Margaret's Paintings--An Artist's Musings

As an artist, I am drawn to other painters, both past and present, whose works have inspired me. Dale Kennington was a contemporary painter whose works I greatly admire. I recently purchased a wonderful book on her life and paintings entitled, “Grandeur of the Everyday.” Even this title reflects my personal approach to painting. Simple moments can become part of the larger human experience when translated through paint. Ms. Kennington was indeed an expert in translating this message, painting such mundane scenes as bored passengers on a subway or waiters poised for the “rush hour” just before the crowd comes in. Familiar scenes become epic in her works. This is a theme I have explored throughout my career works as well. What a joy to connect with another artist who has a similar view of the world! Though I do not profess to be at her level of skill or proficiency, Dale’s paintings are always an inspiration and an example to strive towards. This October 26, I will be offering

A Museum Visit Looking at paintings always inspires me. A recent visit to the Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, Fl., where I live, recharged my batteries. Connecting with old favorites from the permanent collection, and discovering new artists proved to be as energizing as ever. A current special exhibit features the work of artist, Benny Andrews. His drawings and collages are wonderfully imaginative and colorful, leaving me wondering how I’d never heard of him till now. Better late than never to make this discovery! Also on exhibit were the powerful photographs of Herb Snitzer. Each photo is carefully composed in rich velvety tones of black & white with wonderful contrast and midtones. Herb, a lifelong advocate for civil rights, takes on social issues in his art. He is also well known for his photos of such jazz greats as Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong and John Coltrane, just to name a few. We are fortunate to have this remarkable man, now in his 90’s and still going strong,

On the Easel Currently working on quite a large piece featuring several figures. It's a slow process, developing each figure by first laying in the tones with bristle brushes, then repeating the process again with softer brushes. I've been working on this one now for a few weeks. Before beginning this painting, I made some new changes to my studio, adding a large monitor screen to better view my reference photos. Above are some progressive photos of my progress thus far. Standing up at the easel is very tiring. I simply cannot paint in a seated position. I often loose track of how long I've been on my feet because I'm so absorbed in painting. Thankfully I took a gym break today (as I do most days) to do some yoga. It felt wonderful and energized me to work on the piece a bit more later. new monitor

My New Blog I'm new to blogging so I've decided to give it a try. Although I'm retired, I work in my studio as a full-time artist. At times I ask myself why I feel it necessary to spend a good part of most days creating art? I have been painting since the early 1980's, so it seems natural to me to be painting. I find when I'm not painting, I feel out of sync somehow. It is quite a commitment trying to manage my time between working in the studio, managing the business aspects of being a professional artist and balancing this with an active social life, exercise, and household demands.