This painting is not one of the dozen pieces in the new show at Cafe-sur-mer in Metis. However, it is cousin to all the landscapes painted in the area. The spire identifies a rather large church in the really small town of St. Octave. I love this painting for its representation  of the road leading to the town. For me, it is a slightly unusual example of surface design - a  pairing of deep space perspective and the very flat surface treatment of the bottom 3/4 of the work.

The show has just been hung this a.m. with 12 pieces, only landscapes.
Last year the show was a mix of this kind of landscape and a number of Kimono works. 

People who attended were interested in the landscapes and slightly bemused by the kimono. Oh well.

This is the announcement for a show of my paintings at the Cafe-sur-Mer gallery/espresso bar/boutique, with a vernissage/art opening from 5 to 7. The town is called Metis-sur-mer, about four hours north of Quebec City on the St. Lawrence River. I am sharing the exhibition space with Felicia Bartlett, an painter who spends her time in St. Andrews-by-the-Sea, New Brunswick. I had work in the same gallery last summer and it is just a great place to have an exhibition. Lots of work left to do, mostly framing, but I am really  looking forward to getting the work up on the walls.



Here is another piece that I will be part of the show.

the small barn manifestation

Doing small paintings of barns has some of the same fascination for me as making the small kimono works. Here are  two pages of watercolor work, each image roughly 3"x 3 1/4". Following them are a pair of small barn paintings under way, oil on linen on panel, that are about 9"x 6". Work still to be done on the oils.
Structure and design are the same in both media, but the paintings proceed differently from one medium to the other. What the small barns share with the small kimono, is my interest in surface design, use of color and a real, stripped down, simplicity. There is not much ornamentation in these small works.

Landscapes and Kimono at Quench

The two abstract landscapes from the previous post will be joined by this piece with the title, "Kimono: From the Time I Could Hold a Crayon" in an exhibition at Quench Artspace, Waitsfield, VT, with an opening reception from 5 to 7, today, June 1st. The show is a mix of landscape and kimono paintings. I hope you will have a chance to see this show. 

landscape sliding into abstraction

Still looking forward to my first trip outdoors, but in the meantime, I have been working on a small series of abstract landscapes. Here are two of them.  They are in process and I expect to make changes to them, but most importantly, they represent a particular kind of problem solving for me. Cows, kimono and barns are always watching from the wings, just waiting their turn.

Bill's chairs

 

Two recent chair paintings done last summer at our home in Metis-sur-mer. The chairs are always there, on our lawn facing the St Lawrence River, and have been a steady source of inspiration for me for many years. I see them as a still life, set up outdoors in a familiar landscape. I never tire of painting them. The experience is always new and fresh. 

The chairs were built for us, by Bill Pawley, a very good friend. Bill died unexpectedly last week. He will really be missed.

In June, I will be showing at a new gallery in Central Vermont. As things sort out I will post more information, but in the meantime, here is an image of a Kimono painting that will appear in the show.

There is more to the world (my world) than cows and barns.

Normally, when I am in the studio - sometimes painting barns and cows,
or thinking about painting, or contemplating the mess around me -
thoughts turn to Kimono in its many forms. Her are a couple of images
from the current work. They are not necessarily in final form, but I
feel strongly about the direction each has taken. There is no denying
process.

--
Frank Woods
8 Clarendon Avenue
Montpelier, VT 05602

802-461-5345
www.frankwoodsartist.com

more landscapes.

cows are a part of the landscape, f you look in the right places.
Cows with barn are from just up the road in East Montpelier (VT).
And the two Ayershires are from the top of Hill Street, just over the
edge in Berlin.
With the good weather, I will be heading out to do more of this work outdoors.

--
Frank Woods
8 Clarendon Avenue
Montpelier, VT 05602

802-461-5345
www.frankwoodsartist.com

Sorry there have been no updates recently. I've been working both outdoors and in the studio. I am planning to keep the Blog more current and look at some of the new directions my work is taking.