Wanderlust

Florence Cafe

Oil

Available 

When you close your eyes, where are you? Are you still in your own environment surrounded by things that are familiar to you?  Or are you someplace where you have been where you remember the sights, sounds, and smells?  Maybe you can imagine a place you would like to go.  Is it very different from where you are?  What do you envision you will see?  What do you hear? Are you alone or around others?  Is the language the same as yours? Are you in a town or out in the country? Maybe at a beach or in the mountains?  Do you smell traces of flowers or freshly baked bread at a market?

There is something about experiencing a new place that has always drawn me to travel.  Perhaps you enjoy discovering new places, new sounds, and new foods?  Where would you go if you were given a trip?  There are places I have been where I would return.  Still others that I would like to visit.  

Part of the joy of being a teaching artist is helping others to record what they see in sketches or paintings.  It is like you can stop time for a moment and capture it all to yourself.  When you return and see your artworks you created, you can still feel the presence of the place.  You can close your eyes and imagine being there again, hearing the sounds, smelling the air,and feeling the heat, cold, or breeze.  

Let me know if you want to experience some of the places I will be going this year.  I would love to have you join me!

Plein Air Painting in Venice  October 5 - 12, 2013, contact:      info@ilchiostro.com 

Painting in Provence  May 25-June 1,2014, contact:    contact@frenchescapade.com

Ciao!  or Au Revoir!

Durinda

A Feeling of Place

Luberon Valley

oil on canvas

24 x 30

$1200

Imagine Gallery of Fine Art

Franklin, TN

This is a place that you wish you could close your eyes and return to the very spot.  This is Provence.  Lush  valleys with vineyards in their spring greens and red poppy fields scattered across the fields.  To the left, the village of Gordes sits perched on the hillside like icing on a GiGi cupcake.  Below, the distant view takes you down the farm road through the fields to the rolling hills beyond.  It's just what you can imagine and more.

I guess that feeling of wanting to be in a place so peaceful is what makes this one of my favorite paintings of late.  I hope you like it too.

Close your eyes.  You're there.

Durinda

Monet, Monet!

Jeanne and Pat on the Japanese Bridge in Monet's Garden

Yes, it was raining the day we went to Giverny to see Monet's House and Garden.  And, it wasn't an easy trip.  First, we left Paris on the Metro (their subway) to the train station.  Then we took the train to Vernon, a town next to Giverny because the train doesn't go to Giverny.  I think Monet chose this town on purpose for that reason!  So then you catch a bus from Vernon to get there.  You could take a cab, but then you would have to make arrangements for a pick-up since they don't hang around in Giverny.  Finally we are there in every painter's paradise!  I have been there and painted there in the past, but never saw the iris and the wisteria in bloom.  Amazing!  Even in the rain, the colors were spectacular!  

I just happened to catch ONE of the school groups having a group photo.  They looked to be 4 or 5 yrs old.  There were hordes of school children there!  I felt sad that it was raining on their field day but very pleased that their teachers wanted to bring the children to see the home and gardens of an artist! 
Monet loved children.  After his first wife Camille died, he and Alice who became his second wife, raised his two sons and her children in Giverny.  He painted them in the gardens.  I like to imagine the family living there.  The kitchen is my favorite room.  It is tiled in blue and white and is large and cheery.  I can see the children coming and going while Alice cooks, Monet outside painting with Blanche, one of his stepdaughters, rolling a wheelbarrow filled with canvases for him.  She loved to paint too! 
I just want to say, "Thank you, Mr. Monet, for devoting your life to painting and to gardening so that generations to come can enjoy your art and your home."  And thanks to the Claude Monet Foundation for restoring the properties and maintaining them.  If you like Monet's paintings, I hope that you have a chance to visit Giverny and see the places in the paintings!

That reminds me, I need to water my flowers!
Au Revoir!

Durinda

 

Twinkies

French Cottage

oil on canvas

20 x 24

Twinkies? Yes, but not the creme filled cakes you are thinking about. Hmmm, that is a nice thought! I call my paintings that I "revisit" Twinkies. They were close to being finished. I hung them some place where I could sneak up on them and keep looking. This painting of the French Cottage went pretty quickly. I knew what I was going to paint. I had painted a small version on site so I was familiar with the house. But, working in the studio on a larger canvas, the temptation is to copy the photograph pretty closely. Tempting...Tempting.., just like the creme filled cakes.

And so it was hung and it waited.

When I first began painting en plein air or outdoors, I thought that every outdoor painting needed to look JUST like the scene and had to be completed on site. 100%. Wow, what pressure! Then I started reading and looking and listening to other plein air artists. "Your job is to create a beautiful painting. Not copy just what's there." "Nature isn't perfect. You are the creator. Move it, change it, and make it your own. " "Get inspired by nature. Paint what you feel." Finally, I got it! Compose, rearrange, change, but come away with the essence of what attracted you in the first place. You might have to lighten something, smudge something, even eliminate something when you get back into the studio.

Working in the studio, you have the luxury of time. No disappearing light, no dancing shadows, or weather conditions to make you paint like a madman. But, the photograph should only be an inspiration too. If the painting needs something, add it. If it needs something removed, do it!
My cottage scene needed something. I finally realized what it was. Why did I like it in the first place? I liked the flowers and vines growing around it. All I had to do was add more. Twinked!

In the oil classes last week I talked about using a mirror to view your work. It helps to see lines and angles that are not correct, shapes that repeat too often, and other compositional faux pas. But sometimes, all it takes is a little time away. Let the painting tell you what it wants. Put away the photo or the on site sketch. Make a painting that satisfies you and hopefully the viewers.

I am thinking spring, aren't you? And maybe one of those sweet creamy little cakes?

Happy Valentine's to you and those you love.

Durinda

Your World of Art Interview on Charter TV

Cameraman Josh Brown, Charter TV

Donna Hilley, owner of Artistic Gifts and Framing, with Ron Arnold

D with Ron Arnold, host of Your World of Art

Just so you'll know, I was taped for a segment on Your World of Art, a Charter TV show. Donna Hilley of Artistic Gifts and Framing, my gallery in Dalton, Georgia, arranged to have the interview at her shop on June 23. Ron Arnold, the host, and I stood in front of one of my paintings in the gallery and talked about my beginnings as an art student and later as an instructor and professional artist. I tried to be at ease, after all, you are being asked about yourself, nothing you shouldn't already know, right? Ron also interviewed Heidi Ingle, an art teacher from the Dalton area. I went first- gulp! We went straight through, no stops or retakes. You know, it is pretty easy to talk about your work, but making your life sound interesting- well, that is something else entirely. So, I hope I didn't bore anyone to sleep, or maybe if I did, I hope you see images of French cottages and poppy fields in your dreams. That's what I try to dream about.

The show is airing on Charter Cable TV channel 17 (at my house) and maybe channel 22 in other places. I have caught it around 8 pm nightly. It should run during the month of July. I think the whole concept of spotlighting local and regional artists is really kind of nice. We try to promote other things, why not the artists and craftsmen as well? BTW, Ron is a photographer and shows his work at Reflections Gallery in Chattanooga, another gallery of mine. Check out Heidi's cute animals in acrylic. She has been selling at the Chattanooga Market on Sundays. It is always a pleasure to meet other artists and talk "shop". I hope the interview will encourage children and young people to think about following their dream of becoming an artist someday. And, give inspiration to those adults who have always wanted to paint or draw, but just haven't started.

"Life is a great big canvas; and you should throw all the paint on it you can." Danny Kaye

What are you waiting for?

Durinda

New Homes and Gallery

Poppy Walk

oil on canvas

24 x 30

Italian Alley

oil on canvas

10 x 10

Bonjour!

oil on canvas

16 x 20

I am pleased to announce that I will be represented by Artistic Gifts and Framing in Dalton, Georgia. Donna Hilley, the owner, chose four oil paintings for her gallery: French Barns, French Farm, Bonjour!, and Oriental Lilies. The gallery is off Cleveland Highway in the Vista shopping center next door to The Spiced Apple. I hope you will drop in and see not only the artwork she carries, but also the gifts and other handmade items. Donna will custom frame your new artwork purchase too!

Field of Poppies went home with new owners at the Boyd Buchanan School fundraiser Saturday night. It is always an honor to have someone choose your paintings for their homes or businesses. I hope the new owners will enjoy the painting for years to come and thanks for supporting the school!

New works went out to Reflections Gallery in Chattanooga last week. I sent a series of sunset marshes. Other new works from a series of Italian streetscenes went to Ringgold Art & Frame as well as Poppy Walk, another in my series of poppy fields. More to come! I have lots of ideas for the series based on my three weeks in France. Not to slight my Italian poppy fields, I will be using some of those references for paintings too.

"Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life." -Pablo Picasso

Hope you have some art in your life!

Durinda

Poppy Fields Aglow

The Studio is filling with French poppy fields this summer!

Besides teaching workshops in professional development this summer, I have been working on a series of paintings based on my stay in France last June. The painting on the left is an 8 x 10 that recently sold at the Art-a-ma-jig auction for the Arts and Education Council in Chattanooga. This scene is the same field where my classes painted one afternoon. My plein air study there was Poppy and Pea Field. The center painting is a farm close to the edge of the village where the classes painted the first day out from a distant view. I did a very small oil study- 4 x 5- and then walked back one afternoon to see the barns closer. The poppies here were scattered amongst the hay field. This painting is French Barns and 20 x 24. The painting on the right is another section of the pea field. This painting is larger: 24 x 30 and on gallery wrap canvas. I love working in a series. One painting gives you ideas for the next. I have another on the easel currently, another drying, and more to come.

The interesting thing in these paintings is working with the complements of red and green. Greens I love. There are so many mixes you can do with greens. Reds are harder. They turn other colors like orange, pink, or violet. You also have to be careful not to layer reds over greens or greens over reds because that makes brown!

Having the experiences of painting on location before painting in the studio brings back the memories of the place, the feeling of being outdoors in the sun and wind, hearing the sounds and smells around you. I feel like I can close my eyes and be back there again. This is what I strive to capture on canvas- that feeling of the moment.

As I am finalizing plans for the Plein Air Journaling Workshop in Tuscany in September, I am looking forward to capturing many more memories to share.

Enjoy your summer days!

Durinda

Paintings from France

Here a few of the paintings from the Fountaine-Fourches workshop in France.

The first is a door on the barn/studio. I painted it one late afternoon when the sun was out. Then later I was able to "kick up" some values on the sunlit parts. It is oil on multi-media board that had been gessoed.

The center painting is part of the climbing rose over the pergola on the house. The window with the geraniums in the boxes is actually the room where I stayed. This was a morning painting. It is oil on Sourcetek panel.

The last painting is of a cottage in a village called Gravon. We set up to paint across the street from it. Ann, Sarah, and L.J. worked in watercolor while Anne painted in oil. Faye did a beautiful sketch of a door on another cottage and Kippy worked on the street scene in pastel. The lady of the house came out several times to see our progress. She was so nice. Kippy invited her to our final night reception and she came! I am very honored to say that all three were purchased that night. I will post a few others later to give you some idea of the picturesque landscape and architecture of the region.

One of the nicest things about staying in one place is the opportunity to work more on something when the conditions are right. Monet always worked on more than one painting at a time and would go back to work on them when the light and atmospheric conditions were the same. If the light and shadows change while you are working, stop! Sometimes you can "nail" the shadows first and get away with painting after the sun goes behind a cloud, but it is hard to remember all the colors you saw while it was shining. It is better to go back at the same time another day and finish it.

Another thing about staying in an area is you can locate the best time of day to paint. I like cast shadows when painting architecture, so I want the sun on it and behind me. One of our stops was the lovely town of Moret-sur-Loring, where Alfred Sisley painted. Our view of the river and mill was in shadow that afternoon. I had to move up the bank and to the left to see the light hitting the facade of a building across the bank and see the sunlight dancing on the water. (That will be another post!)

Hope you have a great National Holiday week and enjoy being with family and friends. I will celebrate my birthday with fireworks and a cookout. Sometimes, it pays to have a July 4 birthday!

Back to painting!

Durinda

Au Revoir, La Bonne Etoile!

Our workshop ended on Friday night with a "Vernisage" in the studio. Kippy explained that it was the night that the artists who were juried into the Salon in Paris would put the final coat of varnish on their works before the show opened to the public. It was the preview night for the patrons with a reception. Ours was lovely! The studio had tables decorated with flowers and of course, cheese, wine and champagne!

Each artist had a panel of their paintings and sketches from the workshop on display. Our watercolorists also had their sketchbooks out. Kippy and Jerome invited several guests including our chef Marc; the sculptor John-Paul; Chantal the art restoration expert; the house manager Madame DeLahye and her husband; neighbors; French friends Monique and Raymond from Gravon; artist Nicole and her husband from Villuis; and even ladies from Marnay-sur-Seine where we painted.

I was very proud of the work that each of the participants had completed from their first en plein air experience! I hope that they will all look back on this with many happy memories as I will: Living the life of an artist in France!

Check out my Picasa web photos for more workshop scenes!
Durinda

Bonjour from Fountaine-Fourches, France

Not sure if I can post any photos on this, I am trying to read the French on Mon Yahoo to know what to do. It is beautiful here in the countryside. It has been rainy and cool. I am sitting beside a fire after painting outside for an hour or so. I got cool- yes, I know it is quite warm back in the southeast US, but it is more like March here right now than June. I haven't been able to paint outdoors as much as I had planned, but the rest has been wonderful so far.



Tomorrow the workshop participants will arrive! I am ready to get to painting for the next two weeks. Kippy has driven me around to several villages and spots that will be perfect for our plein air experience. IF the weather continues to be cool and damp, we will use her barn/studio that has all the comforts and paint tres francais pottery, linens, fruits, vegetables, and beautiful roses from her garden.



As for painting, I am most happy with my Sourcetek panels. I wish I had brought a dozen more! I am painting with my Gamblin paints and trying out a medium called archival lean from Chroma that Kippy had in the studio. I will let you know how I like it. It is similar to Liquin, but not as gel-like, more like Galkyd Lite. I have been painting here around the house and studio, one of the door to the boiler room, but I call it the pottery shed, one of the rooftop of the house with the roses over the arbor, and one of the barn doors which lead to the studio upstairs. Will try to shoot and post them soon!

Until next time,

Au Revoir!

Durinda