Pink Camellia:flower study in oil

Open Camellia©2009C.L.Burgess oil on panel 6x6

No words of wisdom from me today ...but here are two quotes you might ponder.

"Not all worries end up as water under the bridge or over the dam. Some evaporate." Robert Brault

my post script to this ☝is 'especially when I am painting'.

"Life isn't a matter of milestones, but of moments." Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy

Supper at Emmaus:a study of Caravaggio

Before I began participating in these online challenges, I posted this small study, done last December. I don't think anyone has loooked at it much. I now am submitting it for Following the Master's new challenge since I do no think I may get to do another repro of a master soon..

The source:

The Supper at Emmaus by Caravaggio(Michaelangelo Merisi)c1600-01 54 3/4x 76 3/4" oil/c

This other Michaelangelo, the quintessential bad boy artist, Caravaggio was only 30 years old when he executed this work which was somewhat of an proud display of his technical and intelectual prowess. The foreshortening and dramatic chiaroscuro he is noted for, presented the challenges for me to study through this copy. The painting also holds personal meanings for me.

In the Roman Catholic faith, congregants celebrate this moment at Mass, which is central to the belief, when the Eucharist(lord's supper) is presented to them(communion) after being consecrated by the priest. It is believed that Christ is present in the form of bread and wine consumed(Transubstantiation).

Supper At Emmaus by Caravaggio depicts the moment when the resurrected Jesus revealed Himself to the apostles at a common meal. The staging of this event is among ordinary people. The apostle's moment of awareness and surprise is the narrative. The image is laden with symbolism,too. There is a nod to the Last Judgement by Michaelangelo Buonarotti in the hand of Christ. Some think that an allusion to the crucifixtion is in the outstretched arms of the apostle Peter. The light emanating from Christ himself is another visual metaphor.

This hallmark of Catholicism has been the subject matter not only of Caravaggio, but Titian, Veronese, and Velasquez, among others. A comparative analysis of the different styles of each of these masters' interpretation of the event is always enlightening.

For more about about this painting..

Other sources for different depictions of this story: Titian

Veronese

Velasquez

Books and novels about Caravaggio: The Lost Painting by JHarr

The Man Who Became Caravaggio by Peter Robb

Caravaggio

Figurative Painting: "Retro Girl"

Retro Girl©2009 C.L.Burgess 20h x16w oil on linen

The model for this painting, Elka, does seem to change with the dresses she chooses for her sittings. And since this is not a commissioned piece, I took some artistic liberty with the face and the environment.

In this pose, I had two opposing light sources, one natural north and the other a low incandescent bulb which I exaggerated for a bit of drama, like finding her in a speakeasy in the days of prohibition. The original backdrop was silver and very cold, so I opted for the complement greenish gray to the maroon of the flapper like dress.

Pileated Woodpecker

"The Lookout"©2009 C.L.Burgess 6x6"oil on canvas

One of the things I enjoy immensely since I moved into the woods along the James River, is birdwatching. I also feed them and talk to them. Nutty, huh? I think I especially missed them and realized how much so, this summer when I visited Colorado. I am certain there are birds there, too. In fact I have a photo of a magpie, I took last year that I want to paint. But in the suburbs of Denver, there are few trees and alas, few birds. At least where my son lives. Or because of the canopy surrounding me here, I am spoiled with their daily company.

I saw this gal or guy(probably a guy, as they are prettier in the bird world) while on a walk by the river. Couldn't walk today or for the past week it seems, we are being pelted with the remnants of the latest hurricane. In fact, we are on a flood watch at the moment. So to cheer myself out of the doldrums I cleaned house most of the day and then dug out some old reference photos from my 'someday I will paint this' file.

And so, you have my fuzzy friend,Woody woodpecker cautiously on the watch.

Figures Walking

"In the Spotlight"©2009 C.L.Burgess 6x6"oil on canvas panel

My contribution to the DSFDF challenge this month. After making this small abstract, I thought it might be fun to do a larger version someday. I like the small works as a thinking surface. They take almost as long to work out as a large piece but the confinement of smallness permits me to play with less as more. The goal, of course, that someday that spirit will manifest itself on a larger surface with ease more consistently.

Portrait:Young Woman with Shawl

Young Woman with Shawl©2009 C.L.Burgess

I am glad to be home after all my adventures these past 10 weeks. I missed my studio.

I returned to open portrait group, raring to go, last night and this is the image I captured in the 2 1/2 hour session. Pretty girl. Felt good to do a live sitting again. The model thought I had captured her likeness very well which really pleased me to hear. JS Sargent's comment "Every time I paint a portrait, I lose a friend" is always lurking in the back of my mind when I do these. Speaking of him.....

I think I will run down to the Corcoran to see the Sargent and the Sea show this weekend or week coming up. His work always inspires and invigorates me.

It is always good to come home to good news, too. I just found out that my still life painting The Inheritance found a home! It was a work I had juried in at Art at the Mill in Berryville,Va, this past month. It embodied many meanings for me, so I am glad that someone loved it enough to purchase.

Have a good weekend! Back to the easel...

Still...Life

Memorial:Red,White and Blue©2009 C.L.Burgess oil on linen 8x6"

How important it is to walk along, not in haste but slowly,
looking at everything and calling out

Yes! No!

To pay attention, this is our endless
and proper work.

edited from the work of Mary Oliver, poet

The artist is ever observant....we notice things others dismiss or neglect.

It is in wanting to talk about them that we lift the brush or write the poem.

I painted this because I liked the forms coming out of the darkness. And I wanted to remember.

Green Pears and Stripes:a still life poem in oil

"Peared Up"©2009 C.L. Burgess oil on canvas 8x10"

How might the story have changed

had Eve's Adam been treated to a pear?

The pear much more succulent

Soft, dappled and dimpled

Like a woman.

Figure in watercolor: boy at the seashore

"The Discovery"©2009 C.L.Burgess gouache 6x4" on paper

....He was dreaming of piracy and faraway places, jumping to and fro, climbing an abandoned catamaran....then, in a blink of an eye something grabbed his attention...

Out of my comfort zone again with watercolors. Feels good.

I was intently people watching ont the last day of sun we had on the beach at Hilton Head. This little guy was having loads of fun, just by himself in that imaginary place of youth.

Portrait of a Woman wip: Maybe Later

Maybe Later©2009 C.L.Burgess oil on linen 10x12"

What is she thinking?

This still needs some fine tuning...or I may just paint it again, but larger. Basically I am happy with the idea but since I am unable to paint in my studio(I am still on the road,well, actually I am at the shore for a while) this will do for now. I took the photo outdoors and there is some glare, still wet. I worked on this in incandescant light at night, at a dining table. No the best scenario, but hey, the masters painted by candlelight, right? so who's to complain?

It looks good inside and now I am looking at it outside on the easel, still works. I may deepen the background darks a bit and turn the form a little on the left.

The model is my lovley daughter in law Mary, the photographer, my husband. Family affair, this one.

Sunflowers

"October Suns"©2009 C.L.Burgess 10 x 8" oil on linen

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it,

and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth

seeking the successive autumns."

- George Eliot

Croquembouche

Cream Puff©2009 C.L.Burgess oil on wood 8x8"

Once upon a time, when I was inclined to watch cooking shows, enjoyed the laughs of TV and wanted to impress my guests and colleagues, I tried to make to make cream puffs aka croquembouche in the style of dear, earnest Martha Stewart. (I confess to enjoy reading her cookbooks and her magazine stories about the exploits of her army of assistants,out in the woods, gathering her latest penchant for accouterments to that fine unblemished table she will adorn with her culinary accomplishments.)

Before her unfortunate incarceration, oh, about ten years ago, she actually had a scream of a show with guest Julia Child, who jolly enough, joined Martha in a cooking challenge right there, live on TV, to create a pyramid of cream puffs, excuse me, Martha, croquembouche, drizzled with spun sugar, for a holiday banquet. For some reason, I think Miss Piggy might have been there, too. If she wasn't, she should have been..Sorry,I digress.

Anyway, I really admired Julia after that bout. She was my kind of cook and person of a joy in the kitchen, to which I always aspire to be. Her tower of puffs seemed to implode at about the time they received the swirling sugar finish, contrasting with the stiff, impenetrable mountain by Martha. My friend and I by then were howling on the floor with laughter.....

The moral of this story, of course, is to love what we do enough to be able to laugh at our foibles on the way to that perfect creation and that perfection somehow falls a bit short at times, just is not as interesting or joyful as it is cracked up to be.

It is with that thought that I painted this rather, rich, calories couched in comforting chocolate, mound of mouth watering sweetness.

That was before I shared it with my husband. Poor guy, he kept asking me if it was a prop or a real treat for us for about two days!!! Tough cookie, this artist.

Out of perfection nothing can be made. Every process involves breaking something up. (Joseph Campbell)

Portrait of a Man: "Considering Capri"

Considering Capri©2009 C.L.Burgess oil on linen 20h x16w"

This is one of those portraits very loosely based on life. I did the actual portrait from a live model, then, back at the studio, proceeded to go at it without photo resource, re-inventing him as I went along. It became a story for me..."what was he thinking about?.

I had been studying Sargent and thinking about the trip to Italy I didn't take this past spring.

I have always just loved JSS's rendition of the girls from Capri, so this was a chance to study those images again and play with replicating them, too. I did not like the negative space in my painting, so I painted a loose study, within my painting, of the head of the girl from Capri by Sargent. The story, then, became about this young man thinking about going to see the girls there or perhaps returning to see them..."should I go?" he says.

Hence the title.

Colorado Skies

The Power and the Glory©2009 C.L.Burgess oil on linen 8x10"

"Take It easy, take it easy

Don't let the sound of your own wheels

drive you crazy

Lighten up while you still can

don't even try to understand

Just find a place to make your stand

and take it easy" from the Eagles best hits song lyrics

As I prepare to leave colorful Colorado, I have to say that my landscape painting challenge will always be the skies out west. I did this small study of an in coming storm to capture the reverence I have for the openness out here and the immensity of power the change of weather displays.

This painting is still wet so I apologize for the bit of glare.

The trip this fall has been blessed with visual spendor, gatherings with son, wife and grandchildren, a dear old friend from Virginia and meeting new friends. I happily met fellow artist blogger, Pam Holnback, who graciously gave me a tour of the awesome The Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. While I did not get to meet up with Jala Pfaff or R. Garriot as I had hoped, I did get to see R.'s work up close. Delightful and pleasing to the eye in person as online.

I have also been awarded the Kreative Blogger award by Rodica Voicu. Thank you Rodica!

I will post again upon my return to my studio and home in Virgina.

Time to hit the road listening to the Eagles, Willie Nelson, and Linda Ronstadt.

Happy painting and have a great weekend, "Take it Easy" my friends.

Frostbitten Zinnias

Frostbitten Zinnias©2009C.L.Burgess alla prima oil on paper 8x4"

I will be in Denver for a couple more days. The condo I am renting has some pretty small gardens. When I arrived a month ago, the zinnias, daisies and nasturtium were prolific. This past week brought low temperatures at night. Fall has arrived.

While the trees are in full autumn glory,sadly, the flowers faded fast. I went out in the early morning on one of the few gray days Denver has and painted these before they turned brown.

Low key garden..lots of textures, very little light.

A Child's Portrait : About Face

Mischief in White©2008C.L.Burgess oil on linen 11 x 14

This child, called Mackenzie, is a real imp, but in this painting I caught her introspection in a rare quiet moment. The original photo was b/w so I improvised the color since it was not a commission.

She just had this Renaissance thing going with the bow and white frills, which is why I kept the palette on the dark side.

I was just notified that this and one other portrait have been accepted into a portrait show called About Face at Liberty Town Arts Workshop in Fredericksburg, VA for the month of October.

Portrait of a Woman:Retro Girl...and some good news...

This is a segment of a larger work that is unfinished. It is also part of a series in the works I have waiting for me in VA after I return home from my journey out west.

I also have some news...my little milk and cookies can be seen here:

http://thelittlechimpsociety.com/charmingkatie/six-by-six-gallery-announces-opening/

And I was also one of twenty finalists for a portrait show in Herndon, VA called "Expressions" which will open on Sept.29 and run until Oct 25.

The juror was Henry Wingate. The portrait chosen was "Elka". I am honored to have been selected. If any of you can see it for me I would be so grateful. Seems all the things I have entered into are showing while I am gone.

It appears this year has been my year to "emerge". I really think that is a strange term, since I think of it as mid career recognition, since I have been making art since I was 12 and selling it since I was 16. May not be on the cover of Art magazines yet or ever, but I have never considered myself anything but an artist and teacher. It defines me.

And these events still surprise me.

They make me feel happier at the easel, although I would be there regardless.

Again, part of enjoying successful moments is sharing those good times with people who have helped with feedback, bought my work, and in general been good supportive colleagues in this wonderful journey through art. Thank you!

Danish Danish oil on paper 6x6"

A Coffee and Danish Monday©2009 C.L.Burgess oil on mat board 6x6"

The title of the post refers to the baker from whom I bought the danish.(actually it is a chocolate croissant, but who cares?) I used to have a neighbor who traveled from Fairfax, VA to Germantown, Maryland to buy Danish from a Danish baker. She, of course,was Danish. She used to buy some for me, too, bless her heart. That was 20 yrs ago.

Not until we came to visit my son and family in Denver, did we ever again taste anything so scrumptious. Got this mmm good, absolutely decadent delight at the farmer's market. To where I will return until I leave CO.

I like painting pastry and bread, I have found. For me, the portrait painter, they serve as a warm up of sorts to learning more about painting skin tones.

For me the foodie, they provide comfort and delight. With a hot cup of Java,perhaps a good friend at the table,well, nothing beats that.

p.s.Carol King, this one's for you!:-)

Radishes in north light

Radishes©2009C.L.Burgess 6 x 9" oil on gessoed matboard

Cupcakes are good. But these are healthier.

This is still wet and the editing made it grainy. Pretty close to the real image though.

I promised to paint another one of these every time that I saw them in the gorcery, since I sold the other one I made this spring. The leaves were somewhat wilted, which provided many greens to paint. The natural light made the brown cloth I had them on take a purplish cast.

Cupcakes and kids...

Cupcake©2009C.L.Burgess gouache on paper 6x4"

Sweet things...toddlers and cupcakes. You can't resist them can you? I felt compelled to try this and do it real fast to meet the deadline. It is my submission for DSFDF, but, I forgot that I am on the central time so I do not know if it will get posted!!

And after all that work in a medium I do not often use! Dang.

Oh well, at least I painted today... and spent time flying paper planes and drawing with my grandson.

A good day indeed.