Pine Forest painting

I just recently joined the Pawtucket Arts Collaborative, a wonderful group in the Rhode Island area that puts a lot of emphasis on promoting arts and community. The shows for PAC are always exhibited at the Blackstone Valley Visitor's Center in downtown Pawtucket, and the work I have seen there is always inspiring. One of my Prov-ocations friends, Liz Talbot is a member as well. So I am exited to be a part of another show that PAC is organizing for this winter.

Pine Forest  10" x 10" acrylic

The Pawtucket Arts Collaborative 10x10x10 show is their yearly (large) art sale. Each member is allowed to submit up to three works of art, all 10" x 10" and all sold for $150. I am new to PAC but I have heard that this event is very popular, as not only are there emerging artists such as myself, but some more well-known creatives also participate. Getting any painting of this size for $150 is worthwhile, and in the case of some of the bigger names is a downright steal.

Base of the painting, with saturated color and roughed-out shapes

Anywhoo - my first painting for the sale is Pine Forest, acrylic on museum wrapped canvas. Just last weekend I went with my husband to Purgatory Chasm in Sutton, MA to take some pictures. As stated on the state website:

"A unique natural landmark, Purgatory Chasm runs for a quarter of a mile between granite walls rising as high as 70 feet. Popular with picnickers and rock-climbers alike, the Chasm is believed to have its origin in the sudden release of dammed-up glacial meltwater near the end of the last Ice Age, approximately 14,000 years ago."

I took about a million photos (which I will be painting for sure) but this scene from above the Chasm in a stand of pines was beautiful, with the gold of birch behind that pine trees, and pine needles carpeting the ground.

Painting with some detail added to trees and rocks

I gave the underpainting in this piece some saturated color - I used an all out red on the ground and a deep blue for the rocks. The photo seemed to lack the intensity of the colors as I remembered them, so I used my imagination and memory of that day. I also wanted to emphasize the diagonal angle of the ground and the strong triangular shape that resulted from the contrasting colors.

The completed painting has much more detail and texture

This is the first of my three paintings that I will be blogging for the PAC 10x10x10 show. The exhibit runs November 1st to January 7th, and the reception and sale begins November 11th. Check out the event website for more information, and consider art for your holiday gifts this year!

Enjoy!