Plein air in the garden

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As I mentioned in my last post, I participated last week in a “call for artists” from Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens to celebrate National Public Gardens week. You may know from reading previous blogs that I have painted in these gardens many times as a resident of Central Virginia. But somehow, painting in this context, constructed around an “official event,” helped me to see this place with new eyes and renewed excitement.

I decided to challenge myself by painting some gardens that I hadn’t tackled before. The first day I went it was AWASH with tours and school groups. There were so many kids there stopping to give their input. All of it was actually very positive, but also a bit distracting. Now, I love kids quite a lot, (and even have one those cuties myself) but on this day they were messing with my mojo and I had a hard time concentrating on what I was doing😅.

The architectural elements were minimal, but even so, required some concentrated drawing, some sense of proportion and placement to get right, especially since I was fairly close up to my subject and didn’t have a lot of room to manuver. I moved my entire setup several times and wiped it all down, before finally settling on a view that satisfied. It left me less time than I had planned to get everything down before I had to head back to my house in Ashland, but I did a pretty decent job, with only the need for a few final touches in the studio.

“Illuminated Courtyard, Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens”, Oil on linen, 12x16” ©Jennifer E Young

“Illuminated Courtyard, Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens”, Oil on linen, 12x16” ©Jennifer E Young

When I was (finally) in a pretty good place with my painting, a kid came by to examine my progress. I estimate he was around my daughter’s age (3rd or 4th grade) . He studied my effort with seriousness, alternately looking at my painting and the scene, my painting and the scene. Finally he gave me a decisive and approving nod. “You’ve done your homework,” he said.

And that, my friends, is the beauty of painting outdoors. It’s filled with its share of frustrations to be sure, but the moments of spontaneity are pure gold.

For Everything, A Season

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It’s been a difficult year. I guess I’m now at a point where I can finally write it down, but based on the June date of my last real blog post,😳 (aside from the occasional quick announcement) maybe it was already evident. June was when the reality settled in for me and my siblings that it was time to say goodbye (for now) to our beautiful, sweet, smart, creative mother, who had struggled with her illness in an acute form for over a year. I thought I was prepared, but no matter how well you understand the “reality” in front of you, there’s nothing that really prepares you for such a loss. With a little distance and time, I am still realizing how much it knocked the wind out of my sails, and I’ll admit that I am struggling to get my energy and my painting “mojo” back.

If you, yourself, are a creative of any kind, I’m sure you know that feeling of creative flow. It’s so great when it’s present and really kind of miserable when it isn’t. That’s not to say that I haven’t painted at all. In fact, the paintings I’m sharing in this post are from commissions and projects I worked on over the past few months. But it’s been hard to get that momentum going where gears are all greased and the ideas and inspiration just keep flowing and I’m chomping at the bit with my next idea.

I suppose there are art marketing gurus out there that say that you should never admit such things and always put your most successful foot forward. “Fake it ‘til you make it,” so to speak, and only share your successes and never the struggle. That can sometimes be helpful, but it’s not particularly authentic. Let’s face it, the struggle can be real and I would venture to say I am not the only artist who has been in this place.

If you are in this place also, my advice is to be gentle on yourself. Do the work that is in front of you, do what you can, but don’t beat yourself up that it’s just “not happening” for you every time you step in front of the easel (or the potter’s wheel or the computer). Celebrate the moments of inspiration in whatever form and for however long they come. This too will pass, but in the meantime, the only way past it is to get through it the best way you know how.

For me, I’m reorganizing my studio, working on an new inventory management system, and cleaning up the office as a way to clear out both the mental and physical clutter. As a result, I’m holding a holiday sale of smaller (mostly plein air) paintings with some great savings in hopes that I can manage my limited storage space and also hopefully send a few more pieces out into the world. I’m also working on a series of still life paintings, as they are less dependent on time of day and weather. More about that in future posts.

Painting this Thursday at Carytown Collective

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Just a quick announcement that tomorrow evening (Thursday October 25th) I will be at The Carytown Collective, doing a little painting and making myself available to answer questions about the paintings I have on display. If you haven't yet had a chance to visit this shop, this event, "Fall in Love With The Carytown Collective" is a great opportunity to have some light refreshments and get to know some of the vendors, and even do a little shopping too. The fun begins at 5 PM and ends at 8. We are located at 3422 West Cary Street in Richmond. Hope you can join us in Carytown!

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Now showing - A new venue and a fun art festival in the heart of RVA!

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Greetings friends of the arts! It’s been a while since I have reached out and I wanted to share two exciting new venues I am participating in this fall.

Carytown Collective

As you may already know, my studio is in Ashland, Virginia, located about 30 minutes by car from Downtown Richmond. I’m always happy to show my work at the studio by appointment to interested collectors. Even so, I have had a lot of people in the Richmond area ask where they might find my work closer into town. Now I am happy to announce my partnership right in the heart of one the premier urban shopping districts in RVA- Carytown! The Carytown Collective is a shared retail space bringing you the best that RVA has to offer in gift items, home accessories, beauty brands and art. Located at 3422 W. Cary Street in Richmond, the shop is open daily every day except Monday from 11 AM to 6 PM. For more information, contact the shop at (804) 353-1509. And be sure to follow their Facebook page!

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Plein Air Westhampton

My second announcement is actually an event, which takes place in yet another premier Richmond shopping district. It’s an event I’ve been looking forward to ever since participating in the inaugural event last year. Plein Air Westhampton is a week-long plein air festival celebrating paintings of real-life Westhampton, completed by 23 local artists. Artists will be working throughout Richmond’s Westhampton neighborhood during the week of Sept. 24 and present their creations during a show culminating on Sunday in the Plein Air tent, during Party On the Avenues. 10% of Plein Air Art proceeds will benefit FETCH-A-Cure – an organization providing pet owners with awareness and access to pet cancer treatment.

Follow @buypleinairwestrva on Instagram to purchase pieces before Party on the Avenues!

“This Way to the Market” (SOLD) Oil, 12x12” Painted at the 2017 Plein Air Westhampton

“This Way to the Market” (SOLD) Oil, 12x12” Painted at the 2017 Plein Air Westhampton

If you’re local to the area, I hope you can come on out to see either me, my work, or both at these two great local venues.

"Plein Air Unleashed"

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Last week I posted about a planned trip to White Stone, VA to paint with fellow artists in a relatively new plein air painting festival called Plein Air Unleashed. There were ten of us artists at this year's event, which spanned over a period of three days. 52 paintings were turned in to Allure Art Center at the culmination, to be displayed at the gallery during the month of May.  This is a fairly newly minted event, so it was pretty relaxed and low-key, which was fine by me as I always feel a bit rusty in the spring after my winter hibernation in the studio. 

This was my collection of paintings turned in at the end of the event.

This was my collection of paintings turned in at the end of the event.

White Stone is less than two hours from where I live, but I have never been to this area, nor anywhere in the Northern Neck. It's really quite a treat for plein air painters like me. The Northern Neck is the northernmost peninsula in Virginia. White Stone, Irvington, and Kilmarnock, where we painted sit at the southern end, where the Rappahanock meets the Chesapeake Bay. The area consists of small beaches, wetlands, marinas, farms, vineyards, and wineries, so there is a wide variety of subject matter to paint, with some really beautiful light and cloud formations from being that it is surrounded by so much water.

In all, I painted 8 pieces and turned in 7 (with one being a tosser). I can sometimes feel stressed by the more competitive events, but this festival was invigorating. It was great to be around other fine caliber painters and to just be able to submerge myself in nothing but painting for a few dedicated days. Here are a few on site photos of works-in-progress:

I felt fortunate to have stumbled on the info about this event through my friend Kim Hall, and hope to return next year. Here are most of the paintings I submitted for the show. I wish I had time to get a terrific record of the artwork submitted, but these photographs will have to do for now. 

The exhibit at Allure Art Center will run through May 26th. The gallery is going to be posting highlights from the event and artists on its Facebook page, so even if you are nowhere near White Stone, you can get a taste of the event online.