Before I talk about my latest painting I want to THANK everyone who has commented on my blog these past few weeks. I appreciate all the comments very much and I apologize for not being very good about answering the comments. Our daughter is a senior in high school and the process of applying to and choosing which college she wants to attend has been like a part time job lately. Actually, I must say she did 99% of the application process herself but emotionally I just have not been focusing on painting with so much going on around the house. I do feel like I’ll be able to get back to painting a little bit over the next few weeks, graduation is mid May so I may be too optimistic but I did get one painting done this past week, so that’s something!
Actually I can say I did two paintings this last week. I painted the scene above but didn’t like it so I painted it again and that’s what you see. There were many things wrong with my first painting so I took what I didn’t like and did the opposite in this painting. It is 30″x30″ oil on canvas. I love painting barns and I seem to come back to them often.
I suppose in an ideal world I would stick with one thing, for example barns!, and paint lots of barns and really develop some kind of painting language for barns. But the world is far from ideal so I bounce around from barns to figures to strawberries. For now though I will at least try to stick to landscapes, maybe even barns specifically, and work on my “painting language”.
I think your painting language travels through all of these, no matter the subject, they have your stamp…they can’t not.
I’d be interested to see the ‘bad’ version (the evil twin?) of this one, if it still exists.
It’s interesting with how busy things are for you right now how much this piece is infused with quiet and softness.
Great painting and post. Really spectacular.
You have a fellow traveler re the college application process. My family went through this two years ago and I’m not sure we’ve quite recovered yet! It’s a tough process because we work and anticipate their maturity and then, suddenly, with a kind of intensity that seems like an out-of-the-blue event, graduation is at hand. Best wishes as you go forward.
The barn painting is so engaging. It reminds me of Wolf Kahn, very expressive. I love how the color of the sky is hinted at in the barn color.
Why stick with anything??? Paint what moves you at the moment!!!
I wish your daughter luck … I’m sure a deserving University will be lucky enough to be her home for the near future!!
Joan I really like how you focus on the design elements and not have too much value contrast which often can make it more difficult to “read” a painting. The pears on blue for instance, is just right and the little ones you did at the workshop. I like this barn painting for its simple, incompromising shapes.
Joan, Your barn painting is definitely you. I agree with Karen that no matter what you paint, it has your stamp on it.
As the mother of two college graduates, I can remember those trying days of choosing colleges. It’s part of the letting go process with kids. But they never really leave even if they’re away from the house.
Wow! Oh Joan, I don’t know how I missed this earlier… This barn is amazing. Is it a smokey violet sky with yellow field? Really spectacular. Wonderful color blocks, very stylish. And it’s HUGE! Oh, just lovely!!
In his great book, “Art Spirit”, Robert Henri said something like this: “when you get an idea, paint like a fiend.” I am excited to see what you do on all those canvases! This is gorgeous.