"Beached"

The Manchester Arts Festival takes place this coming Saturday, July 24, 2010, 9am – 6pm.  The Festival features a variety of work in many different mediums, all by New England artists.  You’ll find – fine art, sculpture, textiles, pottery, jewelry, apparel & accessories, garden ornaments,  and photography.

Located on beautiful Cape Ann, Massachusetts, Manchester-by-the-Sea, is a  quintessential New England coast community.

I’ll be exhibiting 20 original watercolor paintings – including “Beached”, above – along with limited edition glicee’ prints.

Contact me if you have an interest in this or any other paintings on the site. Email me at tc@tonyconner.com or by phone at 802-375-5548.

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"Vents"

As sometimes happens when painting plein air, my recent Plein Air Workshop was visited by rain.  As a result, this work which began as a class demo was done while I was sheltered just inside a door to the back deck of the Media Barn at Taraden Bed & Breakfast.   The view was of  the next barn over and the massive vents lining the roof peak.

Selecting a good subject for a plein air painting involves seeing the big picture rather than the detail and simplifying from the overwhelming amount of subject matter.  In this case, my low – relative to the peak of the next barn – point of view, the swirling storm clouds in the sky and the interesting angles of the barn roof caught my attention.  The rain slick roof was reflective of  both the light and of the vents.

Although plein air paintings can be relatively accurate depictions of the artists surroundings,  it is generally my way to take liberties with color for most of my plein air paintings.  This one is no exception.  For the most part the scene in reality was a study in gray and green.  The sky, the vents themselves, and the sides of the white barn were all some shade of gray.  The barn trim and the one element of greenery – the tree at far left – were green.  Knowing that I would want to inject color, I took my cue from the vents, the tops of which were heavily weathered and corroded.  Thinking of corrosion as rust, I decided to include a heavy dose of orange  and related colors into the composition along with the local color greens.   With those two colors included, it was a conscious decision to create the painting based on a triad of secondaries — green, orange & violet – with the subtle violets infused into the grays.  The result is both harmonious and contrasting in a balanced way.

An interesting thing to note about the subject barn is that it was the studio for the noted abstract painter and one of the best known color field artists, Ken Noland – see his official website here, and his Wikipedia entry here.   The barn itself is very large and served Mr. Noland very well in the creation of the large works he was known for.

Contact me if you have an interest in this or any other paintings on the site. Email me at tc@tonyconner.com or by phone at 802-375-5548.

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"Desert Hills"

Although perceived to be a difficult medium, watercolors’ unique working characteristics and unique working process are easily learned.   Whether you are a beginning watercolor painter, or have worked with the medium for some time but still find the medium difficult, this class is for you. The weekend long class will teach the techniques required for successful watercolor painting.  Over the course of the two days, the mysteries will be unlocked as we cover the five fundamental elements of successful watercolor painting :

- the “secret” to create glowing, transparent washes

- effective color mixing

- tonal value and the color/value relationships

- how to plan your painting

- basic composition

These skills can be learned and, with practice, mastered.

Class begins with the basic washes, how to create them and how they are best used in a painting. We move on to color and color mixing starting with six common colors. From there we mix six more along with several beautiful neutral grays. We’ll work on building tonal values and planning the value structure of your painting with basic composition.  At the end of the two days, everyone will have the knowledge needed to create beautiful watercolor paintings.

For beginners and for those who are trying to get a handle on this beautiful medium,  I recommend a basic set of watercolor painting for this class.  A list of suggested materials follows this class description.  Use it as a guide in purchasing materials for class or for yourself.  As an option, I can provided a set of  Basic Watercolor materials which includes everything you need to get started in painting watercolor – paint, palette, brushes and paper. The total cost of the Basic Watercolor Materials set is $85.

The class meets at the Taraden Bed & Breakfast Media Barn, 183 Park Street, North Bennington, VT.  Fee – $150 for the weekend long class .  Accommodations not included in the cost of the class.  Contact Bob or Nan at the Taraden Bed & Breakfast for room availability and rates – email :  reservations@taraden.com or by phone : 802 447-3434.

Fee – $150 for the weekend long class. Download an upcoming class schedule, a registration form,  and the suggested materials list from the links below.

Contact me if you have any questions about this or any other class.  Email me at mail@tonyconner.com or by phone – 802 375 5548

Watercolor Simplified – Beginners Weekend Class Info

2010 Class Schedule

2010 Class Registration Form

Suggested Materials

I enjoy welcoming visitors to my Studio Gallery.  It is open by appointment – please contact me to arrange a visit – email:mail@tonyconner.com or phone:802 375 5548

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"Repair & Refit"

After participating in Arts Fest Beverly this past Saturday, I spent two days painting “en plein air” in the Cape Ann area of Massachusetts.   Cape Ann is one of my favorite places to paint – it features quaint New England coastal villages; rocky and rugged north eastern coastlines; picturesque inlets and harbors; and dramatic panoramas of open ocean.

Manchester-by-the-Sea is one of those quaint villages – picturesque and paintable.  Surprising, I guess, that I chose subjects that are not so quaint.  “Repair & Refit” is a painting of a sailer, up on the blocks for repair.  This was painted in the afternoon with light coming from high in the sky.  I liked the look and feel of this large boat being supported by relatively small, by comparision, metal stands.   The top-lighting was also casting a sliver of a shadow under the boat – another attraction of the scene.

In the morning, prior to painting this scene in the boat yard, I painted the MBTA drawbridge over the inlet to the Manchester harbor.   At the time I arrived and began looking for subjects,  the bridge was up.  I sketched and started painting.  In just a short time, I could hear the first train from Boston in the distance and the bridge was lowered and stayed down while I finished the painting.

"Manchester Draw"

The attraction of this subject was the contrast between the heavy, industrial and obviously man-made bridge and control tower, and the buildings in the background, with the peaceful calm of the harbor.  The background buildings are the Manchester Marine boatyard where I painted the “Repair & Refit”, above.

On Monday morning, I returned to an old haunt – Rocky Neck, in Gloucester MA.  Rocky Neck is home to one of the oldest artist colonies in the country and is still home to many artists and galleries.  Edward Hopper spent several summers in Gloucester, mostly painting buildings, factories and railyards.  His famous watercolor, “The Mansard Roof” is a depiction of one of the homes on Rocky Neck – noted on the map of Rocky Neck at the link above – note, I don’t encourage wandering around the home since it is private property.

Normally I paint harbor or ocean scenes when I am here.  This time, the light striking one of the homes caught my eye and I ended up with the painting below.

"East Gloucester Rental"

The home seems actually divided into rental spaces, thus the name.  This work was rather quickly done, with large areas of color and value laid in with a large round brush, all at once and detail minimized.

In exploring the area, I stumbled on the Coolidge Reservation.  It is a beautiful nature preserve located between Manchester and Gloucester along Rt 127.  More information about the reservation is located at the link above.  There was much that could have been painted.  Pressed for time, I chose to do a quick painting looking west and southwest from the area know as Ocean Lawn.  This spot, which includes a long lawn that slopes down toward the ocean from the high point on the reservation has fabulous views of the coastline to the west and southwest, and of the open ocean to the south.   The day I was there, the sky was mottled with cumulus clouds that created light reflections on the calmer surface of the water.

"Ocean Lawn South"

The focus of the painting is the partly cloudy sky and the subtle reflections, divided by the coastline receding into the distance. I am certain to return to the Coolidge Reservation for more painting in the future.

Contact me if you have an interest in this or any other paintings on the site. Email me at tc@tonyconner.com or by phone at 802-375-5548.

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Park McCullogh View

I have three Plein Air Painting workshops scheduled in the upcoming months – Saturday & Sunday, July 10 & 11, Saturday & Sunday, September 25 & 26, Saturday & Sunday, October 16 & 17 – all three meet from 10am to 4pm each day.

Plein Air painting developed in the late 18th century and was popularized by artists such as John Constable &  Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot in the early 19th century.  Most artists painting en plein air in that day were driven to depict nature in true fidelity and through observable fact. The plein air movement continued into the late 19th century and was carried on by the Impressionists of that time.

Enjoy the unique experience of painting “en plein air” and learn the skills and techniques needed to quickly capture light effects and to make plein air paintings successful. Each class begins with a short instructor demo focusing on the key skills of selecting and simplifying the subject, composing the painting, and mixing and applying the right colors. For the rest of the day, the class works on their own paintings with help and guidance from the instructor. Indoor studio space is available in case of bad weather.

Class meets on the grounds of the Taraden Bed & Breakfast,  and will paint in various locations in around the quintessential Vermont community of North Bennington. Class fee – $150 for each weekend long class.

2010 Class Schedule 2010 Class Registration Form Plein Air Painting Supplies & Equipment Plein Air Painting Tips

Suggested Materials

Contact me if you have an interest in this or any other paintings on the site. Email me at tc@tonyconner.com or by phone at 802-375-5548.

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"White Boat, Red Boat"

Arts Fest Beverly takes place tomorrow, Saturday, June 19, 2010 from 10am – 4pm on Cabot Street in Beverly Massachusetts.  Over 100 artists and crafters, including myself, will be offering a range of unique items.

“White Boat, Red Boat” is one of the 18 original paintings I’ll be exhibiting, along with limited edition gliclee’ prints and unframed originals as well.

See you on Cabot Street in Beverly tomorrow!

Contact me if you have an interest in this or any other paintings on the site. Email me at tc@tonyconner.com or by phone at 802-375-5548.

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"Cranford Remembers"

An intense few days of plein air painting and a surprising amount of difficulty finding public wireless networks in the town kept me from posting any updates about the event during the four days.

In any case, I completed eight paintings in three days.  The painting above was completed on Saturday during the “Quick Draw” competition.  The Qhick Draw requires that the artist complete a plein air painting in 2 hours.  This painting is of the 9/11 Memorial erected to remember six residents of the town who lost their lives in the World Trade Center. I was drawn to this view, behind and to the left of the monument for the sweeping curve of the overhead element and the way the shade and shadows played on this, the “unlit” side of the memorial.

Although this work did not sell during the event, it is on exhibit and available for purchase at the Artists Framer, 17 North Ave East, Cranford, NJ.

I’ll post more of the Cranford works in the coming week.

Contact me if you have an interest in this or any other paintings on the site. Email me at tc@tonyconner.com or by phone at 802-375-5548.

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The studio is ready and is about as clean as it gets in preparation for Open Studio Weekend, this weekend.  I’ll be open from 10am – 5pm both Saturday and Sunday, May 29 & 30.   If you happen to have either a Vermont Crafts Council Studio Tour Guide or an Artisans of Vermont Driving Tour map, my studio is #60 this year.   Without a map, all open studios are easily located by looking for the large yellow directional signs posted all over the state.  In Bennington, look for signs with #60 and follow the arrows.

Thirty four original framed works are on display, as seen in the photos below, along with unframed originals and artists giclee’ prints.

Looking forward to seeing and visiting with  everyone who stops by this weekend!

Downloads :  Vermont Crafts Council Studio Tour Guide map; Artisans of Southern Vermont Driving Tour map; Artisans of Southern Vermont Studio Sleuth game form; Catalog of framed originals on exhibit.

Contact me if you need directions or information. Email me at tc@tonyconner.com or by phone at 802-375-5548.

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"Beached"

In my post on May 6, I mentioned that my usual landscape subjects were not inspiring me and that the my usual solution to lack of inspiration is to work on something new.  At that time, I began working on a still life composed of wine bottles placed in front of my studio’s picture window.   At about the same time, I began teaching a new class at our local career development center.   In preparing for the class, “Creating Watercolor Paintings from Your Photos” , I was searching through my own stock of reference photos for something to use as an example. The photo below caught my eye.

The photo was taken at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, in Vergennes, VT some years ago.  The subject boat was up on blocks as a static display – its days on the water were probably over.   The simple shape of the boat and simplicity of the working rigging was appealing to me, although I wanted the boat to be in a different setting.  I don’t often paint from photos but prefer to use them as reference.   In this case, the essential shape and character of the boat were lifted from the photo and placed on a beach.

Many of my seascapes feature cerulean blue, especially mixed with cadmium red to create soft, strong, granular grays.   Cerulean appears in the sky, water, shadows and even on the red hull of the boat.  I have an affinity for the bright overcast that is often the condition at the coast.  I’ve included that sort of condition in this work and find that the cerulean/cad red combination can help create a convincing representation.

Painting a seascape themed work probably has to do with some anticipation.  I’ll be showing work at two outdoor art festivals this summer – Beverly Arts Festival in Beverly Massachusetts in June and the Manchester Arts Festival in Manchester by the Sea, Massachusetts.  Both are in the Cape Ann area – one of my favorite painting haunts.  I’ve planned for painting time around both festivals and am looking forward to painting along the coast again this summer.

Memorial Day weekend, Saturday, May 29th & Sunday May 30th is also Vermont Crafts Council Open Studio Weekend.  More than 235 Vermont artists will have their studios open to the public from 10am – 5pm both days.

Thirty five of my original watercolor paintings will be on exhibit, thirty-one of which are featured in the exhibit catalog. Download a pdf copy of the catalog here.

This year marks my fifth year of participation in this terrific, state-wide, celebration of the art and craft of Vermont – and especially of those who create it.  The event provides a unique opportunity for the public to visit the places where individual artist often labor in solitude.

Artisans of Southern Vermont – Thirty four artists & artisans in southwestern Vermont will have their studios open for the weekend.  These thirty-four artist are also sponsoring our Open Studio Driving Tour and Studio Sleuth game.  The Open Studio Driving Tour makes it easy to visit the studios of all the fine artisans in this area of the state.  As an added bonus, the Studio Sleuth game will provide one lucky winner with a $150 gift certificate toward a purchase from one of the Artisans of Southern Vermont!  The Studio Sleuth game is easy – collect signatures from eight of the 34 members of the group, leave the completed signature form at one of the artists studios.  Drawing for the Gift Certificate will be held on June 15, 2010. Download the Open Studio Driving Tour map here and the Studio Sleuth game form here.

Open Studio Maps for the entire state as well as maps by county are available for download here.

Contact me if you have an interest in any of the paintings on the site. Email me at tc@tonyconner.com or by phone at 802-375-5548.

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