Spring Paintings....

There hasn't been much of a spring feeling here in NY, with more snow just dumped on us this week but I'm thinking spring anyway, creating some smaller paintings for the new season.







 

"Whispers Of The Season" is 8" h x 6" w and the little wren in the painting is enjoying the first days of spring.

 



"Spring Robin" is 12" h x 4" w tucked away in a purple tulip he is happily enjoying the blooms.

I think at this point I might be painting a tree next or perhaps an abstract or maybe, a combination of both....who knows, I think I'll decide that once I get started.

Reflections Of Spring

This week I finished "Reflections Of Spring" an English Iris painting.  I'm feeling all about spring these days, really only wanting to paint happy paintings.  I often like to pair the canvas shape with the proportions of the subject to make it look as natural as possible.  This particular piece is 12" h x 4" w and I think the canvas suits what I wanted to do with the composition of this painting nicely.

This week a new digital camera arrived in the mail for me as well.  I had my original one for only 4 years and in the last 6 months, it became harder and harder to take photos and get the camera to actually work.  I mean geez, it was a compact little digital camera for casual use, it certainly never got put through the ringer by me so I was bummed it didn't last longer, I really expected it too.  Once I got over the offensive (to me anyway) idea of shelling out money right now for another digital camera, I'm really glad that I did.  This new one is wonderful, almost just as small as the last (important to me) and wow, the detail shots I can get with it.  When Chris took these photos today, I was thrilled, the detail shots really reveal the layers and texture of the stucco along with the blend of color.  Now that the pain of having spent the money is over and done, I'm really glad I got it.

Have a creative week....think spring.

"Branching Out" Abstract Triptych Treescape

"Branching Out" is the newest treescape triptych to make it out of my studio, recently sprayed with a protective matt finish and currently drying in my basement. 

I wanted to do a multi-canvas painting and knew that I had something in mind that was really contemporary and abstract but I also wanted lots of texture, so I decided on a triptych treescape.

First I always play around with different shapes and sizes of canvas, orienting them different ways to try and decide how I want to lay out the painting.  Once that portion of the process is decided upon, I can than go ahead and make my sketch.

While I'm creating a sketch, I also start on my background which can take a couple of days for a painting this size as there are layers or color applied that must dry before others are added.  A heavy application of stucco gives the tree branches really thick texture.

 

The finished panels are placed together for the last time, just to make sure everything looks just right and the completed painting has emerged.





Indoor Garden With Orchids.....

Being that nothing is really growing outside right now, it is fun to fuss over and photograph my orchids that are blooming at the moment.  Right now I have 5 plants that are in bloom and I have to say, I like photographing them at their different stages of growth from spike to buds to flowers.  The orchid above is a great bloomer for me and when the plant started producing buds this time, there were 3 that initially formed.

While these 3 blooms were putting on a nice show for me, you can see from the above photo that 2 more buds formed on the spike, waiting patiently for their turn to bloom.

In this photo, only one of the original blooms remain and you can see that the 2 buds have gotten very big and will burst into bloom at any time.

I love this little red Phalaenopsis, it is the second time it has bloomed for me and this time it formed 2 buds which turned into beautiful flowers.

It was a happy surprise when the Phal above started forming a spike as it had just stopped blooming and I was amazed it started again so soon.

The above Phal I have had for years and I have not had any luck getting it to rebloom for me.  I decided that it was now or never so to speak and if it wouldn't rebloom for me it was getting left behind when I moved.  I spent a lot of time with it over the past months trying to coax it into action and imagine my happines when the spike above first started to appear.

It formed 7 buds on this particular spike and now of course, since I have gotten it to bloom for me, it will be a regular bloomer without any special effort involved and it will also be moving with me, sitting with the other orchids on the front floor of my car. 

I've had this plant for so long that I had actually forgotten what color it was and to my happy surprise, it is yellow with a red center.  Yellow is a color I have been wanting in my orchid garden so I was thrilled.

"Spring Pleasures" Completed

Yesterday I finished painting "Spring Pleasures" and just in time too as I needed some spring cheer to help deal with the blizard we got yesterday.  Shoveling out in the biting cold wind with a foot and a half to two feet of snow in some places is just one of my favorite things to do.... (not even close) .  I know I sound a bit snarky about it all and well, snow makes me very grumpy.  All I can say is....Orlando here I come, there is nothing in the NY winter that I will miss, not even a little.

Now it is revealed that my woodland creature is a happy little chipmunk nestled on one of the tulip leaves.  The tulips, leaves, chipmunk and some of the background swirls are 3D with a texture you can see and feel.  A stucco medium was used in these areas to create this texture.

This painting measures 24" h x 8" w x 1 1/2" d.   I hope the yellow, pink and magenta bring cheer and make everyone think of the color and warmth of spring ahead.

Bits & Pieces Of "Spring Pleasures"

This week I started to work on a new painting, which was probably due to my desperate desire for spring and all the color it brings with it.  "Spring Pleasures" is underway and is full of fun and really happy , bold spring color.  I think I'm mostly done at this point, lots of little things to adjust and work on though so as not to jinx myself,  I'll only show little bits and pieces of it until it is fully completed.  So,  it looks like there is a pink tulip somewhere in this painting..............

also lots of swirls of bright cheerful colors..........................

I think I also see leaves and a foot and tail of some sort, a woodland creature perhaps?  Maybe one I'm painting for the first time....hmmm.   Perhaps next week I can show the entire painting once it is fully finished. 

 

This week I received the prettiest earrings in the mail, they are from Miss Val's Creations -   www.missvalscreations.blogspot.com .   I fell in love with this set on Pinterest and had to have them the more I kept looking at them.  They arrived in the mail today and are prettier in person than they are in the photograph.  Val is also guilty of getting me extremely addicted to Pinterest but that is another story so for now I'll stick to the earrings....I love them, thanks Val.

Painting Tiny - Bite Sized 3D Artwork.......

This week I decided I really wanted to paint small and so I went to my basement stash of canvases and ferreted around for a while until I finally found what I was looking for, some of the smallest sized canvases I have on hand, a 6" x 6" and a 4" x 6".   "This piece is "Sunburst Monarch" full of color and happiness.  I think I will make a tile trivet out of this design.......

I also felt like painting a dragonfly so on the 4" x 6" canvas I created "Jeweled Beauty".  Both paintings are created using acrylic mediums so they are 3D, you can actually see and feel the texture on each piece.  I'm finding textured work really has the effect of making you want to reach out and touch it when you walk by.  It is really fun to feel the different levels of textures under your fingers, very tactile.

Aside from painting, I'm dealing with a house that is in a state of flux at the moment (no end in sight either).  Some of you might know that Chris and I are moving to Orlando this year. We closed on our house the week after Thanksgiving and we will be moving away from NY in a little over 4 months so these are the start of some crazy busy days for us.  We're going through all our belongings, trying to throw away what we don't want to move with us , organizing everything and even though we'll have movers when the time comes, we're packing our more precious items ourselves. We're very excited to get started on our new journey and I dearly wish we could leave now but we have to wait a few more months, most likely till the end of May.  At some point when the time gets closer I'll have to pack up my art studio but not quite yet, I will keep painting for many more months, until the last minute basically.  I always find I miss painting when I'm away from it for too long.

Train & Miniatures Show At the Enid Haupt Conservatory



 

Each year Chris and I attend the train and miniatures show at the NY Botanical Garden.  Most of the special events there are held in the beautiful Enid Haupt Conservatory pictured above. 

 

 

We always wait until the show is in its last week (that way all the kiddies are back in school) the crowd is also less substantial as well being that the holidays have come and gone.   There are always lots of trains and lights and all the NY buildings that are included in the displays are nestled beautifully inbetween the foliage and plants that are part of the conservatory's regular displays.

 

 

Each year I have to confess that my favorite part of the display is the replica fo the Enid Haupt Conservatory itself as I think it is a gorgeous building.  This was my favorite year as the conservatory and all the flora around it was just so full and gorgeous.

 

 

The front water feature as you come in the front door is always enhanced with a gorgeous display.  You can also see the Statue Of Liberty in the background as well.

 

 

Each building is created by artisans using twigs, branches, leaves, acorns, bark and a various smattering of more of nature's art supplies. 

 



I hope you enjoyed a little bit of this year's tour...........

A New Year Means......Reviewing Past Works

Happy New Year to everyone.  I know, I know, usually a new year means new everything, resolutions, ideas, artwork, etc etc and that of course is all still true however, sometimes it really behooves us to review and revamp older work as well.  After all I'm learning once a piece of artwork finds a new home, what's left is the image and that is of course, still the property of the artist (in this case me) so why not put that image to good use.   Waste not want not....right?





 

This ceiling tin for instance is something I painted years ago.  It has long since gone to a new home, (it lives in Korea now) so all I'm left with is the image.  This is my favorite rose painting that I've ever created though so I would like to use it for other purposes.

 

Chris reworked some things on it today and made it high resolution and framed it nicely for me , blocking out the majority of the tin and focusing almost entirely on the roses instead.  I'm thinking this design could work on cards as well as tile trivets.  The uses might actually be endless, more than I can think of right at this moment anyway.  It might actually be a good idea each week or two, to go through artwork that has long since flown the coop, that you might have even forgotten about and rework it for a different purpose. 

Cattail And Dragonfly Painting In 3D & Blog Vacation

The latest piece of art to come off my easel is "Wings Of Glass" , my first 3 D acrylic painting.  I've always loved cattails and of course, dragonflies so I decided to make them the subject of this particular piece.  This painting measure 16" h x 8"w x 1 1/2" d.

The part I loved the most about creating this painting was the 3 D aspect....the cattails, leaves, dragonfly and part of the background, were done with mediums.  The dragonfly is comprised of a (glass effects) medium and the rest of the above mentioned areas are done in stucco.  The final product is a painting that you can see but also feel as well, the texture is really fun to run your hand through.  To see the effects close up, click on the image above to get a better look.

Next on my list for the new year will be more 3D paintings and I got the idea yesterday, while feeding my dogs breakfast ( why then you might ask.....I cannot possibly say) to create a series of multi canvas - 3D - Bonsai paintings.  Cannot wait to get started on one of those in January.  For the time being, I'm taking a bit of a painting break to enjoy the holidays.  Have a great Christmas everyone, see you in the new year

The "Off The Wall Gallery" Art Show

The show at the "Off The Wall Gallery" at the Millbrook Library this Wednesday night was really lovely.  It was so much fun to see all my artwork hanging together in one really large room, very cool affect, something I often don't have room for at home and don't always think of.  This has inspiried me though to hang work in groupings when possible, I like the look.

The walls are actually yellow but I had a devil of a time photographing them at night , it was quite hard so the result was that these 3 pictures were the only ones that actually don't hurt your eyes when you look at them. 

The library is decorated for the holidays and the tables are out this weekend for the silent auction to help raise funds. Since so many of my photos are a bit of a strain on the peepers to look at, you'll have to imagine the rest of the room hung with my artwork.

I got to meet some really nice people that came to the reception, at least it was a lovely warm night with no snow on the ground. 

**Thank you Ann, for purchasing "Floating", my dragonfly painting above.  I believe you left right before I arrived, sorry to have missed you.  I hope the painting makes you happy each time you look at it.  **

Millbrook Library is about an hour north of where I live, a lovely town, great library and wonderful arts program.  My paintings are there through the month of December so if you are in the Millbrook area, stop and pay a visit.

Last but certainly not least, I was blown away when I went to my mailbox this week (that doesn't often happen, unless there is a huge bill waiting for us, then it is not being blown away in a good sense)....anyway, as a customer of Cheap Joe's Art supplies, I received this postcard in the mail.  While my household was not affected by the hurricane, tons of people in different areas were, some lost everything.  Cheap Joe's is offering to help artists that were hit hard by the hurricane by replacing lost art supplies at no cost to the artist.  Just click to enlarge if you would like to read the whole card.  I all can say is "WOW OW WOW", this is so incredibly generous of Cheap Joe's to do this, thank you so much for keeping all the artists affected by this horrible hurricane in your thoughts Cheap Joe's.

A Holiday Art Show At The Millbrook NY Public Library

Each month the Millbrook Public Library showcases the work of a different Hudson Valley NY artist.  They have a lovely and large display area that they use as their "Off the wall gallery".  My work is being featured for the month of December with an opening reception Wednesday evening, December 5th .  Their art and music events are just wonderful.  My naturescapes on canvas will be up throughout the month, if you are in the neighborhood, stop by and say hello.  You can use the links below to click through to the Millbrook Library site.

 

Naturescapes on Canvas – Opening Reception Dec. 5th 6:30-8:00

Come meet artist Ruth Welter at the opening reception at the library on Wednesday, December 5th from 6:30-8:00. Light refreshments will be served.

Naturescapes on Canvas – December Off the Wall Gallery Exhibit

The Off the Wall Gallery presents the work of artist Ruth Welter during the month of December. Naturescapes on Canvas is an exhibit of multi-paneled acrylic paintings inspired by Ms. Welter’s love of the outdoors and her own garden.

Beautiful Thanksgiving Music - The Arabesque Trio

The Arabesque Trio presents great music of the classical masters -- Bach, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Debussy and many more -- in exquisite performances characterized by precision, expressivity and tonal beauty.  The trio consists of Barbara Rizek - flutist , Gregory Dinger - classical guitar and arranger and (my husband) Chris Eberle - bassoonist.

Chris loves playing in this trio and from the many recitals and performances of theirs that I have gone to I can truly say that the combination of the 3 instruments playing together is gorgeous.

The trio performs throughout New York's Hudson Valley at recitals, graduations, weddings and special events.  They just came out with a new performance video below, the perfect Thanksgiving week music, have a listen and enjoy the beautiful sounds..  Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!!

www.artfulcreations.biz/arabesque