as the Grand Reopening of Artists' Gallery at our new location:

Artists' Gallery
18 Bridge Street
Lambertville, NJ 08530
map & directions

Saturday may be rainy but at least it's not snow.
I really hope you can make it out to see my show and our new space!

Local Color - Landscape paintings by Joe Kazimierczyk and Michael Schweigart

"Local Color"
Landscape paintings by 

Joe Kazimierczyk and Michael Schweigart
at Artists' Gallery in Lambertville, NJ
March 5 - April 4, 2010
Opening reception: Saturday, March 13 from 5-8 pm

top image: "Almost Spring" by Joe Kazimierczyk

bottom image: "Carried Away" by Michael Schweigart

During the month of March, I'm having a 2-man show with Michael Schweigart at Artists' Gallery in Lambertville, NJ.   As things stand now, this is the biggest show I have scheduled in 2010 so I hope you have a chance to see it.

Mike Schweigart is also a painter of landscapes, but his work is much more detailed than mine - it's really amazing to look at his work up close.  Me on the other hand, I take a much looser approach and tend to use the character of the paint to suggest detail.  The collection of new work that I'll be showing includes a number of sunsets and cloudscapes - a subject that's really been catching my eye as a painter this past year.

This is one of the newer paintings I'm showing - it's a farm near my home right after the big showstorm we had just before Christmas.  This scene was a short while before sunset:

"Rainbow Hill Farm"
12x24" oil on canvas

The show runs March 5 through April 4, 2010.
Artists' reception and Grand Reopening reception for the gallery:
Saturday, March 13 from 5-8pm at:

Artists' Gallery
18 Bridge Street ←new location!
Lambertville, NJ
map & directions
 
Gallery hours: every Friday, Saturday and Sunday 11am-6pm

What's with the new location for Artists' Gallery?   After 15 years on Coryell Street, an opportunity came up to move the gallery to a better location at 18 Bridge Street, right in the heart of town.  We've all been very busy making this move happen in a pretty short period of time, and the gallery's first day of business on Bridge Street will be this Friday, March 5.

Here's the Mayor of Lambertville with gallery members Jennifer Cadoff and Carol Sanzalone at the ribbon cutting ceremony for our new space:

We're also having a small reception this Sunday afternoon, March 7 from 2-5pm since it's our 1st weekend of business in the new space and we'll need to work out the logistics of doing receptions here.   Please join us if you can, and check out our new digs!

And for a bit of nostolgia, this painting which I'll have in "Local Color" is scene from near the front door of our old gallery on Coryell Street - a view I'd see often when leaving the gallery in the evening.   And I just realized how appropriate the title is, as we've just ended our 15 year stint there:

"Sunset on Coryell Street"
8x6" oil on board