Day 22 at Peters Valley

Conte Drawing from my Studio Window

Black Pen Drawing from my Studio Window

Oil Pastel Drawing from my Studio Window

Oil Pastel Drawing from my Studio Window

Oil Painting from my Studio Window

Artists end up collecting and saving a lot of "stuff". Some which is worthwhile and others that are useless. I never throw out mat board pieces and I held onto a bunch for a few years that I hadn't used. Thinking I might do something with them during my residency, I brought them up to Peters Valley. The above studies are about one-hour drawings / paintings using different media to explore the landscape from my studio window. These may or may not end up in finished paintings in the future. Each one was completed at different times of day but all with mostly the same point of view.

Madonna and Child in Progress (temporary title), Oil on Stretched Linen, 18" x 24" © Jennie Traill Schaeffer

The painting above was started before I arrived at PV, and thought I would try to finish it. It has proven to be a challenging piece because I'm still pushing my technique and found the color combinations not working. Since this photo was taken earlier yesterday, I've almost completed it. I chose to remove what were initially halos for a more abstract way of utilizing the gold to emphasize the spiritual nature of the objects and also breakup the monotony of the negative space behind the percolators.

Can't wait for you to see it! I'll be starting my last big painting while at Peters Valley. I only have five more true working days.

Dad's Fender

Study for Elegant, Refurbished Maker of Music, 4" x 4", Watersoluble Graphite on Arches, © 2007 Jennie Traill Schaeffer

I completed the study above for the painting below at the end of June as one of my Coffee Hour Drawings. The painting was given to my dad for a very belated Father's Day gift last weekend. My dad is an avid guitar player, was in a band in college, and now plays for several hours each night. He plays both acoustic and electric -- Beatles, Steely Dan among others. The guitar featured in the sketch was his '65 Fender Stratacaster which was damaged in a fire during the '70s. As a kid my dad played nightly and my sister and I used to sit in the guitar case while listening to Yellow Submarine. As we got older, he gave up the guitar for awhile. At some point he regained interest, took out the Fender and found someone to restore it. He's played it ever since until recently selling it. You can see it at Guitar Villa online though it was recently sold.

Elegant, Refurbished Maker of Music, Oil on Panel, 8" x 8", © 2007 Jennie Traill Schaeffer

He was intending to replace the '65 Strat with a newer model, but I think that's on hold for the moment. So I gave him the finished painting on Saturday and he was enamored; saying that now he wished he hadn't sold it. The other remark was "where is the rest of the guitar"! Maybe he'll get bits and pieces in the future.

Canonization of a Wedding Cake

Study for Enthroned Wedding Cake, 6" x 8", Oil Pastel on Arches, © 2007

$129 mounted | $149 matted

Email Jennie to Order

I've finally started working on a full scale version of my wedding cake today. If you saw my sketches from Italy I made a very quick study of an Antonello da Messina painting that struck me because of the seemingly contemporary approach to its composition. I had intended to use it as a basis for a future painting and 4 months later, here it is.

While leafing through my art history books to find some reference materials for students I came across a painting by van der Weyden entitled The Crucifixion, with the Virgin and Saint John the Evangelist Mourning. Both paintings, painted during the Renaissance, seem to employ a theatrical, modernistic space that I was extraordinarily drawn to. The title for my study is in keeping with the Messina and van der Weyden paintings, as well as my "Sainted Appliances". The idolized wedding cake is now in its proper setting.

Summering in the Hamptons

Rosen Pool, 9.5" x 6.5", Watercolor Sketch, ©2007 Jennie Traill Schaeffer

The Hamptons are truly an ideal sort of fantasy land. I had never been, but my husband Lee and I had the opportunity this past weekend. We drove out to Long Island on Thursday evening to leave all our troubles behind and do nothing but relax. And that we did.

This sketch hopefully conveys the utter serenity of the place. It was a beautiful weekend, warm and sunny. We stayed at my sister-in-law's in-law's home where we had open access to the pool above, tennis courts, a hot tub, and the beach within driving distance.

The Hamptons has long been a respite for artists as the locale was at one point much more rural and less inundated by development and of course more reasonable properties. Jackson Pollock did his greatest works on the Island and living artist, Peter Beard maintains a residence on Montauk. I can see why, however the Hamptons of today are not within reach of an emerging artist unless through some generous friend or family. I am very fortunate to have spent this weekend away and hope to return sometime as a guest.

White's Pond in Kittatinny, 5" x 7", Watercolor Sketchbook Study

There's nothing quite like painting or drawing en plein air (outdoors). You might be most familiar with the Impressionists who made it their vocation to paint the outdoors out of doors. I am mostly a studio painter, working from still life and photo reference, but I love to paint outside when I have the opportunity. Monday morning I taught a private class in the Kittatinny Valley State Park in Andover, NJ. The above study is of White's Pond, just off Route 206 north of Andover Borough. It's a beautiful pond filled with waterlilies; the same waterlilies depicted in my "Enlightened Tiles" painted last August.

Olive Orchard at Castello di Verrazzano

Olive Orchard at Castello di Verrazzano, Watersoluble Graphite on Arches, 6" x 3", © 2007 Jennie Traill Schaeffer

This was my last Coffee Hour Drawing completed on Thursday of last week. This is one of my favorite pencil drawings to date. I made an effort to keep the drawing somewhat looser and more abstract, letting the white of the paper show through. I have such an easier time with this when the subject is just a landscape. Once you throw buildings into the mix I insist on getting more detailed, even though that may not be what I'm aiming for. That's why artists keep going; to improve, grow, strive towards whatever their vision may be. Stay tuned for upcoming works that progress toward my vision of a blending of abstract-expressionism and realism.

New Coffee Hour Drawing

This is my latest coffee hour drawing from which I began a painting today. The drawing is a view of a vineyard from Il Castello di Verrazzano. The lighting is truly spectacular in Chianti and the drawing depicts the strong contrasts and rolling hills. Just wait until you see the color in the painting! Though not owned by Il Castello di Verrazzano, it was a remarkable view from the winery.

Il Castello di Verrazzano was originally owned by the Verrazzano family of Italy. Giovanni da Verrazzano, owner of the vineyard, was the first European to enter the Bay of New York, hence the Verrazano Bridge named for him. As I discovered, the Verrazano Bridge is missing a "z" because it was named for the 15th century spelling of Verrazzano. According to the guide who took us on a tour of the winery, New York City gave the castle stones that were used in the building of the bridge and are now displayed outside the house.

We spent several hours touring the grounds and then eating an eight course meal with a sampling of all of their wines, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil.

Coffee Hour Drawing

I'm not certain of the church depicted in this drawing. Lee and I were walking along the Arno River headed west, in parts of Florence I had never been before. As we got out of the busy city center, the area along the Arno becomes much more residential and park like. At this point in the river there is a dam, depicted in the drawing. I draw and paint Italy because of my strong memories for the place, it's wonderful light and color, and textural surfaces. There is serenity there for me. I completed this drawing on Friday. There is no title yet.

Coffee Hour Drawing

Completed yesterday, this is yet another subject matter to be included in the twelve, 6" x 12" canvases I will be painting for next month's shows. This is a water soluble graphite pencil drawing of a display of gelato. I found this gelateria on the Ponte Vecchio and was astounded by the way the gelato is sculpted into a form. They almost appear to be fish heads with pouty lips. It's actually ice cream.

This photo of the drawing is not 100% accurate in its color. I use a 3.1 mega pixel digital camera to photograph a lot of my stuff for the blog, but I've never had great success with color matching and lighting in my studio with that camera. This is something an emerging artist must learn as digital media is overtaking the profession. The actual drawing is on a creamy white Arches paper, with darker pencil tones - this photo is too yellowy.

Coffee Hour Drawing

Completed yesterday, this drawing is a small study for the 1st of a series of 12" x 6" gallery wrap canvases. I ordered the canvas early this week and am awaiting its arrival any day. Gallery wrap canvas is designed in such a way that the canvas is neatly folded and hidden in the back of the stretcher. It's a very clean, contemporary finish that does not need a frame, with 1 1/2" deep stretchers that can be painted.

Next month I am participating in two juried outdoor art fairs: Hoboken Art & Music Festival and the Bethlehem Fine Arts & Craft Fair. I did a few outdoor fairs last year without much success. They were great promotional venues, but did not generate huge profits. Last year I bought a tent so I decided to attempt another couple of fairs, higher end and hopefully more selective. The art fair scene is odd, each show very different in scope and each town also very different in its clientele. I don't plan on spending all year at art shows such as this, but hopefully I can find a few to fill in my gallery sales and get the opportunity to meet the clients personally which I always enjoy.

I plan in the next couple of weeks to paint 12 canvases with moments of Italy that I either photographed or remained in my mind. I have seen other artists successful at such shows because the works are smaller, the client can frame it how they wish or not, and they are a more affordable price point. I will keep you posted on how this emerging artist succeeds in sales of these works!

Blogging Again

It's been a busy few weeks since returning from Italy and I've had a difficult time sitting down to blog. So, I'm back since last writing on March 28th. You may be asking what has been keeping me. Well, mostly volunteering. I have been involved as a volunteer for the Sussex County Arts & Heritage Council since I moved to Newton in '05. It's been a wonderful organization for exhibition purposes, education, networking, and to build some very amazing friendships. Being a member and volunteer of this organization I feel has been integral for me and would be an important step for any emerging artist.

I am the co-chair of the Skylands Juried Art Show and have been for the past two years. This year however, the show was planned with adequate time to properly plan it and thus it has taken a bit of a toll on my personal/studio time over the past couple of weeks. I spent most of this week designing the 32- page program and poster. It took much longer than anticipated.

It is finally completed and despite the frustration and interruption to my schedule, I managed to get a lot of my own work done this week. No, I haven't been disciplined with my Coffee Hour Drawings, but I got to a lot of goals that have been on my to-do list for weeks.

• I sold a painting to a new customer through the assistance of my new "matchmaker". I will go into this in a later post.
• I completed and shipped a set of four painted coasters to customers in Colorado. (Top right image - Bakery Display)
  
• I framed three recently painted tiles for my friend's daughter's nursery. (Next three images - Pecora sul Roma, Pecore in Toscana, Pecore in Corinaldo)
  
• I ordered supplies for new paintings and lessons.
• I took on a fifth student for lessons.
• I contacted prospective customers about work.
• I went to an opening in Milford, PA to celebrate the first publication of BUZZ, a regional arts directory
• I designed a banner for display in my tent at outdoor art fairs in May.
• I started a painting of Newton's historic downtown.
• I paid bills -- blah.

So, I guess I had a pretty successful couple of weeks despite the blip with Skylands. I'm glad to volunteer for such an important organization and it's fulfilling to know that my efforts are helping to develop the reputation of the Sussex County Arts & Heritage Council. Plus the experience has taught me a lot about juried shows and putting together a large event. I'm glad the design process is complete and next week I can devote my time to painting again. I've ordered 12, 6" x 12" canvases with the intent of painting scenes inspired by my recent trip to Italy. Stay tuned!

Coffee Hour Drawing

Study of Irma, 12" x 12", Graphite & White Chalk on Stonehenge, completed 3/27/07

St. Irma, 8" x 8", Oil on Panel, completed 1/07

After learning about the history of Irma Rombauer through press at the time of the Joy of Cooking: 75th Anniversary Edition publication, I needed to paint her portrait. In doing so, I came to the idea of sanctifying celebrity women chefs. I painted the portrait on the right in January from the only photo I could find of her on the Internet. The drawing on the left I did yesterday as my Coffee Hour Drawing to work on my portrait drawing skills.

Castrocielo, It

My most recent Coffee Hour Drawing is of Castrocielo, Italy. It is done in sepia ink with bamboo pen on Stonehenge paper, 10" x 10". Castrocielo, Italy is about an hour and a half south of Roma. This is the town where my great-grandmother, Carmela Cataldi was born.

I will be bringing this drawing as a gift to Italy this week. My parents traveled to Castrocielo in 1999 when I was studying abroad and while there they researched my dad's genealogy and found birth certificates and the home where my great-grandmother grew up. I no longer have any family that I know of in Italy, but my parents met a family during dinner at a restaurant in Castrocielo, had dinner with them, and went back to their home to meet their children. They've since kept in touch, and on 9/11, the family called my parents in Easton, PA to make certain we were all okay. I am hoping to meet the family and give them this drawing of a portion of their town.

I will be travelling also to Roma and Firenze, visiting the city I lived in and getting the opportunity to re-experience an amazing country under different circumstances. I hope to create a Coffee Hour Drawing each day at some point in my sketchbook. Check back in a couple of weeks for new drawings and interesting stories about an emerging artist travelling in Italy. Ciao!

Playing with Ink

I'm still entranced by the stale cupcakes sitting in my studio from last week. Honestly, they aren't decomposing or rotting! I don't understand it. They are made from all natural ingredients and yet they are rock hard with not a sign of mold.

So, I will continue drawing/painting them. However, I am leaving for Italy next week for ten days and will probably have to discard them for fear something else might find them while I'm away. If anyone has any suggestions as to how I might ensure their preservation for a longer period of time, please comment to my blog, or email me Jennie@traillworks.com.

I haven't used a lot of ink in my artistic lifetime, and have found an interest in it after seeing Vincent Van Gogh: The Drawings at the Met about a year and a half ago.

Harvest Landscape, Vincent Van Gogh

Arles: 6-8 August 1888

(Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett)
F 1485, JH 1540

Click here to see more of Van Gogh's drawings. His use of pen and ink is purely sublime to me. I could stand in front of his drawings forever peeling away the layers of marks upon marks, constantly seeing something new. Van Gogh turned drawing into an expressive medium and this exhibit displayed the equality of Van Gogh's drawings next to his paintings. He drew for expressive purposes, reference material for later works, for the love of drawing, and to show his brother and his friends recent paintings he had done. In a way, Vincent was blogging in the 19th century. Maybe he would have become a successful artist in his lifetime if he had access to communication the we do today.

The "Coffee Hour Drawing," titled Awash with Cupcakes is done with sepia ink washes and reed pen on Stonehenge paper. Stonehenge is a type of paper with a warm, grey semi-smooth finish that I started using in my Anatomy Drawing class at SU, which I see is no longer a course to my disappointment. It's a beautiful surface to work on in color or black and white. The reed pen, though manufactured out of bamboo for drawing, is the closest thing to what Vincent worked with, without making them myself. He used reed pens that he cut with a penknife because there was no cost to him. This drawing is really a study in technique and materials, as well as the subject of desserts. Enjoy!

Web Site Complete!

Ahhhh -- it's been a very long wait, but well worth it I think. I am pleased to announce that www.TraillWorks.com is officially complete! Of course a web site is always a work in progress and in order to be found by search engines it needs to constantly be changing. So it will never be done. Thank you to Wendy Theberge, the "speed demon" of web site design who finished my site in a flash. You can look at her work at wendytheberge.com. And, thank you to Jothan Cashero who did all of the initial design work and got TraillWorks rolling online.

New to the site are the HomeWorks, CardWorks, SpecialWorks, and LessonWorks pages. You can browse through a portfolio of tiles I've created, read about how to develop your own unique set of note cards of my paintings, learn how I work with clients in developing custom work and find out about private lessons.

In addition, the events page has been updated with current and upcoming exhibitions and workshops. The links page now contains links! Check out some of the places exhibiting my work, organizations I've worked with and a terrific arts web site.

Don't forget to look over the StudioWorks and PrintWorks pages since new work has been added. Things are often changing at www.TraillWorks.com. Stay tuned to Emerging Artist for web updates and new works. Tomorrow I'll be posting another Coffee Hour Drawing.

Coffee Hour Drawing

Simply scrumptious! My husband, Lee, baked up these spectacular cupcakes on Saturday when we had my sister - in - law and brother - in - law for dinner. I had intended on baking them, but spent Saturday running to galleries to pick up and deliver work. I came home and found the batter already made. It was a gorgeous batter.

I found the recipe in our cookbook the Chocolate Bar by New York City's Chocolate Bar founders Matt Lewis and Alison Nelson. It's a fabulous cookbook with all sorts of chocolate delectables. Lee baked 24 Peanut Butter Cupcakes and I made the simple Chocolate Ganache Icing. I set aside the 7 shown in the drawing to use as reference. They are still sitting in my studio waiting for a painting.

The drawing above, titled Coffee and Cupcakes, is my fourth "Coffee Hour Drawing". It is done with conté crayon on Arches paper.

Coffee Hour Drawing

Yesterday I created my third "Coffee Hour Drawing" this week. I had anticipated making 4, but due to the snowstorm this week and a few other prior commitments, I completed 3. I am still intrigued with Red Velvet cake. This is another representation of the rich and naughty dessert.

As I was finishing it, the little nub of white that remained of my Portfolio Series Oil Pastels disappeared and so I was unable to tone down the shadows in the icing as I would have liked. Crayola does not make a white pastel that is sold individually, so I may have to switch to another medium or white a white pastel that works well with the Crayola white. Any white medium used by an artist goes so quickly because it is used with all colors to create an endless range of tints.