Sparklers
 

oil on linen, 28" x 34"

Here's a painting I've been working on (and off) for a year or so. The setting is Maine, on the dock of the "camp" we used to rent. I have such vivid memories of this camp and this painting was based on a 4th of July celebration when my kids were small.

Oh Alex, this is just so beautiful, intense, full of emotion, light and nostalgia, it carries me away.
I absolutely love it !
Ilaria

Thanks, Ilaria! That means a lot. Nostalgia is especially tricky when one is painting children, I think.

Lovely Alex - you are so good at getting the particularities of light and movement.

Alexandra,

(Such a timely composition, being that tomorrow is the last day of school here and the kids are just itching to hit the water)

What great mood and atmosphere you have in this piece! And the gesture of the figures is perfect...can only come from someone extremely observant and with the right skills to translate the observations onto canvas.
Your prolific and masterful production lately is envious...can

Alexandra,

I love your paintings, because you not only paint lovely, but there is always a narrative behind it, which draws the viewer in eager to find out more. The mood created at the bank of this lake is just lovely!

Thank you all--Thomasin, Carlos and Enzie!

Thomasin, it mean so much to me that you feel I got the sense of movement and light. The light changes so swiftly at that time of day/night that it is hard to get just the right color. Also, there's a certain type of weather pattern that I wanted to capture because it went with the wild feeling of the figures on the dock. A clearing wind or "land breeze" comes in from the north-west and breaks up the clouds, and the weather can be quite windy until sunset, but that unsettled feeling is still in the air.

Carlos, I never dreamed figurative paintings could be this much fun, or so absorbing. For me, they take a lot of thought, and I find myself re-working them many times. I'm glad you feel that the mood and atmosphere are right. And by the way, I'm really not all that prolific!

Enzie, thank you for your kind words! The creation of narrative is an interesting thing. I find that if I don't try too hard, it just happens. Another thing I've discovered in my recent venture into figuratives is that, if I narrow down my choice of subjects to the ones that really say something to me (not necessarily something I could put into words--it could be a feeling) then those are the ones that usually say something to others, too.

sparklers
 

Alex, I really love the way you have captured the halflight of a summer evening. I plan to be spending this fourth of July at my girlfriend's who lives on Highland Lake in Maine, so the scene feels very close to home for me. Maybe I will be inspired to do a similar painting.

Alex, What a delightful scene you have captured so beautifully! What really struck me, though, was the perfect composition of each of the detail views! Great work!

Bob

Alex,
it's great, I love it. You have captured the essence of nature, the light.

Beside of drawing, landscape painting should be regarded as a fundamental for painting, it is for color what drawing is for shape. I feel sorry for the painters that never gets that experience.

I wish that I could join you (and your friends) for some plein air painting trips some day. :)