I just discovered a new type of frame - called a floater frame. Instead of mounting a painting through the back of the frame, which hides the painting edges, you "float" the painting on a solid board and the edges show. This is very effective with small paintings, and gives them a lot of presence on a wall. I was able to secure this frame at a great price, so I am happy to pass along those savings. "Tennessee Valley" is a oil painting that measures just 6 x 6 inches, and is on sale for only $150 at Moss & Moss, in Mill Valley, California.
3 Comments
I came to touch the time-worn railings and floor, to smell the turpentine, to flick the brushes and stare at the jars of pigments -- to walk and shop in the same art supply store as Cezanne and Picasso. This is Sennelier, housed on the Left Bank of the River Seine in Paris, directly across from the Louvre museum.
My recent trip to France provided lots of visual inspiration - the flowers at Giverny, the countryside of Normandy, the seaside towns of Deauville, Trouville, Honfleur and Entretat. Everywhere I went, the beloved Impressionist artists had been before. But visiting Sennelier, a family-owned business since 1887 - that was retail heaven! MOSS & MOSS is a great "antiques & etcetera" shop in my hometown of Mill Valley, California, owned by a delightful couple with great talents. Larry plays the grand piano and Marjorie creates beautiful vignettes to display the merchandise. One Friday a month they have a jazz and wine reception, and it's a popular place to stop by on the way to dinner in any one of the great restaurants in town. I am very delighted that they have chosen to carry my paintings and prints. It's a treat for me to see how they are displayed, and very exciting to get the phone call saying, "Linda, we sold another one!" Visit MOSS & MOSS at 1 El Paseo, just off Sunnyside Avenue. We spend a lot of time in the heart of our homes, gathering with family and friends and creating good food and memories. Kitchens are a natural place for art - and not just the masterpieces taped to the refrigerator! Still life paintings of fruit and vegetables are natural subjects for art in the kitchen, but have you ever considered a landscape? This beautiful gourmet kitchen in Washington state is the new home for my recent oil study of Mt. Tamalpais. The owner chose a warm cherry frame to complement the cabinetry, and the cool gray-blue color palette of the painting picks up tones in the slate backsplash and the skies of the Pacific Northwest. When I spied these geraniums on my friend's back deck, I knew I had to paint them. It's a good size painting - 22" x 28" - that is dry and ready for a new home, so tonight I sent out an e-mail to my list announcing my first "Painting of the Month." Another idea I'm giving a try: a store on my Facebook page for smaller, unframed paintings. As many of you know, my professional career has been in marketing communications. Now, I am working hard to divide my time between consulting for clients and painting. And on some days, like today, I am my own client! Going back to the same spot to paint in different weather or different times of the day is a great exercise in painting what I see -- not what I know, or what I think I see. One dry afternoon, Mt. Tam looked clear and the grasses along the creek were hot orange. The result is a very warm painting. On another day, the air had quite a bit of moisture and the mountain had a vague mist around it. The grasses were more uniformly green, and the water seemed more blue. It was a warm day, but the painting is cool. I've been doing these smaller paintings outdoors ("en plein air" as termed by the Impressionists) as studies for a larger one. The same paint colors were on my palette each time, but the results are so different, I am tempted to go back to the scene again this week with fresh eyes and see what happens! What do you think? A group of painter friends and I went out this week on a rare hot summer day in Mill Valley to paint in the cool, shady Old Mill Park, locally called "Dark Park." WOW what a challenge. I brought my painting home and put it on a shelf to dry. Later that evening, I caught a glimpse and was shocked at how awful it looked. So I took out a palette knife and scraped every bit of paint off, leaving just a ghost of the composition. The next day, my friend and houseguest Jessica came to town from Montana and was anxious to stretch her car-weary legs on a hike. She started off in the park, and I went back to my same painting location with my easel to try, try again. The shadows of the redwoods and the dappled summer light filtering through on the creek bed were so beautiful. What you don't see in this painting is the steady parade of beautiful toddlers wading in the cool water...that's another challenge for another day! It's the time of year when my little town of Mill Valley is bustling. Starting with the Memorial Day parade, and then the 101st running of the Dipsea Foot race and moving on to the 30th annual Wine, Food and Gourmet Festival. To celebrate, I'm giving away a beautifully matted print of my painting, "Mill Valley Depot." To be eligible, (1) click on the Facebook "like" button below this post, and (2) leave a comment saying what you love most about Mill Valley. Thanks, and good luck! Several of my flower paintings have just been curated in to Turning Art, a new type of gallery that lets you "borrow" fine prints of artwork and build up credits to buy original art. The site is designed to help people choose art for their homes. Turning Art sends out a frame and the subscriber builds up a queue of images they like, and prints are sent out. Turning Art is definitely worth a look -- there is a lot of diverse and interesting art being made! Just got the call that another Mount Tamalpais, Richardson Bay print sold! I am so grateful for the response to this limited edition print of my painting. This giclee is 10 x 20, printed on dense watercolor paper, surrounded with an 8 ply thick mat and framed in a 14 X 24 wood frame. It is now hanging in homes throughout Marin County and in Colorado, Ohio and Virginia. There are 7 framed prints remaining in this final, signed edition. |
About the artistLinda Rosso is a California artist who delights in the colors she sees out of the corners of her eyes. Read more... Get my blog via email:Please sign up for the Linda Rosso Studio email list -- you'll get occasional emails about shows, special offers, events and artist postcards you can hang on your refrigerator.
Archives
June 2015
Categories
All
|