Copyright April M Rimpo

Visit April's website www.amrart.org
Copyright April M Rimpo All Rights Reserved. You may share my work with attribution and a link to this source site, but all other uses are prohibited.

Friday, July 31, 2015

"Elegance" 18" X 12" fluid acrylic

Elegance by April M Rimpo
Elegance
Fluid Acrylic 
18" X 12" image
Gallery Wrapped and Varnished
$520 - Original SOLD

Giclee Print on Watercolor Paper Available
14"X10" image in
Standard 16" X 20" Mat



Print size

When I saw these women all I could think was that they left me with the feeling of Elegance. They were not dressed in elegant apparel; I think it was their posture and how they carried themselves that gave me this impression. I loved how the tall woman wore her hair up, accentuating her height. There was no attempt to deemphasize her height, even though she clearly was much taller than her companion. I'd estimate she was 6' tall.

I am not extremely tall by today's standards, but when I was in 5th grade I was already nearly my full height, at about 5' 8". The boys had not hit their growing spurt and most of the girls in my class were much shorter, probably 5'5" or less. Fortunately, my best friend was about the same height as I because we were teased incessantly about our height. We had each other to commiserate with. Being only 11 years old I know I was devastated and no doubt did not stand tall and proud like this woman.

To maintain consistency with the other paintings in the "Tapestry at the Mall" series, I retained some of the orange and turquoise color scheme, but added many more grays and browns to keep the attention clearly focused on the women. I also reduced the amount of patterns in the background so as to not distract from this pair.

Other paintings in the "Tapestry at the Mall" Series:
#HoCoArt #ShopSmall #SmallBizSat


Other paintings of people in action or participating in every day events:


Interested in learning more about April's art inspirations, tips about her painting process, or art business tidbits? Want to know when her art is in exhibits? Consider joining her friends and collectors by signing up for her twice-monthly email.

Copyright April M Rimpo All Rights Reserved. You may share my work with attribution and a link to this source site, but all other uses are prohibited.

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Bucks be Here!

Three Bucks about to Depart from our Yard
You may remember that back in June I posted about a newborn fawn who was nestled in some tall grass in our yard for the day.  If you missed that post you can read it at A Sweet Addition to Our Neighborhood. We've not seen the fawn again and suspect Mom moved her to a more remote location.
The 2 Point Buck

This week it was the bucks turn to visit. One two-pointer and two three-pointer bucks roamed about our yard nibbling on our wild berries, the stalks from our Hosta flowers, new shoots of grass, and just about anything else that looked yummy. My husband and I noted how they did not mind us being in the windows watching them.  Much more at ease than the doe normally is when she wanders through.  


The Large of the 3 Point Bucks
Since they were clearly roaming about as a group it was obvious it is not yet breeding time, so no competition just yet.

Their sizes varied with one very frail looking 3 point and one larger, healthier 3 point.  The third deer, which we think is a 2 point (although there may have been a hint of a third point) was about the same size as the larger 3 point.  There were twins born in our area a few years ago, so we believe they must be the two 3-point bucks.
The Smallest Buck - But a 3 Point

I wanted to share my photos of these friendly bucks. Enjoy! And don't be surprised if you find them in a painting at some time in the future.




Interested in learning more about April's art inspirations, tips about her painting process, or art business tidbits? Want to know when her art is in exhibits? Consider joining her friends and collectors by signing up for her twice-monthly email.

Copyright April M Rimpo

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Solo Exhibit at Glenview Mansion: Modes of Transportation

A Clutter of  Kayaks by April M Rimpo
I am delighted that my solo exhibit at Glenview Mansion is almost here. It opens on August 2nd, with a reception from 1:30 - 3:30PM. The theme of my exhibit is "Modes of Transportation."  You will find paintings of cars, trains, ships, sailboats, kayaks, dugout boats, motorcycles, bicycles, tricycles, and streetcars; something for everyone. I've been fascinated with painting urban and street scenes for some time and many, but not all, of these paintings fall in that category. A Clutter of Kayaks is a serene painting of several kayakers spending the day on the water. There is also a look at the fate of a car, abandoned by its owner in a field, in More Beautiful with Age. Shipping Port and Freight Yard are two very different views at how we transport goods in and around the United States.


Shipping Port by April M Rimpo
I've become quite hooked on painting cyclists, so you'll see quite a few bicycle paintings in the exhibit. Morning Commute celebrates a group of daily cyclists who ride regardless of weather.  Movement II features a woman who rode in the bicycle race that is routed through our town twice a year.


Movement II by April M Rimpo
I admire people who ride bicycles. I've always been more than a little bit uncoordinated, to the point that, when I turn my head to look for cars, my bike drifts in the direction I look.  It's a problem I have not been able to break, so I admit I don't ride my bike anymore.  The narrow streets in the area where I live feel too dangerous given my "skills." I have, however, learned about the growth of bike trails across America that give me hope that I will be able to ride again. The American League of Bicyclists is a great organization that I have been following recently.  Maybe they will inspire me to get back on the saddle.

The paintings shown here are just a few that you will find in this exhibit. I hope to see you there. The photograph of me with my new custom Custom Candy Bar wrappers is one more reason to attend the reception.  I'll have some of these candy bars with me, so come check out the exhibit.  Someone suggested I make these for each art event I participate with different images of my art;  I thought it was an interesting idea. Let me know if you would collect them.


Hershey Bars with Custom Candy Label of April
with Freight Yard.  Wrapper from www.candywrapperstore.com 
Three other artists also have exhibits at Glenview this month.  They are: Shelley Marie "Naturally Unnatural" mixed media, Caroly Johnson "Illuminations" photography, and Kalin and Thweatt paintings and sculpture. 

Interested in learning more about April's art inspirations, tips about her painting process, or art business tidbits? Want to know when her art is in exhibits? Consider joining her friends and collectors by signing up for her twice-monthly email.

Copyright April M Rimpo All Rights Reserved. You may share my work with attribution and a link to this source site, but all other uses are prohibited.

Sunday, July 26, 2015

"Fashion" 18" X 12" acrylic

Fashion
Fluid Acrylic 
18" X 12" image
Gallery Wrapped and Varnished
$520


Options:

Fashion is the beginning of a series. I never know when I'll get an inspiration for a painting or a series of paintings. I've just started a new series call "Tapestry at the Mall." This is the result of gallery sitting at a cooperative gallery I belong to that is located in a Mall. It was a slow day in the gallery, but a very busy day in the Mall. People were walking by constantly, but few ventured in. I had a few visitors toward the beginning of my shift, but it seemed everyone at the mall was quite busy shopping at the bulk food, clothing, and "you name it" store that is near the gallery. 

After spending quite some time watching people walk by, smiling and trying to entice someone to come in, I started to notice it was really fascinating see the interactions between the people. Some were clearly best friends having a great day together.  Others were families with young children who were often getting a ride on their Dad's shoulders. The children who appeared to be in the 4 or 5 year old bracket were fascinated with their surroundings, staring in every shop, while their parent was busy using their smart phone. 

I was also mesmerized by the clothing people were wearing.  I should mention I was at the mall on a Tuesday between 4 and 8 PM and started paying attention to the people around 6 PM, so some people had clearly come from work without stopping at home first. As a result some were very dressed up, others were wearing their traditional apparel from their native land, the young male-teens were casual but carried things like skate boards. A few passed the gallery eating ice cream, while others looked at them enviously.  In case you hadn't already guessed, I was quite entertained and enjoyed wondering about their stories. So here you go, the first of the "Tapestry at the Mall" series, titled Fashion.  Enjoy!

I'd love to hear what you think about this series concept.


Interested in learning more about April's art inspirations, tips about her painting process, or art business tidbits? Want to know when her art is in exhibits? Consider joining her friends and collectors by signing up for her twice-monthly email.


Copyright April M Rimpo All Rights Reserved. You may share my work with attribution and a link to this source site, but all other uses are prohibited.

Saturday, July 4, 2015

"King of the Roost" SOLD

King of the Roost by April M Rimpo
King of the Roost is another rooster painting inspired by last year's trip to the Montgomery County Fair. There were quite a wide variety of roosters, but this one stood quite proud, showing off for the crowd. The real rooster was a Black Breasted Red Old English Rooster, but aficionados of this breed might have a hard time recognizing him. I definitely took liberties as only an artist can do with the colors and also the shape of the rooster's tail, which does not have such pointed feathers in its tail. I used some watercolor pencil to add strokes of color, although I'm not sure if they are visible in the finished work since layers of paint were added on top of the pencil lines.

Using chicken wire like patterns to give the illusion of feathers was a fun playful departure from reality. Adding geometric shapes to the background inserted some contrasting shapes to this very proud bird. Enjoy!

 King of the Roost SOLD at Still Life Gallery in Ellicott City.  


Interested in learning more about April's art inspirations, tips about her painting process, or art business tidbits? Want to know when her art is in exhibits? Consider signing up for her twice-monthly email.

Copyright April M Rimpo Art

Friday, July 3, 2015

Kayaks 18" X 24" Acrylic on Watercolor Paper

Kayaks by April M Rimpo
Kayaks
Fluid Acrylic
18"X24" gallery wrapped
$1035, includes shipping within the United States

Original size in inches:


Kayaks is one of those paintings that has stewed in my brain for some time. I take a lot of photographs but certain ones continue to come back to me as something I need to paint, not want to paint but NEED to paint. The problem is I don't always know right away to go about it or what exactly it is that excites me about a scene.  Initially, it was just the color of the kayaks that drew me to photograph it, because color is very seductive. 

Now, I think it was more than that. I'm also drawn to the contrast of the curves of the boats - both the kayak shape and the way they were arrayed by the dock almost like they were huddled in conversation - compared to the linear form of the dock. 

I did some editing from the photo, removing some extraneous boats from the background, altering some colors to improve the color harmony, and intensifying the color of the water in the foreground. But the heart of the painting, the colors and shapes of the kayaks were retained from the original scene.

I decided to start by creating a very loose wash of the foreground on Yupo, since the paints mix and blend in such wonderful ways on this plastic paper. Then I did a monoprint of that onto my hot press watercolor paper.  This was a new process for me inspired by the Yupo to Yupo monoprints we created in Mark Mehaffey's workshop. I thought the hot press paper, which has a smooth finish, would pick up the paint more evenly than more textural cold press paper that I normally use.  I had to spray water on the hot press surface after making the monoprint to allow me to make the paint spread more evenly across the foreground and to lighten some areas where the intensity was too extreme. Overall, this approach added some excitement to the underpainting.

I also sprayed the top half of the paper so I could let some of the paint spread over the entire surface creating some water texture in the middle of the painting and some nice muted colors in the sky.  Once dry, I transferred the drawing to the painting and continued to develop the rest of the painting with brushes. This was an exciting way of working since I had to pull out the shapes of the boats and dock from the underpainting. It was quite an interesting transformation requiring several layers of paint in some areas to get the final appearance I desired.

Interested in learning more about April's art inspirations, tips about her painting process, or art business tidbits? Want to know when her art is in exhibits? Consider signing up for her twice-monthly email.

Copyright April M Rimpo Art

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

"Relaxing on Top", 20" X 30" fluid acrylic on paper mounted

Relaxing on Top by April M Rimpo
Relaxation, ahhhhhhhhh. 

How do you define relaxation?

What is the image in your minds eye when you think of a favorite spot to relax?

What is it like? Quiet? Are you alone? Are you having a chat with a favorite friend? 

Is the location cool or warm? Is it remote without access to our high paced, electronics world? Or do you think watching a favorite movie to be that perfect place to relax?

I suspect that perfect spot for relaxation is different for everyone.

When visiting a National Park in the Southwest, I was intrigued to see this rock climber sitting on top of this spire, looking down on the world where visitors walked by below, while he appeared to be in quiet solitude in his remoteness.

I was on a higher path and with my telephoto lens was able to capture him, first when climbing the spire and later when he sat on top.  The primary sound was the cooing of doves and pigeons who had made their homes in crevices and nooks in the rock face. Most of the tourists were so mesmerized by the beautiful red rock formations that they too were generally silent or spoke softly to each other, like noise would somehow break the solemnity of their surrounds.

I am a city girl who grew up in a medium sized city on the eastern coast of America. I'm rather uncoordinated and would never consider climbing a spire, that must have risen 200 feet or more off the ground, to find a solemn spot to relax. However I can understand how someone could find that the perfect spot.

I guess I am a watcher of people and the many differences among us.  I find people fascinating and love to capture them in what appears to be a place of pleasure so I can share their joy with the world.  

This man found a quiet, yet hidden place, in this terrain. I intentionally made him blend in with his surroundings, with only his blue clothing and blue climbers rope to help you discover and focus on him. Although I used light and dark contrast to give shape to the rock forms along the cliff facing him on the other side of the spire, I muted the edges of the painting to portray the quiet of the environment and to help hold you inside. 

Some tenacious plants that clung to the cliff were included to help communicate the ruggedness of the environment where strength is need to survive. I felt this man too was another symbol of strength, even though he was in a relaxed pose, or maybe because he was in a relaxed pose. He portrays such confidence in his ability to climb and traverse the sheer rock faces.

Please share your thoughts on your favorite place to relax.

Relaxing on Top
Fluid Acrylic
20" X 30" varnished, mounted on 2.5" deep wood cradle
$1550


"Interested in learning more about April's art inspirations, tips about her painting process, or art business tidbits? Want to know when her art is in exhibits? Consider signing up for her twice-monthly email."

Copyright April M Rimpo All Rights Reserved. You may share my work with attribution and a link to this source site, but all other uses are prohibited.

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