Baxteriology

Paint Snow Hill 2009

2009-04-28T01:51:00.012-04:00

Last weekend I joined the 50 artists participating in Paint Snow Hill, an annual plein-air event in Snow Hill, MD. It's a favorite among painters because it's low-key, fun, lots of socializing, and there's a lots of great scenery to paint. We had a fabulous time, and once again Ann Coates of Bishop's Stock Fine Art Fine Crafts did a fantastic job of hosting the event. The show on Sunday was well attended, and we were happy to see red dots on the walls.

I painted three paintings over the weekend. "Fields at Porter's Crossing" shows the wonderful farmland in that part of the state, with the colors of spring just sprouting up. "Water Queen," (one of the most painted boats in the area, I think), was a challenge to get her lines just right... but I loved the high contrast of the lights and shadows as the sun was setting. Another sunset painting of pylons left from a long-lost dock and some of the beautiful shore foliage left me hunting for a title for it. I couldn't resist: "Monty Pylons."

Happy New Year!

2009-01-02T23:20:00.006-05:00

Inspired by Richard Schmid, who paints a painting every New Year's Day, I decided to break out the paints for the first time in too long, and do a quick sketch. I was at a wonderful gathering of friends for New Year's Eve, and this young lady faded early. She looked so beautiful lying there, that I wished out loud I'd brought my paints, or at least a camera... The hostess had just gotten an iPhone for Christmas, and before I knew it she'd taken a photo and sent it to me. Obviously, there was no question as to what I'd paint... Searching for a profound and enigmatic title, I call it "New Year's Eve." (9 x 12, oil on linen canvas panel)

Rehoboth Beach Plein Air Paint Out

2008-07-09T22:35:00.004-04:00

A few weeks ago I had the honor of jurying the Rehoboth Beach Plein Air Paint Out. And while I couldn't compete (for obvious reasons), I was able to get some painting in myself. I did three paintings, but only got pictures of two-"Dancing Trees," and "Fallen Beauty." Yeah, I know, only I could go to the beach and do woods scenes! I do love the twisted pines you find at the shore.

In the case of Fallen Beauty, I was right by Gordon's Pond... Unfortunately, the pond had dried up, and after carrying all my gear that far, I was bound and determined to paint something.

The Duke

2008-06-18T23:30:00.004-04:00

I was watching David Darrow paint online tonight (he broadcasts from his studio while he paints-go to Dave The Painting Guy), and he was working on a picture of John Wayne he found online. He told us where we could see the photo, and so I downloaded it and "painted along." It was a blast! Again, I worked on painting broadly, quickly, capturing a likeness, and the gesture of the expression.

"The Duke" measures 11" x 7 1/2", and is painted in oils on acrylic-coated archival watercolor paper. It is available for sale at $450 unframed.

Daffodil Daydreams

2008-06-18T23:24:00.005-04:00

Here's another view of the model I used in "Contemplating Spring." This one is called "Daffodil Daydreams," and was an attempt at getting looser in my painting. It feels more like I caught the proverbial "moment in time," and I like the directness of it. Her wistful gaze leaves you wondering what she's thinking about...

"Daffodil Daydreams" measures 14" x 18", and is painted in oils on acrylic-coated archival watercolor paper mounted on board. It is available for sale at $1075 framed in a 3 1/4" wide silver frame.

Guillermo Silveira

2008-06-18T23:07:00.004-04:00

When I visited friends recently in Rehoboth Beach, they asked a friend of theirs to give us a tour of the galleries there. Guillermo (pronounced gee-zhermo - he's Argentinian) is known by EVERYONE in town! A wonderful guy, he's a musical composer, and has composed pieces for the Smithsonian and other notable organizations. Visit his website for his bio.

I did this quick sketch from several pictures I took.

Who Knows Where The Time Goes

2008-05-16T18:28:00.013-04:00

Now that I've planted that Judy Collins song in your head, here's the latest Baxteriological news:

I've been busy with "office" type stuff, working on some web sites for clients, learning new software (Adobe is abandoning their great web development product GoLive, so I get to learn Dreamweaver now), and doing some long-range planning for my art career. I've been learning how much thought and planning goes into being a painter, and how much attention is required on the business side... Someday I hope to work out a balance between the creative and business sides.

I've also added my mom to the tribute site to my parents, something I've been meaning to do for three years now. Designers know that working on your own projects is the hardest... no exception here. But it feels good to have them both remembered and out there for all to see. There's a link to it on the bottom of my home page if you want to visit later.

In the meantime I was able to get some easel time in, and the results are on my new works page. "Contemplating Spring," (above) and "Desiree" (right) are the latest creations.

I was contacted a few months ago by a designer friend who expressed an interest in some of my painting-a-day pictures, and wanted more. So I've been working on that for the last couple of months, and will post images once the commission is fulfilled.

At the end of April I took part in the "Paint Snow Hill" plein air painting event run by Bishop's Stock Fine Arts and Fine Crafts gallery in (you guessed it) Snow Hill, MD. It was a fantastic time of reconnecting with painting friends from all over the eastern shore, and getting out in the fabulous weather to paint "en plein air." The best part was having a couple of painters challenge a group of us to meet at a waterfront site and "grab" a sunset. 10 painters were there, starting at 6:45 pm, frantically trying to capture the setting sun on canvas... we had a blast, laughing and joking about how crazy we were to try this, and then admiring the work that came out of the session-some really great stuff. Paintings from the weekend event are on display through May at Bishop's Stock, including three of mine ("Taylor's Landing," above left, "The Gold Nugget," above right, "A Perfect Ending," below left).

Upcoming events include the Riverbend Plein Air Paint Out event on June 7, and I'll be jurying the Rehoboth Beach Plein Air Paint Out on the weekend of June 20 (reception and awards ceremony on Sunday, June 22).

Meanwhile, I've become addicted to a site a friend of mine on the "left coast" has set up, called "Dave the Painting Guy." David R. Darrow is a wonderful guy, a fabulous painter, and a techno-weenie, and has set up a video camera in his studio to broadcast while he paints. There is a chat window next to the video display, so you can "talk" to him while he works. His computer is right by his easel, and he monitors the chat and the broadcast, responding to your comments and questions. He's a great guy, with a wonderful quirky sense of humor. It's a delight to hear him talk about what he's doing, giving away lots of sound advice on the process of painting and how he goes about it. Since he's four hours behind us easterners, you can generally see him during the evening hours. Check out his site at http://davethepaintingguy.com/.

"LIVE" Art & Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice

2008-01-23T19:56:00.000-05:00

For the past five months it's been "Showtime!" for art museums in the Washington DC area. The National Gallery of Art held two blockbuster shows–"the first comprehensive survey of Edward Hopper's career to be seen in American museums outside New York in more than 25 years," and a show of "the most comprehensive survey of Turner's work ever presented in the United States." The Phillips Collection held a major show of Impressionists by the Sea, and the Smithsonian Museum of American Art had a major exhibition of the work of Asher B. Durand.

Still smarting from missing the show "Frederick Remington: The Color of Night" back in 2003, I now know to make an extra effort to see important shows as they come up. So I've spent the last several Sundays in galleries, feasting my eyes on the magnificent and rare art being shown. And it reminded me of something a music appreciation professor I had in art school once said: "The difference between hearing live music and listening to a recording is the same difference between frozen orange juice and fresh-squeezed." Same for reproductions and "live" art.

Looking at reproductions in a book or online, you cannot begin to appreciate the subtleties and nuances you see when face to face with a real canvas. The size alone can be an enormous factor in how you experience the work: daunting when large, wondrous and intimate when small (I still remember being awed by the diminutive sizes of some of the Van Goghs in a National Gallery exhibition years ago-paintings I had thought to be much, much larger). As good as color reproduction is these days, it doesn't even come close to an original, even with the best of printing methods. The vibrancy of color, the subtleties of application, rarely come out in reproductions of any kind. The thinness of the paint in a shadow area... the thick physicality of the built-up paint in the light areas... the shock of a pure red daub of paint against a sea of gray... Blues are bluer, yellows scream at you, and reds are electric when seen in real life (gee... this sounds like a laundry detergent commercial!). All these things get lost when a painting gets photographed and then reproduced. I have learned that if I buy a catalog of a show, I need to look at the reproductions as soon after the show as possible, so I can remember how far off the prints are from the original. And that way, be able to have some continued appreciation for just how great the original painting really was.

So the next time you get a chance to see "live" art, make an effort to go see it. Even if you've seen the paintings a thousand times in books, online or in magazines, go see the real thing. I guarantee it'll be a whole new experience.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Over the years, as I'd drive through central and western Pennsylvania I'd see ads painted on the sides of barns saying, "Treat Yourself to the Best–Chew Mail Pouch Tobacco!" I don't advocate the use of chewing tobacco, but I DO recommend "Treating Yourself to the Best" and seeing "live" art when you can.

Lots of Changes for 2008!

2008-01-10T03:12:00.000-05:00

WHOA!!!! What happened to the Blog?!

Yes, it's been retitled, redesigned, and reformatted, all due to several changes taking place in the Baxteriological art world.

First, I'm redesigning my web site (launch date of mid-January), which prompted a blog redesign as well. The new and improved web site will include new work, and a new and improved interface that'll be easier on the eyes and thats designed to show the art to better advantage. It'll also be a lot easier to maintain, so that means it'll be more current than it has been.

Second, I realized the Daily/Weekly Painter format was not a natural fit for me. Of necessity, those paintings are very small, and while it was fun to try (and I'm sure I'll do more occasionally), I naturally paint larger. And I found the time spent on the smaller paintings was keeping me away from more meaningful (and larger) work... So I'm refocusing my work, and changing the format of the blog to posting updates on what's going on in the studio, thoughts on art, and postings of my latest work. With a change of format, I obviously had to change the title. Thanks to an old college friend, Kirk "Preach" Stevenson, for the playful version of my middle name.

A big part of refocusing my work will be that after three years of concentrating on plein air landscape painting, I've decided to get back to my figurative roots and do more "people" paintings. I'll still paint "en plein air," but you'll see a greater concentration on figure and studio work. I hope you'll enjoy the new direction.

Thanks for being patient as all this got sorted out! I'm looking forward to the new year, new work, and renewed contact with all who've kept up with this blog.

More on the Setback

2007-05-22T07:52:00.000-04:00

I can't believe it's been this long! The loss of my digital camera has kept me from posting, but so have several other very time-consuming jobs (one of which was updating my website with new art-check it out at www.ToddBaxterDawson.com).

I'm still researching cameras, but also found an alternative to shooting work-using my scanner. Though I'll have to wait for the paintings to dry first! So I hope to get a few more up soon, but it may not be a full three a week...

I'm also working towards getting some work in competitions, which requires a lot of time at the easel working on larger works. Still, I hope to squeak in some little guys over the next two weeks.

Meanwhile, I felt like the title of my blog was misleading, so I changed it from "Daily Painting" to "Weekly Painting", which more accurately describes what I'm doing here. And it saves my having to explain myself when people ask why I'm not posting more. :-)

Thanks for checking in, and I hope to have more pictures for you to look at soon.

Temporary Setback

2007-05-06T23:53:00.000-04:00

Due to the unexpected loss of my digital camera, I will be unable to post for awhile. As soon as I get a replacement, I'll resume posting.

In the meantime, check out the other fine painters listed in the right hand column. These are the very best of the best (in my humble opinion), and well worth looking at.

Three Tomatillos

2007-05-04T15:58:00.000-04:00

Veggie week continues with these cute little tomatillos. I'd never seen one before, but when I did I thought they were very cool-smooth green fruit bursting out of their wrinkly skins... I tried to keep this one a bit more painterly, hoping to keep it quick and fresh.
$100

Red Onion #2

2007-04-29T20:45:00.000-04:00

Another onion. Here the outer skin flaked off to reveal the purple red onion beneath. The oranges and ochres of the skin contrasted so much with the deep purples under the skin-and the dried out stem all added up to an exciting painting.

$100

Baxter's Back-With a Veggie!

2007-04-29T20:29:00.000-04:00

Or is it a vengeance? What-EVER.

I saw these guys in the grocery, and was struck by their incredible color. And needing subject matter for my paintings, well, home they came. The outer shell had so many colors in it-brilliant reds and burgundies and ochres, all at once-it was a blast to paint.

$100

It's been one of those weeks

2007-04-19T15:47:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the lack of posts this week! I'm about to go away for several days to a plein air paint out in Snow Hill, MD. I'll have something up next week for sure, and if I can squeak one in between now and then I will. Thanks for your patience!

Late Day Cherry Blossoms

2007-04-11T11:08:00.000-04:00

Back to cherry blossoms. The late afternoon light raking across the field to the right, hitting the wonderfully twisty gnarly tree trunks-I love these trees! The shape of the trunks reminds me of Chinese calligraphy. The trees were too interesting... I had to take out the people that were everywhere.

SOLD

Easter Egg

2007-04-11T10:56:00.000-04:00

When I went to use this egg, the tip had obviously cracked and leaked, and it was stuck in the carton. When I finally got it out, it came minus the tip of the shell. Egg got everywhere. But I couldn't help marveling at the shell, with the naturally shaped hole in the tip. I knew it would soon become the subject of one of my blog paintings.

As I sat in church on Easter Sunday, it hit me. The empty egg. The empty tomb.

I chose a vertical format, with the egg positioned low, to suggest a sense of spirituality.

SOLD

Blossoms Out Back

2007-04-08T04:33:00.000-04:00

More blossoms, from out back. I believe these are pear blossoms, and they are everywhere here. In this case, I liked the patterns formed by the tree trunks and the shadows in the grass. And, of course, the puffy explosion of blossoms catching the light in the tree canopy.

$100

Cherry Blossom Time

2007-04-05T07:01:00.000-04:00

It's cherry blossom time here in the Washington DC area. And once again, I didn't have to go far for inspiration-out the front door and across the parking lot. I photographed this tree last year, but didn't get around to painting it until now. I love the rich color, and sensual feel of the blossoms, set against a rich, dark background-a little nicer view than the building in the photograph.

SOLD

Dome at the Naval Academy

2007-04-02T04:10:00.000-04:00

This weekend I joined the Mid-Atlantic Plein Air Painters Association on a paint out at the Naval Academy in Annapolis. One of our members got permission for us to paint on the campus, something we've never been able to do before. This is a view of the Naval Chapel dome, a major landmark of the campus, and it was my second painting of the day. By the time I got to it, the wind had died down, and the clouds had passed, bringing warmth and sun, both very welcome on a cool spring day.

$100

Daffodil

2007-03-30T21:16:00.000-04:00

Once again I am indebted to the groundskeepers of my condo. The daffodils are in bloom, and this one had such a striking profile that I couldn't resist. The play of light on the petals and the subtle color variations made this a fun painting to paint. The contrasting rich purples in the background don't show up well in the photo, but they really make the flower "pop".

$100

First Crocus

2007-03-27T21:41:00.000-04:00

A few days ago I came in from a walk, and saw two croci in the garden by the entrance to my condo, and realized that that was to be my next daily painting. As I was photographing it, a neighbor commented that they had just bloomed that day-that he had watched them unfold through the day.

As I composed the painting, I realized that one flower worked better than two. And I found I had to buy some purple-I just couldn't mix that vibrant color with the paint in my box. And I got the chance to do my favorite thing-be crazy and loose with the ground, and more focused and detailed with the flower. I love that contrast in a painting.

$100

Did I say "DAILY painting"?!

2007-03-27T07:11:00.000-04:00

A long-overdue design job has kept me away from the easel, and I'm missing it. I've had a painting underway, but just couldn't get to it to finish it-but I promise it'll be up today. And I hope to get back in the groove with more regular postings the rest of this week.

Thanks to everyone who's left a comment. I like getting feedback like that, and hearing how the work impacts you.

"Cowboy Bob"

2007-03-21T09:17:00.000-04:00

I felt like doing a portrait today. This character had posed for a group I paint with from time to time, and I loved his weathered face and piercing eyes. I concentrated on creating a sense of atmosphere in the painting. The photograph I was working from was much clearer, but it also looked harsh as an image. When you paint from a photo, you have to really "work" the image to make it read like reality.

$100

White Rose

2007-03-20T01:31:00.000-04:00

I bought some roses for a model to pose with, but I never got around to hiring the model. This white rose captured my heart, and it gave me a chance to work with one of my favorite color schemes-white, ochre and a strong accent color, in this case, the deep greens of the stem and leaves. I love their dark contrast and two-dimensional look next to the supple form of the white rose.

$100