June 2015 Wrap Up Post

1. Across Town
 12" x 16" acrylic on wc paper

2. From Here To There
11" x 14" acrylic on wc paper

3. Follow The Leader
11" x 14" acrylic on wc paper

4. Catch Up
11" x 14" acrylic on wc paper

5. Linked
12" x 16" acrylic on wc paper

6. Edge
11" x 14" acrylic on wc paper

7. Spaces
12" x 16" acrylic on wc paper

Hard to believe that June is here! The warmer months mean more trips out and about for me and hopefully more sketching and inspiration. It's been a good month for painting. Here is the rundown:

1. Across Town: Inspired by the Crosstown Freeway in Stockton, of all places! I saw a plume of smoke in my rear view mirror while driving recently and the rest is history, as they say!

2. From Here To There: My trip to UC Davis in April has produced a lot of ideas for painting. This latest piece is another riff on the landscape next to Putah Creek.

3. Follow The Leader: 
4. Catch Up: 
New Melones Reservoir here in Angels Camp keeps me interested. There are a number of houseboats that I have seen over the years and drawing on that imagery is always productive for me. I imagined groups of boats in various configurations for these two pieces. 

5. Linked: Any type of bridge catches my attention. This bridge is one of several located in the arboretum and spans Putah Creek at UC Davis. 

6. Edge: Piers are another bit of imagery that inspires me. This particular pier idea is taken from my memory of visiting a waterway near the now defunct Rancho Seco nuclear reactor. Just goes to show that inspiration is everywhere.

7. Spaces: White Pines is not Arnold! (As the sign proclaims as you enter the town.) Earlier this year I took a trip to Arnold and White Pines Lake. Testing out our new camera, I took lots of photos of the far side of the lake and all of the reflections. This is fairly unexplored territory for me and I hope to do some more pieces based on my photos and notes from that trip.

What's New?:
I will be teaching a class at Town Hall Arts on June 6th and 19th. Painters are encouraged to bring all of their tubes of paint so that they can get organized and get painting! We will sort through colors, make swatches and create a color wheel that uses pure spectral hues. Participants will learn about/review some basic concepts of the three attributes of color: hue, value, and chroma. We will also discuss perceived temperature. It's lots of fun to talk color so please sign up with Larry at Town Hall Arts if you are interested.

Photos, Notes, Sketches, and Imagery:
When I read about other artists or talk with them about their work, it's always interesting to know where their art comes from. I thought I might include the things that help me to be inspired with my own work.

Many of the above pieces are based on an idea or interest of some sort. I start with my photos, my field notes or my sketches. Most everything that I paint begins with a photo that I have taken. That photo is backed up by my sketches, my color notes taken in the field, observations that I write down and selected representative imagery. Huh? What's "representative imagery?" That's my term for objects or shapes that can stand in for a general idea or concept. Take the houseboats above, for example. They don't look like houseboats but for me, a rectangle is a good abstraction of the general houseboat shape. I use bridge shapes too from time to time. The shapes evoke the idea of a bridge but they serve a dual purpose since bridges themselves have a special meaning for me.  Having varied resources to draw on is crucial for me when making my paintings.

I hope everyone has had a good month. Thank you again for reading my newsletter and supporting me in my art making. Here is a little poem to start off the month of June.
Thanks,
Libby

The days are clear, 
Day after day, 
When April's here, 
That leads to May, 
And June 
Must follow soon: 
Stay, June, stay! - 
If only we could stop the moon 
And June! 

Christina Rossetti: The Days Are Clear