John Singer Sargent: Boston Strong

John Singer Sargent

I always have good intentions when it comes to visiting a museum exhibiting a blockbuster show. Sometimes I make it before it leaves town, sometimes I kick myself for having been “too this, too that” to attend. Well, I didn’t “too” anything this time and went to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) (with my daughter Katie and celebrated her birthday!) and took in the John Singer Sargent watercolors exhibition, which combined the collections of the Brooklyn Museum and MFA.

Because I am a perennial rookie at using public transportation, I prefer to drive my car but only with my new best friend, “Her”, our phone navigator. Love Her. It makes traveling so much less stressful especially in Boston when one day you can slip right down Storrow Drive and wonder where all the people are, and on another day, you’d swear you are sharing the road with everyone who lives in Boston. This past Wednesday’s trip was an easy day. Except the parking part. So after dropping artwork at the Copley Society of Art on Newbury Street for an upcoming show, we headed to the MFA parking garage only to be the first in line when the garage attendant announced the lot was full. Ughh. So around the block we went and finally decided to go to the Prudential Tower and just park there for the afternoon and take the bus back to the MFA. My strong daughter, a veteran of Boston, saved the day.

John Singer Sargent

After a quick lunch at the café, we noticed the piles of people viewing the show moved along at a good pace. Occasionally we’d overhear someone who has probably never picked up a watercolor paintbrush in their life comment on not understanding what the big deal was. Hmm. Let me turn up the volume on my listening device.

Sargent’s use of fast drying layers of intense color with brilliant use of lighter value colors to indicate sunlight and shadows was fantastic to see up close. Sensitive and confidently drawn lines were understated in most works but still demonstrated what a great draftsman he was. He used soft-focused painted edges to add variety to the textures while rendering his artistic interpretation of what the light was doing. The strengths of Sargent’s talent for color, painting, drawing and composing were evident in each piece and I could have surely spent even more time with my nose pressed almost  against the glass of each piece. I’ll be reading through the exhibition book to see if it discusses Sargent’s techniques in depth. As a watercolor painter, I really enjoy reading all the nitty gritty detail as it satisfies my curiosity of how the artist achieved his style.

Boston should be proud of being called home to such a great painter with permanent artworks installed around the city. This was an amazing show worthy of however many modes of transportation it took to be drenched in the sunlight of a true master.

Maine’s Rothko Inspiration

Transparent. Reflective. Abstract. Real. All at once.

That’s how I view quick snapshots taken while walking along York Beach, Maine last summer when the water was at least 55 degrees warmer than today. I was playing with my compact camera simply letting it do its thing–opening and closing the shutter and allowing light to come in. It’s these impulsive, unscripted images that allow for some interpretation as well as connections to other seemingly unrelated things. A Mark Rothko painting (famous for his color field approach) for instance, seems to have been inspired by a seascape such as the one I’ve posted here. This kind of simplification can be a show stopper when the rest of the online world is showing/displaying an incredible number of images every second of every day. I’m tired just thinking about it. Thought for today is simple, simplify.

 Blue Divided by Blue, 1966, Mark Rothko, 1903-1970.

Thankful for second chances

Sleep on it.

Fenway Park, Home of Boston Red Sox World Series Winners 2013

My season of being a Red Sox fan began in April, only a week or so after the Boston Bombing by terrorists. I was a bit apprehensive about going to the game but we were determined to not let horrible, emotionless, vile people change how we want to live our lives. We did nothing to deserve this act of war.

Torn from the pages of my sketchbook to celebrate the World Series win by the Boston Red Sox in 2013!

The fans seemed happy to be at the ballpark but the air was heavy with concern for what the future would bring after this horrendous event of terror on innocent people–and especially children– simply enjoying a beautiful spring day watching and cheering their friends and family at the end of the Boston Marathon route. Boston Strong images were everywhere at the Sox game and now seemed to be a precursor for what the season could bring.

The color scheme of this 12×6 piece torn from my sketchbook may seem melancholy–although I did not have this in mind when I drew it. I was exploring the design possibilities of the abstract lines and shapes distinctly found in Fenway. I have done others that have evening lighting and more intense color but I happen to like this reserved version. It is available at the Copley Society of Art on Newbury Street in Boston, MA. www.copleysociety.org

Open Studio 2013, Ann Trainor Domingue– messy, uncommon, friendly, contemporary painter

Saturday and Sunday, November 2 & 3, 10am-4pm. Details on flier.

State of Maine Blues

Surrounded by Blues

Coastal Maine with its crisp whites, deep blues and accents of reds and oranges continue to find their way into my artwork. One day it occurred to me that if Maine redesigned its state flag it could look something like this. Of course inlanders would not be happy so I’ve kept this idea to myself. One visitor to one of my outdoor show in South Portland, Maine this summer laughed out loud when he saw the title and “got” the image. A fun moment. Not a sale but just as rewarding when someone understands that my work is not representational but seeks to propose a different, uncommon way of viewing common views. I abstract elements of a landscape and reorder, repurpose and reimagine all while filtering this input through my head and heart. Whew. Amazing how humans work.

Sketch Crawl at the Fair

Sketch-crawl-sort of like bar-hopping without the beer but with a pen. Here is a an example of something I find fun to do–other artists are frightened by the notion of sketching people in action in public–I’ve been there, too, I have to admit. But I love the freshness of the results–even the inexact faces and body motions that I continue to give it a try. These vignettes were done directly from life as I wandered around the fairgrounds at the League of NH Craftsmen Fair in Newbury, New Hampshire on August 8th, 2013. The place was bustling with artistic activity and visitors watching with great interest as the craftspeople demonstrated their art. Very inspiring. I moved quickly from location to location and in an hour had enough vignettes on the page to begin the process of painting.

(Note: The NH Art Association (NHAA) and League of NH Craftsmen committees decided to end the many year association with the NHAA. No longer is the tent filled with original artwork and photographs a part of the Fair experience. We had so many people come up to us when we were demonstrating for the day to ask us “Where are the artists? Where are the paintings? I came here specifically to see that part of the show.” Wow. There were some very disappointed people sad to say. We lost count after 50–and it was only the early afternoon, of one day. Hope NHAA and the League will rethink their decision–there are many of us artists who were counting on participating and obviously the Fair had more of a following than it thought.) Please contact either organization if you’d like to see the artists back at Sunapee. Thank you. nhartassociation@gmail.com  nhleague@nhcrafts.org

Hazy, Hot, Humid Art

How one hazy summer day inspired several artworks

Who would have thought a stroll after a nice dinner at the Lobster Pot would have captivated my artistic eye for so long. A quick snapshot taken one hot afternoon in Provincetown, MA has been the catalyst of many of my artworks. As with many other photos I have taken, as soon as one painting is completed I have another idea to improve/change/renovate the next one. So this one, on the advice of Mary Harding curator of the George Marshall Store Gallery in York, Maine, to “paint bigger” here is one of the results. Raking Light Across at 36×36 gave me the space and opportunity to really dig in and work on the layering of color and texture. It was a blast. More to come.

 

Art News from the Front Porch Issue 3 newsletter available now at www.anntrainordomingue.com

Outdoor summer show dates, new work, where to get prints and more. Love to hear what you think and please pass the word if you like what you see. Thanks.

Boston Strong on Union Street

Scouting out a location in a busy city such as Boston can be an intimidating process. The sheer number of possibilities for making a painting can be overwhelming to evaluate. Choosing just the right location–one with a good view, open space for setting up equipment, safe from traffic, animals, and other oddities is not easy. We found this location on a scouting trip taken with my daughter, Katie Trainor, who lives  in Boston and works at Francesca’s Coffee Café on Tremont Street, right around the corner from Union Street Park. Perfect. Her knowledge of the area and my preferences was invaluable to selecting this spot. Just enough area to setup, a beautiful spring day at the pocket park, and of course, proximity to a bathroom :). Sidewalk location was just right to allow me to set up and allow neighbors to get by–and chat. A win for all. The Copley Society of Art PaintOut was one week after the Boston bombing at the Marathon so the city was still reeling. Good to know this event and sale of my painting helped a little to add to the Boston Strong fundraising effort.

Coexisting–Plein Air and Studio Air

 

We artists have so many options open to us as we design a new piece of art. This one is less real and more abstract or is it more abstract than real. Let me explain. I love working with the landscape–New England, Caribbean and beyond– and that does not always mean working directly in front of it–plein air–as it is commonly known. I enjoy the process of interpreting the things that have inspired me and reworking into artworks that speak the language of the landscape but also let my personal interpretations in as well. Let me know your thoughts on this new piece entered in the Modernist Exhibition at the Copley Society of Art in Boston. Let see if it makes the cut. It was inspired by Amadeo de Souza Cardoso, Portuguese, 1877-1918, “The Leap of the Rabbit.” Pieces entered are required to be inspired by a work or artist own at famous The Armory Show in NYC in 1913.

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Painting About More Than Reflections

How a blurry photo of a clear day inspires

It seems to be endlessly interesting for art viewers to learn the story behind a painting. And to tell you the truth I like to dig in and find out this information too when I am on the gallery hopping route. I like to make the link from inspiration to interpretation and put myself in an artist’s shoes/sandals/barefeet and see what they saw, feel what they felt, and hear the little thing that became so powerful it had to become an artwork. It’s these translations that are as varied as there are artists in the world. So enjoy the view and let me know your thoughts on my visual story above. Find me and click the “Like” button to follow me on Facebook at www.Facebook/anntrainordomingueart or www.anntrainordomingue.com

Art News from the Front Porch Issue 2: Red Sox spring training, and select giclee prints now available at www.anntrainordomingue.com

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Lesson from the Keeper’s House, Monhegan Island–Ann Trainor Domingue

6 a.m. light on the house

One photo or one sketch is not the inspiration for only one work of art. Depending on what kind of information is retained, noted, or memorized will determine how an artist uses that reference for final art. Even then the artist might completely disregard those notes because over time, similar to simmering a delicious Italian red sauce, other ideas and influencers take their place in your mind, eye and heart and drive you in a new direction. Though the sketch above was done in 2010, my new painting in 2013 looks nothing likes other earlier attempts of years past, but I believe it is a better result. Please Like my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/anntrainordomingueart and signup to receive my newsletter at www.anntrainordomingue.com

Finding art in a wetland of New Hampshire

From soggy wet to art

How many options are there with a photo reference such as this? So many I still haven’t exhausted the possibilites and I have done at least 12 paintings of all sizes to try to capture the essence of this scene. So much to work with. So much to leave out. The trick is which is which. And that is the most fun and challenging. Some landscape images thrill me, others do not. I use my sketchbook to work on figuring this out. Lots and lots of pages. Each one getting closer to what my sensibilities say is right. Yours, and any artist’s will be different. Isn’t that great? Visit my website to see more www.anntrainordomingue.com or email me at domingue@comcast.net to receive my newsletter.

How just a snapshot inspires a boatload of paintings

MacMillan Wharf, Cape Cod fishing boat slowly cruising home

From snapshot, to sketch, to final painting–here’s a sample of how I create my paintings. Not all happen this way but this is a process I find captures an inspiration, allows me to mull over the possibilites and then sketch options and try out with various media. Exploring without knowing my end goal is my idea of great fun while creating each artwork. Visit my website to see more www.anntrainordomingue.com or email me at domingue@comcast.net to receive my newsletter.

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Big city Boston, small town sketch

Photo inspiration meets sketch

How an inspiration turns into an artwork is not always a straight line. Nor does it come straight from a photo. In this case, a quick shot included enough information to work out a sketch full of character rather than fully-rendered details.

Up the Road a Piece–Dunbarton, NH

Route 13 in Dunbarton, NH.

Winter provides all kinds of opportunities to see our local views differently. A covering of snow cleans up the scruffy autumn leftovers and brings a blanket of clean to my world. The contrast now of the white snow against the dark trees and foliage highlights the forms of the landscape

So Much to See

This is what I saw when arriving at the Phoenix Hill Farm on a gorgeous fall day here in New Hampshire. The textures, color, building forms, wildlife, compositional possibilities stared me in the face as I roamed the property to find a spot to settle down to begin the process of