Sep 4, 2012

Summer Newsletter, 2012

Mobile Studio

 NEWS 


Visitors to the gallery will notice the new arch over the entrance with casts from Michelangelo's "David" at the keystones: the eye looks out, observing and the lips face the studio, communicating. 


A SAMPLING FROM THE EASEL 

Marsh, 11" x 14", oil/canvas - Hillary Osborn 

 A foggy afternoon on the marsh. I painted this one with a palette knife. -H.O.




My steering wheel easel. (To date: no ban on painting while driving) - D.R.




Sitting in the car waiting for the rain. - D.R.




Skiff, Megansett Beach, 12" x 18", oil/canvas - Doug Rugh 

Alla Prima Painting
You have got to paint as quick as the tide recedes hence the "all at once" method. -D.R.



Mist, Old Silver Beach 6" x 8", oil/canvas - Hillary Osborn 

I love delicate colors on a gray day. - H.O.

Big studio paintings surround you physically and place you right into the illusion but these little paintings have their own charm. -D.R. 



Cape Cod Summer, oil/canvas, 40" x 40", (detail above) - Doug Rugh 

Classical painting depends on a dark background as a foil to the light. The idea here was to keep everything pale. This is about the simple peaceful part of summer. -D.R.



Hillary leans into a painting (en plein air, as they say). 



Bourne Farm, oil/canvas, 16" x 20" - Hillary Osborn

People often want a painting of Bourne Farm to commemorate a wedding. It's a tricky place to get the important elements all together in a composition. This is a nice representation of the place. - D.R.





Chickens, oil/panel, 9" x 12", - Doug Rugh 

I did this at Connamessett farm. Every chicken is a composite of several chickens. They just move so fast. Moving bodies are the most challenging things to paint but the most satisfying when it works. -D.R.



 Highfield Hall Interiors - Series


Kitchen at Highfield, 14" x 11", oil/canvas - Doug Rugh


 Silk Flowers at Highfield, 14" x 11", Doug Rugh 

Over the winter I had a chance to work on interiors at Highfield Hall. I plan to have a show of these paintings in 2013. During the second session on these flowers I thought, "They've hardly changed". I found out they were made of silk. -D.R.




Kayaks, 9" x 12", oil/panel - Doug Rugh

A clam bake was being started across the water. I quickly painted these kayaks before the summer camp kids came back to claim them. As I worked, a wonderful fog set in and filled the background. -D.R.



Marsh at Old Dam Road, 12" x 18", oil/canvas - Hillary Osborn 

This proves that pigment can annimate -- you feel the movement in the water. -D.R..



"Guidance", 60" x 48" - Doug Rugh

Life Size Double Portrait My inspiration was 19th c. idealistic studio paintings. I pay homage to them with the title: "Guidance" where it's more theater than naturalism. -D.R.



Rambling Roses, 9" x 12", oil/panel - Doug Rugh 

These roses were "invented" in Woods Hole. They are so colorful I wanted to put them in front of the sky so you lose yourself with only a hint of terra firma in the lower right. -D.R.




Oil/paper (swallow if compromised)

COVERT OPS DIVISION MISSION: Covertly Aquired Portraits
OPERATIVE: Doug Rugh
THEATRE: Coffee Obsession
TRADECRAFT: Oil paint kit disquised as a laptop
RANSOM DROP: Under the cupola
Full Briefing Link

I have a paint box that is disquised as a laptop (complete with an Apple sticker) so that I can paint people next to me in coffee shops without their knowledge. It must be somewhat effective because people have asked how I like the new Apple or if it is some kind of app that I'm using (even with brushes in my hand). It's the best way to get natural poses in real life situations. -D.R.


Shore in the Fog, 15" x 30", oil/canvas - Hillary Osborn

There has been a lot of interest in this painting. So evocative. -D.R.



A Favorite Spot, 6" x 8", oil/canvas - Hillary Osborn 

There is very little here but the location is unmistakable. -D.R.



Roses and Rocks, Old Dock Road, 12" x 18", oil/canvas - Doug Rugh 

The tree at the right was uprooted during the hurricane and kept on growing. Someone passing by said, "You should be painting the tree!". Well, I did. -D.R.



Chocolates, 7" x 5", oil/panel - Doug Rugh 

I love small oil paintings with rich colors. Satisfying without the calories. Except I did eat the chocolates when I finished. -D.R.










 Papaya and Pasteries, " 24x36 ", oil/canvas - Hillary Osborn 

This was a still-life set up for my students earlier this year. After they finished their class I felt the strong impulse to indulge myself and paint it also. - H.O.

 A painting for morning people. -D.R.



Our favorite lemonade/flowers/ice pops stand in Woods Hole.




A Hazy Gray Morning, 6" x 8", oil/canvas - Hillary Osborn 

 On Cape Cod you realily notice the layers. A small slice of the coast. -D.R.



Heading to Woods Hole (unfinished) 18" x 24", oil/canvas - Hillary Osborn

Growing up summers in Woods Hole I loved coming down this hill on my bike with the expanse opening up in front. Like you could fly through the Hole. I wrote about biking in the summer (among other things) in the Artist's Conundrum available as an eBook at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. -D.R.


 Summer Shadows, 14" x 18", oil/canvas - Hillary Osborn

Every street in Woods Hole has a unique characteristic. The sharp bend in the road here and the strong afternoon light on the houses define this as School Street before eel pond. - H.O.



Nobska, 12"x 18", Barlow's Beach, 11" x 14", School Street, 16" x 20", oil/canvas - Hillary Osborn 

We try to keep things interesting. Notice the variety in these compositions. -D.R.



Schooner, Pocasset River, 7" x 5", oil/panel - Doug Rugh

Half way through this little painting I realized that the man fishing in front of me hadn't moved from his position on the bucket the whole time - a missed opportunity for a great subject. But, I'm pleased with this quick impression. The man was a retired iron-worker. He says, "I hope you get a lotta money for those - that's beautiful!" Nice man. -D.R. 

I am always impressed with the way Doug handles fine lines. There is an elegance to his mark making. - H.O.



Field Flowers, 8" x 10", oil/canvas - Hillary Osborn 

Spending a morning at Coonamessett Farm offers a new variety of subject matter for me. Like kids in a classroom, the flowers raised their arms calling out for me to paint them. "Pick me!, Pick me!". - H.O.


 
Daisy's and Lemons, 14" x 18", oil/canvas - Hillary Osborn 

I reworked this painting to allow more brushwork in the final layer.- H.O.

I enjoy coming into the studio in the morning to see how Hillary has toyed with her paintings. Here it's the broken color. -D.R.




Morning at Chapaquoit, 12" x 18", oil/canvas - Hillary Osborn 

This morning there was a beautiful summer yellow haze in the sky. Just as I finished my daughters appeared in the dune. I was off to spend the day with them. A perfect way to start the day. - H.O.



Stripes, 14" x 11", oil/canvas - Doug Rugh 

I like to do carefully rendered still lifes because as an artist I enjoy studying visual effects. Sometimes, like this one, the pleasure is in keeping the paint fluid. -D.R.




White Roses, 14" x 18", oil/canvas - Hillary Osborn 

A limited palette often opens up a whole new world of color combinations. - H.O.

A deceptively simple piece with room for the eye to wander. -D.R.