Sunday, September 19, 2010

Gray

Gray
8x8
oil on cradled panel
sold

Switching gears a little, on the third day at the Emma Lake workshop I decided to go to the beach and give the greens a break! I wanted to play with mixing grays and painting in a faster, looser way. I didn't specifically limit my palette here, but in the end I didn't use a lot of colours anyway. I had ordered some cradled panels when they were on sale from Opus, so I used one to see how it compared to the MDF boards I had been enjoying the previous days. The cradled panel I used for this painting was sealed with my new, trusty GAC-100 (Golden), so the pale colour of the wood showed through. In fact, I discovered that the colour of the wood was almost an exact match to Naples Yellow! There was not a huge difference between the cradled panels and the MDF boards. They are both obviously hard surfaces compared to canvas, which is what I am used to. The biggest difference was that the MDF boards were perfectly smooth, slippery even. The cradled panels had a slightly rougher surface, so there was a bit more "grab" with them.


It was a peaceful morning; very quiet, calm water, no breeze. I parked myself at the end of the dock. I had never painted there before, but since I had seen others set up in that spot I figured it would be okay. I slipped into my meditative painting mode quite easily. There was a canoe nearby on the other side of some reeds. I think the people were fishing, so any conversation they had was very soft and didn't bother my concentration. I'm easily startled when I paint because I guess I get kind of absorbed in what I am doing. Well, it wasn't long before I was being startled left and right! Why??? Because there were fish jumping everywhere... on my side of the reeds!!! It was unbelievable! If the fishermen only knew!  

I am including a photo I took looking back toward the campus from the end of the dock where I was painting. The building you see on the left is the cafeteria building. The dining hall is a circular shape and has a wrap-around, screened-in porch facing the lake. It feels like you are eating outside, but there are no insects! Very clever, very enjoyable. In this picture you can also see Adirondack chairs surrounding a fire pit and a cabin tucked into the trees.

Sigh. It is a wonderful place. It has a rich history that most don't know about... someday I will try to give it to you in a nutshell. For now I am typed out!

8 comments:

Unknown said...

Ooooh, I love this one, Nicki! I think your skies are just as interesting as some of your reflections. You make them so interesting. Love it, love it, love it.



I hope you get some more painting done this week ... you're in the zone!
Love you so much!
JJ

ps Uncle Dale is really keen to help Sammy and Erik with the comic ... it is so adorable I could scream.

Pierre Raby said...

Hi Nicki. I enjoy the peaceful mood created with those rough brushstrokes and subbtle tonals. Spontaneously rendered with your generous style, this painting expresse a lot. Inspiring location too. "fish jumping everywhere..." wow, what a blessing!
-Pierre

Nicki said...

Hi JJ,

Thanks man! I appreciate it! You still have to come by and see them all in person.

XO Nicki



Hi Pierre,

Wow, thank you so much for such kind words. And it is true, everything about the location is inspirational; the sounds, the sights, the people, the food. I know it is a place you would love.

Take care,
Nicki

Barbara Muir said...

Super painting. I like the move to gray, and the surprise of deep red in the clouds. As for jumping fish, they were probably excited because a wonderful painter was so close they could almost shake fins with her.

XOBarbara

-Don said...

What an idyllic place! No wonder you were inspired to make such wonderful art.

-Don

Nicki said...

Ha! I'm not sure that is why they were jumping Barbara, but thanks for the compliment!

Enjoy your new piano!

Nicki


Hi Don,

Yes, it is magical. I'll be posting a few more pics of the campus soon.

Nicki

Anonymous said...

a beautiful piece NIcki!

Nicki said...

Thanks Rahina!