December Newsletter 2014

It has been a busy, fruitful year, but I am not dwelling too much on the past! My sights are set on 2015, when I will have several shows that I am very excited about.

The first will be in March at Gold (Au) Gallery in Boston, my second solo show with the gallery. My solo in fall of 2012 was quite successful, but I am looking forward to this show taking place in a better economy. Below is the piece we have used for advance PR, just finished less than a month ago.

“Rolling Cloud”, 44″x68″.

There will be another version of “Trove”, 35 3″x5″ paintings in a divided frame—here is the one that I did and sold in 2007. This second frame is the last that I have been able to find, so only one more of these! The new one will have a weather theme.

“Trove”, 30″X48″ overall.

I am working on a new idea for a multiple-panel piece, waiting for the delivery of canvas to begin work on the final version, which will come in (framed) at something like 14″x82″. A planning stages photo is below.

Studies for “Green Waves”.

 

Some recent highlights have included three blog posts that I quite enjoyed writing. These often generate quite a bit of discussion on FB that I wish was taking place on the blog where more folks could enjoy it, so feel free to jump in.

Most recent, this short one about how grounding a creative process is:

https://scheeleart.wordpress.com/2014/12/10/creativity-and-happiness/

Some stories that I love (and a few of you might recognize them!):

https://scheeleart.wordpress.com/2014/11/11/sweetest-sales/

And my version of a rant  about the costs, hidden to many, of making an artwork and bringing it to the public eye:

https://scheeleart.wordpress.com/2014/11/02/this-painting-costs-what/

My early fall was well-occupied with this commissioned piece which was challenging in certain ways. My clients–who are also friends–wanted a piece that was most definitely in my signature style, but that also included a fairly large structure.

 

44″x68″.

The small pastel looked great with some loose detail for the building, but when I got to the large oil, there was just too much of it to leave open. So I hunkered down and went after the architectural detail, surrendering to process. Then, however, the building looked too linear and didn’t fit with the rest of the painting. Finally, I made it all sit together by putting a fairly translucent layer of a lighter brown over the whole castle and embedding it with more blend into the white sky.

This is what makes each piece an adventure. I thought that the large Rhododendrons flanking the pond would be difficult to pull off/make interesting, but they fell right into place.

The reflection, however, was always going to be the star of the piece!

One other observation about process is that when it comes to a section that has quite a lot of  of detail, I think of it as an abstract painting within a painting. This slows me down and enables me to focus with pleasure and patience, eventually backing up and scrutinizing how the area is working with the whole.

Below, a few recent pieces.

“Green Horizons”, 12″x48″, oil on canvas. (Studio.)

 

“Marsh at Dusk”, 12″x16″. oil on linen. (Studio.)

 

Five oil-on-paper paintings of just 3.25″x3″/ea. (Studio.)

 

“Affinity/Sunset Reflected”, 12″x36″. Oil on linen with frayed edges overlaid with graphite gridding. (At Albert Shahinian Fine Art.)

 

And this piece that I repainted last summer, brightening the color.

“Endless Sky”, 36″x72″, oil on linen. (At Gold Gallery.)

 

Some work that has sold recently through my galleries.

 

“Lifting Rain, 20″x60”. Sold by Louisa Gould Gallery.

 

“Mountain Sky with Mists”, 24″x30″. Sold by Chace-Randall Gallery.

 

“Seaside Reds”, 20″x20″. (Sold by Edgewater Gallery, to my dear and recently rediscovered friend from my year in Bolivia as an exchange student!)

 

“Counterlight Blues, 16″x20”. Sold by Albert Shahinian Fine Art.

 

“Sunset Sea with Sailboat”, 5″x14″, oil on paper. (Sold by the Julie Heller Gallery.)

My other shows coming up in 2015 are with the Louisa Gould Gallery on Martha’s Vineyard and a show exploring my most minimalist, color-field imagery with my gallery of longest-standing, Albert Shahinian Fine Art in Rhinebeck.

My fall workshops on in Provincetown and Woodstock were very focused and great fun. For 2015, I have two new themes on the schedule. (Contact me for a full course description.)

 Constructing/Deconstructing the Landscape, WSA, February 14-16 Sat-Mon

Landscapes in Large Scale, WSA, June 20-23, Sat-Tues

Provincetown Artist’s Association and Museum, Sept. September 14-18 Mon-Thurs(Workshop will be similar to Constructing/Deconstructing the Landscape.)

Interpreting the Landscape in Oil or Pastel, WSA, October 17-19 Sat-Mon

https://scheeleart.wordpress.com/2013/10/02/painting-workshop-considering-composition/

Last comment for now is that I have been doing quite a bit of mentoring/coaching of other artists this past year and especially recently, enjoying working with both early career and experienced artists. I developed my mentoring programs years ago after meeting and conversing with many artists who had so much hope and conviction, but didn’t understand the ropes. The work is satisfying to me because I can clarify and demystify, and thus take some of the emotional weight out of the process of bringing artwork into the marketplace. I am grateful to the many artists who have trusted me to help them rewrite artist’s statements, brainstorm new series, scrutinize resumes for old contacts, and open themselves up to advice.

https://scheeleart.wordpress.com/2013/01/15/mentoring-for-artists-for-career-and-work-support/

Happy holidays, happy 2015!