The story behind the painting: Atelier Cezanne
Atelier Cezanne
I was so excited to have gone to beautiful Aix en Provence last month. Located in the southern part of France in the Provence area, Aix is known to be the place of destination for some of the worlds most famous impressionist painters. Aix en Provence is home to The “Father of us all” : Paul Cezanne. Known for his apples, and paintings of Mont St. Victoire, and inspiring generations of artists including Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso and many others.
Sunlight and Shadows at Cezanne’s studio.
He is a legend and an inspiration to me. The whole point of going to Provence was to get to see his studio. I will write more about that visit in a separate post, but suffice to say-it was amazing! On our last day in Aix en Provence we went back by to see the site one last time. It had been dark and rainy and cold most of the trip..but on this morning-the sun was glorious and lit up the grounds-just like every painter dreams of! I have done two paintings so far of this spot. One, shown above (Atelier Cezanne) is of his red door open, and letting the light into the foyer. The second painting is a close up of his steps with the watering can and flowers. The paintings practically painted themselves! It was so inspiring and so powerful, that in no way, shape or form was this work. I wouldn’t even say it was a labor of love, it was just a gift-I received such a blessing to be able to go there, and to do these paintings. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do! Beth
- Paul Cezanne Mont St Victoire
Palette Inspiration: Fall Leaves
Inspiration? You bet!
Some days it’s hard to be inspired..but then there is the entire season of Fall!! My inspiration for color for the palette today comes from some amazing Fall leaves:
You would think that after two weeks in France, that I could paint only things French..and believe me I am painting plenty, but when walking my dogs today I was simply blown away by the amazing color, right here in North Carolina. Colors I could only dream of mixing on my palette. Right?
Well, never one to shy away from a challenge..I decided to give it my best shot. I have done this in years past (see last years post below), without the type of success I expected. I decided I had to try again. Well, it was fun, and I admit I did pick some “easier” colors, but there is nothing like the real thing!
Now on to the good stuff: PAINTING!
Wait and see where the inspiration led me to…
Beth
Leaves from a morning walk, inspire my painter’s palette
Fall colors inspire art, but test the limits of paint, pigment and imagination:
Hello Fall! Inspiration for color is everywhere! We had a few overcast weeks here-but after the hurricane the sun is out and the color is glorious!
Loving the changes!
Inspiration
It is easy to understand how fall colors can inspire anyone to want to paint. However, sometimes painting those colors can prove to be tricky if you think too hard..
Sometimes instead of just “feeling” a painting-I start to think. I started out with “feeling” I began doing some paintings with fall color as I “saw” it. Well, that led to some of my birch tree paintings with lots of fuchsia and purple and orange.
Birch Reflections, 12 x 16, 240.00
Then I started picking up leaves as I was walking one day. I decided I wanted to paint those colors…no matter how I mixed my paints-I couldn’t get what I wanted.
At this point I decided to take the various color combinations I had been mixing and dabbling with and put them onto some leaves just to see how close I was getting:
Inspiration getting technical
Well these are just two examples-but they show that it isn’t as easy as you would think to “make” the colors of nature. Well, not exactly. It then became more of a scientific experiement for me. All artistic thinking was put aside and I was briefly inspired to master this challenge. After a bit (and some success) I was reminded of
paint colors testing on an all natural paint chip
something artist John Poon said to me once. We were painting plein air on the N.C. coast and I was struggling to get “just the right color”-aka exactly what I saw in front of me. John reminded me that pigment has limitations. We could not make that exact color-but that was ok. Over the months since that conversation I have come to a couple of conclusions about this topic. A) I need to remember to stay with my “feelings”-in this case I interpreted fall colors as fuschia’s, purple and oranges. It’s a good thing because that is me and the way I paint. I am not a super realist or overly naturalistic landscape painter-so I don’t have to match anything! B) As humans we cannot copy or make exactly all the colors out there that God gave us. I see that as awesome, and a great reminder of how amazing and powerful He is! So, now that I have had my fun and color mixing time, it is back to painting “my way” just as I was created to do!
Art All Around Us-WWAST Featured in Cary Living Magazine
The Western Wake Artist Studio Tour is coming up in just about one month. We are excited to be featured in the September/October issue of Cary Living Magazine. You can check it out online by visiting http://issuu.com/midtown/docs/clm_so13/1?e=1421712/4726917
I love being a part of the Western Wake Artist Studio Tour! Last year was such a great experience! This is a neat opportunity for art lovers to get inside private studios of working artists and see where and how they practice their art, ask questions, check out works in progress and see and have the opportunity to purchase fine art.
For more information about the upcoming tour you can go directly to http://wwast.org/
Provence Peek-A new painting inspired by France
Provence Peek, 11 x 14
Hello to this peek of Provence, with its beautiful sunlit path, with gorgeous flowers and a peek into what lays beyond! Inspired by the amazing area of Provence France. This is one of my newest paintings, and it does make me soooo happy! I love the feeling that it conveys, and how it transports me to such a beautiful spot!
If you want to see this painting you can even “peek” at it, as it is easy to see from the window of the Waverly Artist Group and Gallery in Waverly place. Of course I hope you will step inside the gallery, and look at the rest of the paintings as well-and even find one to take home with you.
The painting (before framing) is 11 x 14 and is acrylic on canvas.
So much more of France to come-Aurevoir!
Beth
A little more Lavender Please (France here we come!)
Lovely Lavender Fields and Tree 6 x 6
As I prepare for my trip to Paris and Southern France I dream of Lavender Fields. I am diffusing Lavender essential oil in the studio, and generally just enjoying thinking of all things French!
This painting comes from a photo taken by a friend’s recent trip to France. I LOVE IT! While the fields will be ending their bloom as I arrive, I can only hope to have even one hour to paint and inhale their healing power!
This painting is currently available at Waverly Artist Group and Gallery, in Waverly Place-Cary NC.
Inspired by Lavender-See it tonight:
Lavender Fields at Abbaye de Senanque (There’s a sweet spirit in this place)Size: 12 x 16, Acrylic on board, $250.00 framed
Recently I have become obsessed with some amazing doTerra Essential Oils. One of the “powerhouses” of oils is Lavender. It is good for so many things from helping you sleep, to healing wounds-you name it. Of course Lavender just happens to be amazingly beautiful in it’s herbaceous and natural state-particularly in the south of France. I will be heading to to Provence to see these very fields later this year. So-in anticipation of my trip, and while inhaling, diffusing and even cooking with this amazing oil-I have done a few paintings from a friends photographs from her trip to Provence.
I hope to finish framing this painting today, and have it hanging TONIGHT at Waverly Artist Group Final Friday Open House. Please come by and say hi-We will have live music, food and great art. Heck, Ill even give the buyer of the painting a bottle of Lavender oil!
Tune in again soon for the next Lavender Field painting!
Inspirational Palette-picked from my garden
A few roses and Redbeckia
Needing a pickup from the seemingly endless rain, I found an inspirational palette this morning-right in my yard!
I decide to throw on the Wellies, and get some flowers salvaged before more rain, more black spot, blight and other such fungi could get to my garden!
Despite the fact that the pickin’s were slim, I still managed to get some cut:
A fallen stargazer lily revived!
A few Gardenias I found “floating” in the rain soaked yard
A little happiness on the kitchen table
Finally I gathered just enough to put on the kitchen table to brighten up our meals, and to keep us happy while inside. 🙂
I love all of these colors, many of them are difficult to express adequately in paint. The brightness, joy and even the wonderful aroma, the satisfaction of growing them myself and bringing them inside-are all reasons that they make me so happy! Sometimes the things that are the most important to you are difficult to paint. I find this to be true with flowers, pets, and family. They mean so much to me, I have such a close intimate relationship with them…it is hard to be satisfied with anything less than the painting I have always wanted..so, will these end up in a painting? I guess we will just have to wait and see. They have however, brought me great joy and inspiration for color!
Hope you have a bit of sunshine in your day, wherever you are!
Beth
A Gift of Art from Germany, Edward Gordan
Painting by Edward Gordon: “New Graffiti 3”
Need some inspiration for painting or just want to see something gorgeous? Look at the art of German Painter, Edward Gordon:
Painting by Edward Gordon “Morning Chill”
Sitting down to read
Edward Gordon’s “Painting Berlin”
Recently I was surprised by a wonderful delivery to my mailbox. Inside of it was a gift of art, and the gift of friendship. I opened my package and found “Painting Berlin”, a book of selected works from German artist Edward Gordon. Several years ago I came across one of his paintings featuring a woman in a black dress-Immediately I was completely enamored with him, and was left wanting more. Thankfully, he is a daily painter and so I can get my fix of his work often. He skillfully takes lights and darks and arranges them as to give maximum impact, yet with such subtlety. My eyes are drawn in and travel through the image again and again, not wanting to leave. Edward Gordon’s use of color is powerful, and effective. It seems so thoughtful, yet the paintings come across as fresh. I feel such heart and depth in his paintings, I wonder how he accomplishes this in less than a day?! The paintings show his intimate relationship with the city and people of Berlin, and his ability to see the magic in even the most routine moments of life.
A lovely painting by Edward Gordon
His work can be viewed by going to http://edwardbgordon.blogspot.com
As you can probably tell, I was excited to get this gorgeous book, but not just for the those incredible paintings. My dear friend who sent this book to me, is a busy career woman, with three school aged children, and a full and active life. The fact that she thought about me, and then saw this book and knew me well enough to know I would love it and took the time to send it me in the US. Well, I just don’t know what I did to deserve such sweetness. THANK YOU
First Rose of the Season:
First rose of the season, from my garden.
I have a lovely rose garden at my home, and this is the first rose to get cut this season. It sits on my kitchen table, begging to be painted. I love the deep orange hues, and the warm yellows, and the luscious pinks in the shadows! Even the beautiful green stem and vase call out! I am packing up to head over to the art gallery (Waverly Artist Group and Gallery) for the day. This is definitely on my “to paint” list for the day! I hope this will be the first of many blooms to make it to the canvas this year.
Come by Waverly and visit me today!
Beth
Bright and Bold, Fast and Loose: Artist Patti Mollica is coming to town!
- Patti Mollica Painting
From Patti Mollica’s blog
This weekend I am going to be in a workshop with artist Patti Mollica. I love her fun style and how she approaches her paintings! There has not been too much action on my easel in the last few weeks. I am ready for this class to kick me back into high gear! Look for some new paintings and hopefully inspired work, here next week!
You can check out Patti’s work at www.mollicastudio.com
Patti Mollica’s a painting a day
