Seasons Greetings

"White Peonies", 20" x 16" Oil on Board

The Hildt Gallery, Chicago

Happy Holidays and Seasons Greetings To You!

I hope that this message finds you healthy and well.  Here in Denver at Chez Feldman, we are patiently awaiting the arrival of the vaccine and a new year.  

Life in this downtown high-rise has whittled down to the basics over the last year.  I'm so fortunate to have an art studio nearby. I close the door, put on my headphones, and delve into my painting.  Here's a photo of my studio setup:

I've been painting still lifes and flowers lately, since portraits and landscapes are off the table for a bit.  I've been enjoying focusing in on flowers, really concentrating on how the petals turn, and how light sometimes passes right through them.  I have flowers delivered to me from a local florist, and I can spend hours photographing them, in the hopes that one of the photos will be good enough to paint.

Here is a recent photo I took in my studio. This one has definite possibilities!

I do miss painting people though.  I recently found a box of portrait sketches that I did from life over the years, and couldn't resist putting these old friends up on my studio wall.  

Do you recognize me with my complete pandemic hair?  I grabbed this opportunity to stop coloring it!  I feel quite liberated, truthfully.

A Seasons Greetings note would be incomplete without a blurb about the family!  John and I are happily adjusted to our lives here in Denver, both of us busily pursuing our work.  Daughter Emily and son-in-law Doug have bought a house just outside of Boston.  Josh is visiting us now from DC, where he moved with girlfriend Dylan for her once in a lifetime job with the federal government.  Jordie is in Steamboat, in property management, and we're lucky to be close enough to see him now and then.

I cannot thank you enough for your support through the years, and especially this one.  Let us toast the end of 2020, and ring in new beginnings in 2021!

All the best,

Ann

 

Hope

 "Hope",  20" x 20", Oil on Canvas

The Mary Williams Gallery, Boulder, Colorado

Price Available Upon Request

Friends, as I painted this floral over the last month, I had plenty of time to contemplate the whirlwind of emotions that are swirling around us all.  The feeling that stuck with me as I painted was hope- hope that we will soon be with family and friends sharing carefree days again.

Several people have told me that they would be interested in prints of my work, so I've started to set that process up!  This painting will be available as a print soon, so if you'd be interested, please let me know.  I'm still trying to decide what the best format would be.  The cheapest option (while maintaining the highest quality) would be a gyclee print on high quality paper, ready to be framed.  I can also have prints made on canvas, ready to pop into a frame and hung.  If you have an opinion on any of this, I'd love to hear from you!

It's snowing today in Denver, which is the best news possible for putting out the fires raging all through the state.  Everything is cancelled, so I'll light my new cedar and evergreen candle and hunker down inside.  I hope you're having a beautiful fall wherever you are!

Sunshine On A Saturday

Sunshine On A Saturday

36" x 48", Oil on Canvas

For information, please click here

Where would I be without my studio to retreat to, to delve into my paint, and get lost in deep concentration? This imposed quiet time has forced me to slow way down and see things in a new way.  

I think my new T-shirt sums up this year pretty well:

I hope that your coping mechanisms are working for YOU!  

 

"Sunday Morning, Bird's Eye View"

"Sunday Morning, Bird's Eye View"

36x48 inches, Oil on Canvas

The Petter Gallery

I just got word that this rather ginormous painting has safely made it to the Petter Gallery in Saugatuck, Michigan.  After I painted it, I took the canvas off of the stretcher bars, rolled it up, and trusted my friends at UPS to treat it kindly on its journey to Michigan.  I always have an uneasy feeling when I send a painting off into the stratosphere, especially one that I spent about a month working on.

It has arrived and been stretched and framed by my good friends at Petter.  I can rest easy now and concentrate on the paintings in my studio yet to be launched!

For information on Sunday Morning, please click on Ann Feldman, Sunday Morning.

Are We Instagram Friends Yet?

I've been working on making my Instagram account uplifting and more fun.  I share my inspiration and thoughts along the way.  If you'd like to be Instagram friendly, please click on this link: Ann Feldman Instagram.

Peony Contemplation

 "Peony Contemplation", 14" x 11", Oil on Panel

For Purchase Information, please click here

Why do artists paint what they paint?  

For me, I've been contemplating the beautiful, simple things that are usually right in front of me, and I feel grateful for the hours of quiet concentration they give me.  Do you love peonies as much as I do?  The way they catch the light, the subtle color shifts, and transparent petals keep me transfixed for hours.

For this painting, I took a lovely old panel that I had gessoed thickly with a palette knife many months ago.  I had started painting on it back then, but that painting never really got off the ground. A week ago, I took sand paper to it, and to my surprise, some lovely shapes and colors emerged from underneath!  I very slowly built up the peony shapes on top of all this lovely found texture, and was careful not to completely cover up what was already happening.

These peonies were my escape for several days.  I feel uplifted after my time with them.

We're all looking for ways to run away without leaving home these days!  For my son, it's sitting for hours, composing the perfect software code.  For my friend, it's baking loaf after loaf of bread, in search of the perfect flour.  What's your escape without leaving home?

First Bloom

"First Bloom", 12"x12", oil on panel

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I love spring for many reasons- not the least of which is the first bloom of peonies.  Today is Mother's Day in the U.S., and wherever you are, I hope that you're feeling some extra love today!

Steamboat Snow

"Steamboat Snow"

11" x 14", Oil on Panel

How many weeks have we been under this "shelter in place" order?  I've honestly lost track.  I do know that it's necessary to find some means of escape- if only in my mind.  I love going back through my photos and finding great memories, especially of the outdoors!  As I painted this one, I thought about how the air felt that day (bracingly cold), and how the snow crunched underfoot.

I have to admit that even in this very difficult and sometimes scary time, there have been some silver linings.  Perhaps you've found a few too?  I'd love to hear about them.  John snapped this photo of me (I had no idea- look at that concentration!) on our pandemic walk in the neighborhood.  Note the facemask and my Lockdown Locks of untouched hair! 

I hope you are well my dear friends. Let's keep looking for those silver linings.

Red Flowers

"Red Flowers (A Gift From A Friend)"

6x6", Oil on Panel

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I feel very fortunate that I came through the Corona virus unscathed.  My symptoms were mild enough to stay at home, but it was not a fun time!  A lovely friend dropped some flowers at my doorstep, and they brought a smile every day while they lasted.  I used them to inspire this tiny painting, and now they will live on!  Please stay well my friends!

An Avocado

"An Avocado",  8x8", Oil on Gesso Board

Sold

My friends, I hope you are all staying safe and well during this pandemic. While we're staying close to home, my attention is turning to the objects that we see everyday, but are quite interesting in their own right. I painted this avocado quickly before it was plopped into our salad. 

A New Orientation

"Round and Round and Round", 36" x 48"

Oil on Canvas

Here is a piece I just finished for the Petter Gallery in Saugatuck, Michigan. I treated this painting as an abstract piece, playing with colorful fabrics and round objects until I found a composition that rang true.  I painted it with this vertical orientation, and I liked the result enough to hang it outside my studio door when it was finished.  

Here's a reason I love working in a space with lots of creative people:  Richard, an artist and new friend from across the hall, said, "Wait a minute, let's see what happens when we turn it on its side".  

Well, I'll be!  I think I might prefer it with this horizontal orientation.  Now I've got to figure out a way to sign this painting which will allow it to be hung either way! 

Do you have a preferred orientation for this piece?