The Poetic Landscape

Tonalist Marsh Landscape Painting, Autumn Glory, Jan Blencowe

2009-11-08T20:34:00.003-05:00

Tonalist Marsh Landscape, Autumn Glory, 24x30, acrylic on linen

For Purchase information email me jan.blencowe@comcast.net

Visit my website for more paintings www.janblencowe.com

Last week I posted several progress photos as I worked my way through this painting. About mid-week I hit a rough patch with the water, I just could not get it they way I wanted it.

Here's how I worked through it. I painted over everything with a single flat color in the correct value. Then I did some research.

I spent a couple of hours look at paintings by artists I admire that I know do a lot of scenes with water in them. I studied the paintings and looked for clues to how they created their water effects. I also looked for things each water painting had in common, though the basic style of each artist was different many things were the same in each painting. The placement of differing values of the water color was of particular interest to me. Deeper values appear at the bottom of the small wave or ripple, and the shape of the lighter value on the crest of the ripple can make a difference in effect, triangular tops on the ripples or waves creates more movement, and a choppy feel while a more rounded shape creates a more placid feel. I also took note of the patterns of ripples in the water which can be used as a compositional device to move a viewers eye through the painting.

After a while I knew I was ready to get back to the canvas and re-do the water. After doing the research the water came along easily and I got the effect I was looking for.

I hope you enjoy this painting. I'm very pleased with the result and I'm considering entering it into a museum show in December.

Pond with Water Lilies, impressionist painting, Jan Blencowe

2009-11-05T22:15:00.003-05:00

Pond with Water Lilies, 16x20 acrylic on panel, unframed

Here's the study for this painting, just 6x8 inches.....

It's really hard to make a painting of a waterlily pond, though we have a lovely one just a 10 minute walk from our house. Sunflowers are another subject it's almost impossible to do.

Do you know why?

It's because these subjects are forever etched in our minds as Monet's and Van Gogh's. When ever someone sees any artist's water lily pond painting they invariably say "Oh, just like Monet!" They are absolutely delighted with themselves for being able to make the connection and identify an artists work.

For artist however this is a heavy burden to bear! I for one don't really think I can compete with Monet or Van Gogh when it comes to some of their most innovative and iconic paintings.

But the charm of the subject matter is alluring, you can easily see why Monet and Van Gogh choose these subjects and I guess artists just can't help themselves. We all tackle them sooner or later in one form or another.

For me this was a fascinating exercise and allowed me to revisit Monet's great masterpieces with new eyes. This is a very good thing since many very familiar paintings can loose their power when they become too familiar to our eyes on calendars, coffee mugs and umbrellas. Nothing like emulating a master to deepen your insight into a work of art.

Watercolor & Pen Plein Air Landscape Sketch, Jan Blencowe

2009-11-04T23:03:00.002-05:00

watercolor & pen plein air sketch

Need to contact me? jan.blencowe@comcast.net

View acrylic & oil paintings on my website www.janblencowe.com

I did this little 4x6 plein air sketch on Monday, and my how the colors have changed from the fiery colors of October to the muted tones of November.

I'm still working on the large marsh landscape and hope to have it done by the end of the week end. I will probably be able to post the finished piece on Monday. If you follow me on Twitter you'll get to see it sooner. Find me on Twitter here

Speaking of Twitter the 140 Hours of Fame Twitter Art Auction begins Thursday, Nov. 5th at 12:01 pm NY Time. This is an amazing opportunity to purchase one of paintings, with the opening bid on Sky & Marsh , 16x20, only $300. If you are on Twitter follow 140Hours and you're automatically able to bid.

I have recently entered 2 important competitions and will be entering a third in early December. Say a prayer, send positive energy and wish me luck!

Attention TEXANS

Banks Fine Art, 1231 Dragon Street, Dallas carries my work and they have lost their lease and are moving to a much smaller location. Therefore they are having an amazing sale on everything, 50-75% off. I will still receive my usual commission, they will take the reduction in profit and you will get an amazing deal on some of my paintings. The sale has begun and ends Dec. 19th. If you are in the great state of Texas and have wanted to purchase some of my work now would be the time.

Work in Progress UPDATE , tonalist marsh landscape, Jan Blencowe

2009-11-03T21:44:00.004-05:00

copyright 2009 , Jan Blencowe, Connecticut, USA
Need to contact me? jan.blencowe@comcast.net
View more paintings on my website http://www.janblencowe.com/

On Monday I showed you the under painting (imprimatura) done in transparent red oxide for this painting. Today the block in has been completed and I've been working on the top half of the painting developing the sky, distant tree line and distant marsh. The water and nearest piece of marsh is still in the block in phase.

This is a moderately large painting, 24x30 and I have quite a long way to go yet. Indirect painting methods take time, even with acrylics. For the final product to have sophisticated color modulations, complex layers of scumble and glaze, refined edges, evocative atmosphere, interesting surface texture and luminescence takes many hours of patiently building up the paint.

I have never been as happy with my work as I am now and these kinds of methods produce paintings that truly express my own authentic visual voice. So I am content in my work and don;t mind the long hours necessary to produce these paintings.

Watercolor & Pen Plein Air Landscape Sketch, Jan Blencowe

2009-11-02T18:47:00.006-05:00

Lieutentant River, Late October, watercolor & pen sketch

Need to contact me? jan.blencowe@comcast.net

Visit my website for acrylic & oil paintings www.janblencowe.com

Just three days left until the 140 Hours of Fame Twitter Art Auction. This is the first event of its kind. A group of international artists, a gallery and a socila media platform combine to bring art work directly to the bidders in real time. The buzz is really building and I think this has the potential to be a really successful event!

See my auction painting Sky & Marsh here. If you're already on Twitter sinmply follow 140Hours and you are automatically registered to bid. If not sign up for a free Twitter account at www.twitter.com

The big day is Thursday November 5th, bidding begins at 12:01pm est.

I'm continuing to fill my second plein air sketchbook, and I'm also working on the painting I showed yesterday which was in its underpainting stage. The block in is done now and the real painting process begins tomorrow!

Work in Progress, new tonalist marsh landscape, Jan Blencowe

2009-11-01T18:01:00.004-05:00

contact me jan.blencowe@comcast.net

View more paintings on my website http://www.janblencowe.com/

Here's the latest, a bare bones beginning of a new painting. This is a 24x30, acrylic on linen This under painting is done in transparent red oxide and provides a roadmap of values for the final painting.

I really like starting out with this kind of scenario. Thin paint is easily wiped off while the composition is fleshed out and then the thin paint allows for an easy way to scrub in an indication of texture. Light areas are easily ragged out while the paint is wet setting the stage for the luminosity I'm always after.

If you've never created a painting by first laying in an under painting I highly recommend you try it a few times and see if it can help you achieve your goals.

My next step is going to be laying a few glazes of ultramarine blue to further accentuate to shadow areas, before going in with color.

During the week I'll be showing a few watercolor sketches along with more updates of this paintings progress.

8 Artists Worth Seeing at Old Lyme's New England Landscape Show

2009-11-01T00:01:00.000-05:00

Blue Moon, 20x30, acrylic on linen

I just entered this in to an important competition! Wish me luck!

Contact me jan.blencowe@comcast.net

Visit my website for more paintings www.janblencowe.com

One of the really teriffic things you can do for yourself as an artist or an art lover or collector is go to an art show.

Lyme Art Association is an old and historic group, I've been a member there on and off for some years and occassionally will enter a painting into one of their shows. Lately I've been so busy supplying galleries, selling on the internet and entering larger regional and national shows I haven't had much time to be involved there. But because of it's historic place in our local art history I like to support their events.

Today I went to see their New England Landscape & Invitational show. Some artists were invited to exhibit, including my Twitter friend Stapelton Kearns, the day he dropped off his work for the show I met him at the art association and we went and did some plein air painting at Rocky Neck. Always great when the internet brings people together in real life!

Over all the exhibit was good with a some real standouts that caught my eye, and with a couple that left me wondering how they passed the jury selection. There were 114 pieces in all.

Here are some of my favorites, with a bit of commentary and links to the artist's websites.

Christopher Magadini...Tending the Garden This one had it all great color, composition, brushwork and values all masterfully pulled together in a fresh, lively way.

Sergio Roffo...October Marsh I love his work and this is the first time I've seen it in person and it did not disappoint. His painitngs are filled with detail that remains fresh and lively, never tight or fussy. Beautiful sense of light, space and serenity.

David Bareford...Schuykill River This painting captures two teams crewing beneath the arches of an imposing stone bridge. With great compositional mastery and skilled painting techiniques particularly on the stone masonry of the bridge and the figures this was a joy to look at. Just enough is painted to tell both the narrative and the visual story of the paint without ever saying too much, such amazing economy of brushwork.

Stapleton Kearns...Autumn A gorgeous symphony of earthy hues and tones,with an evocative yellow sky, and a lovely, sensitive paint surface. Classic New England painting.

Diane Aeschliman...Buttonwoods Farm A lovely haunting mood created by a grey sky that's clearing to blue above a hillside of daffodils and a farmhouse bathed in soft light and atmosphere. This piece perfectly captures the capricious weather of spring.

Christine Ivers...P.M. Rhapsody Mood, mood and more mood! An intriguuing, evocative, tonalist, low light serene scene.

Caleb Stone...Winter Still & Stone Age Both of these visually satisfying pieces show such fabulous color mastery expressed in confident blocks of color shapes that interlock to create the scene. Lot's of strength in his paintings.

Angie Falstrom... First Light A tiny, true miniature painting in watercolor contains everything that would make a large size work successful. There's atmosphere, compositonal cohesion, impact, color mastery, value control and perfect detail all miniaturized. A gorgeous little gem.

A Halloween Painting, Jack o'Lantern, Jan Blencowe

2009-10-31T00:01:00.000-05:00

Jack-o'-Lantern, 6x8, oil, $100, free shipping.

To Purchase: jan.blencowe@comcast.net

Visit my website for more paintings www.janblencowe.com

Happy Halloween! A fun, lighthearted painting to celebrate the day.

Tonalist Landscape for the Florence Griswold Museum Christmas Tree, Jan Blencowe

2009-10-29T20:46:00.006-05:00

Crescent Moon, acrylic on wooden palette

Need to contact me? jan.blencowe@comcast.net

Visit my website for more paintings www.janblencowe.com

I am delighted to announce that I have been invited to paint a palette for the Florence Griswold Museum's annual Artist Tree!

The Magic of Christmas: A Festive Holiday Celebration at the Florence Griswold Museum

November 21, 2009 through January 10, 2010

Miss Florence’s Artist Tree is back this year with additional painted palettes, bringing the count to over 100 artists from across the country who have donated works to this one-of-a-kind tradition. The 12-foot tree has become a holiday icon for the region.

The idea of artists painting on palettes relates directly to the Museum’s history as the center for the Lyme Art Colony, and alludes to the doors and wooden wall panels the artists painted throughout Miss Florence's house over a hundred years ago. The palette artists’ styles and subject matter are as varied as the individuals. Oils, acrylics, watercolors, ceramics, and collage (and this year, glass) are used to transform the palettes into traditional holiday scenes, delightful landscapes, and more than a few surprises!

In the historic rooms of the Griswold House visitors can see how families celebrated Christmas in 1910, as historically accurate decorations reveal homespun creativity and the use of surprising materials. The 1910 time period was an important era for the Griswold House, as it was the heyday of its use as boardinghouse for the artists of the Lyme Art Colony. Christmas was also Miss Florence’s birthday! She would have been 60 in 1910.

I have visited the museum for many years at Christmas Time and always marvelled at the beauty of the tree covered with these unique palette paintings, so I am very honored to have been asked this year to contribute a painting.

Tonalist New England Landscape, Peace in the Valley, Jan Blencowe

2009-10-28T11:22:00.004-05:00

Peace in the Valley, 20x24, acrylic on linen

View this painting in a sample frame on my website

Need to contact me? jan.blencowe@comcast.net

View more paintings on my website www.janblencowe.com

Is Social Media Replacing Traditional Art Venues?

The more things change the more they stay the same. Artists will always create art and they will always need a way to get their art seen by those who buy art. What's changing is the tools and opportunities artists are using to get their work "out there".

Enter social media.

Sites like Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, FriendFeed, Plaxo, along with blogs and websites give artists total control of which pieces they show, how often, and to whom. Social Media gives the artists the ability to share their work along with the opportunity to frame their work with words, anecdotes, stories, artist statements, and related sketches, photos, philosophies and a peek into their personal life. Couple that with the power to reach thousands on lists of "followers' or "friends" and it's easy to see that this is powerful stuff!

But Wait there's More!

There's strength in numbers and as you might expect artists and on-line venues have teamed up to create some cutting edge events.

Right now on Twitter Gary Brant, owner of Galerie St. George, and nearly 40 Twitter artists are gearing up for 140 Hours of Fame ..."the world's first online art auction using TWITTER to enable bidders to purchase original artworks from an international collection of fine artists, photographers, and sculptors. The auction begins on 5 November 2009 at 12:01 p.m. EST and is live for 140 hours, through 11 November 2009 at 8:01 p.m. EST"

Check out my painting in the auction Sky and Marsh and my bio page.

The participating artists have been tweeting about the auction for weeks creating quite a buzz on Twitter, hundreds have followed @140hours on Twitter automatically registering them to bid on artworks. In less than a month the website created especially for the 140 Hours auction has received nearly 18,000 page views. Wow, the power of social media in action.

Challenging One Another

Over at Facebook something else is brewing. Artists Sandy Askey-Adams , Nancy Medina, Jean Levert Hood have put together The First Annual Autumn Arts Painting Challenge and Competition on Facebook. The challenge is open to all artists on Facebook, but the works must be created during the month of October, maximum three entries. Askey-Adams has assembled a great team of creative professionals to judge each category and has collected a fabulous cache of prizes put forth by numerous art supply manufacturers and publications.

With almost 900 having joined the event and close to 500 entries, all of outstanding quality ,this is sure to be a success! My entries include today's painting, Peace in the Valley, along with October Light and Early October.

Along with publicising this event on Facebook, participants have cross posted news of the event on Twitter, generating even more interest and exposure.

Can Brick & Mortar Galleries Compete?

So when is the last time a gallery caught the interest of thousands? When is the last time your gallery brought you and their clients together so prospective collectors could get to know you personally over time and hear about your work, inspiration, techniques, philosophy from you first hand. Can you ever remember entering a gallery show and not having to pay a fee? Neither of these two social media art events imposed an entrance fee on the artists.

The times they are a-changin'

Social media with its ability to connect people on both a personal and professional level seems to be the new way to discover artists and buy art. My advice to both artists and collectors is, be an early adapter, and get involved now. Artists you have a unique chance to position yourself in the art market and collectors you have an unprecedented opportunity to discover and purchase new works of art in a thoroughly new and enjoyable way.

New Watercolor Landscapes, Jan Blencowe

2009-10-26T17:32:00.008-05:00

4x6 , pen and watercolor

Need to contact me? jan.blencowe@comcast.net

Want to view acrylic & oil paintings? http://www.janblencowe.com/

Most of my regular readers will remember that on May 30th I began filling a 50 page sketchbook with pen and watercolor plein air sketches. A few weeks ago I achieved my goal and completed the sketchbook. Today I began a new 50 page sketchbook with two watercolor sketches capturing the amazing colors of autumn in Connecticut.

I'm thinking about what to do with the best of the sketches. Maybe a book or prints, or perhaps note cards. I can't bear to part with the originals, but whenever I show these I always get such an enthusiastic response that I'm beginning to think I should make them available in some form for folks to purchase. Do you have any ideas?? Should I sell them through Etsy, ArtFire or 1000 Markets? So many choices. I think one of my new year's goals will be to offer these sketches to people in some way.

What's in my sketch Kit??

Just in case you're wondering here are the contents of my sketch kit. I use a Pentalic Nature Sketch, sketchbook, 8.5 x 11, partly because of the yummy 130lb, 25% cotton paper and partly because a percentage of the purchase price is donated to the American Wildlife Foundation.

Lately, I've been drawing with a Faber-Castell Pitt artists pen, medium nib in sanguine http://www.dickblick.com/products/faber-castell-pitt-artist-pens/

I also use a small set of Yarka watercolors, with 10 pans of paint. I use a Beste Duo double ended brush which has a 1/2 flat on one end and a #6 round on the other.

I also use a small 4x6 in mat with a small 1x2 in opening. I use this to draw a rectangle to sketch in and use the small opening to draw a tiny rectangle to do the little color studies you sometimes see at the bottom of my pages.

I also carry with me a bottle of white acrylic craft paint, a moleskine sketchbook,a kneaded eraser, a pencil sharpener, a container for water, paper towels, and a variety of graphitint pencils.

I also have prismacolor cool grey markers in 20%, 50%, 80%, for making quick value sketches. I also take along double tipped prismacolor markers in light olive green, dark olive green and yellow ochre,which are usually enough to translate a quick grey sacle value sketch into a color sketch (provided it's spring or summer!)

I also like to have a Strathmore 400 series cold press watercolor pad, 6x12 in. for more panoramic landscape views.

All of this fits with room to spare in my YakPak

Another day I'll tell you what's in my mini sketch kit! Yes,I actually have another complete sketch kit which is lighter and more compact for those times when I'm hiking and don't want any extra weight or when I need to stealth sketch LOL, and not draw a lot of attention to what I'm doing. Also great for grabbing and taking along just in case!

New Tonalist Landscape, work in progress, Jan Blencowe

2009-10-25T19:01:00.006-05:00

acrylic on linen, 20x24

Need to contact me? jan.blencowe@comcast.net

Want to see more paintings? http://www.janblencowe.com/

Caution Construction Zone!

Welcome to the studio! This is my latest tonalist landscape painting, a work in progress.

I began this painting with a tiny ACEO size (2.5in. x 3.5 in) watercolor study. You can see it tacked up on the mast of the easel above the painting. This little study combines compositional elements from two previous paintings and a warm earthy color palette of olive greens, ochres, earth reds, and dusky purples.

This painting September Field II, provides the compositional device of plowed rows in a field, which capitalizes on perspective lines to draw the viewers eye into the pictorial space. This is the same device I use in todays work in progress in the distance, though it might be a little hard to see in the small photo of today's work in progress.

This is a very recent painting from just last week. I liked the "U" composition with the large trees and foliage framing the lighter distant view.

I sketched this composition onto the canvas using thinned transparent red oxide and then sealed the surface with Chroma's binder medium. This is what I took with me to the Manchester Art Association last Wednesday evening to use as my demonstration piece.

After a brief explanation of tonalist painting, what it is and how it fits into the history of landscape painting I started right in on my painting demo.

The first thing I did was to establish the under painting (imprimatura) using transparent red oxide. I decided to deviate from the small watercolor and keep the foreground in shadow to heighten the impact of the sunlit farm fields in the distance. During the demo I was able to lay in the sky, a cloud pattern, and block in the deep greens for the trees. I began developing the smaller tree on the left, using three values of greens toned down with red. I was also able to demonstrate applying a yellow glaze to the lit side of the tree creating some glowing rim light. I was also able to glaze part of the bright blue sky with transparent red oxide to create moody atmosphere and add a yellow ochre scumble to some of the clouds to create the impression of sunlight on the clouds and to soften them and create a gauzy effect.

I've worked on this for an additional two days in the studio successively adding and obscuring detail as I develop the areas of tree foliage. I've also added six or so layers of scumble and glaze in the sky bringing warmer hues into the clouds and emphasising atmosphere.

There is still much work to be done in the foreground developing the rocks on the left and building up grassy texture and topography. The lower shrubby foliage also still needs quite a bit of development.

Once all that is done, the sky and the overall atmosphere will need to be worked on a final time to push the glow and the sense of air.

I often listen to music while I paint, selecting the piece specifically to inspire and match the mood of what I am creating. The painting I'm working on right now was inspired by the achingly beautiful piano piece, Thanksgiving, by George Winston. You can listen to it here
and see if you think the mood of the painting captures the mood of the music.

Two Important Announcements

Don't forget the 140 Hours of Fame Art Auction on Twitter

Beginning Nov.5, 2009, 12:01pm est
Check out my auction page here
Complete auction info at www.140hours.com
Simply follow @140hours on Twitter and you are automatically registered to bid!
Not on Twitter yet? Sign up for a free Twitter account at www.twitter.com
Follow me on twitter at www.twitter.com/janblencowe_art
What the heck is Twitter anyway?
What is Twitter and How Does it Work?

Hudson River Landscapes Show
I have 5 paintings in this exhibit.
Dominican College, Sullivan Library, 1st fl. in the west wing of Rosary Hall
470 Western highway
Orangeburg, NY
Opening Sunday Nov. 1st, through Nov. 20th, 2009

Tonalist Landscape Painting, Dune Light, Jan Blencowe

2009-10-24T20:07:00.005-05:00

copyright 2009, Jan Blencowe, Connecticut,USA
Dune Light, acrylic on canvas panel, 20x24
view this painting in a sample frame on my website

Available at:

The Gallery on Main
990 Main Street

East Hartford, CT
860-604-9061

Need to contact me? jan.blencowe@comcast.net

View more paintings on my website http://www.janblencowe.com/

Don't forget! The 140 Hours of Fame Art Auction

Sky & Marsh, 16x20, acrylic on linen

Available through the 140 Hours of Fame Art Auction

Need to contact me? jan.blencowe@comcast.net

Like to see more paintings? www.janblencowe.com

The 140 Hours of Fame Art Auction on Twitter

Beginning Nov.5, 2009, 12:01pm

Check out my auction page here

Complete auction info at www.140hours.com

Simply follow @140hours on Twitter and you are automatically registered to bid!

Not on Twitter yet? Sign up for a free Twitter account at www.twitter.com

Follow me on twitter at www.twitter.com/janblencowe_art

What the heck is Twitter anyway?

What is Twitter and How Does it Work?

Chrysanthemums, flower painting, Jan Blencowe

2009-10-22T22:57:00.004-05:00

Chrysanthemums, 6x8, acrylic on panel

$100 + $10 sh/h/ins in the USA

E-mail me to purchase jan.blencowe@comcast.net

More paintings http://www.janblencowe.com/

But when the autumn days have come

Then blooms our sweet Chrysanthemum. ~Hattie L. Knapp

I absolutely love the spicey-sweet smell of chrysanthemums! Along with New England asters they are the last big show in the garden.

Ancient people believed that this flower, which was able to endure very cold weather, must have attracted "the soul of the sky and earth"

The chrysanthemum, which blooms in the cold days of late autumn and early winter, represents nobility and elegance. From ancient times, its praises have been sung by Chinese scholars.

Chrysanthemums also make a lovely cup of tea!

Tonalist Marsh Landscape Painting, Sky & Marsh, Jan Blencowe

2009-10-21T23:17:00.004-05:00

Sky & Marsh, 16x20, acrylic on linen

Available thbrough the 140 Hours of Fame Art Auction

Need to contact me? jan.blencowe@comcast.net

Like to see more paintings? www.janblencowe.com

The 140 Hours of Fame Art Auction on Twitter

Beginning Nov.5, 2009, 12:01pm

Check out my auction page here

Complete auction info at www.140hours.com

Simply follow @140hours on Twitter and you are automatically registered to bid!

Not on Twitter yet? Sign up for a free Twitter account at www.twitter.com

Follow me on twitter at www.twitter.com/janblencowe_art

What the heck is Twitter anyway?

What is Twitter and How Does it Work?

Tonalist Landscape Painting, Nocturne, October Moon, Jan Blencowe

2009-10-20T19:58:00.006-05:00

Tonalist Landscape Painting, Nocturne, October Moon,

16x20, acrylic on linen, unframed

View this painting in a sample frame on my website

For questions or purchase info please e-mail me jan.blencowe@comcast.net

This type of tonalist landscape with its diffused light, simplicty of forms and subduing of detail may appear easy to paint but let me tell you they are some of the most difficult paintings I create.

If you compare this painting to the one in the last post you'll notice several differences and several similarities.

First, they are both tonalist paintings, focusing on a low light situation for mood and atmosphere. They both have tight color harmonies and a limited value range. The previous painting, however, has a lot of tiny detail painted in. This is because the sunset lighting provides more light than a nocturne and silouhettes the trees and foliage allowing you to see the intricate, lacy pattern of leaves at the edges of the trees and shrubs, as well as throughout the entire foliage form.

Second, the forms in the previous painting are more clearly drawn and well defined, again this is because there is more light available making more details visible.

The moonlight in today's painting only allows for hazy edges and much of the painting is enveloped in darkness. If you could see this painting in real life you would know that the areas that appear nearly black in the photo are really filled with deep, rich hues, they are not black.

While painting leafy details may take some time, it's generally more straight forward. These nearly abstract forms take layers and layers of scumbling, glazing, adding structural detail and then obscuring just the right amount. The challenge of creating deep, dark value tonal areas is also very tricky. The creation of hazy atmosphere requires quite a bit of actual scrubbing with a dry brush loaded with just enough paint. At the end of a couple of hours my arm aches!

But the results are worth it. These mysterious dark paintings are often the ones that people find the most captivating. I will say however that they don't photograph especially well, with much of the subtle luminosity lost in the photo. Still, everyone who owns one of my nocturnes is deeply attached to their painting finding a kind of comfort in the stillness of the dark.

NEWS FLASH

Would you like a chance to bid on one of my paintings? Are you on Twitter? Follow @140hours and you will be automatically able to participate in the 140 Hours of Fame Auction, the first ever acution with Twitterbidding! Not on Twitter yet? Sign up at www.twitter.com it's free and easy. Once you're there follow me at www.twitter.com/janblencowe_art

Bidding starts on November 5th, 2009

To see my page and painting Sky and Marsh, at 140 Hours click here

Tonalist Landscape Painting, October Light, Jan Blencowe

2009-10-18T18:48:00.006-05:00

New Landscape Painting! October Light, 20x24, acrylic on linen

See October Light in a frame on my website

e-mail me with questions & for purchase info jan.blencowe@comcast.net

This is based on the field study I did last week at Lords Creek Farm in Old Lyme, CT. I also did some compositional sketches re-arranging things before beginning this large studio painting.

The real subject here is poetic light, sublime and evocative which transforms the landscape into something that points our thoughts in a spiritual direction.

The glowing light in this is created by carefully controlling values and many, many successive layers of glazes.

Autumn is a time for remembering our ancestors, in both ancient celtic cultures and in the Christian year. We end this month with All Hallows Eve (Hallowen) and begin November with All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day.

Oak trees have always commanded a certain sense of awer and wonder and figure prominently in folklore and religion. The oak trees at Lords Creek Farm, caught my interest and sparked my imagination. Here's a bit of folklore about these marvelous trees:

St. Columba was said to have had a fondness and respect for oak trees and to have been reluctant to fell them, though his early chapel on Iona was constructed of oak from the nearby Mull oakwoods. St. Brendan was divinely inspired to use oak boards instead of traditional hides to cover his coracle, which legend says may have carried him to the New World some thousand years before Columbus.

A Sketchbook Filled with Landscape Paintings, Jan Blencowe

2009-10-14T20:40:00.004-05:00

4x6, watercolor

View oil and acrylic paintings on my website www.janblencowe.com

Questions? Send me an email jan.blencowe@comcast.net

On May 30th, I began filling a 50 page sketchbook with pen and watercolor plein air landscapes. My goal was to fill the sketchbook by the end of the summer. This sketch completes the book! We are one month into autumn, so I didn't meet my time goal, but I kept sketching and did fill the book! All the sketches are plein air landscapes except one or two sketches of flowers from my garden and one still life of tomatoes from the garden on a rainy day when I was very bored LOL.

It really feels great to have completed this project partly because I love looking back through my sketchbooks and partly because I now have many sketches that have the potential to become the inspiration for larger paintings, plus drawing is such a great exercise for artists.

I already have another sketchbook waiting to be filled and I will continue with these type of sketches, doing as many plein air as I can before the weather gets too cold, then I will switch to still life subjects. My goal is to have the book filled by spring.

New Painting Update

I'm busy working on a 20x24 landscape based on the plein air pochade I did at Lord Creek Farm on Monday. I re-worked the composition and the lighting. I am well in to the painting and at the moment I am at that tense stage when a painting can take a turn for the sublime or take a turn for the garbage heap! First thing tomorrow I'm back in the studio, pray for the Muse to visit me!

A Plein Air Landscape Painting for Halloween!, Jan Blencowe

2009-10-13T20:50:00.006-05:00

The Headless Scarecrow, 8x10, oil on panel

visit my website www.janblencowe.com

Purchase info & questions jan.blencowe@comcast.net

This quote from Henry James reminded me so much of my Headless Scarecrow!

“He is outside of everything, and alien everywhere. He is an aesthetic solitary. His beautiful, light imagination is the wing that on the autumn evening just brushes the dusky window.”- Henry James

Here's a landscape painting that's a bit more whimsical than ususal. A hazy sky and a headless scarecrow lend themselves to this Halloweenish scene. I painted this one for the sheer fun and pleasure of it. It was so much fun to play up the mood. Eventhough the subject matter is playful, the handling is tonalist and expressive.

I'm super busy right now preparing for next week's demo and I'm taking two art marketing class simultaneously! Not sure why I did that to my self since they are both several weeks long and involve homework. Hard homework!

I also need to get painting for the October Challenge painting competition on Facebook. I am hoping get started on a new painting tomorrow. I'll let you know how that goes.

Connecticut Landscape Painting, Lord Creek Farm, Jan Blencowe

2009-10-12T21:34:00.008-05:00

copyright 2009, Jan Blencowe, Connecticut, USA
Connecticut Landscape Painting, Lord Creek Farm, overlooking the Connecticut River
6x8, acrylic on panel, plein air painting

view this painting in a frame on my website

e-mail me for purchase info jan.blencowe@comcast.net

The season is ripening. We are not at peak color yet but there are some beautiful colors in the landscape right now. The distant marsh is turning red as the marsh grasses go to seed. Wildflowers are still out in profusion and the leaves are just beginning to turn with an ocassional explosion of color here and there.

As we move into what the ancient Celts called a "thin" time, when the veil between this world and the next is lessened I feel a certain excitement. Nature itself seems to be hurrying and scurrying in a mad scramble and dash to prepare for the sleep of winter and the time of darkness, which I always believe is a time for remembering.

As I was thinking about this I came across this very idea on the Abbey of the Arts blog. The post is called Embracing the Night. I will share some of that post here, and then you can follow up by reading the whole post here.

Embracing the Night (excerpt)

by Christine Valters Paintner

The Christian church honors the wisdom of this season by dedicating the month of November to the memory of ancestors and saints who have walked before us. The Celts believed this was an especially thin time of year and the presence of the wise ones who still dwell among us can be felt more keenly through the veil between life and death. As the earth prepares for winter, we too are invited to contemplate what death means for us.

I invite you during these October days to begin to consider how you might embrace the dark half of the year. What gifts are calling to you out of the long nights ahead that have previously gone unopened? How might you give honor to those ancestors who have traveled this road before you and welcome in the wisdom they have to offer you for your life now?

Art Festival, pen & watercolor sketch, Jan Blencowe

2009-10-11T19:59:00.008-05:00

Art Festival, pen and watercolor sketch, 4x6

visit my website for paintings http://www.janblencowe.com/

e-mail me with questions jan.blencowe@comcast.net

This was the week end of the Art Center of Killingworth's Autumn Art Trail and Festival! I met so many great people, passed out tons of cards, got new sign ups for my mailing list*, but unfortunately no sales. Sales were light across the whole festival with only 2 or 3 original paintings sold. Most people were opting for note cards, prints, and handcrafted items like hats and scarfs. This is most likely a sign of the tough economic times many of us are facing.

* If YOU would like to sign up for my free monthly e-newsletter Palette Paper use the green subscription box in the right hand sidebar. Would you love to receive ocassional show and event postcards? Just send me an e-mail with your address. jan.blencowe@comcast.net
I promise I will never share your information. Never, Ever. Period.

Here I am smiling and thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to meet new people. However, there were many artists who were not smiling. The wind was fierce on both days and many beautiful artworks were destroyed. The artist next to me had her whole display of watercolors, framed under glass blown over. Many of her frames were damaged and the glass in 25-30 of her paintings was smashed. On the other side of me a glass artist lost a beautiful plate destroyed when the wind blew it off its display rack. The jewelry artist's display blew over, one of the potters had a ceramic vase blown over and broken to bits. One of my racks was blown over damaging two brand new frames. Sigh. You never know what Mother Nature will whip up!

You can see the wind here tossing my banner around and blowing my table cloth. In fact you can see two paintings on the table which I took down because I was afraid they would be blown off the screens. My tent is pretty secure, you can see those white PVC tubes attached to the tent legs, they are filled with rocks and weigh about 5lbs. each. I also used cable ties to attach the racks to the frame of the tent and today I also used cable ties to secure my paintings to the racks along with hooks!

I was thrilled today to meet an "internet friend" for the first time in person. Carol Lavoie, is an astrologer, animal lover and artist. I so enjoyed meeting her and sharing her bright, positive spirit in conversation. She made a very insightful comment about my paintings, she said they were gestalt art. For those unfamiliar with the term, here's the definition, Gestalt: a configuration or pattern of elements so unified as a whole that it cannot be described merely as a sum of its parts. For a great explanation of Gestalt Principles shown visually, click here

Here's a bit more about Gestalt Psychology from Wickipedia....

Gestalt psychology or gestaltism (German: Gestalt - "form" or "whole") of the Berlin School is a theory of mind and brain positing that the operational principle of the brain is holistic, parallel, and analog, with self-organizing tendencies, or that the whole is different from the sum of its parts. The Gestalt effect refers to the form-forming capability of our senses, particularly with respect to the visual recognition of figures and whole forms instead of just a collection of simple lines and curves. In psychology, gestaltism is often opposed to structuralism and Wundt. Often, the phrase "The whole is greater than the sum of the parts" is used when explaining Gestalt theory.

What a fascinating insight Carol offered to me! I think it's a perfect description of my work!

I was sharing with Carol my new artist's statement, which I had printed up for my display table and also on the back of gorgeous full color fliers I had with one of my paintings on it and all my usual contact info. to give out to people. (* Art Marketing alert: artists take note, you should have things like this at all times to generously hand out. Go over to www.VistaPrint.com and get some at very reasonable prices)

I had such a difficult time crafting my artist statement that I actually had to get Ariane Goodwin's book Writing the Artists' Statement to help me. It occured to me that I never shared the end result here, so Ta-Da, here's my new definitive artists' statement:

The elusive mystery of light is my favorite subject. Sunlight, ordinary and yet extraordinary, shapes my paintings. The evocative half-light of sunset, twilight, and dawn transport the viewer to realms beyond the visible. Whether painted on location or in the studio these landscapes go beyond mere representation and impression and delve into the deeper streams and spiritual pulse that sustains all things.

The canvas is both a window and a mirror for me. Through the window of the canvas I create a poetic and elegant vision of nature. Luminosity and veils of translucent color invite quiet contemplation. Each painting is also a mirror reflecting joy and celebration, a visual sonnet of beauty and grace, a journey for the soul, a landscape illuminating the longing of the heart.

I focus on soft edges, rich textures and evocative light that reach in to create peace of mind and heart. Through the harmonization of color, shape and tone paradise is not lost but remembered, hoped for, realized on the canvas and resurrected in our mind.

ACEO Landscape Painting, watercolor, Jan Blencowe

2009-10-08T14:20:00.007-05:00

ACEO 2.5 x 3.5 in. (trading card size) watercolor, landscape painting #1

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send me an e-mail jan.blencowe@comcast.net

Other than making an appetizer to bring the the Friday night opening social event and packing the car I am finished preparing for the outdoor art festival this week end. (I think. Yes, I'm pretty certain. Yeah. )

I will probably have a light bulb moment tomorrow and realize I have totally forgotten something very important.)

Here's the info once again:

Autumn Art Trail

Clinton Landing

54 East Main Street

Clinton, CT

Sat-Sun. Oct. 10-11

10:00am-5:00pm

Free

Today I also finished my 4 painting commission project! That is drying and in a week or so will be ready for a light coat of re-touch varnish before being shipped out.

Next week on Wednesday Oct. 21st, I'll be doing a demo for the Manchester Art Association. I'll be using the above watercolor sketch as the basis for my demonstration. In an effort to have the best presentation possible I began drawing out my composition on canvas today, using thinned transparent red oxide.

People generally want to see me paint, not draw. I find the demo goes much smoother and gives me more time to demonstrate painting techniques when I come with a canvas that has the composition and drawing already worked out and in place. For one thing the painting is more likely to be a success than if I rush through composing and drawing during the presentation in order to get to the painting stage. So with that done, I'm now freed up to create handouts for the audience that explain what I'm doing and give helpful tips.

Once I have those handouts ready I'll share them here for you!

PS:

My demo painting will be 20x24, done with Chroma Interactive acrylics on linen.

Sold, Landscape Painting, Cows Come Home, Jan Blencowe

2009-10-07T17:50:00.009-05:00

This charming little landscape painting with cows, a 6x8, oil on panel sold this week at Total Design Source in Old Saybrook, CT

At the moment I am juggling, getting ready for the Autumn Art Trail (see below), finishing my four painting commission and working with the builders finalizing the floor plans for our new house!

Sales have been brisk and I'm overjoyed about that!!

On the down side my Twitter account is in a shambles, I am unable to log on, change my password, nuthin' I've been working with Twitter support but they are unable to help me. So if you follow me on Twitter keep your eyes open I may have to close my account and open a new one, then you'll have to follow my new account.

There's me at last year's Autumn Arts Trail!

COME & VISIT ME THIS YEAR......I'll be bringing 20 new paintings in a variety of sizes from 6x8 to 20x24, all just perfect for your home or office.

Autumn ArtTrail coming up on Oct. 10 & 11, 10am-5pm. There's a nice pavillion, boardwalk, benches and viewing platform along this stretch of the Indian River called Clinton Landing which is behind Andrews Memorial Town Hall. It's going to be a great day filled with beautiful art for sale. Come by and say "hello" I'll have lots of special purchasing opportunities as part of the Autumn Art Trail Weekend.

Recently Sold Landscape Paintings

2009-10-05T18:58:00.005-05:00

Autumn Sunset, 6x8, oil on panel, SOLD
copyright 2009, Jan Blencowe, Connecticut, USA

Marsh at Sunset, 20x30, acrylic on linen SOLD

I had two lovely surprises this week, both of these paintings sold through different galleries! I was just beginning to think that sales had slowed down a little and then voila! two checks in the mail.

I am nearly done with my four painting commission, and have been plein air painting. however, today's plein air was a dud and not worth posting right now. I may fuss with it a little and see if it can be saved, if not I'll just let it go and move on to the next.

Meanwhile, I am getting for this weekend's Autumn Art Trail outdoor festival. These outdoor shows are SO MUCH WORK! This is the only one I do now because I like the location, the way the show is organized and run and because the crowd is usually really into the art. Last year my sales were very good despite the recent economic crash.

Tonight my husband wired 15 framed paintings for me and I have 4 more paintings to varnish and another 6 to frame. Then they need to have corner protectors put on them and the smaller paintings need to be packed in tote bags or boxes with cardboard seperators. The larger paintings need to be wrapped in big towels and stacked in the van with large sheets of corrugated cardboard inbetween lasagna style. I need to make up price tags (or maybe just a price list this year, still deciding) I need to find a way to display my postcards, fliers and business cards so they don;t blow away, find the card table, my sales pad and print out a sheet for people to sign up for my mailing list.

Busy day tomorrow!

COME & VISIT ME

Autumn ArtTrail coming up on Oct. 10 & 11, 10am-5pm. There's a nice pavillion, boardwalk, benches and viewing platform along this stretch of the river called Clinton Landing which is behind Andrews Memorial Town Hall. It's going to be a great day filled with beautiful art for sale. Come by and say "hello" I'll have lots of special purchasing opportunities as part of the Autumn Art Trail Weekend.

Landscape Painting, Plein Air, Early October, Jan Blencowe

2009-10-04T21:27:00.005-05:00

plein air landscape painting, 8x10, acrylic on panel

view this painting in a frame on my website

purchase info please e-mail me jan.blencowe@comcast.net

The sun was in and out when I was painting this and when it was in, it was chilly enough that I wish I had brought gloves with me!

This is a painting in which I took a LOT of poetic license changing a pretty mundane scene with an asphalt road way and street signs and through the alchemy that is painting turned it into something much more beautiful and mysterious, someting poetic.

Sometimes a scene is beautiful and poetic as nature presents it. Sometimes it needs a little help, occassionally it needs a complete make over!

And yet for all the changes I made, the essence of the day is here. A changeable, moody sky, trees still adormed with an abundance of leaves mostly green but taking on the hue and character of russet and gold, and that magical illumination when the sun would break through the clouds. It's all here in a glorious portrait of the magical behind the veil of the mundane.