Sunday, May 16, 2010

Blossoms By The River

Blossoms By The River
10x10"
acrylic on canvas
private collection

The forecast predicted a beautiful day for today, so last night when I went to bed I decided I would head out and paint as soon as I woke up. I felt the need to work on something smaller that I could complete and post. This piece still may be tweaked at the studio, but at least it is something to show. I have been trying to get work done on my large canvas, but it has been slow going. I am hoping to get to the studio a few afternoons this week and push the progress along, but today was definitely a plein air day. We have finally had a bit of heat after quite a number of rainy days and as a result the trees are blooming in full force and the grass is becoming more and more green. It was a glorious morning- birds chirping, people jogging and cycling and me out there pushing paint around. It was so relaxing and, as always, the time went by too quickly. As I worked on this piece it dawned on me that I have rarely used the colour pink. Humph... could be because there is not that much pink in the boreal forest which has been the subject of a lot of my work. And I do find it to be a bit of an intimidating colour. Odd, right? Anyhoo, I had my eye on the clock because I needed to get home before noon. Why, you ask? Well, for very good reason....

detail

I had to check the status of my bid on an Edward B. Gordon original!!! Yup- you heard me! For those few of you that have been reading my blog since (almost) the beginning you will recall this post where I described the event of my first attempt at a bid on one of Edward's paintings. I was rather tentative to get in on the bidding process again, but just recently I decided to take a deep breath and test the waters. Sadly I lost several auctions due to swoopers (people who bid at the last possible second and steal the "highest bid" spot from you). And there were a couple of auctions where I was flat out of the running straight away. But I was determined to continue to try- otherwise I would never end up with one of Mr.Gordon's daily paintings and the thought struck me...  what if he stopped producing them before I had a chance to obtain one? There are no indications that he is getting tired of the exercise, and it has become very successful for him, but still, the "what if" was in the back of my mind. So I have been bidding here and there, desperately hoping that no high rollers show up. Much to my complete shock it turns out today was the day! I won the auction! I actually won!!! So I am now the proud owner of "Savignyplatz 15:30". I love all of Edward's work, but I seem to be drawn to his rendering of the female figure and now I will have one to admire and learn from in person. Yay!

It was a good good day.

10 comments:

Unknown said...

What a wonderful bright and cheerful painting you were able to complete this morning.


Congrats on winning an awesome piece by Edward B. Gordon! I am so envious. He is superb! Today was a very good day for you.

-Don said...

Sheila's right... today WAS a good day for you. Congrats on creating such a beautiful Spring painting and for becoming the owner of such another lovely work of art.

-Don

Unknown said...

YIPPEEEE!!!!!!
Nick, this is amazing! I really love the piece you did today - it is so fresh. It's funny, yesterday I noticed (for the first time this spring) the chirping of birds, too. What a restful sound. It must have been beautiful down by the river; if I knew where you were sitting, I would have brought you a frozen hot chocolate!!! YUM.
And, I am all tingly that you won your Edward B. Gordon!! I am thrilled! It is a great little painting and I am so, so happy for you. YAY!

Good luck with the bigger work you're doing at the studio.
XO J

Edward B. Gordon said...

thank you Nicki !!!

Nicki said...

Hi Sheila,

Thanks, that is actually how the morning felt; bright and cheerful. I'm glad the painting comes across that way.

I feel so excited to have won an Edward B. Gordon... and I think I got a bit of a deal. I finally hit an auction with not too much competition! Yay!

Nicki


Thanks Don, for your comments on my painting and the one I "won".

N.


Thanks JJ, I'm very excited and I think it is so cool that he likes the painting I gave you for your birthday.

XO Nicki


Hello Edward!

What a wonderful surprise to see your comment. You are welcome, but really... thank YOU! I am so happy and I can hardly wait to see your work in person.

All the best to you,

Nicki

Artist said...

congratulations, no wonder you are excited, that painting he did is really nice! Great job on your day out and the paintings you did too!

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Nicki,

Good for you! I love the painting too, and all of Edward's work. Your own work is superb of course, and I love this one. Pink is a funny colour isn't it. I have done a lot of
work with the colour, because in many portraits people are wearing it, but it's a lot harder to paint than I'd think, to get it looking accurate.

Have a great holiday weekend.

XOBarbara

Nicki said...

Hi Artist,

Thanks so much... I really had fun that morning and as soon as the rain stops (it has been days now!), I will go out again.

Nicki


Barbara, how nice to hear from you! Thanks for commenting- I know how busy you are, so I appreciate you taking the time. Yes, pink is a funny colour. It scares me because it is so sugary and sweet- I'm nervous it might create a mood in a painting that I don't necessarily want. That being said, I need to play and experiment with it because when I see it used by someone who knows what they are doing (you are a case in point) it is a powerful colour.

Take care,

Nicki

Anonymous said...

just seen this post Nicki: i love the fresh colours in this painting: they reflect all you said of the day! and of course congratulations on the painting... there's that perseverence of yours again, it definately pays off.

Nicki said...

Hi Rahina,

Glad you like this one! And yes, I was pretty determined to get an EBG, but now I have to sell some of my own paintings to pay for it! :o)

Nicki