"Road by the Fallow Field" 28" x 22" Oil on stretched canvas.
©2012 by Kim VanDerHoek (You may not reproduce this painting in any way without my permission.)
The weeks have flown by since my last post. My life is a roller coaster filled with running kids to and from summer activities, teaching, painting, dropping paintings off and picking them up again, cleaning, cleaning, cleaning and did I mention cleaning? In all the madness I've also been working on putting together 16 painting for my first ever solo exhibit at Copperwood Artware Gallery called "A Brush With Color."
Over a year ago one of gallery owners called to tell me about this opportunity so that I could begin preparing as soon as possible. After the initial jumping up and down in excitement (yes, I'm geeky that way) we got down to the details. She asked that I paint a variety of sizes and subjects and to include several large scale paintings. Most of my landscapes were smaller works because that is what I could complete when painting on location. I immediately began putting my smaller more successful paintings aside so that I could work them into larger versions.
Now that the show is just around the corner (September 15th) I look back over the work that I created and realize that this process helped me to grow in my skills as a painter in ways that painting plein air and working on my own wasn't doing.
With the Daily Painters Movement the focus on the Internet has been about cranking out lots of small affordable paintings and listing them for sale on a daily basis. There are several artists who have become very successful at doing this and in the economic climate we are in it's a smart sales tactic however, the flip side is that a lot of work gets sold and shipped out of the studio before the artists have a chance to truly learn from each piece.
Living with a painting for a year gave me the opportunity to continue working on it during that time. One particularly challenging piece kept me coming back to it over and over again for months. I would paint one section then the next area would fall apart, I would work on that area then another would require more work. Just when I thought I was finished I'd see it out of the corner of my eye a month later and decide it needed more attention. What I realize now is that I was growing as a painter during the months it took to complete that painting and each time I would see an area that needed more attention it was because my brain had finally figured out how to make it work.
The process of getting ready for this show has been a great experience. I've gotten a lot of insight into why I paint, what I want to work on in the coming year and new areas I'd like to explore.
If you are in the area I hope you will join me for a glass of wine at the show and come see all my hard work!
"A Brush With Color"
Opening reception: Saturday, September 15th 6:00-9:00 p.m.
The show will be up September 15 - October 14, 2012
Copperwood Artware Gallery
148A N. Glassell St.
Orange, CA 92866
Hours: Tues. - Thurs. 10:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Fri. 11:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Sat. - Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
