An Evening at the Boatyard

This painting was a little difficult to photograph due to the contrast in the subject and the thick texture in the paint. But I ultimately succeeded in capturing a good shot on a flat and cloudy day when it wasn’t too dark or too blaringly bright outside. Hopefully the energy I felt in returning to the easel shines through in the piece.

“Evening at the Boatyard”, Oil on linen, 20 x 24” ©Jennifer E Young

I have been looking at a lot of art lately and painting a few lemons in between (both literally and figuratively😅.) As a result I feel compelled to express myself in a way that is not so literal. I don’t know how far out into the world of abstraction I want to venture, but I do feel the pull to simplify in the very least. What’s enough but not too much? That’s the question. I haven’t found the answer yet, at least not in my own work, but it’s something very much on my mind. It will probably take many more paintings (and quite a few more lemons) before I even come close to an answer.

Painting this Thursday at Carytown Collective

Just a quick announcement that tomorrow evening (Thursday October 25th) I will be at The Carytown Collective, doing a little painting and making myself available to answer questions about the paintings I have on display. If you haven't yet had a chance to visit this shop, this event, "Fall in Love With The Carytown Collective" is a great opportunity to have some light refreshments and get to know some of the vendors, and even do a little shopping too. The fun begins at 5 PM and ends at 8. We are located at 3422 West Cary Street in Richmond. Hope you can join us in Carytown!

Butter and Buttercups

Each year in early spring the rural counties in Virginia are blanketed with sunny yellow buttercups, and each year I vow to get outside and paint them in the field. More often than not though, I miss their brief appearance for one reason or another. It’s a busy time at my daughter’s school, or I am preparing for a show, or moving, etc., etc., etc.) This year I got lucky, thanks to the sweet tip I received from my husband, who spotted this location on his morning drive to work. 

"Butter and Buttercups", Oil on linen, 9x12" ©Jennifer E Young

This dairy farm is about 20 minutes from my home in Ashland, out in rural Hanover County just past historic Hanover Tavern. I started out painting the barn and fields, cowless, with a plan of perhaps adding the cows later from photos I took on site. Just toward the end of my session though, the cows obliged, and ambeled over long enough for me to paint a suggestion of their general shape and position. I decided to leave them as I painted them in the field, as I felt the handling was consistent with the rest of the painting.

"Plein Air Unleashed"

Last week I posted about a planned trip to White Stone, VA to paint with fellow artists in a relatively new plein air painting festival called Plein Air Unleashed. There were ten of us artists at this year's event, which spanned over a period of three days. 52 paintings were turned in to Allure Art Center at the culmination, to be displayed at the gallery during the month of May.  This is a fairly newly minted event, so it was pretty relaxed and low-key, which was fine by me as I always feel a bit rusty in the spring after my winter hibernation in the studio. 

This was my collection of paintings turned in at the end of the event.

White Stone is less than two hours from where I live, but I have never been to this area, nor anywhere in the Northern Neck. It's really quite a treat for plein air painters like me. The Northern Neck is the northernmost peninsula in Virginia. White Stone, Irvington, and Kilmarnock, where we painted sit at the southern end, where the Rappahanock meets the Chesapeake Bay. The area consists of small beaches, wetlands, marinas, farms, vineyards, and wineries, so there is a wide variety of subject matter to paint, with some really beautiful light and cloud formations from being that it is surrounded by so much water.

In all, I painted 8 pieces and turned in 7 (with one being a tosser). I can sometimes feel stressed by the more competitive events, but this festival was invigorating. It was great to be around other fine caliber painters and to just be able to submerge myself in nothing but painting for a few dedicated days. Here are a few on site photos of works-in-progress:

I felt fortunate to have stumbled on the info about this event through my friend Kim Hall, and hope to return next year. Here are most of the paintings I submitted for the show. I wish I had time to get a terrific record of the artwork submitted, but these photographs will have to do for now. 

"Afternoon at Hughlett Point", oil on linen, 11x14"

"Cloud Drift", Oil on linen, 9x12"

"Two Pines, Hughlett Point", Oil on linen, 12x16"

"Ready for Summer", Oil on linen, 12x12"

"Springtime at Windmill Point", Oil on linen, 12x12"

"Wind on the Marsh", Oil on linen, 12x16"

The exhibit at Allure Art Center will run through May 26th. The gallery is going to be posting highlights from the event and artists on its Facebook page, so even if you are nowhere near White Stone, you can get a taste of the event online. 

Plein air season

Every spring I jump the gun and think that the warm weather is here to stay, only to be blindsided by Ma Nature. Last week reached 80 degrees, so, after packing away most of my winter things, off I went to the garden center looking for color for my containers. That was last week. This week has been a totally different story, with rain, a March-like chill, and wind, oh so much wind!

Well the one smart thing I did in my zest for spring was to dust off my plein air gear on one of those summery mornings and visit the botanical gardens at Lewis Ginter. I went back to the Grace Arents Gardens that sit in front of the Bloemendaal House. I have painted this garden so many times but it is so beautiful and each season offers something new. In the early spring the garden offers a feast for the eyes dubbed "A Million Blooms", with acres of tulips, daffodils, and other spring bulbs.

"A Million Blooms in Grace Arents Garden" Oil on linen, 11x14" ©Jennifer E Young

I also like this particular site because it is one of the few places where there is adequate shade, and as the years have marched on my skin has become very sensitive. I do slather on the sunscreen and wear a big goofy hat, but it isn't always adequate and I pay for it later. I also carry an umbrella, but I don't really use it that much because of the extra time it takes to mount it, not to mention the dangers of having my whole setup topple over from a surprise gust of wind.

While I was there at the garden painting, I met several staff members who were enthusiastically commenting on my painting. Among them was the social media guru who took this snap of me in the early stages of my painting (bad hairdo and all). I had a great time and felt the sense of renewal that I always feel when I come back to plein air painting after a long break. Then came the wind and rain and cold, which delayed my ability to get a good shot of this piece outside until now.  I really hope the wind settles down today as I'd like to head back out there (or somewhere) today to get in some more on the spot painting while the spring flowers and trees are still going crazy.

P.S. Many of you responded to my last post with comments about my little obsession with a certain color on my palette. Yes, it is blue, but not any blue. It is (drumroll please) Indanthrene Blue. I will write more about it in an upcoming post.