Art in the open air

Glass Pond III

2009-12-31T20:27:00.000-08:00

Glass Pond III

36 X 48 inches; oil on canvas.

Esther

2009-12-30T20:57:00.000-08:00

Esther

36x48 oil

Glass Pond 2: Sing So Sweetly

2009-04-22T04:41:00.000-07:00

Glass Pond 2: Sing So Sweetly (sold)
36x48"; poured fluid acrylic and oil.

On the journey: set dreams and make plans on how to achieve them. But as you walk, don't fixate so much on the end that you can't enjoy the way. Goals should never lose their connection to the dream and the plan should not be allowed to exhaust the dreamer.

Sing So Sweetly - let the song in your heart resonate through.

Crowned Dancers

2009-03-01T05:49:00.000-08:00

Crowned Dancers 36x48 Mixed Media

healing and calm when I relax into the processes of life. joyous expressions. rebirth. all of it.

Koi Pond

2009-02-22T11:50:00.000-08:00

Koi Pond 36x48" mixed media (mainly pouring and oil)

Nascent

2009-02-18T19:35:00.000-08:00

Nascent 36x48" Mixed media

Some Future Hope

2009-01-08T21:32:00.000-08:00

Some Future Hope 36X48" mixed media (sold)
tumultous, these last two years have been and so I return to that Pilgrimage series from before....just a reminder that even though I don't know if my given path is what is best....and the doubts keep funneling in as I forge a path into my future....there are still and always will be new meanderings...though I feel that I must set my face like flint in the direction I'm going....when I get there, or to the next horizon line, no pathway is ever permanent. in my future I'm fine, because I've learned to be fluid. I am free to move in any direction and no decision of today is set in stone.

always remember the strength of fluidity....respond to life, respond to the movements....like the water in its journey to the sea, don't force and don't pout when the direction is blocked.

that's exactly what this painting is about and what something inside me needed to put face to. those sweet purples and greens on 36x48 mixed media.

2008-03-12T18:07:00.000-07:00

The Reader

<

Glass Pond

2008-02-07T05:25:00.000-08:00

36x48 fluid, paste and oil. Not settled on a name yet. I was driving home down Hwy 20 and saw this out of the corner of my eye - and it caught my attention so that I had to turn around and take a photo. I keep thinking of Robert Frost and his two roads - even though that has nothing to do with it.....but it was the idea of seeing one image and its reflection and how even though they were parallel, they would never be as one.

Summertime

2008-01-22T05:13:00.000-08:00

A Tiffany glass motif inspired this piece. I'm totally enamored and enchanted by the way of light through stain glass and am still pursuing it - I like this one.....it will be a series - florals and stills depicting the seasons. (I know I need to get a better photo of it, but I'll do that later).

koi pond

2007-12-31T05:26:00.000-08:00

pond....36x48 oil. delightful little koi pond not far from where I live.

coneflowers

2007-12-16T13:59:00.000-08:00

I needed this one). what a day. remind me, God, that the flowers are still growing. let me see beauty around me....even when I'm frustrated and a little bit.....shattered.....

this piece (36x48) is inspired by those beautiful cathedral stained glass windows I saw in the churchs I visited when younger....and a little bit of a clue into the conditions in my soul....transparent and yielding to light.....feeling better about herself with this piece.

Clearing

2007-11-25T10:43:00.000-08:00

this is the path,
walk through here
and just beyond my fold
is your rest
gentle I will lead you
through shadow to warm sun

36x48"

Apples of Gold in Settings of Silver

2007-10-27T11:48:00.000-07:00

Like Apples of Gold in Settings of Silver....
this is a new piece (inspired by a friend); its interpretative key is found in the differences between her and her predecessor, "The Reader"

2007-10-19T03:28:00.000-07:00

After John Singer Sargeant's Woman of Capri in the Olive Grove.....this is my version.

The Reader

2007-10-12T20:34:00.000-07:00

36x48"

2007-10-06T05:32:00.000-07:00

fountain

2007-10-03T05:27:00.000-07:00

3 new paintings done since the last entry.

Dancers

2007-09-16T20:43:00.000-07:00

the girl's are dancers that my daughter has danced with - I believe from the Ballet Conservatory, but could be Dance Facets at OWC. Regardless, this is from a shot that she took while backstage with one dancer at the wing in position to join the others who were already on stage.

pink rose petals

2007-09-06T18:12:00.000-07:00

not done but getting closer. pink rose petals still. and her hand. silly me.

2007-08-29T04:25:00.000-07:00

its not done yet (hands haven't even been started), but this is what I'm working on.

and another new one, second version of Walk With Me. This is my daughter in a place not far from our old home where we used to go and gather berries. The brush has overtaken the place, but its still a place i like to go visit.

2007-08-26T14:25:00.000-07:00

new one 36x48"

2007-08-21T18:57:00.000-07:00

2007-08-19T08:26:00.000-07:00

2007-08-11T17:42:00.000-07:00

there comes a moment when all the elements come together....and the artist knows it. 3rd in the series of the blue girls (note to self: need to find 10 minutes to come up with a name for this series....lol). Here are two of them photographed together.

taught today.....this was the group of younger kids....studying one of my favorite van Gogh's. they learned single point perspective today and did great.

Pilgrimage, 4th in Series

2007-08-05T10:52:00.000-07:00

36x48 oil over fluid acrylic

2007-07-31T05:00:00.000-07:00

A new one started in the Blue Girl series (this one 30x40) and the guitarist reworked (24x36).

2007-07-27T05:16:00.000-07:00

Veil, 2nd in series.
feedback welcomed.
30x40 oil and poured fluid acrylic

2007-07-24T19:28:00.000-07:00

this is what i've painted today - the next in the series of Walk With Me i started this morning from a photo reference i took last night of Cricket. This one is just a small study - but showing virtue nonetheless. the colors are soothing. the rocks were tough to walk on and through but the path is one of my favorites to work from. (Cricket was a trooper going over those rocks in her flipflops).

a pour i started sunday night.....and did a second one on top of today at lunch. haven't even started the oil on top of it and its already coming together nicely.

2007-07-21T10:58:00.000-07:00

finished lion

2007-07-20T05:28:00.000-07:00

2007-07-15T09:43:00.000-07:00

three new images....
Walk With Me (Young girl walking )
36x48
spackling and oil

With The Wings of the Wind (Charging horses)
24x30
oil over fluid acrylic
(still working on this one)

Cleft for Me (guitarist)
24x36
oil and spackling over fluid acrylic
(a little more work on the hair still and to bring some of the teals into the shadow of the face)

Blue Skies and Sunflowers

2007-06-13T18:23:00.000-07:00

30x40 inches, oil over fluid acrylic
(just the beginnings of whats on my easel....I'll post it as soon as the piece is finished....but you won't recognize it). But at this stage, I had to stop it and enjoy it for a few days. Blue skies....happy thoughts? I hate to be sappy, but this is my basic philosophy. I can see the blue skies....or I can keep on seeing the dismal. All it takes is just looking up and realizing that whatever I'm focusing on will direct me.

So here's to better days which I know are here and are what I'm living. There's plenty left in me to get through whatever is going on.

just my rambles on another painting

2007-06-03T12:47:00.000-07:00

30x40 inches, Oil, spackling, fluid acrylic

this is the results of my efforts in the backyard today. predominantly oil, with spackling over a fluid acrylic base. i have no idea what to call her. she began as the queen of england in a coronation gown....because the pomp and circumstance surrounding her never lets us get to see her as a real human....capable of failure....and really as me feeling the pressure of having to always make the perfect choices and decisions as a single parent...no room for error. but within a few moments she became a dancer instead with her back to me....then as i worked on her dress, the hints of a covering or shawl came out. her exposed back - vulnerability, on the dancer's frame - perfection or at least its appearance, is where she now stays. and what of her?

30x40 inches

2007-05-20T15:56:00.000-07:00

36x48 Oil, spackling and fluid acrylic

another sunday afternoon painting outside. it was incredibly beautiful and this is what came out of it. she is so strong on her own - no embellishments. i can't decide if i'm going to work that subtle butterfly wing in a little more or just leave it.

36x48inch, mixed media (fluid acrylic, spackling, oils).

2007-05-13T16:58:00.000-07:00

36x48 inches Oil

apparently I have a vivid imagination. I've been writing in a personal journal about this painting. Its turned out to be rather cathartic in helping me realize how a steep path in life can make me feel so unsure of myself, but despite whatever adversities, and their unseen ends, I can set my mind to my goals and press forward to that calling.

2007-04-06T17:35:00.000-07:00

in my spare time over the last couple of weeks, this is the work i've done. Here I am being silly with my daughter (who I made come up and paint with me)....you can tell which one of us has studied ballet.

i reworked a part of the Crestview mural...overall, i'm very pleased with the flow on this area better now.

the other...what can i say. that was a tough job that i got done in a very short amount of time. its for a passion play...they needed the board to look like the inner city walls of Jerusalem. i need to go to the play this weekend to see it with the props up.

What a difference...

2007-03-18T08:49:00.000-07:00

What a difference a little paint can make to create atmosphere in a room: (before and after shots....the mural was signed last night just after 11:00 pm)

The rainforest

2007-03-07T20:07:00.000-08:00

Here's the progress on the mural in Crestview Fl. I'm loving this stage....getting to refine the details to bring it to life. Me and my waterlillies - what's a girl to do without flowers? (click on the photos for the big picture).

2007-02-22T19:53:00.000-08:00

...and I bet you all thought I wasn't doing anything lately. I'm still teaching every Saturday at Artful Things. This is one of my students - these kids are remarkable, giving up their Saturdays to come in and learn to be better artists. This isn't color by number....they first practice drawing their images in their sketchbooks, and then they draw them onto the canvas before they begin the painting process.

And I'm working a rainforest mural at night....i've included some photos of the progress. There are two walls this mural covers. These are the two main areas. If mom sees this....do you remember all those waterfalls in Colorado?

2007-01-29T09:46:00.000-08:00

Christmas is over - thank you! And now its on to the spring. I have a few larger projects (one is now complete) that will keep me away from my easel. I just finished the first mural project for Ruckel Middle School. I led a small group of select art students in painting the school's mascot on the wall. It came out great - we painted that over Martin Luther King weekend.

The plein air work is on hold right now - its freezing in the winter time. However, I'm switching the work over to oil. I'm not sure what possessed me to make this sudden switch (marketability???). The oils are quite different to work with. As a sworn acrylicist, the transition hasn't been too hard....just different. I'm going to continue to do all underlays in acrylic and then switch over to the oil for all subsequent layers.

Abstracts. Ugh. what can I say? the brain needs to be able to flow readily and right now its not. I've really struggled with this side lately. Being in a new house without my old studio is probably the major problem. I'm sure that the work will continue, but for now, it seems like only the commissioned works (murals)are getting my attention. I miss painting. The divorce played hell on the creative fluid side of me and I don't feel settled. I'm pretty sure I'll get my footing again soon.

New Announcement:
Gallery East in Montgomery Alabama is now handling much of my plein air work. Most of what is on the flicker page is now in his gallery. He's an awesome man with an awesome gallery. Please feel free to contact him at 334-356-3900.

2006-11-17T06:33:00.000-08:00

Painting abstractly again! Finally yesterday I reentered my studio. I've answered the question of 'what's the point of art/painting' sufficiently enough for myself to get me to pick up the brush. its not going to be pretty images....its going to be the feelings again inside (yawn crap for those who think artist's are weird....I am). both of these are butterfly paintings and explore the subject of pilgrimage. I still reconcile with the idea that life is metamorphosis: our brains fight hard against changes and the struggle becomes more and more tumultuous, until it comes together and life makes sense. at least for one day. then we get to wake up again, and the butterfly is back in the stew pot (did you know that within the cocoon there is neither butterfly or caterpillar; the caterpillar becomes soup before it is reformed.)

(the first painting is the progress on a painting I started a few weeks ago that I returned to yesterday, the second painting I started late yesterday and is being done over an old painting)(artist perogative).

btw: today is my birthday.

Reflecting on brokenness for a day.

2006-10-25T11:02:00.000-07:00

more plein air association work today...grateful for the chance to get out there with other artists and paint. this one needs a little refining - done at the Rocky Bayou Golf Course in Niceville, FL. beautiful crisp morning. i need to strengthen the water reflections on the left hand side (didn't address them this morning, ran out of time) and maybe butter up the sky a bit.. the water is perfect - but its brokenness is a bit too reflective of how i'm feeling.

i can still pick up some hope and lightness in this painting though. hope that in the future, broken things smooth and blend out until they can't be seen or detected anymore. the background blurring.

time for healing and rebuilding, and I'm just going to see what the paint brings out in the next few weeks.

The Pilgrimage Series

2006-10-24T05:35:00.000-07:00

I'm finding me back in my studio (and outside for the pourings) again. This is what life is feeling like - colors vibrant not dull, things ahead not seen, nothing awry or to be afraid of - just the fullness of life taken in with a willingness to let it be enjoyed rather than dreaded. I can't do this type of work looking at a tree. I want to leave it just like this - spontaneous and undefined, but I'll look at it again tomorrow and see what it needs. (See the ballet commission peeking out from behind it? I need to be working on that one, too.)

Paths and Woods (I can't see anything beyond today)

2006-10-04T11:39:00.000-07:00

This morning I was back at Aunt Martha's Bed and Breakfast with the Emerald Coast Plein Air Association. What a treat it turned out to be with all the personal frustration going on right now. I'm back to doing the woods and paths for a while I think - or maybe just for today. This one is done with a lot of tonal variations between thalo blue and ultramarine. I left my box of paints at home on my doorstep so I had to force myself to use colors that I don't always pick up. These were in my "supplies" box: gamboge, ultramarine, thalo blue, blood red, galleria white (it was the only white I had, but it worked), a bit of lemon yellow, sepia, dioxide purple, and quinacridone magenta. I'll do some shaping up of a few areas and post the finished painting on the flickr page.

2006-09-28T08:53:00.004-07:00

The prairie was an attemt to force myself to paint early Monday morning. I just needed to see what I could do if I made myself get out there. I think with all the emotional havoc going on, that I just haven't felt much passion for anything. But that particular field that I drive by everyday, just down the street from the entrance to my neighborhood needed to be painted. I was pleasantly surprised to see myself reaching for my old brighter colors.

Old Sear's Home
The second painting I did this week is the Old Sear's House. Beaten and delapitated , poor thing needed her dignity restored. She still shows the signs of her age and experiences, yet in the painting she has a second charm that an artist needed to bring out. I found solace and refuge while painting this home.

Just Under the Surface And then outcame this morning's work. I have no idea why. Maybe I needed to see if my abstract mind was still in me. This is how I've worked for many years - the plein air landscapes are actually a new venture, or a very old one that's resurfaced. I love the unapologetic relationship between the deep blue and the stronger orange. Not much holds this composition together - the black lines around the fish, and the white reflections on the water surface (more contrasts). And I see my butterflies peeking out at me! No, I'm not on drugs - look at the fish's tail and tell me you don't see the butterfly's influence there. Fish don't go through metamorphosis - but my physche is right now. Turmoil happens anytime life goes chaotic. I see harmony today - life coming together through the chaos, just like the blues and oranges coming together in this painting. In posting the painting, I didn't crop it entirely,leaving some of the siding on my house showing as a way to show scale (no pun intended).

Buying Direct From Me

2006-09-26T05:53:00.000-07:00

My paintings are now available for purchase directly through me. You may contact me through my email Jeanette Sherritze. I've been asked about price ranges before: anywhere from $85 to $395 for most of the plein air paintings. I'm currently loading the photos of the paintings on a Flickr page
Artwork. Please keep checking as it is a work in progress.

A Break from the Rain

2006-09-13T13:01:00.000-07:00

The rain has been relentless this week. I've not been able to get out to paint so little has been accomplished. Its fine, though, as life seems to be in a down curve temporarily and I need to find my balance again. Even though my work seems to be more low key than the vibrant colors of the spring work, I feel it is much more emotive and real. This new piece was done mainly from a photo (because of the rain) that I took earlier this weekend of a spot within the same vicinity of "Waist-High Grasses". Its a spot just up the road from where I live on the Hwy 20 side in front of the Presbyterian Church. I hadn't really noticed this place until last week when I parked my car and went up into it. It definitly is an example of my philosophy that beauty exists always right in front of us.

This piece is 16x20 and was just delivered to the Allure Gallery in Destin where all of my plein-airs and landscapes are offered.

Waist-High Grasses and Baytowne Village Fountain

2006-09-04T04:01:00.001-07:00

Waist High Grasses

This week I've rediscovered John Singer Sargent. His exquisite use of color - bold and subtle - and those unapologetic brushstrokes. The work in both of these pieces shows influence from two of his pieces, Fishing for Oysters at Cancale 1878 and A Capriote 1878. I still don't feel I've come close to his ability to subtley move the eye across the canvas with the juxtaposing of warm and cool tones - those beautiful siennas and teals continue to daunt me....but I'm relentless. Today's work will probably continue in the same palette as last night's.
The first piece is what I did yesterday evening from a photo I took of Cricket some months ago at the bridge just down the street from our home. I remember how hurried we were that day, Arbor Day, to finish a clean up project. She stayed ahead of me and I could see all the evidence of her year's of ballet training in just simply how she walks and carries herself. She is so beautiful and confident - and so the woman in this painting walking on a rocky path through those same waist high grasses, keeping her balance and her confidence despite the hot Florida sun.

Baytowne Village Fountain

This second painting sold this past weekend in my first solo exhibition of my plein air work. I admit that this was not a plein air piece, but it was painted on Thursday of last week after Rachel's accident. I just couldn't leave the house that day but still needed to paint. I had visited this fountain the day before and taken its photo. What struck me about the location was the misty cool in that tiny area of Baytowne village (Sandestin FL) even though the heat that day had chased home most of the plein-air artist group who were meeting that day. Everytime I go out to Baytowne, I am always taken aback by the beauty of this little fountain way hidden in the backside of the village.