Owner: Art & Life URL:http://www.janblencowe.blogspot.com Join Date: Sat, 19 Aug 2006 07:23:42 -0500 Rating:1 Site Description: Art & Life is a chronicle of plein air paintings, outdoor painting adventures and studio work from life. It also features my $100 Flower-a-Day series. Information and resources for artists and collectors is abundant. Lots of great links to other art rel Site statistics:Click here
Falls River Reflections
About This Painting:
Dapp... 2007-05-16 18:51:00 Falls RiverReflections
About This Painting
:Dappled sunlight plays upon the river and filters through the new growth on the trees. The chairs are inviting, peaceful and relaxing. This began as a demonstration at Gallery at 85 Main Street in Centerbrook, CT where my current solo show is hanging. Isn't this a beautiful spot? The gallery building is just to the right of the scene I was painting.Notice the new Paypal 'buy it now" button! Isn't that great~! Pay easily, quickly and safely with a credit card through Paypal. What will they think of next LOL!Media: oilSize: 20 in X 16 in (50.8 cm X 40.6 cm)Price: $500 USDHow to Purchase:Price: $500 USD plus $10 USD s/hOr, send me an email Read more:Falls
Azalea Time 2007-05-23 15:05:00 Azalea Time6x8, oil The garden is really starting to take off as we finally have some warm weather! Beautiful bold azaleas, along with tiarella and Spanish bluebells and some lovely creeping ground covers begin to create a floral fantasy along the edge of the wooded area next to my house. The dappled light was flickering as a gentle breeze moved the leaves of the trees about so it seemed to my eye that everything was in motion. I really enjoy these small paintings I often get more satisfation form these little ones than large studio pieces. These little jewels seem to capture in more immediate, intimate way the sense of place that is so important in plein air work. Enjoy! The Azalea There, where the sun shines first Against our room, She trained the gold Azalea, whose perfume She, Spring-like, from her breathing grace dispersed. Last night the delicate crests of saffron bloom, For this their dainty likeness watched and nurst, Were just at point to burst. At dawn I dreamed, O God, t
Morning Sail 2007-05-30 05:57:00 Morning Sail Daily Impressionist PaintingAbout This Painting:A lovely summer morning, I thoroughly enjoyed being outside painting this!Media: oilSize: 9 in X 7.5 in (22.9 cm X 19.1 cm)Price: $150 USDHow to Purchase:Buy this painting on PayPalPrice: $150 USDOr, send me an email Read more:Morning
Plein Air Petitescapes 2007-05-28 08:20:00 A Very Quiet Morning, 6x8,oil$100, unframed, contact: jan.blencowe@comcast.net Morning Dunes, 6x8, oil$100, unframed, contact: jan.blencowe@comcast.netI love painting these little field studies, 6x8 inch gems that seem to capture the intimacy and connection I feel with the landscape whenever I paint outdoors. Both of these were painted in the early morning a time of day I find enchanting. How to Purchase: To pay safely with PayPal visit my daily painting gallery here.Read Mary Oliver's beautiful and evocative Morning Poem.Morning PrayerLet me to-day do something that shall takeA little sadness from the world’s vast store, And may I be so favoured as to makeOf joy’s too scanty sum a little more.Let me not hurt, by any selfish deedOr thoughtless word, the heart of foe or friend; Nor would I pass, unseeing, worthy need, Or sin by silence when I should defend.However meagre be my worldly wealth, Let me give something that shall aid my kind –A word of courage, or a thought of health Read more:Plein
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Field Studies en Plein Air 2007-06-05 16:48:00 Oyster River Evening, 6x8, oil Beach Path, 6x8, oil Morning Path, 6x8, oilEdge of the Woods, 6x8, oilI really enjoy painting small field studies outdoors. It's amazing how much you learn about nature, color, light, the rhythms of the seasons and the turning from night to day when you spend time working directly from nature. Larger studio works may seem grander and have more polish and finish but they can never compete with the intimate and fresh depiction of a scene you get when you work small and quick outdoors. For your Spirit woven into the Fabric of creationfor the eternal overlapping with timeand the life of the earth interlaced with heaven's vitalityI give you thanks, O God.For your untamed creativityyour boundless mysteryand your passionate yearningsplanted deep in the soul of every human beingI give you thanks.Grabt me the grace to reclaom these depthsto uncover this treasureto liberate these longingsand in being set free in my own spiritto act for the well-being of the worl Read more:Field
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Field Studies Continued 2007-06-09 13:59:00 Bold River Afternoon, 6x8, oil Summerwoods, 6x8, oil Light from the East, 7x9.5, oil Morning Sail, 7 x 9.5, oilIt's pouring rain today, but over the past week or so the weather has really been perfect, so here are three new pochades. (That's a French word, derived from the root for pocket, so literally a painting small enough to fit into your pocket!). I'm working on capturing the different qualities of light that occur at different times of day. The first one was begun at 6pm on a very sunny, clear day and the colors just seemed to come alive as the angle of th sun light dropped. The second was painted at 8:00am on a dry sunny morning and the glow in the new foliage of the trees was amazing. The third was begun at about 9:00 am on a sunny but very humid morning, temps were up near 85-90 degrees that morning and the light had a softer more diffused quality to it. This is basically the same scene as Morning Sail (which I posted below)from last week. Not standing in quite the same spo Read more:Field
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Plein Air on Gray Days 2007-06-13 12:03:00 Gray Day Rocks, 6x8, oil, $100 unframed View Through the Bird Blind, 6x6, $100, unframedWe're in a terrible weather pattern, lots of clouds and then the sun breaks through, and just when you get outside the clouds return! Mother Nature's having some fun with us! The bird blind is a wooden shelter constructed in the marsh with viewing windows so you can observe the birds, waterfowl and wildlife unnoticed, a very cool place to set up and paint! These paintings reflect the gray-ness of the day and the textures of the marsh vegitation and the subtle changes in color of the rocks. Enjoy!SEAWEEDWhen descends on the AtlanticThe giganticStorm-wind of the equinox,Landward in his wrath he scourgesThe toiling surges,Laden with seaweed from the rocks:From Bermuda's reefs; from edgesOf sunken ledges,In some far-off, bright Azore;From Bahama, and the dashing,Silver-flashingSurges of San Salvador;From the tumbling surf, that buriesThe Orkneyan skerries,Answering the hoarse Hebrides;And from wreck Read more:Plein
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Looking for the Bright Spot 2007-06-12 14:25:00 Looking for the Bright
Spot, 6x6, oil Looking for the bright spot on a gray day...kind of like a metaphor for life!A Grey DayGrey drizzling mists the moorlands drape, Rain whitens the dead sea,From headland dim to sullen cape Grey sails creep wearily. I know not how that merchantman Has found the heart; but 'tis her plan Seaward her endless course to shape. Unreal as insects that appall A drunkard's peevish brain, O'er the grey deep the dories crawl, Four-legged, with rowers twain: Midgets and minims of the earth, Across old ocean's vasty girth Toiling--heroic, comical! I wonder how that merchant's crew Have ever found the will! I wonder what the fishers do To keep them toiling still! I wonder how the heart of man Has patience to live out its span, Or wait until its dreams come true. William Vaughn Moody
Birdland 2007-06-18 20:28:00 Birdland
, 14x18, oil This is the marsh in the evening. At first it seems quiet, until you become aware of all the life and activity there. Birds by the score are coming in to roost for the night. Some are carolling their evensong and some are twittering excitedly. Many are flying throught the marsh catching insects as they go; the epitome of fast food ! This particular marsh is part of a state park and there are birdhouses of several varieties along with nesting platforms to accomodate the avian resdients preferences. For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land. Solomon
Plein Air in the Morning 2007-06-16 17:25:00 Madison Morning
, 6x8, oilMorning Waterway, 6x6, oil I'm sticking with my commitment to get out Monday-Friday in the mornings to paint. Living along the coast often means that it will be hazy/foggy/overcast in the morning and this is presenting me with some interesting color and lighting situations. I wanted to mention the passing of a true modern master, Charles Sovek. I had the very good fortune of studying with him during two workshops in 2005. It was an amazing thing to watch him paint with such ease and joyful abandon. His loose colorist paintings have left the world a more beautiful place than when he arived in it. He was a gentle, and generous man, a wonderful teacher and an inspiration. He will be missed! When Earths Last Picture is PaintedWhen Earth's last picture is painted And the tubes are twisted and dried When the oldest colors have faded And the youngest critic has died We shall rest, and faith, we shall need it Lie down for an aeon or two 'Till the Master of all Read more:Plein
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South Cove Morning 2007-06-21 18:10:00 South
Cove Morning
, 14x18, oil I had the great pleasure of going out and painting with a fellow artist on Monday. What a beautiful morning it was! Clear, warm summer light illuminated the treeline and brought out all the warm rich hues in the water. This lovely spot emanated a sense of peace and tranquility. I'm striving for more emotion, a more personal sense of response to a place in my work and I think I am now comfortable moving in this direction. I feel less bound to the objective realities of the scene and more at liberty to infuse my own inner vision into a landscape. Stay tuned to see how this progresses! VisionI have not walked on common ground,Nor drunk of earthly streams;A shining figure, mailed and crowned,Moves softly through my dreams.He makes the air so keen and strange,The stars so fiercely bright;The rocks of time, the tides of change,Are nothing in his sight.Death lays no shadow on his smile;Life is a race fore-run;Look in his face a little while,And life and death
River no.1 Morning 2007-06-22 18:15:00 River
no.1 Morning
12x36, oil/linen The summer solstice this year was a perfect day!! To celebrate the longest day of the year, and metaphorically sol invictus, the victory of light over darkness, I went to a plein air paint out. This is a morning painting when the sun was just beginning to peek over the tops of the tallest trees chasing away the cool shadows and mist left over from the night. I was continuously serenaded by songbirds and cooled by a breeze coming off the river. I enjoyed some wonderful food provided by the gallery sponsering the event, the stimulating company of some fellow artists and the glories of the new summer season. I was really intrigued with the shape of this canvas and how it let me unfurl the expansiveness of the river. I ordered three more just like it and I'm planning to do a series of river paintings. The next one will be at sunset. Stay tuned! Summer SunGREAT is the sun, and wide he goes Through empty heaven without repose; And in the blue and glo
Resting Place Along the River 2007-06-26 13:48:00 Resting Place
Along the River
, 14x18, oilOn a sultry summer day a quiet rest beneath the trees watching the boats passing along the river is a peaceful delight. This spot is the edge of an old cemetary that overlooks the river, a final resting place for many.Departed To The Judgmentby Emily Dickinson. Departed to the judgment,A mighty afternoon;Great clouds like ushers leaning,Creation looking on.The flesh surrendered, cancelledThe bodiless begun;Two worlds, like audiences, disperseAnd leave the soul alone.
Summer Garden 2007-08-10 18:21:00 SummerGarden
, 12x36, oilI have a hot garden ! LOL This painting shows part of long border that runs the length of our property where it meets the road. You can see it from our livingroom window and since you see it from across the front yard I decided on a very hot, bright color scheme that would show up at a distance. It's filled with red, orange and yellow lillies of different varieties, crocosima, that's the deep red arching flowers. This particular variety is called Lucifer, there's also red-purple coneflowers and taxic cab yellow black eyed susan. In this piece the morning sun is pouring in from behind. I find it absolutely delightful to be in the garden, I have many bird and insect friendy plants and the garden is absolutely buzzing, quivering and singing with life. What JOY!The Bee is Not Afraid of MeThe Bee is not afraid of me.I know the Butterfly.The pretty people in the WoodsReceive me cordially--The Brooks laugh louder when I come --The Breezes madder play;Wherefore min
A Late Summer Symphony of Paintings 2007-08-21 07:45:00 Marsh Flowers, 9x12, oil Marsh House, 9x12, oil Marsh Sunset, 9x12, oilHere are three paintings done in a series, three days in a row at the same time of day. The first and third are from the same location, the former looking east and the latter looking west towards the sunset. The middle one was done several miles down the road along the Oyster River. These three pieces served as vehicles for some color experiments I'm working on. The idea is called "pigment soup" it's origins are with the early 20th century American painter Edgar Alwin Payne. This idea is currently being discussed by a group of artists in the online art community www.WetCanvas.com . Simply put, you mix up a color which becomes the basis for the entire painting and each and every subsequent color that you mix contains a bit of the original color. This guarantees an immediate color harmony and gives you the opportunity right at the very beginning of the painting process to decide upon and enact a strategy for creati Read more:Summer
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Indian Summer Paintings 2007-09-22 13:10:00 Autumn Dunes, 8x10, oil September Beach, 8x10, oil Butterflies Paradise, 6x8, oilOh boy, there is some really amazing color and texture going on out there this time of year. Late summer weeds and wildflowers have burst into bloom, grasses are going to seed, shrubs and bushes are bursting with berries and trees with nuts. The sun, though at a lower angle in the sky, is still bright and casts a warm, mellow shawl over the landscape. I find the dunes to be particularly beautiful at this time of year, sporting reddish and purple grasses. The last painting was a spot that had weeds and flowers in abundant profusion and attracted butterflies by the dozen what an awesome sight!! INDIAN SUMMEREmily Dickinson [1830-1886] These are the days when birds come back,A very few, a bird or two,To take a backward look.These are the days when skies put onThe old, old sophistries of June, -A blue and gold mistake.Oh, fraud that cannot cheat the bee,Almost thy plausibilityInduces my belief,Till ranks o Read more:Summer
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Plein Air Paintings to End Summer and Welcome Autumn 2007-09-09 20:19:00 September Field of Trees, oil, 16x20, $500 Path Through the Cedars, oil, 8x10, $200 Headless Scarecrow, oil, 8x10, $200Some Thoughts on GreenAnother summer is coming to an end and that means I've completed another season of studying the color green. Plein
air painters often dread this color. It completely dominates the landscape throughout the summer and if not handled correctly the results are a disasterous painting. Ask me how I know this LOL. I keep a little journal with musings about art and life in it. Here's a recent entry anout the color green:I watch as the clouds form and reform behind the treetops. I study the color of the trees. They're green of course....but no, I look at the green plastic pitcher on the deck. It's bright yellow green. I compare. It's not anywhere to be found in the trees. Only the sunlit grass comes close and even then the red-brown of the earth shows through causing an orange glow beneath the green grass. I look at the deep green of the chair cushio Read more:Summer
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Paintings BIG and small 2007-11-27 13:54:00 Golden Days, oil, 24x36 Evening Falls, oil, 24x36 Luminary of the Autumn Night Sky, oil, 30x40 Whirl the Seasons Round, oil, 12x16 Beach Path in Winter, oil, 9x12It's always fun to shake things up a bit and working both large and small is one way to do that. The two small paintings here are not really that small considering that I often work 6x8in. But they are considerably smaller than the first three pieces. Students often ask me whether it's better to work large or small; the answer isn't really one or the other. There are things to be learned and gained from both. Small gives you the advantage of tackling all the major problems of a painting in a single sitting. Composition, value, color, brushwork, as well as painting method can all be addressed in a small work. Each time you work through those challenges you grow a little as an artist. So, a large painting may take you three weeks to finish and you've worked through one set of problems, but if you were painting smaller perha Read more:Paintings
Exploring the Seasons in Acrylic 2007-12-01 17:19:00 Morning Meadow (spring), 6x8, acrylicPoppy Morning (summer), 6x8, acrylicAutumn Leaves (fall), 9x12, acrylicFrozen Edge (winter), 6x8, acrylicI've always been intrigued by acrylic paints. They seem very modern, comtemporary, edgy and 20th century. I've seen stunning acrylic paintings and some absolutely horrendous monstrosities. I've seen the most intricatedly detailed and accurate wildlife art, some beautifully expressive impressionist work and some wondefully textured almost sculptural abstact works as well. The colors seem vivid and saturated and the perks of soap and water clean up combined with their quick dry time add to their appeal. On the down side they never seem as full bodied, lush, buttery and rich as oil paints. Quite frankly many brands sem plastic-y and cheap looking. Creating soft atmospheric passages seem to take an entirely different working method than in oils because of the quick dry time so that's both a pro and a con). Lastly, and most unfortunately many col Read more:Exploring
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Moon at Sunset 2007-12-07 17:12:00 Moon at Sunset
, acrylic, 6x8 I'm having a good time with these interactive acrylics. Working on getting a scumbling method down. Scumbling (scrubbing a thin layer of a lighter color over a darker layer that is already dry) is a favorite technique of mine with oil paints but it has the disadvantage of having to wait for the first layer to be dry. With acrylics the first layer is immediately ready which allows this technique to become a major part of the process of the painting. Fun!
More Poppies.... 2008-03-11 12:09:00 Scarlet Poppies, 6x8, acrylic Tuscan Poppies, 6x8, acrylic Poppin' Poppies, 6x8, acrylicThe Poppy Series II continues with a couple more brightly colored pieces. Lots of fun to do these, the close up garden scenes being a little more contemporary is style and the landscapes with a more traditional impressionist look. Enjoy!
Poppy Series II Begins 2008-03-06 12:49:00 Poppy
Garden, 6x8, acrylicSOLD Last year I did a series of 15 small poppy paintings. The final 2 have recently sold to a collector in Australia and are en route there right now. So with spring right around the corner and poppies being such a cheerful, fun flower I decided it was time to start a new series. Yesterday I posted Shadows and Poppies, a piece very reminiscent of the French Impressionist style and today something a little more contemporary in feel. The colors in this glow in real life and the rougher weave of this particular canvas really gives the surface a great textural appeal. Enjoy!
I'm #2 Today thanks to the Dabbling Mum 2008-03-05 14:38:00 Shadows and Poppies, 6x8Hi everyone! Exciting news, today I am #2 out of 3,902, on Artmajeur's Top 100 List for American Artists websites thanks to an interview that I did with the Dabbling Mum. It's on-line today here if you'd like to take a look. As of 3:42 pm today I've had 419 visitors to www.janblencowe.com , a very nice bump from the interview. Traffic is also up today on my blog with 96 unique visitors so far today. When people ask me how to get trafffic to their blog this is exactly the kind of thing you want to have happen. If you develop a strong presence on the web, and by that I mean you are listed in many, many places, you will be found. Show your work in as many free web galleries as possible, get listed in as many on-line directories as you can find, participate in forums Read more:Today
Dune Path 2008-02-29 17:48:00 Dune Path, acrylic, 24x18 I am just getting over a miserable, miserable flu. No, that's not a typo, I meant to say miserable twice. Because it was.... very. However, today I felt well enough to tackle an 18x24 canvas. Funny, after doing the large square series and the 20x24's for the gallery I can't seem to get excited about doing small paintings. This is good and bad. Good because the galleries like to have the bigger works and bad because the lion's share of my sales come through my daily painting blog and there most people prefer the $100, 6x8's. What to do, what to do? Artists are often helpless creatures, beholden to the muse and can't really make a move without her. Like a writer with writer's block no art will be forth coming unless you have her blessing. I'm going to try to cr
WOW! I'm #5 in the Top 100 2008-02-24 19:08:00 I just found out today that at Artmajeur.com, a huge international host for artists' websites, my website is #5 out of the Top 100 American Artists sites, based on number of visitors. There are close to 4,000 American artists listed!!! Here's the link to Top 100 page . Who knew!!! I wouldn't have known except that every once in a while I do a google search on my name to see what my web presence is. There are nearly 10 pages dedicated to my websites, blogs, interviews, and other blogs, magazines etc. that have written about me. One site that featured my work says I'm a Dutch artist! LOL I think my first name confuses Europeans. My grandparents actually were Dutch, so I think it's OK to let this one slide! LOL So thanks to everyone who has visited my website you have helped me achieve this
Solitude 2008-02-20 10:20:00 SolitudeAbout This Painting:Media: acrylicSize: 20 in X 20 in (50.8 cm X 50.8 cm)How to Purchase:send me an emailI've spent at least 2 weeks varnishing, framing and carting paintings around to galleries! Now it is time to get back to blogging and then to a regular painting schedule. This is yesterdays effort, and believe it or not you get out of shape when you stop for a couple of weeks, same as with exercising. I was exhausted after I finished this! LOL I did have a good time though using sea sponges as part of the painting process, and exploring some other acrylic painting techniques like scraping back layers. I still have some larger canvases to prepare for painting and use and then I think I will switch back to some smaller pieces. Stay tuned! Read more:Solitude
The Contraversy Over Varnishing 2008-02-15 18:58:00 It goes back to at least the 1880's and continues today. This afternoon I had the pleasure of visiting the Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme, CT to view The Finishing Touch an exhibit exploring the techniques of American Impressionist and Tonalist painters, especially the controversy among them when it came to the to practice of varnishing(or not) a painting. The timing is rather ironic since I've spent the last week varnishing paintings for hanging in a show on Monday. What is even more ironic is that some of my other paintings in the show are not varnished (purposely) and will stay that way.First, let us understand that the tonalists and the impressionists were rival artistic movements, with tonalists drawing inspiration from the old masters and developing out of the Barbizon School i
All the Squares in a Row 2008-02-15 18:55:00 Here are the six large square landscapes that will be the focal point of my next show at Friends & Co., Madison, CT. The show will include approx. 9 more pieces that follow this theme of restful, meditative landscapes. The show is called Landscapes of Peace. Any of you out there who are in the area are more than welcome to come to the opening, Sunday, February, 24th at 3:30 , I'd love to meet you! From top to bottom the pieces are: Still Waters, The Way Home, Morning Meditation, Follow Me, a Peaceful Moment, Far Away. Read more:Squares
A Quiet Place 2008-02-04 17:24:00 A QuietPlace
, 20x24, acrylicThere's my dream place, a great little house over looking the marsh, all to myself. If not a reality at least in a painting of it. LOL
Beach Rose Path 2008-02-03 19:52:00 Beach
Rose Path, 20x24, acrylicYes, it's true, I live just 10 minutes from this beautiful place! The first version of this was painted 2 summers ago, right there on the spot. It's always been a favorite of mine and has gotten many, many positive comments from folks, though oddly it's never sold. So I thought I'd revist this lovely spot via another version of the painting. Here's the original plein air, 14x18, oilDo you have a favorite???
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