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Art in the Morning 2014
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Ring in the New
December 31, 2014 I will raise a glass to all of you this new year. A toast to you lovely people who invite me into your lives on Wednesdays with my Art in the Morning. Thank you for taking the time to let yourself be lubricated by color, and one painter's take on the world. You make my work an even richer and more rewarding experience. As you may imagine, Louis and Duke will be splashing the room with their own melodic colors. 6" x 8" oil on linen panel $195 Art in the Morning special
Moonlit Winter
December 24, 2014 When next the moon comes up, grab your mitts and a thermos of hot chocolate. Don the foot transport of choice, and head out into your version of a moonlit winter night. You will find your moment of Peace on Earth. When the sun rises, we can all practice random acts of kindness. Wishing you what you wish for, and all of the above. 6" x 8" oil on linen panel sold
Wise Apple
December 17, 2014 I've met some wonderful people over the years of showing my work. This piece was painted for such a person, a commission from her team at Apple upon her upcoming retirement. It is a fun riff on the Apple logo during her time there. Their desire to celebrate, commemorate, and say thank you says much about them and her. I felt pretty darn lucky to be a part of it. 10" x 10" x 1.25" oil on linen sold
Alpine Stream
December 10, 2014 Like a poem or an adagio, a walk in the woods reveals intimate stories and quiet movements to savor. 20" x 20" x 1.25" oil on linen sold gilclee on canvas available
Coddled Egg
December 3, 2014 I guess everyone looks better in a tuxedo. 6" x 8" oil on linen panel sold
Before It's Pie
November 26, 2014 The apple taught us about gravity. It makes your dentist happy. It makes your teacher feel appreciated. It keeps the doctor away. It may or may not land far from the tree. It is a food group. Most fun, according to my childhood cartoons, after it becomes pie and is placed on the kitchen windowsill to cool, it will make cats float through the air in response to its sweet, homemade aroma. 6" x 6" oil on panel $165 Art in the Morning special
A Glass a Day...
November 19, 2014 Keeps the doctor away. I think this has become a food group. 6" x 8" oil on panel sold
Old Towne Schoolhouse
November 12, 2014 If I could, I would paint everywhere I go. I do a lot of that but not everywhere. I aspire to resume old habits, and more closely follow artist David Hockney's example, by sketching anywhere and everywhere: family gatherings, lobbies, the checkout line at the grocery. I did the latter when in school, but that habit has slipped with the busy-ness of life. The process opens up all of your senses to observation - audio and visual. It forces one to be very present and it's good for the brain. Hey, this week, sketchers and non could pick up a pencil and paper. Have some fun and get us outside our comfort zone. Not unlike the lessons they teach in the schoolhouse. 6" x 8" oil on linen panel sold
Fly-Fisher's Bend
November 5, 2014 Discovering other people's passions is an unexpected side-benefit of painting. The world of plein air painting finds me at the river at morning or dusk, alongside a quiet gathering of fly fisherman. Studio work, and the jazz I listen to while painting there, has jump-started conversations about space, time, culture, classical music, jazz, salsa... you name it. Painting has even introduced me to a man's love of building an amazing world via his train set. Part history, part fiction, and lots of nostalgia meet with finely-tuned craftsmanship to create stunning vignettes in a world of his own making. It's inspiring to meet people who are busy creating the lives they want. 6" x 8" oil on linen panel $220 Art in the Morning special
Amber Autumn Meadow
October 29, 2014 Here she comes again. That painter with her tripod easel and paints on her back. She walks our ground and looks through the little "window frame" she makes with her fingers. She tilts her head and squints and gets familiar with our curves and elbows, our shadows and reflections. We - the land and bushes, the birds, and the trees, the waters, the fish, the sky and the breeze - have been known to show off a bit while being so closely observed and listened to. She comes here just for us. She allows us time to develop our story. She knows we have our own clock and we can't be rushed. When we throw rain and snow and wind at her, she doesn't jump and run. She seems to lean in to our moods. We like that she tries to capture spectrum changes in our seasons, and texture changes in our atmosphere. When she heads home after a quiet day of concentration, she doesn't leave a trace. But for her paintings, no one but us would know she had been here. 8" x 10" oil on linen panel sold
Alpine Pool
October 22, 2014 A quiet day and a chance for a fresh look at abstraction and reflection. I love the back and forth between the cool blue of the alpine pool, collecting midstream just before it tumbles over the cliff, and the angles and flat masses of the sun-bleached granite. I also love the telling details to be found in the water's gaze up at the sky. It was a good day for me to reflect on the benefits of being in nature and on losing myself to the process of painting. Both command my attention and I'm happy to surrender to the ways they improve me. 9" x 12" oil on linen panel $395 Art in the Morning special
Golden Cloak
October 15, 2014 On a recent morning I met some of the painters from my Tuscany workshop. Dotting the shore of the American River with our easels and our observations, we each evoked our own expressions of what the river and the change of seasons had to say. Cyclists and runners and curious canines came through on our winding wooded path. Some weighed-in and enjoyed seeing painters afoot. Some just wanted a scratch behind the ears. A great day with friends. So glad to be teaching in Tuscany again next June. 9" x 12" oil on panel sold
Autumn Aria
October 8, 2014 Grabbing the Golden Hour, I captured the morning light as it slid sideways across the land. The light is made all the more exciting by the long cool shadows that pop the licks of sunlight on leaf and branch. I set-up back in the shade of the pines - to see accurate color on my canvas - and watched the turning of the earth unfold in changing hue and color temperature. 18" x 24" oil on panel sold
Crescent
October 1, 2014 Yup, I'm back at the toolbox. Otherwise known as the toy box. 10" x 10" x 2" oil on linen $295 Art in the Morning special.
Night Facets
September 24, 2014 Half full. Half empty. I say, full of potential. And mood, and contemplation and wiz, bang, boom... sparkle. 6" x 8" oil on linen panel sold
Sierra Gold
September 17, 2014 Warm breeze in the cool mountain air, glimmers of gold rushing through the grass and willows, sunlight painting the tips of everything with a sunny glow, and silence at the edge the quietly flowing river - it must be fall. How lucky am I that my work allows me access to the perfect flip-side to intense show season: long hours of driving, up at 3:am to begin installing a show at 4:, take down the next night, followed by dinner out of the cooler at 10:30 pm. But what a great opportunity to meet people from all walks of life, and a chance to talk about art. Then a golden day presents itself. I bring my easel into the Sierra river meadow and lose myself to the silence, the color, the paint. Ahhh. Love that nature. 9" x 12" oil on panel $340 Art in the Morning special
Night Clear
September 10, 2014 People often ask me, what's with the glasses? I just find them lively and interesting to paint. I like the way the refraction changes how we see things. I like the challenge of saying more with less. Not unlike the jazz musicians whose music I love - leaving out more notes the older they got. Not out of inability, but because they wanted to make better choices, leaner descriptions. They are great examples for those of us trying to distill how we see. 6" x 8" oil on linen panel sold
Tuscan Classic
September 3, 2014 Vineyards climbing, bales of hay dotting the landscape like so much shredded wheat, shuddered windows with geraniums below, bell towers on distant hilltops - the winding roads of Tuscany provide a painter's paradise around every turn, a candy store of compositions. So many choices, so little time. That's what return trips are for. 9" x 12" oil on panel $315 Art in the Morning special
Feline Olympia
August 27, 2014 Sometimes our four-legged friends are quiet companions who reside in the shadows with a low purr. Sometimes they are more like Ethel Merman meets Sophia Loren - always commanding attention and stealing the show. My friend's sweet cat Miss Gray was of the stage and siren variety. Inserting herself into every conversation and lap, full of humor and curiosity, she was almost a parody of herself. I could always count on her for a laugh and a great art critique. I'll miss you pussy cat. But you'll still make me laugh. 6" x 8" oil on linen panel sold
Morning Kayak
August 20, 2014 With turquoise and blue waves gently slapping against the side of the kayak, pushing off in to the big body of mountain water, is an invigorating and calm way to start the work day. Trading sleep for alpine peaks, bobbing ducks, dipping gulls and the occasional hot air balloon overhead is pretty darn swell. With those visions following me through the rest of my day, it makes work not seem like work. I'm hooked. 8" x 10" oil on panel sold
Glisten
August 13, 2014 Wet and reflective, refractive and abstract, a place to get lost and a place to play, that's glass for me. I brought my easel to the Artist-in-Residence program at Valhalla on Tahoe. A chance to meet and talk with people from all over the world. And to show the process of painting to . I had the fun opportunity to give a talk on the Value of Art in Communities to 30+ thoughtful students from Beijing. They wanted to know what it is like to make your living as an artist, and how do I reach out to my community. They had insightful questions about learning art via books on technique or art history. I'm a fan of the latter. Does it bother me to be misunderstood or have people see unintended things in my paintings. Not a bit. Is talent essential to begin. No. I think talent is over-rated. It mostly gets down to practice and persistence. Is art still valuable today? Anything that gives us access to our humanness, allows us to practice or witness beauty, invention and empathy through the process, has to be good. We had a great time with a lively Q&A. A toast to inquiry. Lucky us. 6" x 8" oil on linen panel sold
Chasing Shadows and Emeralds
August 6, 2014 Planting my easel below cliffs and over the falls and bay below, I couldn't help but wish that all of the painters who joined me in Tuscany could join me and a fellow painter here, on this day. They were fantastic fun and would have loved the chance to dive into this color and chase the clouds in paint. Next time. Always in spirit. 8" x 10" oil on panel sold
Channel-lock
July 30, 2014 Tried and true, I like my channel-lock almost as much as my tape measure. With its patina of paint smudges, it has been helping me open cans and tubes, shutting off recalcitrant outdoor faucets, and propping open my lunchtime reading, for decades. This past weekend at my Open Studio, I met another painter enthusiastic about her channel-lock. You meet all kinds and all ages on the studio tour. That's what makes it so fun. Many of us love our tools. Many of us connect them to great memories with dad or grandpa, and always to creative tasks undertaken and accomplished. The next generation will connect them to Aunts and Grandmas. Love that leverage. 10" x 10" x 2" oil on linen $295 Art in the Morning special.
Sketchbook in Hand
July 23, 2014 Our transmission died on the way home from my Bay Area show last week - on the freeway in Sacramento during rush hour. We barely coasted off onto the left shoulder. Yikes. Lazy day
July 16, 2014 There are a lot of feel-good units to jump in to on a high-amp day of breeze, blue skies and sparkle. But there is an intimate quiet to be found in the low contrast of cloud cover and the soft ripples of calm waters. Everything is kind of silvery and warm at the same time. Just right for a peaceful day of bobbing about, instead of coming about. 8" x 10" oil on panel sold
Blue River
July 9, 2014 Sometimes I wish I were a fish. I would part the waters with my head and feel that cool blue slide down my sleek sides... m-m-m. I'd shimmy along, or ride the currents. As the sky and trees rolled by I could look for a tasty bug for my protein supplement. I'd let the pretty ones go, to fly another day. Now and then I'd give my tail a flick and leap free of the water, to feel the sun on my back as I check out the action on the river banks. Then I could split the water with finesse and dive deep into one of those deeply-colored pools. I could take a lazy nap in the dark shadows beneath the overhang of tufts of grass. The perfect finish would be a nocturnal swim under the wavy full moon. I could wink back with a flash of my silvery flanks. 18" x 24" x 1.25" oil on canvas sold gilclee on canvas available
Shadow Play
July 2, 2014 And play we did, under the Tuscan Sun! What do you get when painters leave their comfort zone, take to the airways, land in Florence and Siena, then escape in to the lap of the Tuscan countryside? A whole lotta laughter, paint being flung onto canvas, and a fair amount of Chianti consumed. How fantastic to teach and paint with twelve amazing and wonderful painters. Every turn in the road held another postcard photo of beauty and serenity - rolling green hills dotted with horses and rolled bales of hay, olive groves and vineyards, castles and villages. Blue skies filled with lavender-tinged clouds and uccello musica. Each of these painters gave me a gift, the chance to be a part of their very personal process of expressing themselves through paint. It isn't for the meek. Technical challenges await all of us as we grow. The thrill is to embrace the risk-taking, persist, and come out the other side. They did. In techni-color. When the skies broke open we shared in the plein-air "baptism" of several. Smiles and hoots from all. Beautiful people. Beautiful paintings. What more could one ask for. 8" x 10" oil on linen panel sold Art in the Morning special.
Garden Rubies
June 25, 2014 Globes of glowing color that tumble from the garden. Look at them and they bring visions of possibilities in to your mind. Slice them and they bleed juicy flavor into your dish. 6" x 8" oil on linen panel sold
The Sky Below
June 18, 2014 I love the way shadows or reflections show us what is beyond the picture frame. It is a different way to tell a story. Like a mystery, it draws us in to look for clues to the larger world. 18" x 24" x 1.25" oil on canvas sold gilclee on canvas available
Gem Colors
June 11, 2014 If vegetables put color in your cheeks, then you're going to be one red-hot mama today. 6" x 8" oil on linen panel $230 Art in the Morning special.
River Flow
June 4, 2014 Animated World. That's what the rush of spring is. Everything is in melt, flow, bud, spring, bloom. Colors intensify even as I paint. Reflections of green grass that shimmer atop the water become electric. Buds go from pale peach to intense pink and green before my eyes. Nature commands one to focus and absorb. No wonder Muir, Leopold, Thoreau, and Tempest Williams picked up their pens. To paint, to write, to sing or to just lie down in it. Maybe I'll do all of the above. 8" x 10" oil on panel sold
Leaning In
May 28, 2014 It's always helpful to hang out over the edge of the world. Everything drops away literally and metaphorically. Sight becomes an amazing study of every subtlety of light, wind, and the rotation of the planet. Each hour brings new colors, and a new focal point. This moment became an abstract study in squalls. 9" x 12" oil on linen panel $295 Art in the Morning special
Lemon, Pepper, Garlic,
May 21, 2014 So much flavor, so many options - insalata, zuppa, pesto, and primavera. Spring brings the opening of farmer's markets to color our world. See what palette speaks to your palate. 6" x 8" oil on linen panel $230 Art in the Morning special. Springtime River
May 14, 2014 Painting in nature remains an eternal gift. Just by making the time to do it, I can step into its silence - the only sound, the gush and ripple and burp of the current. Occasionally, a fish breaks the surface or a black-headed towhee peeps as it gathers seeds in the meadow grass behind me. The wind rushes against the pine bows and riffles the water's surface. Sometimes I get a lump in my throat, seized by the grandeur and the simplicity. 9" x 12" oil on linen panel $395 Art in the Morning special
Late of Day Rolls In
May 7, 2014 As clouds throw a cloak over the day and the sun rolls into the deep west, the color and mood of that big ocean body shifts. The atmosphere and light turn it into an intimate space, a quiet place you feel you could hold in your pocket along with the grains of black lava sand and bits of etched blue glass. 9" x 12" oil on linen panel $395 Art in the Morning special.
Pick a Pepper
April 30, 2014 How could we not be healthier eating fruits and vegetables that come with their own inner glow. It's pretty hard to resist. I figure the more color on my plate, the more color in my cheeks. Not to mention, my brain gets to do a little rainbow dance. 6" x 8" oil on linen panel sold
Night Shade
April 23, 2014 Poof! Poof! Parfum. If the painter Lyonel Feininger were to design a perfume bottle, this might be it. I discovered this little faceted gem in a curio shop when I was picking up objects for painting. It has all of these jazzy angles and wedges and arcs that fracture the light into planes. With its net squeeze ball and art deco styling, it has a ring of nostalgia. It conjures a time when women wore dresses at home all day and went off to play bridge. It's like functional sculpture meets period piece. 6" x 8" oil on linen panel sold
Tropic Thunder
April 16, 2014 To paint is to see, feel, hear and smell the landscape. I love the way it takes me outside myself. Rolling clouds and mist subdue the contrasts. You can smell the moisture before the rain hits. Bits of clear sky wink and tease in a dance with the wind. Birds, whose song is like laughter, fill the air while clacking palm fronds play back-up. Occasionally an egret walks by, all angles and elbows, like the hall monitor who misses nothing. 9" x 12" oil on linen panel $375 Art in the Morning special.
Spring Comes to the Shore
April 9, 2014 A picture paints a thousand words. And sometimes the story it tells is a bit of fiction. Little yellow spring flowers. Check. Deep blue waters and white-capped waves crashing. Check. Brilliant green grass on the hilltop. Check. Sun-filled day. Check. Winds over thirty miles per hour, with gusts over 45. Check. Wait a minute... what?!! So I hung my paint pack from my easel for ballast, tied my hat on with two cords, anchored everything in sight, and held on while I painted. Talk about leaning in! 9" x 12" oil on linen panel sold
Tropic Rain
April 2, 2014 Red Light, Green Light took on new meaning when palm trees swayed, clouds rolled, and surprise! Pouring rain. Then, just like a faucet, it turned off. Then on. Then off. Eventually you go... well, it is oil paint! I figured I could have a bunch of derailed painting days, or I could have a bunch of paintings. So glad I chose the latter. 8" x 10" oil on panel $320 Art in the Morning special.
Blippety Blue
March 26, 2014 Blueberries are an anti-oxidant delivery vehicle. So, of course, one would only eat this for medicinal purposes. Better yet, paintings are a calorie-free source of color endorphins. 8" x 8" oil on panel $295 Art in the Morning special
Firelight
March 19, 2014 I love the way glass lets me play with space. It's like a funhouse for me. Flat, deep, in, out. The color licks up the sides and splashes around inside. The finished piece provides a nice place to let your eyes and thoughts roam free. Kind of like watching firelight. 36" x 40 " x 1.5" oil on canvas sold
On Cue
March 12, 2014 Light tells a story - time of day, sense of atmosphere, temperature, color. It can allude to sound and smell and mood. Whether your medium is music, or writing or putting dinner on the table, consider making light a part of your story. 8" x 8" oil on panel $295 Art in the Morning special.
Confection Affection
March 5, 2014 I had the good fun of teaching twelve lively, smart and warm people in a three day workshop in Sacramento last week. What a blast! Between discussions of flat space and deep space, warm and cool colors, Frankie Valley, how to make radiant shadows, Matisse, how to tame one's brushes, John Coltrane, David Hockney, what makes dynamic composition (the same thing that makes dynamic dance,) remembering to breathe, laughter, Lucien Freud, turning one's painting upside down to see what is really there instead of what you think is there, double salchows, laughter, and taking a dance break to Earth, Wind and Fire, these guys grew by leaps and bounds. Serious. They put in long hours, some decided to skip lunch, all were supportive of each other in their pursuit to challenge themselves and show their painting who was boss. In short, they didn't wait for inspiration. They showed up and did the work. And man, what results! One day we got to paint desserts as we celebrated color. This painting is in honor of them, and everyone else who moves words, or paint or body or bow. You guys rock! 8" x 8" oil on panel $295 Art in the Morning special.
The Birds and the Bees
February 26, 2014 Garden color is exciting any time of year. I painted these flowers in response to a TED talk I recently heard on NPR while working in the studio. The speakers were discussing the birds and the bees. I had no idea that practically all of the plant food we eat is pollinated by bees! Nuts, greens, fruits, vegetables... Bees seem to be right up there with water in terms of importance to putting food on our table. I learned that part of the threat to bees comes from a lack of flowering diversity in the landscape. Flowering weeds, wild flowers and clover blooming in fallow farm fields and yards, are a huge help to bees. Flowering trees and low-water-use flowering plants give us nature's paint box and help the bees. This explains some amazing farm fields I saw in Iowa some years back. I thought the farmer was having fun. It turns out, they were also helping the planet. The other part of the talk focused on how birds and frogs need us to enjoy the silence in nature, or to use ear-buds, so they can hear each other's song, rhythms and warnings. Their camouflage blanket of music-making keeps them safe and prosperous. The song in silence and the power of a seed have new meaning to me now, and new meaning for spring. I see the power of Johnny Appleseed in all of us. 8" x 8" oil on panel sold Art in the Morning special.
Late of Day in Winter
February 19, 2014 High-altitude sun makes it so I can take my paints to the beach even in winter. Magnifico! Of course, I would probably do the same if I were in northern climes. I would just have to wear the big jacket I used to call my portable home environment. Maybe that's what ice houses are for northern-latitude fisherman, a portable home environment. Otherwise known as their beach house! 8" x 10" oil on panel $330 Art in the Morning special.
Nocturne
February 12, 2014 The guy at the piano is playing a ballad to himself and the night as the rest of the quintet packs up. There is the occasional clink of ice in a glass from those who linger to listen. Moonlight skates over fresh snow and slides in through the window. A nocturne afterglow. 36" x 40 " x 1.5" oil on canvas sold
Winter Alpen Glow
February 5, 2014 There's snow in them thar mountains! 9" x 12" oil on panel sold
Top of the Ritz
January 29, 2014 I have a friend who's gone crackers over crackers. Like Dagwood in "Blondie," a beam of light streams from her fridge in the middle of the night and washes the kitchen with a blue glow. Out come her three food groups of choice. She has found a new take on PB & J. She puts it on a Ritz. The salt, the sweet, the crunch... the new cure for insomnia! At almost 98, she has earned it. 6" x 6" oil on panel sold
Winter River
January 22, 2014 For those painters out there who write me for ideas on how to simplify their work - the perennial pursuit of all of us with brush in hand - I made a discovery! Go paint when you're freezing your tutu off. That helped me cut to the chase like nothing else yet! I was lured by gorgeous sunshine and mild temps. I drove up to higher elevation and, as usual, set up my easel in the windiest spot. It came whistling down the river with gusto. I could tell right away this was going to be a study in looking and distilling, seeing the values of light and dark and finding the essential shapes that best told the story of this winding winter river. Within a half hour I had on every spare layer of clothing I could find. By hour two I was doing jumping jacks to stay warm. It was a blast! Yes, I know the Sierra never really gets cold. I've lived in places where the thermometer said -44. This was balmy by comparison. It was also exciting and fun to see if I could pull it together before my hands totally seized. I did! Just barely. A few miles down the road towards home, the pin pricks started in my hands and feet. Shades of my childhood. I can't wait to do it again. 9" x 12" oil on panel sold
Lady Slipper
January 15, 2014 The first time I saw a Lady Slipper we were exploring woods and bog in the pouring rain. Holding its beautiful head high against the elements, it had a singular presence of strength and grace. It was as magical as a humming bird. You might imagine my thrill at having my own Lady Slipper bloom on my table. Taking its time, building suspense, it knows how to tell a good story. The wait was worth the magic. Its beauty at once delicate and full-bodied. It seems a fitting tribute to J's strength and grace as she begins chemo this week. As you savor my Lady Slipper, hold her in your good thoughts. 6" x 8" oil on linen panel $190 Art in the Morning special.
Sunlit Sierra Winter
January 8, 2014 What better way to greet the new year than to don my Sorels, stocking cap, and paint gear. I just feel better when I'm outside. I love what snow does to the landscape. It brings a blanket of quiet, a way to track what the critters have been up to, and a great change of palette. Gone are low-water-use greens and browns. Well, mostly. And out come the blues! Contrary to popular belief, shadows are not gray or black or brown. They are an opportunity for radiant pure colors next to duller, muted colors. Together you have a harmony that would rival the Beach Boys. What a great day. When in doubt, go out. Love that land. Happy New Year. 9" x 12" oil on panel sold Art in the Morning special.
Blue, Gray, Clear
January 1, 2014 A chandelier of color and light to ring in the New Year. Cheers! Peace. 36" x 40 " x 1.5" oil on canvas sold Previous - Art in the Morning 2013 Next - Art in the Morning 2015 |
New!! 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 four years 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 For book details, please visit my Home Page.
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