Grateful notices: At the Pond's Edge, oil on canvas, 48 x 60 inches

At the Pond's Edge, oil on canvas, 48 x 60 inches
Exhibited by: Sorelle Gallery, New Canaan, CT
Video: Ken discusses the making of this oil 

This is a painting that was in progress during three seasons, Fall, Winter and then Spring. Each season was represented here at one time and eventually painted over with the following season. The process was enjoyable and a lot of color work was done but this large oil took up a long studio residence in what seemed like the season of perpetual indecision.

Once Spring appeared in the studio window, green solutions presented themselves. Yes? No? The greens were tried and failed but they did work nicely in the lower portion of the blue trees. Spring with blue trees? In this case yes, and when the blues blended into the greens mentioned earlier, the painting began to come to life.

Add the aqua in the background for more drama and for good measure, the yellow tips catching light at the top of the painting.

In the end, what seemed to make this oil work were the contrasts between the darker trees and the light yellow/greens at the top and bottom. Care was taken to soften the sky and foreground, further increasing the effect of mass in the center trees.

Throughout it all, the oil was telling me what to do and I followed along, not being concerned about the time it was taking.

Grateful Notices: At the Pond's Edge, Emerging Spring, oil on canvas, 48 x 60 inches

At the Pond's Edge, Emerging Spring
Oil on canvas, 48 x 60 Private collection
Exhibited: Sorelle Gallery, New Canaan, CT

I'm drawn to the intersections of sky, land and water and particularly how the trees come into contact with each of those elements. An amazing amount of hours that went into the making of this one. There is a great deal of texture as a result of successive ideas, starts and stops appearing as subsequent layers upon layers. This oil first had an incarnation as an autumn scene but I became enamored with the blues and slowly brought them to prominence, shifting the painting into spring.

This painting is evidence of considerable sessions in the studio with innumerable color experiments and before you know it, a fall painting became spring.

When viewing it close up, it is a painting with literally thousands of lace-like marks with each color uniquely contributing to the whole. Everything is done with restraint and a light touch.  The end result is a line of trees with substantial mass.

Except for the base of the trees, all of the foliage and sky edges are delicate and barely there with the early spring light diffused everywhere.

My thanks to the collector that took this home.

New Work: Rain Moving Across, oil on canvas, 30 x 48 inches

Rain Moving Across, oil on canvas, 30 x 48 inches
Sorelle Gallery, New Canaan, CT   $5400 unframed 

It is fascinating to observe the edges of rain coming to the ground. Once I began to sketch this out on the canvas, there were some gaps in the land patterns and it struck me to turn those gaps into reflective ponds or marsh areas.

The abundance of reflective surfaces opened up the center of the painting, created more depth and made the rain effect even more pronounced. The dark areas at the top and bottom of the oil help to carry the light into the far distance.

And for good measure, the strong diagonal, other cloud forms and the waterways all point to the falling rain. It's theatre - a stage is set for the rain to make an appearance.

New Work: Summer by the Shore, oil on canvas, 40 x 40 inches

Summer by the Shore, oil on canvas, 40 x 40 inches
Sorelle Gallery, New Canaan, CT

Patterns are intriguing and helpful when painting flat landscapes. I was first attracted to the shape of the summer clouds but once that red-purple band was painted in, the rest of the oil became a playground of pooling water, strips on land and vegetation.

Everything merged together, unifying the painting and creating interesting things to see in every part. 

New Work: Light Beyond, pastel 18 1/2 x 22 3/8 inches

Light Beyond
Pastel on sanded paper,  18 1/2 x 22 3/8 inches

This started as a pastel demonstration a number of years ago. I came across it when I was clearing things out of my studio and pulled it out to work on.

I still remember being a bit stumped at the time of the workshop, working carefully while talking to the class. Once I saw it again, the solutions poured out in rapid order.

For the most part, the moves were about boldness, adding complexity and insuring that every part of the pastel has its own interest while adding to the whole. The piece surprises me with the iridescent blues and how they move. As I added blues, it was if they were in a conversation with each other, instructing me to push more and bring more blue to the party.

Care was taken to preserve the dark masses at the top to better frame the light play in the back of the scene. I love pastels...

Exhibiting: Sorelle Gallery, New Canaan, CT, Nov 8 - Dec 10

Forest Sequence I, oil on  two, 48 x 60 inch canvases, total size, 48 x 120 inches  $24000 unframed

I am pleased to announce an upcoming, 2-person show, Light Effects with Alina B. this November 8 at the Sorelle Gallery, New Canaan, CT.
A number of new works with be exhibiting, including my 3 x 10 ft. oil, Forest Sequence I (see below). The show continues through Dec 10.

View my works in the exhibition

LIGHT MOVING ACROSS
Oil on canvas, 36 X 60      $7500 unframed
More about this oil on Ken's blog, For the Color

Big Pond and Sky
oil on canvas, 40 X 60    $9950 unframed

Lake Palette II
oil on canvas 36 x 60   $7500  unframed

Video: At the Ponds Edge, Emerging Spring, oil on canvas, 48 x 60 inches

At the Ponds Edge, Emerging Spring, oil on canvas, 48 x 60 inches
Exhibiting: Sorelle Gallery, New Canaan, CT

Ken describes how the 4' x 5' oil, At the Ponds Edge, Emerging Spring evolved. This work took about a year to make as it went through a number of changes.

Video: 2 minutes