The age ole question of does Art Imitate Life or Life Imitate Art is bound to stir up conversation. I was thinking about this as I was looking at some paintings I had done and also considering the unsettled funk I had been in lately. July was a clunky month for me. I had hopes of lots of plein air painting but the heat and rain thwarted most of my efforts. I just couldn’t get any traction on much of anything. When I did get out to paint, nothing came easy. Everything felt kinda outta sync.

Case in point: I went out painting and really liked this one view. I started painting and it was looking pretty good at first but it went south quickly. I tried correcting it and ended up completely over working it. I even knew it at the time but just couldn’t stop myself.
     It really bugged me…that I got it so wrong... or that's how it felt, so  I decided to go back and try again.  I NEVER do this but I thought it was worth a try. Take two would be 2 -3 small paintings – FAST-15 minutes, maybe 20 at most. Don’t get hung up. No details. Big shapes. Well, I didn’t quite stick to the time frame but I’m happier with the outcome. Simpler and cleaner. I was still feeling a bit out of sync, though, so I’m not completely happy.

The last week in July was so miserable there was no way to paint outside. So I just gave up trying. Sometimes that is the best thing you can do. Just stop pushing.

     As I suspected, I ran into a few conflicts with my February Challenge. In years past that might have bothered me and I'd have thrown in the towel. In that vein, when February 28th rolled around and there were still a few paintings I wanted to do, I decided to extend my project a bit. The official end date is March 10, if that matters to anyone.
     When I've done this type of challenge before, my plan was very clear as was my schedule. This challenge started out with me leaving town for a dear friends funeral. That affected my schedule right off the bat but also put things into perspective. Don't sweat the small stuff, Sarah. I'd just do what I could. The point of this is to paint,  learn and play.
     I planned on 2 series. A studio studies and some gouache abstracts. Besides that, my plan was quite loose. Paint 5 days a week when you can.  If you miss a day, make it up on Saturday or during the week if possible by doing 2 paintings, but... no pressure. No set amount of paintings has to be completed. Painting is the point.

 
I have been getting in the studio. I knew I would and that's one reason it was ok to give myself some space this year.

Here's a sped up video of me starting a sheet of thumbnail sketches. This is 10 minutes condensed to just over 2 minute. It's just a start, some ideas, this sheet dries and I end up doing 2 more sessions...adding layers, shapes, etc....

      Lately I’m enjoying doing a bit more cooking; some soups and maybe some last of the season grilling, some reading, some yard work…enjoying the fall weather. Filling my tank, so to speak.
     I finished Mad Enchantment by Ross King…. and recommend it. It gave me a sense of the man Claude Monet and the times he lived in a digestible way…not just facts and dry history. Now I am trying to tackle Rembrandts Eyes by Simon Schama which is supposed to be a masterful accounting of Rembrandt but just might be a bit dry. May take me a year or 2 to get thru this tome.
      At first I felt a bit guilty....taking this time to sit back and recuperate, although I knew it was sorely needed. Now I am relishing it; relaxing into it, because I know I need it. I KNOW it will serve me in the long run. I need to refuel...plain and simple.
      I will say I did finally work up a loose schedule for myself today, just so I don't fall off the deep end of bumble-dom which I can easily do. :) It's been great having nothing on the schedule for a couple weeks but I know I work better with some structure so, now, a bit of an outline will also serve me well.
     But I am still enjoying some quiet, deep breaths and a slower pace.....

      I’m trying to remember just how long it’s been since I did a plein air event. It’s got to be at least 2-3 years and might be 4. So, I figured it was time to look for one that I'd be willing to do; it would have to have some urban painting options. Lucky me, I found Marietta Art Alive’s River Towns Plein Air. It helped that I  happened to be on the email list.

      I applied and got juried in, dusted off my packing list etc…off I went. Instead of having time to really scout places to paint, as I like to do, I found myself just stopping and painting when I saw something because I had the time and the weather was good at the moment. I seemed to find my way around and managed 8 paintings in 4 days.

      What I enjoyed as much as the painting were the people I met. Every day I had folks coming up to me asking questions and often telling me stories of how art had touched their lives in some way. I always love listening and encourage them to continue to be creative. I get to see the power of art in these people; how it affects them and connects us, even if for just a moment. Such a powerful moment … it always amazes me and it’s such a gift they share with me.

      And then there are the artists themselves…meeting so many talented people!  There were 30 juried artists and 30 un-juried artists that painted and hung their work for the weekend sale and were up for the various awards. I am very happy to report that I won 1st place overall! I was flabbergasted, let me tell you! Astonished! I knew I’d done some strong work but I don’t really think about awards when I’m painting…I just paint scenes I find interesting.

Here are a couple more I've done with this same process with varying degrees of success.

Since plein air season is kicking in, I doubt I'll be exploring this process more, right now, but I am glad I have this to come back to; to experiment with more in the future because invariably there will be more plein air paintings that I'd rather transform into something new than sand out or simply throw away.

      Easter is a time for renewal as is Spring. This Easter week Spring has arrived in full force with warm sun and spring blooms a blooming! I know folks have been missing my plein air paintings. Well, the wait is OVER! I went out for my FIRST painting session this week. As usual, it felt a bit awkward but the only way to fix that is to paint more! I went out the following day and I plan on going out tomorrow as well.
     This is all in preparation for my 1st plein air event in quite a while; River Towns Plein Air 2022 in Marietta, PA.. I applied for this event because there are urban scenes. I'm pleased to have been juried in and excited to meet these other painters, many I don't know yet

A valentine tribute to my Dad
2/12/2021

 This is my Valentine to my Father, Francis C. Baptist who died just a couple weeks ago. He was 97 and his spirit was present until the end.
       Dad was my first and most influential art teacher, my greatest supporter and my biggest inspiration for becoming an artist. When I brought home a scribble from elementary school it was celebrated. There is a box of them, from all 3 kids in the attic someplace. Some even got framed and hung up for a while! There was never any judgement…whatever we created was good!
      Dad was an Art Professor at the local State College for 24 years. His office was only a couple blocks from our house. One of my favorite memories is when he had office hours and I had to go with him because everyone else was busy and I was too young to be on my own. Dad would open up this HUGE closet of art supplies the school had and start pulling out paper and chalks or paints or whatever and say “Here”, and I’d plop on the floor and play!
     He taught art gently. We’d go on road trips to visit relatives and we’d always stop by historic places and museums. He’d let me go about the paintings as I wished but he’d always pull me aside and point out 1 or 2 special things about that exhibit or this master painter. Just enough that I could remember at that age. Both he and Mom instilled a love for culture and beauty in us that is now part of my DNA.
       I remember taking my 1st drawing class from Dad in college and pretending we were not related. That was a fun experiment and I fell in love with drawing with charcoal in the very first class. He was an amazing teacher; filled with such enthusiasm for what he was teaching. Many students visited him 20+ years after graduating to express their gratitude for what he taught them about art and life. Many are sending cards to my Mom as I write this. He had an impact. The thing was, his joy and enthusiasm was for life as much as it was for art and that’s what the students caught sight of.
       Dad loved theater and music. Put them together and you have opera. Now that is one love I never acquired a taste for, but I have come to appreciate some of it. I do love classical music more than I ever thought I would when I was a teenager. So many of the things I like, such as classical music, theater, movie musicals, old movies, ART, everything art…the marks I make, the fact that I love the figure are all gifts he gave me and I  get to relish those things for years to come and remember him while I am doing them. Thanks Dad. I Love you and Miss you.
       Here are just a few of his artworks. I share them with you now to give you a small taste of his spirit and talent. They have never been seen outside a very small circle of friends and family. Enjoy.    


Photography courtesy of Sue Faraone Gourley

      Lets start this out with the GOOD news, OK? I always try to do a painting on January 1 as I feel that helps set the course for the year to come and I got one done! Yeah!
     Many people commented on missing my January challenge last year of 30 paintings in 30 days so I thought I'd bring it back this year. However, instead of focusing so much on accomplishing a completed painting, the idea is to get into the studio and be creative or tickle those inspiration muscles in some fashion. I'll do a bit of both, I imagine. How about coming along? Make some time and do something creative...even just 10-15 minutes a day adds up fast! That is how I started!

Now the Bad news....Covid has hit our household. It's been difficult to get into the studio. Some days it's just not going to happen...BUT, I am still determined to do something inspiring and art related.

One of my Christmas presents was a book called The Loft Generation by Edith Schloss for Christmas. I am reading that. There are always art books to look at if I'm not up to Studio time.

I'll keep you posted. Hopefully we'll both be feeling better very soon.
Happy 2022. Stay safe and healthy.

Sarah

     For the past several years I took part in a group holiday online show. Over 40 artists and multiple paintings from every artist = Lots of art to scroll thru for the viewer. That has pros and cons. This year I thought I’d branch out on my own. It’s always good to compare and contrast…try different things. I decided on two new series that I’ll launch in a Holiday email campaign starting Nov. 28th. The paintings will also be released to social media 48 hours after my loyal subscribers have that exclusive 1st look at them.
     Seemed do-able, so I got to work planning more details and painting. I decided on urban plein air (of course :)) and urban abstracts. Since weather was nice and the plein air was my wheelhouse, they were first on my to-do list although when I got 3 or 4 completed, I started my abstracts since they take more time and layering. I also decided on a standard size for both series so pricing was simple and affordable, for everyone!
     Approaching the plein air was straight forward, especially since I just spent my summer doing just that - painting urban plein air. It helps that I enjoy doing that so much AND that the fall colors were coming into play. That gave me a little different palette to play with, which was fun but it also reminded me that my plein air season is definitely coming to a close, so I tried to enjoy these last little paintings of my 2021 season as much as possible.

For the Urban Abstracts I decided a theme would be helpful. I picked one of my older plein air paintings and used that as inspiration. I start out doing lots of very small, quick studies. From there I pick something I like and then work from that to start my 6" x 6" paintings. Usually as I begin, things will look a bit recognizable. As I work on more of the studies and “loosen up” I get more abstract, more playful. It’s definitely a process for me. Coming off of my plein air season where I’m painting what I see, abstraction takes a bit more time…more layers,more passes and decisions. The one minute video below is sped up greatly and both of these are part of the series I'll be releasing. I can tell you that neither of these were complete at this stage!

I hope this has piqued your curiosity and you’re excited about the release of these New Paintings.

Please SIGN UP so you get first look at these painting delivered directly to you!

I know it seems early to be thinking of the Holidays BUT the good news is...all you need to do, to help yourself be ready is SIGN UP for my Newsletter... the rest is up to me!

In past years I have been a part of group online shows during the Holiday season. This year I am taking a BIG step and braving it out on my own! That's right..I'm launching a Holiday Celebration Campaign.

Simply put, I will be releasing new paintings in the first 3 weeks of December. All the paintings will be small and priced under $275, many well under.

I am currently busy creating paintings JUST for this collection. Half the paintings will be Plein Air Urban Landscapes that I am

       Another Open Studio for archives. It takes months of planning and painting and it’s over, just like that. Always a joy to meet people face to face and spend time together.
        This year I released a new series for the first time ever. Figure in the Urban Landscape. This is a collision of 20 plus years of figure drawing and 7 years of urban landscape painting. I’ve been working figures into some of my paintings here and there but this winter I made the commitment to do a series. Watch the video to hear more about that.

      The past 7 years of being a full time artist has taken me on quite a journey. I realized this winter it was time to slow down and re-calibrate a bit. I’ve spent much of 2021 doing just that!
       My new series of Figures in the Urban Landscape, which I am revealing at this year’s Open Studio, is a direct result of some of this re-calibrating.  In looking at the figure work I’ve been doing for over 25 years and my urban paintings, I decided it was time to bring these two together. BAM! Actually, I tried something similar years ago and it didn’t quite take. This time around it feels right. These paintings have been an absolute joy to create and I think each has a story to tell.
      One question I had to ask myself in these past months is Why? Why urban landscape? I’ve often spoken about my paintings having a rhythm. So I stared at my paintings…stared and stared and thought about the way your eye travels through these painting, what’s in these paintings and what is their rhythm.  That led me to thinking about the rhythms of life itself. I thought of the roads we all travel in this life, the obstacles we inevitably run into, and how they shape us.  I can see that reflected in my paintings. There are roads, streets, paths in my paintings as well as obstacles like leaning poles, bridges, building, etc. that can be analogous with life events that happen to each of us.

      I’ve done an Open Studio for the past 5 years; this years is number 6.  Hands down it’s the best place to connect, both as an art enthusiast and as an artist. It’s where YOU get to know me BETTER and I can make myself and my art available to YOU, for one weekend, in as easy, casual, and unfettered way as possible.
       Open Studios are a fantastic way to see an artist’s work because you see a large body of work. This really gives you a sense of the artist, a full picture, as opposed to just a few pieces in a show. You may see pieces that you’d never see in any gallery or show…not because they aren’t good, but because they simply don’t fit a theme or are a bit different than the artists’ mainstream work.
       You see where the art is created, the materials used and perhaps see pieces in various stages of completion. You may be the very FIRST to see work…work that hasn’t been out of the studio yet! How cool is that! Best of all you get to see art in person, up close and talk to the artist about it. As an artist, I enjoy the interaction; you responding to the art and hearing about what you see in the paintings, what they remind you of…what stories you bring to them. Art is surprising in its universality and I always learn things from you.
       Buying art online or from a gallery is fine and I support both those methods of supporting artists but nothing beats connecting in person. When you can chat with the artist, in the space where the artist works, it deepens our connection as human beings and makes the world a better place. If you happen to take an artwork home, it’ll just be that much more special because of the time we spent together. And if it is not the time for you, that’s OK too, we’ll still have a wonderful memory to share

      I believe to understand any artist, you have to acknowledge the many facets of that artist. You may not respond to everything they do and that is OK. However, you’re likely to gain insight into the artist by seeing other aspects of their work and it could open up another avenue of discovery. Who knows? From time to time I post figure sketches on my Instagram and Facebook accounts. I’ve been told that people get confused because the work is different than my Urban Landscapes. Yet, from my perspective it’s all art. There is no right or wrong, no formula and since these things inspire me I want to share them. But maybe I can explain this even better.
      I have been an Urban Landscape artist for just over 7 years now. I’ve spent a lot of time and energy branding myself as such, too. Most of my blogs are about my journey of becoming an established full time artist, the plein air events I’ve done, my annual Open Studio event, etc., I have a website full of urban landscape paintings and that is mostly what you'll see on my social media accounts.
      Yet I have a secret…. (ssshhh) and it is that I love drawing and painting the figure. I have been drawing the figure in studio sessions for over 25 years! That’s three times longer than I have been doing Urban Landscapes. I must love it! I think it’s important to share different aspects of my journey with you…and the figure is a big one.
       Why is the figure so compelling? Well, first of all I’d say since we are all human, (I think-hahaha) it’s easy for us to relate to the figure. Every pose seems to tell a story. For me, a turn of the head, a twist in the torso, an out stretched hand can speak volumes. No words needed. You just feel hope, longing, desire, sadness, joy or whatever it is through the body and then, hopefully, transmitted through the mark of the artist.  Isn’t that amazing?
      On a technical level, the human body is thought to be the most difficult thing to master in art. There are rules and ways to measure the body and proportions but no two humans are the same and actually no one human is symmetrical either. Did you know that? Now add the billions of angles from which anyone might be viewed from or the clothing which might be worn and well, I think you can understand the complexities. It can take a life time to master. That is both the challenge and the joy!
      What’s really fascinating to me these days is that my love of the human figure is actually coming around into my Urban Landscapes as I am beginning to explore people in the Urban Landscape. As I have been painting plein air, I have also been sketching people over the years and taking photos as well. All my years of drawing the figure is helping me as I develop these into paintings and hopefully, a new series.

       One thing I do is I scout where I am painting. I take pictures and walk a couple streets just to get the lay of the land. This year I actually did that in Wilmington! I realized that even though I live here, I hadn’t scoped it out, like a painter, so I took a morning and did just that. It has helped a great deal.

     Early on in the plein air season I do sketches before I start painting. Another way to warm up, get in the groove and make sure I have the best approach possible for the painting I am about to do.

As the season wears on and I am painting a lot… the need to do sketching lessens or I do the sketching right on the painting surface. But that is not where I am right now!