Dusty Fingers

7/17/11

Market Pause, 9x6

"Market Pause" 9x6" Pastel on sanded paper

This summer has been a whirlwind of activity for me, but today Portland had a summer rain that gave me much needed time to clear off my desk, reconcile a weary check book, and pick through some old photos. Quiet stuff in the studio. Rain in Portland in mid July is not all that unusual, but today it was a downpour. I kept asking myself "Whaz wit dat?"

This piece is just part of a larger one that I was never too pleased with, but after finding it in my 'pile' of old paintings, I figured there was something more to it when cropped. I love cropping a piece and finding more strength in the composition than before. This one is from the Beaverton Farmers Market from a few years back. A quick and gestural piece, not accurate, but still colorful and summerful. Enjoy.

Also on the newsfront, I was awarded first place with my "Bolts of Lavender" piece at the Yamhill Lavender Festival last week. A huge thank you to judge Eric Bowman for selecting my piece! It was a fun event speckled with a few more of those peculiar summer rainy days.

Labels: Beaverton, cropping, Farmers Market, lavender, Yamill Lavender Festival

9/26/09

Cropping to Fit

"Farmed Red Rows" 7x8" Pastel on sanded paper

After this past summer's tragedy, the desire to clear away and simplify my life has made it's way into my studio. I've cleared out the garage, my son's room has been organized (along with tossing a few old toys), and I painted the back side of the house. Projects that sat on my list for some time. In the studio the shelves are hung, I've wiped away the pastel dust, the art is off the floor, and now I am going through a pile of art that developed over the past 4 years. These pieces never quite made it to a frame, for some reason they all had something that didn't quite "sing" to me. There is a great way to remedy this dilemma, and that is by re-cropping the work. Here is one that was bothering me quite a bit, but now that I have cut the painting practically in 2, it looks so much better. The composition was not holding it together and now after cropping it seems to work a bit better. I cropped the rest of the pile of art (all are plein air) and here are some of them below. If you have a painting that just feels a little "off", try cropping it!