Saturday, February 28, 2009

Yellow Bloom

Thank you Ingrid Sebas, resident of Oahu, who recognized the flower in this painting. Here are her words:

". . . the yellow flower is called "Cup of Gold" (Solandra maxima) is a tropical plant native to Mexico and was brought to Hawaii as an ornamental. The elderly lady I work for actually has it growing right behind the swimming pool, it can grow actually quite high. Hope this has been helpful. . . "

Very helpful Ingrid, thank you. Here's a link with more information for anyone wanting to know more or to own one of these beauties: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/31444/
- Nancy Boudreau

Another five by seven inch acrylic painting on gessoes hardboard, painted while visiting Oahu, Hawaii.

Friday, February 27, 2009

Sunset Beach

Four foot waves and strong currents at Sunset Beach, left a perfect sandy perch for this couple. - Nancy Boudreau

Another five inch by seven inch acrylic painting on gessoed hardboard, a scene from Oahu, Hawaii.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Kahana Bay

SOLD
Spent the morning painting on the windy lanai, listening to music, drinking coffee. When the cleaning lady came in and realized what I was doing, that the paintings she had seen were not something that had been bought at a gallery, she was surprised. Until now, she thought the couple dozen paint tubes that were scattered all over the table, were medicine. Yah, good medicine. - Nancy Boudreau

Another 5 inch by seven inch acrylic painting on gessoed hardboard.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Below Lana'i Point Oahu

A quiet little cove below Lana'i Point on Oahu. - Nancy Boudreau

Another "travel-friendly" sized painting, five inches by seven inches on gessoed hardboard, painted in my hotel "studio" using photos taken earlier, displayed on the laptop screen.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Lana'i Point Oahu

Celebrating my 53rd birthday today by finally getting back to painting. This one's a view from Lana'i Point on Oahu, looking eastward, one of the first awesome views you get driving out of Waikiki on route 72. Yes, the water is REALLY that color! - Nancy Boudreau

A five inch by seven inch acrylic painting on gessoed hardboard.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Going to Oahu

Two more days before I fly to Oahu, my first visit to Hawaii. As all the acrylic paints have been shipped ahead, this tiger cowry was painted using the laptop and Corel Painting Essentials 2.

Oh the miracles of man: computers, email, people flying through the air in big metal contraptions to the other side of the planet in a single day. . . how do these compare to a shell, the creation of a humble sea snail? What will the next two weeks experience prompt me to produce? - Nancy Boudreau

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Thinking Cap

Sometimes a crazy hat can make the everything else seem sane. - Nancy Boudreau

This image was created digitally, using Corel Painter Essentials 2 on a 13" MacBook. Feel free to contact me with questions and comments at nb@nboudreau.com


Monday, February 9, 2009

February Full Moon

Did anyone see the full moon last night? In the snow-covered, wooded hills of New Fairfield Connecticut, the scene was enchanting: black verticals standing against the moon, casting their shadows, which ran tripping over the snow, losing intensity, eventually diluting into the suffuse blue light that bathed everything, illuminating our sleeping world and painting our dreams. - Nancy Boudreau

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Good Question


GOOD QUESTION: If you don’t know where you’re going, how do you know when you’ve arrived?
This question well describes the difficulty in producing a good abstract painting. I credit the book “Beans” with this question, where it’s posed in the context of defining personal success.

For me, producing an abstract painting is like wandering without a map through a wilderness landscape. I don’t need signs posting “SCENIC VIEW,” to know I’ve arrived at a significant destination, the view itself stops me short. It could be an all embracing panorama, or an intimate vignette, but either way, it’s a point at which the painting, the view, commands my attention and causes my mind to set a mental marker.





As I wander along trails without a map or paint without the guiding intent of producing a realistic rendering, the territory I travel through eventually becomes familiar and context develops. Eventually there is enough understanding that relative beauty can be recognized.

In this painting, what’s on my mind are the colors of Arizona mountains in January, the prickly quality of cholla and other desert dwellers, and the noncommittal enmity of borders.

This painting is 3' x 4', acrylic on stretched cotton duck canvas.

Please feel free to contact me with any comments or questions at: nb@nboudreau.com





Sunday, February 1, 2009

Full Moon

I once lived in a cottage by a lake, and some nights I would walk down to the water to watch the moon rise over the hills on the far shore. This is what I'm remembering, not a literal rendering, but an abstract memory. - Nancy Boudreau

The painting is 3' x 4' on stretched cotton duck canvas, the upper portion of the painting is sealed with matte clear acrylic, while the lower portion is sealed with high gloss.The painting was started by building a lively substrate of brushstrokes resembling roiling water. Over this, many transparent layers of color were applied using a 4" roller. The paint was thinned with a substance which caused it to foam, creating color that pooled into tiny dots and running streaks, suggesting flowing water.