PANDEMIC ART

INTRODUCTION

Well, the world as we know it has been turned upside down. But the intrepid MRP artists have risen to the challenge. We have recognized the opportunity that the “shelter at home orders” offer us to spend more time reflecting on our artistic selves! We are sharing daily pandemic paintings with others in the group, and reconnecting in a deeper way to express ourselves with our artwork.

“It suddenly becomes real when you find yourself doing drawings of your kitchen” said one member.

Dustan has begun critiquing again using ZOOM. All the group connects and we share stories and life events, as well as studio struggles, during these twice weekly conference calls.

Zoom has the additional capability of sharing images to all as well as allowing Dusty to make ‘computer drawings’ overlaying the shared images – this is terrific fun and may be a hard advantage to give up on once this whole pandemic is passed.

We hope that focusing on our art and sharing our work with each other, will help us all sail smoothly through this troubled time, and emerge as better artists and friends then we were before!

Staying safe and in the studio!


DUSTAN KNIGHT TARBELL

FORWARD:

As mentioned above, most of the members of the MRPs have been very prolific, and then some of us, well, not so much.

Being the one in charge of the blog, and as the members were sending me their images, I realized that having titles would be a large undertaking. Some members were forthcoming with titles and others were not.

Therefore as THE blogger, I made the executive decision to let the work speak for itself.

Please enjoy the wide range of work displayed on this blog. Comments are always welcome.
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MARILYN EIMON

 

MARY RUEDIG

TERRY HEINZMANN

 

 

ANNIE LYNCH

 

SUSAN LEVENSON

 

DUSTAN KNIGHT

KATHY TANGNEY

JANICE WITTMER

ANN SAUNDERSON

 

CLAUDETTE GAMMON

IN TRYING TIMES

By JANICE WITTMER

This is a challenging time, what with the threat of the coronavirus.

Although it has only been two weeks of "staying at home" and "social distancing"....

I miss being with people.

Creating art has always been an important part of my life, and a positive way to focus my energy.

Because when I paint or draw, it is not possible to think about anything else, even the coronavirus.

For now, while we can't be with other people, instead I will draw and paint them.

Be smart, be healthy, enjoy art, nature-- and of course, wash your hands.

"IMAGINE ALL THE PEOPLE LIVING LIFE IN PEACE..."

"AND THE WORLD WILL BE AS ONE"

 JOHN LENNON

 KICKSTARTING THE MOJO

By Terry Heinzmann

After a really, really long dry spell, like not painting AT ALL for more than a year, I finally put myself back in a class which is the only way I know how to get back into painting.

This class is about painting a still life in oil and is taught by Jeanne Duval, an artist who lives and works in Jaffrey, NH.

  In her small studio, seven or eight of us crowd around three different still life arrangements and do our best to capture the set-up.

  Jeanne is tough, demanding and relentless in teaching us to paint what we see, not what we think we see.  The work is hard, challenging and requires great patience.  Thankfully, Jeanne has a terrific sense of humor, so we all laugh a lot at our efforts.

One of the best part of the class is how I feel after a three+-hour session of struggling with the process.  Inevitably, I feel happy, energized, and peaceful on my drive back home. It’s not necessarily because I like what I’ve done, but more because I gave 100% to accomplish something that I find very difficult (and, yes, I often am pleased with the result, too!).

This painting shows the set up as well as my almost-finished painting.  

WINTER STUDIO MUSINGS!

By MARY RUEDIG

While sitting in my studio, in the dark of winter, I am painting

 scenes from my memory.

I know these views of Lake Sunapee by 

heart but since I’m not looking at them as I 

paint, I am able to play with the line, value 

and colors.







I end up with paintings that remind me of 

my favorite landscapes, but they are very different from the actual 

scenes.

I never know what the painting will look like

 when I start, and am constantly excited and 

surprised by what happens when water mixes 

with paint or ink.










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NOTES IN ADDITION …….


I am thinking of making some ceramic tiles for the wall behind our 

stove. 

These veggies are sketches of what I might put


 on the tiles.

I am trying to keep the lines and colors simple 

to simplify the glazing.

Hello wonderful Merrimack River Painters

AND Hello 2020

By DUSTAN KNIGHT

This has been a year of growth and creativity for many of us. Sometimes we have produced great art work and sometimes we have just gotten better as people. Hopefully both.

I have gotten excited about a new process that has become quite popular on the internet called "pouring acrylics". Simply put, it is mixing acrylic paint with an extender (painting medium) and drips of silicon. The silicon resists the paint and creates lovely 'cells' of complementary colors.

 It's a look that is difficult to control and visually enchanting. 

Naturally, after doing a hundred or more of these - I became restless and began to actually pour the paint! Inspired by one of my favorite artists Pat Steir (Greenwich Village, NYC).

It's pretty darned much crazy fun!

This approach is a nice contrast to the heavily impasto 'Birch Series' I worked on last winter. I have filled cheap ketchup and mustard squeeze bottles with various color mixtures of paint and extra medium - and the process of applying the paint is delightful and bold.

The 'Back Channel' Series combined the impasto with the pouring methods. The actual surface of the artwork becomes a symphonic combination of fast, slow, controlled and random elements.

It has been a lot of fun, and I am looking forward to creating artwork never seen before during this new year. 

WORKING IN THE ABSTRACT

By Ann Saunderson

I started working with cold wax maybe a year ago.

I’ve been working toward abstraction for quite a while and actually it’s been pretty frustrating the abstraction, but the cold wax really pushed me over the top.

Just what I needed!



I think I am just a sucker for new materials. 



I like the experimentation, the not knowing what’s going to happen.

I could have taken a workshop and learned all the tricks, but I really needed to do it by myself.

Every discovery is my own and sticks in my brain.

The bad part, clean up and TITLES. Titles for abstract work always seems so random, cheesy, and lame, but without titles I can’t identify them.

 Pathetic reason, really.