MaryAnn Cleary Fine Art

"Stalks"

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Sat, 03 Oct 2015 15:33:00 +0000

"Stalks"

pastel on archival paper, 12 x 9 inches

$325

This is a pastel that I did this past summer during a paintout in Durand, WI. Fragrant stalks lined this deserted roadway giving off a wonderful fragrance. This pastel comes matted with matted size being approx. 18.5 x 15 inches. The pastel will come well packaged and ready to frame.

Follow the Light

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Tue, 13 May 2014 13:00:00 +0000

"Follow the Light"

size: 12 x 18 inches

pastel on UArt paper

unframed/unmatted

Last week one of the local high schools had an art show. As a guest artist, I gave a demonstration on pastel for the local high school art students. What fun! This little gem was the result of that demonstration.

Chatty Day

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Tue, 13 May 2014 02:38:00 +0000

"Chatty Day"

pastel on UArt Paper

12 x 16 inches

Unframed and unmatted

This pastel is a one hour study done from life at our Life Drawing weekly session. It was great fun having two models and working quickly.

Afternoon Delight

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Fri, 30 Aug 2013 06:00:00 +0000

"Afternoon Delight"

11x17 inches

pastel on archival UArt 500 sandpaper

$375 ready to be matted and framed (mat and frame not included)

This pastel was painted on location on one of Minnesota's Parks. What a delightful afternoon it was sitting along the creek listening to the sounds and painting from life.

The water moved slowly creating beautiful reflections from the foliage and trees along the banks. Most of the pastels sticks used in this painting are ones that I made by hand.

Along the Path

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Wed, 28 Aug 2013 16:00:00 +0000

"Along the Path"

12 x 12 inches

oil on linen panel

This summer seems to be flashing by in seconds. The above oil painting is one that I did on location at one of Minnesota's parks. Shadows flickered across the pathway in the park with dancing tall grasses and black-eyed susans.

One of the things that is on my list of things to do is post to this blog more and do more small studies in oil and pastel. More of what I have been painting will be posted in the upcoming days.

Morning Delight Dance

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 17:47:00 +0000

"Morning Delight Dance"

pastel (handmade) on UArt paper mounted to gatorboard, unframed

size: 8 x 16 inch

This is my first attempt trying to utilize all of my handmade pastels. This painting is 95% done with those pastels. It is delightful to have beautiful gray tones in warm and cool temperatures that provide those subtleties that are my favorite part of painting.

With this pastel, I wanted the trees to just pop against a subdued and soft background. Everyday I see this little grove of trees on the other side of my dirt road at the end of my driveway. I wanted this painting to be all about those trees and how they dance in the morning sunlight on a crisp winter morning.

More on handmade pastel sticks:

Last week I put in another order for some new pigments for making pastels from Kremer. I really like their site as they also give the lightfastness ratings for the pigments along with the data sheet. Another site that I have used to order pigments is Sinopia. They have a wonderful selection, but it is more difficult to determine what exactly makes up the pigments. They did state in an email to me that they only sell pigments that are of the best quality and have excellent lightfastness, but the chemist/engineer in me wants to see the data. I do plan on taking a sample of each pigment that I have and putting a pigment sample on a piece of pastel paper, wetting it in with alcohol, taping half of the sample off to protect from sunlight and exposing the other half to a south window in my house. I will let them sit for a year and see what happens.

I also learned a new trick for dealing with those water-insoluble pigments that are also light in weight. When making handmade pastels, the mixes commonly used are water soluble. However, some pigments are not soluble in water. To fix this most pigments will wet-out in alcohol, but if they are light in weight (many of the organics compounds are), then mixing them with a little of the French chalk and letting the mix dry is suppose to help make them easier to use. After the mix is dry, it is crumbled up and used as the starting pigment. Apparently, the pigment dyes the chalk and this adds weight to the pigment and it is then more versatile for making pastels along with being able to mix with water. The pthalo blue pigments are a nightmare to work with due to the high tinting strength (everything turns blue) and their inability to mix with water and light weight. I hope to try this method on that pigment to see what happens.

Winter Corn Field

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 19:42:00 +0000

"Winter Corn Field"

size: 9x12, pastel on Wallis paper mounted on gatorboard, unframed

This is today's study of a corn field along the dirt road to my house. I liked the shadows form the trees and the design of the cut corn stalk rows.

Mangled Birch

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 20:11:00 +0000

"Mangled Birch"

pastel on Wallis board, size: 9x12 inches, unframed

This week I had planned on going outdoors to do some painting, but the temperatures became too frigid along with gusting winds. I did managed to do some sketching while sitting in the car with the heater on and take some photographs. "Mangled Birch" is the result of a pencil study and photographs.

This pastels uses many of my own handmade pastels. I am finding that I reach for them more than the purchased ones. I did make up many handmade pastels that are dark in value and also ones that are warm and cool grays. For the gray tones, I used complimentary colors for the initial mixture and then made lighter graduations. So far, most of the handmade pastels are exceeding my expectations. To date, I have had only one failure where the end result gave me a pastel that is extremely hard and refuses to make a mark. I will probably crush this one up, re-mix it and add titanium white/French chalk to it to see what happens. The French chalk (calcium carbonate) is what gives many pigments that soft feel.

For my next handmade pastels, I am also going to try adding a little carbon black to some of the pigments to see what happens. Just a touch to try to deepen that values. Typically, I do not use black when I am painting, so it will be interesting to see what happens. My goal is to keep the pigments vibrant and fresh looking versus flat and dull. I have a feeling that a little black will go a long ways.

Rising Sun on the River

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 17:53:00 +0000

"Rising Sun on the River"

size: 8x10 inch, acrylic on linen canvas board, unframed

This is my first attempt at using what are called "open acrylics". They do not dry as fast as normal acrylics and tend to behave a bit more like oils. I purchased a limited number of colors to try them out. Titanium white, titanium white buff, ultramarine blue, cadmium yellow, cadmium red, cobalt blue and the open acrylic thinner.

The open acrylics tend to be a bit goopier than oils, but they can be worked wet-into-wet or alla prima. They dry fairly quickly if the layers are thin. I also could load up my brush and do a dry brush technique. I definitely will do a few more paintings to try them out.

I also tried using regular acrylics on a painting that is similar to one that I just finished up in oils of the sun setting on the Rum River - just to get a feel for the difference between oils, acrylics and open acrylics. I love the subtle colors that one gets with oil paints compared to regular acrylics that do dry quickly...very quickly, unless using a gel or medium to slow the drying down. I prefer the open acrylics to the regular acrylics, but I can see where each type would be useful for different techniques. More experiments to come.

"Setting Sun"

size: 8x10, acrylic on linen canvas board, unframed

I hope that you are enjoying the small studies using different types of paint. I will continue to offer paintings at Daily Paintworks with a low starting bid. If the painting does not sell at auction, it will then go to my normal pricing. This is an opportunity to purchase one of my works at an affordable price. Here is the link to my gallery at Daily Paintworks or click on the link in the sidebar.

Enjoy!

Sunset on the Rum River

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 19:25:00 +0000

"Sunset on the Rum River"

oil on linen

size: 8x10x1.4 inches (gallery wrapped canvas with sides painted)

Ready to frame or hang as is.

This is an oil painting after the first big snowfall along the Rum River. The sun is setting behind the trees and left a beautiful cast on the fallen snow.

Birch Trees

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 18:20:00 +0000

"Birch Trees"

size: 8x10 inches

oil on linen canvas on board

This painting is an oil study that I did from a photograph on my monitor in the studio. With sub-zero temps outside, it did not make sense to freeze in the -20F temperature.

I hope to do more studies and I will be offering them on Daily Paintworks on auction at a very reasonable price. Stay tuned for more.

Lily Pads

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 20:24:00 +0000

"Lily Pads"

12 x 12 inches

Pastel on archival paper mounted on board

This is a pastel that I started late this summer. I finally decided to try to finish it up. Many of the pastels used in this pastel painting are ones that I made by hand. I have been working on making a better selection of dark tones.

This past week I gave my first drawing class at the Cambridge Center of the Arts. What fun! For this initial class, I went over the various pastel surfaces and different types of pastel. Since this is the very first class at our local Art Center, we started with a basic drawing class using conte and paper. They did a great job!

Winter Wonderland

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 16:45:00 +0000

"Winter Wonderland"

pastel on Canson coated paper

size: 9 X 13 inches

2012 copyright MaryAnn Cleary

This is my first attempt at using the latest Canson coated paper for pastels. A few months ago I decided to buy the sample pack as I loved the array of colors that Canson offered on the paper. My favorite paper to date is Belgian Mist by Wallis, but since they had been having manufacturing issues (no longer an issue) and supplies and sources for that paper could not be found, I opted to try out a variety of others.

Some of my favorite papers for drawing are the toned papers of Canson MiTientes for drawing using conte or charcoal. Having a toned color to use for a value in the drawing is nice. With that in mind, I ordered the sample pack. The Canson sample pack came with several toned surfaces, including white, and a nice sample size of 10 x 14 inches. My previous experience using a coated paper has not been a great fit for me. With a couple of other surfaces that I have tried, one layer of pastel on the paper and that is the end of trying to get anymore pastel on the paper as the grain has filled and the pastel just slides across the surface.

This paper has a coating that actually feels like a sandpaper. I would rate the surface as a fine grit or tooth - enough to get a few layers of pastel on the surface - probably due to there being a pumice or grit in the coating. It is textured and not the popped bubble kind that I have seen in some surfaces. The paper that I used for "Winter Wonderland" has a very light gray tone to it (parts can be seen in the snowy area of the background behind the trees on the right). I also like to block in an initial layer of pastel and then either use alcohol or wipe the surface with a cotton rag to get a blended surface. For this painting, I used a rag for this first layer as I had just had had a bad experience with another brand of paper and alcohol. I did not want to risk the coating coming off.

Canson Coated Papers without the light gray - Sample Pack

After that I re-did the drawing and began blocking in the dark, shapes. I had no issues and the tooth of the paper is good for this initial layer and subsequent layers. However, I also like to really lay in the pastel really thick in the last stages of the painting and that is where I saw the tooth fill-in. The pastel began sliding across the surface and not gripping or laying down onto the paper. These areas would be the highlight found on the the tree branches. I will definitely use this paper again and I love having a variety of colors. I just need to remember to utilize those tones for the background and not try to fill each and every space of the paper as well as have control on those last textural areas that I love to fill.

Serenity of the Meadows

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Sun, 19 Aug 2012 13:53:00 +0000

"Serenity of the Meadows"

Oil on linen panel, 12 x 16 inches, landscape

Unframed.

There is something about this area for plein air painting. The peacefulness. The quiet. Loons speaking in the distance. The experience is humbling.

For this painting, I loved how the water inter-played with the water lilies and grasses and how the clouds in the distance changed their formations and color. Painted on a peaceful day at Crex Meadows.

On the St. Croix

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 13:00:00 +0000

"On the St. Croix"

oil on linen panel

9x12 inches, landscape

Last week while taking a workshop with Marc Hanson, I did this painting. One of the things that Marc had us do is to choose a portion of the subject and focus on it. With this subject, my favorite part was the contrast of the trees on the left. I liked how the shadows of the trees laid against the bright green. With this painting, my focus is on that area. The rest of the painting is suggested. If a person looks at something, our eyes focus on a certain area. We do not see the other areas "in focus". They are blurred. Try it.

I hope to do more studies similar to this technique. My goal will be to determine what my focus will be or the focal point, spend time with that area in the painting and let the rest be more abstract. Your mind and eyes will fill in the rest for you.

Rialto on Main

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 12:08:00 +0000

"Rialto on Main"

8x10 inch, oil, unframed

cityscape

This old art-deco theater sits on the main street of the little town of Aitkin, MN. The reason for painting this building is all the neon lights that decorate the building - sadly not in working condition. As I stood across the street painting the front of this old theater, the owner happened to walk by. I asked about the lights and if they would be coming on. He answered, "no" to my sad expression. What fun to paint a nocturne with all the lights blazing in the darkness. The only lights that do come on are the white globes underneath the sign.

I love the red and green color combinations on the sign above the doors. Oh, and the doors, they are so art deco. The owner told me that the paint on the sign had just been touched up. It tends to fade with the blazing sun shining on it day after day.

The owner allowed us painters to check the interior out as it had not been changed much from the art deco decor. Although the darkness pretty much prevailed in the theater, one could see the original lights lining up along the wall - those half-circle ones that are so art deco. I am told the chairs are original, too, with the luscious maroon velvet-like material (although not as comfy as what one finds in today's theaters).

This painting is in memory of all those families who suffered the Colorado horror. I painted this on the Tuesday prior to that event of terror. The billing in yellow is announcing the Thursday midnight showing of the latest batman movie "The Dark Knight Rises".

Serenity

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 12:27:00 +0000

"Serenity"

8x10 inch, oil on linen, unframed

landscape

This is another painting from my week at Aitkin, Minnesota. I called this one "Serenity" as that is what I felt when I first saw this spot to paint. This painting also received an "Honorable Mention" at the Jaques Art Center Plein Air Painting Event.

The morning started out cloudy and moody unlike the previous day of a constant drizzly rain. Sunshine just did not appear. I setup my easel on a dock/ramp on Farm Lake that extended out into the lake where fishermen put in their boats. The peacefulness and calmness of the waters with delightful reflections is what captured my eye that morning. I blocked in the painting and just about the time that I began putting reflections into the water, the wind decided to rush in. There went the peacefulness of the water. When that happened, I continued to work on the background area of bushes and trees. The wind won the first round.

As I painted, or attempted, I noticed the clouds and light changing in the distance on the lake. There is a small island on Farm Lake and from my view, I delighted in the everchanging light even on this cloudy day. Since the wind would not ease, I finally opted to start another small painting. I wanted to capture the light and a few color notes.

"Farm Lake Rain Study"

6x8 inches, oil, nfs

With this one, I loved how the different sections of land had different values with how far away there appeared. It only took a short time to capture those notes, but it also gave me something to do so that I did not ruin the other painting while waiting for the wind to relax and the calmness to reappear.

Finally, the rain came. I had to stop as it began to down pour and the painting stopped. (I dumped the collected water out of my palette a couple of times.) By forcing myself to stop, I did myself a favor as the "Serenity" painting is captivating. I did not think much of the painting until later when I stood back and looked at it for the first time a few hours later.

The Healing Garden - "Mother's Tapestry"

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 13:16:00 +0000

"Mother's Tapestry"

8x10 inch, oil on linen, unframed

floral landscape

This flower garden is a painting that I did while spending a week at the plein air paintout in Aitkin, MN. The Jaques Art Center sponsored the event. What fun!! Several artists painted during the week at various locations in Aitkin County. The first day we spent painting local scenes in town followed by two days of the local countryside in the county. On the final day, we did a Quick Paint at the local Healing Garden that is located next to the hospital.

Peonies in a Vase

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 03:12:00 +0000

"Peonies in a Vase"

pastel, 11 x 14 inches

floral, still life, unframed

With this still life, I wanted to try something with studying color and purposely using specific colors in a painting. I am not sure if I pulled it off or not, but this is my first attempt at setting up a still life for a specific color arrrangement and study. By using the really cool tool called the Gamut Mask on Robinson's website at www.livepaintinglessons.com, I put together the colors that I wanted to use in this painting. There are many different approaches that can be used. Check it out. I definitely will use this tool again. It is something that will get those creative juices flowing.

For this painting, a lot of time was spent in finding colors similar to the chart below and then arranging them into a pleasing still life composition. I hope to try different color combinations in the future by using this tool as a guide.

My reason for using the Gamut Mask is to try to create a more uniform painting with color. One that is pleasing and works. It is just a guide and another tool to add to my artist's toolbox.

Color Study Used for Pastel

The color arrangement below is one that I did not use.

Peaceful Meadow

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 20:06:00 +0000

"Peaceful Meadow"

8x10 inch, oil on linen panel, unframed

landscape

This week I made a short road trip to one of my favorite painting areas - Crex Meadows. It is a land preserve in Wisconsin that is approximately 40 miles from my house and is 30,000 acres. Crex Meadows is near Grantsburg, WI. The peacefulness and the sounds of nature surround a person. I probably saw three or so cars all day long (I am not sure one counts as I saw the same vehicle twice). Most folks on that Wednesday were bird watchers stopping to watch different species with their binoculars. Wildlife is abundant, especially birds.

If you are ever in the area, a trip to the Crex Meadows Wildlife Area is definitely worth it. I love being able to stand and paint, looking in all directions, and not seeing or hearing a single person for miles. There will be an occasional car, but they are definitely few and far between. The morning when I arrived this week, the first thing I heard when I stopped my car were loons in the distance. I also had to stop the car twice for wildlife traffic - once for two families of geese, who definitely did not feel the need to be in a hurry, and next for a huge bull snake making its way to the tall grasses on the other side of the road.

While I painted, birds would suddenly fly off while being only a couple of feet from me, hiding in the grasses for several minutes.

Where is your favorite place to go in nature?

Also, if you live nearby and would like to get together to paint the next time I head for Crex Meadows, drop me an email.

The Iris in the Garden

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Wed, 30 May 2012 04:04:00 +0000

"Iris in the Garden"

pastel

10 x 8 inches

floral

My passion for working with pastels is growing. What I am finding with working with this medium is that it is the best of drawing and painting. The results are instantaneous and I get to draw. This little painting is of iris that grow in my garden. I cut a few prior to the last severe thunderstorm passed through our area. I did not want to lose them to the weather so instead I brought them to my studio to paint from life.

When I work with pastels, I not only get to enjoy the vibrancy of color, but the dancing of lines. For now I can get that from pastel. I do hope that one day I will get that feeling with oils....but for now I am embracing the dance with pastel sticks.

Enjoy!

P.S. I am also enjoying the advances of technology and the "Color Checker" for photographing my artwork. It makes it so easy to get the color right!

Lilacs

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Fri, 18 May 2012 04:13:00 +0000

"Lilacs"

size: 11 x 14 inch

pastel

floral still life

This is a still life that I did partially from life in the studio and a photograph since the lilacs did not hold up too well. I managed to get most of the lilacs completed before they totally wilted away. I am not sure if I like it yet and that just means that I need to let it sit for a few days to see if any changes need to be made.

This week I ordered and received an X-Rite Color Checker to use when I am photographing my artwork or anything else where the color matters and is important. It is wonderful. I do not have Adobe Lightroom that the software has a plugin for specifically, but it will still work fine with Photoshop. One needs a camera that is capable of taking "raw" images. That is something that I typically do.

The X-Rite Color Checker comes with a white balance target plus two other color targets for photographing. I typically take a custom white balance for the light that I am using for the camera, but in the past, I have just used a white piece of paper. Not good. What a difference having a correct target for the white balance.

After that one takes a photo with the color targets with the painting to make a correct profile for the lighting. I then took a photograph of the painting without any targets, but the same lighting.

The lights that I use in my studio are color corrected florescence lights for daylight and this is the lighting that I used to photograph the work.

After saving the photos as dng files for the one with the color target, I made a profile for my camera and the lighting. When I did this, I had to close out Photoshop and re-opened it so that when I opened a raw image I could open the custom profile that I made for the camera and lighting used for photographing. I then just clicked on it and magically the photograph of the painting became color corrected. Wow. No more guessing or adjusting.

Below are some photos of the X-Rite Color Checker in use. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask or leave comments.

The White Balance Target for the X-Rite Color Checker

The color targets for making a profile in the software.

The Painting and the Color targets photographed together.

Spring Mountain Ranch

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:59:00 +0000

"Spring Moutain Ranch"

8 x 10 inch, oil on linen panel

This is my one and only painting from my experience at the First Annual Plein Air Convention in Las Vegas, NV. Who would have thought that there are spectacular mountains right outside of Las Vegas.

That day the wind blew right through every part of one's body. Canvas and easels flew along with a few umbrellas. In the distance, you could see snow on the tops of a distant mountain range. This range had churning clouds, wind and rain. The atmosphere changed and moved frequently with rays of light peaking through now and then.

Rain. Wind. Artists. Lots of artists painting the ever changing scene and dealing with the ever changing harsh weather.

To paint, I tried to stand next to a long van to protect myself from the wind. In reality, I swear that it just created a wind tunnel where I stood. I fought the impulse to head for cover and warmth. This is the result.

Since there were several artists there....really, really good artists...I opted to spend some time walking the mountain side and see others approach. I absorbed. I learned. I enjoyed. Weather and all. After all, I am an artist who is a Montana native, who now lives in Minnesota. I should be hardened by all that cold weather by now.....it still gets to me.

The Catalina Mountains

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 17:43:00 +0000

Catalina Mountains

8x10 inch, oil on linen

Another painting of the Catalina Mountains that was done on location.

The Catalina's

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 21:14:00 +0000

"The Catalina's"

8x10 inch, oil on linen

This is my first study in a few weeks....I hope to get another study in this afternoon. The days are warm in Arizona and temps are above average for this time of year. The mesquite trees are just starting to bud out and the desert is spotted with wildflowers.

I forgot how everything in the desert is made for survival...spines, thorns, stickers.... However, this is my favorite time of the year in the desert as it is not to cold nor too hot yet.