A Painter's Year

Sunday Sketchbook: Vermont

2012-01-29T13:05:00.005-05:00

This barn lost its purpose when cow herds and square bales disappeared--but the beautiful form (hopefully refitted to another function) remains.

Carousel

2012-01-27T14:04:00.004-05:00

Waiting for dusk on the first day of a small town fair.

Click here for first stage of "Carousel".

Walking Up (Middlebury), in progress

2012-01-26T10:34:00.004-05:00

From establishing the drawing and values to laying in first colors, I find the early stages of a painting both the most exciting and most uncertain parts of a long process.

Walking Up (Middlebury), study

2012-01-23T12:33:00.004-05:00

Here's a color study for a new oil painting that's the kind (my favorite kind) of composition that asks us to look up, over, between and around.

Sunday Sketchbook: Canada

2012-01-22T16:56:00.004-05:00

Listening to Latino musicians performing in a cafe while I'm on a quick trip to Montreal for an infusion of ethnic food (a commodity that's in short supply in Vermont).

Bend in the Road (in progress)

2012-01-20T14:11:00.004-05:00

To paraphrase painter Wolf Kahn, barns are the cathedrals of rural America.

Bend in the Road (study)

2012-01-17T13:15:00.003-05:00

A watercolor study for a new oil painting, thinking about color relationships by limiting my palette to a single blue, yellow and red.

Sunday Sketchbook: Vermont

2012-01-15T14:43:00.005-05:00

Driving south in Vermont this week I was sad to still see damage from Hurricane Irene along stream beds and river banks, with many homes empty, and businesses (such as this restaurant near Sharon) closed until further notice.

Two Barns, Winter (in progress)

2012-01-13T13:53:00.003-05:00

First stage of a new painting that's about temperatures of light and patterns of shadow.

Two Barns, Winter (study)

2012-01-11T07:04:00.005-05:00

An aged and ramshackle barn used just for storage now, but still with glimpses of beauty it its lines, light and color.

Sunday Sketchbook: New York

2012-01-08T18:22:00.004-05:00

I made a trip down to New York City this week to see the Indian miniature, Renaissance portrait, and Willem de Kooning exhibits (as well as some favorites from the Met's and Moma's permanent collections.) I came home very inspired by these many artists, so separated by time, country and culture, yet sharing many similarities in approaches to color and composition, and all speaking the same universal language of visual art.

Sunday Sketchbook: Vermont

2012-01-01T14:02:00.007-05:00

Happy New Year to you! My resolution for 2012 is to slow down a bit, and pay less attention to the past and future and more to the here and now (which on my walk this January morning was a view of fog lifting off of snowy Grit Hill.)

Season's Greetings!

2011-12-25T16:36:00.005-05:00

Best Wishes from snowy Vermont for a cozy and contemplative Christmas.

Barnyard, Cloudy Morning

2011-12-22T11:51:00.004-05:00

My blog's been quiet for the last week, as I've been reorganizing my studio (click here to see), preparing canvases for the new landscape series, and finishing this painting.

Barn and Bales

2011-12-09T12:17:00.003-05:00

I've been indoors the last week painting images of summer and meanwhile, outside my studio windows, the whites of winter have finally arrived.

Sharon, VT

2011-12-03T15:11:00.003-05:00

Here's another Vermont town that, nestled between a mountain and river, was hit hard by flood waters this summer.

To purchase and donate to flood relief.

Carousel (in progress)

2011-11-28T16:32:00.006-05:00

Here's the start of the second painting of my carnival trio, which at this stage feels like a vintage daguerreotype taken in the 1800's by an itinerant photographer of small town life.

Piero, Fruit and pitchers (detail)

2011-11-24T12:11:00.003-05:00

My thanks go out for nature's bounty, and for our friends, family, and home, and thanks to the makers of art, and the lovers of art. . . Happy Thanksgiving to you!

Snack Stand (in progress)

2011-11-22T15:42:00.006-05:00

One of three paintings I have underway inspired by an empty carnival ground on a village green I happened upon while driving a back road in Vermont.

Fourth of July (in progress)

2011-11-21T14:47:00.005-05:00

As I add color, trying also to add the heat and haze of a small town summer day.

Yellow Truck (in progress)

2011-11-16T16:20:00.004-05:00

Maine combines the everyday with the infinite like few other places I've painted.

Fourth of July (detail, in progress)

2011-11-14T13:04:00.005-05:00

A section of another new painting, after my first pass through with burnt umber to establish the composition.

Sunday Sketchbook: Vermont

2011-11-13T14:45:00.004-05:00

Finally I'm on the road again for my blog "Let Me Show You Vermont", this time exploring my local town of Plainfield. Click here to read all about it!

Barnyard (in progress)

2011-11-09T14:05:00.007-05:00

I'm in my studio working on a new series of landscapes inspired by place (New England), mood (for you to interpret), composition (that geometry that underlies the seemingly random) and color (stay tuned!)

Sunday Sketchbook: Figure

2011-11-06T15:42:00.002-05:00

A rocking chair and model strike a pose together.

Purple Pillow

2011-11-05T13:06:00.003-04:00

A Danae pose, but with a shower of spot light rather than shower of gold from Zeus.

Striped Scarf

2011-11-03T10:56:00.003-04:00

Odalisques never seem to go out of fashion...

Road Towards Water

2011-11-02T14:29:00.004-04:00

Don't you love it when you are driving along the coast and you come around a bend and there, instead of trees or houses or more road, is a sudden view of blue water stretching all the way to the horizon?

Maple Tree and Mountains

2011-10-29T13:05:00.002-04:00

Just dashes of red and yellow still lingering from our Vermont autumn--and the snow we are expecting later today will tip the color balance further towards the blues and violets of winter.

Model with Pink Scarf

2011-10-27T05:00:00.000-04:00

Another pose from the same life session as yesterday's post, reading again but sans black socks.

Model with Black Socks, Reading

2011-10-26T15:22:00.007-04:00

I'm going to an evening life group again, and find that working from a model is both the best discipline and the best fun--how many times can we say that about an experience?

Sunday Sketchbook: Canada

2011-10-23T14:27:00.004-04:00

On my out of New Brunswick , after an inspiring and relaxing trip to the Maritimes, and into Maine. I'll be posting more oils and watercolors from Maine and PEI in the coming days!

Clouds and Fields, PEI

2011-10-17T09:29:00.003-04:00

The view behind my cottage here on the island on a Sunday morning: bright red fields, dark hedgerows, quickly moving clouds, and a distant farm.

Sunday Sketchbook: Canada

2011-10-16T15:06:00.003-04:00

Prince Edward Island is a perfect place to practice drawing pine trees, shingled houses with pointed roofs, and plates of mussels.

Fields and Inlet, PEI

2011-10-15T14:51:00.003-04:00

The water here in coastal Canada can look almost tropical on a sunny October morning.

Blue Boat, PEI

2011-10-14T09:53:00.004-04:00

Driving around at the end of a grey day looking for something to paint while I still had some light, I found this cobalt boat and cerulean dumpster parked at a quiet little harbor in Annandale.

Cliffs and Inlet

2011-10-12T16:21:00.003-04:00

Standing on the dunes behind our cottage, looking across the the inlet to the bright cliffs and fields so characteristic of Prince Edward Island.

Boat in Harbor, PEI

2011-10-11T12:19:00.005-04:00

It was Thanksgiving Day in Canada yesterday, and by late afternoon the harbor at North Lake was deserted by all but a stiff wind and strong sun.

And Roscoe and me...

Sunday Sketchbook: Maine

2011-10-09T11:00:00.000-04:00

Driving through a Maine town's jumble of pickup trucks, pine trees, and telephone poles on my way north to the border.

Maritimes Meadow (detail)

2011-10-08T11:00:00.001-04:00

I'm on my way to the coast of Prince Edward Island for a week of painting, and the car is just about full with oils, watercolors, a pochade box, a french easel, boots and sweatshirts, and a bag of tennis balls for ocean-side games of fetch with Roscoe the black lab.

Click here to see the entire painting.

From the Barn

2011-10-07T15:43:00.002-04:00

My student Sue painting from Kate's barn on a rainy afternoon.

Sheep and Trough

2011-10-05T14:58:00.002-04:00

The view from Comstock House in Plainfield on a day of constantly changing weather.

Red House, Maine

2011-10-03T08:30:00.004-04:00

Sometimes one strong color will set the stage for every other shape in a painting.

Sunday Sketchbook: Vermont

2011-10-02T08:35:00.003-04:00

A color sketch from my workshop this week, a study in three primary colors (which can be mixed into endless combinations) of a New England crossroads.

Near Cabot

2011-09-30T08:04:00.004-04:00

Today is the start of my autumn landscape painting workshop--hopefully the fickle fall weather will cooperate for plenty of plein air sessions, but if not, my studio is ready for a week of painting with my hard-working students.

Spring to Summer (right panel)

2011-09-26T17:27:00.004-04:00

And here's the final panel, with flowers that changed from tulips to peonies as we moved from June to July--and then on to the little green apples of August, and finally in September, the last tarot card thrown on the table.

Spring to Summer (middle panel)

2011-09-21T15:34:00.005-04:00

The middle panel continues the Asian motif, with a Hokusai print, a celadon vase, and a crane on a river (origami bird on a cloth, that is...)

Spring to Summer (left panel)

2011-09-20T15:35:00.005-04:00

My still life commission "Spring to Summer" is finished, and here is the left panel, and the complete triptych...stay tuned for the other two panels. You can gauge the time from beginning to completion by the fruit I painted, which began with cherries, then raspberries, peaches and plums, blackberries, and finally wild apples.

Fence and Flag, Bahamas

2011-09-19T16:45:00.003-04:00

Another of my paintings from the landscape workshop, this time focusing on complementary colors and a rhythm of active and quiet.

Sunday Sketchbook: Vermont

2011-09-18T10:00:00.001-04:00

Today I'm driving north again, after a busy and enjoyable week of teaching in Washington. Meanwhile, back in Vermont, flood-damaged roads are reopened, cider is being pressed, and the first frost visited last night.

Alley in Alexandria, Late Afternoon

2011-09-14T23:54:00.003-04:00

My class and I are exploring the back streets of town in search of shapes and colors--a quest unique to the clan of landscape painters.

Spring to Summer--Vignette 16

2011-09-13T23:42:00.004-04:00

Wild apples from the meadow take their place with tarot cards and a geisha.

Spring to Summer--Vignette 15

2011-09-12T14:35:00.004-04:00

Another detail from my new still life--as I kept painting, ripe blackberries from my August orchard replaced the raspberries of early summer.

Sunday Sketchbook: Vermont

2011-09-11T10:00:00.001-04:00

I showed these drawings to my travel sketchbook class yesterday, and looking at them, I felt the same pang I did at the yard sale, saying goodbye to my son's teddy bear and my husband's backpack (and I held on to both of them, as it turned out.)

Moretown

2011-09-09T15:26:00.002-04:00

The Moretown town hall--a lovely example of Vermont vernacular architecture--painted by me in the key of violet.

This is last Vermont town photo/painting left from my current flood relief sale! More photo/paintings in this series will be posted in the coming weeks, so stay tuned if you'd like another chance to buy one. I'll continue to donate 100% of sales to help Vermont recovery efforts.

Cafe Table

2011-09-08T11:00:00.000-04:00

I'm off to Washington, DC today to teach painting workshops for ten days--always an adventure, and an opportunity to learn something new myself.

Plainfield

2011-09-07T10:00:00.001-04:00

The Winooski River, on a calm and peaceful September afternoon, flowing through the village at the bottom of my hill.

I've added this painting to my Vermont Flood Relief Art Sale--you can take a look here!

Sunday Sketchbook: Vermont

2011-09-04T16:00:00.007-04:00

Here's Wilmington, Vermont, in happier and drier times. Just a week ago today, Wilmington was extensively damaged by flooding from Hurricane Irene, as was Wallingford, pictured below.

An update on my online Vermont Flood Relief Art Sale:
I'm delighted to report that we raised $2,500. yesterday! Thank you so much to all who purchased. There are still eleven painted photos left, including some of my favorites (like the one below). You can take a look by clicking here. Then email me at sa@susanabbott.com and I'll reserve your piece.

Vermont Flood Relief Art Sale

2011-09-03T10:55:00.002-04:00

Up here on my hill we were lucky to escape Hurricane Irene without anything more than a wet basement, but just a few miles down the road, homes, farms and businesses were badly damaged by flooding. Many towns in central and southern Vermont (such as lovely Wilmington, pictured above) were devastated. Vermonters are pulling together and working hard to recover, but they will need some help.

So here's your chance to give that help to flood victims, and at the same time get a unique piece of art. I am donating all sales from my "Let Me Show You Vermont" mixed media series to the Vermont relief effort. Please take a look at the online show!

You can also make a direct donation to Vermont flood victims here.

You can see a photo record of flooding in Vermont here.

Orchard and Cloud

2011-09-02T14:45:00.004-04:00

An August afternoon that holds a prescience of changing weather and season.

Tomorrow I'll be posting details of my upcoming online sale of artwork to benefit Vermont flood victims.

Dam and Bridge, Plainfield

2011-09-01T13:56:00.003-04:00

The village beneath my hill, and the river that runs through it, on a day of quiet water. When I can venture farther south in Vermont again with my french easel, I hope to find familiar scenes like this amid all of the damage brought by the storm.

Cloud Shadows from Middle Road

2011-08-30T11:53:00.007-04:00

Hard to believe, on a beautiful afternoon like this one, that just two days ago Hurricane Irene turned Vermont's hills into brooks, brooks into rivers, and rivers into raging floods.

Many thanks to all who wrote to check in--we're fine up here on our hill, but homes, stores, bridges and roads from the top to the bottom of the state have been damaged or lost. Fortunately, Vermonters are good at pulling together and rebuilding. And thank you again for your concern!

Spring to Summer--Vignette 14

2011-08-27T11:15:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was all about looking out for tempests and looking at a teapot...

Spring to Summer--Vignette 13

2011-08-25T16:52:00.003-04:00

Tarot cards add their voice--always open for interpretation--to the still life's narrative.

Sunday Sketchbook: Vermont

2011-08-21T09:28:00.003-04:00

Driving past a small town's village green I happened on this carnival, empty until the evening's crowds, and had to stop and take a good look at the geometry and melancholy of the scene.

Spring to Summer--Vignette 12

2011-08-20T18:18:00.004-04:00

A western tea ceremony held atop a Hokusai view of Mt. Fuji.

Spring to Summer--Vignette 11

2011-08-12T16:20:00.003-04:00

Paper crane on cloth river.

Spring to Summer--Vignette 10

2011-08-09T11:00:00.000-04:00

Here's the white river flowing back to meet a tea cup (stamped "Made in Occupied Japan" on its underside, and prized by me for its delicacy) that I've painted many times in a still life "landscape".

Spring to Summer--Vignette 9

2011-08-06T08:25:00.004-04:00

A white cloth in a still life is like a river moving through a landscape.

Spring to Summer--Vignette 8

2011-08-05T11:00:00.003-04:00

The "floating world"of a ukiyo-e print and peonies from a Vermont garden together on the same table.

Spring to Summer--Vignette 7

2011-08-04T11:00:00.001-04:00

In between landscape workshops I've been back to work in the studio on my commission, and am enjoying the close-up focus of still life again.

Sunday Sketchbook: Provence

2011-07-31T14:52:00.004-04:00

And here's a sketch from the patio in Provence, looking back and forth between the landscape and my fellow wine drinkers.

Provence Sunset

2011-07-30T11:00:00.001-04:00

The last rays of sun over the valley, and the last of my paintings from southern France until I'm lucky enough to be back again in this beautiful place.

Luberon Valley, Late Afternoon

2011-07-28T14:57:00.004-04:00

Sitting behind the hamlet of Les Bassacs, looking towards Roussillon and Gordes through a hazy heat that makes all shapes ethereal.

Sunday Sketchbook: Vermont

2011-07-24T20:04:00.002-04:00

A few days ago I took a long meander with camera and sketchbook down back roads, and got inspired to reinvigorate my blog "Let Me Show You Vermont" with a posting about Royalton, whose charming one-block downtown is shown above.

Alley in Monniex

2011-07-22T18:17:00.003-04:00

A late morning look down a narrow alleyway in this quiet village perched high on a rocky hillside.

Cemetery, Goult

2011-07-21T15:46:00.003-04:00

This cemetery is an exhilarating combination of Euclid and Alice in Wonderland, and I could have spent two months rather than just two hours painting here.

Road Beneath Lacoste

2011-07-19T17:29:00.004-04:00

As soon as I returned home from Provence (that is, after weeding the too-big vegetable garden) I got back to work on my still life commission. I still have a few paintings from our trip to share, including this evening view of a narrow road winding between vineyard and orchard beneath the picturesque hill village of Lacoste.

Stone Wall and Trees, Provence

2011-07-05T14:21:00.004-04:00

Painted at an old country estate that was like an elegant stage set for a film about the vanished past and uncertain future.

Picnic at Monnieux

2011-07-04T16:37:00.003-04:00

After baguette sandwiches and a glass of wine, a demonstration for my class in the village park of constructing a painting with light, shadows and complementary colors.

Two Views of Viens

2011-06-29T16:32:00.005-04:00

The village of Viens offers an endless variety of compositions based on light, shadows, angles, and blue distance.

Six Apricots and a Cherry

2011-06-27T15:44:00.003-04:00

And the fruit from a market stall in Provence tastes as good as it looks.

White Asparagus and Lemon

2011-06-26T13:20:00.004-04:00

One of the pleasures of travel for me is finding a new still life among the fruit and vegetable stalls in the local market.

Advancing Storm, Murs

2011-06-25T17:04:00.003-04:00

This painting started as one thing, and ended as another, just like the weather that day.

Lavender Fields and Farm House

2011-06-24T16:09:00.004-04:00

It's the height of lavender season here, and purple fields are a vibrant (and sometimes subtle) part of the Provencal landscape's summer patchwork.

Path to the Ruins

2011-06-22T16:33:00.003-04:00

Walking up from the village of St. Saturnin les Apt towards the walls of a long-vanished chateau.

Overgrown Orchard, Late Afternoon

2011-06-21T17:54:00.005-04:00

Long shadows across an abandoned cherry orchard and the rutted road winding from Les Bassacs.

View from Joucas

2011-06-20T11:25:00.003-04:00

Looking down on a patchwork of vineyards, orchards and wheat fields, with the Luberons as an ever-present backdrop.

Sunday Market

2011-06-19T19:12:00.006-04:00

Instead of a "Sunday sketchbook" this week, here's my watercolor from the Sunday market at L'Isle Sur La Sorgue (a subject colorful enough to deserve a painting.)

Spring to Sumer--Vignette 6

2011-06-17T10:31:00.003-04:00

I'm saying a temporary goodbye today to my studio and the "Spring to Summer" commission, as I am on my way to Provence to teach a two week landscape workshop. I'll be posting my watercolors and oils daily (and one will surely be a painting of a bowl of French cherries!)

Spring to Sumer--Vignette 5

2011-06-16T13:50:00.004-04:00

After so many years of working with watercolors, I've come to approach oils with the same direct approach--each brushstroke trying to unite hue, value and form.

Spring to Summer--Vignette 4

2011-06-14T16:04:00.003-04:00

Apricots, peaches, nectarines, pears and plums: they present to the inquiring eye so many violets, yellows, reds, pinks, oranges, magentas, purples, even greens and blues, to investigate.

Sunday Sketchbook: Vermont

2011-06-12T11:33:00.003-04:00

We find that drinking coffee, reading the paper, and making a to-do list is far preferable on a Sunday morning to cleaning up a flooded basement...

Spring to Summer--Vignette 3

2011-06-08T18:17:00.003-04:00

Even on the first pass through a painting, I try to draw with color, turning shapes with the most exact reading of a hue that I can muster.

Spring to Summer--Vignette 2

2011-06-03T18:50:00.005-04:00

Painting flowers is the exhilarating if pressured exercise of trying to keep pace with beauty for a few fast hours between bud and wilt.

Spring to Summer--Vignette 1

2011-06-02T16:35:00.005-04:00

I've been working on a new commission, an oil still life titled "Spring to Summer". I'll be posting vignettes as I develop the large triptych--an interesting way to keep my attention moving from details to the whole.

Sunday Sketchbook: Paris

2011-05-29T16:04:00.005-04:00

Two weeks ago, a glass of mint tea in a sunny Paris cafe--and today a flooded basement and long to-do cleanup list in beautiful but soggy Vermont...

Still Life in Summer (detail)

2011-05-25T10:00:00.000-04:00

Thinking ahead to warmer days coming, with day lilies, plums, peaches and a Bonnard view from the studio window.

Letters and Late Peonies (detail)

2011-05-24T07:00:00.000-04:00

Peonies are the fragile queen of flowers, their beauty overthrown by one strong rain.

Sunday Sketchbook: Paris

2011-05-15T17:59:00.006-04:00

I don't usually post photos on my blog, mais aujourd'hui, I thought you should see my Paris sketchbook in context...