Autumn has long been my favorite season. Maybe it’s the colors, or the leaves falling? It could be the crisp air and chilly breezes. This piece recalls an autumn walk on a favorite trail, trees turning, leaves on the breeze, and migrating birds making their journeys to far off places.
Reflecting on the recent drive to the coast on my last painting getaway, I worked from the recollection of the drive, similar other sunset drives, and the view of a sunset in-progress from the balcony of my hotel room. It was a fun quick piece that I did while the sunset flared to full vividness, and finished as it faded.
This piece was inspired by my July visit to the Taft, on Siletz Bay, south of Lincoln City, Oregon. It is the view from the hotel I generally stay at when I take time on the coast to paint, and the early morning sky is often a soft smudgy assortment of pinks, mauves, and pale orange hues. The gulls circle the pier, and above the nearby fisherman, and even at such an early hour there are often people walking the beach at low tide.
This is another piece I photographed immediately after completion although the Pastelmat tends to warp just a bit when I remove the masking tape I use to mask off the border and release it from the surface I’ve secured it to. One reason I recently switched to Ampersand Pastelbord is to avoid this warping (and the time required to press new work flat again, risking smudging or damaging the work).
Funny title for a painting, I suppose. It has a backstory. Perhaps I’ll share that with a buyer one day. Perhaps not. This 8″ x 10″ acrylic on canvas piece has details that include glow-in-the-dark pigments and glitter. It was inspired by a brightly glowing luminous round full moon and the shimmering waves beneath it one mild October night in 2022.
Time spent in the studio, painting, seems to pass quite differently than any other time. New work drying on my work table, on counters, on bookshelves, and as they dry, joining the stacks of other pieces, completed, not yet sold. Very satisfying.
One recent work (Hints of Autumn) sold almost before it had completely dried, to a friend who has collected several pieces over the years. Also very satisfying – although even after so many years, I often find selling my work rather difficult; it means letting the sold pieces go. Somehow that’s still hard for me – they’re part of who I am. They speak for me when my own words are not enough.
One new piece continues to fascinate me, and each time I see it in new light… I “see it in new light” figuratively, as well as literally.
This particular canvas was painted around the same time as “Ship of Dreams” and “Nalla Was Here”, earlier this year, on a moody weekend fraught with romantic stress, during a pandemic. The physical experience of painting, for me, is often one of very soothing motions, allowing the act of painting itself to become a sort of meditation. “Feeling the strokes” as I work is one reliable way for me to “get out of my head” and back into my body, and to be more present in my experience. This particular work was supported by bass-heavy EDM tracks (mostly trap and house music), and was painted with Arteza acrylics (a departure from my long-time Liquitex and Pebeo selections). I’m enjoying the texture of these acrylics, which have a consistency of room temperature butter on a warm day – not quite molten, almost liquid. (I generally use heavy body paints, which is particularly useful for the sort of 3D mixed media pieces I often create, so the flow of the Arteza paint is quite a change!) I’m not held back by brand loyalty with regard to paint; I use what works for the piece I have in mind, or create based on the materials available. 🙂
I’ve been getting more time in the studio, but spending less on the computer. New work is piling up, unshared!
Summer very much felt worth celebrating, and there were some stunning moments that seemed to sparkle with joy.
The time slipped away so quickly… and just this past weekend, I found myself noticing hints of Autumn here and there, on my walks, and as I ran my errands. Time spent in the studio hints at those hints.
Happily, time in the studio is increasing as I become more settled in my work and home routines in this new place. More to come!
The Art of M. Elisabeth Howell 