Spirit River Studio

Mighty in White

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 21:39:00 +0000

"Mighty in White"

6x6 inch, oil on linen

Daily Paintworks Challenge

This is my interpretation of this week's Daily Paintworks challenge. I had to stop before I just scraped the entire thing right off.... Fun and challenging.

Batman on Wheels

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 04:17:00 +0000

"Batman on Wheels"

8x6 inch, oil on linen panel, unframed

This is a small study for a larger painting that I plan on doing. It fits the Challenge for this weeks Daily Paintworks challenge, too. It is done in oil on linen...pretty loose and suggestive.

The pastel paper project is still going on. However, with that light toned blue paper, I feel like I have hit the wall. Tomorrow I hope to start a pastel on it to test how pastel works with it. It is Colorfix Suede...the surface reminds me of those crazy velvet paintings. Maybe that is why I seem to be having such a time getting started with doing something with it.

Enjoy.

Caboose

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 05:29:00 +0000

"Caboose"

oil on linen, 6 x6 inches

This is is the last little character of an old wooden pull toy. The end. My hope is to do a few more paintings of this little pull toy. The next will be of one of the other little characters on this pull toy and then another painting of the entire thing. This will probably a long painting so that all the little guys fit on the canvas. When completed the paintings will make a cute grouping. Available in my gallery and at auction at Daily Paintworks.

Enjoy!

Tangerine Tango Sunset

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 04:51:00 +0000

"Tangerine Tango Sunset"

oil on linen, 6x8 inch, unframed

The color of the year according to The Patone Company is "Tangerine Tango", a beautiful and vibrant orange. The above painting is in response to the Daily Paintworks challenge for this week. The challenge is to paint something using the color chosen for 2012, tangerine tango.

It did not take me much time to decide what to do. A few years back I spent a couple of weeks in Cabo San Lucas in Mexico. The sunsets there still remain in my memory. I did take lots and lots of photos during my stay. This brought back some wondrous memories of days in the sun....especially as I stand in my studio today, the coldest day so far this winter, and the temperature is a few degrees below zero F.

Enjoy!

P.S. Make sure to come back and check on my future testing of more pastel papers. The next one will be a blue colorfix suede surface. I am not sure what I am going to do with that one.

Winter Stillness

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:30:00 +0000

"Winter Stillness"

pastel on paper, 7.5 x 11 inches

landscape, unframed

TESTING PASTEL PAPERS ~ Test #2:

This is the second pastel paper that I am testing out of a sample package of twelve sample-size papers. Each is approximately 9x12 inches. There is an assortment of colors, types and shades of paper.

My hope is to take each paper and produce a piece of artwork using it and then provide feedback on each paper. What I hope to gain from this exercise is more experience on different surfaces using pastels. One should "rock the boat" now and then and try new things. For me, this is a way to learn and experience new methods - Maybe even gain some useable knowledge.

THE SECOND TEST PAPER:

Art Spectrum Colorfix Supertooth. This paper surprised me. After my experience with the Colored Colorfix paper, I did not have great expectations for this paper. The surface quality is much coarser than the first colorfix paper that I tried. I has a lot more surface area to grab the pigment of the pastel.
Paper Qualities.
- The paper is creamy white tone.
- I did use a light watercolor wash for an undertone. It helps me with blocking in shapes gives me a bit of guidance in the design. Also, since the paper is light in color less pastel is needed to fill in the different values when an underwash is used.
- The surface is fairly textured a bit like sandpaper. The surface appears to have tiny little bubbles that popped providing a rough textured surface (more surface area so that there is more for the pastel to grab onto.)
- Fill qualities: Compared to the first paper that I used, I actually liked this one. I would even consider purchasing it. I could layer, blend and have fun working the pastel. I did not make much pastel dust with this paper as compared to the first one.
- Blending: I tried a cotton rag (t-shirt material) and a tortillon blending stick. When blending with the rag, I would use short strokes in areas that I wanted to soften the pastel. The blending stick would great and I used it quite a bit.
- Fixative: Did not use.

SUMMARY....or just my experience and opinion:

This paper gets a thumbs up. I did use a light watercolor wash and I found the paper to take the watercolor nicely. The surface is a little weird looking, but it did the job.

SUMMARY CHART for the future.....:

After I complete the comparison of papers, I will put together a chart of sorts with the name of the actual paper used, the pros, the cons, the cost, colors available and the type of pastels that seem to work best (pencils, hard or soft)...of course, this is just my humble opinion.

Two papers tested and ten more to go...also a handmade surface to be included.

Misty Afternoon

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 23:16:00 +0000

"Misty Afternoon"

pastel on paper, 9x12 inch

TESTING PASTEL PAPERS:

This is the first pastel paper that I am testing out of a package of several sample-size papers. Each is approximately 9x12 inches. There is an assortment of colors, types and shades.

My hope is to take each paper and produce a piece of artwork using it. What I hope to gain from this exercise is more experience on different surfaces using pastels. One should "rock the boat" now and then and try new things. This is a way to learn and experience new methods - Maybe even gain some useable knowledge.

THE FIRST TEST or paper:

Initially, I thought that I would love this dark grey pre-toned paper. Wrong. I started two different paintings on this paper, but I eventually wiped each one of them off after struggling with each one of the trials. I am pretty sure that this paper is going to find a new home some place else.

The paper has a dark tone, which I like, but for the subjects that I tried using it the colors just seemed to sink into the darkness - it is seems a bit too dark for my preferences.
I also did not care for how the pastel took to the paper. I like to layer pastels and I also prefer to blend very little - just a little when I feel the need.
The tooth of the paper just seemed to fill way to quick for me and after one or two layers, I made pastel dust really, really good.
I did try blending, but what seemed to happen then was dust and the layers just disappeared...gone.
I even tried a spray of workable fixative. Now this is something that I just do not do. That did not seem to help my dilemma either. The pastel just sank into the dark toned background...disappearing into never-never land.

RESULT....or my humbler than thou opinion:

I believe this paper probably works fine for someone who likes fine lines and detail work. Just not me. Maybe I need to work more with it. In the end, the paper and I did not click.

NOW the WINE COMPARISON....

For me, it felt like I drank a glass of not-so-great wine. Had a terrible headache and an awful taste in my mouth. I am going to compare this little gem to Bali Hai. Some people may be old enough to know what that wine is or may actually like that wine - that is, if you can still get it. It also is probably not so bad if mixed with soda or something to kill the terrible after-taste...hmm, maybe the paper needs something else to make it better....

SUMMARY CHART of sorts for the FUTURE RELEASE of the NAMES:

After I complete the comparison of papers, I will put together a chart of sorts with the name of the actual paper used, the pros, the cons, cost and lastly....the wine counterpart ...of course, this is just my humbler than thou opinion.

More to come. Enjoy!

MaryAnn

P.S. If you just can't wait, the paper is an Art Spectrum colored one - a very dark gray. I typically use a Wallis paper so I had a difficult time re-adjusting my style for this paper type....drove me crazy. I also like to tone the paper using watercolor and a paper with a lot more texture.

The Pink Wheelbarrow

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 06:11:00 +0000

"The Pink Wheelbarrow"

8x8 inch, oil on linen, unframed

The Painting:

The above painting is something that I did this fall during a workshop with Scott Anderson. It meant driving to the "Cities", but for this non-city person I felt the workshop helped me with looking at what I paint with a different perspective. We painted plein aire or outdoors on site and in places that I had not visited prior to the class. I am not a "city" person. However, I had a great time and I loved finding new subject matter to paint and having a taste of city life for a couple of days.

What is new this week:

This week I am testing out several different pastel papers. Tomorrow I will photograph them and list the ones that I am trying. It is a sample pack from Dakota Art Supplies with ten different papers. A couple of them I have used previously and they are some of my favorites. As I go through the papers, I hope to post the pastel paintings I do along with pros and cons about the papers. I also hope to make some boards with my own ground painted on them to try out, too.

Make sure to check out the Daily Paintworks site. I have a gallery there and a couple of auctions going.

Grapefruit Morning

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 03:32:00 +0000

"Grapefruit Morning"

6x6 inch, oil on linen panel

This painting can be purchased at a Daily Paintworks auction.

This small painting is this week's challenge on Daily Paintworks. A fun challenge.

Black-Eyed Susans

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 01:14:00 +0000

"Black-Eyed Susans"

size: 8x8 inch

oil on linen, unframed

This painting is of black-eyed susans that was painted from life on the North Shore of Lake Superior. Lots of clouds hung around the shoreline that day. In the area that I found this wonderful abundance of flowers, I could easily set up my easel and paint right in the parking lot. They danced gingerly around the area and I felt delightfully surrounded by them.

This will be for sale on an auction at Daily Paintworks.

Happy Holidays

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 06:58:00 +0000

"Happy Holidays"

pastel, 7.5x11 inches

(a snow scene from my backyard)

Here is the scene without photoshop.

This pastel can be purchased unframed and without matting for
$100 plus shipping.
Click her to purchase via PayPal.

Fogginess

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 16:02:00 +0000

"Fog Along the Rum River"

size: 8x10 inch

Oil on linen panel

Auction piece on DPW

Fogginess: an atmosphere in which visibility is reduced because of a cloud of some substance. This is according to my online dictionary and thesaurus.

Yesterday, as I looked through a pile of paintings that I had done, I came across this one. For the past month, as I try to paint or think about painting, I seem to become clouded and filled with a heavy fogginess that surrounds me. I feel as if my muse has left me for greener pastures. (In a sense, that may be true. It is winter and the green pastures are filled with yellow ochres and patches of snow.) My muse seems to be on a wanderlust with very, itchy feet and the inability to stay focused. I am not sure what that so-called muse is up to at the moment. Searching. Seeking. Exploring. Probing. Investigating. Hmmmm, making doll clothes for the grand kids. I am wondering if every artist goes through these phases where creating art just seems to stagnate and makes no sense.

I am having one of those phases. Wondering what to do? Wondering what happened to my muse?

Sometimes it is good to look back at the places of creativity of the past. To look at the past and where one has been. Sometimes it is not. Today it is. Looking back can give one a sense of accomplishment and progress made. With that, today I look towards the future. Towards who and what I want to be.

Something magical happened when sorting through those old paintings. I know now that creating art is my true passion in life. I know that it is something I must do. Without art, I am lifeless. I need to create. I now realize that my muse never left. She seemed to be hiding right in front of me, clouded by my thoughts and lack of action. The fog truly has lifted. My muse has returned. That magical entity seems to have emerged from the fog, being present and by my side all along.

Creativity happens in many ways. For me, the magic of making my wee grand children doll clothes, showed me that my muse is still with me. Nudging me to create. To design. To produce. It may not be with a brush or a pencil, but my creative mind combines fabric, designs patterns, and magically one-of-a-kind creations are made for the special wee ones in my life.

I found my muse. Now to create with a bit of paint........to the studio.

MaryAnn

P.S. This week I am doing a purge of some old, but good paintings. These are studies that I did a while back and I want to make room for the new. I will be offering them at a low starting bid on Daily Paintworks.

Crex Meadows 3

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 16:01:00 +0000

Crex Meadows No. 3

oil on linen, 8x10 inch, $150

This painting is of an area in Wisconsin known as Crex Meadows and painted on location. It is a plein air painters delight. Every time that I paint there, I am so inspired by the quiet and beauty of the landscape. There is an abundance of wildlife, including trumpeter swans, cranes and many other water fowl along four-legged critters. I still need to sign this one and I have painted this area previously.

Please feel free to comment and if you are interested in purchasing this painting, I will ship it for free.

Thank you for your support and for viewing my artwork!

Fern Meadow

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 20:56:00 +0000

"Fern Meadow"

watercolor with pen and ink, 12x16 inch

nfs

This is a technique that I do not typically do nowadays. Most of my work is in oils or pastels. At one time, I used to work only in this media. If fact, my first paintings used watercolor and pen and ink. A few months ago, a friend asked me if I would do a piece of artwork of the home that they were building. A log home. I had been to their place...the old place and I loved the area with its magical beauty.

This is my interpretation of that magical place. I have yet to see the new cabin, but I am sure that it still maintains the beauty and spirituality of the area. I remember sitting under a huge pine tree, soaking up the sun's rays, listening to the quiet as the silence and beauty soothed my troubled spirit. This is my interpretation of their magical place.

Fairy Wings

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 12:30:00 +0000

"Fairy Wings"

pastel, 16x20 inch

Capturing the essence of a small child and their behavior is one of my muses for painting children's portraits. Imagination and pretending are such an important aspect of being a child. As adults we tend to forget about the world of "make believe" and become entangled with surviving our daily struggles of living our lives.

Fairy Wings is meant to bring us back to that time when the child in us loved to dress up and pretend of being someone or something else. It made us feel special and seemed to give the child in us power and strength when times could be difficult.

The model for this painting is my granddaughter and when I brought her the gift of wings and a ruffled tutu skirt, she immediately put them on and absolutely refused to remove them. Her sweet innocence and for her the power of being a "fairy princess butterfly" made her feel so special.....but of course she is. The power of make believe is incredible and as adults it could not hurt for each of to pretend some times.

"Fall Colors"

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 16:21:00 +0000

"Fall Colors"

8x10 inch, oil on linen, landscape

plein air, unframed

This past week while picking up paintings from the show in Grand Marais, MN, I decided to spend a couple of days enjoying the fall colors and also to do some plein air painting. This painting was done plein air and the location is near the Trail Center Lodge - one of my favorite places stay. The food is fantastic and the area is absolutely beautiful.

Made by an Eagle Scout

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 12:59:00 +0000

"Made by an Eagle Scout"

pastel, 9x12

landscape

SOLD

This pastel painting is a small walking bridge that is located near Horseshoe Bay along Lake Superior. There is a small brass plate on the railing that tells of its maker, an Eagle Scout. A beautiful hiking path. A wonderful bridge.

"End of the Road"

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 12:00:00 +0000

"End of the Road"

oil on linen, 8x10 inch

landscape

Available at Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery, Grand Marais, MN

This is a short road that runs along Lake Superior across from the Judge Magney State Park. The day had a lot of atmosphere with the fog that hung along the shoreline for most of the day. I liked how the telephone poles and the road made for an interesting composition.

"Field of Dreams"

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 13:00:00 +0000

"Field of Dreams"

pastel, 16x20 inches

landscape

SOLD

This is one of the pastel paintings that I recently did for the Grand Marais Plein Air Paint Out. There is a story behind the name of this painting and the connection that I found for the area. The area is near a place called Horseshoe Bay on Lake Superior. There is a public water access to Lake Superior and also a trail that leads through a wooded area.

The day that I arrived to take some photos and do some sketching of black-eyed susans that lined the edge of the parking lot, I met a group of folks coming out of the trail located just off of the parking area. I asked them where the path went. An elderly gentleman smiled at me and said, "that the trail would eventually get to the point and along the way there is a bridge that an Eagle Scout built just for someone like me". He continued telling me about an open field where a baseball diamond had once been. "Really", I said. I decided to follow the trail and check it out. Sure enough I crossed a bridge made by an Eagle scout. Going further I found an open field. I am not sure that the field actually had a baseball field, but it made for a good story. Since the clearing could have been a baseball diamond in the middle of no where, I found the title for the painting "Field of Dreams" fitting.

The day that I painted "Field of Dreams", the fog had rolled in all along the coast of Lake Superior. At one time, I could not even see the field. Luckily, things cleared off and the atmosphere had the wonderful misty feel to it. What a wonderful place for a painting.

Cowboy Coffee ~ Nocturne

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 12:30:00 +0000

"Cowboy Coffee"

oil on linen, 8x10 inch

Nocturne painting, available at Johnson Heritage Post, Grand Marais, MN thru September 25th

This year for the Ninth Annual Grand Marais Paint Out, I stayed at the Judge Magney State Park...a nice park that has showers during the summer months. One night as the fire blazed its warmth, I thought that it would make a nice night painting with a coffee pot along one edge of the fire ring and grill.

Night painting is quite a challenge. One needs to be able to see the canvas and paint to mix them, but the light cannot be so bright that it ruins the effect of the scene. There is a balance between one's eyes being able to see at night and the light used. I use a small battery operated book light that does the job. It clamps onto my easel and I can see the paint enough to mix them.

The surprise is seeing how the painting turned out the next day in sunlight. Sometimes the painting works, sometimes not. I also do not use black for the dark areas.

A Piece of the Rock ~ Quick Paint

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 15:09:00 +0000

"A Piece of the Rocks"

oil on linen, 8x10 inches

Available at Johnson Heritage Post, Grand Marais, MN, through September 25th.

During the Grand Marais Plein Air event, the participants did a "quick paint" on Artist's Point in Grand Marais. The artists had to have their panels stamped before competing. At 5:30 pm a horn sounded indicating the beginning of the time allotted to paint. The artists had until 7:00 pm to complete a painting. An hour and a half. During that time, we had ever-changing light and weather conditions, including rain and fog. Quite a challenge.

This is my result of the Quick Paint. It is a small section of rocks that can be found along the shoreline of Lake Superior at Artist's Point.

Lace Lake ~ winner

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 13:19:00 +0000

"Lace Lake"

oil on linen, 11x14 inches

available at Johnson Heritage Center, Grand Marais, MN thru September

Last week I spent the week painting at the Ninth Annual Grand Marais Plein Air Event. There were a total of 44 artists anticipating in the event. My painting, "Lace Lake", received an honorable mention in the main category. Each artist could submit up to three paintings.

Other categories for the event included two more categories, a Quick Paint and a Nocturne.

Look for the other paintings that I painted during the week in future posts. What a great time!

All in Bloom

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 02:55:00 +0000

"All in Bloom"

oil on linen panel, 8x8 inch

Floral, unframed

Click here to bid.

Today the sun lit my small flower garden giving a feeling of wildness. There are lots of weeds out among those flowers. The spiked flowers of the hydrangea, the coneflowers and some yellow flowers that I do not know. All perennials. All blooming in the summer sun. Begging to be painted.

This is my interpretation of that flower garden painted from life this afternoon.

Pastel of Crex Meadows

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 13:30:00 +0000

"Crex Meadows in Pastel"

8x10 inches

pastel on sanded paper

$150 framed (glass and spacers)

Painting out has many advantages. For me, doing those paintings out of doors are painting notes of the colors seen that day. I like to use paintings that I have done this way in the studio to do pastels. That is what happened with the above pastel painting. There are a couple of other paintings that I did of Crex Meadows that I plan on using for pastel studies as well.

Look for more pastels in the future. By the way, I also used some of my homemade pastels on this painting. Luscious.

Mason Jar Flowers

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 16:28:00 +0000

"Mason Jar Flowers"

oil on board, 6x6 inch

Click here to bid.

My DPW Auctions

With this painting, I am trying a different medium. Neo-Megilb made by Gamblin. It is supposed to be the modern day replacement for Maroger's medium. This is my first attempt and I still have a ways to go before figuring the best method of application and using it. I am not sure that I like it or not. Definitely, I need to try a few more paintings and experiment some more.

Since I do a lot of painting outdoors, I am also experimenting with some fast drying mediums. The latest one will be Fast Drying Linseed Oil from Winsor and Newton. I should have it in a couple of days.

A Spot of Light

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Cleary) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 16:10:00 +0000

"A Spot of Light"

11x14 inch, unframed

oil on linen panel

Last week I spent many hours painting outdoors each and every day. I took a mentoring workshop from Marc Hanson of Taylors Falls, MN. What an intense week of painting and learning! I do feel blest to have Marc living nearby in Minnesota. His workshops are a source of much knowledge and sharing. How wonderful to spend the week with other artists.

This painting is one of several done that week. We were on our own each day to paint a specific assignment. Angel Hill, architecture, nocturnes, and more. Each evening a critique would be held going over everyone's artwork. This assignment is the result of "painting a more intimate" subject for the assignment. That day the light hit upon a clump of decorative grasses and a freshly mowed lawn. In the background trees and shrubs abound on the small incline.

This painting is available at the Red Wing Depot Gallery, Red Wing, MN.