Plein air in a French country garden

Now that we're really getting into the summer weather here, I'm starting to see my gardens taking shape. For the beds alongside my house, I'm slowly building an herb and butterfly garden. Budget restraints required that I experiment with starting from seed for a few things, but mostly I just started from very tiny plants and mixed in a few summer bulbs. Gardening is a pretty new pastime for me, so  believe me, every new growth or flower is a triumph.

In Virginia, if you dig deep enough, you will soon hit clay, which makes building any kind of new bed a bit of a chore, as you really have to work in a lot of good loose topsoil, soil conditioner, and fertilizer to make the plants take to it kindly. It kind of makes me shake my head a little when I visit places like the south of France. Roses practically grow out of the cracks of the sidewalks there! Okay, the gardeners there do have to deal with the rocks (and a lot of them) so I guess we all have our gardening challenges.

The old French country convent where I stayed had a labyrinth of beautiful gardens. I believe the current owners have had the place for a little over 10 years, and while they started with a property that had "good bones", all of the gardens were as a result of their own sweat and muscle. The gardens were set out like little outdoor sanctuaries, and there was something to discover in every nook and cranny of the property.

To the painter's eye, there were a thousand possibilities just within the confines of Le Vieux Couvent itself. But I was drawn particularly to the little goldfish pond out back.So apparently was one of the resident cats, "Portia". With so much touring, I didn't really have much time to paint on the grounds of the property, but I did do this little watercolor sketch of Portia by the pond one morning before we set off on another excursion:

My layout was such that I couldn't quite get in the pond itself. But I came back one morning after the group from the "artist retreat" left, and painteda more close-up view again in oils:

"Bassin  Â Poisson Rouge" (The Goldfish Pond) Oil on Linen, 11x14" ©Jennifer Young

Art walk tonight, plus "deep thoughts" on goals

It's looking like a gorgeous day today, so I'm going to try to get out and do some painting outside before heading downtown to get the gallery ready for the First Fridays Downtown Art Walk. Tonight's art walk opening continues a showing from last month called "Spring Mix". The theme is gardens, flowers, anything Spring. But since my place is primarily an art studio, I've always got new stuff on view, even when a show carries over. June will be my last Art Walk of the season, debuting my 2nd annual "En Plein Air" show. As expected from the title, it will feature work I've done on location. I'll have new  and recent local paintings of Richmond, the Blue Ridge Mountains, and some from my upcoming travels to southwestern France. Here are the details for the May and June shows:

Where we are: 

Jennifer Young Studio & Gallery is located at 16 East Main Street, (between 1st and Foushee) two blocks east of the Jefferson Hotel.

We're open during the First Fridays Richmond Art Walk from 6 to 8:30 PM and by appointment at other times. The Art Walk season continues right on through the summer, but we'll be taking a hiatus in July and August. For additional information contact us or call 804-254-1008. Click here to view a map and get driving directions from your location.

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As I look aheadto the end ofthe Art Walk season (for me) I am thinking a lot about personal vs. professional goals. Working full time in this art thing, I've accepted that there is always going to be a lot of overlap. My art IS personal (I'd have it no other way) but it is also my business, and sometimes it is really a challenge not to have those two aspects completely blur.

Since I've been at my downtown studio, my focus has been on the professional end of things. Namely, how can I (with an artist's budget) best market and utilize this space? How can I maximize its potential (it IS a gorgeous space)? I had many openings, joined committees, changed my hours a few times (now back to "by appointment"), and hosted a workshop (a first at this studio).  I've had some wonderful experiences and some times when I feel as if I've fallen flat on my face. But, that's pretty much par for the course in any business I guess.  In any event, in the relatively short amount of time that I've had the studio gallery, I've learned a great deal, about my business and (perhaps more importantly) about myself. 

 For a while now (at least in the last 6 months, maybe more) I feel like I've been involved with a lot of business (busy-ness!) and less and less painting. For me, the painting (or drawing, or printmaking) has always been the driving force and that's where I need to return my focus for a while. And painting for purpose of expansion rather than for production, if that makes any sense. I look forward to it. 

I'm kicking off with a plein air painting trip to France, but my goal for the summer is to devote more time to those things that have always fedmy spirit and ultimately helped me to advance as an artist and as a creative liver-of-life. More plein air painting. More drawing. More experimenting. More reading. More time at home. Gardening. Travel. Finally taking a sewing class. Learning about web development and redesigning my website (here comes that blur!) Teaching, if it's in the cards. And yeah, more relaxing!

Okay, that's a pretty ambitious looking summer list, but I'm thinking of it more as a summer menu. A few of these things take priority for me, and the rest I can select according to time and desire. As I said, I look forward to it.

Plein air in my neighborhood: "Color Surprise"

In the evenings, my husband and I love walking through our Bellevue neighborhood, and we try to do it most days that our schedules and the weather will allow. There are a lot of avid gardeners in our 'hood, and in spring it seems like every nook and corner has a touch of color. The other evening we took a back alley detour and came upon this scene. It was striking in the light of dusk as the building and the irises were backlit. I came back in the morning to see if I still found interest, and I did. It was a different light, to be sure. But there was a certain pattern that played across the path and fence that I liked enough to do this little pochade.

"Color Surprise" Oil on Canvas, 6x8" (SOLD) ©Jennifer Young

If you've looked around my website you might notice that I have a thing for sheds. I guess I like the simplicity of the form, and the interesting texture of the walls and rooftops (the more decrepit the better.) I've sure painted my share of the French Provencial versions; called "cabaneaux" en Francais.

Call me crazy but I also have a thing for certain alleys. They can be kind of a "grab bag" though-- I don't always see (or smell) the most pleasant things. But sometimes when people let their private gardens spill over into the walkways I can find quite a surprise of color.

Plein air at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden

Three days of rain has given way to sun, so I finally had an opportunity to photograph a little plein air painting I did last week at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond.

"Golden Veil" 10"x8", Oil on Canvas (SOLD) ©Jennifer Young

As the painting was in progress, a member of the garden staff told me that this little rose arbor is the setting for many a bridal portrait at the garden, so I thought I'd given it an appropriate title.

This was one of those hazy mornings when the sun was playing peek-a-boo behind cloud cover, giving off a cool, soft light. The result was a rather soft-focused, romantic effect. Then again, maybe I just had "bride" on the brain! 

"Reverie des Roses"- Provence garden painting

Today is a "bonus day". This morning as I was writing out my "to do" list, I commented to my husband it's rained during the last several First Fridays art walks. And with 70% chance of rain again today, it didn't look good for the art walk tonight. "But today's Thursday," husband said. I cannot tell you how happy this made me. I found an extra day! It also worries me a little too...I really can be in my own little world sometimes. In any event, I now have time to post my most recent painting of a lovely Provencal pathway lined with roses:

"Reverie des Roses" (Provence, France) Oil on Canvas, 24x30" (SOLD) ©Jennifer Young

If you're in Richmond, come see it in person TOMORROW during the First Fridays art walk. I'm open early from 6-8:30 PM with a new show called "Spring Mix."