More Family Pics

We had fun taking portraits of Little Man A (Ansen) and his folks Jessica and Richard this morning. Even Maggie the family dog got into the act.

Happy Holidays and Keep Makin' Art!

Carl

Thanksgiving

Holidays are just more fun with a little kid around aren't they? This Thanksgiving our Niece Jessica and her Husband Richard and of course Little Man A came to visit from Va.

Wenderina got this great shot of Little Man A at the park while the turkey was cooking. Then after Dinner we had fun playing the mandolin. All in all a great day!

Thanksgiving

To all of my family and blogging friends. I wish you a safe and happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy this time with your family and loved ones. Please also take a moment to think about those less fortunate than us. Even in these troubled times we have so much to be thankful for.

Safe travels and a wonderful holiday!

(To my Canadien friends I hope this greeting finds you safe, warm, happy and with the people you love.)

Peace,

Carl

Hat Boxes - Painting

Wenderina took a picture of some hat boxes in an antique store on Cape Cod and tasked me with painting them. Here is the result. I am pretty happy with it.

Keep Makin' Art,

Carl

Cape Cod - Art

One of the things I love about Cape Cod as an artist is that any where you go you can find art to be photographed or painted. I saw these four jars outside of an antique store in Barnstable and I just loved the composition. All I had to do was come back when the light was right. I picked a cloudy day to get the most saturation and detail. Then all I had to do was let this New England scene speak for itself. I just love this image for its balance and simple lines.

Keep Makin' Art

CS

PS - I worked on a painting of hat boxes Wenderina photographed while on the Cape this summer. I will finish it this week and post here.

Happy Thanksgiving!

CS

Stream - Harriman State Park

I have always been drawn to streams. Water running over rocks just makes me want to set up my tripod and take picture after picture. I know these shots can be overdone. I have been accused of that several time in my life. My answer to that is I like them and I will continue to shot them because they make me happy. However once I got the technical hang of shooting these images without having them too contrasty with blown out white water I got more selective. I now look for what can make the image special. So not only does the image have to have rocks and running water. Now it is about color, I look for the reflections of the trees and surrounding countryside to make the image interesting. Next I look for the best composition. I am now at the point where I will go out for a few hours and if the shot is not there I will leave it alone. I am not disappointed when this happens because I have learned more about the area I want to shoot and have spent a quiet morning in in the woods. What could be better.

Keep Makin' Art

Carl

All Talk

Yesterday I spoke bravely of going out in the cold and shooting this morning. Well I decided to keep to the confines of my warm studio today. First of all it looks like a bomb went off after I gathered all the images for my portfolio review at CCAA. So it needs a good cleaning. Also I want to paint a Little once I decide what to work on. If I get anything done. I'll post it here tonight.

Keep Makin' Art
Carl

Scituate Harbor

This painting is of one of my favorite places. Scituate Harbor on the South Shore of Ma. Not far from Cape Cod. It is a great little New England harbor town. I just loved the red fishing boat and the red cottage roofs. I need to go back and spend a day shooting the buildings, lighthouse and the harbor. Maybe this spring I'll make the trip.

What do you like to paint or photograph. I find I am always drown back to the same places and that is ok. The more you know about a place the better you can plan to be there when the light is just right.

Keep Makin' Art
Carl

Winter Art

I will be the first to admit that Autumn and Summer are my favorite and most productive outdoor art months. However this morning I was driving upstate and it was bone-chillingly cold. There was a great sunrise and just a hint of frost on the ground. I suddenly wanted my camera. I went back and found these two shots that were great results of getting out early on cold mornings, shooting and then editing the pictures in the comfort of my studio with a worm cup of coffee. Perhaps tomorrow morning I'll go take some shots. The take-away from this post is to make the most of the artistic opportunities the world presents to you. Everyday there is a chance to make great art.

Keep makin' art.

Carl

Watercolor

People often ask me... "Why watercolor?" I have asked that too on occasion. I think I could and someday will be a great oil painter. After all the process of laying the shapes and the darks first and adding the details and highlights seems like a natural progression and the idea of having months to get a subject just right seems wonderful... So why watercolor? First and foremost it is the luminous quality of the light and color. I was drawn to watercolors long before I started painting. Watercolor is fast and exciting. You are always working on the razors edge between a masterpiece and a total mess. It is a curious mix of planning and freedom all at the same time. Once I finally decided to try it and watch two colors mix, mingle and dance on a sheet of 140lb. cold press paper I was hooked for life. Watercolor is controlled chaos.... and what could be better.

If you have always been afraid to try watercolor I say give it a try. You'll get hooked!

Keep Making Art,
Carl

Cape Cod Art Association

To Quote Sally Field "YOU LIKE ME.... YOU REALLY LIKE ME!"

Hi Everyone-
I was notified today of my acceptance as a juried artist member in the Cape Cod Art Asociation. This is something I worked on (and as many of you know) fretted over for a while. So as you can imagine I am Giddy! Thanks everyone for your support!

If you find yourself on Cape Cod in the near future you'll be able to some of my work for sale in the gallery!

Keep Making Art!
Carl

Figures

Inspired by Karin Jurick's Daily Painting Blog

I decided to try sketching some figures in Ink and Watercolor. I really like Karin's figures in museums looking at paintings so this is my first attempt at it. I will keep posting them here. I have have also been toying with the idea of taking a figure drawing class.

Keep Making Art!

Carl

Fall Reflection

I was revisiting some shots from a couple of years ago and found this simple composition that I had ignored at first, but the reflected color really makes this photo pop. I am glad I went back thru the images from this days shooting.

The message here is to save the stuff you are not sure about and take a look later. I normally trust my editorial instincts and edit pretty brutally... but I do save some that are maybes and sometimes they turn out to be winners.

Keep Making Art!
Carl

The Wait #2

Hello Friends-
Today I am working on some more fractals. My Photo portfolio was reviewed yesterday at Cape Cod Art Association. Now I wait.... for the answer to both reviews (painting and photo) to be sent back with my portfolios. I hope to hear by mid week and will let you know as soon as I know. In the meantime I have been a bit under the weather with a cold so tramping through the woods with my camera is out of the question. I will work on fractals and perhaps a small watercolor this weekend. I'll post anything I work on Sunday.

What should I call this fractal? I am thinking of Creative Spark.

Keep being creative,

Carl

I was Wordled

Inspired by my Fractals my wife, the lovely and talented Wenderina, set out to find a way to do "fractals with words" and created the wordle on top of the right column of my blog. Thanks sweetie! I love it.

You can create your own Wordle at http://www.wordle.net/

Keep being creative!
Carl

The Wait

In the words of Tom Petty....
"The Waiting is the hardest part." Friday my painting portfolio was reviewed for membership in the Cape Cod Art Association. I feel really good about the pieces I sent, but the time between the review and when the notification gets to my mailbox is when all the negative thoughts start creeping in. So I am keeping busy. Next Friday my Photos are going to be reviewed too so the process will start all over again.
Even with the stress involved in putting yourself out there and having your personal artwork judged I still recommend it. I have been forced to look at my work in a different way. It will help me as I create new pieces.

Keep Making Art!

Another Fractal

Here is another Fractal image. Creating these is somewhere between math class and using an etch-a-sketch except in color. Give it a try.

Carl

OOPS

Well so much for National Blog Posting Month. I spent the night working on a friends computer and totally forgot to post anything yesterday.

Here is some more of the pampas grass I shot on Sunday.

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE!

Carl

A Good Mornings Work

Hello Fellow Artists:

I left the house as planned around 5:30am so that I could get to Indian Brook in Garrison, NY at or before sunrise. I was cutting through the park on my way to the Bear Mountain Bridge, when I saw the must wonderful pre-sunrise glow silhouetting a small island of trees in Cedar Pond. Seeing that I had enough time. I pulled over and grabbed this shot. As far as I am concerned the morning would have been a success even if I had not gotten off another shot.

I then continued my journey to Indian Brook. Making a note that I must go back to the National Audubon Society preserve at Constitution Marsh which shares the same parking lot. I may need a longer lens when I do that as Bald Eagles have been seen nesting in the area and that is one shot I want to get. The short hike to Indian Brook Waterfall was well worth it. It was beautiful in the dim morning light. The flat early morning light is good for waterfalls. It lends itself to long exposures of the flowing water and allows you to capture the real colors of the scene while holding detail in the waterfall.

Really happy with my mornings efforts I headed home for coffee and computer time to process the images. On my way back through another section of Harriman State Park I noticed that the sun was still at a low angle and the light was clear... Time for maybe some more image? I noticed Reeds and grasses growing around the ponds on my journey home and found my subject when I saw the grasses that were going to seed were back lit by the sun and had a great glow about

them and I could pick up some of the fall colors behind them.

All in All I could not have asked for a better morning of Shooting and I was home by 8:30 to boot.

Cheers

Carl

100 POST MILESTONE

Hi Everyone-

Yesterday I made my 101st post on artistic balance. Thanks for coming back and reading my posts over and over again. I am amazed at how time flies and what a great exercise this is for keeping me interested and motivated in my art even when work and life are very busy. I have big plans for my art in the next year so keep coming back! I love all of your comments and feedback!

Carl

Tomorrow's Plan

Hello Fellow Artists:

Well with my portfolio(s) off for review at Cape Cod Art Association and having to wait several weeks before I have an answer on my application.... I asked myself this morning "what next?" There is a cool waterfall at Indian Brook in Garrison NY. I took the photo at left in the summer. I think I have just enough color left on the trees to get a fall shot maybe with reflections in the pool at the bottom of the falls. I'll pack up my stuff tonight and head out early tomorrow. Wish me luck.

Carl

4x6 for Riverspace

Riverspace - A local non profit community arts center is looking for donations of 4"x6" pieces for a benefit show and sale. Why not contribute a 4"x6"piece of your art to this worthy cause. I'll be sending one of the reflection shots from the workshop I recently took. Nyack NY is a great artistic town on the Hudson and is the birthplace of my favorite painter Edward Hopper.

Carl