New Wesite is Up and Running

 

Missisquoi Blue

Pastel

 

It has been a busy few weeks.  I have been spending a lot of time working on getting my new website up and running. It's still a work in progress, but I hope you will visit it at:

www.susanlarkinpaintings.com

 

So cool to have my domain name!

 

In May, I received a grant from The Vermont Arts Council to help pay for website design and construction.  I am so thankful to this important organization and all they have done in support of me and all the other Vermont artists who are learning about the Business of Art. I could not have taken on this project without their support. 

 

Last Sunday afternoon, I was at the Fisk Farm in Isle La Motte, for a reception for a show I am participating in along with fellow artists, Valerie Ugro, of Fairfax, and Ginger Johnson , of Alburgh. I have 15 paintings in the show, and they look terrific in that beautiful ancient barn The turnout was great, and I want to thank everyone who came by on that beautiful day. This show has been extended until June 19th, I invite you to stop by.

 



 

 



Spring Show at Fisk Farm

     Savage Point Barn

oil on canvas

24" x 24"

Tomorrow I will be hanging a show of 15 paintings at the Fisk Farm Arts Barn on Isle La Motte.
My paintings will be up through the end of June, so I am hoping if you are up this way, you'll stop in and take a  look.  The painting above, Savage point Barn, was done from a plein air study last summer.  The barn is located at Savage Gardens, a wonderful vegetable farm on Savage Point Road in North Hero.  We painted up there on an incredibly hot summer day in brilliant summer light.
I think we returned to this farm to paint about three more times during the summer, it is one of my favorite painting spots in the islands.

A Celebration of one of Vermont's Beautiful Rivers

 

  Missisquoi Kayak Wanderings, oil on canvas, 30" x 30" 

 

The painting above is one of a series of larger works that I completed over the winter.  I never seem to tire of the beautiful Missisquoi river as a subject. It is one of my favorite places to kayak.  It is always changing; last year the river was very low, now in April it is running high again, overflowing its banks. It is truely a treasure of northern Vermont.

 

 

Orange Grasses, oil on canvas, 24" x 30"

 

This Painting, "Orange Grasses" is one of two paintings that will be included in the "Art on the Refuge" show at the Missisquoi National Refuge open house in Swanton Vermont, from May 18 through July 20. A portion of the proceeds from sales of these paintings will be donated to Friends of the Refuge, an organization that sponsers conservation and preservation,  many events throughout the summer, bird walks and canoe tours to the great blue heron rookery in the Missisquoi Bay each year.  The open house at the refuge will be Saturday May 18, from 10:00  - 3:00 with presentations at 1:00 on birds of the region, and at 2:00 for the art exhibit.  I hope if you are in the area, you will drop in!





Working Small

Rising Mist, Winter
oil on paper, 6" x 7"

Near the Lamoille
oil on paper
6" x 6"

I've decided to continue working on these small paintings for the time being, and having fun.  I am learning so much about composition, value, and experimenting with new brushwork techniques. I am able to paint, scratch out areas, paint thick and thin, and try a whole bunch of things I would be reluctant to try on a large canvas.  I am working on some large paintings at the same time, and they should be ready to post soon. My painting style has been moving in a new direction, using all the new discoveries from the minis. 

 



Painting My Way Through February

                                             Imaginary Winter Scene, oil on paper, 6" x 6"

                                                      Absrtact, (Michael) oil on paper, 7" x 6"


These are three of the small works on paper I've been doing for the past month.  I've tried to keep up the practice of painting one of these each  day, and for the most part, I have been able to accomplish this.  It's been interesting to experiment and stretch, using all kinds of techniques and tools besides my trusty brushes, pallette knife, sticks,  paper towels, and cardboard.  My goal has been to simplify, simplify, simplify!

                                              Orange Everywhere, oil on paper, 6" x 6"

This way of working has led to some nice small studies that I think I will use as reference for my larger paintings.

 

Amber's Day, and other news

 

                                                              "Amber's Day"
                                                                             oil on canvas, 24" x 30"

Here is one of the new paintings completed this summer.  It is named for my daughter, based on a reference photo she took at the Alburgh Dunes last June.  I just loved the look of that brilliant blue sky and the plane of empty beach.  The perfect June day.  This painting is in the "Art at the Coach Barn Show" at Shelburne Farms, the show features over 100 artists this year and runs from Oct. 18 - Nov.4.

It was a busy summer, and because we had day after day of hot sunny weather, I was able to spend many days outside painting plein air.  My painting partner, Maurie Harrington, and I found ourselves painting many local barns around the Champlain Islands.  We are thinking of turning this into a project of documenting the many beautiful old barns in our region.

                                             "Dawn, Isle La Motte Bridge", oil on canvas, 12" x 24"

This painting is from a series of dawn paintings I have been working on. In April, the sunrise was just east of our bridge to the island, I enjoyed the peace of these early mornings, just the birds and an occasional fish jumping to break the stillness.

April News and Upcoming Events

Noble Hill Road

oil on canvas, 10" x 20 "

This is one of my paintings accepted to the show "Land and Light and Water and Sky" at the Bryan Memorial Gallery in Jeffersonville, Vermont. The scene is a field on the top of Noble Hill in Isle La Motte, one of the highest spots on the island. Noble hill road is one of my favorite painting sites, with views down the hill to the lake. It was painted last November. 

The opening reception is on Sunday, May 6th, from 3:00 -5:00.  There will be an artist round table and awards during the reception.  The show runs through July 8, and will showcase many fine regional landscape painters.

I have been gearing up for a plein air event in May, a plein air festival at the Horticultural Farm at the University of Vermont in Burlington on May 19th.  I have never painted there before,and I'm looking forward to capturing all of those beautiful spring flowers, and trees.

Landscape Alterations

We have been having some serious floods here on ILM. Not the best conditions for painting out of doors, but thanks to our heroic road crews, I am able to get on the road again. I should be back in the routine of painting outdoors soon. It will be interesting to see the alterations in the shoreline as the lake recedes.

In the Yellow Field, oil on canvas, 10" x 10"

$ 350.00

The new work coming out of the studio has been a series of small paintings, in a square format. I have been lightening and intensifying colors. It is still a struggle for me to loosen up with the brushwork, and push the colors, but it is a process. I have a busy summer coming up, so there will be plenty of opportunities for improvement.

Carry Bay Reflection, oil on canvas, 9" x 12"

It's been a long winter of painting, working indoors from studies that were started outside last summer and fall. In the new work, I have been concentrating on techniques that will illuminate my paintings to try and capture the radiant light I find in the islands. I have been starting with transparent washes of bright color before painting in the final colors.

I've just returned from a field trip to Connecticut, and a visit to the Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme. I saw a wonderful exhibition of American Impressionists from the Lyme Art Colony. This museum is such a treasure, and well worth the trip. It was interesting to see work by so many women in the collection. The museum's website is www.FlorenceGriswoldMuseum.org, if you'd like to know more.

"Early Evening #4, Blue", oil on canvas, 24" x 36"
$ 785.00


Mirror #1, November, oil on canvas, 48" x 36", SOLD
                                                              

                                                                

These are three of the paintings that I have on exhibit in the Art's Alive Festival in Burlington, Vermont through June 17. They can be seen in the windows of the Homeport Store, on Church Street Marketplace.

I have been working the past couple of months on paintings that deal with reflections, a theme that I have been exploring for a few years now. I am intrigued with the variations and patterns of value and the many color shifts that are seen between sky and water. The clarity and precision of the reflection captured in water is a challenge to replicate, and I enjoy the experimentation with brushwork and layering of color to capture the liquid quality of these reflections. While painting "Silent Morning", I took some time to study the water paintings of Claude Monet. The simplicity and brevity of his brushstrokes to suggest the alive feeling of reflections in water is remarkable. I briefly considered titling my painting "Channeling Claude", though I am far from achieving his level of mastery.

When I painted the "Early Evening" painting, my challenge was to suggest the stones that are visible below the surface of the water in the foreground, without painting them with too much detail, so that they appear as if looking through the surface. These puzzles are endlessly entertaining for me, sometimes it is difficult to let go and decide that the painting is finished. Sometimes I am thankful for deadlines.