Today's the Day! Maple & Main's Summer Show Opening is from 5-8 PM!

"Summer Memory," 14" x 18" acrylic, $600, copyright Joan Cole

Another of my newest paintings making its debut tonight is "Summer Memory."  If you live in the area or are vacationing nearby, I hope you'll make a trip to Chester to take in the beauty of over 200 new paintings and sculptures by more than 30 Connecticut artists.  The party starts at 5, but the show will be up until September, so if you already have another engagement tonight, I encourage you to put the Gallery on your list of "Must-Do's" this summer.


I began this painting in one of the workshops I took with Jan Blencowe at Maple & Main Gallery in late winter.  I worked on it off and on all spring.  This is how it looked when I first wrote about it in my post of  Sunday, February 27, 2011:  Jan Blencowe's Tonalist Workshop Was Eye-opening and Muscle-building!

"[A Vague] Summer Memory"or Unfinished acrylic painting #2 by Joan Cole

I also took "Summer Memory" to one of the artist critiques offered by the Gallery on the third Monday of each month and received much good advice.  I invite you to join us at the next artist critique on Monday, June 20, from 6-8 at the Gallery.  Jan Blencowe will be doing the critiquing that evening.  There's so much to learn by listening to comments on each piece.  Bring one or two of your paintings and the $5 fee.  I'd love to meet you there.

I am thoroughly enjoying attempting to elicit an emotional response from the viewer in the manner for which the Tonalists were known. Simplified shapes in nature, emphasis on value and atmosphere, softened edges, an appeal to the spirit and emotions of the viewer--these qualities fit right in with a goal I've had for years now:  "No Noodling!"  These  two words of wisdom were shared with me long ago by Pamela Simpson Lussier, a very fine artist and teacher.    I even have a post-it note in my studio to remind me.  Thank you, Pamela and Jan!

Speaking of Pamela Simpson Lussier, I extend an invitation to all of you to attend the upcoming fundraiser on Pam's behalf on Saturday, June 18, at the Scotland Fire Department.  

The colors in "Day's End" must be seen to be appreciated....

"Day's End,"  24" x 12" acrylic on stretched canvas, $625, copyright by Joan Cole

....They are the result of my applying layer upon layer of transparent acrylic pigments to the canvas.  "Day's End" is another of my latest paintings which is on display in the summer show, opening at Maple & Main Gallery in Chester tomorrow.  Unlike "Clearing" which has already been sold (as I mentioned in yesterday's post), "Day's End" is still available for purchase.  I look forward to seeing you at the opening between 5 and 8 PM.

Hooray! My painting "Clearing" sold before our opening on Friday, June 10!

 "Clearing" is a 12" x 16" acrylic on linen, copyright by Joan Cole

You can see "Clearing"  at Maple and Main Gallery of Fine Art at 1 Maple Street in Chester, Connecticut, at the opening from 5 to 8 PM this Friday.  It sold before the show was even hung because I had used it on my postcard invitation to our summer show.  One of my long-time collectors from Atlanta called to purchase the painting before anyone else could.


Needless to say, it's a good thing I was wearing a tank top, or I'd have popped my buttons!   I am thrilled that "Clearing" will be going to a welcoming home.  And I'm very proud that it is the first sale of the new show.


You may remember my posting of Saturday, February 26, 2011, titled:  Jan Blencowe's Tonalist Class Today Was GREAT!


This is what "Clearing" looked like then. 

It was Jan who introduced me to acrylics and the Tonalist movement.  Her reading from Emerson's essay, "Nature,"  followed by her sharing of painting after painting by Tonalist masters, set to Claude DeBussy's "Reverie,"  was an eye-opening experience:  the beauty of those landscapes was overwhelming.  Simplified shapes in nature, emphasis on value and atmosphere, softened edges, an appeal to the spirit and emotions of the viewer--these are the characteristics that became evident in the work of the Tonalists. There was--and still is--so much for me to learn, not only about making optimal use of acrylics but also about distilling a landscape--or, in this case, a seascape--to its essence.  Thank you, Jan, once again for being such a knowledgeable and generous teacher. 

There are four other acrylics of mine in this show, so you still have a chance to become one of my collectors.  I look forward to seeing you Friday night if you live--or are vacationing--in the area. 

Jan Blencowe's Tonalist Workshop Was Eye-opening and Muscle-building!

Today's class at Maple & Main Gallery of Fine Art in Chester was very productive.  I have added several layers of pigment to yesterday's acrylic painting.  It is still not finished, but I thought you'd like to see my progress.

Unfinished acrylic painting #1 by Joan Cole

While I was letting layers of paint dry, I began a second painting.  I don't have the original underpainting to show you, but this is as far as I was able to take it today.



Unfinished acrylic painting #2 by Joan Cole

I will be continuing to work on both of these paintings, but not tonight.  I will keep you posted.  So stay tuned.

I did say that Jan's class was eye-opening.  I had no idea of the intense physicality involved in Jan's style of brushwork.   Much scrubbing in and scumbling over layer upon layer of paint is required, sometimes before the layers are completely dry! 

However, since it's Oscar night tonight, it's time for me to tune in to catch some of the preliminary red carpet interviews.  Have a great evening, everyone!





Jan Blencowe's Tonalist Class Today Was GREAT!

Underpainting for acrylic landscape by Joan Cole  12" x 16"

Today's class at Maple &Main Gallery of Fine Art in Chester was such a treat.  Jan Blencowe began by giving us more background on the Tonalist movement and its place in history.   She read to us from Emerson's essay, "Nature."  She shared a beautiful seven-minute video she had created just for our class, set to music of the period.   Listening to Claude DeBussy's "Reverie,"  we admired painting after painting by Tonalist masters.   An eye-opening experience, the beauty of these landscapes was overwhelming.  Simplified shapes in nature, emphasis on value and atmosphere, softened edges, an appeal to the spirit and emotions of the viewer--these are the characteristics that became evident in these works. 

We did several value studies, using as models postcards that Jan had brought of  well known Tonalist paintings.  We were looking for the BIG SHAPES underlying these beautiful works, and trying to capture them in 5 x 7 studies of 5 to 10 minutes each.  This is NOT my strong point, so it was challenging for me trying to SIMPLIFY sufficiently.  I am more likely to paint each tree in the forest, rather than suggesting the forest.  That was excellent preparation for watching Jan's demo of underpainting the basic shapes in one of her photos, using three basic values.

By the time we got to laying a brush to canvas, I was chomping at the bit.  I'm sharing the results of this first class, so I will be able to show you how it develops tomorrow.  This was my first time using acrylics, as I mentioned yesterday, so it was definitely a different experience for me.  My curiosity is piqued to see just what I can do with these new "tools of the trade."

Stay tuned.

After watercolors a week ago, this weekend it's ACRYLICS! M. & M., here I come!

I am very excited about this weekend.  Tomorrow and Sunday I will be taking Jan Blencowe's workshop on painting in the style of the Tonalists, using acrylics.  The workshop is being held at Maple & Main Gallery of Fine Art in Chester from 10 to 3 both days.  (She will be repeating this class on March 26 & 27, if you are interested.)  Because I don't paint in acrylics, I have purchased the basic colors Jan had on her supply list and put together the other materials I'll need.  I've gone through Roger's photographs, looking for suitable landscapes that would lend themselves to this genre.

Jan is thorough.  Today she emailed the class background information on Tonalism.  Among the wealth of material she included, I found the following very interesting.  Perhaps you will too.

Tonalism: The Defining Aesthetic of the Turn of the Century 1880-1920

In a post Civil War era Tonalism was a response to anxiety about the future.  Tonalist paintings offered a retreat from anxieties & physical stress and embodied a yearning for the values of an agrarian world.  Tonalism was a mirror to the anxieties and joys of its age.  Both traditional & modernist, tonalist paintings eschewed narrative elements which interfered with the purity of solitude necessary for contemplation reflecting Emerson’s transcendental ideas and Whistler's non-narrative abstraction.  Tonalism embraces the deepest love of the land and the deepest spiritual intuitions of the American character.   (A taste of Jan Blencowe's email notes to me.)

If ever there was anxiety about the future, it's now.  On the individual, state, federal, and international levels, life seems to be growing increasingly stressful.   If ever there was a time in history crying out for peace and contentment, it is now.  The greatest inspiration for my paintings has always been the land, and what grows on it.  If I can learn from Jan how to increase the serenity in my paintings, I am EAGER to do so.

I signed up for Jan's workshop for many reasons.   In addition to being an accomplished professional artist, Jan is an excellent teacher.   I have taken other workshops with her--painting in oils, building my own website, and marketing for artists--and I always come away with lots of information and increased skills.   She is very generous in sharing her knowledge with others.  Although I'm sure I will be "stretched" this weekend, I look forward to it because Jan's classes are safe places to be.  She encourages her students and points out areas where improvement is possible.  So I know I will grow as an artist, whether I ever paint in acrylics again.  As an artist who feels part of the family of Impressionists, I am looking forward to seeing what Tonalism can teach me.  Please keep me in your thoughts this weekend, and wish me luck.  Thanks.