Lettuce Make You Smile
Brooktondale, New York
Up on a country road in Brooktondale, only a few minutes away from Ithaca, New York, our neighbors Mary Alice and Jonathan have this great garden with superior varieties of lettuce and so much more. We found some time to get outside and take in a new perspective. I think about painting outdoors, and I actually found this place many years ago when I was still a student at Cornell University. I roamed the countryside looking for a view where I could set up my easel. Up at the top of the hill, the birds called, and the butterflies were all around. Fireflies come out around dusk, it is so peaceful here, just what you need!
Iris "Sultan"
watercolor by Alan Singer
Earlier, I stopped by at The Mill Art Center in Honeoye Falls to leave a few paintings for their new show featuring many local artists who like to paint outside. I might just set up in my back yard and paint the flowers, particularly the Iris that bloom around now. At the Mill Art Center there are many artists showing their skill at painting on site and the show opens on July 9th, so stop in to see the plethora of artwork.
I took a few photos to give you a taste of what is in store.
Plein Air paintings
at The Mill Art Center
opens July 9th, 2015
Years ago, when I was a student - there weren't as many people who were attracted to painting direct from life, outdoors. I learned about this branch of art from my father, and from some of the best artists at work, including Fairfield Porter, Edwin Dickinson, Paul Resika, and Wolf Kahn. When I was much younger I would spend entire summers working outside, so I have a healthy respect for this kind of painting.
Cathy Chin
Plein Air paintings at
The Mill Art Center
In this new show at The Mill Art Center, I was attracted to the color notes by Cathy Chin, and other works by Phil Bliss and Jim Mott, artists whose work I am familiar with. There are also many other new names, and always some surprises, so take some time to drive over to Honeoye Falls, New York.
Once you are in Honeoye Falls, if you drive down Lehigh Street, stop in to see the summer show at Ock Hee's Gallery and view the art of Dejan and Lanna Pejovic. This show has some similarities with the exhibition that this brother and sister held at The Geisel Gallery earlier in the year. There are some new works not in the Geisel Gallery show, and this is well worth the stop.
Dejan and Lanna Pejovic
at Ock Hee's Gallery
2 Lehigh Street
Honeoye Falls, New York
Lanna and Dejan practice a kind of mix of representational and abstract art that boils things down to particular forms, which make you aware of space, shape and texture. Vaulted branches of a forest or the inside of a cathedral may come to mind. The same peaceful feeling of being outdoors is conveyed in this art which deserves a wider audience, so go check it out.
