Solo Show - Photos

 Some photos of my show that's currently hanging in the Depot Gallery in Red Wing, Minnesota. It's up through May 11, 2015 - stop by and see it if you're in the area!

Clouds and trees, plein air and studio paintings.

Portrait of the Home Place, Patchwork Fields, and Overlook.

Autumn represented by "Poplars at Dusk", "Northeast Bluffside in November", and "A Favorite Haunt".

Barn Bluff, Farm in the Fog, and Maple Leaves.

Puerto Rico corner!

Pristine and Goldenrod, Sundown, and Firewood after the Storm.

Portraits.

In the gift gallery hangs "Anvil Cloud at Sunset" and a selection of greeting cards.

All images copyright 2015 Hannah C. Heyer.

A quick overview of August

Didn't do as much painting in August as I hoped to do, but much of it was a feast for the eyes, which I hope to interpret in paint later on.
Here's a brief look at last months work:

Showers of Gold, plein air done on August 11th. 6x8" oil on linen. See previous entry. :)


Green Corn Moon, 8x10" oil on linen. The moon on August 14 rose in a blue-gray dusky sky, where clouds that covered it blended into the clear sky above. Did a sketch late that night while the memory was fresh in my mind, and painted the following day.


August 22, 2011, 5x7" oil on linen
A little 5x7" plein air painting of our rusty Quonset shed in the evening light. It was a hard day, and it was great to stop and appreciate the beauty light gives to the most mundane objects.


August 25, 2011
Footbridge plein air, 10x8" oil on cotton
Last meeting of my little oil painting group that met bi-weekly this summer. You guys did great, and were so much fun. :) I hope you keep on painting!


8x6" oil on linen
August 28, 2011, plein air painting under a beautiful cloudy sky, with the sound of the wind blowing through the poplar leaves. Goldenrod and Queen Anne's Lace and thistles.


And a peak at the first step in my next project, studying the face and form. It will get better, and I'm so thankful for friends who will sit for 5 hours and not get mad when the artist inserts sarcastic lines into romantic movies meant to entertain the sitter. You're the best. :-D

A not-so-successfull painting session

Today I finally got out into the woods to paint. It's been way too long.

It was so pretty in every direction, I couldn't decide what to paint!
The brown, wind-blown fields against the sky with its scattered clouds? The birches, or poplars, or oaks? The view looking up the ravine full of large moss-covered stones? The view downhill where some snow still lingers? And so on.
Finally "an acquaintance of mine that I met in the woods" (which is how she wants to be identified, and no, I didn't just happen to meet her in the woods) encouraged me to do a painting of her.
This was a great challenge: a plein air portrait!

...she gave many heartfelt apologies afterwards. :-|

Here's a peak at it, with the colors looking a little different as this was taken indoors after dark.
heehee, sorry Acquaintance, but it sure was fun! She says it looks enough like her to be weird, but not enough like her to be proud of. ;) Oh well.

Have I mentioned I love this time of year?
I do.
I'm loving the sunshine, and the moody skies too.
Here's a little watercolour I finished yesterday:

Reflections, copyright 2011 Hannah C. Heyer
2.5 x 3.5 inches,watercolour on paper
Sold

Self Portrait

Ink and watercolour on Arches hot press watercolour paper

Yep, I really am that organized.

Quiet Time

Quiet Time, 7 x 5" watercolour on cotton paper

I miss these people.
I did this painting earlier this year, during my stay in Australia with my sister and her family. I was fiddling around with my watercolour paints at the table when they settled down to read. (The book is The Jesus Storybook Bible, in case you were curious :-) )

I just noticed the beautiful afternoon light coming in from the window, the long legs of my little nephew who's growing up so quickly, and petite niece with her big personality and sleepy eyes.
I began it then and there, and though they had long since run off to play by the time I finished, I hope I managed to capture a little bit of the moment.
Special thanks to my brother-in-law for pointing out that the chair had a handle for the footrest. Details! ;-)

...

Detail from a painting I've been working on today. I started it last Winter, using a sketch made last December as a reference, but it's been completely neglected since.
It has already been changed, smoothed out and touched up quite a bit from when this was taken earlier today. I actually kind of like it at this stage, and while I ultimately want it to look more finished and have more depth, I think I want it to retain a little bit of its roughness.
It's still got a long way to go before its completion. The reason only his head is shown is that he looked a little too much like Pop-eye in the arms. :-p I definitely want to work more on figures and improve in the areas of perspective and scale. I just need to convince more of my friends and loved ones that allowing me to paint them really IS a good idea!
I've been reading up on art history lately (i.e. skimming while flipping through and looking at all the pictures) and it's really inspired me to work harder at improving my painting. There is still so much beauty in this old world. I want the eyes to see it; I want the skill to share it.

Tuckered Out

This blog is, sadly, only slightly more neglected than my painting has been.

The days are getting so much shorter as we approach winter, and I miss the sunshine already. But it's beautiful too.

I was hoping to do some plein air painting today, but since I couldn't seem to get warm indoors, the prospect of spending a few hours outdoors sitting in the wind just wasn't quite appealing enough.
So instead of painting the great out of doors, I began a small portrait of two very tired people. It's wonderful how subjects hold still when they're asleep. ;-) It needs some work yet, but the sunshine is gone.

4"x4" oil on linen

in progress

Working on a portrait of a young woman and her violin. I think the violin is a beautiful instrument and hope mine will turn out alright-- adding to the overall appearance of the portrait rather than detracting from it. I often have difficulty with the lines and angles of an instrument being held.

My first focus is on the face: her expression is focused as she positions her instrument.

Everything else is secondary, but still very important. After all, I want the face to fit the rest of the painting, and not look like the only thing I cared about. I've just begun the hand and hope to define that more next time I work on this painting.

Portrait in progress, in white and burnt umber. Oil on linen.