Zest

May 18, 2022

Sparkling with light, and a bit of surprise, the zest of this lemon  leaves sunlight in its wake.

That nicely describes the zest I felt from seeing customers and friends, both new and familiar, at my first post-covid show.

Thank you to everyone who brought their smiling selves to Saratoga. What a thrill to see you, to hear your stories of life, and dogs, and gardens, and bird baths, and fly fishing... and your thoughts on painting.

Special thanks to everyone who took home a lovely painting. You make it so that I can do what I love. 

6" x 8"  oil on linen panel   private collection

Ballerina Lemon

Seeing the familiar can be a wonderful surprise.

My backlit Ballerina Lemon on pointe is just that.

I felt like I was out there trying to balance on pointe when I painted it.

What a kick.

6" x 8"  oil on linen panel   $310  Art in the Morning special

Clippy Gizmo II

I am drawn to these jars, strange contraptions of specificity.

Squat. As wide as they are tall.

That satisfying snap as one levers the heavy-guage metal tab down.

By being all about function, they create their own aesthetic. 

6" x 6"  oil on panel   $230   Art in the Morning special

Glow

April 27, 2022

Sometimes painting is discovering something better on my way to where I thought I wanted to go.

 My new cd was also a process of discovery, pianist Jeremy Denk, "c.1300 - c.2000." Almost all of the composers were new to me, or the pieces were played in fresh ways.

At times introspective, romantic, demonstrative, fun, modern... I loved the music, his playing, and the way it freed my brain.

 I explored without thinking too much. Which is sometimes a hard place for me to get to.  Pretty wonderful.

5" x 7"  oil on panel   NFS

Tango in Tangerine

They share the spotlight and their ellipses of shadow.

Like capes, or winged sleeves, or the scarf of Cyd Charisse, the angled leaves of light and dark add formal presence and movement. 

An intimate dance.

6" x 8"  oil on panel   Private Collection   

Color My World  (Turp Pot)

 Oil paint by nature is slow to dry. That's what painters love about it, its buttery handling, its luminous color, its open working time.

 Arriving in brightly-colored dabs of distinguished hue, in no time at all it piles color upon color to everything it touches, soon to turn objects a non-descript, neutral gray.

From doorjamb  to telephone, shirtsleeve to fridge handle, screw driver to turp pot - like critter tracks in snow, it leaves a history of marks in its wake.

I guess this is what they mean by 'tone on tone?'

5" x 7"  oil on panel   Private Collection

A Spot of Sunlight

 I took my cues from the beautiful weather, the reflective skins of fruit, and Bonnard's love of sitting out in his garden.

With his little dog on his lap, he would watch the play of light upon forms as the sun moved through its day.

Objects drop back into shadow, emerge, and finally seem to dissolve in the brilliance of light.

9" x 9"  oil on wood      $530         Art in the Morning special

Spanish Blood

 What rhymes with orange?

Sangre Naranja.

You just have to do yoga to get there.

6" x 6"  oil on panel   $230    sold  

Pearfetta

 A glint of sun,

on springtime green...

I like her quiet style.

5" x 7"  oil on panel   $230   Art in the Morning special

Stella by Starlight

Wrapped in the moody atmosphere of Miles playing Stella by Starlight, I too was messing with space, abstraction, focal point.

... Love that watery light.

9" x 9"  oil on wood      $530         Art in the Morning special

Winter Peace

How many days, or weeks, have I spent along this river - painting, walking, cross-country skiing.

The river and the light, the birds and the wind, the sound of the snow - it says so much, in its seeming silence.

6" x 8"  oil on linen panel   $320    Art in the Morning special

Clementine

Painted in support and gratitude for the brave people of democratic Ukraine.

And to those providing them a bit of warmth and food.

6" x 6"  oil on panel   sold  $230     

Bulldog

Sometimes it's good to keep it simple.

Get a grip.

And be tenacious.

6" x 6"  oil on panel   $195      Art in the Morning special

Golden Symphony

February 16, 2022

Nature is the conductor.

Its baton glides and descends, floats upward, and briskly punctuates, creating a symphony.

The colors of notes from my palette, the texture of marks, all are in answer to its beckoning.

I love to be part of its ensemble.

6" x 8"  oil on linen panel   $320  sold   

Behind the Scenes - sketchbook

When out in the field with my easel, it's about soaking up nature through all of my senses. Seeing and breathing and listening. It's being very alive.

Back in the studio, when I've chosen a particular piece that I love and want to paint larger, the sun isn't rocketing through the sky overhead. I have more time to develop what I want to say.   I get to edit, distill, and heighten.

Like any explorer, I get to know the landscape differently, chart a path to  my desired point on the compass, and head off on a new adventure. 

8" x 8" graphite in sketchbook     nfs

Light Play

Don't you just love paint?!

Mix it with light, and soon you're dancing.

Let's dance.

6" x 6"  oil on panel   sold   

Spanish Sunlight - portrait

January 26, 2022

Bathed in Spanish sunlight. Quiet for the mind.

Surrounded by Spanish speakers, words become music.

5" x 7" graphite in sketchbook     nfs

BeBop II

When I tired of the dark irony of the artworld, I ran counter to my childhood color preferences and embraced pink.

In this sizzling number I tried to capture some of the radiant light and harmonic surprise of Dizzy, Bird, and Miles.

Come to think of it, I was listening to all three of them!

9" x 9"  oil on wood      $530         Art in the Morning special

Alcazar de Seville - sketch

January 12, 2022

Travel is an invitation to open a door, see differently, find the magic. It encourages me to slow down and get out my sketchbook.

So glad I did!

Now, when I look at my sketches, I'm transported. Clear memories, like the Spanish sunlight, dazzle.

5" x 6" graphite on paper     nfs

The Gift

You are the gift that allows me to do what I love. 

about 2" x 3" gouache & ink on paper     nfs

The French Quarter

December 29, 2021

A blast of pizzazz,

sunlight and jazz,

I'll be spinning Ellington's "Blues In Orbit" to launch me into the New Year in finger-snapping style.

Yazz, yazz, yazz...

9" x 9"  oil on wood      $530         Art in the Morning special

Flamenco Sketches IV

Coltrane's playing on Flamenco Sketches inspired me to paint what I heard.

I set up these citrus on a piece of white, with a background of white, and let his melody determine my colors and strokes.

The pattern and abstraction are a reflection of his music - full of love and beauty.

It seems appropriate for this season, and always.

9" x 9"  oil on wood   $530 sold      Art in the Morning special

Plum Sugar

Sugar plum visions,

Winter night of starry moon,

Ornaments shine bright.

6" x 6"  oil on panel   $230   sold    

Glow Power

Thick paint,

A warm cup,

The coffee's on,

It's a new day.

6" x 6"  oil on panel   $230      Art in the Morning special

Geranium Nocturne

Conjuring moonlight, a baby grand, and Chopin.

Of course, my favorite would be the sonata by Beethoven.

6" x 8"  oil on linen panel   $310 sold     

Quiet II

November 24, 2021

Quiet in the wind,

In the rustling leaves of gold,

In the pool of moon.

5" x 7"  oil on panel    $230   Art in the Morning special

Autumn Quintet

The music of color.

The color of music.

The melody of water.

It ain't just the birds who are singin'.

6" x 8"  oil on linen panel     $310  

Geranium Autumn

November 10, 2021

Almost nothing holds back the change of seasons more than gernaiums.

With their mix of gnarly / prickly, and almost day-glo cheer, they drive summer well into fall.

Savored sightings in winter windows always bring out the sunlight.

6" x 8"  oil on linen panel   $310  sold   

Stardust

November 3,2021

The abstract spaces and arches of deep blue put me on narrow streets at night in a magical foreign land.

Golden light washes ancient walls, and starlight bounces off small-paned windows from the dazzling sky above.

I hear footsteps on the cobbles. A strange and wonderful instrument calls like a quiet bird.

Let's follow its melody.

6" x 6"  oil on panel    $230   Art in the Morning special 

Golden Garden

As the "atmospheric river" rolls into the Sierra, every petal and leaf glows its final dazzling splash of warmth.

Garden and forest light up under the rain in radiant abstract patterns that take one's breath away.

Nature is the ultimate painter.

8" x 10"  oil on linen panel    $380 sold

Silver Light

Light shapes a story.

Cool or warm in temperature, clear and bright or atmopheric and diffused, hard-edged or soft, it helps decribe the landscape - both real and metaphorical.

11" x 14"  oil on linen panel   $540

Sunshine Morning Cup

October 13, 2021

Morning sunshine shimmers around the room like an excited butterfly -

brushing against the cup,

landing in the chair,

dancing up the wall.

Its enthusiasm lights up the day.

6" x 6"  oil on panel    $230 sold    

Autumn Joy

October 6, 2021

Every season has its spectrum of color.

When translated to paint, this one really surprised me. It just sucks me in.

Every time I look at it, it makes me happy.

8" x 10"  oil on panel    $380   Art in the Morning special 

Lemon Glow

September 29, 2021

Sometimes quiet things light up a room.

6" x 6"  oil on panel    $230   sold    

Apple Glow

Oh, to be an orchard atop the spring-green hill. To provide the blanket of earth for trees to dig their toes into. To watch as their silhouettes rise in all their eccentric expressions of knees and elbows and gnarled fingers.

To be the place that the beekeeper visits and feel the tickle of his winged creatures as they nuzzle bud and flower, carrying their magic dust with them. We ride the seasons together.

Gold comes the fall, and the branches lean lower as the globes reflect the light. Sunlight warms the fruit to a blush.

It snaps with crispness and juice, providing a simple, wonderful pleasure.

6" x 6"  oil on panel    $230 sold

Stained Glass

September 15, 2021

Pools of paint.

The wave of the brush.

And... Alakazam!

 Where are we, Toto?

6" x 6"  oil on panel    $230 sold    

Plump

September 8, 2021

The power of color.

Gold warms. Auburn invites. Plum celebrates.

8" x 8"  oil on linen panel   $320    Art in the Morning special

Summer River Rise

September 1, 2021

It's hard to overestimate the power of music to elevate and transform. The connection is preconscious. It crosses communities and cultures and goes straight to the heart.

In this case it was Mozart's Great Mass in C minor.

Its swelling beauty carried me like a wave, upward out of the almost opaque smoke and raining ash outside my studio, allowing me to paint this piece - reliving that late-summer day on the river.

I never underestimate the power of art to help me find my better self.

8" x 16"  oil on linen panel   $515 sold    

Three-Cherries Syndrome

August 25, 2021

Painted specially for a big-hearted person practicing random acts of kindness...

Wishing everyone a three-cherry day.

6" x 6"  oil on panel   nfs 

Heads - sketch

August 18, 2021

Like sketching the blades of a windmill in a breeze.

Or the wings of a bird in flght.

Light, shadow. Light, shadow.

Flick. Flick. Flick.

Gone.

.5 x 5.5 sketchbook    nfs

Daisy, Lily

August 11, 2021

Crescent moon waxing 

Sunrise kisses the flower

Gentle comes a Bee

6" x 8"  oil on linen panel  $290 sold    

Situational Extrovert

August 4, 2021

Like many an introvert, the onion doesn't mind being overlooked as it plays an essential role in helping others shine.

But some days it just can't help itself.

Its ruby glow and sense of style jump to center stage and say, "Hey!"  

8" x 16"  oil on linen panel  $490     Art in the Morning special 

Audition

July 28, 2021

In an ever-evolving process of discovery, I love the way paint can be marshaled into light and shadow.

A plain white surface becomes an abstract stage. Cool beauty and elegance is found in shadowed color.

When the spotlight shines, the stars come out to play. It takes the entire cast to create the transformation.

Who says a cherry is just a cherry.

6" x 6"  oil on panel    $230   Art in the Morning special 

Petal Power

July 21, 2021

This rose caught the sunlight. Then my eye.

Holding the colors of the sunset, it sweetens the air while a new mystery unfolds.

6" x 8"  oil on panel    $290  sold   

Fava La Bamba

July 14, 2021

Paint it. Eat it.

Sometimes life is a rainbow.

6" x 8"  oil on linen panel    $310   sold   

Quiet Winter Turning

July 7, 2021

After life under the "heat dome," I figured we could all use a cold plunge.

This is from a great  day spent painting just as winter was turning its face toward spring. Cold alpine air and warm high-altitude sun, the air was fresh and moist with the melt.

The few plates of ice on the river were about an hour away from becoming water.   

I felt giddy as a kid jumping on ice bridges on my way home from school.

6" x 8"  oil on linen panel   $330   Art in the Morning special

Dogwood, Daffodil

June 30, 2021

A walk in the woods, moving from pools of cool shadow into spills of brilliant light, can reveal a delicate elegance blooming among the trees.

A walk along the garden's edge offers upturned faces of sunshine.

Put them together and I fall into the beauty of paint.

8" x 10"  oil on linen panel   $360   sold 

Cherries on Broadway

June 23, 2021

I love how theater helps us see things fresh.

And fresh things, dramatically.

6" x 8"  oil on linen panel    $290 sold   

She's So Fine

June 16, 2021

From plow to palette to palate.

I love our local farm stand.

The author in the house says he has a crush on the tomato.

I like my rubber band.

6" x 8"  oil on linen panel    $290    Art in the Morning special

Existential Strawberries

June 9, 2021

I'll say!

6" x 8"  oil on linen panel    $270    Art in the Morning special

Lily Daisy

More inclined to paint tools than flowers, I can only assume that the explosion of nature's exuberance speaks loudly to me at this time.

The birds, too, are in full volume as they light up the air waves.

A welcome chorus, it is.

8" x 10"  oil on linen panel   $360  sold     

Lemon Bella

May 26, 2021

If a lemon could be a Broadway star this could be her.

As I painting this, I just kept hearing Ethel Merman singing, "There's no business like show business...!"

She held the footlights and the spotlight. How does she do that?!

6" x 8"  oil on linen panel    $280    Art in the Morning special

Daffodil Spring

May 19, 2021

These daffoldils make me think of the brass section when Louis is onboard.

They play with brilliance and joy.

8" x 10"  oil on linen panel   $360  sold   

Morning Quiet

May 12, 2021

In colors of the sunrise

and in the stillness of morning time

I can hear the birds singing.

Hear them?

What a beginning to the day.

6" x 6"  oil on panel   $230  sold   

Nightfall

May 5, 2021

Before the full moon left our night sky

I captured its light in this glass.

5" x 7"  oil on panel   $230    Art in the Morning special Mother's Day

Blooming

April 28, 2021

From twig to flower

Winter's white turns to spring bloom.

A blossom awakes.

6" x 8"  oil on linen panel    $310 sold

Sunlit Daffodils

April 21, 2021

Like shooting stars that plant themselves

Or rays of sunlight that take up residence

Everything is coming up yellow

8" x 10"  oil on linen panel   $360  sold  

Lemon on a Wedge

April 14, 2021

When people pursue their artform with focus and persistence, discipline and curiosity, it doesn't really matter if their medium is painting or pointe, jazz or journalism, or... food!

To get really good at it, to make something fresh and even surprising, involves pretty much the same process. Critical thinking, the willingness to fail, endless hours for many years, and a love of the process.

Each of those mediums: painting, dance, music, or writing, involve studying the material, the history and cultures it comes from.

Whether it's "Yes, Chef!" by Marcus Samuelsson or "To a Young Jazz Musician," by Wynton Marsalis, I found almost every thought and practice to be interchangeable with the pursuit of a life in painting.

Here's to everyone's art form!

6" x 6" oil on panel    sold  

Alcazar, Seville - sketch

April 7, 2021

This time a few years ago I was approaching blast-off to teach my plein air workshop on Italy's largest lake.

En route we explored the inspiring beauty of Alcazar in Seville, Spain. A study in drama and grace.

Cool dark domes of intricate carving and archways to bold light.

Ebullient gardens create a mosaic of color. Fountains splash in the sunlight.

Water reflections below to bring you closer to the sky above.

Quiet, save for the burblings of water and birdsong. I wonder if they are looking for a novice grounds keeper.

5.5 x 5.5 sketchbook    nfs

Squeeze Me

March 31, 2021

A bowl full of sunlight to greet the day.

6" x 8"  oil on linen panel    $270    Art in the Morning special

Artifacts

March 24, 2021

Winter is a good time for adventures in a library. Exploring trails of information.

Like picking up bits of information in a library, I pick up bits of stuff along the trail when hiking. Curiosities of beauty and form, that lead to questions.

Rocks that show a fault line. Weird and wonderful pieces of wood shaped by wind and water. Bones that give us nature's essential sculpture.

8" x 8"  oil on panel   $270    Art in the Morning special

Lemon in Winter

March 17, 2021

Lemon brightens everything it touches.

6" x 6" oil on panel   $215    sold  

Winter's Tea

March 10, 2021

I love that when you come in from the cold, the scent of winter comes in too.

It mingles with the aroma of a hot drink and the wood smoke going up the stove pipe.

Reminding you it's time to pull up a chair and enjoy a good book.

8" x 8"  oil on linen panel   $320    Art in the Morning special

Sparkling Winter

 March 3,.. 2021

Don't you just love winter?! My favorite season.

Blanketed in snowy silence, it is full of mystery.

The night's full moon reflects off the snow, allowing you to read a book out there, while you cross-country ski over the meadow and along the river. 

Come morning, snow holds your morning news of all the night-time critters who've been busy as you slept.

The golden hour turns warm and peach where the sun lights upon the white and deepens shadows to blues and lavenders. We take in the splendid glow and go home warmer for it.

11" x 14"  oil on linen panel  $560   sold 

Roman Blonde

Boy, do I miss working from the model!

This painting was 99% complete when we could still travel and gather in a room together, in silent concentration, and bathe our senses in the bouncing reflected light and subtle movements of the human form.

It was really wonderful to revisit some of that feeling when I completed the few finishing touches in my studio this week.

Working from life is a gift.

9" x 12"  oil on linen panel  $490  Art in the Morning special

Eccentric Pink

She was on her way to somewhere!

In flowing drapery of peachy pink, she sailed over the Italian cobbled streets of the lakeside village like an apparition. About four and a half feet tall and glowing, she was a commanding presence.

But her fleet feet had me and my workshop of painters wondering if we had imagined her.

 And... if we could follow!

6" x 8"  oil on linen panel    private collection

Venice Sunset

February 10, 2021

Pick a canal, any canal.

Name your time of day, sunrise or sunset.

Load your backpack with fresh cheese, juicy produce, and that incredible crusty bread.

An affordable feast full of colored light, local sounds, and memories.

Don't forget the corkscrew.

11" x 14"  oil on linen panel  $490  Art in the Morning special

Prepare for Pizza!

February 3, 2021

Our go-to therapy this covid season is catching a sunny day and escaping to Tuscany. Being pretty Type-A in the work department, this is a real lunchtime treat for us.

Ingredients for easy travel are simple: outdoor seating in the sun (dress weather-appropriate), one Margherita pizza, one bell pepper (optional), olive oil, one pre-heated grill, beverage of choice.

Pre-warm your plates, and grab the key ingredient: your imagination.

Before you know it, images and memories will assemble before you, and you too will be enjoying great taste and gazing at rolling green hills dotted with happy sheep.

Just off to the right, vineyard rows climb the contours of the land.

In the distance the sun-splashed sienna-gold walls of the hilltop village glow in invitation. We sigh at the flavor and at the sight of the iconic church bell tower - an exclamation mark to the power of imagination and good will. Feel better? Me too.

Toccato uno, toccato tutti.

6" x 8"  oil on linen panel    $270    Art in the Morning special

Venice Reflections

January 27, 2021

Venice is a floating city of wonder, water, and light. Its tilted vertical planes, deep shadowed doorways, and watery reflections call you into adventure and a state of exploring.

Its Byzantine canals and streets with a name at one end, and a different name at the other end - often just one block away - pretty much guarantee getting lost. Which is the whole point!

What better way to explore the hidden neighborhoods of quiet, the dark alleys of water and reflection, and gem-like parks down a path, behind a wall.

The contrasts of light and dark, grand splendor and rain-stained decay, history and mystery, fill all of our senses.

9" x 12"  oil on linen panel  $460  sold  

Regatta

January 20, 2021

With hopes for a clear day,

a smooth coming about,

and the wind at our backs.

6" x 8"  oil on linen panel    $270    Art in the Morning special

Lamplight

January 13, 2021

Warmth against the elements.

Light in dark corners.

Flickering gold for a moonless night.

5" x 7"  oil on panel   $270  sold   

Sailing to Tahiti

January 6, 2021

In the pursuit of happiness...

I carved my boat, and grabbed my umbrella, mixed up a palette of endorphin-inducing colors, and struck out to realize a lifelong dream.

I'm sailing to Tahiti.

Virtually, of course.

6" x 8"  oil on linen panel    $270    Art in the Morning special

Previous - Art in the Morning 2020

Please Enjoy My PBS Interview!

"A Conversation with Kit Night..." Painting on location at Sand Harbor, while I talk with Brent Boynton of PBS

The Book!

"Art in the Morning" is my way to greet the day. What began as an attempt to make the world a kinder place through art, has turned into eleven years, and running, of weekly paintings accompanied by my musings on nature, painting, life, and jazz. 

Once a week I send out an email with a painting, hot off my easel, for you to enjoy with your morning cup of coffee/ tea/ chocolate before you dive in to your work day. It's just a moment to relax. 

It's my attempt to make art a part of our every day lives. All of the arts should get out of the cloisters and into the moment. Any moment.

Share it with a friend. If they want to receive it regularly, they can just send me an email with "Please Add" in the subject line. I never share your address.

Email me: Kit@KitNight.com  (this is not a link)

Night has no "K".

Thanks and enjoy!

- Kit

Thanks for all of the great sales of my Art in the Morning book. After many printings it is now sold out.

Birthday, Anniversary, Wedding, just -  life!... Paintings make a great celebration. (You give two gifts at once.) Thank you for supporting the arts!... Especially now, when we need even more beauty in our lives.

Easy. Just send me an email. 

Thank you for adding art to your life!