autumnriverdesigns.com

Today we are launching our new website that can be found at - autumnriverdesigns.com - which includes the photography of my husband and also my paintings & illustrations. This website will grow quickly since much of our finished work is not there yet. As you will see, Autumn River Designs is a joint venture - two artists, husband and wife - working separately in their own mediums, but also collaborating intimately on most projects. My husband Frank's second love is photography (he says I'm #1) capturing both nature and machinery and I am happiest with a brush in my hand. So whether working on a still life or a Christmas card, I know this is how my life is supposed to be, and I am either painting something new or planning the next one.

Please check out our 'About Us' page on the new site to read more of why we do what we do, and I hope you enjoy this new adventure along with us.

Balancing Act #1

I will be painting a version of this still life arrangement again. After photographing from several different angles, I came up with a couple of views that I just have to do. The colors in the white pitcher were amazing. I picked up green, blue, pink and purple. I want to try this in Pastel to see how it will work. The pitcher came from Manchester, Vermont. We got it (actually we have two) on our honeymoon, at a cooking store who's name escapes me. One now has a chip but I still use them for my half and half in my coffee. An ordinary everyday object, yet also a little reminder of Manchester and North Hero, Vermont & many years of pleasant memories.

Quiet Please

Quiet Please - Here is the full size completed painting of Pewter, after beating on his brothers, sound asleep resting up for another round. This is an 8" x 10" oil painting. Pewter is painted fairly tightly, however I kept the cushions loose, you can see the brush work. Since the subject was the cat I wanted to keep the focus there. By leaving the background loose, without as much detail, the eye is directed towards the more finished object.

Red Gerber Daisy Complete

Here is the Red Gerber Daisy painting completed. I am happy with this piece, it feels like I am making progress towards one of my goals. I even finished up the painting of Pewter yesterday. Nice to have more completed pieces than half started ones.

This is my week off before taking a short class, most of the "gotta do's" are done, so this morning I am going over my reference photo's looking for possible subjects for new work. Thanks for all your positive comments, I took them to heart. I follow a blog, Contemporary Textile Art by Lisa Call, I don't know that much about textile or fiber art. She has written about her journey as she sold her home in the suburbs, downsized, remodeled both her home and her life so that she could work as an artist (and she has a day job). It's been the ups and downs along the way, but she has accomplished her goals. So here we go, another chapter, should be interesting.

Life Happens and Painting Update

First, I want to apologize to anyone who posted a comment on the previous post of this painting. Yesterday by accident it was deleted and I found out it cannot be retrieved. I want to thank Elizabeth and Carol for the awards given, they were appreciated.

The past few weeks have been a blur, I was laid off from the small manufacturing company that I worked for. It did not totally suprise me, since Christmas the backlog of orders had been steadily dwindling. I have worked in manufacturing most of my adult life, starting as a Mechanical Draftsperson but I've also done Inspection, Inside Sales and Estimating to name a few. The company I worked for came from our previous employer, when the company was sold and moved out of state three of the guys started their own business. There were eight of us total and it was hard physical work but an interesting experience. But it is time to make some major life changes, I am taking a certification class and than maybe go back to school. Right now I am leaning towards going back to school which is a little daunting at this age. I have been out getting a physical and running around with paperwork, you know how it goes. So life is a little up in the air and after yesterdays accident with the post I think I need to take a step back for a bit. But I am asking you to hang in there with me while I go through this transition period. I love meeting all the new people and seeing the art created. I look forward to everyones new posts and am going to try to hang on to this. Art is my passion and anyone who knows me can tell you I love it!

Red Gerber Daisy & Strawberries

One of the perks of painting flowers are all the pretty bouquets you get to have around the house. This red Gerber Daisy was part of a glorious bunch that sat on my kitchen for the better part of a week. I love red and these large blooms just caught my eye.

I worked out a preliminary sketch than transfered it to the board. You can see some of the petals I roughed in. I paint in a direct manor, but I never can get all the detail in one pass. As it drys I can go back adding color, lightening and darkening as needed.

Early Morning Light

Here is the finished painting of Early Morning Light (formerly titled Thaw - In Progress). If you go back to the original post you can see that I worked on the color considerably. My goal was to capture the warm sunlight falling across the cool snow. A painting like this is more of a study for a larger piece.

I would like to thank Dean of Deano’s Den for including me in a group of artists receiving a blog award “A Passion for Painting”. Dean has a great blog and is a very talented artist. There is a sense of community about his blog, he responds to everyone who leaves a comment with a very personal & friendly touch.

Out Of My Comfort Zone

I finished the painting that I posted last week. That was out of my comfort zone and I feel like I fought for every stroke. It's a good thing to stretch and paint beyond what you are comfortable with. Right now it is drying, and I am back working on some new flowers. I did add two images to my other blog this week. One of my favorites, Country Brunch above. You can click here to see the card. And Santa's New Elves, click here.

Thaw - In Progress

Thaw - 5"x 7" oil on board

This is the current small painting I have been working on this past week. The day after I started this it snowed, now we have temperatures in the 60's and the snow is basicly gone except for the mud. And that is all I am going to say about the weather. Nose to the grind stone and see if I can finish and repost.

The inspiration came from the brief period of time in the morning when the light first peaks over the horizon. In the summer you have that special slice of time, before the rest of the world stirs, to see what has opened up in the garden or just to sit on the back porch with a cup of coffee and listen to the birds. In the winter it is a little quieter - but you still get those few moments when the sun rises and sets of pastel beauty.

Still Life completed

Here is the completed oil painting that I was working on in my last post. You may note that I did not have the the light and shadows on the rock as well defined before. It was that strip of light at the bottom of the rock that caught my eye and made the composition. I also darkened the background, I wanted the leaves to pop a little more.

I was very sorry to learn this week ( and I may have been the last person to find out) that Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion is no longer being published. This month would have been the artist studio edition which I totally enjoyed. This was one of those treats you allow yourself, curl up with a cup of tea and get lost in all the creativity. I still go thru old copies and find something new. I guess there were a few more magazines that fell victim to the economy. Unfortunately, I liked many of the ones that did not make it. Look on the bright side, I will be saving some money.

Still Life with Nasturtium

This is the oil painting I worked on this week. Some more glass and another Nasturtium. This piece was setup outside last summer, I found the shadows cast on the rock by the flower and leaves interesting. I hope you all had a nice Valentines day. My family is getting together tonight for a family Valentines dinner, just a nice home cooked meal and some conversation.

Once again when I am finished I'll scan it and post the finished piece.

Amber Glass Update

This is the scanned version of the painting I posted about two weeks ago. At that time I just could not get the photo to come out. I am still having a few issues that will have to be ironed out but I'm glad I tackled it.

Basking in the Light

Basking in the Light - today was anything but, we had the full compliment of snow, sleet and now freezing rain. Cats are bored, they go out to sit on the back porch and end up crouching under the chairs watching the birds feed in the feeders. So far they have not wanted to venture out into the elements and pester the birds.

I did finish the painting I posted last week with the red glass but I cannot get a good photo today. So I'll let it dry and scan it in a few days. Above is a pastel of Ember on the bed, taking a little cat nap.

I work from photos that either I or my husband take. He kindly lets me use some of his, especially any cat photos he has. I have a Sony Cybershot that I can slip into my pocketbook and keep with me at all times. At least this was the plan, I am going to work harder at taking more photos, I don't know how many times I have seen a great painting as I am riding around or out for a walk. It's not like I don't have the camera, it's getting into the habit.!!

Renewal - A New President

Today is a day for renewal, a new president and for me a celebration of hope for my country. Tonight I am going to work on my painting and watch TV, I have been listening to the speech and peoples reactions all the way home from work. So now, I will settle in for the evening and join the rest of the country to watch a piece of history that was made today.

Working on a snowbound weekend

We had an extremely cold and snowy weekend - so I went into hibernation, stayed home and painted. This is an oil on a 5" x 7" board and as you can see I am still plugging along. I have learned alot working on this piece, most important, simplify the reflections that you see in the glass. At first I tried to paint every single detail that I saw and became lost. After a while I would stand back or leave the room for a while and do something else. I noticed when I returned the detail that I was fussing over was not even important and that the general shapes seem to work better at conveying glass. I am going to work on this again tonight and will keep you posted.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!! I had a great Christmas and a snowy and frigid New Year. It's been a little tough to get back in the saddle again after all the festivity of the season but it is time to get back to work. I will say that I truly enjoyed the holiday this year, I splurged on our tree and even though it has to be small to fit the space that we have it was beautiful and I spent many evenings on the couch watching movies and enjoying it. I have not made any New Years resolutions, I am simply going to work hard, stay open to learning as much as possible and try to keep a balance between working with oils and pastels. I am going to try to finish more pieces this year which will mean working in a smaller format ( 5 x 7). hmmm - did I say no resolutions?
The above detail is from a larger oil painting from a few years ago. Well, here is to a fresh start, a new year, glad to see the last one go.

Merry Christmas

Have a Merry Christmas!!!

Pendants & Pins

We woke up Sunday morning to an inch of new snow - just enough to put you in the spirit. I put the lights up outside around the lamp post and hung the wreath. I even managed to get some decorating done inside. As you can see above I have been busy making Pendants and Pins for Christmas presents this year. I am trying to keep them graphic - each design is painted in oils on a hard board - scanned and then printed on art paper with archival inks. I have to keep this short as we have to go out and put the snow tires on the truck, nothing like waiting till the last minute, but we may get sleet or freezing rain tomorrow.

Happy Thanksgiving - Belated

Happy Thanksgiving, a little belated. This is my favorite holiday, maybe because of the extended weekend and a little time off from work, or the anticipation of the holiday season, I just enjoy it. We had a nice dinner with my brother and his wifes family, with tables extending out of the dinning room into the living room. Plenty of good food and company.
I am working on Christmas gifts and this is a sketch for one of the pins I am currently working on.

Summer Shadows - In Progress

This is one of the paintings I have been working on recently. It's our pantry window with the shade pulled down to keep the summer heat out. Our home is older and small, not alot of closet space, however I do have a pantry and it is wonderful. There is extra counter space in there and all the cabinets for dry and canned goods plus storage for pots and pans. When you have a small house it does not take much to make it look messy. Clutter around our home is our worst enemy.There is a flower box outside the window, in the Spring I have Pansies, however it is also a favorite sitting spot for every cat we have ever had. They get a good view of the bird feeders from up there and they also can get your attention if they want to come in. So it has become a battle to keep flowers in for any length of time.

The red dots are the beginnings of a hanging Geranium plant, and at this point all I have done is located the space in the painting it will occupy.