I am so filled with appreciation !  The 3rd Annual Studio Show was a huge success!! Seeing friends from long ago and welcoming first time visitors to my Studio was truly enjoyable..

The weather was unseasonably warm and the mood as people shopped and shared conversation while sipping sangria was like being at a fun party!

Studio Shopping

Pottery by Melynn Allen

 

Melynn Allen’s Pottery looked perfect displayed in the cupboards and through out the Studio. I was sad to see her beautiful pieces leave their temporary home when Melynn packed up  at the end of the show! I’m already looking forward to next years Post Thanksgiving Studio Show. It’s a far cry from “Black Friday” at the Malls…no pepper spray…no long lines…just good company. 

 Thanks to all~

Welcoming visitors to share my Studio

Miles of Marsh ...11x14 oil pastel ...C. Kidder

For the past several years now in early autumn, Charlie Schurcliff who is a wonderful painter and neighbor has invited me to join him at his home to paint and have lunch with a  small group of artist friends.   They travel from as far away as Montreal for the opportunity to paint the  special vistas.  The setting is ideal…the back door opens up to miles of marsh . The view of Hog Island and golden fields threaded with waterways is incredible.

Miles of Marsh

Yesterday was the perfect day for our gathering. Clusters of puffy clouds raced through the very blue sky shedding shadows that highlighted the marsh . I worked with my oil pastels and tried to capture the colors.

Charles Hopkinson Self Portrait

Being with other painters sharing lively conversations at lunch about art and the world was stimulating. It felt reminiscent of the days back in the late 1800’s and early 1920’s when artists would meet at Salons to be with like minds unleashing their creative thoughts.  Charles Schurcliff’s grandfather Charles Hopkinson was an important portrait painter then . Most likely he too arranged  get togethers with his Artist companions at his Boston Salon.  I like to think that his spirit inspires his grandson.  I looked up at lunch to see a Hopkinson portrait hanging on the wall and I was instantly transported back in time…maybe a past life .

“How does one become a butterfly,…You must want to fly so much that you are willing to give up being a caterpillar.”             ~Trina Paulus

My studio has been a safe and comfortable cocoon for me this summer.  A place where I can spend hours getting lost in my landscapes…dreaming… drawing…putting colors on canvas and paper.

 But now that the seasons are shifting and Autumn is approaching I’m beginning to get that  ” back to school” feeling.

 And so I’m planning a solo trip to Monhegan  in early October.  For me being on the Island  is like being in a classroom with the very best teachers presenting valuable lessons.  Nature, the sky and the sea are my Professors . I take notes with my paint brushes.  It’s a true learning experience.

Colored Rocks... Monhegan Gouache...C. Kidder

 It’s so easy to get stuck in your cocoon…”Without change there could be no butterflies” …I need to venture outside of my Studio to find my wings…it’s time. 

Taking flight

Two Barns...11x14 oil pastel C. Kidder

Two days in Vermont just made me want more.  Motoring through the mountains and watching the cotton candy clouds drip across the tips of the hills in the early morning made me want to pull over and set up my easel!

A few years ago I spent an entire week exploring Southern Vermont with my brushes…no agenda…just painting.  On that trip I found two barns with alot of personality on an “off the beaten path” back road.  I parked on the edge of the field in the middle of nowhere and began sketching with my oil pastels.  I lost myself…and I was lost… but it was heaven!

I need to head for the hills again sometime soon . I’ll bring my paints and stay awhile in the Green Mountains painting it’s peace and breathing in the crystal clear air…I love Vermont…I know that it’s  good for me.

One Pink Flower...oil painting by C.Kidder

“KEEP YOUR LOVE OF NATURE, FOR THAT IS THE TRUE WAY TO UNDERSTAND ART BETTER.”

 ~VINCENT  VAN GOGH

Springtime ~Oil Pastel~ C. Kidder

  Lines Written in Early Spring…by William Wordsworth

I heard a thousand blended notes,  While in a grove I sate reclined, In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts bring sad thoughts to the mind  .

To her fair works did Nature link the human soul that through me ran; And much it grieved my heart to think what man has made of man.

Through primrose tufts, in that green bower, the periwinkle trailed its wreaths; And’t is my faith that every flower enjoys the air it breathes.

The birds around me hopped  and played, their thoughts I cannot measure: But the least  motion which they made it seemed a thrill of pleasure.

The budding twigs spread out their fan, to catch the breezy air; And I must think, do all I can, that there was pleasure there.

If this belief from Heaven be sent, If such be Nature’s holy plan,Have I not reason to lament what man has made of man?”                                                                                                                           

I’ve just finished reading a book called Clara and Mr.Tiffany by Susan Vreeland and so it was fun to see several panels of  Tiffany Glass exhibited on display when I visited the Metropolitan Museum in N.Y.C. last week.

From the book I learned alot about the delicate process of “painting” with glass shards and also about the women who designed many of the nature inspired pieces in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.  They were a small group of young, single,and talented women who worked together and were fiercely devoted to their art .  Women who worked tirelessly and were immensely proud of  their creations.

A Tiffany Window

Mr. Tiffany made it mandatory that all female employees remain unmarried.  If they chose to marry they could no longer work  with him at the Tiffany Studio.  Very interesting….”We’ve come a long way baby” . Imagine how that requirement would be received today!

Painting in Tuscany...Gouache...C.Kidder

“What was any art but a mold in which to imprison for a moment the shining elusive element which is life itself~life hurrying past us and running away, too strong to stop, too sweet to lose.”

~WILLA CATHER~ from “The Song of the Lark”

"In the Village "oil painting by Alexander Kremer

I’ve always been drawn to Russia.  I’m easily pulled into Russian novels, I love Russian Ballet and Dr. Zhavigo is one of my favorite movies.   Books by Anton Chekov and Leo Tolstoy are on my bedside table so that I can pick  them up to read before drifting  off to sleep at night . I just can’t get enough of anything to do with the country!

But it’s Russian Impressionism that finds a special place in my heart and evokes familarity. I often wonder if I painted on a Dacha in another life because when I see the paintings I feel at home.

One of my favorite Russian painters is Nikolai Timkov.  Back in the late 90’s I saw an exhibit of his work at the Spanierman Gallery in N.Y.C and I fell in love with his energetic style.  His paintings are filled with emotion . Rich colors  move across the canvas with a creative force and painterly brushstrokes.

Gallery Russia in Scottsdale Arizona  has the best selection of Russian Impressionist paintings.    On one of our visits to the Gallery we purchased this unfinished portrait that now hangs in my husbands home office .

The face is of an unknown man but his strength and dignified pose radiate from the canvas with  charisma.  It fills the room with a presence.

I dream of one day visiting Russia and taking a train through the Northern country side to see with my own eyes the vistas that the Russian Impressionist have painted . For now I’m happy looking out my kitchen window at the horses playing in the snow and icicles dripping from the barn door.  I like to imagine that it’s alot like the views at the Dachas in Russia.

]]> http://ckidderstudio.com/russian-impressions-2/feed/ 2 http://ckidderstudio.com/my-white-garden/ http://ckidderstudio.com/my-white-garden/#comments Thu, 20 May 2010 01:08:53 +0000 C.Kidder http://ckidderstudio.com/?p=655

Ten years ago when I still owned and ran my shop “Eliza Grays Goods”  I have to admit that I was a bit stressed at times!  My boys were twelve and ten years old and my husband was traveling alot for business.  I was trying to do it all…painting, parenting, practicing Yoga, and more.  That’s when I decided that I needed a “White Garden”.  Somewhere that I could sit and decompress… embraced by a calming shroud of all white flowers to soothe my busy mind.

 Years later I still begin each day either sitting on the white Victorian bench in the garden or inside looking out at the birds perching on white petals.

Some morning  soon…when the light is just right I’m going to set up my easel and paint my white garden!