Peony Arrangement

Peony Arrangement
6x8in oil on canvas panel $140 SOLD


Artist Note.
The last of the peonies
until next year.
I watched a gardening program
about the peony losing favor in
British gardens and how
one woman is determined to
restore it popularity.
I hope she is successful.
They are so beautiful.

It is summer break and

yesterday I started to clean 

my home studio.

No easy task. I am messy.

My first job was rounding

up all the failures

to destroy with

black roof tar.

Nope - I am not allowed 

to burn trash in the city.

My dear hubby patiently wiped

tar on nearly 150 paintings today!
Three plus years worth of rejects.
I keep them thinking I can tweak
them to make them right,
but nothing is successful that way.

Why tar?
Non-removable that's why.
I actually have had people take
my paintings from the trash.

Now I disguise the trash bags 

with garden clippings

because if you look carefully

you can see the shapes 

of the canvases. 

We have professional 

trash hunters come round on

big trash day when the grappler

is due. 

Once bitten -  twice shy!

Happy Fathers Day 

to all the wonderful

men who take on that 

responsibility with 

love and pride.

Birth, adoption, 

and step fathers alike.

Our daughter is coming in

to be with her "Daddy" 

Artists of Influence - J.M.W. Turner

Rain, Steam and Speed 

- The Great Western Railway

J.M.W. Turner 

painted 1838

I was invited to write about the 

influences which helped me as an artist

 by the company 

Patience Brewster

I have been enjoying reading some of

the artists who have been sharing

their own stories so I was delighted

to participate.

Standing in front of this amazing

Turner painting (above) was 

definitely the start of realizing 

a

 painting 

could give me goose bumps!

My huge emotional response 

shook me up because before that I 

was enamored by technical skill...

not realizing the 

pure genius

of technical skill it took Turner

to do this.

This painting was done 

2 years before Monet was born.

Turner painted outdoors a lot

and colors above are true to the 

part of England I knew so well

because he actually painted

the atmosphere...

 the rain, 

steam trains,

and a very industrial area.

Turners watercolors are a 

delight, but not easily available

to view in the area I now 

live in here in the US

so when the museum in Houston

had a exhibition of his watercolors

 years ago, I flew out to see it

and was delighted to find the 

goose bumps were still there.

Other Influences.

Picasso had a strong impact 

with his many different periods

of style and media. Such

comfort knowing it was 

okay to change focus,

and Cezanne has long been an artist

I turn to when I need inspiration. 

And my love of 

Impressionism/Romanticism 

was continued by being 

drawn to some of Monet's more

atmospheric paintings. 

Yes - the waterlilies for sure. 

Seeing we are talking about 

influences in art

there are interesting stories

about Turner's influence on Monet

after Monet visited the 

National gallery in 1870 

The story goes... 

Monet stood in awe in front of

Turner's work and then after

some private visits ...and do you think 

he could have seen this 

during one of them?

(Sunrise is a clue)

Norham Castle -Sunrise

1845

JMW Turner

And when, after

returning to Paris, Monet started to 

try and capture the emotion

he experienced about the atmosphere

as well 

as the brighter colors of 

painting outside.

There is no doubt of the change  

when you see the before and after.

Here is a popular Monet piece

painted in 1867

Garden at Sainte-Adresse

C. Monet 1867

Forgive a little rant here...

Although this is a very popular

piece I dislike this painting for 

several reasons, the

"dibby dabby do" brushwork

in lower half and smooth work

on top with every dang mast

 on the way off horizon

painted in perfect detail!

BUT all is not lost - 

Monet visits Turner 

and look what happens

Impression - Sunrise

C Monet 1872

This is the painting which coined the 

word Impressionism.

How marvelous for Monet

to find an influence

which had such a profound effect.

Sorry this led into such a long post.

I am beholden to all artists 

who get inspired to try and

capture emotion, no matter their

style - but it was Turner who 

gave me my first goose bumps.

It was fun finding out who in turn

influenced the great Turner.

But that's another story.

Thank you, Marietta for the invitation

to participate. 

You must be very proud of 

your mother, Patience...

her work is beautiful.

Please check out the blog

of patience brewster