Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Monday, September 29, 2014
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Saturday, September 27, 2014
Friday, September 26, 2014
30 Day Challenge Day 26: The Violin
The Violin Copyright 2014 Hirschten Oil on Canvas 16" x 20" |
My violin is by far the most beautiful thing I own. It was probably built in Germany in the 1880s or so. The back is inlaid with a mother of pearl design. I've wanted to paint it for awhile but this is my first attempt... and boy was it difficult! All of the weird shadows and proportions are what make it beautiful and almost impossible to depict.
"There is no exquisite beauty without some strangeness in the proportion."
-Edgar Allan Poe
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
30 Day Challenge Day 23: The Kiss
The Kiss Copyright 2014 Hirschten Pen and Ink on Paper 11" x 14" |
since feeling is first
who pays any attention
to the syntax of things
will never wholly kiss you;
wholly to be a fool
while Spring is in the world
my blood approves,
and kisses are a far better fate
than wisdom
lady i swear by all flowers. Don't cry
--the best gesture of my brain is less than
your eyelids' flutter which says
we are for each other: then
laugh, leaning back in my arms
for life's not a paragraph
And death i think is no parenthesis.
who pays any attention
to the syntax of things
will never wholly kiss you;
wholly to be a fool
while Spring is in the world
my blood approves,
and kisses are a far better fate
than wisdom
lady i swear by all flowers. Don't cry
--the best gesture of my brain is less than
your eyelids' flutter which says
we are for each other: then
laugh, leaning back in my arms
for life's not a paragraph
And death i think is no parenthesis.
-E.E. Cummings
Monday, September 22, 2014
Sunday, September 21, 2014
Saturday, September 20, 2014
Friday, September 19, 2014
30 Day Challenge Day 19: Guildford Street Bridge in Broad Ripple
Guilford Street Bridge in Broad Ripple Copyright 2014 Hirschten Oil on Canvas 11" x 14" |
Whew I struggled with this one! It was the day of burnout from this 30 day challenge for me. My easel broke... I started cussing at the clouds for changing my shadows and geese were bothering me. It turned out a bit bright, as many plein air paintings do, but I think it could be a nice sketch for a larger painting.
"There is nothing in machinery, there is
nothing in embankments and railways and iron bridges and engineering
devices to oblige them to be ugly. Ugliness is the measure of
imperfection."
-H.G. Wells
-H.G. Wells
Thursday, September 18, 2014
30 Day Challenge Day 18: Carrot Island Marsh Looking North
Carrot Island Marsh Looking North Copyright 2014 Addie Hirschten Oil on Canvas 12" x 24" |
This is a spot on Carrot Island, North Carolina where you can look over the flat marshland to see the Beaufort houses just beyond the scrubby coastal brush. As the sun was setting the two layers of clouds took on a rich variety of color. This preserve is named after Rachel Carson.
"To stand at the edge of the sea, to sense the ebb and flow of the tides, to feel the breath of a mist moving over a great salt marsh,
to watch the flight of shore birds that have swept up and down the surf
lines of the continents for untold thousands of year, to see the
running of the old eels and the young shad to the sea, is to have
knowledge of things that are as nearly eternal as any earthly life can
be."
-Rachel Carson
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
30 Day Challenge Day 17: Morning Glories
Morning Glories Copyright 2014 Addie Hirschten Oil on Canvas 5" x 7" |
"The morning pouring everywhere, its golden glory on the air."
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
When I made this painting my daughter voiced that she wanted to make one too. So we enjoyed the sunny day, painting on the porch. Here is her interpretation of the morning glories...
My Daughter's Morning Glories Painted by Emmaline, Age 8 |
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Monday, September 15, 2014
Sunday, September 14, 2014
30 Day Challenge Day 14: Sunflowers in the Light
Sunflowers in the Light Copyright 2014 Addie Hirschten Oil on Canvas 11" x 14" |
On the second day of having these flowers I moved them to a spot by the window. The morning light was so different than my spot light! So dramatic yet gentle.
"Light-enchanted sunflower, thou
Who gazest ever true and tender
On the sun's revolving splendour."
~ Pedro Calderon de la Barca
Saturday, September 13, 2014
30 Day Challenge Day 13: Sunflowers in a Jar
Sunflowers in a Jar Copyright 2014 Addie Hirschten Oil on Canvas 11" x 14" |
"When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it's your world
for the moment. I want to give that world to someone else. Most people
in the city rush around so, they have no time to look at a flower. I
want them to see it whether they want to or not."
-Georgia O'Keeffe
Friday, September 12, 2014
Thursday, September 11, 2014
30 Day Challenge Day 11: Cow Skull with Flowers
Cow Skull with Flowers Copyright 2014 Addie Hirschten Oil on Canvas 16" x 20" |
The Indianapolis Art Museum will soon be hosting a Georgia O'Keeffe exhibit! I borrowed this cow skull from a friend so that my student's could create still life paintings inspired by O'Keeffe's work. Here is my own take.
"Sun-bleached bones were most wonderful against the blue- that blue that will always be there as it is now after all man's destruction is finished."
-Georgia O'Keeffe
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Monday, September 8, 2014
30 Day Challenge Day 8: The Single Apple
The Single Apple Copyright 2014 Hirschten Oil on Canvas 4" x 4" |
"And when you crush an apple with your teeth, say to it in your heart:
Your seeds shall live in my body,
And the buds of your tomorrow shall blossom in my heart,
And your fragrance shall be my breath,
And together we shall rejoice through all the seasons."
And the buds of your tomorrow shall blossom in my heart,
And your fragrance shall be my breath,
And together we shall rejoice through all the seasons."
-Khalil Gibran
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Saturday, September 6, 2014
Friday, September 5, 2014
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
30 Day Challenge Day 2: Red Sails
Red Sails Copyright 2014 Hirschten Oil on Canvas 11" x 14" |
I saw this fabulous red sailboat off of the shores of Shackleford Banks, North Carolina this summer. It was amazing how well the color of the sails matched the driftwood and scrubby brush on the dunes of the island. I wish I could be there now to feel the wind filling up my metaphorical sails!
Monday, September 1, 2014
30 Day Challenge Day 1: Horses on Carrot Island
Horses on Carrot Island copyright 2014 Addie Hirschten Oil on Canvas 11" x 14" |
This painting is the first horse painting I've ever done! (Unless you count fourth grade drawings.) The horses on Carrot Island are all wild. This painting had to be done from a photo since they move so quickly. The sun was setting from the opposite direction creating amazing purple clouds to the east.