Mugged

VPR's fall fund raising drive is on and I've heard my name twice, which surprised me, but shouldn't. Ty Robertson contacted me in September about converting my vertical painting, "Home," to a horizontal to be used as the Fall Artist mug for the Member drive.

Ty found my work through the Vermont Crafts Council website. An image on the VCC site led to my site (JayneShoupStudio.com) led to "Home,"

which morphed into "Warm Hearts Warm Homes."

I had fun designing the mug panel, playing around with small sketches that were taped to mugs, trying to determine the most effective placement for the image. I had to consider right- and left-handed mug owners. All would want an inviting view with coffee, tea, chai enroute to the lips each morning. Here is my value drawing, which started out very small, 2.875" X 7.875" to fit on the mug. After four versions, the house had moved right, and the image was equally visible from either side.



Once I settled on the design, the painting was easy. I used the colors of "Home" in "Warm Hearts." I did not want a complex, difficult to reproduce color scheme for the mug. However, my use of triadic, non-primary colors (three colors spaced equally apart on the color wheel) provided some challenges in reproduction anyway.

With cold temperatures arriving, I've begun to move wood inside our garage storage bin. When I was younger, wood stacking was a chore, but now it's more like meditation. I've thought of those who will struggle to pay heating bills this winter. I am so very fortunate to live in an old, but well insulated home, and to have paid for our wood supply.

Many thanks to Chittenden Bank which is donating funds to the Share Heat program during VPR's member drive this fall. A good corporate partner. All who can, must help those struggling to stay warm. May we all be warmed by generosity-- on the giving and receiving end.

Eyes Above

I completed a painting on a day when unexpected visitors came to my studio. They had picked up my rack card at the Williston Tourist Center on I-89 and came straight to visit. Lucy and Bruce are from Toronto. She is a glass artist (LucyRoussel.com), likes to look at other's work. Anyway, they wondered how I get from point A to point B, so here's a chronicle of my latest painting, "Eyes Above." This painting was inspired by a steeple in Hillsboro, NH, where I enjoyed Schneitzelfest with friends last month.

I usually do a series of thumbnail drawings, using the actual scene or a photo as a jumping off point. Once I begin to draw the same thing over and over, without changing much or leaving out more detail, I am am ready to consider colors for the painting.




I am exploring triadic color combinations lately, and I thought turquoise would be a perfect dominant color in the large expanse of sky. I built off of it for the other colors. I wanted to include fall foliage, since that is New England now. This is my color swatch.


Once I've tried some colors together and began to "see" where I was going, I did a 4" X 4" study--my color proof--to find out if the colors I've chosen will work together when they are larger shapes. In this study, the steeple roof seemed too bland. I adjusted to a copper top, in the end.





After the color proof, I draw an outline of the major objects with a light color pastel pencil onto Magnani Velata Handmade paper. It's 100% cotton, a lovely surface to work on, holds pastel well. A tip from the Canadian artist Brittani Faulkes (BrittaniFaulkes.com) is to work from top to bottom to avoid dust contamination on the surface below. All the colors are brighter because of this. The image below shows part of my underdrawing, plus the turquoise sky--I hope it shows on all monitors as turquoise--and the early copper steeple color.



I'm happy with "Eyes Above" because the colors work, the piece is simple, the subtle message of what steeples were all about with God in heaven and all of that is implied. Most like to think something/one watches from above or beyond. Eyes Above is my attempt at a cheerful rendition of grace/compassion.

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Eyes Above, 16" X 20"
To purchase, contact jayshoup@gmail.com