Albert James Munnings exhibit in Middleberg, VA.

If you live in the Northern Virginia area, the Open-Air Works Albert James Munnings (English, 1878 – 1959) exhibit at the National Sports Library and Museum in Middleburg, VA. is a must see before it closes on September 15th.  They have over 50 paintings on loan from both private collections and other museums in the exhibit.  We were told it is rare for a Munnings show of this size to be seen in the U.S.  

By the age of twenty Munnings had two paintings accepted for exhibition by the Royal Academy, the sanctioned voice of authority on visual arts in England. His painting are fabulous examples of the use of color, light and movement.  While many of his painting in the exhibit are hunting and racing scenes, there are many others that are not, so there is something for everyone.   

I didn’t even know there was a museum in Middleburg, but a friend read about the show in the Wall Street Journal.  We had an unplanned surprise, as we walked into the museum the curator was just starting a guided tour.  Her enthusiasm and excitement took a wonderful exhibit to another level.  She brought the artist to life.  The museum has a guided tour every Saturday at 2:00pm, but we were told small groups can make reservations for a tour.  

As everyone knows, photographs just don't do paintings justice, but here are a couple of the paintings on exhibit.  

  

Albert Munnings, Leading Ponies on Ringland Hills, 1911; oil on canvas

Albert Munnings, Going Out at Epsom, 1931; oil on canvas

 

Catching Some Rays

Catching Some Rays, 9x12" oil on RayMar ($300)

I took this photo a couple of years ago in downtown Washington, D.C. and finally pulled it out to paint.  Two things struck me when I took the picture.  I loved the turquoise color on the building and the young lady enjoying the sunshine was a great compliment to that color in her yellow top.  Putting figures in my paintings is fairly new for me and probably why I'm just painting this now.  The paintings I've done over the past year have given me a lot more confidence about adding figures in a cityscape.  

The day I started this painting, I posted it for discussion with my critique group. New eyes are good even when I think I'm humming along fairly well.  Sue asked me what I wanted to viewer to look at in the painting.  I didn't know what to say.  She, like many artists I know, have a story they want their paintings tell before they begin to paint.  I rarely thought in those terms before working with this group.  Most of the time, when I paint a cityscape, something draws me to it and it is usually color.  I guess I'm thinking more about perspective.  Rats, I was hoping the story just happens like magic. Back to basics!   It all goes back to the school of doing a thumbnail sketch (which I don't do often anymore) before drawing in paint on the canvas.   
The figure wasn't my focus when I started the painting, it was the turquoise on the building that caught my eye.  But as I painted and removed a tree in the front of the building the figure became the interesting part of the painting and not so secondary.

HH4 Challenge # 12 - Looking for a Handout

As I've mentioned before, the Hilton Head Four (HH4) challenge began after I attended Karin Jurick's workshop in Hilton Head last Fall.  Maria Bennett Hock came up with the great idea of renting a beach house...lucky me... it was soooo much nicer than staying in a hotel.  Not only nicer accommodations & great view, but it gave me the opportunity to become friends with our housemates.  

We had such a good time at the workshop we wanted to do something to extend our experience. So the HH4 challenge was created to help us continue keep in touch with the added bonus to paint more.  Initially, we took turns posting a photo we took in Hilton Head as the painting challenge, but later branched out to artist's choice. 

Another great thing to come out of the workshop/challenge is Lulu invited us to visit her in Switzerland.  We have taken her up on hr invitation.  We will all meet in Switzerland next month and travel around hunting for the perfect pictures to paint!    

HH4 Challenge # 12

Here is Chris' pick:  A bird perched on the back of a chair.  

 

Lydia Jechorek

Looking for a handout, 8x8" oil on RayMar

 

 

Artist Maria Bennett Hock

 

Artist  Regula Scheifele

 

 

 

 

HH4 - "Looking for a Handout"

Artists Helping Artists (AHA) 

I was inspired to start posting again after listening yesterday to a show about blogging on an "Artists Helping Artists" podcast.  It is so easy to get out of the habit!  AHA is the brainchild of Leslie Saeta.  Every Thursday Leslie & a co-host artist pick a topic and discuss a myriad of art subjects from shows on how improve you art, the internet and it effects on selling your art, interviews with guest artists and gallerists and more. Leslie and many of her guests share their experiences and knowledge of the business side of art. Its one thing to paint, but like me, many artists aren't always good about how to sell their art. 

If you haven't listened to AHA, you are in luck because all of the last 4 years' shows are archived for you to pick and choose topics that interest you.  I download a few at a time on my phone so when I'm exercising or stuck in traffic I listen to a show.  I've even timed my walks to an hour so I can listen to an entire show.  I can't tell you how much I've learned from them.

Hilton Head Four Challenge

The HH4 cut back to 1 challenge a month over the summer.  I didn't post our June results.   Here is mine.  I'm excited to say it sold recently, especially given it is not a subject matter I normally paint, but found I really enjoyed.  I'm missing a HH4's member's painting so I'll have to request it again and post everyone's paintings tomorrow.

Looking for a Handout, 8x8" oil on RayMar (sold)

• To Challenge or not to challenge... that is the question.  

Speaking of challenges, I've had discussions with fellow artists about shared photo challenges.  Some love them and others don't like them at all.   For me the pros outweigh the cons!

Cons: For those who don't like them, its mostly because they don't like the idea of painting a painting similar to other artists.  

Pros: Its like having a free workshop. I have learned so much from this type of challenge. I believe they've made me a better painter.  I view the challenges as a learning tool, something I don't do often enough at this stage in my life.  Like most artists, I fall into the bad habit of wanting every painting to be a work of art when in reality we all have paintings that don't work for reasons sometimes beyond our comprehension.  A funny thing happens when I do a challenge.  Maybe because I enjoy them so much, I find that more times than not I have a successful painting.  

Why do a challenge?  Sometimes its really nice to not to have to think what am I going to paint today?  It fires me up when I'm in that mode. 1) They inspire me to paint.  2) I am painting subject matter that I might never paint on my own.  Its good for me to get out of my comfort zone once in a while if I want to grow.  3) It is amazing how much I learn seeing how others translate the same subject by seeing what how they've cropped, composed, used different styles, methods & color palettes.