Hannah Phelps

2012 Landscape Calendars

2011-09-21T14:42:00.000-04:00

The wait is over!

2012 Landscape Calendars are Here!

Feast your eyes on a new image every month with this delightful calendar. Each page is a high-quality digital print re-created from my original oil paintings.

Enjoy the calendar all year and beyond as each archival print can be framed as a unique, heartfelt gift to commemorate a special event in 2012!

The calendar is 8.5” x 11” and fits in a standard frame. At the end of each month, you replace one landscape painting with a new one!

I am offering folded acrylic frames again too!

Only $35 for twelve high-quality reproductions of my original landscape paintings! Add a frame for $12.

These calendars are a huge hit every year! Friends and family love receiving these images as gifts and you will love keeping one for yourself!

I will have calendars available for purchase at the following events in 2011:

All Dogs Agility USDAA Trial

October 1-2

8 am - 4 pm

All Dogs Gym

505 Sheffield Road

Manchester, NH 03103

Portsmouth Open Market

October 23 & 30

10 am - 4 pm

Strawbery Banke Museum

14 Hancock Street

Portsmouth, NH 03801

NH Open Doors

November 5 & 6

9 am - 5 pm

Hannah Phelps Fine Art

325 Twin Bridge Road

New Boston, NH 03070

Or click here to purchase your calendar today!

Have questions? Contact me at hannah@hannahphelps.com!

All images © Hannah Phelps
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White-line Woodcuts Here and There

2011-08-04T16:23:00.000-04:00

Woodblock for Calm Day at Fort Stark

This weekend I will be in Silver Spring, MD to attend the opening of the 14th Annual Small Works Exhibit at the Washington Printmakers Gallery.

My print, Calm Day at Fort Stark, will hang with a few dozen others that were chosen by juror Robert K. Newman of The Old Print Shop in New York City. Newman is giving a talk at the reception and I am excited to hear what he has to say about his selections. I am also looking forward to seeing the other prints!

As a bonus, alongside National Small Works 2011 is a solo exhibition last year’s winner, Kiyomi Baird.

If you are in the DC area, come by and see me at the Washington Printmakers Gallery at one o’clock on Saturday!

In case that isn’t enough printmaking news for you, in July I created a couple of white-line woodcut prints outside in Odiorne Point State Park during the Petite Art in the Park event - a week-long invitation to create artwork within the park. Since there aren't many more beautiful places on Earth and I loved the print I made last year(click here to see it), I pushed myself to create two this year:

Low Tide Seat

"plein air" white-line woodcut print, 6" x 9" - SOLD

Wave on a Perfect Day at Odiorne Point State Park

"plein air" white-line woodcut print, 6" x 9"

Lots of activity in the past month or so, which is great! I think that old famous song line should be changed to “Summertime and the living is BUSY.”

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Dog Days - Summertime!

2011-06-22T14:45:00.000-04:00

First Beach Day

oil on canvas, 6" x 8"

It is officially summer and time to head to the beach.

My Golden Retriever, Coast, is 18 months old now - this is a painting from his first day at the ocean over a year ago. I named him “Coast” partly because the seacoast is such an important part of my life and my art.

Also, his mother's name is Beach and his AKC registered name is Pine Run's Shore Thing. As I have said in a previous post, dog people like me can be funny about naming our puppies.

But the number one reason that I chose “Coast” as a name is because I hope he “coasts through life” and I want “the coast to be clear” whenever he endures a health check of some kind.

The painting above shows a puppy experiencing his first crashing waves, not afraid really, but cautious.

You can see a completely different Coast in the photo below - leaping across a rocky chasm to catch up with his big sister, Hatrick:

May he fly fearlessly for years to come.

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Making Art with Bears

2011-06-15T07:55:00.000-04:00

Portrait of a Friend

white-line woodcut

Spring is a good time to learn something new. That is why I very recently traveled up to Lyme, NH for the three day "Introduction to Japanese Color Woodblock Printmaking" workshop with Matthew Brown at his studio.

If you want to learn about creating Japanese prints, this is the workshop to take. In three days, Matt helps all of the students create a small print and learn tips and tricks about materials, carving, pigments, printing, paper, process - just about everything. If you don't have time for the workshop, Matt's website has some great information and links along with pictures of his spectacular prints.

Eventually, I will explain how Japanese color prints inspired some artists in Provincetown, MA to develop their own style of color woodblock prints in the early 1900's. Now known as white-line woodcuts or white-line relief, this is the method I have been using for the woodblock prints you have seen on this blog over the past couple of years. (To see more, click here.) I took Matt's workshop because I thought it was time to explore the origins of white-line woodcuts for myself.

Yes, you will be able to see some prints on this blog sometime soon. In the meantime, I'm going to tell you a story about something else spring is good for in NH - Black Bear Sightings.

On the first day of the workshop, Matt said that he found one of his honey buckets across the road from the barn, where he knew he had left them.

Matt suspected a bear was the culprit.

That afternoon, he went outside to see why his dog was barking. He came right back in and asked us if we wanted to see a bear. We all went outside and there she was - across the road looking back at us. We know it was a she because she had two tiny cubs with her. She didn't seem worried even though we were very close. The cubs scrambled up and down the trees and she just kept an eye on us. After a few minutes, they all left and we went back to our printmaking.

I have seen bears before, but this was the best view I'd ever had of a mother and her cubs. I considered myself lucky to have seen the family relaxed and playing.

The next morning I went for a walk before breakfast. On my way back, I thought someone's dark, tailless dog was walking ahead of me, but I quickly realized that it was the bear. Then I saw the cubs sort of playing around her in the road. They were going in the same direction and I wasn't very close, so I thought I would be ok following from a distance and enjoying another baby bear show.

My plan worked until I kicked a stick accidentally and the noise spooked her. She looked back and saw me. The cubs climbed up some trees very noisily and that was the last I heard from them the whole time. They didn't make a peep up there. I stopped still and she lost track of me and started moving off the road.

She ended up sitting with her face to the road, like a sentinel. I thought that if I stayed still, she would decide it was better to leave with the babies, but she didn't.

After quite a while of waiting, I tried walking slowly down the road to see if maybe she would be cool with me, like the day before (when we had been much closer) or at least see me and make an informed decision to head off into the woods. Nope. She started walking towards me. I stopped near a tree and she lost me again and went back to her sentry spot.

I waited about 10 minutes. I was late for breakfast, I hadn't told anyone I was taking a walk and I was getting nervous that I could be stuck there for a while, so I finally decided to go into the woods and give her and the road a wide berth. I couldn't see her from the woods and when I got back on to the road, she was still there, looking right at me. She didn't come after me, so I just quickly walked back to Matt's house, glad that I didn't try to wait her out.

I survived my bear encounter, but I think it changed me a little. The family of black bears and my new printmaking knowledge are tied together permanently. You will have to stay tuned to see what that might mean.

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Playing Dirty

2011-05-16T12:38:00.000-04:00

Painting Everything Red

oil on canvas, 8" x 8"

What is Hatrick doing with my paintbrush? Oh no, it is loaded with red paint! Maybe I can get it before -

AHHHHH, Hattie! Stop! You are making a mess!!

Oh well, if this becomes the label for the Mutt Lynch Winery’s 2011 limited edition wine, maybe I won’t mind the new decor.

Hatrick and I have entered this image in the 3rd Annual Dog Art Wine Label Contest hosted by Dog Art Today and Mutt Lynch Winery. If this painting is chosen, Hattie’s face will appear on 500 bottles of a very special blend the winery sells to benefit their local Healdsburg Animal Shelter.

This year, the contest has a theme - “Naughty”. Think Hattie is naughty enough to win?

You can VOTE for this painting at Dog Art Today!

Of course, enjoy the other 100 entries once you have clicked the link. At the top and bottom of the page there are "Click Here to vote" links- the site tells you what to do.

Painting Everything Red is number 80.

Voting is open from today, May 16th, to next Saturday, May 21st at midnight PST. The rule is “One computer, one vote”, so if you really love it you could find extra computers and vote multiple times if you want....

The prize includes a CASE of the wine. Maybe the winner of this contest would have a dog art party and serve some of this wine when it is ready to drink?

I guess there is only one way to find out, folks:

If you like the painting, vote for it at Dog Art Today!!

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Mother's Day Blog Hop

2011-05-11T11:29:00.001-04:00

Special Occasion

white-line woodcut

She was wearing a red polka-dotted dress underneath her warm home-made hooded sweater and fleece blanket. Maybe she started to fuss because she was hot swaddled in all those layers, but maybe she wanted to show off her dress.

It was the first time she had worn it - to Gramma’s 66th birthday dinner at a fancy restaurant. She stared wide-eyed at the wine, the antipasto, and the fresh bread as if she wished she was old enough to eat that instead of her liquid dinner.

She looked good in the little dress, of course. At three months old she could hardly look bad in anything. Plus, it is good to dress up to go out for a special occasion.

This dinner was very special - just the “girls”. Gramma, two daughters and one baby granddaughter. The only grandchild out for the first of many birthday dinners with her gramma.

Gramma was one of her first friends and, along with her mom, would always be one of her best friends. That is always something to celebrate.

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This is my contribution to Claudine Intner's Mother's Day Blog Hop. I hope you have been following along on the blogs listed below. If not, there is time to catch up and enter to win a really cool collage from Claudine - but only if you start hopping now!

- May 1st - Claudine Intner http://www.intner.net/blog
- May 2nd - Melissa Liban http://melissalibanillustrations.blogspot.com/
- May 3rd - Lynn Krawczyk http://fibraartysta.blogspot.com/
- May 4th - Ishita Bandyo http://www.ishitabandyoarts.blogspot.com/
- May 5th - Jeri Greenberg  http://www.Jerigreenbergart.blogspot.com
- May 6th - Kathleen Mattox http://mixedmessagesbykathleenmattox.blogspot.com/
- May 8th - Amanda Ruth http://bunnycarrots.blogspot.com/
- May 9th - Judi Hurwitt http://approachable-art.blogspot.com/
- May 10th - Kathleen Murphy http://kathleenmurphydesigns.blogspot.com/
- May 11th - Hannah Phelps http://hannahphelpsgallery.blogspot.com/
- May 12th - Helen Hiebert http://helenhiebertstudio.blogspot.com/

- May 14th - Hannah Klaus Hunter http://hannahklaushunter.blogspot.com/
- May 15th - Claudine Intner http://www.intner.net/blog/

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Coast in Contour

2011-05-02T12:05:00.000-04:00

pen in sketchbook

Here’s Coast relaxing enough for me to draw him for The Sketchbook Project, which I can’t take for granted. During the sketchbook period, he wasn’t even a year old yet, so he rarely stayed still. There is a reason I have way more drawings of 4 year old Hatrick.

pen in sketchbook

But here are two. If you want to see them in person, The Sketchbook Project is now at the Brooklyn Art Library in New York before it heads out to Seattle for the next stop on its tour.

If the concept of filling out an assigned sketchbook to go on tour sounds like fun, you can certainly do it too - sketchbooks for next year’s exhibit are available now:

http://www.arthousecoop.com/projects/sketchbookproject

Just pick a theme and get started! I am going to do this again, but I am having trouble deciding on a theme.

Any ideas?

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Immersing Children in Water

2011-04-26T11:19:00.001-04:00

Detail of Big Wave Day

oil on canvas

Great things are happening this coming summer!

The Children’s Museum of New Hampshire has asked me for a few paintings for their upcoming group exhibit: Water - Blue Gold: Essential to All Life on Earth.

Tess Feltes, an artist herself and the curator of the Museum’s fine art space, Gallery 6, describes the show as “centered around this question, ‘Which is more precious - water or gold?’ You might predict a child would choose ‘gold’ but before answering, we are asking visitors to consider the facts outlined in the exhibit.”

All of the artwork will feature water in some way. Some of it will be serious, but there will be some fun too - like a dog playing in the ocean perhaps....?

The Children’s Museum of NH has interactive exhibits all over the museum, but Gallery 6 - the central corridor that slopes from the first to second floors - is dedicated to fine art.

The current exhibit, Black and White, showcases pen and ink drawings, photographs, scratchboard prints, collages and other interesting, colorless work. Tools of the trade hang next to artwork with explanations about how artists use pencils, brushes and other accessories to express an idea without using hue.

Children and their parents can rush from one game-like console to the other without looking at the artwork if they wish.

But more likely, something catches their interest and they stop and study a piece and maybe wonder how it was done. Or where or by whom. And that starts them thinking about the process of art just as they wonder about the task of digging a dinosaur skeleton out of the ground or how a tiny seed becomes a giant tree.

To experience the magic of science and art for yourself despite your calendar age, be sure to visit Water: Blue Gold this summer!

The Children's Museum of New Hampshire

6 Washington Street

Dover, NH 03820

May 25 - Labor Day 2011

Reception: June 1st 5:30 - 7 pm

Psst: I promise that there will be delicious adult beverages at the reception....

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Who Do I Think I Am?

2011-03-31T16:54:00.000-04:00

Winter Color Study

oil on board, 12" x 16"

More snow is coming to New Hampshire and I am thinking about how this winter has been particularly cruel to quite a few people I know and care about.

In the last couple of months, my father was in and out of the hospital for breathing problems. His health continued to deteriorate and now he is gone.

During a brief stint at home between hospital visits, Dad was hooked to an oxygen machine and couldn’t leave the house. “I know how a leashed dog feels”, he told me over the phone.

Meanwhile, an artist I know reported that he broke his ankle after slipping on an icy driveway. He won’t be painting for a few months.

Another painting friend of mine hurt her knee and needs to take it easy for a while.

I know more than a few folks who have been bed-ridden with illness in the past few months.

And I also remember people I’ve loved who lost their mobility, sight, hearing, and even their minds to old age. They lost their ability to do the things they had enjoyed their whole lives.

So even though I don’t really feel like it, I’ve painted some landscapes, learned a new printmaking technique, competed in an agility trial and attended my figure drawing class.

Because I can. My limbs are healthy. I have nearly perfect eyesight. I breathe freely and easily. Who am I to take any of this for granted?

Even though I didn’t feel like it, I recently cross-country skied in the melting, squishy slush and I am going to ski on the snow that is on its way now.

Because despite what those in New England think right now, the snow won’t last forever.

And apparently neither will I.

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More Contour Dogs from the Sketchbook Project

2011-03-04T11:37:00.000-05:00

pen contour drawing in sketchbook

Here are two contour drawings of Hatrick from The Sketchbook Project. I explained the concept of contour drawing and my participation in The Sketchbook Project in this post last week.

Hattie is quite an accomplished model and has previoiusly appeared in: Digging to Australia, Back with the Ball, Dog in a Ball and Pup Aware.

pen drawing in sketchbook

Right now, the sketchbooks are on display at The Brooklyn Art Library. Then they are making their way to the SPACE Gallery in Portland, ME.

Not much new to say about these drawings. It is easier to draw dogs when they are sleeping, so you are going to see a lot of lying down type poses like these.....

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Chilly River

2011-02-28T11:21:00.000-05:00

W.I.P. of Water in Two States, Piscataquog River

oil on board, 14" x 18"

I painted outside the other day for the first time this winter. I've been busy creating inside as the snow piles up outside my windows - working on some big canvases from outdoor studies and carving/inking more white-line woodblocks.

Friday, New Hampshire got smacked with another storm. The next day the fresh snow was too much for me to ignore any longer and I had to get out there with my easel. Despite what everyone around here fears, this stuff isn’t going to be around forever and I need to paint it while it lasts.

I’ve shared the result at the top of this post. The Piscataquog River runs through my town, so short trips in any direction offer nice views of it. The painting still needs work, but I am pleased with what I have so far.

I cheated a bit with a trick I’ve wanted to try for a while. Before I left the studio, I used a photo of the river that I took a week ago to draw some thumbnails. I picked one to enhance into a value study and then drew that composition right onto my painting surface. When I arrived at the painting spot, I could just set up and paint without worrying about designing the picture. I already knew what my overall value play would be and where I wanted the river. With that shortcut, I was able to get a really good start on a mid-sized surface in an hour and fifteen minutes.

And yes, I did get cold and that is why I stopped. This is a bit frustrating, because I do know better. I was wearing my fashionable navy blue quilted coveralls, so my body was toasty, but my toes and fingers were numb and hurting. I have good boots and good socks, but I don’t have the special boots painter, Stapleton Kearns, recommends. I meant to get a pair for this year, but I haven’t yet. Maybe next winter.

I know how to keep my hands warm, but I rushed out without the proper gear. If you want to try painting outside but are afraid your hands will get too cold, the trick is to wear a sturdy heavy mitten on your rag hand because you don’t need dexterity to wipe a brush. On your brush hand, wear a thin or fingerless glove and keep a chemical warming pouch in your pocket to easily warm up your fingers when needed. Wristies work really well too, because they sort of collect heat in a little aura around your fingers.

Another great tip a little league coach once told me is to smear moisturizer or petroleum jelly on your hands and use latex gloves to keep warm without getting too clumsy. He said it was the best way to keep a grip on baseballs and bats during early spring practices. It works for brushes too. Plus, your skin will be silky soft when you are done, if you care about that sort of thing.

Winter seems to be sticking around, so you may as well go outside and try to enjoy it....

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Contour Dogs

2011-02-24T10:19:00.000-05:00

Contour Drawing of Coast

pen

Back in November, I signed up for The Sketchbook Project. (You may have noticed the logo on the sidebar...) The rules are wonderfully simple: order a Moleskine sketchbook, pick a theme, fill your sketchbook with anything you like (loosely related to your theme), send the sketchbook back to the sponsor, the Art House Co-op, and follow it online as it tours around the country for a year before landing in its permanent home in the Brooklyn Art Library. Doesn’t that sound fun?

Some people use their sketchbooks to do very finished pieces. There are folks who take all the pages out so they can sew in their favorite paper. I hear that people even put one giant poster in there, cleverly folded to fit in the book when it is closed.

Well, I didn’t futz with the pages (mostly because I don’t know how to sew) and I used the book in a more traditional sense. When artists go out with sketchbooks to draw, we are often playing with ideas or practicing drawing certain forms. Sticking pretty closely to my theme, “Raining Cats and Dogs”, I completed about 40 contour drawings of three Golden Retrievers - my Hatrick and Coast, and my sister’s dog Geraldine.

The term “contour drawing” means drawing the outside of the form. It is an exercise for learning to focus on looking hard at a subject in order to represent it accurately. Originally, I learned to do “blind contours” which meant looking only at the subject and not at all on the paper. In pure blind contours, the pencil doesn’t leave the paper, creating a continuous line as the eye follows the edge of the form.

Not always the outside edge - it could be any edge. For example, when I am drawing Coast’s face I might start with the outline created between his lip and the floor, but as his lip wrinkles a little and I can see some evidence of the structure of his nose, I leave the lip and continue my line into the interior of his face. That is how the eyes and nose and all that end up with detail. I am pretending that the pen is following the form in 3D..

With The Sketchbook Project, I bent the rules a bit.
Hey, it’s MY sketchbook after all. So I did allow myself to peek at my paper. But not too much. The point of contour drawing is to look most often at what you are drawing and not at what you are creating. I draw my dogs because I am trying to learn more about them and contour drawing allows me to do that in a wonderful way. I have to trace their shapes with my pen just as I would stroke them with my hand. Most of the drawings have a bit of the essence of the dog's personality. Some of them are really weird, but that is fun too.

In case you are wondering - “Didn’t the dogs move?” Well, of course they did. They are highly paid, but they don’t really get the modeling thing. So they move. If it is early enough in the drawing, I just keep going and don’t worry that there are lines to nowhere. If it is a bit later into the drawing, I stop and start a new one.

Here is the secret - if I am working with the same three dogs all the time and I spend a lot of time around them, chances are I am going to see that pose again. So I just wait and finish it when they settle into a similar position.

I will share most of the sketchbook drawings here on the blog, including some of the odd ones. And you can see them in person, when you visit The Sketchbook Project in a city near you!

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The Uncertainty Principle

2011-02-09T11:11:00.000-05:00

Study done on Monhegan Island

oil on canvas, 3.75" x 8"

A couple of weeks ago, fellow artist Dora Ficher interviewed me for her blog. First off, she asked me to explain how someone who studied physics in college became an artist. Dora wasn’t the first person to wonder about this. If you share her curiousity, you will probably enjoy the interview. I know you will like Dora's artwork on her website!

The rest of the story is that I am not a physicist now, but there are some things that I learned while playing with lasers and listening to lectures that I think about all the time - especially when I am creating art.

One of these things is the Uncertainty Principle.

While I don’t bully my way through complex calculus equations anymore, I am kind of geeky, so I can still refer to the physics texts I have kept from college. Here is a quote:

“...experiment cannot simultaneously determine the exact value of a component of momentum, px say, of a particle and also the exact value of its corresponding coordinate, x. Instead, our precision of measurement is inherently limited by the measurement process itself such that:

∆px ∆x ≥ hbar/2” *

What this means is that scientists can’t know how fast something is moving and where it is at the same time.
The act of measuring one of those things changes the other. In this case they are specifically talking about subatomic particles like electrons.

WAIT!! Where are you going?!

Don’t just assume you won’t get this because it is physics!! You are probably smarter than you give yourself credit for, so bear with me!!

Because this is actually a mind-numbing, reality altering discovery that does affect you even if you think you don’t get it! Everything in the universe is made out of subatomic particles - including the landscape and including you and me. And the teeny tiny things that we are made of cannot be witnessed without being altered.

Haven’t you experienced that? Have you ever felt that while you are observing something, you are actually kind of missing it too?

This is when I feel it: Landscape artists use the phrase “capture a moment” all the time - especially plein air painters. I use it myself. But the truth is that while any of us are painting a scene, that very act prevents us from really looking at the truth all around us.

While I am looking in one direction, I have no idea what is going on behind me at the same time. When I watch one wave breaking, I then can’t paint that exact wave because it is gone. If I take a photo of that wave, I can’t track its motion. This makes our art exactly what our life is - a composite of memories of what we were focusing on one second at a time.

And this doesn’t just apply to art or electrons: Sometimes at dog agility trials, a fellow competitor will hand me a video camera so I can tape her dog on course. Whenever I am asked to do this, I am shocked at how little I remember from my friend’s run. I obviously saw the whole thing through the camera, but I can’t tell her which bar came down or if the judge called a fault - I have as little idea about what really happened out there as if I wasn’t watching at all. That is because I wasn’t “watching” it. I was making sure the dog was in the shot and playing with the zoom.

I sacrificed witnessing an event in order to record it.

This knowledge is why I don’t mind when I forget to bring my camera on painting trips. As a matter of fact, I often leave it home on purpose. I know that if I really want to experience the salt air, the warmth of the sun and the good company of my painting buddies, I can’t do it through a lens. I have to see it and feel it. And risk changing it all with my presence.

* Eisberg, Robert and Resnick, Robert. Quantum Physics of Atoms, Molecules, Solids, Nuclei, and Particles. Second Edition. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1985, p. 65

Winter Show Off

2011-02-01T15:50:00.001-05:00

Odiorne Rocks! and a gorgeous bouquet

Prints of the Year Exhibit, Concord, NH

Last Thursday, I joined a bunch of other artists and art enthusiasts at the Prints of the Year reception. This exhibit is curated by Parker Potter and celebrates New Hampshire printmakers in the UNH Law Center in Concord, NH. The Concord Garden Club created flower arrangements to accompany the prints hanging all over the Law Center. Above is one of my white-line woodcuts, “Odiorne Rocks!” with a beautiful arrangement by Patty Humphrey and Elaine Tefft.

If you are interested in seeing an astounding variety of prints, this is the show to see. There are eighty-three pieces including lithographs, Japanese style woodblocks, etchings, silkscreens, monotypes, linoleum reliefs mezzotints and combinations of all these processes all in one place.

Granite Composition

white-line woodcut print, 10" x 14"

Prints of the Year

One art reception isn’t really enough for one week, so on Friday I went to McGowan Fine Art, also in Concord, to celebrate the opening of the Love, Lust and Desire exhibit. Art that fits in 8.5” x 11” plastic sleeves cover the walls of the gallery. Sixty artists created “low fat alternative Valentines” for this show.

Homemade Somebunny to Love

white-line woodcut print, 6" x 5.25"

Love, Lust and Desire

So if it stops snowing for a day or two and you feel like getting out of the house, head over to Concord and enjoy the exhibits.

Prints of the Year will be on display until April 1, but if you want to see both shows at one time you only have until February 12 to get to Love, Lust and Desire!

A Better Way to Jump the Shark

2011-01-21T11:47:00.000-05:00

View from Robert's House

oil on canvas, 6" x 12"

Quite a few months ago, a friend invited me to attend a panel discussion with her. The event, entitled “Surviving and Thriving in the Art World”, included some of New Hampshire’s best known artists, a gallery owner and a museum curator - all individuals I consider successful in their fields. If they were going to divulge their secrets to success in the art world, I was interested.

The moderator led the discussion with a pretty general question: “What is your number one advice for artists?”

The answer was a very long conversation between two of the panelists, a well-respected painter and the museum curator, about how horribly unfair the “art world” is and how hard it is for an artist to get their work noticed because of the skewed definition of what “art” is these days exemplified by the formaldehyde shark piece by Damien Hirst.

I was feeling inspired already.

Then some of the other artists recounted their early days when they had no health insurance and wondered how they were going to feed their children. Teachers and school systems were blamed for not adequately educating children about the value of art. And then more depressing stories about rejection, lack of funds and horrible day jobs to earn any money at all (including hated teaching gigs).

There was a tiny mention of committing to your craft and keeping the passion for what you do to sustain you through the tough times.

Then some more talk about the formaldehyde shark and sensationalism replacing serious works of art in museums, galleries and public spaces, making it hard for a real artist to scrape out a living.

You don’t want to end an evening like this on the wrong note, after all.

I am not going to tell you who any of these people were or where the panel was located. I respect all of them and the work that they do. And, in my personal experience with many of them, they are nice, generous folks. But they disappointed me that evening.

I don’t need to go out of my way to have a debate about what art is or isn’t or who should get public funding and who shouldn’t or any other related topic.
I hang out with artists all the time. I can have this conversation all day, everyday with a very willing audience. I know where to find the blogs and websites devoted to this very issue - those that find no value in the type of work I do because it is unimaginative and “too easy” to “copy” my environment and those that rage against all the conceptual, post-modern “crap” that demeans Art and steals resources from “real artists”.

And you know what? I spend zero time looking at those sites, reading any articles about any of this or engaged in conversations about the definition of “art”.

Do I think that a lot of people are spending too much money on terrible art?
Yeah, I really do. Do I care? Not really. Anyone who is going to spend millions of dollars on rotting food sculptures, portraits made out of found heroin needles or toilet installations probably wouldn’t buy one of my landscapes anyway. That type of art enthusiast usually doesn’t respect the work I create any more than I would want a tour of their personalized collection.

The art world has split in two. That other half has nothing to do with me, so I don’t pay any more attention to it than I do golf tournaments, NASCAR or entertainment “news”.

It is easy to sit around and blame a corrupt and unfair system full of ignorance and spite for your lack of success. In any field.
It is harder to ignore all that buzz, find the individuals and communities who will appreciate you and your work, and get down to business. You can spend your energy getting upset about a $12 million dollar dead shark at the Met. I have art to make.

Lovin' 2011

2011-01-05T12:23:00.000-05:00

Stuffed Puppylove

white-line woodcut print

6.5" x 6.5" approximate image size

I hope you are already having a wonderful New Year!

I can tell you definitively that I am, because my artwork is already in THREE shows in January!

While you can always check the sidebar on the right to see where my art is on display, here is a quick overview of this months events:

Love, Lust and Desire
January 25 - February 12
Reception Friday, January 28th, 5-7 pm
(Snow date: Feb 4)

This is McGowan Fine Art's Third Annual Valentine Show, so all the work is a perfect gift-giving size (under 8.5" x 11"). If you are looking for a "heartfelt" present for that special someone, this is the show for you. I will have three prints in this show, including the one above.

Prints of the Year
January 10 - April 1

This exhibit at the Pierce Law Center in Concord, NH showcases work by New Hampshire printmakers created in 2010. Last year, I enjoyed attending this show and seeing the seemingly endless examples of what "printmaking" can mean.

This year, I can't wait to see what my fellow New Hampshire artists have accomplished. I am also proud to be showing alongside them with two white-line woodcuts. Look forward to more info about this exhibit soon!

Precious
until January 21

This small works exhibit at Soo Rye Art Gallery in Rye, NH is up for a couple more weeks, so there is still time to see my oil paintings there.

This may seem like enough to do for now, but there are even more projects in the works. You can keep checking back here for the latest news, but if you want to make sure to hear about exhibits, receptions (who doesn't want a little wine and cheese now and then?) and other events, sign up for my new email newsletter!

Click here to visit my website and sign up!

**I promise I won't share your information with anyone ever!!**

PS. Also, brand new this year is the Facebook "like" button below. Just another way to express yourself...

Get Your Shopping Done in Southern Maine This Weekend!

2010-12-07T17:10:00.001-05:00

Big Wave Day, York

oil on canvas, 11" x 14"

This Saturday, December 11th, I will be joining artist Wendy Turner at her studio in Kittery Point, ME for the Kittery Holiday Art Walk.

We will both have new paintings for everyone to see, along with plein air studies, prints and work offered for, let's say "nice, gift-giving" prices. Of course, I will have my 2011 Images of New England Calendars too, so come by and pick one up!

Wendy and I have been painting together off and on for more than three years and I am very excited to be exhibiting with her again. Sometimes, we stand right next to each other when we paint on site, so it will be interesting for you to compare our styles and the way we express our vision of the coast.

The address is 621 Haley Road, Kittery Point, ME 03905 - I can't wait to see you!

Number One Tip for Plein Air Success

2010-11-19T12:06:00.000-05:00

Rocks in the Grey and Quiet
oil on canvas, 12" x 12"

I have all too often driven over an hour for a plein air painting trip only to realize that I have forgotten something critical. Try painting on location without brushes, canvas, paper towels - I've even left my easel behind!

Trust me, even if you are a very organized person, the time will come that you will forget something, lose something or accidentally dump out your mineral spirits while setting up your easel.

The best way to avoid heartache in this situation is to paint with other artists. Leaving materials at home turns out to be no big deal because you can borrow something (or everything) from your buddies. As a plein air painter, you learn to be generous early in your career - you know you might be the one to forget your entire paint box next time.

Over the years I have borrowed and/or loaned:

brushes
paint
baseball cap
easels
canvas
paper towels
snacks
medium
gloves
sweatshirt
paper
hand warmers
pliers
viewfinder

Or you could run into a situation like I did yesterday when you have everything you need, but you wish your canvas was long and skinny.

Wistfully saying it out loud as I looked at the bright ocean before me, my buddy heard me and said, “I have a long one with me - want it?”

Not only did I get the perfect rectangle, but it was a Raymar panel - professionally mounted! I didn’t get something I NEEDED, I got something that just made the day better!

Of course I will make good on the loan, but I am not sure I can truly repay it. Using her unfamiliar canvas stretched my abilities. The pressure of making a nice painting out of the gift also helped me stick with it when I might otherwise just call the whole afternoon a “learning experience.” Like many plein air paintings, it didn’t get done on site, but it is a very good start to what may be a great painting!

Warm Reception

2010-11-16T18:08:00.000-05:00

Rye Town Beach Access

oil on canvas, 5" x 7"

Thank you to everyone who came to the opening reception for Precious at the Soo Rye Art Gallery in Rye, NH last Saturday! I hope you were able to see the artwork through all of the enthusiastic visitors!

This a large group show, so my five landscapes (including the one at the top of the post) are in good company. I knew that my friend, Soosen Dunholter, would have work on display but I was pleasantly surprised to also see some wonderful photographs by another friend, Susan Lirakis!

If you didn't get to the reception, you have time to see the exhibit, since it runs until January 21. I wouldn't wait too long if I were you, though. During the holidays, time flies and it will be January before you know it!

What To Do This Weekend

2010-11-05T12:22:00.000-04:00

Beach Waves

lithograph, 8.5" x 11.5" image size

This weekend the entire state is celebrating local arts, crafts and foods with NH Open Doors! Basically, most of the artists here in New Hampshire are hosting open studios both Saturday and Sunday. To find out if your favorite NH artists are opening their doors, follow the NH Open Doors link and check the map of studios. You can customize your own craft tour of New Hampshire!

If that favorite artist is me (I'm just saying...), you should come to the French Building of the NH Institute of Art from 10-5 on Saturday, November 6th or from 12-5 on Sunday, November 7th along with some of my printmaking colleagues and folks from the jewelry making program. All of us will have work there for sale and the printmakers will be actively working on the presses! If you want to see art in action, this is a great opportunity!

PS Here are two other printmakers who will be with me this weekend at the NH Institute of Art, but there will be others too!

Soosen Dunholter

Jane Grant Tentas

Images of New England 2011 Calendar

2010-11-04T14:53:00.002-04:00

The Images of New England 2011 Calendars are ready!

Every month is a print from one of my oil paintings, ready to frame and add beauty to your or a loved one's home!

These calendars are GREAT GIFTS that will last all year!

What exciting events are coming up for you and your friends and family this year?

New baby? 25th anniversary? 16th, 30th, 65th or 38th birthday?

After 2011 is over, each page makes a unique commemorative gift for any special occasion!

Just frame an individual month for the perfect reminder of any celebration!

These calendar pages fit in any standard 8.5" x 11" frame, like the simple box frame above.

Or purchase this folded acrylic frame with your calendar!

To purchase Images of New England 2011 Calendars, visit the Calendar Shop Page!

Please email me at hannah@hannahphelps.com with any questions!

Lessons from the Dead

2010-10-31T21:02:00.001-04:00

Pumpkin Wave

photograph

Here are some words of wisdom, humor and commiseration from some of my favorite artists who are no longer with us. In the spirit of Halloween, there is a round coven of them.

"I never draw what a wave looks like, - I draw what it does."

- Charles H. Woodbury, American, died 1940

“Learn to look for essentials and you’ll find that both painting and life are simpler than you suppose.”

- Emil Gruppe, American, died 1978

“ By and large I see a mess; it’s always for me unbelievably complicated.”

- Neil Welliver, American, died 2005

"To use all this for my own expression. That counts above all. It will be my own or nothing. May be both!!!"

- Blanche Lazelle, American, died 1956

“Spring is merely a state of the mind."

- Charles Burchfield, American, died 1967

“In every picture I’ve painted there came a time when it was impossible to continue. There was a hill I couldn’t climb. It’s then when that pressure bears down on the solar plexus, that you must keep on!”

- Cecelia Beaux, American, died 1942

“My work is going badly.....I made an attempt in the field, but the moment I had set up my easel more than fifty boys and girls were swarming about me, shouting and gesticulating....On a boat one has another level of difficulty. Everything sways, there is an infernal lapping of water; one has the sun and the wind to cope with, the boats change position every minute....as a result of all this, I am not doing much....”

- Berthe Morisot, French, died 1895

“....the function of the artist in life: he must accept in deep singleness of purpose the manifestations of life in man and great in nature, and transform these into controlled, ordered and vital expressions of meaning.”

- Lawren Harris, Canadian, died 1970

“Know what the old masters did ...but do not fall into the conventions they established. They made their language - you make yours.”

- Robert Henri, American, died 1929

"It seems as if those shimmering seas can scarcely bear a hand’s touch. That which moves across the water is scarcely a happening...It’s more like a breath, involuntary and alive, coming, going, always there but impossible to hang on to...Only spirit can touch this."

- Emily Carr, Canadian, died 1945

“I don’t paint things, I paint the difference between things.”

- Henri Matisse, French, died 1954

“And so I started to try not to duplicate nature, but to endeavour to make my onions, etc., obey me, and not me them. To add my mind (aestheticism) to their contours and let my eyes be more controlled by my brain...”

- Margaret Preston, Australian, died 1963

“We are going after the money there is in art, but the art is there, all the same.”

- Louis Comfort Tiffany, American, died 1933

Rock On

2010-10-26T11:56:00.001-04:00

On the Shelf

6" x 6", oil on canvas

When most people use the expression “like a rock”, they mean something solid, permanent, unflappable. To most eyes, rocks don’t seem to change at all. Especially when we watch huge waves slam into them during a nor’easter or a hurricane. After the storm is done and the skies have cleared, the rocks are still there. And we are happy to see that - that amidst temporary madness, something has held fast and survived.

The constancy of rocks comforts me too. Every summer as a young kid, I could return to the completely familiar tapestry of rocks and tide pools, marsh grasses and sand bars in Rye, NH.

But I wasn’t that old when I realized that, while most rocks did remain at their stations over the winter, some did not. Huge boulders would be flipped 180 degrees, others would be yards away from their normal spots and still more would have disappeared altogether. Soon, the very first thing I would do when we arrived at “the beach” would be to run across the street to discover what had changed in my absence.

Becoming “like a rock” is staying put only most of the time. It means sometimes feeling a bit pushed around. It can even mean total upheaval at times.

When you find yourself upside down or leagues away from where you expected to be, just make sure to be the same rock you were before the storm hit.

This painting will be displayed at the Precious Exhibit at Soo Rye Art Gallery in Rye, NH beginning November 13, 2010!

Painting the Fall

2010-10-21T16:57:00.002-04:00

Loudon Marsh

8" x 6", oil on canvas

The wind has blown the leaves off the trees early this year, but there are still places where the colors are knockout bright. Outside my studio window I can see a neon pink that I hardly believe is natural.

All this color is lovely to look at, but really tough to paint well. One painter I know said, “You have to be careful with the changing leaves if you don’t want your painting to look like a bowl of Trix cereal.”

Of course, anything challenging is worth a try in my book, so I do usually paint a few fall scenes each year. Often, I tone down the outrageous orange and red. Sometimes, I just paint the crazy colors I see. Most of the latter end up as “studies” and don’t leave the studio again, since they end up looking like, well, a bowl of Trix cereal. I am still happy to paint them.

After all, this brilliance won’t last long. When all of New England is grey and brown after the leaves are gone but before the snow comes, we will all be missing this dramatic show!

Exhibit Announcement!

2010-10-15T13:38:00.004-04:00

oil on canvas, 6" x 6"

Newest news:

Five of my little paintings will be on display at the Precious exhibit at the Soo Rye Art Gallery in Rye, NH!

Precious opens on November 13th (reception from 5-7pm) and goes right into January 21st of next year! (There is more information about the gallery in the sidebar.)

This is pretty cool for me because Rye is the special place I went every summer with my family as a kid. My grandparents bought our beach cottage in the 1950’s, so my dad had been going there since he was 10! We were a short walk to the “sandy beach” and across the street from “the rocks”.

It was in Rye that I did my first wave watching and fell head over heels for the ocean and everything in it - animal, vegetable or mineral. I loved to swim in it, observe its movements, enjoy the ever changing colors and listen to its interaction with the shore. I attempted my first landscape there and have been trying to draw the darned place since I was a little kid.

I am glad to have some pieces depicting the beaches in Rye for the show, including the one at the top of the post. I’ll share more paintings from the exhibit in the coming weeks!

Help from My Friends

2010-10-12T17:35:00.001-04:00

Pumpkin with a View

8" x 12", oil on canvas

It is pumpkin time in York! Last week, I didn't paint any pumpkins - I started another rock/wave painting. It isn't ready for the public yet. But, since I mentioned the dogs last week, I thought I would share an example of how they “help” me when they accompany me on painting trips.

That is Hatrick on the left and Coast on the right. Coast's head is sorta between me and the rock I am trying to paint. It’s okay, he doesn't mind.

At one point I looked up and they were climbing all over my subject!

Warm days like this are becoming rare this year, so the three of us soaked up every minute of it.

The Right to Choose

2010-10-07T11:39:00.008-04:00

Swimming Lab

9" x 12", oil on canvas

I am painter. And a printmaker. Oh, and I also train for and compete in dog agility trials with my golden retrievers. Is this too much? Shouldn’t I focus on one thing and try to be the best at that?

This challenge, spoken and unspoken, came up quite a bit while I was with other artists in the past month. One great reason to hang out with professional colleagues is to exchange ideas. That doesn’t mean all the ideas are good, or at least good for me.

One of my painting friends asked me about my printmaking. I excitedly told her about the types I have done and the methods I can’t wait to try. I explained that so far I prefer my white-line reliefs, but I want to know as much about printmaking as possible.

She eventually said, “There are so many types of art I want to try, but I feel that I need to concentrate on painting.”

She isn’t alone. There was a lot of talk in the last month about the number of hours artists spend every week painting. When you reach 9 or 10 hours a day, 6 or 7 days a week, you are leaving little room for anything else, even other forms of artistic expression.

If printmaking is taking away from my development as an artist in the eyes of these people, imagine how they must feel about entire weekends spent competing in dog agility. When artists start asking questions about the sport, their interest is genuine. But whether they say it out loud or not, I know they are wondering if I can possibly be a serious artist if I spend so much time and money on my dogs.

So here’s my defense. For the record, I don’t really feel that I need one. If you are having trouble deciding between two or more fulfilling activities though, maybe reading some of my reasons for keeping all three will help:

- I am a better painter since I started printmaking. I am not sure exactly why or how this happened, but I have some guesses that would fill a whole new post.

- Because I hang out with printmakers and painters now, I hear about new exhibit opportunities for my paintings and prints.

I could do a year’s worth of posts about living with dogs. The dogs are staying and so is agility. The top three reasons for this are:

- I have learned skills from competing in agility that I use in my art life. Again, this topic could fill a few new posts.

- Some of my closest friends are from my agility life. We all know how precious a really good friend is no matter where or when you find them.

- “Agility people” were my first collectors. Dog portraits paid for the supplies I needed to learn to paint landscapes. Even if my agility contacts didn’t buy paintings like the one at the top of this post, the more people I can meet, the more likely I am to meet new art buyers.

Finally, here are a very few of the hundreds of notable artists who, like me, refused to choose:

Charles H. Woodbury was a very accomplished painter AND etcher

Pablo Picasso mastered many art forms, including printmaking, sculpture and painting

Aldro Hibbard was best known for his plein air paintings of New England scenes but he never gave up playing organized baseball

Blanche Lazelle is credited with bringing modern ideas like cubism to the US AND helped invent the white-line relief method of woodblock prints

And in contemporary times, artist Jack Johnson has successfully built a creative life combining competitive surfing and making music.

Geez, imagine how great these folks could have been if they had just picked something.

"I am working. Go thou and do likewise"

2010-09-17T18:25:00.001-04:00

Study of Hurricane Earl's waves on Monhegan Island

3.75" x 7.75", oil on canvas

American artist Jay Connaway posted the title of this post on his Monhegan studio door when he was off painting. Connaway lived on Monhegan Island, which is about 11 miles off the Maine coast, year round from 1931- 1947. In those 16 years, he became a master at painting surf. Last fall, the Portland Museum of Art held an exhibit of some of his paintings that, I am not ashamed to say, moved me to tears with their power.

I was recently on Monhegan Island for a much shorter time, but I spent most of it painting. So no blogging, no email, no facebook....you get the picture. Instead, I have a studio full of studies like the one posted above. I feel I have benefited from the temporary trade-off.

Artists have been inspired by Monhegan for decades. The ruggedness of the landscape, the accessibility of the surf for direct observation, the spectacular light and the dramatic loneliness of the place all contribute to its appeal. What I enjoyed most was having absolutely nothing to do but paint the whole time I was there!

I am happy to be home with my dogs and husband, but I am also delighted to report that I am leaving for another painting trip to Down East Maine tomorrow! So I can take all the momentum of my last outing and put it straight into more paintings.

Soon, I will share some more of the new work here. In the meantime, I'm "gone paintin'"!

How I Look

2010-08-16T20:46:00.002-04:00

Mount Monadnock

Abbot Handerson Thayer

Corcoran Gallery of Art

Originally I was going to use my trip to DC to write a post about how artists look at paintings. Between thinking of it and writing it however, Stapleton Kearns wrote his own 4-part treatise on the subject on his blog. Like most of his blog, the essays are very informative, so I suggest you read the series, "Looking Critically at Paintings". Not only will you learn something, you will end up laughing out loud.

What I can add to Stape's (he told me once that I could call him "Stape") instructions is specifically what I am looking at and for when I go to museums and that is mostly technical information. When standing in front of a painting, drawing or print (usually too close for the guards comfort), I am always asking, "How the heck did that he do that?"

This is why I made sure to visit the Corcoran Gallery of Art and their special exhibit Chuck Close Prints: Process and Collaboration. Since I stalk prints by masters and collect all the explanations about techniques that I can get, this show was HEAVEN!!

Chuck Close, an American artist best known for his huge portraits, has produced (alone and in cooperation with print shops) lithographs, etchings, mezzotints, Japanese-style woodblocks, linoleum reliefs, and silkscreens. Many of the pieces in the exhibit have the blocks and plates next to the finished print. There are also a few prints that are shown in different phases of the process. In the exhibit, Close and his collaborators tell you exactly how they created the prints!

That didn't make any of it seem easy. In fact, it made the pieces even more impressive.

After I left the print show, I let the painter in me look at some of the Corcoran's American art collection. That is where I caught up with some of my favorite landscape painters and the Thayer painting above. I took a picture of this painting because I love the chunky paint that helps create the light in the background. And I am in general a sucker for New Hampshire's Mount Monadnock as a subject, having used it as a model myself on occasion.

The Corcoran provided more than enough to look at in one day, so I returned to the hotel exhausted but happy and ready to plan Day 3!

Week at the Museums of Washington DC

2010-08-16T12:55:00.112-04:00

White Poodle in a Punt

George Stubbs

National Gallery of Art

When my husband was sent to Washington DC for professional training a few weeks ago, I jumped at the chance to go too. I know it can be horribly hot down there in July, but I also knew I would be inside almost the whole time looking at as much art as possible.

I ended up visiting 6 museums in 4 days!!! I returned to our hotel each evening exhausted and filled to the brim with visions of paintings, prints, drawings, films, and photos. Luckily, looking at art is part of my job!

Here are some of the highlights from my wonderful week:

Day 1: Hirshhorn in the AM

Part of the Smithsonian Institute, this museum is most famous for its sculpture collection. When I am there, I always try to visit some of my favorite paintings by Giorgio Morandi (Italian whose still lifes teach us that there is always something to paint).

On my way to the paintings, I encountered two featured exhibits. The first was the short film, Block B. This piece glued me to my seat for the full 20 minutes. One critic appropriately labeled this work "a living painting." I highly recommend seeing this wonderful little movie if you get the chance.

The second floor was filled with the work of Yves Klein. I walked quickly through these galleries without finding anything I care to see again. Judge for yourself - click his name for a link to the show.

Day 1: National Gallery of Art in the PM

After lunch I browsed through the Chester Dale Collection. I have seen many of these paintings multiple times before because it is the core of the Gallery's modern painting collection, but it was interesting to see them exhibited together. I also made sure to visit the rest of the permanent collection, including the Stubbs painting at the head of the post.

The absolute highlight of my first day was the German Master Drawings exhibit. Drawings are such a treat to see since they are fragile and must be carefully guarded from the elements by their museum stewards. As an artist, I am always fascinated by the hints of process and planning that the masters often reveal in their drawings.

This show is 6 rooms of drawings - figures, landscapes, sketches, plans...wonderful stuff. When I bought the catalog, the employee in the shop told me that they are going to have a similar exhibit of Italian drawings in the spring! I have already marked it on my calendar!

I saw all this great stuff and I was only on the first day of my trip! Wait until you read about what I saw on Day 2....

PS. The relative scarcity of drawings on display in museums is why I always visit the Armand Hammer Collection of the National Gallery. This is where the Gallery rotates a large collection of drawings including works by Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Durer, Ingres and hundreds of others.... you never know what treasure you might see in there!

Return to Painting

2010-08-02T20:36:00.002-04:00

Orchard View

8" x 6", oil on canvas

Every year, Canterbury Shaker Village invites NH Plein Air to paint on their grounds as part of their Mother Ann Day celebration. Artists paint until mid-afternoon, when their paintings are available for purchase and everyone eats birthday cake with Rosewater Frosting. Trust me, the cake alone made the day worthwhile, but the gorgeous weather and camaraderie with fellow painters was nice too.

I almost didn't go to the Village yesterday because last week I was in Washington, DC. I thoroughly exhausted myself by visiting 6 museums in 4 days!

It was good for me to paint right away my first day back after seeing so much masterful artwork! In the next few posts I will attempt to recreate my DC tour, so stay tuned....

Psst: While following the links to Canterbury Shaker Village, note that the painting on the home page was done by Yours Truly on Mother Ann Day two years ago. There is another picture of me (wearing a silly blue hat) working on it on another page!

What Makes Him Commit?

2010-07-23T15:50:00.002-04:00

Odiorne Rocks!

white-line woodblock print, 7" x 7"
second impression (the first impression sold at the event!)

I created this print last week during the Seacoast Science Center's Art in Nature exhibit. The SSC is on the grounds of Odiorne State Park in Rye, NH which happens to be where my husband and I held our wedding reception 12 years ago this weekend. It is fun to think of our guests enjoying this same view over a decade ago on what was a truly perfect day!

Even after knowing a person for 14 years, they can still surprise you. A couple of weeks ago, for example, I witnessed an amazing event.

I asked my husband to accompany me to another artist's reception. I doubted he would enjoy this, so I attempted to bribe him-"We'll stop by the reception, look at the photos, tell the artist how much we enjoyed the show and then go to your favorite restaurant." Well, this hooked him and off we went.

The gallery was packed and while it was hard to see around the commotion, we took a good look at each of the 20" x 30" photographs.

A few times, my husband went "missing" from my side and I found him in front the same photo each time. However, nothing seemed out of the ordinary to me. Even when he said things like, "I really love this," and "this one fascinates me."

We said our hellos and goodbyes to the artist and headed to the restaurant. Where he spent the entire dinner talking about the photograph.

At some point, I recognized what was occurring here-my husband was falling in love with a piece of art. I thought they were a good match, but I hesitated to push him into this relationship. I wanted him to make the decision on his own.

As his wife, I wanted him to buy the piece because it clearly made him happy.

As an artist, I took the opportunity to watch the transformation from admirer to buyer take place in front of my eyes.

This story has a happy ending: we returned to the reception after dinner (despite the advice of a flipped coin) and he bought the photo! Now everyone is happy-my husband, the photographer and me.

Now I want to figure out what happened that night-can I use what I witnessed to help people commit to a piece of my work?

When I ask my husband about his experience that night, I get this: "It spoke to me...When I looked at that photo, I saw...Sigh....Well, we have the money and I wanted it."

It seems that falling in love at first sight is as much of a mystery as ever.

PS. The photographer whose work captured my husband's heart? Scott Bulger-check out his work!

Art in Nature at Odiorne Point

2010-07-20T09:04:00.001-04:00

"Odiorne Rocks!"

white-line woodblock print in progress

7" x 7" image size

Last week, I did my first ever plein air white-line woodblock print!

The Seacoast Science Center in the heart of Odiorne State Park in Rye, NH held a special "Art in Nature" event last week. Artists had a week to create small pieces in the park to be sold on Sunday.

Most of the time, artists paint in watercolor, oils or acrylics for these types of exhibits. I have done that before and I knew I would have a good time painting the rocky landscapes in the park, but I wanted to try something different.

Monday morning, I was excited get started on my preparatory drawings so I could get right to the carving. I rushed over the to coast only to find this:

How were any of the artists supposed to paint, draw or make prints of this? Well, we all made do and the fog eventually burned away. I chose a few scenes and drew for most of the afternoon. By the time I had a nice drawing suitable for transferring to a block, it was time to head home.

I returned on Thursday to transfer the drawing and carve the block. I could have done that at home, but I wanted the entire piece to be done at the park!

I sat near my subject and carved happily away with the sound of the waves and the smell of the sea breeze surrounding me. A nice change from the oppressive heat inland!

Friday was inking day! With my brushes, watercolors, pallettes, and wooden spoon in tow, I set up on the stone wall and again enjoyed a wonderful day by the sea as I used the colors in front of me to create two prints.

Temporary outdoor studio!

I didn't realize until I got home that I completely forgot to photograph either print, so you will have to stay tuned to see an impression from this block.

Since I love being outside, you can expect more white-line woodblocks and prints done on site. I don't know if I am the first ever to do this-it doesn't really matter. It was worth carrying all the equipment around. I think all this stuff weighed less than my oil painting gear!

Upcoming Events in New Hampshire!

2010-07-13T10:23:00.001-04:00

Shining Sunflowers

oil on canvas

6" x 8"

All of a sudden, there is a lot to paint around here!

I painted at Canterbury Shaker Village on Wednesday in preparation for a NH Plein Air event on August 1. These sunflowers are right near the parking lot. Maybe I didn't want to venture too far from the truck on a hot day, but their yellow cheeriness begged me to paint them.

And starting July 12, I will be traveling to Odiorne Point State Park and the Seacoast Science Center in Rye for their "Art in Nature" week long program. Artists will be painting and drawing there all week in preparation for a sale on Sunday July 18.

I am doing something a little different for this event, so stay tuned for updates!

If you love the painting above, contact me!

Heat Wave

2010-07-07T17:50:00.002-04:00

Hazy Beach

oil on panel, 4" x 6"

Since my last post, I have attended the opening of the Unleashed exhibit at McGowan Fine Art, enjoyed a wonderful camping trip, celebrated Independence Day (both at the local town fair and at a cookout with friends) and attempted to paint outside without overheating!

Today, I went to Canterbury Shaker Village and I will share that painting soon. I stayed in the shade and soaked in the peaceful environment of the museum grounds. As nice as that was, it might have been even nicer to take a quick dip in the ocean a few times.

Like the painting above? Click here to purchase via Etsy!

Ready for Summer?

2010-06-15T08:28:00.001-04:00

Swelling Water

oil on canvas, 9" x 12"

This morning, the dog paintings I've been sharing with you were delivered into the care of Sarah Chaffee and McGowan Fine Art, in preparation for the Unleashed fundraising exhibit. Remember, the reception is the 25th, which is less than two weeks away!

Now I can start thinking about some future projects!

First of all, I promise I will be printmaking this summer! There are some copper etchings that need just a little bit more work, so you can look forward to more a la poupee prints like Ocean Point Scene II.

I have so many ideas for white-line woodcuts that I better do one soon or my brain might explode!

And of course, there will be plein air painting on the coast! All winter and spring, little ideas and experiments have popped into my mind for some plein air work and I am looking forward to trying them out.

All in all, stay tuned this summer. Even if it gets hot and lazy outside, I intend to keep creating!

5 Win-Win Ways to Help Animals in NH

2010-06-11T18:50:00.002-04:00

Silly Photo of Two Loved Dogs,

Hatrick and Coast, on Memorial Day

The Unleashed fundraising exhibit for the Animal Rescue League of NH at McGowan Fine Art is just around the corner. So I have been thinking about what else we can do to help this organization and their homeless animals.

Here are my top five ways, but I bet you can think of more!

1. When you are ready, adopt your next pet from the Animal Rescue League or another shelter. Obvious, I know, but it is still the number one way to help. Plus, you end up with a great friend!

2. If you aren't ready for a pet, donating supplies like towels, food, and litter can be a huge help. Call the shelter near you to see what they need specifically. Most of us have old towels and bedding that we don't want kicking around anymore and often shelters need it! Another win-win!

3. Drink wine! No really - If you buy a bottle with the special Animal Rescue League label, they get money! The images on the labels were created by New Hampshire artist, Molly Poole. Or you can put an image of a pet you love on the bottle! How can you go wrong with paintings, wine and fuzzy friends?!

4. Become a Medical Miracle Worker. This one isn't for everybody, but it is perfect if you want your donation to make an immediate difference in the life of an animal. Medical Miracle Workers are contacted by the shelter when an animal needs medical attention "beyond the normal and customary care" like emergency surgeries.

5. Love animals but can't add one to your family right now? Volunteer! You can get your furry fix while you help lighten the staff's load!

Of course, the sixth way of helping the Animal Rescue League of NH and get a little something for yourself is to purchase some art at the upcoming show, but I thought you would have guessed that one by now!

Dog Days-Sun King

2010-06-08T20:51:00.002-04:00

oil on canvas, 6" x 8"

The Unleashed benefit for the Animal Rescue League of NH is fast approaching! If you want to know more about this show, check out McGowan Fine Art's blog!

Today, we have another painting of my Pine Run Leroi Dusoleil, aka Flash.

In a previous post, I talked about the philosophy behind naming canine athletes. "Flash" is obviously an appropriate name for an agility dog who needs to be fast and precise while negotiating courses, but what the heck does his longer AKC name mean?

When Flash was a little puppy, I took him to my parents' house to meet my family. He was a tiny fuzzball, but that didn't mean he was easily ignored-he was loud and energetic and constantly in motion. I had put him in a pen for everyone's safety when my sister, Abby, arrived to meet her new "nephew".

When Abby walked into the room, he inexplicably stopped barking, chewing or jumping. He sat perfectly motionless, staring up at her with sunlight filtering in the window and glowing in the blond fuzz crowning his head.

"You look just like le Roi du Soleil!" she said to him.

To my amazement, he remained still. "Finally" he seemed to reply, "someone who recognizes me!"

And that is how my young Flash ended up named after the French "Sun King", Louis XIV.

That is also why HE had to appear in this particular painting.

See you on the 25th at McGowan Fine Art in Concord, NH from 5-7 pm!

Freedom from Mobility

2010-06-03T14:29:00.001-04:00

Front Porch View II

12" x 9", oil on canvas

My vehicle is receiving what I hope is TLC from the dealer today. Since I live on the edge of a very small town, no car means I am homebound.

Instead of frustrated and trapped, I feel fully liberated!

If I NEEDED to get out, I have a bike and my perfectly able feet could carry me to a small convenience store a few miles away. But I don't need to, so I get to stay here in my studio with my dogs and that is more than enough.

Without the means to perform even my daily visit to the post office, I am free to paint and write all day. I think I hear thunder in the distance-could I be lucky enough to lose power for a short while? Maybe I will turn off the phone too!

What would you do with a gift day like this?

PS - In case you think "stuck at home" means no plein air painting, above is a sketch of from my front porch. I wanted to practice my "skyholes" and leaves in preparation for summer!

Dog Days-Got It! SOLD

2010-05-27T15:21:00.003-04:00

oil on canvas, 8" x 8"

"Just...One...More...Stroke...And...I...AHHHHH! Got it!"

This is Striper experiencing that blissful moment of achieving a goal. The thrill of the chase is so much fun that he is going to take the ball back to shore to experience it all over again right away!

Dogs fetching tennis balls is one of the simplest illustrations of the old "the joy is in the journey" principle. The fuzzy little ball becomes the holy grail of any big dream and the swim out to get it is the challenge that builds strength and skills for the next quest.

When the dog can see the ball bobbing on the surface, they make straight for it and their strokes are sure and strong. Sometimes, they don't know exactly where it is, so they slow down and swim a more circuitous route until they catch a glimpse of it before speeding towards the prize. No matter what, the dogs are wet and happy.

And either way, when they return to shore, they beg you to start the whole thing over again by throwing the ball away from them as far as you can.

What is your tennis ball? Can you see it clearly? Does it only appear occasionally on the crest of a wave? Maybe the current swept it out of sight...are you going to search for it?

When you finally sink your teeth into your trophy, enjoy it fully before climbing out of the water.

Then go after next one.

This Painting has SOLD!

Don't forget about the Unleashed fundraiser for the Animal Rescue League of NH! See you at McGowan Fine Art on June 25 for the reception!

Beach Weather

2010-05-20T11:28:00.001-04:00

Quiet Beach

oil on panel on wood supports, 4" x 4"

The weather here promises that summer is coming soon!

It is too nice out to spend too much time on the computer, so just enjoy this beach view and get ready for some sun!

Purchase via Etsy

Dog Days-Dog in a Ball

2010-05-14T12:13:00.003-04:00

oil on canvas, 6" x 9"

I am really looking forward to the upcoming Unleashed exhibit at McGowan Fine Art in Concord, NH! If you recall, it will be a fundraiser for the Animal Rescue League on NH. The opening is June 25th!

Here is Hatrick again in a copy of a smaller sketch I posted a few months ago. The original is not for sale for a couple of reasons. First of all, it is on canvas board which can be fun to work with but isn't a highly archival material. Secondly, I really like the painting and I am proud that I was able to complete a nice likeness of my Hattie from life.

Painting great work to keep doesn't pay the art supply bills however, so I decided to copy the little painting (on professional quality canvas) just to see what would happen. What are sketches for but practice and reference for more paintings anyway?

I will link back to the post of the original painting, but before I do, I urge you to take this opportunity to do something I couldn't while I painted it: Judge this work for itself, by itself.

The point of copying is to reproduce the original, isn't it? Well, it is at the beginning of the exercise. Whether an artist is copying another piece of art, a scene in front of them or an idea in her mind, eventually she must drop her original expectations and enjoy the current work for what it has become.

When I get frustrated with a plein air painting that isn't holding its own against the subject before me or a painting from references like this one, I know that it is time to stop. I leave the scene and hang the painting somewhere I will see it casually throughout the day.

One of my painting teachers called this "letting the painting sneak up on you," which seems silly, but that is what these works seem to do. I invite you to try it with a piece you have been struggling with. All of a sudden, you will see a great painting out of the corner of your eye and realize it was the same picture you hated last week. You haven't touched it, but it is now being judged without its inspiration next to it and you can see that you really created something wonderful after all.

Maybe this doesn't look exactly like the first painting, but it doesn't have to anymore. It is its own piece, and I kind of like it.

This painting will be available in June 2010!

5 Quick Creativity Workouts for Tight Schedules

2010-05-11T13:17:00.006-04:00

Rainy Appledore Wave

oil on canvas, 11" x 14"

It happens to all of us - without warning, our days fill to the brim with activities that take us out of the studio. When we do grab a few spare minutes, we feel disconnected from our artist selves and recapturing the creative spirit eludes us. If your schedule seems out of your control, keep your art muscles supple and loose with these five fast drills:

1. Take Photos.

Taking a camera, even a point and shoot, out for a short walk will help keep your artist eye from hibernating. Discovering interesting compositions of shape and color looking through the viewfinder will help loosen up a tight creative brain even if you never take a picture.

2. Open a Book.

You may not have the time to read right now, but you can look at images by your favorite artists. Keep a sketchbook and pencil next to you to note any quick inspirations that may strike. Or just rip the paper to bookmark anything you find exciting.

When you have more time but need a small push, look at your notes or saved pages for an easy starting point.

3. Play with Color.

Like crunches for our tummies, artists all know creating color charts is good for us, but we rarely want to do them. When you feel too drained to create anything from scratch, allow the rigid little squares comfort and guide you.

Challenge yourself to a formal color wheel or just crack open old tubes of paint you haven't used in a while. Experiment with a new tube you bought but haven't tried yet. At least the brush (or pencil or pastel or crayon etc.) is in your hand and your vision is filled with color.

Detail of a Color Chart

oil on canvas, each square is approx. 1 inch

Never done a color chart? Stede Barber describes one method in his post "How to Make a Simple Color Chart."

4. Make a Date.

Don't have time now? Schedule something for next week or next month! Call an artist friend and agree to paint together, set up a still-life and draw or even critique what you have been able to do.

The commitment to make art at least once this month will help relax you. Making the date might even motivate you to squeeze in a little work beforehand!

5. The "Woodbury" Assignment.

If you have a bit more time and want a more intense challenge, this next one is perfect:

American artist Charles Woodbury used to tell his landscape painting students to paint the same scene nine times in one week at different times of day. NINE PAINTINGS?! I know this sounds like ludicrous advice in a time crunch, but bear with me.

Woodbury advised that you "paint as if you've been sent for" and give yourself only about a half hour to fill the canvas with the essence of the place. Whenever I have challenged myself to this task, I have found it energizing and liberating. As a matter of fact, I completed the painting at the top of this post during this exercise a few years ago.

Turn it into a simpler exercise by drawing or even writing. Set a timer for 30 minutes or less and see how much information you can record on your canvas or paper. And you need not go outside-set up a still life near a window for changing light and moods. Or imagine challenging yourself to nine abstract pieces in one week based on one word, poem, color, conversation... the possibilities are endless!

Remember that just as small obstacles can pile up and block us, successive tiny achievements become stepping stones to accomplishing huge goals. These exercises may not produce instant masterpieces, but practicing your art consistently ensures you'll be warmed up and ready to create when you get the chance.

Dog Days-Sunrise Shake - SOLD

2010-05-04T21:55:00.005-04:00

oil on canvas, 6" x 9"

Unleashed: A Benefit for the Animal Rescue, is just around the corner! Don't forget to mark June 25th on your calendars for the opening reception at McGowan Fine Art in Concord, NH!

I have wanted to paint this image for years. The upcoming show pushed me into just attacking it and I am so happy I did! I am very pleased with this fun little painting of an extremely happy Golden shaking off an early swim at the beach.

Our model this week is my Winnie, who also appears in The Other Golden Swimming Phelps, Buddy System, and To Each His Ball and some paintings in the Dogscape Collection on my website.

In the limited time I have before the animal exhibit, I will be painting dogs madly, so stayed tuned for more Goldens coming soon!

This painting has SOLD!

Winning Weekend in New England

2010-04-21T16:43:00.003-04:00

"Ocean Point Scene II"
etching, aquatint, a la poupee
oil ink on paper

Lately, there have been quite a few victories up here in New England. To kick it off, my etching, "Ocean Point Scene II", won honorable mention at the New Hampshire Institute of Art's Continuing Education Exhibit! I have seen the other wonderful pieces in the show and whoever judged us had their work cut out for them!

My art victory was in good company. The third Monday in April is Patriot's Day in nearby Massachusetts. Of course we New Englanders all sit around and think about the significance of April 19, 1775 when the first shots of the American Revolution changed the modern world. But mostly we celebrate with our biggest sports day of the year and athletes from all over the globe come to join us.

First and foremost, four champions were crowned in the 114th Boston Marathon and two records fell! Teyba Erkesso and Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot won the running race, and Cheruiyot now possess the course record!

In the wheelchair event, Wakako Tsuchida repeated as women's champ for the fourth time in a row and Ernst Van Dyke became the only Boston Marathoner in any category to win the event NINE times!

In case one of the most prestigious marathons in the world isn't enough for you, the Red Sox always play in the morning. After the game, baseball fans stick around and cheer the runners still on course. Still want more? To top it all off, the Bruins (our ice hockey team) beat their playoff opponent on home ice.

Let's all offer a huge "Congratulations" to all our champions from this week! A special salute goes to my fellow artists in the NHIA exhibit, "Best in Show" winner, Vicki Curry, for her lovely painting, "Clay Haven Mercury", and "Honorable Mention" recipient, Barry Dial and his delicate, haunting photograph, "Surf".

Countdown to Impact

2010-04-19T16:44:00.003-04:00

Today's assignment in my online Blog Triage Class with Alyson Stanfield and Cynthia Morris focuses on the visual impact of our blogs. My fellow "patients" and I were challenged to change at least two things to make our blogs as visually appealing as possible.

Above is a screen capture before I:

- lightened the background color

- changed the font color to black

- added a photo to my header

It is just three little changes, but playing with new font colors and editing the picture took some time. (Everything involving a computer seems to take three or four times as long as it needs to around here....)

Well, since you can see the old and the new alongside each other, I would love to know what you think! If you loved it the old way, I need to know. Maybe this new color scheme is making you excited to visit the blog more. Perhaps you like a little of each-tell me! Together we can make this blog "just right"!

Dog Days-Back with the Ball - SOLD!

2010-04-15T19:46:00.005-04:00

Here is teaser number two for the upcoming fund-raiser for the Animal Rescue League of NH at McGowan Fine Art in June. (To see teaser one, click here.) Appropriately, the show is entitled "Unleashed" and this is my Hatrick in that very state, reveling in an afternoon of beach and ball.

When Hatrick isn't posing for paintings, she and I compete in dog agility-basically obstacle courses dogs run off-leash. Agility dogs like Hattie need to be in top condition to excel, so running and swimming on the beach is perfect cross-training for her.

Many people ask me what is up with my dog's name. Well, we agility people get a little wacky when we name our dogs. Three years ago, I registered my third agility puppy as "Pine Run's Joy of Sport" because I wanted a us to have a fun and fruitful career as a team. And a "Hat Trick" is one of the most joyous events in sport -when a hockey player scores three goals in one game, the crowd explodes to their feet and showers the ice with hats in celebration.

In case you are wondering, when Hatrick has a great agility run, I don't throw hats at her. She prefers meatballs and a trip to the beach.

This painting has SOLD!

Let's Ink about This

2010-04-11T19:45:00.002-04:00

This print is my very latest creation. You can see it in person at the Continuing Education Student Exhibition at the New Hampshire Institute of Art close by in Manchester. I have enjoyed printmaking so much that when the school announced its new Certificate in printmaking, I enrolled almost immediately. I want to learn all the basics of the many types of printmaking, so I appreciate the discipline of following a program.

This semester, I am focusing on intaglio, specifically copperplate etchings. In case you don't know what some of these terms mean (and I didn't until I started making prints myself) I will back up and define some things. "Intaglio" prints are created by plates with deep grooves that hold ink. The ink is transferred to paper by using a tight press that pushes the paper into the grooves. In this plate, the grooves were created by burning lines and dots in copper using acid, which is called "etching". With intaglio, the marks you make on the plate are the marks you will get in the final print.

Often, etchings are based on line drawings, but the painter in me needs shapes and tones, so I also used a technique called "aquatint" to create the clouds, darken the trees and mimic some reflections in the water. This method uses acid to burn tiny holes in wider areas of the plate. The holes are so close together that when the ink is transferred to the paper, it acts a little like a wash of paint. I have included a close-up of the trees so you can see the dotted texture within the aquatint:

This detail photo showcases my favorite part of this piece. I was able to manipulate the aquatint to create a nice outline of tree shapes. You can also see the variation of colors in the ink a bit more clearly. Using multiple inks on one plate is called "a la poupee". I joked with a friend that this might be French for "makes a big mess", because when I smeared it on the plate, it sort of got other places too. It was worth it, though, because the inks mixed, creating wonderful depth and a nice atmosphere reminiscent of landscape painting.

There are other etchings in the works, so while this one hangs in the NHIA show, I will hopefully finish some more prints. When I do, I will share them, too!

P.S. If you want to know what "a la poupee" really means, the National Gallery of Art has a nice little definition posted here.

It's All About Me-and You

2010-04-08T16:27:00.004-04:00

I painted this sketch last fall on the coast of Maine. Today, I was supposed to go back to that spot for the first time in 2010, but the weather report shifted from "wicked nice" to "windy, cloudy and cold." This could easily lead to "frigid snow, sleet and rain mix" in an instant in New England, so I postponed the outing for a better day.

In the meantime, I have Part II of my blogging homework to finish-describing what I hope to get out of blogging. The most obvious benefit of blogging is that it is an easy way to share my paintings with other people. Before the internet, artists could only show their work in person. Now, I can paint something in the morning, take a photograph of it and post the image in a few minutes making it available for anyone to see. I can also easily keep a schedule of events updated so people can see the work in person if they wish.

But blogging can offer so much more than just an online gallery. Artists spend quite a bit of time alone in their studios and blogging is a way to say, "Hey Everyone! I am right here!" It is a small connection to the outside world, but not an insignificant one.

Once I decided to reach out in this way, I had to pay attention to my communication skills. The practice of articulating my methods and inspirations helps me not only talk about my art better, it helps me understand it better myself. Blogging has the potential to feed into the creative process and become a part of it instead of just a station in which to display a final product.

And, as it should, all this talk about me has led me back to you, the avid reader of this blog, since it is with you I am trying to share my artwork. Some of you have said that the images displayed here remind you of places you have been or where you grew up. The absence of figures in these landscapes gives them a timelessness that allows you to pick any period from your own life and sit in that moment, forgetting that it is advanced technology and the possibly hated computer that allow you a short reverie. If it is the dog paintings you prefer, they might offer you the relief of a smile or chuckle, especially after reading a little story about the characters depicted in the piece.

So let's make a deal-I'll paint and make prints and write about the joys and challenges, the methods and madness of creating art and you relax, enjoy the artwork and the stories that go with it and, if you are inclined to do so, tell me what you think.

Painting and Blogging

2010-04-07T15:50:00.003-04:00

It is unbelievably nice outside today, so why am I inside blogging? The biggest reason is that I really want this blog to be a fun site for people to visit and read and maybe learn a thing or two about painting, printmaking, the places and things I feature in my art, me and those things combined. In order to do improve my blog and make it the best it can be, I enrolled in a 4-week "Blog Triage" online class with art marketing expert, Alyson Stanfield (http://artbizblog.com) and expert blogger, Cynthia Morris (http://originalimpulseblog.com and http://journeyjuju.com). My fellow "patients" (students) and I will have several assignments each week over the month of April, so you can watch this blog transform!

Our first assignment is to define our ideal readers. I hope the following describes you (but if it doesn't, you are certainly welcome to visit my blog early and often) :

The people who will enjoy this blog the most are those who enjoy the representational landscapes that I paint and post most often. They look forward to seeing the tiny image on Facebook or getting an image of a painting in their inbox because it is a little bit of the natural world on their computer screen. These folks are curious about how my art is created and enjoy a short explanation of my process now and then. Lovers of the outdoors and/or dogs themselves, my readers like brief stories about the scenes depicted in the work or an adventure I had while creating the piece. They want to see my art in person and like knowing where my work will be on display.

By the way, I couldn't help myself -I played outside before I did my blog homework. The image above is one result. "WIP" stands for Work in Progress, so I hope to work on this painting more and may be post the final result another time!

Dog Days-Narcissus - SOLD!

2010-03-31T11:02:00.006-04:00

In June, McGowan Fine Art in Concord, NH is holding a fund-raising exhibit for the Animal Rescue League of NH (more information to the right). I am creating some small paintings of Golden Retrievers for the event. The plan is to let you peek at these pieces as I paint them.

Leading the way on this project is Flash, who was my wonderful friend from the year 2000 to August of 2009. Anyone who knew him would not be surprised that he got caught admiring his own reflection. He thought very highly of himself and freely told everyone how awesome he was all the time. I didn't mind because I agreed with him.

Soon, I will be sending out some very nice postcards for this upcoming exhibit. If you would like one, make sure to visit www.hannahphelps.com and sign up for my mailing list!

This painting will be available in June of 2010! For more information, contact me, or visit: McGowan Fine Art

This painting has SOLD!
__________________________________

New Zealand Paintings Too!

2010-03-28T10:22:00.002-04:00

These paintings are all inspired by my trip to New Zealand a few years ago. Above is the awesome Milford Sound on the South Island.

Captivating scenes abound in New Zealand and the two paintings above are based on what I saw out my car window in between tourist destinations!

These little paintings are included in my Etsy Fresh Start Spring Sale, so it is a great time to add a bit of New Zealand (or Australia or New Hampshire or Maine...) to your art collection! Next week, I will be adding new work to the shop and showcasing it here on the blog. For now, I hope you enjoy the best work of the past 18 months!

For more information about any work you see on the blog, contact me at the email address on the right,

or visit my Etsy shop!

Celebrate Autumn in Australia!

2010-03-26T14:57:00.003-04:00

Some of the the artwork resulting from my trip to Australia is also in the Fresh Start Spring Sale on Etsy! Of course, down there, it is autumn!

Maybe you have been to Australia and see something here that reminds you of your trip. These remaining paintings are a little bigger than postcards and perfect mementos of an exciting voyage.

Maybe you haven't yet been to that wonderful country but swear you will get there someday. Looking at one of these paintings in your home or office space could help you set a goal to get there and stick to it!

Either way, if you are interested in learning more about my trip or these paintings, please contact me at the email address on the right, or visit my Etsy store by clicking here!

Celebration Continues!

2010-03-25T14:38:00.004-04:00

The sale in my Etsy shop continues and I am adding more stuff everyday. The oil paintings in today's post are included in the sale along with many other landscapes so it is well worth a look.

From the beach in the spring to farmlands in deep summer

and from autumn in the mountains to the snow covered views outside my own windows, every season and landscape one could hope for are offered in my shop! at the lowest prices you will ever see from me!

These are the absolute lowest prices you will see for my work! For less than your car payment, you could have an original piece of fine art that will last long after the car has driven its last mile....

To take advantage of this special Fresh Start Spring Sale, learn more about these paintings and my other pieces, contact me or visit my Etsy store:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/hannahph elps

Dog Days

2010-03-23T21:55:00.004-04:00

Sold

The spring celebration continues in my Etsy shop as I make room for new paintings by discounting last year's work by 20% and these two little gems are part of the fun. It will be time for the goldens to swim regularly soon, and they are all looking forward to it!

And don't forget Hatrick's nearly famous behind as she digs in the snow. This painting was used to illustrate two wonderful blogs this winter and I know this little piece has a lot of fans. Are you one of them?

If you would like to bring any of these paintings home, contact me (email on the right) or

Spring Celebration!

2010-03-22T12:46:00.002-04:00

With sunny days and the snow piles receding, it is really beginning to feel like spring around here! Warm, dry days means dusting off the plein air easel and painting outside again-Hooray!

To make room for the new work, I am having a Fresh Start Spring Sale on the paintings in my Etsy store that were first listed in 2009.

Most paintings are discounted 20% including some framed paintings, so it is well worth a look- I promise that my work will never see these prices again.

Included in the sale are the remaining paintings featured in the 2010 Images of New England calendar that sold out before Christmas.

If you see anything you like, visit my Etsy shop, or contact me!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/hannahphelps

Indoors with Provincetown Prints

2010-02-02T20:51:00.002-05:00

Calm Day at Fort Stark
8" x 10"
white-line woodcut print
watercolor on Stonehenge paper

Another fun thing to do when the weather is a bit nippy for plein air painting is working on white-line relief prints (aka Provincetown Prints). I moved my work table right next to the fireplace and printed away all afternoon with Hatrick snug in the small space between me and fire. As I worked I thought about all the things I love about white-line relief printmaking:

1. The line drawings that I start with-I enjoy translating my other work into simplified designs suitable for transferring to the woodblock

2. Carving out the "white-lines" with a knife is a process during which I really lose myself. The knife flows through the wood in elegant curves and creates uneven paths in the surface. I sometimes feel that the wood is telling the blade where to go, not me.

3. Applying just the right color to the shapes left in relief. Sometimes I make sure the watercolor paint is evenly distributed on the wood while other times I ink part of it more heavily than another.

4. Laying the paper on the block and rubbing the back with a wooden spoon. This transfers the color from the block to the paper. It is a very physical process and I like to use enough pressure to "sculpt" the paper into the white-line grooves, embossing it with the design.

5. Lifting the paper to see a clean, crisp shape. Even during the earliest stages when the colored shapes are sparse, I am excited by the design emerging on the paper step-by-step.

6. Seeing the pattern of the wood grain in the colored shapes.

7. Deciding the print is finished. There is a definitive moment of completion with prints because once the paper is removed from the block, it would be nearly impossible to replace it correctly again. This may seem stressful, but in actuality I welcome this conclusive end to the process.

8. Seeing a print matted and framed. The prints transform from pieces of paper with paint on them in a pile to fully dressed pieces of art ready to show themselves off.

9. Attaching a new piece of paper to the block and inking the whole thing over again playing with new color combinations.

10. Thinking up ideas for the next block so I can start all over again!

Inside During the Deep Freeze-SOLD

2010-02-01T20:30:00.003-05:00

I took a small break from landscape painting to try some flowers. It had been a while since I had set up a still life and I had forgotten how satisfying the subject can be. I had also forgotten how challenging flowers are to paint. Mixing vivid reds and bright pinks was a welcome change from a normal landscape palette, too!

This painting has SOLD!!

Dog Days-Study of Hatrick

2010-01-29T15:16:00.002-05:00

While both of us would rather be outside plein air painting, Hatrick is a great companion in the studio. She curls up in a quilt-draped chair in the corner, conserving energy in case something exciting happens. Lately, I have noticed that she sleeps in that chair even if I haven't set foot in the studio all day. I must be clocking enough hours indoors for her to assume I'll be joining her any minute.

The other day, I was working on a landscape when I stopped for a minute just to enjoy the sight of my relaxed dog sleeping in a ball with her tail warming her nose. On a whim, I grabbed a small canvas board and started painting her instead. At some point, Hattie did wake up and move her head, but I already had enough down to finish the quick sketch. I have drawn and painted my other dogs too, and it is these small studies that I end up treasuring through the years.

Low Tide

2010-01-26T21:20:00.005-05:00

I went to the beach today. After yesterday's oppressive downpours, Hattie and I needed a non-icy place to get some fresh air. Hattie started to get excited as soon as she smelled the sea. Sensibly, she stayed out of the water (so did I...) and happily chased her ball in the sand.

Not only did I enjoy watching my dog run amok up and down the beach, the spectacular surf was also a wonderful site. I didn't realize how much I had missed the ocean this winter. Occasionally, I regretted not having my painting gear. This feeling would pass as soon the wind kicked up and I would instead feel grateful to be there, enjoying a fun day with Hattie.

Since it was low tide when I visited the beach today, I was reminded of the print at the top of the post. I have long been fascinated by the patterns water makes as it flows down the sand flats, striving to catch the ocean at its ebb tide. The interlocking shapes of the water pools and streams with the darker sand change constantly. Unless, of course, it is a print from a woodblock...

Note: this print is unframed, but it can be framed. If this interests you, contact me.

What I Love About Snow

2010-01-25T19:08:00.002-05:00

Details of
"Slanting Shadows"
and "Snowy Woodpile"

Since it is pouring outside here, it is time to remember what I love about snow before the rain melts it all away! So, here are my top eleven favorite things about the "white stuff."

1. All the fun things we can do in snow-skiing, snowshoeing, skijoring, and throwing snowballs at our spouses when they are trying to shovel.

2. The clear, unbound joy dogs exhibit when they play in it.

3. Seeing animal tracks.

4. The beauty of the snow makes the extra cold days a bit easier to bear.

5. Snow cover softens and simplifies the landscape.

6. The shelter a snow burdened pine bough makes.

7. When we walk around in the woods in fresh snow, we can always follow our own tracks home.

8. Hearing flakes fall during a storm.

9. The clean smell of new snow and the wet scent of melting snow

10. Even as adults, we occasionally get a "snow day," a brief, forced vacation from our regular life.

11. The inconceivable variety of colors that make up the white.

Bonus 12. Painting it!

Warm Winter Days

2010-01-22T19:43:00.002-05:00

Two Winter Studies
oil on canvas
12" x 16" & 12" x 12"

Although this week began with a couple of heavy, wet snowstorms, the sun has been shining the past two days. Temperatures have risen right into the forties-warm enough for some plein air painting! I had been snowshoeing with Hatrick in the woods right outside my back door, so I knew exactly where I wanted to take my equipment for some sketches.

So I donned my fashionable one-piece snow suit, threw my loaded pack on my back and strapped on my snowshoes (more difficult than it sounds with my limited mobility-think Randy from "A Christmas Story"). I followed my own track across the lawn to the edge of the woods. The same path that offered a refreshing hike the day before became a strenuous quest under branches clawing at my backpack and tearing at my hat. Sticks jumped up out of the snow to tangle in my snowshoes. With my hands full of straps for my panel carrier and easel, I struggled to keep my balance as I squeezed between saplings and fallen trees.

Eventually, I rediscovered a small clearing with possible compositions in every direction. I paused and looked around, making sure to pick the perfect spot in which to unload all my gear. I gazed over my shoulder and, forgetting I was wearing snowshoes, took a step back. The next thing I knew I was lying on my backpack waving my arms like a flipped turtle. I had to crawl on my hands and knees before getting back on my feet. Luckily, only Hatrick was there to laugh at me.

Once I started painting, I had a wonderful time. I quickly gestured the shadows on the snow and the trees in the background and then it was just like any other plein air outing as long as I remembered that there is no "reverse" on snowshoes before I stepped back periodically to check my work. As I painted, trees threw snowballs at me and one spatted on my pallet, covering the ultramarine blue and cadmium red piles and much of the mixing space. Another chunk of snow got me in the back of the neck and slid down my shirt.

I had enough success to return the following day for another sketch. Neither of these are wonderful paintings, but I have gathered more information from doing them than I could from just looking or even taking photographs.

Plus, I learned that Hatrick is a terrific painting companion and I plan to invite her along more in the future.

Painting featured on two blogs!

2010-01-07T11:15:00.003-05:00

Digging to Australia
6" x 8"
oil on board

This is the other end of Hatrick, my golden retriever. A tiny puppy investigating snow in this image, she is three years old now. She still loves playing in the snow and recreates this scene on a daily basis in the winter.

This painting has now been featured on two blogs other than my own! The first is Alyson B. Stanfield's artbizblog.com, in a post helping artists decide whether or not to enter a juried exhibit. Artbizblog.com is a wonderful resource for artists who want to show and sell their work more successfully.

More recently this little piece was included in a winter inspired collection of paintings assembled by Diane Kolak (Design Consultant and owner of Inspired Room Design, LLC) on her blog, inspiredroomdesign.com. The artwork Diane selected will warm the hearts of even the staunchest snow-haters. While you are visiting, check out my favorite category-"color love!"

Pup Aware

2010-01-05T18:35:00.004-05:00

It seems appropriate to start a new year with an image of a puppy. Here is my Golden Retriever, Hatrick, again, our model from the oil painting "Digging to Australia" (to view that painting click here). She posed for this drawing when she was just a puppy. I worked quickly to capture her fuzzy, curious face.

The magical process of solar plate etching allowed me to transfer this little drawing into a print. There are only ten of them in this brown edition and there may never be any more in any color. Each one is numbered (1/10, 2/10, etc) and signed on the front and back of the paper. It is shipped matted and on a stiff backing board.

I hope that 2010 is a great year for you-I have very high hopes for it and for Hatrick!

Purchase via Etsy

Merry Christmas Fine Art Lovers!

2009-12-21T17:24:00.003-05:00

"Wreath"
2 block lino-cut print
Akua Kolor water-based inks on paper
3" x 4" image size

This year, I started what I hope will become an annual tradition. As a special "thank you" to all the wonderful people who have purchased original works of art from me over the past few years, I hand-printed Christmas cards for them. I hope that they enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoyed designing and printing them.

I have a busy, but fun week ahead-I hope that you do too!

Merry Christmas!

Behind the Scenes

2009-12-12T17:30:00.003-05:00

I have just completed an online course called "Get Organized!" with art marketing specialist Alyson B. Stanfield. The class focused on the business end of the artist's life. We learned effective systems for filing both computer and paper files, managing our time and tasks with electronic calendars and other routine office stuff, but that was just the tip of the organizing iceberg!

As you can see from my two "before" photos posted here, my studio needed TLC. And possibly a backhoe. While Alyson didn't specifically cover our art materials and supplies, I turned the last day of the class into my deadline to recover this room for art (instead of crazy) making.

The most significant change I have made to my studio is adding pegboard to the walls to hang quite a lot of my tools. Now I know where they are and they are easy to put away when I am done with them. I also used pegboard to hang some empty frames so they are no longer on the floor.

It will be great to start the new year with a clean, organized space, ready for lots of painting and printmaking!

To learn more about Alyson B. Stanfield and the "Get Organized!" class, click here.

Snowy Woodpile

2009-12-10T17:39:00.003-05:00

After receiving over 10" of snow from yesterday's "monster storm," I couldn't help myself-I had to go cross-country skiing. Soon, I will be driving to the mountains to enjoy the groomed trails in Waterville Valley, but today I just went to a local trail along the Piscataquog River. I was relieved that some industrious skier had been there before me and blazed some tracks. Since I stayed in town, I brought Hatrick, my golden retriever, with me so she could play in the new snow too.

Donning my skis for the first time this season felt like calling a good friend I hadn't spoken with in a while. Last winter, skiing became a refuge for me as some pretty fierce personal challenges gathered and loomed over me. When the snow melted in the spring, I was hoping that my troubles would go with it. They didn't and the spring and summer of 2009 proved to be the worst seasons of my life.

Now my world is once again covered in snow. For the artist, this means simplified shapes in wooded scenes and vivid blues and purples where there are usually browns and greens, as in the painting above. For the person, it means mentally shelving the last year to make room for the new, better times ahead.

There are only eleven more days of increasing darkness before the solstice. I am ready for more light, and not just so I can ski later each day.

Images of New England 2010 Calendar-SOLD OUT!

2009-11-18T14:06:00.001-05:00

folder front

The Holidays are approaching fast!

Are you looking for a unique holiday gift for this year's holiday season? Here is a solution for you:

The "Images of New England 2010 Calendar"!
Every month is a print from one of my oil paintings, ready to frame and add beauty to your or a loved one's home!

three example pages

The clip-style glass frame in the example photo below is available for purchase with the calendar. Or personalize with any standard 11" x 8.5" frame!

framed print hanging above a fireplace mantle

The calendar pages arrive bundled in an attractive folder to keep them organized and protected before and after they grace your wall for a month.

Each page also makes a great commemorative gift for weddings, new babies, graduations, special anniversaries or any celebration during 2010!

folder back

Calendars prices are:

$30 without a frame

$40 with a frame

Domestic shipping cost is:

$6 without a frame

$10 with a frame

If you are interested in purchasing a calendar, please contact me (information on the side bar of the blog)!

The 2010 Images of New England Calendar has SOLD OUT!

Prints from the Mountains

2009-11-18T13:37:00.002-05:00

The final three prints that are framed and hanging now in the Pantano Gallery at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester depict scenes of mountains. Living in central New Hampshire, I am surrounded by breathtaking views of Crotched Mountain or Pat's Peak pretty much everywhere I go, and anyone who has travelled to Manchester has enjoyed the scenery of the Uncanoonucs from the highway. I am also lucky enough to live about an hour's drive from Mount Monadnock. The second most climbed mountain in the world (second to Japan's Mount Fuji), a hike up Monadnock is a memorable experience and the inspiration of one of the prints below.

Enjoy!

9. Mountain Abstract-SOLD
2.25" x 12"
white-line woodcut print
watercolor on Stonehenge paper

10. Hiking Mount Monadnock
8.5" x 11"
white-line woodcut
watercolor on Stonehenge on paper

11. Uncanoonuc from Bridge Street
12.5" x 9.25"
white-line woodcut print
watercolor on Stonehenge paper

Today, the "Water" Pieces!

2009-11-11T11:00:00.002-05:00

Here are more pictures of work that is on display now through December 30th in the Pantano Gallery at Southern New Hampshire University. The ocean is one of my favorite subjects to paint, and I have found it just as challenging and fun to make prints of the rocky coast of New Hampshire and Maine.

Again, all of these prints are for sale, so please contact me (603 203-8131 or hannah@hannahphelps.com) if you are interested in bringing one home.

AND please come visit me at the "Meet the Artist" reception at the Gallery this Saturday from 1-3:30pm. I will be in the Shapiro Library on the Southern New Hampshire University campus, 2500 North River Road, Manchester.

4. Calm Day at Fort Stark
8" x 10"
white-line woodcut print
ink on Stonehenge paper

5. Path of the Water
8" x 9"
white-line woodcut print
watercolor on Rives lightweight paper

6. Leviathan
10" x 14"
white-line woodcut print
watercolor on Stonehenge paper

7. Low Tide
4.5" x 6.25"
white-line woodcut print
watercolor on Stonehenge paper

8. Calm Day at Fort Stark
8" x 10"
white-line woodcut print
watercolor on Stonehenge paper

More from the Southern New Hampshire University Show

2009-11-10T19:57:00.002-05:00

Today, I am offering images of three of the prints in the "New Impressions" show on display now in the Pantano Gallery on the campus of Southern New Hampshire University. The numbers correspond to their labels in the show, and the dimensions are the size of the image (not the frame) in inches.

While nothing can be removed from the show until December 30, 2009, all of the prints are framed under UV glass and are available for purchase. If you are interested in adding any of these prints to your art collection, please contact me (603 203-8131 or hannah@hannahphelps.com). More photos tomorrow!

1. Birch-Autumn
2.25" x 12"
white-line woodcut print
watercolor on Stonehenge paper

2. Woods
5" x 10.25"
white-line woodcut print
watercolor on Stonehenge paper

3. Birch-Spring
2.25" x 12"
white-line woodcut print
watercolor on Stonehenge paper

Meet the Artist: Saturday, November 14 from 1-3:30pm in the Shapiro Library!!

2009-11-09T09:56:00.002-05:00

The print show, "New Impressions," has been hanging for a week now and I am receiving nice compliments-thanks to everyone who has already visited the Pantano Gallery!

Of course, there is still the "Meet the Artist" reception next Saturday, the 14th! From 1-3:30pm there will be some munchies in the Gallery and I will be there to answer questions about white-line woodcuts and the inspiration for specific pieces in the show.

The Pantano Gallery is located inside the Shapiro Library on the Southern New Hampshire University campus. The first photo below is the view of the library from the parking lot. The entrance to the library is on the opposite side of the building from the parking lot. The path leading there is under the trees on the left side of the photo.

When the path opens up to a small courtyard, the entrance to the library is down a pathway to the right. In the photo below, you will be walking in from the under the orange trees on the right and the entrance is on the left side, beyond the blue trash can and red fire hydrant. The flags in the courtyard can be seen from the parking lot.

For a map of the SNHU campus, click here.

Once you are in the library, turn left to find the Pantano Gallery behind the circulation desk. I look forward to seeing you next weekend!

White-Line Woodcut Prints

2009-11-01T18:21:00.001-05:00

copyright 2009 Hannah Phelps
Path of the Water
white-line woodcut print; watercolor on paper

So What is a White-line Woodcut Print Anyway?

Like any piece of art, a white-line woodcut print begins with an idea. In my case, I use the natural world as inspiration for a drawing on paper. This drawing is then transferred onto a piece of wood. With my lines visible on the surface, I carve an outline of the drawing with a knife. The carved lines will become the "white lines" in the final print.

The wood left untouched now stands in relief from the lines. I attach a piece of paper to the edge of the woodblock to ensure that the it lays on the wood the same way each time I place it against the block (this is called "registration"). I then "ink" each relief shape with watercolor and press and rub the back of the paper printing the image. Once all of the shapes are colored and I am satisfied with the image, I remove the paper from the block.

White-line woodcuts were first created in the early 1900's by artists in the Provincetown, MA colony and are therefore sometimes called "Provincetown Prints." While artist BJO Nordfeldt is credited with its invention, many of his contemporaries employed the technique, the most famous of whom was the American artist, Blanche Lazell.

To see some of my white-line woodcut prints in person, visit the eleven prints and one woodblock (including "Path of the Water," shown above) that are currently on display at Southern New Hampshire University in the Shapiro Library!

"New Impressions", a Solo Show at Southern New Hampshire University!

2009-10-15T10:27:00.002-04:00

From November 1 to December 30 2009, over ten of my white-line woodcut prints, including the one shown above, will be on display at the Southern New Hampshire University's Pantano Gallery in the Shapiro Library. These unique prints depict scenes ranging from New Hampshire's rocky coast to Mount Monadnock and even a view of South Uncanoonuc Mountain from downtown Manchester.

For library hours, click here.

I will also be hosting a "Meet the Artist" event on campus on November 14th, from 1:00 to 3:30 pm, so please stop by to ask questions, learn more about white-line woodcuts or just have some coffee and cookies and chat. The afternoon reception will be held at the Hospitality Center, across the parking lot from the library.

For a map of the SNHU campus that includes the Shapiro Library and the Hospitality Center, click here.

In my next post, I will offer a brief history of white-line woodcuts and describe how the prints in the show are made.

McGowan Fine Art's Paint Out in Portsmouth

2009-08-10T10:01:00.002-04:00

Displayed above is one of the three paintings I completed at the paint out over the weekend. I left the image of the actual mansion in the background of the photograph on purpose. I stayed close to the Coolidge Center for the Arts and the Wentworth Coolidge Mansion both days. Protected from the sun in the shade of a giant tree, I stayed comfortable for hours.

It was wonderful to get out and paint on two consecutive non-rainy days! It seems that we haven't had much of that this summer. I also had fun talking with other painters, many of whom I hadn't met before. All in all it was a great event!

All of the paintings from the weekend are available for purchase at The Coolidge Center for the Arts this week. For more information about McGowan Fine Art and The Coolidge Center for the Arts at the Wentworth Coolidge Mansion Historic Site, click here.

Plein Air Painting at the Wentworth Coolidge Mansion this weekend!

2009-08-07T15:06:00.002-04:00

Plein Aire Painting Weekend and Wet Paint Sale
sponsered by McGowan Fine Art

Coolidge Center for the Arts at the Wentworth Coolidge Mansion Historic Site
Little Harbor Rd, Portsmouth, NH

I am participating in this "paint out" and wet painting sale this weekend in Portsmouth, NH . Artists will be painting at the Wentworth Coolidge Mansion, next door Little Harbor Creek Farm Reservation, downtown Portsmouth and the nearby cemetery. I will be staying close by the Mansion, pictured above.

We start painting Saturday, August 8th at 10 am and work away until 4 pm. Then we return on Sunday at 11 am for another round of painting until 3 pm, when the wet paint sale starts at the Coolidge Center for the Arts.

I hear that the Tall Ships are also coming to town, so it is the perfect weekend to spend some time at the coast!

For more information and directions click here

Garlic Scapes-Eat 'Em, Paint 'Em, Love 'Em-SOLD

2009-07-26T11:41:00.002-04:00

This year, my husband and I bought a share of a CSA, or community supported agriculture. We gave our local farmer, in this case, Middle Branch Farm, a check in the spring and we pick up a bunch of fresh vegetables once a week. The first week the vegetables were ready, we were introduced to garlic scapes. These are the greens the garlic bulb shoots above ground within which it will create seeds. Farmers trim this part of the garlic when they want bigger bulbs.

The weight of the pale yellow seed pods cause these shoots to curl around each other and themselves in a wild bundle. Eating them raw is a little wild too-a satisfying snap when bitten followed by a bold, pleasant sweetness before they bite right back with a spicy smack. We used them in salads, but we also cooked them in mu shu and pasta with delicious, if mellower results.

Of course, I also painted them! I set them up on a stool outside with our patriotic bunting in the background. Scapes turned out to be as much fun to paint as they were to eat!

This painting has SOLD!!

Some Studies

2009-07-22T18:08:00.003-04:00

Even though it has rained most of the summer, I have been to the coast to paint a few times. I did these paintings a few weeks ago on a day that was supposed to be nice, but ended up cloudy and rainy. Since I had driven over an hour to get to the ocean, I painted anyway.

No matter what the weather, I still enjoy the challenge of painting the ocean - watching the water swell up into waves and crash down on the rocks or gently sweep by them and trying to isolate the exact moment I want depicted on my canvas. There is often more quiet observation than the mixing and brushing on of pigments with these studies. How do I know when a plein air study is finished? Usually when the tide goes out (or comes in), but in the case of these two, when it starts to rain.

Print on Display in Manchester

2009-07-20T20:44:00.003-04:00

Right now, "Mountain Abstract," a white-line relief print, is on display at the New Hampshire Institute of Art's annual Continuing Education Exhibit, in Manchester, NH. The show will be hanging in the French Building (148 Concord St.) until August 15.

If this one print isn't enough for you, mark your calendars for an entire show of my white-line reliefs coming in November.

For more information about the current show and the New Hampshire Institute, visit their website: nhia.edu.

For a detailed image of this print, "Mountain Abstract," click here.

To purchase this framed print, contact the New Hampshire Institute of Art: 603 623-0313

Pearl Lake Lupines, Lisbon, New Hampshire

2009-06-09T19:33:00.002-04:00

In hopes of an early lupine bloom in the White Mountains, I joined the NH Plein Air painting group for an adventure last week. After enjoying (and painting) some mountain vistas and eating lunch at the famous Polly's Pancakes in Sugar Hill, we finally found a bunch of blossoms in nearby Lisbon, on the shore of Pearl Lake. There will hopefully be another excursion into the mountains to paint these beautiful flowers, but at least I was able to "pick" a few already!

Hiking Mount Monadnock is a First Prize Winner and SOLD

2009-06-04T21:26:00.002-04:00

I discovered yesterday that this print won first place in the Monadnock State Park category in the New Hampshire State Parks Art Contest! The parks department is going to use this image in their promotional materials. Soon, they will post the winning entries in all categories on nhstateparks.org. (They aren't there yet, trust me...)

This piece was inspired by a fond memory of enjoying a wonderful hike with Mark. I recall warm sunshine flooding the forest air as I hiked up the moutain on a clear autumn day. As I climbed, I was afforded the comfort and welcoming intimacy of the earthy grays and greens of the pine trees, rocks and shrubs. In contrast to this closeness, frequent gaps in the branches exposed great wide views of the distant red and purple country under an endless blue sky. Surrounded by the mountain trail, I became part of the mountain. Gazing out from Mount Monadnock, I drew on its strength to face the wider world.

This print has SOLD!

*but there are more impressions from this block available...
contact me!

Choppy Coast

2009-05-30T07:21:00.002-04:00

This was painted on site in York, ME. My favorite thing to look at is the rocky coast of New England, therefore it is also one of my favorite things to paint! I enjoy the challenge of trying to capture the changing tides and the water constantly swelling into waves, crashing on the rocks and then sweeping away.

Mountain Abstract-SOLD

2009-05-27T21:16:00.003-04:00

Last spring, I learned a really exciting printmaking method called "white-line relief." Invented around 1915 in Provincetown, MA, it is different from other relief techniques in a few key ways. Usually, woodblock prints are either made with different blocks for each color and applied in layers or, in the case of reductions, each color is printed and then the same block is recarved between each layer. By contrast, white-line relief blocks are carved and inked with watercolor or printmaking inks using a paintbrush and one "cell" of color is transferred to the paper at a time. The carved lines in the wood prevent the colors from running into each other and gives the technique its name.

I have spent quite a bit of time (when I should have been painting) playing around with these prints. This piece was my absolute first one and while it might be small, I am still pleased with the result. So, keep you eyes out for more white-line reliefs on this blog, since I can't seem to stop making them!

This print has SOLD!

*but there are more impressions from this block available...
contact me!

New Boston Esker

2009-05-22T09:03:00.002-04:00

I did this little sketch not too far from my house. I was with a group of painters who live here, and I decided to keep the composition simple and paint a sky study. For the record, this isn't a glacial esker, but one of my painting buddies called it an esker, and that is a good enough origin for the title of a sketch. The clouds raced across the sky, but I was able to "catch" them anyway.

It was nice to get to work as I have been nursing the oldest of my three Golden Retrievers back to health after an illness. The good news is that I have been painting again lately and the great news is that the dog, Winnie, is recovering.

So, here's to new beginnings!

NSF

New Etsy Shop!

2009-05-05T09:57:00.003-04:00

Here is the banner from my new Etsy shop! Etsy.com is a great site for buying handmade art and crafts online.

Because of this new venue, I have decided to post paintings here on the blog, including the link to my Etsy shop where that day's offering may be purchased. I have already "moved" some of the paintings and will continue to do so. I will also be posting new material very soon!

In the meantime, visit my new store: http://HannahPhelps.etsy.com

A Second Exhibit

2009-04-20T16:34:00.002-04:00

"Scene from the Point, Rye, NH" was featured on this blog in March, but it has a new reason to appear now. It will be on display at The Discover Portsmouth Center as part of the 15th annual "Artists of the Seacoast" exhibit, a yearly fund-raiser for Families First Health and Support Center. Families First provides a wide range of health and family services to the seacoast community. To find out more about this charity, visit their website: www.familiesfirstseacoast.org

This show will be on display Saturdays and Sundays from 10am to 5pm, April 25 through May 25 2009, . The Discover Portsmouth Center is on the corner of Middle and Congress Streets, in the old Portsmouth Library building.

SNHU Exhibit is a Success!

2009-04-17T13:24:00.003-04:00

This week, four NH Plein Air members have sold paintings on exhibit at Southern New Hampshire University's Pantano Gallery! "Garden View, Canterbury Shaker Village," pictured above, is among the paintings that have found new homes.

The show will be up until May 29, so there is still plenty of time to see it. I wouldn't wait too long, however, since the work seems to be flying off the walls!

This painting has SOLD!!

Step Two

2009-04-16T19:52:00.003-04:00

A few years ago at a plein air workshop, I said to my instructor, "I really enjoy working on the underpainting." He responded with a fairly powerful statement: "Then just keep underpainting."

While developing a painting, it is easy for artists to lose our original focus. We must continually challenge ourselves to remember why we wanted to paint THIS scene on THIS day. If we can keep the "underpainting feeling" all the way to the finished product, we can hold on to our first vision more easily.

During the underpainting stage, I use broad, loose brush strokes. I pay attention to shapes, color relationships and any movement caused by breezes, currents or waves. Stage Two and the rest of the process should be about refining these ideas, not replacing them.

Using the same brush and the same energetic strokes, I have added some greens to the trees in the middle ground and in the distance. I have also added some variety in color and tone in the foreground grasses.