This week my blog post goes to Blog Hop Around the World. Thank you to fellow NHPleinAir Artist memberSharon Allen for inviting me to participate. You can read her blog at http://sharonallen.us/blog/83725/blog-hop-around-the-world and see her work at http://sharonallen.us/
For those reading my blog for the first time, or who don’t know me and my work: I am full time teaching artist working in both studio and as a plein air artist. I also work at creating and promoting artist opportunity exhibits, the next exhibition I am working on with the Historical Society of Cheshire County in Keene, NH is titled “Treasured Places, Protected Spaces” and will celebrate properties under protection / conservation in the MOnadnock Region of NH. Registration is currently open to artists who desire to participate!
For this blog hop, there are standard questions that we need to answer so, here goes:
1. What am I working on?
Currently I’m working on the Treasured Places exhibition – promoting, recruiting artists, crowd funding and last but not least painting several pieces for the exhibition. I am also finishing up a 10 week series workshop on the Sharon Arts Center campus where I have been an adjunct faculty member of NHIA. I am a guest art instructor at a local charter school with future artists in grade 1 and 2. In the studio I work Primarily in oil painting on a variety of surfaces – linen, canvas, board and am initiating some work on copper. I have started a new series in my Vintage Americana paintings- the “Bare Bones” series which I find quite delightful. I have seasonal paintings currently on display in Keene, NH at Ramunto’s at 176 Main St. and also am a artist vendor at Haannah Grimes Marketplace on Main ST in downtown Keene,NH. Please drop by and check my work out at these fine establishments during business hours, they are installed until the end of December.
2.How does my work differ from others in its genre?
My work is always in series, whether it is landscape or Vintage Americana ( portraying fading barns, structures, old vintage autos and trucks) or fantasy I always create a series of works based on the same theme. I may find I have painted our local Mt Monadnock form a thousand different viewpoints before i finally lay my paintbrush down. I travel great distances to find models for my “Old Friend” series which celebrates the early automobiles and iron workhorses.
3. Why do I create what I do?
I paint to preserve history, the landscape as we know it – because all things change. I paint the resting barns, the fading vehicles to preserve memories of what was in a rapidly changing world. I explore with paint and canvas those locations I once was too busy to celebrate and allow others the joy I experience in sharing this work.
4. How does my creative process work?
My process is to explore in depth that which attracts my attemtion, and create a series of paintings. Whether these are plein air ( on location ) works or photos I later work from in the studio. Quite often those pieces started on locations end up going through a transformation in my studio setting where I can explore color layering anad painterly mark applications.
My palette of color goes through shifts depending upon the series, some are limited color series, while others enjoy what has become my colorist palette.
I invite the following artists to join in on this blog hop and introduce themselves to the world:
Scott Niemi http://scottniemiart.weebly.com/
en plein air painting from one of my favorite locations on Mount Desert Island.