Editing a Setup

"Harmony", 8x8"

Artists are lucky.  We can instantly "photo shop" anything to suit our vision as we paint.  I did exactly that with the setup I was using when I painted "Harmony".  Here it is:

As I started to paint these hydrangeas, I realized that the colors in the setup were very cool-- all I could see was blue, green, and a little blue-green, even in the flowers!  I wanted to introduce some interesting colors, so I imagined my setup without color at all:

When I looked at the reference without any color in it, my mind started to add some colors that weren't there.  As long as I stuck to my values (dark, middle, and light), I could add any colors that came to mind, and the painting would read correctly.  I also decided to simplify my shapes by using a very large brush.

In the end, my painting isn't a "portrait of flowers", but an "interpretation of flowers", which I felt happy with.

"Abundance", 16x20"

I bought a small bunch of peonies from a farm stand last week, brought them home and put them in water.  The next morning, they had exploded into the most beautiful blooms you could imagine.  I couldn't let another minute go by without painting them, so I whisked them up to my studio and put them under lights.  They remained glorious for days while I labored away, trying to capture their beauty without overdoing the details.

After scraping my painting away three times, this is the iteration I was most happy with.  I hope you like it too.

"Summer Windowsill", 9x12"

There's still quite a lot of activity in my garden during these early days of fall, but the light is slanting lower which is my reminder that these days are numbered and fleeting.  I roam about with shears in hand, ready to harvest the most colorful remaining blooms.

I'm on my way to Taos, New Mexico to study with Carolyn Anderson.  A few years back, I took a workshop with her in New Harmony, and she changed the way I see and paint forever.  I felt like it was time for a refresher course, so off I go!  I will share with you new insights and approaches to painting which she shares with us next week.

For purchase information, please click on Ann Feldman Windowsill.

"The Logic of a Summer Garden I" 20x16"

This is an example of the "Fracturing" technique that I've been experimenting with lately.  I had my paintings lined up at the studio for framing the other day, and a young boy pointed at this one and said,"It looks shattered!" Made me happy to know that my intention was understood by one so young.

This painting is shown at the Button Petter Gallery in Saugatuck, Michigan.

Gerber Jar Daisies, 6x6"

I painted this little piece for the Daily Paintworks Challenge this week.  The challenge was to change your color with every brush stroke, using very large flat brushes.  Keeps one from becoming too fussy!

"Floral Fantasy in Orange and White", 16x12"

The reception last weekend at the Button-Petter Gallery was quite a success.  Attendance was enhanced by red trolleys which brought in waves of art and wine lovers who were part of a Saugatuck/Douglas tour.  What luck to be on the itinerary!  Met so many interesting people that day, in addition to the fantastic friends and family that came to support me-- where would I be without you?  The painting above sold that weekend, which was frosting on the cake!!!

After the reception, the extended Feldman family left for parts up north.  We stayed for a week in Charlevoix, then visited Petosky and Mackinaw Island.  Michigan is beautiful this time of year!  The sand dunes were magnificent, and history abounded all around us.  Snapped hundreds of photos for future paintings-- look out for sunny verandas and hand-glazed pottery to pop up in my future art projects.

I hope that you're finding time to make the most out of summer!

New Class Announcement

"Floral Fantasy in Red"

Button Petter Gallery 

"Floral Fantasy in Yellow"

Button Petter Gallery 

"Tea Roses"

East End Gallery

Dear blogging friends, I have neglected you far too long, and I apologize for that.  In a nutshell, I have been painting like crazy.  In the spring, I had galleries to supply.  The three paintings above have sold in the last month, and interestingly, they are all florals!  Hmmm, perhaps I should pay attention to that...

After the gallery orders were filled, I retreated to my studio to continue my experimentation with the new techniques I've picked up in the last few months, particularly in CW Mundy's workshop.  My ratio of successes to failures at present is about 1/10.  The paint is flying and the canvases are filling the garbage bins.  But my hope is that I will eventually emerge from my garret with a new approach, and perhaps a new understanding of impressionist art.

NEW CLASS ANNOUNCEMENT: I will be teaching 6 week classes in Impressionism for new and continuing students at Mainstreet Art Centre in Lake Zurich, IL starting in September.  The classes will be held on Fridays.  I will also be teaching a portrait class on Monday evenings, beginning in September.  If you'd be interested in any of these classes, please call Mainstreet at (847) 550-0016.

Gallery Paintings

Yesterday, my dear friend Jayne and I took a road trip to Saugatuck, Michigan to deliver my paintings to the Button Petter Gallery.  If you would like to see the paintings, please click on Ann's Virtual Gallery for a closer look.

The Gallery will be hosting an opening for me on July 20th, so if you'll be anywhere near the area around then, I hope you'll stop in and say hello!  It is truly a thrill for me to be part of such a beautiful gallery, amongst an amazing group of talented artists.

The Button Petter Gallery

"Sisters", 9x12"

This painting made me think of sisters-- all living on the same branch, but evolving into unique personalities with different outlooks.

My challenge on this one was to use a palette knife on top of a transparent wash.  I had to stop myself before I went in and developed it too far.  I wanted it to say "roses" without overstating things.

Please click on Ann Feldman Sisters for purchase information.  Thank you!

Glad to See You, 8x10"

I painted this one using a palette knife and a softening brush.  I took a little movie of my progress to show you how this painting developed.  I hope you enjoy it!

For purchase information, please click on Ann Feldman Glad.  Thank you!

The Survivors, 6x6"

I respect any flower that can withstand our drought-plagued summer here in the Midwest.  These tiny beauties are my tough survivors (I'm so proud of them!).

Tea Roses, 10x8"

A student at Mainstreet brought in a little cluster of tea roses from her garden and put them on the front desk.  They were so perfect I couldn't resist painting them.

To bid on this painting, please click Ann Feldman Tea Roses.

Floral Fantasy, 16x12"

This is another piece that I recently shipped off to the East End Gallery in Nantucket.  I painted this one in one marathon session.  The three yellow flowers were established first, and then the rest was added, subtracted, moved, and painted over about a thousand times.  This process is fun and frustrating at the same time, and I'm left with lots of very wet paint on the canvas and on myself.  I do wish the Fed Ex man would alert me when I open the door with a purple mustache.

Clear Blue Friends, 16x12"

Painting glass is just about the most fun you can have in art, in my opinion.  The balance of transparency along with the blue color of the jars had to be just right, but I tried to keep these jars as simple as possible and not fuss with them too much.

This painting is no longer available. Thank you for your interest in my art!

Telephone Posies, 8x10"

You must be wondering where on earth the telephone is in this painting!  Well, I put telephone in the title because this little still life reminded me of the telephone game we all played when we were kids.  I started with the setup shown below, and painted it in a very restrained, realistic fashion.  Then I used the second painting as a reference for the third painting, but I painted this version in a very impressionistic method.  Interesting to see the evolution from beginning to end, I think.

To bid on this painting, please click on Ann Feldman Posies.  Thank you!

I painted the last version as part of a demo for the Barrington Cultural Arts Council yesterday.  We discussed the differences in approach and technique for traditional paintings and impressionistic ones.  We covered everything from new colors in toning the canvas to painting with broken color and losing edges.  Great questions from the participants and a few good laughs made for a very enjoyable afternoon! Thank you BCAC!

"Sunday Afternoon", 14x11" Oil (Palette Knife) on Board.  Sold.

"Sunday Showoff", 6x6" Oil (Palette Knife) on Board.  Sold.

Flowers for the Table, 12x12"

Yellow is a difficult color to keep fresh in a painting. Every time another color is added to it, the intensity is weakened quite a bit. To get the flowers to appear fresh, I put on thick paint with a palette knife at the very end of my process. To keep the yellow "bouncing around" in the painting, I mixed it into almost all of the other colors-- including the purple! To bid on this painting, please click on Ann Feldman Flowers for the Table.

Illinois Sunflowers, 5x5"

Sunflowers are everywhere in our area right now-- profusions of them!  During a walk in a field, I came upon a huge branch of them hanging over my path.  I could look up into them at the sky above.  I toned a board with hot pink (pthalo red rose) and layered color on top with a palette knife. Sometimes starting a painting with an unexpected color can give a painting extra vibrancy.

If you would like to bid on this painting, please click on Ann Feldman Illinois Sunflowers.

Thistle Study II, 5x5"

Here is the finished study in color.  While I was outside and in front of my subject, I mixed some of the colors that I was observing and made little swatches of these colors on a toned board.  When I came inside, I had my swatches, my three value study, and a photo or two to guide me. Taking the monochrome study from my previous post, I layered color on top.  I tried to keep to the lights and darks that I had mapped out, and I adjusted some problem compositional areas as I painted along.

I may decide to use this study to paint an actual painting, but sometimes I like the spontaneity of little studies like this one!

My plein air studies will be on sale this Sunday at the Crabtree Forest Paint Out-- come visit me!  The Preserve is on Palatine Road, near the intersection with Barrington Road.  I'll be there from 11-4.

Best of Luck (Sold)

I hope that opening a cocktail umbrella inside brings the opposite of bad luck!