foxwoods mural

Recently Kate Gennelly and I were commissioned to bring the outdoors in, for the relocation of a tree house themed arcade at Foxwoods Casinos in Connecticut.  We painted a pictoral setting, walls to ceiling, of  a large entry space to the main arcade, in the manner of being up in a treehouse, looking at the landscape of the surrounding rolling hills.

S'more Trees...

On  point with the current cosmic trend for more trees in my artistic journey,  this is my effory towards

our GJWP monthly challenge, which was, guess what, on the subject of tree, or trees...  This is how 

mine developed...

"Waiting". 14" x 18" acrylic.   Of a tire swing that is along a favorite kayak paddle of mine in Maine;

Early fall, when a swing and a plunge into the lake would be a little cooler with each passing week.

Growth

After painting murals together for five years or so, Kate Gennelly and I decided on a name for our duo of  "Tandem Murals".  Lately our commissions have been all about trees, green, and growth, which bodes well I think.  Recently we were asked to paint two companion canvases of trees, based on the idea of a series the client had seen in a corporate office.  We've been experimenting with incorporating metallic paints in the work for awhile, and the client wanted a neutral pallette in accordance with the room, so we started with a soft. Brush-stroked, gradient background.

We then painted two related, but distinct trees, silhoutted in carbon black...

Mine is on the left, Kate's on the right,  the otherworldly purple at their base is from the

reflected blue daylight coming in from set of french doors opposite.  This is another

enchanting thing about using a metallic ground, the look of the pieces change with the light.

Here they are installed, custom work for a lovely space...

"stooges Ascending"

When Kate Gennelly were doing our master copy mural of "The Creation", we looked at a lot of Michelangelo's work to get a feel for it.  The client we were working for was very fond of the 

Three Stooges, and there were several images of them in the house.  I noticed in one of the books, that one of the many figures that adorn the Sistine Chapel was pretty much a dead ringer for Larry.

And so this idea was born.

                                 "Stooges Ascending",  "18 x 24",  Acrylic on Panel

        

A Sweet Little Peace

 A sweet little piece, about peace, of a lone paddler who appeared out of the fog near the end of the season off the dock at Watchic lake;  just enough and no more...

 

                                      

                                              

                    

Balance

This is my most recent Watchic reflection painting.  Again, I was fascinated by the perfect peaceful balance of that evening;  The glowing light of the sunset offset against the darkness of incoming weather.  I loved the ink-blot quality and unusual puzzle piece shapes as an abstract design.  The setting out and eventual removal of the water slide at the edge of the point of land to the left is one of many changes around the lake that signify the beginning and end of the season....

                                      "Above and Below"  "18x24"  Acrylic on panel

       

  

WLA

Here are some views of two paintings that will be up for silent auction at the Watchic Lake Association annual meeting on the 9th.  The funds will go to help maintain the environmental quality of beautiful

Watchic lake.   Details are at watchiclake.org

                                          "Gone Fishin" "12x18" acrylic on panel

        

       

                                                                    Framed

          

 

              

                                        "American Dream"  "24x30" Acrylic on canvas

The colors in this piece are a bit darker and richer than appears here.  The light has a way of catching  

                            on the texture and finish of the canvas in photographs...

        

 

                                                                         Framed           

 

        

  

Happy 4th

     

     I am so grateful to have been born, and continue to spend my life in this beautiful country.....

                                                 "Old Glory"  9"x12"  Acrylic on Panel

        

 

Family Jewel

I've wanted to do a good water view of our family place in Maine for ages.  It was built by my Grandfather in the early 1920's and is a treasure, and a perfect place for inspiring an artist who loves to paint reflections;  It's all about balance really.  

I started this piece in August of last summer when everything was green, green, green;  Beautiful, but when the foliage started to change in the early fall, it was just a much better setting....

                              "A Litlle Peace of Heaven"   24"x30" acrylic on canvas

        

  

Palette of St. Croix

I recently had the great pleasure of visiting a friend on the US Virgin Island of St. Croix;  A little slice of paradise....

Our Girlsjustwannapaint challenge this month was "palette", and so I painted the beautiful tropical colors of the view from where I was staying, on an actual wooden palette.  I distilled my favorite aspects of the scene as it changed frequently during the day;  The strong patterns of light and shade as the clouds passed, the brilliant turquoise where the water meets the sand, houses nestled into the landscape, and shapes of the tropical foliage and flowers....

                   

         

Cinderella

      

            Events of late have called up fond  revisitations of my early experiences, and of my art reflecting the same....  My Dad, John O. Chesley Jr., had a love of boats and sea, and of steam,  here are a couple of my way back paintings of an old rescue surf boat that my Dad converted into a steam launch like the "African Queen";   Her name was "Cinderella",  first running on hard coal and then adapted with sail and a Diesel engine.  

       

         

 

         

           

            

              

          

      

 

     

 

Bucket List

I am always delighted when the theme of our monthly Girlsjustwannapaint challenge fits my personal painter's bucket list.  I really love the frozen dramatic power of the rock formations of coastal Maine, particularly those of the island of Monhegan.  They are the visual embodiment of the extraordinary primal forces that created this planet.  And so, when presented with the theme of "chair", I thought of the perch of this young man, that I saw at "Swim Beach" on Monhegan.  Also ever the fan of the
"Road less traveled"' (and a clever title),  this is my 8"x10" acrylic, "High Chair".  Bucket List, part B, 

 is to paint those suckers really, really, BIG...

                     

                                  

Mural Finish

It was virtually impossible to get a photo of the whole 9'x17" mural, done on three 9"x5" canvases, topped by a small wedge, as the wall comes to a triangular peak under the roofline....  But here are some detail shots, and what we could get of it laid out on the floor.  It is awaiting installation by skilled paper hangers, at which point I will be able to photo graph it from the various landings opposite the site wall.

    

                                    

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Beauty and the Beasts

   

It's been an odd summer, too short, after our last aggressive Winter.  Thankfully full of good work, a strange mixture of a continuing body of land/water scapes of my favorite places, and equally absorbing mural work of an entirely different nature...  

Beauty:

                         

The start of a painting of our family place in Maine

                                 

                                              

A favorite birch off the dock

And the Beasts.....

                 

          

                

          

                                  

           

 

         A progressive look at the first two 5x9 foot canvasses of a 9x17 foot mural of an epic battle 

         scene, incorporating characters from years of Lord of the Rings series, Sci-fi, and comic books.

         The basic art direction on this was "The scarier, the better",  and so it goes.....

         A work in progress with Kate Gennelly,  mine generally on the left, and Kate's on the right.

     

  

Mom

A few pictures of my Mom's life and artistry....

Tussie Mussies for dear guests

Loon carved by Mom

A Dark Place

I am currently working on sketches for a 9x17 foot mural of an epic battle scene.  In this burgeoning Spring  season of sweetness and light, being in a darker place has been difficult.  So to warm up,  I took a journey down the road less, and darkly travelled for last month's GJWP challenge theme of "Bride", and did "Elsa".  Black and white film images so very lovely....

                                   

and white film so very lovely.....

Reflection

This month's GJWP challenge topic was "Marsh", a delightful and very personal one for me, as I grew up on, and continue to live with one as my daily breath taking and changing view.   This is a twilight view of my favorite pattern of banks and rivers from my family dining room window...

                                   

  

Almost There

Here is the finished and distressed master copy of "The Creation", tacked into place, and awaiting scaffolding so we can safely adhere it to the wall....  

       

Painting God, progress

An update of progress on our master copy of "The Creation"....  This has been challenging and very enjoyable;  studying the beautiful swirling oval around God, the subtle edges, the lost and found of it.

Pretty funny when my husband calls to check in, and I can say, I'm painting the hand of God, or glazing Adam's ribs...  

                               

                 

         

Master Copy

My mural partner Kate Gennelly and I have been commissioned to do a master copy of

"The Creation" by Michelangelo, 9'x6', it's fairly large, but a fraction of the size of the original, that curves majestically upward at the center of the Sistine Chapel ceiling.  It's for the base of a large vertical space that flanks a stairwell that goes up three floors.  We're enjoying the work, and of course, learning a lot in the process!                

         

        

         

  

Shown here are the initial drawing in water soluble crayon and nupastels, sealed in with acrylic medium with some color washes, and then the beginning of the block in phase, when more opaque colors are applied.  We paint about three hours at each end, and then switch for the next few to keep it interesting....  Stay tuned folks.