New Plein Air Artwork

This is my newest plein air piece, I did it in the Adirondacks at Flume Falls in the High Falls Gorge area. It's 6" X 18", acrylic on AlumaComp board. It's currently hanging at Blue Mountain Designs, 8940 NYS Route 30, Blue Mountain Lake, NY (518-352-7000), in their Moss Cottage gallery.

AlumaComp is an archival painting and mounting panel. These aluminum composite panels are .4mm (5/32") thick. Each panel is a sandwich of two aluminum surfaces with a 1/8" polyethylene core. They're lightweight, extremely rigid and will maintain their structural integrity. 

This is the first painting I have done on an AlumaComp board and I really enjoyed working on this panel. The paint went on very smoothly and took to the surface quite nicely. I gessoed the panel this time, but am curious to experiment with an ingested surface. I think it might be kinda cool if some of the surface showed through the paints. I'll let you know how it works out.

In the meantime, get on over to the Adirondacks, the trees were just turning vibrant reds Wednesday when I was there, and check out my painting while you're in the neighborhood. 

Vacant Mural Project Piece

Recently I completed my panel for the Syracuse Landbank, "Vacant Mural Project". I dropped the panel off to the project coordinator, but not before making sure to get a professional photo taken of it. This is a really important step in the creative process; recording my art is vital and I use the images in a variety of ways. Not just as a photo record of my work, but also so I can offer re-prints, etc. 

I titled the piece, "Birds In The Garden" and completed it in acrylics. Using whimsical garden ornaments and old toys as my models, I created it in the hopes that the bright colors would attract and pull the viewer in closer to take a better look. Once your eyes begin to wander through the piece, you'll become aware of a darker undertone in the action portrayed. I giggled quite a bit while I was painting this piece and can assure you of my sanity. I'm not going to try to explain the why I painted this image because in creating it, it brought me laughter and joy and it is my hope that the viewer will enjoy some giggles too. 

If you haven't checked out the recent Women of Upstate NY magazine article about yours truly, here's the link: http://womenofupstateny.com/meet-eva-hunter/

You can also like my Facebook page (please) www.facebook.com/evahunterart

Thanks!

Article in local magazine

Look who's in the Sept. issue of "Women of Upstate NY" magazine. It was pretty interesting being interviewed for this article and talking about my artwork. I hope you enjoy it. http://womenofupstateny.com/meet-eva-hunter/

While you're clicking please be sure to like my Facebook page too: www.facebook.com/evahunterart

Thanks-Eva

Quick Post Update

    It's been quite a busy few weeks: I went to the Adirondack's for the annual long weekend plein air trip, had my artwork accepted into two juried exhibits, became a social media "expert", attended a couple of art receptions, stopped in New Hampshire for a quick plein air trip, (I wandered through the woods of Vermont along the way there and back home for additional inspiration), and during all this time I've continued to paint and draw to my hearts content. Remember the checklist I was working on last time I blogged?...Still working it baby. Plein air trips and local exhibits.....check. I added "get interviewed by local women's magazine" to the list, and checked it off yesterday. I'll be the featured artist in the Sept. issue of ............stay tuned for an update on that!

    As the warm days of summer have turned even more humid I find it challenging to keep my acrylics wet. Being the creative thinker type that we artists pride ourselves in, I attempted to use hard pastel sticks instead. Alas that didn't turn out very well either. The spray from the close proximity to the waterfall I was trying to capture combined with the humidity of the day turned my hard pastels into mushy bits. Well, actually it turned my painting into a water spotted, muddy mess of artistic disappointment. Sometimes it's better to put the art supplies away, remove your shoes and dip your toes into the water, rather than the brushes you brought along to paint with.

    What about water colors you might ask? Well...I don't use them for plein air, I like the way oils and acrylics "feel" when I'm working outdoors. Water colors just don't seem to speak to me the same way. I know, I know they would solve my trying to keep my paint wet problem. Dried up paint? No problem with water colors, just dab on some more water and continue on your merry way, sigh. Maybe I should reconsider and give them another try? I'll add it to my list.

    Today I found out that two of my pieces were accepted into the Plein Air competition juried by OnLineJuriedShows.com and Plein Air Magazine! If you go to the website, click on the Plein Air Show, scroll through the images until you get to the "H's" and look for my name. "Badlands" and "Monadnock Waterfall" were both juried into the show. That's pretty exciting for me, it encourages me to keep doing what I'm doing, and it reminds me that it's never too late to fulfill your dreams. Write them down, set goals, work that list!