The S6"x6" inger

6"x6" oil price $100

One of the nice things about going to gallery openings, besides the wine and appetizers, good company, and great art, is the music.  I took a photo of this musician singing and playing at the Chaffee Art Center which is housed in a lovely old mansion.  It really is a treasure for Rutland City, and the central Vermont area.  I liked using the birch panel for the floors and walls.  Actually the walls are white and the floor is oak.  I do not know this musician and am sorry I didn't write his name down. He looked to me to be part Native American.  Is it wrong to mention what you think someone's ethnic background is???  Mine is Dutch, English, Irish and German.  There You go!

Sand Play

6"x6" oil Price $100

It is hard enough for adults to gracefully navigate deep sand, but for a little one whose balance is questionable to begin with, it is quite the exercise.  The cool thing about sand and going to the beach is that it truly is ageless entertainment.  Tiny people to really old people love to just be there and it requires very little to keep them entertained.

The fishing Expedition

6"x6" oil Price $100

This was fun.

Calm Morning

6"x6" oil $100

I love the idea of paddle boards.  I love the idea of doing yoga on one.  I love watching people navigate waves and dance around a body of water.  But, they are HEAVY and really big and not cheap!  It is on my bucket list, but I am going to choose a lake where I can unload where there is a boat access.

And the Road Goes Here

6"x6" oil Price $100

This young man on the right is giving engineering layouts to his patient dad while little brother gets to work on his part of the castle.

And the Road Goes Here

6"x6" oil

Kid's with their dad on the beach are a compelling subject matter.  What really got me about this trio where the dynamics of their personalities, which I hope I captured here.  The older brother on the left is clearly the engineer,  dad is patiently taking instructions while little brother has no patience for all the talking and planning and he just wants to get to work.  They actually weren't all dressed identically, but I thought that brought unity to this piece.

Sand Play

6"x6" oil Price $100

Thank you Lowell Klock for having such a cute grandson!

Fluff

6"x6" oil Price $100

Something different for Day 23 of the 30 in 30 challenge.  I accepted a challenge to paint a cat and got the photo from a fellow painter. When I first painted it, it looked like a ball of fluff so I softened the edges and darkened it so that it would blend into the background better.  Mostly it is about the beautiful emerald green eyes.

The Harpist

This piece tells too much of the story.  I liked yesterday's painting better because it told only enough of the story...her hands.  I also liked the abstract quality of that painting.  I am learning....and one thing that really struck me this week is the importance of some mystery in the work.  I think that is true. This is Day 22.

The Harpist Hands

6"x6" oil $100

Can you hear the music?

This dog is not happy to be dragged into this crazy, swirly, loud movement of waves.  His owner is trying to convince him but it is a no-go as far as he is concerned.  It was a good idea on the drawing board, but alas, it doesn't always work out.

Stroll Down the Street

6"x6" oil  Price $100

I took a photo this summer in Provincetown during that golden hour when the colors are golden and the shadows are long.  I was captivated by the blue-ness of the shadows and have exaggerated it in the painting.

Morning Walk

6"x6" oil Price $100

Every morning this lady does her fast walk along the beach. I thought she was bold to wear a bikini because....well she wasn't that young! I also kind of admired her boldness...what difference does it make anyway? She is out taking in the beauty of the ocean daily. Her life is good!

Skimboarding

 

 

6"x6" oil Price $100

This is one of those cool sports that is really fun to watch and kids can do it with some practice.  I love watching people play at the beach.  Besides swimming, body surfing, splashing in the waves, building sand castles, flying kites, throwing things for dogs to fetch, surfing, paddle boarding, kayaking, gymnastics, there is always the fascinating sunbathers and those crazy people in the sky, like those parasailing.  All in all, the beach is quite entertaining.

6"x6" oil Price $100

Day 16 two gardeners heading out to the fields.  I think using the birch background works well on this one.

Beach Fairy

6"x6" oil  Price $100

I saw an add in a magazine when I was looking for something to draw and decided to use it as inspiration for this painting.  I made numerous changes and am happy with the result.  Sometimes when I am in a situation where I want to draw and can't get inspired by my surroundings I will practice drawing figures from magazines.

Work To Do

I took a photo in a park forest in Portland, OR, of this person walking down a path with a determined stride.  The big hat and tight posture caught my eye.  I liked how the image is framed by two large Douglas Firs with the light filtering through the background forest.  This is Day 14.

Days 11, 12 and 14

Connected    oil    6"x6"

Smirkus

I love the circus acrobats.  I love Cirque De Soleil, Circus Smirkus, the Big Apple Circus, and even Circus Circus.  I love the Olympics and other sporting events.  It is thrilling to see what the human body can do with determined effort and practice.  This board is completely covered in paint which wasn't my initial plan, but as I worked on it I just felt it needed more paint to accomplish the lighting effectively.

I Can Do It

6"x6" oil

Day 9 of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge.  She was so serious about trying to catch the ball.  She clearly didn't understand that holding rigid and not moving does not aid catching the ball!  We just hoped she would loosen up and stick with it without giving up out of frustration.  My granddaughter is trying to learn to do a handstand and all I can do is encourage her to keep trying.  I would show her how, but I just don't trust my joints to that extent! 

Ready For the Pros

Day 8 of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge.  We are at the beach and the weather is not that perfect blue sky, warm breeze kind we all love.  However, for what we lose in sunshine we gain in waves for body boarding!  There are lots of other things to do as well, including playing this game with fuzzy balls and a Velcro mitt.  This young man really knew how to balance his body for maximum efficiency and I loved trying to capture it.

Good Form

6"x6" oil

Day 7 of the 30 in 30 day challenge.  Again I covered the whole piece with paint only leaving little bits of the drawing showing.  I made up the background which was fun and allowed me to think more abstractly using patterns.  We have been having beautiful weather this summer and I know my golfing friends have made the most of it.  It has been really dry though, and I can't help but think that they must have watered the golf courses a lot.

The Swimmer

Add caption6"x6" oil

Day 6 in the 30 in 30 challenge by Leslie Saeta.  I painted this from a life drawing I did.  Actually all the paintings I am doing this month, so far, have been from drawings and then I paint them without photo references.  There are things to be learned from this.  It makes me think carefully about the colors I want to use and it frees me from trying to interpret a photo.  I am having fun with the process.

Better With a Straw

6"x6" oil

Milk is good for you but it is better with a straw.  I like the magic look of a bit of paint on top of the board.  It is like a ghost image appeared in full color.  I am still figuring out how to keep pencil marks visible....not there yet.  This is day 5 in Leslie Saeta's 30 in 30 Challenge.

Boys Club

6"x6" oil

Day 4 of the 30 in 30 challenge by Leslie Saeta.  Day four is special because Mother Theresa is becoming an official saint by the Catholic Church and it is my daughter's birthday.  I find that interesting because my daughter, Ruthann, was blessed by Mother Theresa when I met her in 1977.  This painting is completely covered in paint which wasn't my original intention, but sometimes you have to switch tracks in the middle. The Boys Club is that group of men who sit on the sidelines while their wives shop, or go to art museums, or flower gardens.  I do like the soft look of these paintings.

The Drummer

6"x6" oil

This is day 3 of the 30 in 30 Challenge by Leslie Saeta.  I am painting on birch panels coated with a clear gesso.  I am trying to use slightly less saturated colors than my normal palette, leave some of the birch showing, and although it is not evident in this one, I am trying to also leave some of the original drawing.  I am learning a lot and tweaking this method with the hopes that I find a technique that really works for me combining realism and abstraction in a pleasing way.

The Long Journey - 30 in 30 Challenge #2

Day 2 of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge by Leslie Seata, is of my friend Susan walking along a path at Lefferts Pond. I am really loving painting on birch panels covered with clear gesso.  My goal is to leave some of the wood showing as well as using more subtle color choices and leaving an element of the original drawing evident.  This is a really fun experiment.  My hope is to do 30 figurative works in this style.

Swinging - 30 In 30 Challenge #1"

This is the first painting of Leslie Saeta's 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge.  I am already behind as I usually post the painting I did the previous day.  Yesterday was a migraine day and today is a migraine hangover day, but I am determined to stay on task.  It is a beautiful day to be out in the studio and with the double garage doors open, it is like being outside, so I am going to listen to beautiful music and paint, paint, paint.  For this challenge I am doing a combination of drawing, painting and showing the background of birch by not painting areas.  We will see how it all goes, but I am happy with #1.

Easy Breezy

6"x6" oil

Today was a good day.  I didn't get everything done I would have wanted, but I came close enough and had a good time.  However, in the process of having a full day, my painting time was relegated to the dark hours.  As a result, I chose something I considered to be easy to paint.  I think, in part, feeling like it was going to be easy helped it to be so.  Anyway, I like a lot of things about this painting like the colors (complements) the texture and the breezy happiness it exudes.

Bleu Lavande

8"x10"It

This painting was done at the Beu Lavande farm near Magog, Quebec.  It was a beautiful day when I arrived and set up.  Then I realized I had forgotten some really important colors, so I did what I could.  As I was working on it, dark stormy clouds suddenly moved in over the distant hill.  Quickly I packed up and made it to the picnic shelter before I got soaked.  My painting however was quite altered by the rain which quickly turned into hail accompanied by fierce winds.  I made a new friend with a young woman playing the harp until the noise from the storm drowned out her music.  Finally I headed home in torrential rains, dodging downed branches on the road.  When I crossed back over the border the US customs agent was unnecessarily rude.  He accused me of lying when I told him I hadn't bought anything.  I guess he never encountered a plein air painter.  I showed him my painting supplies.  I get the importance of vigilance at border crossings, but being rude because you have the power is just not OK.  The Canadian crossing authorities had been very friendly, thorough, and told me to have a nice day.  Something is wrong with this scenario.

Guest House

8"x8" original oil

This painting was both a challenge and was freeing for me.  I somehow deleted the photo I had taken of this guest house at my friend's home on the cape.  I had done a sketch which I based the painting on, but I hadn't made color notes.  The challenge was to get enough detail to create a mood and try to capture some of the details which originally enchanted me.  The freeing part was not being tied to a photo and getting to lmake it up as I went.  What I really like about this lovely cabin is the turquoise used for the trim and flower pots and the metal sun sculpture hanging by the door.

This is a better photo of yesterday's painting.  I am still thinking about making some changes to it.

View From the Bridge

Add caption

 I am going to do this one again...I am not happy with the results.  Some professionals say you should only show your best work, but I think it is good to see the process, including the failures so that others can understand what is happening better.  The reason I don't like may be just because the photo isn't as telling as the painting.  I know the whole left side is darker on the painting and the subtleties of colors is much better  I think a proportion or two needs a bit of tweaking as well.  I love the subject matter, so I will try again.  Also below is another drawing on birch that I did for an upcoming painting. I haven't done any small paintings in a while so I am rusty and I knew that going into this painting.  I assumed it would be a wipe-off, but I liked it enough to photograph it.

At the Beach

Beach on Cape Cod 8"x10" oil

I painted this earlier this summer on a beautiful day while visiting Cape Cod with some friends.  Since then I have been crazy busy with 3 large projects I did for donations and fund raisers.  I hope to get photos so I can post them, but I forgot to get them before I moved them from the studio.  Below is a sneak-preview of a project I am working on for Sept.  I am drawing out fairly detailed sketches on birch and sealing them with clear gesso.  I am going to do some limited painting (I think) using more neutrals than I normally use.  I am just trying out something I hope to develop.

 

Cape Cod Lighthouse

8"x10" oil

One of the challenges of plein aire painting is getting down the big color/value shapes early on and then not losing them in the details.  The red streak across the grass is some meadow weed that was so pretty and created a layer of rusty red, contrasting its compliment, green.  The shadows on the lighthouse were fabulous to paint.

Pastoral Setting on Ocean Bluff

8"x10" oil

This was painted in June at Cape Cod.  It was a wonderful trip and I am so happy that my friend Paula Hult was such an awesome host and painting buddy.  Since then I have been really busy and will post some photos soon showing what I have accomplished.

Marshes At the Cape

8"x8" oil

I painted this with some friends on Cape Cod a few weeks ago.  It was a lovely time with perfect weather.  This is a view from a high dune looking over the marshes towards Provincetown.  the challenge for me was keeping shapes that made sense, capturing the light correctly, and creating an interesting pattern with the shapes and values. On another note, I haven't posted for a while.  A friend asked me today if I was ever going to do the daily painting again and it made me realize how quickly my presence disappears when I don't post.  I need to create new habits.  It is a disappointment to me when I break habits I have spent time developing.  I will say more about this in future posts and show you some of the things I have been working on.  What things interrupt your preferred activities and how do you reclaim them?

6"x6" oil  Oh Irene!  SOLD

This is from the hurricane Irene which devastated Vermont a few years ago.  It was pouring down rain and the river was a raging mass of mud, rocks, logs and other debris from bridges and structures it had swept away.  This is not far from where I live.  The barn has been converted into a home.  The river-side balcony is on the second floor and the water was washing over it. Scary...exciting and sad all at once.

6"x10" oil

This was a fast painting as the sun was beating down.  It is a farm in the hills of north western Vermont.  The good thing about painting fast is that you focus on the main shapes.  Painting slowly has its advantages as well, but I am not as well versed in those.  Maybe I will be soon.  We'll see.

Uptown

3"x7" oil

 My husband describes Vermont as a state park with lots of villages.  This was painted plein air in Jericho.  I am dedicating the next couple of weeks to mostly posting plein air pieces with a few other ones thrown in.  The great thing about painting on the scene is that the painting, good or not so, is a reminder of the feeling of the day...the smells and sounds and how the air felt to the artist.  It is even more of a meditation than painting in the studio, which also is meditative....except of course for those frustrating moments.

12"x12" oil SOLD

This is a painting of Carol and her cousin Heidi.  Today Carol and Heidi are undergoing surgery to remove one of Carol's kidneys to give to Heidi.  What a brave and generous act of love! This painting was commissioned in part to honor that event.   My main concern was to capture the posture and attitude of the ladies in an environment that suggests their family summer home.  Carol is a dynamic and very talented woman who is capable of enviable yoga poses!  I do not know Heidi, but I am sure she is as beautiful as she looks.  This painting is a compilation of many photo references.  It was probably my most challenging commission so far.
If you would like to commission a painting please email me at chrisholzsch@hotmail.com.

Deep Breath

12"x12" oil 

I have been busy painting...really I have, but I just haven't been good about posting.  This is something I promise myself I am going to be better at.  The above painting was done plein air with Peter Huntoon, who is an inspiring plein air painter.  He is equally adept in water colors and oils, and amazingly, approaches them with the same technique.  I am so grateful that he was generous enough to spend an afternoon at this lovely spot painting with me.  He gave me 2 tips, which aren't new but so good to relearn them.  I seldom paint plein air but love doing it.  It does overwhelm me though at first.  I actually had to come back the next day to finish it up.  The water was so calm and the light was so lovely.  Peter reminded me to block in the big shapes like I am cutting them out of paper (great tip) and upon finishing it he said to soften the bright colors I had put in on the trees to the left of the island (which I did) because they drew too much attention from my focal point.  It really helps to have a second pair of eyes looking at your work.  I am heading to Cape Cod this week to practice plein air painting with two good buddies, so I am glad I had this warm-up.  Please check out Peter's work by clicking on his name.  He is the quintessential Vermont landscape painter.  He has an auction for a painting once a week on his website/blog.  I love how professional he is with everything he does.

Golden Hour

It is that magic hour when everything slows and has that golden glow.  Time for cocktails and sitting in lawn chairs!

Stranded

3"x9" oil For sale by auction on Dailypaintworks.com

True story:  on a sailboat in the Bahamas enjoying the sun, breeze and beautiful water.  See a puny little island off in the distance.  As we get closer, there is a car and a lone palm tree on it.  So, I am thinking that the only way that car could get on that island is by helicopter.  What?  Why?  I have no definitive answer, but a good theory.  What do you think?

Sloany Bolognie

8"x10" oil  SOLD

Sloan, dressed for her recital,  caught her first glimpse of herself in a mirror.  This was a fun painting to do, especially the tutu.  I hope I was able to capture her surprise and amazement at herself, and I hope she never forgets that feeling that she is special.

Happy As a Sailor, Just Me and My Dog

6"x6" oilClick to Bid

I know, the title is bigger than the painting!  It is from lyrics from a silly song about a dog.