Sunday, February 20, 2011

Moving Sky

Moving Sky
14 x 4"
2001
acrylic on 200 lb paper
© Nicki Ault, 2011 
sold

Whew, I've been sick! This last week was a complete write-off! I don't remember the last time I slept so much. I am now emerging from my NyQuil induced haze and I finally have some energy back. Today, with that energy came some early spring cleaning. My kitchen and it's lack of functionality has been making me mental lately- actually I've been feeling like that about my entire house. I seriously wish I could be on the show "Love It or List It" - I'm pretty sure that Hilary could get me to love my house again. Anyway, after a week of NyQuil daydreams about a better situation in the kitchen, I decided to use my new-found energy to start to make it happen! I purged, I recycled, I scrubbed, I compiled, I sorted.... and I chuckled... when I found a film canister of shark teeth at the back of a drawer. Life with little boys is never dull.
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Obviously I didn't make it to the studio this past week, so today's painting is coming out of the archives. I did this en plein air the second year I ever went to the Emma Lake Kenderdine Campus. I had to work fast on this one because the sky and clouds kept moving. It is owned by the son of a family I used to work for waaaaaay back when. He had a real appreciation for gray and how it is so not a boring "colour". When he chose the painting we had a conversation about how gray can actually be any colour. It's true- and so cool.

8 comments:

Judy Adamson said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Judy Adamson said...

I really love this one, Nicki, and it's not the first I've noticed your ability to work miracles with grey! (Anyone can do 'bright'!)

Hope my first attempt, where I left out a vital word actually gets deleted! Couldn't find a way to edit it.:(

Nicki said...

Thanks Judy. I've really enjoyed painting gray skies and looking for those subtle shifts of colour within the grays.

Looks like your efforts to delete your comment with the typo worked!

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Nicki,

Well grey can be boring, but not when you use it. This is an amazing painting -- so much light and colour in the green, and the bright space below. The truth is that it's hard for any colour to be boring in skilled hands. You've got that, talent and a brilliant eye.

Superb!

XOBarbara

Nicki said...

Hi Barbara,

Well those are very generous remarks! I do thank you- I'm glad you find this one exciting. I'm always a bit sad that the paintings never look as good on the computer as they do in person. I'm glad this one seems to translate for you.

Hugs,
Nicki

Anonymous said...

great colour handling Nicki, and sorry to hear you weren't well. i'm down with a flu-ey thing at the moment too.

Nicki said...

Hi Rahina,

Thank you! I hope you are feeling better soon... get lots of rest.

Take care,

Nicki

Linny D. Vine said...

This is a beauty, Nicki!