Aaahh April, the month that keeps you guessing.

Aprils painting was made in August during the Adirondack Plein Air Festival in Saranac Lake.

There is this slow moving creek/river that I drive by at least a million times a year. One drives by and you turn your head the full 90 degrees just to look at the scene. At one point this fall I was heading home during a more than spectacular sunset and had to stop to take reference photos. But that is a story for another day.

"In the Flow"11x14 April Calendar Pic

I finally made a point to go and paint the view that wants me to drive off the road at least 5 times a week. Not an easy spot to paint. I had to set my easel up on a 45 degree angle bank. Wished I had the agility of a mountain goat to stay stable in such a precarious setup. It was a lovely day, sun on my back, cool air in my face. 

This particular day I was very sad - thinking of a good friend who passed away that week. I made it for him. I hope he is smiling wherever he is.

Currently this painting "In the Flow" is available at The Adirondack Artists' Guild in Saranac Lake.

Day Three: Sooo Cold

It was minus 17 Fahrenheit Saturday morning. But enough with the weather talk. It's the Adirondacks and it is what is. However… the March painting will allow me to think of warmer climes.

"Mexican Sky Dust" 9x12 March Calendar Pic

You have heard about this one: Mexican Sky Dust.  My husband and I have been fortunate enough to travel to Mexico during March, the notorious mud season at home. We escape to much warmer air, humidity, sunshine. All good things. This painting made plein air in the early hours of morning near the ocean is the fat luminous color that I love about pastel. So when you come across this one in a calendar of mostly northern paintings, remember it is a big world out there.

This painting is available unframed starting at $100. Contact me and it will go to the highest bidder. Good luck! Stay Warm.

That After Shot of the Kitchen and February Pin up

After shot. Note the snow outside. When I wrote this entry

After- Faucet Light Water Yeah!

Snow outside.

it was 0 degrees out at 5 pm. Plus winter storm warnings. Winter in the Adirondacks.  Looking to be shoveling on Sunday.

Heading to breakfast with Santa at the Adirondack Carousel this morning with my grandgirl Isabella. After breakfast it is back to work with my open house. Studio Hours 11- 5 today.

The February calendar painting:  "A Day Better Than This?"
This painting, 10x21, was made in June 2013 at the Saranac Lake Fish and Game Club. The day was a day with in and out clouds. There were about 50 or more artists here at this location for the Publishers Invitational of Plein Air magazine organized by Eric Rhoads.  My notion of plein air is I am not a camera. Though there where plenty of folks and easels out on that little ridge, I can choose not to have them in the painting. Like ignoring the power lines in other venues (Yes let's bury those.)

"A Day Better Than This?" 10x22 February Calendar Pic

"A Day Better Than This?"is available at the Adirondack Artists Guild in Saranac Lake or at my website: dianeleifheit.com.

The painting is framed with museum glass, a linen liner and a deep chestnut color frame.
Museum glass is an amazing piece of glazing, totally see through without glare. the beauty of the painting is there for all to see. Cost a pretty penny but so worth it.

One Hundred Forty Days – Finally have water!

We re-did our kitchen of 33 years this summer. Did most the work ourselves. Drove my surveyor husband crazy because this house must have been built as an afterthought – no thought to straight, square or level. Ah the joys of owning a home that is well over 100 years old and started as a barn.

Before shot after the walls came down and the insulation removed

One hundred forty days washing dishes in the bathroom sink, cooking outside on the porch.
OK, so I finally can wash dishes again. Yeah! Got a faucet and a sink. We had a Thanksgiving that couldn't be beat.
This project has been a bit pre-occupying to say the least…

But! That does not mean I have not been painting.

Or travelling.

Here is early before shot. A new shot tomorrow.

The 2014 calendar is here too! You can purchase it at my website: DianeLeifheit.com

Let me tell you about the first painting, the January pin-up.
This past summer while my husband was making a wall in the kitchen become plumb, I took off for a pastel workshop in France with Sally Strand. How to travel with pastels and figuring out how small I could make my package to bring with me overseas will come sometime in January.

"Haut Baran" 11x14 January Calendar Pic

The group stayed in this gorgeous place in Southwestern France near Duraval. The property is in a North South oriented valley.  This painting 'Haut Baran' is one of the recently hayed fields. Warm, yes, a good thing to think about on cold January days.

"Haut Baran " is an 11x14 plein air pastel. It is available for purchase at dianeleifheit.com or at my studio in Gabriels NY.

Twelve paintings. Twelve days til Christmas. Tomorrow: the February pinup.

Sky dust of Mexico

 A giant experiment, this. First, the iPad then try and write while I'm in Mexico. I did a sky impression. The more skies that I approach the more I realize that it is only the impression I can grab. Moves too fast. Watch. In theory that helps engage the idea. Then move quickly. Keep looking, trying to see then commit to the impression. Let the dust fall where it may.
There Mexican morning.
Next try to capture the charming yellow throated warbler that visits the patio.

Hold on! Get ready.

Wow! So who knew I would running twice as fast just to keep in the same place? Here it is half way through February and I am remiss in the blogesphere 'cause I haven't posted for a while.

What have I been doing with my time?

Oh. Oh yeah. Here is a nice item: That's the Spirit - above - was accepted into the National Northeast Pastel Exhibition at View in Old Forge, opening in May.  That's good for my head, plus two other pieces were accepted in two regional shows close to home. Ergh not scanned yet. Later OK?

Been doing all that homework setting up workshops.  http://deleifheit.fineartstudioonline.com/workshops

First one in May is sponsored by the Adirondack Pastel Society in Glens Falls. I am looking forward to working in Glens Falls. The city is just far enough away from the Northway that it has kept its 1900s flavor in architecture and green space yet close enough to Albany that it has the inevitable swath of box stores and Taco Bells just south of the older part of the city.

We will be heading to one of the parks to paint in — an all out two-day crash course painting plein air, outdoors with pastel.  The person to contact is Bev at:<bjsartworks@gmail.com>. Sign up early and often to make it go.

It is cold and snowy here in the Adirondacks. Thinking about painting outdoors in spring is almost too much at this point in winter. It will be here soon enough though, so do drop Bev a line so you can be ready when it gets here. Getting immersed in plein air in May means the whole season is stretched out in front of you. You will be ready to dive in.

Gotta go stoke the fire. We aren't there yet.

Taking the Red Queens Advice

"Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!" The Red Queen said to Alice.

Drawing is an end to itself.

Drawing is about seeing. No other visual art seems to sharpen ones ability to see and appreciate the world as much as drawing does. Drawing is also a foundation that for probably a good 50 years was dissed in art school programs. Not until the late 80s and early 90s did drawing begin to be part of foundation for visual art programs again. That's a good thing.

Ten years ago I had a year-long project involving drawing in the near dark of the regional theatre, Pendragon. For a year I had to look to see, know where my sketchbook was and be able to rely on my eye to tell my hand what it had to do. The results were fascinating to me. Some drawings were useable as is, others had lines that were eloquent but in such a rats nest they had to be extracted from the drawing to compose another drawing. I still find myself drawing without looking whether in life sessions or plein air landscape.

I gave a workshop, "Seeing in a New/Old Way – Language of Drawing" which left both the participants and myself exhausted. I approached the content for the sessions by making each day a surprise and challenge to some preconceived ideas about what drawing is and is not.

What was I doing that made drawing such a challenge for my participants? I worked to get them see without looking. Pencil on paper. Eyes on object. Draw. No looking at the paper. No lifting of the pencil. No peeking. Different mediums were used over the week: pencil, charcoal, compressed charcoal, charcoal pencil, ink and brush - even eraser. Inspiration for some of the exercises came from England, a book, "Drawing Projects". Other daily projects were from past drawing workshops that prove to be good wake up exercises for someone exploring drawing.

Assigning various "blind drawing" exercises kept knocking on the doors of awareness in each participants head, making them reach past the logical way of "looking" at things to discover actually seeing what they were looking at. It was exciting to see the progress in the weeks time. Yet, every day there was a lapse in seeing, a reverting to looking that needed another wake up kickstart to get back to seeing again.

What that means to me (I'm no scientist so bear with me) is seeing, drawing needs to happen on a daily basis in order to stay in one place, let alone move forward in ones work. Since drawing is the basis for painting - at least for me - making it a point to to draw/see every day is the way to move forward in my work.

I take the Red Queens advice with regards to drawing - I draw as often as I can. Even with that effort, it always surprises me what I miss when I have not made the point to see what I am drawing. So it is resolved; draw twice as much in order to see everything that is missed by only looking. "… to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast …" That's my take on the Red Queen.

Back to the studio.