September 30 in 30 — Up A Creek

Up A Creek, 6"x6", oil on gessoed panel, ©2013 Cindy Greene

On one of our painting group excursions this last summer, my friend Diane disappeared down a path and soon called the rest of us down to see her view. It was gorgeous, and I snapped some photos. The path was a bit too rocky to get my painting gear down, so I planned to paint the creek another day.

And today was that lucky day. This is one of those paintings that I knew what I wanted, and it pretty much worked out that way. (Those days are pretty nice when they happen!)

I'm going to post a demo series of this painting on my FaceBook fan page tomorrow. Be sure to "like" the Cindy Greene Studio page, and check in tomorrow to see how I painted this view.

FaceBook page: https://www.facebook.com/cindygreenestudio

September 30 in 30 — Summer Clearing, Back Bay

Summer Clearing, Back Bay, 6"x8", oil on canvas panel, ©2013 Cindy Greene
$125, available here

Cheater alert: I started this painting at the Back Bay last month, but stopped way before it was completed. Since Real Life is happening around here, I spent a couple of hours reworking and finishing it as one of my September paintings. Yep, I did. 

The Newport Back Bay is a fun place to paint. And challenging!! The summer greens are so very bright, and next winter that marsh will be golden-red. Like this:

High Noon at the Back Bay, 8"x8", oil on board, ©2013 Cindy Greene
$125, available here

And early spring, it will start to green up just a bit, like this:

Rain's Coming, 10"x8", oil on board, ©2013 Cindy Greene
$125 available here

Always changing; always different. And now, what to paint today?

September 30 in 30 — Plein Air at the Back Bay

Plein Air at the Back Bay, 5x7", oil on linen canvas panel, ©2013 Cindy Greene

I had so much fun this summer painting with my two plein air buddies. Jeanne always wears her red shorts for painting trips (you know, you get a bit of paint on something and presto! it's your uniform) so of course I've been wanting to paint her in them. It was challenging to get the rocks and grasses in without letting them dwarf her. This area is a beautiful deck that overlooks the upper Newport Back Bay, and it's a favorite spot for painters.

High Summer at the Back Bay

High Summer at the Back Bay, 8x10", available here,
©2013 Cindy Greene

I'm taking another plein air class with wonderful artist Kim VanDerHoek, and this is where we went last week: the Newport Upper Back Bay. I've painted this view a couple times before, but it is always diferent. The marsh grass will be turning reddish-brown, and of course the light changes all the time. (Here's a stormy day last March.) This week we had the challenge of the bright green marsh grass, the bright green bluff plants, and of course the ever-changing light as the clouds burned off.

Rain's Coming — Upper Newport Back Bay

Rain's Coming, 10"x8", oil on archival panel, click here to bid
©2013 Cindy Greene

Today was a gorgeous day to paint outside. The early morning rain cleared the air, there were brief moments of sun, and then the coming storm brought more clouds in from the north. So beautiful to watch the clouds moving in and building up through the morning.

30 in 30, #30! — High Noon at the Back Bay

High Noon at the Back Bay, 8"x8", oil on board

#30!! We did it! I started a day late, used a watercolor sketch once, and doubled up a few times, but I completed 30 paintings in 30 days. Kudos to Leslie Saeta, who created this challenge!

This was painted today at my plein air class with Kim VanDerHoek, at the Newport Back Bay. We shared the small area with about 200 elementary school kids who were on a field trip, so it was a bit noisy. But it was a gorgeous sunny day, and painting outside was a good way to spend it.

It's been a crazy month. With all the painting going on, not a lot of other stuff has been happening. We did get the Christmas things put back in the garage (the last box was yesterday) but it took a while. I'm pretty sure the bills have been paid. There have been a lot of nights when at 7:00 pm, I said "How about if we have a salad for dinner?" and my husband has been a trooper.

I have learned so much. I've learned new things I like to paint, and new surfaces, and tried new colors and mixtures. I've painted en plein air, and I've painted on the dining room table in a vacation condo. I like painting in my studio best, and I LOVE my new 27" monitor. I can zoom in and rotate reference photos, and best of all, I can see them clearly.

February will be different, for sure. I'm hoping to paint most every day, but won't finish a painting every day. I want to do some studying, and will be taking an amazing workshop for five days next week. I'll post about it, since I know it will be something I want to remember.

Thank you, everyone who has looked and/or commented, and been so kind. I'm very fortunate to be doing something I love.