Color Inspiration—greens + irises

I really do see the world in colors. It's thrilling to me when I come across two seemingly disparate images within a few days' time—in this case, a photo of edible greens and a painting of a patch of irises in a garden—that both comprise a very similar color palette. In my next garden painting, I'll just have to use these sublime colors. 

Claude Monet's 'Irises'

To see more colors, click on the red "color inspiration" label below.

I have kissed the summer dawn

Sun Leaving III, 1971 - Jon Schueler (1916–1992) 

J'ai embrassé l'aube d'été. 

{ I have kissed the summer dawn. }

This luscious painting screams summer solstice to me. I can feel the heat radiating from those warm, yellow and gold ochre colors, with Turner-eque splashes of red. Mmm. Enjoy these long, languid, golden days of summer.

Rudy

Gone fifty years this July...

My father, when he was young,

rode upon the waves, 

and danced upon the sea.

 

Rudolph Carnevale 1932–1966

Art in the Barn, 2016

View to Hog Island  20 x 30"

Here is a sneak peek at the three oil paintings I have in the annual juried  Essex County Greenbelt's 'Art in the Barn' show, happening this weekend. I am honored to support our North Shore green space through this organization, and have been contributing my artwork to this show for the past 6 years. The ECG is "...the region’s most effective champion of land conservation, working to conserve the farmland, wildlife habitat and scenic landscapes of Essex County, " so any art that you buy supports the beautiful ECGA open spaces of the North Shore, where we can all walk and play in. 

The group show is three days only—Friday, Saturday and Sunday, June 10–12. There will be loads of paintings, pottery, jewelry, and huge yard sculptures to peruse and purchase. And if that isn't all cool enough, there will be a wine and cheese reception Friday night with live music, beer and a taqueria truck. Hope you can make it!

Tous les Matins du Monde  5 x 7" 

Drifting Fog   6 x 9" 

A rapturous animated kaleidoscope

I was thrilled to see German filmmaker extraordinaire Lotte Reiniger on the Google home page this morning. Born with magical hands, Lotte was a self-taught artist skilled in the ancient folk art of shadow plays, and master of her craft—paper cut-out silhouettes. Not just flat cut-outs either. If a figure needed to make complex or even supple movements, Reiniger would make 25 or 50 separate silhouette pieces and join them together with lead wire hinges. Oh pioneer! She made dozens films using these intricate cutouts in an achingly long process of stop-action photography, but my most favorite film is her 1926 Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed, or The Adventures of Prince Achmed. 

This is the oldest surviving animated film!

Sometimes you can catch this film on Turner Classic Movies channel, or if you're a film geek like me, you can just buy the DVD. The magical film us made entirely of these complex paper cutouts with dramatically tinted backdrops behind the shadows. Click here to see how her work was made in the Art of Lotte Reiniger.

Some fairy tales are more magical than others, and this is one of them. I envy you if you have never seen this astoundingly beautiful film. Critic Wesley Morris called this film "a rapturous animated kaleidoscope." Watch a little sneak peek here, and prepare to be dazzled!