Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Shelter


Shelter, acrylic on linen panel, 12x12
Earlier this summer, as I let our dog Willie out for his last pit stop each night, I was delighted to see small birds sleeping in the corners of the porch.  They'd turn their heads, look at me, and tuck themselves back into their corners.   Once, around midnight, the moon had tucked itself into a corner, too.  I made several sketches (below) before painting.  Our street has street lights--rather than shoot them out, I guessed at how the scene might look on a dark cool night, and added the house at the top of the street (actually it's my impression of the house--can't see it from my porch).  I can tell by the light (which needs to be dimmed along with my signature) that my neighbor's home--upstairs, probably at the computer.

1st sketch

2nd sketch

Interesting that I see these columns at least ten times a day and don't know their curves until I paint them.  This is probably the fourth time these columns have appeared in my paintings; one day, I might get past my front porch and paint other streets or towns.
I just re-read The Writing Life by Annie Dillard.  She is so right--the artist or writer begins with a vision; time and materials hound the work; the vision recedes.  At the end, you have a replacement of the vision--a page.  
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35 comments:

  1. Lovely painting. You captured the curves perfectly.

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  2. wow...what a painting! It is full of mystery---! I especially love the final drawing, that could (and should) go in a frame itself! The scene has such depth.... I could look at this painting for hours!

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  3. Very well done. I have one of your birds if you would like to have, he did not make it and is still well preserved. Annie Dillard from Hollins College, Pilgram At Tinker Creek, a good one. Used to go there when I was at Tech.

    Everette t. McGill

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  4. This corner is so inviting! the details of the column are romantic, and the mood is incredible. I think you really have to know your space well in order to re-create such an alluring, mysterious evening.

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  5. I love this painting. Love it! I love the atmosphere, the deep blues, the light/dark contrast. I love birds, so the focus of the piece is close to my heart too. I think this is one of your best.

    Interesting to see your excellent study sketches, and how you played with the composition - I like how you arranged the final painting.

    (Do you know what kind of birds they are?)

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  6. This painting and its sketches have such a wonderful sense of place. Which just goes to show that painting yourself out of a corner is not always the right direction. You've proved that there's no place like home.

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  7. Carole, thank you. Painting curves may be harder than sculpting curves.



    Celeste. I want to paint like you--a great painting every day (maybe in my next lifetime). Thank you for the comment.

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  8. Everette (Anonymous). I appreciated your offer but, since my bird is in shadow and details can't be seen, I didn't feel I needed an actual dead bird. Is he still in your car? Pilgrim at Tinker Creek is a good one, too--I left my copy in MD.

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  9. Hi Robin. Last month the nude April was sitting on this front porch. I've only had a porch for the past 10 years--don't know what attracts me; maybe being outside, yet sheltered. Thank you.

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  10. Dan--thank you, thank you. I believe these are wrens, whose tails stick straight up in the air when they're hopping around on the ground. I'm seen them checking out the ledge around dinnertime. At night, they're just dark blobs--tails down for balance.

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  11. SamArtDog--what a nice thing to say. Now that you mention it, I am a corner person. At a party I pick a corner spot and stay there for the evening. (I just realized that this is probably another self-portrait.) For me there is no place like home--I'm not a traveler.

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  12. Hi Hallie, Maybe you'll get this comment. You are REALLY good at drawing or sketchin'. love those columns and the bird.
    Terry did a fab job capturing you on paper. You should buy it for your hubby!

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  13. Thanks Sue. I think your comments are coming in loud and clear now. I did buy the drawing from Terry--for myself; I liked it. She prefers live models but she can do them from photos, too. (I'm almost alive.)

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  14. This is absolutely stunning, a wonderful painting full of 'heart' and mystery, and love the story you tell. Also your sketching is fantastic, and I agree with Celeste, it deserves a place in a frame.

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  15. This is another beautiful painting of yours Hallie. I love the perspective and the sense of here and there. You have the life occurring on your front porch and we are left to wonder about the life occurring in the home with the light.
    Mostly I love how you always manage to juxtapose an uncluttered scene with multi layered meaning.
    Might I also say that your porch post paintings constitute a series? Cough, cough, cough....

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  16. Thank you Jane. I felt the "heart" part--it melted everytime I saw the tucked-in birds-- but didn't really think of mystery, just tried to portray nighttime. I have dimmed the light and signature, and rounded out the moon since I posted this photo, so I'm calling this one finished.

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  17. Hi Pam. Hmm--uncluttered. You're right; my paintings are usually uncluttered; hadn't thought about that. I suspect I don't see clutter (like the 10 dog toys that are lying around on the tiny porch). I do suspect that the porch columns frame my view of the outside--I find myself shifting and squinting, centering houses and trees and moons between the columns.

    This is probably as close as I'll ever get to a series--it began 10 years ago with a Christmas card to raise money for the local SPCA. I put Elvisphound on the glider on the porch (& there was a moon in almost the same spot--I had forgotten). I visited Elvis Sunday; he survived the gun shot from several years ago, but now has cancer. He has aged but had a good life with his friend Barney the Beagle--running in the country; thanks to his adoptive parents.

    I hear your cough--or is that a sniggle?

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  18. Not so much a sniggle as a smile perhaps. I think you do work in series (cough, smile) but in an intuitive way. It's not planned, it's more that you are so in tune with your inner dialogue that you tend to explore themes.

    Not that I know anything about series!

    And that's just my opinion from the peanut gallery. It's a compliment of the highest regard. (Smile.)

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  19. Pam, you're right that it's not planned. I didn't think of the other porch paintings until I posted this one, then I was reminded of Rain Bonnet. You, on the other hand, are perspicacious (one of my words-of-the-day) and would probably get kicked out of the peanut gallery. Thanks.

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  20. I like the way the way the strong and beautiful column provides such a safe place for the little bird. You did a good job of imagining the dark. The light in the distant window reminds me of Edward Hopper's works. I always like that the viewer can put a story with what is suggested, not seen. Please don't go beyond your porch and neighborhood.

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  21. Thank you Mary. You mean I can't go globe-hopping like you? Your workshop in France was exciting to follow. (I need to find one where you paint every-other day and class doesn't begin until after lunch.)

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  22. Hallie, this is so gorgeous! I love night scenes and houses with lights on make it a home. Beautiful colors and haven't I commented on the curves in your porch columns before? Beautiful beautiful beautiful!

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  23. CrimsonLeaves--nice photo id. You did comment on the curves before--I think I change them in each painting. When my brush misses--that's a curve! Thank you

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  24. Hallie I can feel the quiet of the night in this painting--and peace. The light in the neighbor's upstairs window adds intrigue. Very lovely work. I like painting pillars and brackets and mouldings; you're right, your brush slips and what's another curve?

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  25. Thank you Linda. I think the columns or pillars are being supported by all the layers and drips of paint over the last hundred years; I like the texture, and spiders love them. My street is very quiet--day and night.

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  26. Hi Hallie... I thought I'd commented on this last week, but realize that I must have once again moved on before confirming that my comment was sent. Oopsy... Anyway... I really like the melancholy mood of this painting. There's a sense of aloneness that tugs at my heartstrings. I also like both of your sketches. That strike of lightning intrigues me.

    -Don

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  27. Thank you Don. I like the word "aloneness." The bird actually had a buddy in the other corner. I am a lightening watcher; I stand on the front porch but I'm careful not to sit on the metal chairs--we have beautiful thunderstorms here.

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  28. I love this painting and I marvel at your imgination. So may times we live with the perfct subject right before our eyes and never really see it until the time is right. It's obvious the right time arrived for you!

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  29. Thanks Eva. I tend to walk around squinting all the time. I do enjoy my house and yard and all the junk I've dragged home from the lake side and from thrift shops--I'll run out of time before I run out of subjects to paint.

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  30. I'm tuned in to see what's on your big easel next!

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  31. Love your blog..you must be an interesting person...your work has character

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  32. Hi Page and thank you. I think of myself as rather dull--art makes my life interesting.

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  33. The preparations for the painting are as lovely as drawings as is the painting. The house up the street is a nice touch. I think it makes the bird's alone-ness in a human-made environment all the more apparent.

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  34. Hi Lifeartist. Your comment makes me wonder is his ancestors roosted in a tree on this spot long before the house was built--genetic memory.

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