Edward Hopper’s New York at the Whitney

 

I was so excited about seeing the Hopper show yesterday and it exceeded all my expectations. 

This painting, “New York Office, 1962” impressed me, and I just looked and looked at the edges. They are really sensitive, which cause his paintings to be so luscious. I’m convinced Mark Rothko was heavily influenced by Hopper.

Add to that the gentle interplay of colors with an occasional jewel that stands out. Here, soft greens and cold and warm blues juxtaposed with a little polygon of bright orange is stunning. But that orange is made up of at least three or four colors with a dash of red at the edges so it isn’t jarring, just beautiful. I was on sensory overload! The photograph doesn’t capture the variations in color and edges, but it does show the impact his work has.

This is a little detail of the painting above.

Just a sampling of work at the show.

Woodpecker

“Woodpecker”

Oil on Board, 8” x 6”

I did a bird series back in the fall, and didn’t post most of them so I’ll do it now. Most of the birds, maybe all of them, were begun with a raw umber underpainting where I nail down my values. (Lights and darks.) Thanks for looking! I’m beginning a landscape series and will post those later. 

 

“American Goldfinch”

Oil on Wood, 8”x6”

 

Masked Bandit

“Masked Bandit”

Oil on Canvas 6”x6”

This little guy is so out there with his outfit!

 

Pair of Eggs

“Pair of Eggs”

Oil on Canvas, 4”x6”

When you paint eggs, precision is called for. Whenever I paint eggs, I promise myself it will be a very long time before I do it again. The last time was a long time ago, lol.

 

“Crane”

Oil on Wood, 6”x9”

Here is the beginning of a bird series…and we just put up a bird feeder, what a riot! I mean it, it’s a riot of birds on our deck.

 

“Field in Provence”

Oil on Linen, 9” x 12”

This is the first landscape I’ve done in awhile, and I finished it before breakfast. I’m starving. :)

I painted a small version yesterday, it didn’t turn out. I’m happy with this one. There are some things I would possibly change but hey, that’ll be for the next painting.

 

“Peony & Hydrangeas”

“Peony & Hydrangeas”

Oil on Board, 8” x 8”

I painted this in 2016 but it bothered me…until I cropped it to an 8” x 8” painting. Now I love it! 

 

Hangin’

 

“Hangin’ “

Oil on Canvas, 8” x 10”

Orange Pear and Celadon Bowl

“Orange Pear and Celadon Bowl”

Oil on Canvas, 6” x 4”

I keep saying I need to paint larger, but here I am at 6x4 inches - oh well, I really like a 

small painting!!

This reminds me of the German Expressionists. I used to think I would 

paint like them especially having studied German, but I ended up being more realistic. 

Well, maybe this is a new beginning.

 

White Rose

 

"White Rose"

Oil on Canvas, 8" x 6"

 

“Venetian Doorway”

Oil on Canvas, 8” x 6”

Is this finished? Well, I do see something that needs changing, but it’s late, I will do it tomorrow, and I am posting anyway! So we took this trip to Italy, Florence & Venice. Americans are so taken with the beautiful architecture in Europe, combined with the stunning light in Italy, and I am no exception. How can I Not paint these lovely doorways. One imagines, “who lives here, and who loves to tend to their window plants so well?” I will never know…but will always enjoy looking at this picture.

 

Back to Italy

“Back to Italy”

Oil on Canvas, 8”x6”

We’ve been back long enough to recover from jet lag. Is my door crooked? I guess I can fix that. What a place Venice was, and we took in 2 days of the Venice Biennale. I love how the grid on the left window is light, and on the right window is dark. More cool door fronts to come.

 

Five Zinnias in a Bottle

 

“Five Zinnias in a Bottle”

Oil on Wood, 6”x6”

This took 2 days, and I’m exhausted! I grew these flowers several years ago, and never get tired of painting them.

A Single Rose

 

“A Single Rose”

Oil on Linen, 8”x6”

Three Zinnias

“Three Zinnias”

Oil on Canvas, 6” x 4”

These were from my garden, zinnias are the best!

 

Marshlands

“Marshlands”

Oil on Canvas, 8” x 10”

 

Dam Town

“Dam Town”

Oil on Stretched Canvas, 6”x6”

The Croton Dam was built somewhere around 1906…wait, let me look it up. Sure enough, the New Croton Dam was completed in 1906. It replaced the Old Croton Dam that gave way. It was an engineering feat, which brought water all the way to New York City where they desperately needed it for clean drinking water as well as to fight fires. The aqueduct was an underground tunnel that brought water to the city some 35 miles or so. To celebrate the opening, the mayor, the head engineer and maybe 1 or 2 others rode a rowboat through the underground aqueduct tunnel all the way from the dam to the city, maybe to Bryant park, or perhaps to the reservoir at Central Park. You can look it up in Wikipedia. Highly recommended: a visit to the Ossining Community Center where a free museum depicts all this along with an extra bonus, a fascinating display on Sing Sing Prison. Just call for hours.

Anyway, the Croton Dam is a great place to spend an hour or an afternoon.  After a heavy rainfall, it can be quite dramatic. It is a beautiful structure that changed the demographics of Croton. Italian stone masons were brought across the ocean to help build it, along with many Irish workers. If you peruse the burial plots near the Croton Library, you will see the family names of many of these workers. More paintings on this subject to come.

 

Lemon and a French Dish Cloth

“Lemon and a French Dish Cloth”

Oil on Canvas Board, 4” x 6”

Enjoyed painting on Zoom with some friends, but was unhappy with my lemons. To make up for it, I painting this tiny little lemon and it worked. First painting in 2022!

 

Zinnias in Lala’s Pitcher

 

“Zinnias in Lala’s Pitcher”

Oil on Canvas, 6”x4”

Here it is, the good, bad & the ugly. I’ve been struggling with flowers for I don’t know how long. Happy with this one finally. :) I could keep painting on it, but I’m done.

Zinnias in December

 

“Zinnias in December”

4” x 6”, Oil on Linen

I used to plant zinnias in the community garden and they were always such a delight. 

Winter Sunning

“Winter Sunning”

Oil on Wood, 6”x6”

I’ve updated this painting done in 2020…Funny how fascinating birds can be.

SOLD

 

“Sweet Girl, Study”

Oil on Canvas, 8” x 6” 

Pair

“Pair”

Oil on Canvas, 6” x 8”

Little Lamb

 

“Little Lamb”

Oil on Board, 10” x 10”

Such a sweet thing.

Oregon U-Pick

 

“Oregon U-Pick”

Oil on Wood, 6” x 8”

My sister in law and I went on a beautiful summer day to Sauvie’s Island. There was so much to choose from. I’m not sure how long these guys can stay in business, it’s harder for them than it used to be.

Lemon and a Slice

 

“Lemon and a Slice”

Oil on Linen, 6” x 8”

My favorite topic!

 

Oregon Field

 

“Oregon Field”

Oil on Linen, 6” x 12”

First an underpainting then next day, the rest.

Bird in Water

“Bird in Water”

Oil on Canvas, 8” x 6”

Again, I would be grateful if someone would let me know what kind of bird this is!

Update: I touched up this image…basically cleaning it up and adding highlights. Final finishing touches can add so much to a painting, in clarity and impact.

 

Orchid on a Snowy Day

“Orchid on a Snowy Day”

Oil on Canvas, 8” x 8”

I managed to finish this in two sessions. I focused on the crazy leaf patterns accented by those wild “air roots.” Yes, I had to look that up.