Fluid Acrylic and Watercolor Workshops held in October

Sharing Fish Tales by April M Rimpo - SOLD

When I teach I like to vary the lessons to keep my classes interesting. Sharing Fish Tales was a new lesson in my last Fun with Fluid Acrylics workshop held at the Columbia Art Center.  This was my practice painting before the class so I knew how to go about teaching each step of the process.  It's important to me to have a well planned class to be sure we can cover all the material. I am delighted that I just sold this painting, which brought back great memories from the purchaser's childhood. I do love when my work touches someone this way. 

This 2-Day workshop was packed with three lessons that build upon each other.  In other words, skills learned in the first lesson were used in the second, then techniques from the second were reused in different ways in the third lesson.

I always bring along examples of my work where I have used the techniques in similar ways but with different subject matter to allow everyone to see some options of where they might go with what they are learning.

A few samples of the paintings generated by the students.

I also taught a couple Nighttime Landscapes in Watercolor classes this fall. Like the Fun with Fluid Acrylics class I had done research before the class to try to optimize the chances of success of the student's paintings.  In this case the research was related to what pigments would work best for nighttime landscapes. I identified some blue orange complements that looked like they would work to create dramatic night skies in a blog post by Jane Blundell. If you follow that link you will see Jane Blundell was not investigating night skies but her color studies allowed me to identify a few blends that would get dark enough when blended properly.  When I received the tubes of painting I tried mixes of each complement to see which gave me the rich darks I wanted and allowed me to create some nice muted browns and greens for the landscape.  I ended up with 4 pigments to use for the paintings which I recommended to the students. I also let them bring their own pigments if they didn't want to buy and recommended single pigment paints since they are less prone to getting "muddy" - a term artists use when the paints mix to dull colors that are no longer luminous.

I was thrilled by the results from both of these classes. The students brought their own references for the nighttime class with Baltimore Watercolor Society; I love the variety of sites. Here are a few images of their work for you to enjoy.

Nighttime Landscapes - Student work

Closer View of Student Work

Interested in April's classes? Consider becoming a Studio Friend by signing up for her twice-monthly email. April segments her newsletter so you can select topics you'd like to hear about when you sign up. For those who include a selection of General Interest you will receive emails about twice-monthly. If you are only interested in classes, then the emails will be much less frequent discussing upcoming classes and how to register.  Thank you for your interest.

Contact April and see more of her art on her website

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.

"Night Reflections" 12" X 18" watercolor by April M Rimpo

"Beauty is a form of genius--is higher, indeed, than genius, as it needs no explanation. It is of the great facts in the world like sunlight, or springtime, or the reflection in dark water of that silver shell we call the moon." - Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900)

Night Reflections by April M Rimpo

Night Reflections

Watercolor

12" X 18" image in 14 X 20" Silver Wood Frame
Varnished, no Glass

Available for Purchase HERE

Click here to Contact April or visit her website to explore her paintings on the Art page.

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.

"Dream Scape" 10" X 13" fluid acrylic

- What Color is Your Dream? ...
...when the dreamweaver sees it is time to be through, she whispers a dream known only to you ... (Kittie N. Beletic)

Dream Scape by April M Rimpo

Dream Scape

10" X 10" X 1" Fluid Acrylic 

Available for purchase here 

I remember staring at the clouds to see what images I could find. As a child the images were often animals, but now I tend to see faces of people or shapes of people walking. I find this very relaxing and a way to get away from the stresses of the world. The sky can be a place to be removed and happy.

Contact April and see more of her art on her website

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? Interested in her classes? Consider becoming a Studio Friend 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.

Amazing Transformation Is Well Underway at HorseSpirit Arts Gallery

Many of the artists at HorseSpirit Arts Gallery and their family members have been helping Robin Holliday and her husband Max Crownover clean and paint HorseSpirit Art Gallery's new location at Savage Mills in the Cotton Shed Building. What a great way to build comradery while helping transform this wonderful building into a gorgeous gallery.

Here I wanted to share several before and after photographs of HorseSpirit Arts Gallery's new home. The work isn't done, but what has been accomplished in one week is astonishing to me. Next up floors.

One of the changes I love, other than the overall increase of light in the space, is how the neutral walls that replaced the red walls really make the brick accents sing. In the after pictures you will see a lot of furniture that also got a fresh coat of painting. Once arranged with the loving skill of Robin Holliday this place will sing right along with the brick walls.

BEFORE	AFTER
	Our Champion Gallerist, Robin Holliday, Keeping the Enthusiasm Going for All of Us.

Contact April and see more of her art on her website

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? Interested in her classes? Consider becoming a Studio Friend 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.

"A Cheery Place" 10" X 8" Acrylic

A Cheery Place by April M Rimpo

A Cheery Place

10" X 8" painting

11" X 9" Silver Wood Frame

Available at HorseSpirit Arts Gallery
8600 Foundry Road, Savage, Maryland
in Historic Savage Mill 

Amsterdam is one of the few places outside the United States that my husband and I have traveled to more than once and would love to visit again. It is not just the city we love but The Netherlands in general. One of the places that really delighted me on our last trip was Volendam. This little town is traveled to by tourists mostly to visit the dock, to explore all the shops, and to try great food. We were lucky enough to wander through the town itself.  Among the wonderful sights was this little village.
Likely the first thing you noticed were the Minion trash cans outside these homes. You may have also noticed the bicycles lined up in the little alley behind the Minions. But one detail I didn't notice until I was painting this scene was that each home had a painting by the front door. I have never seen anything like this. How could you not fall in love with this village?

Click here to Contact April or visit her website to explore her paintings on the Art page.

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.

Student Work from Night Landscape Workshop

Last Saturday I taught a "Night Landscape" workshop for a watercolor group that meets monthly for a one-day workshop.  When their normal instructor was not available they invited me to teach. It was great interacting with the eleven artists who came out on a rainy day to enjoy a day of art. 

I was definitely stretching their comfort zone by having them work with saturated paint (where there is a much more paint and less water) and stressing to put down the paint and don't touch it, let the paint do the work. Several commented that they wanted to loosen up and they found this process liberating. Other struggled with not working back into wet areas.


I wanted to show some of their results here. When I took these photos the skies were done but most still needed to add one more layer to the lower portion of the landscape to shift the grassy area from daylight to night.  

Some had incorporated the house, barn and figures and others had not. 

 As you can see most have a mask over the moon, allowing them to paint the sky without having to work around the moon.  Once the mask is gone they'll have a bright moon that they can subdue with a gray wash to create a few indications where the craters are on the surface.

Some even finished the trees.

It is always fascinating to see the results when a group of artists work from the same reference photo to see how they interpret the scene. 

I'll be teaching another session of this workshop for the Baltimore Watercolor Society on Saturday, October 27th. 

You can learn more and sign up for the workshop here.

Click here to Contact April 

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.

An Adventure in Raleigh: Touring Art Galleries

This adventure started when a friend of mine told me about a gallery in Raleigh, North Carolina where she thought I might be able to have a solo exhibit. It is 311 Gallery at 311 W. Martin Street. I looked up their website and discovered they hold several national exhibits each year; one of these is a Landscape and Seascape exhibit. Although my friend reached out to the owner to direct him to my website, I thought it might be a good idea to apply for this exhibit to see whether my art was selected and how it would do in the show.

City Reflections II, Tenement, and Fresh Fruit to Go by April M Rimpo

City Reflections II by April M Rimpo

My painting City Reflections II was selected by the panel of jurors and will be on display from September 6 - 29th at 311 Gallery. I wanted very much to attend the reception for this exhibit and meet the owner, however the reception is the evening of September 7th. I am teaching a class on September 8th here in Maryland so the timing doesn't work. Another option was to either deliver the art or pick it up from the venue at the end of the exhibit.  I opted to deliver the art, so my husband and I drove to Raleigh last week. 

Before leaving, I researched other galleries in Raleigh and came up with a list of three galleries, in addition to 311 Gallery, that I wanted to visit. Much to my delight, when I delivered my work, the owner of 311 Gallery offered me a map of galleries in Raleigh and suggested four others he thought I should check out that were in the same downtown area.  The three I had selected were included in his recommendations.  Considering that I started with a list I found on the internet of over a dozen galleries, I was proud that my own selection overlapped with his.

My husband and I spent the rest of the day wandering from gallery to gallery. My goal was to try to get a feel for each gallery to see if I was interested in any of them as a possible representative of my art. For most, I introduced myself as an artist who had delivered a painting to 311 Gallery's Landscape exhibition and that I was just interested in seeing more art in Raleigh.  I said nothing about being interested in representation. I wanted to see how they treated me and others who wandered into the galleries and also spend some time seeing how the art in the gallery correlated to mine.  

When looking for a gallery, I want one that has a variety of art where I believe my art is within the boundaries of what they have selected to represent. In other words, consistent with the other work while not being so similar that it would compete directly with art that gallery already carries. I also pay attention to media. Some galleries prefer a specific medium, such as oil paintings, and nothing else. Since I do watercolor and acrylic paintings, it is likely they will not be interested in my art, although that alone would not rule them out as a gallery to approach.  I also pay attention to how the artwork is priced and whether they only carry local artists' work or only nationally known art.

One of these galleries rose to the top as one I should definitely reach out to for representation. They were busy that day taking down a show to install another pop-up event that would occur the next night. Although they were very busy, the owner took time to talk to me and describe the upcoming event.  She even talked to us about the hanging system she uses to hang work in her gallery, which has 15 foot tall ceilings.  I was pleasantly surprised that she stopped what she was doing when she was so busying preparing for the next day. That demonstrated to me that anyone who visits her gallery is no doubt treated with genuine interest and welcomed. 

One, which was my favorite when I researched their website, was disappointing based on its size, presentation of the art, and my overall reaction of the space. It was in what appeared to be a historic house, but smelled quite musty and damp.  

The one I had not found myself is in the process of working with a potential buyer; the owner is planning to retire as gallery owner and focus on producing her art and teaching workshops in Europe. I also received some input on the health of the art market in Raleigh, which was great to learn and consider before approaching a gallery for representation.

The nicest surprise during my tour was when I stopped at the Artspace Gallery, where there are a large number of studio artists.  As I was wandering the halls I saw the work of Ryan Fox, who is a fellow watercolor artist that I have come to know through Facebook.  We often have work selected for the same national exhibitions and both know each other's work. I immediately hunted for his studio and found him working there.  We had a great time visiting, since we had never actually met face-to-face.  My sweet husband wandered down the hall to kill time while Ryan and I talked.  I also had a nice conversation with another artist that I didn't know, who was in her gallery waiting for a canvas to dry and contemplating her next steps.  She and I chatted for some time about art, national exhibits, and her art. Although I am not sure whether a gallery like Artscape is the right answer since I am not local, the great experience made me include them as a place I needed to understand better. They do have a membership that includes remote artists that I need to understand.

All in all it was a very helpful trip that gave me lots to think about. I'm waiting to hear from a galleries I approach in Annapolis just before heading out on this trip, so the result from that gallery will determine what I do with the Raleigh galleries.  I only want to add one more gallery at this time and Annapolis, being closest, is my first choice. The close proximity will make delivery simpler.

A wonderful post script to my trip to Raleigh. I found out that my painting, City Reflections II, received the Second Place Award in 311 Gallery's Landscape and Seascape Exhibit. My thanks to the jurors of selection and awards.

Click here to Contact April 

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.

"Don't Look Back" 8" X 10" Acrylic on Canvas

Don't Look Back by April M Rimpo

I think with this painting I have now painted bicycles sitting at the side of the road, people just out for a ride, commuting to work, in triathlons, and now with Don't Look Back a cycling team on an indoor course.  Perhaps the only cycling activity I have missed is people on mountain bikes.

People often ask if I am a cyclist. I wish I could answer "yes". I haven't ridden regularly since my early 30s when I was trying to get back in shape after the birth of my son.  I am a very clumsy person so the flat terrain around our home in Arizona was perfect for me. During the middle of the morning, before the temperatures rose to their peak, I'd go out to ride. Commuters were off to work and the side streets around our home were fairly empty. There were even wide off-road paths where the clay was baked hard allowing me to travel much like on pavement. I'd often see Roadrunners and occasionally wild animals. We lived near an Indian Reservation that I passed on my ride allowing me to occasionally view a coyote in the distance. It was a lovely time.

For twenty years we've lived in a small East Coast town with narrow winding roads and lots of hills and dales. I haven't ventured out on my bicycle since right after we moved here. I found the constant cars passing me on those narrow roads much too intimidating, knowing how unstable I feel on a bicycle in the first place. My bike sits in the basement awaiting me with the bike helmet poised nearby, tires flat from neglect. But I love to watch cyclists and feel their energy as they fly by, exciting me to paint them and live vicariously through them. 

Don't miss April's other cycling paintings on her website

Click here to Contact April

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.

"Distant Glow" 16" X 44" watercolor by April Rimpo

Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy.Anne Frank (1929 - 1945), Diary of a Young Girl, 1952

Distant Glow, a 16" X 44" Watercolor by April M Rimpo

For me the beauty of night and the glow of the moon provides a sense of calm and peace over the world.

If this painting speaks to you, please share you thoughts in a comment.

Distant Glow

16" X 44" Varnished Watercolor*

* April's varnished watercolors are presented without a mat or glass. They are very well sealed with no risk that moisture will impact the painting.

Check out two other night scenes by April M Rimpo here.

Click here to Contact April

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.

Night Scenes by April Rimpo

Nighttime Stroll 30" X 24" Fluid Acrylic
by April M Rimpo

I've started a series of night scenes and wanted to share not only the paintings but a little bit about the pigments I used to accomplish these.

Nighttime Stroll

Fluid Acrylic

30" X 24" *

Quiet Times 11" X 14" Watercolor by April  Rimpo

Quiet Times

Watercolor

11" X 14" *

I often find it is best to experiment with color before starting a painting where I want something different.  In this case, the colors that work best for nighttime scenes are still luminous and not what artists call muddy.  Muddy colors are dull and lifeless.

In the fluid acrylic painting, Nighttime Stroll, I started with pale pastel color in the underpainting that I know would work well for the pale blossoms on the trees and also lend a glow to the rest of the surroundings.  The dark sky was worked second to get an idea of the value range from the lightest areas by the street lights to the darkest areas of the sky. At the very end I wet the entire surface and applied one final coat of the grayed blend of blue I was using in the sky over the entire surface (except by tree near the light) to add continuity and to shroud it all in night. The blend was primarily Indigo with touches of Permanent Alizarin Red, and Yellow Ochre to gray it.  These three colors have recently found there way into several of my fluid acrylic paintings, a new favorite triad of color for me.

Quite Time is watercolor and required a different set of pigments. This time a different triad of Daniel Smith Indanthrone Blue, Permanent Orange, and Hansa Yellow Medium. These were a new combination for me that I found through some research in a blog by Jane Blundell (https://janeblundellart.blogspot.com/search?q=mixing), where she presents complements that make a good "black" and perfect neutral blends.  I chose this particular triad also because it supports not only the dark sky but also a great set of greens that I knew I needed for the foreground. I love how three pigments can be used to create such a wide variety of colors.

I added a fourth color for the light sky areas (Daniel Smith Magnesium Blue). How I decided to use this particular color is a story for another blog post. 

* Both paintings will be varnished and framed. 

Click here to Contact April

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.

"Harvest Time", 29" X 34" watercolor and fluid acrylic

"You can't use up creativity, the more you use, the more you have."  Maya Angelou

Harvest Time, fluid acrylic and watercolor, by April M. Rimpo

Some paintings require time to pass before you come back to them and decide to finally finish them.  This is one of those, but I think it was worth the wait.

Harvest Time

Fluid Acrylic and Watercolor

28" X 32" painting
$2200

Available at HorseSpirit Arts Gallery
Located at Savage Mill in
Savage, Maryland

When out walking near my home in Maryland I got an inspiration for this painting.  I had noticed earlier in the day that a tractor was in a neighbor’s field.  Some of the wheat had been plowed, but most was still in the field.  I decided it was a good opportunity to get some tractor pictures so I took my camera with me.  I had gotten a new zoom lens that went to 300 and thought I would try it out.  After I photographed the tractor I walked past another field where the wheat was right next to the road.  I noticed the beautiful range of gold, blue and green colors in the wheat and took some photos.  While photographing the wheat I thought it would be fun to play with overlaying the tractor on the close-up of the wheat.  This would result in an interesting texture under the tractor.  When I got home I tried it and the design for Harvest Time was born.

I painted the wheat first using fluid acrylic so the wheat pattern would not diffuse when I paint the tractor over the wheat.  The tractor was done in watercolor.  Since the wheat is primarily golden I wanted a blue and purple tractor to create a nice complement to the wheat.  The tractor I had photographed was blue and green, so I replaced the green parts of the tractor with purple.  Not a color that would be typical in a tractor but I believe combining the purple with the blue made it believable and provided an exciting contrast with the surrounding wheat.  

Below are two photographs of the work in progress.  The first shows only the acrylic painting of the close up wheat (Masking fluid still on the painting), the second shows the painting after the tractor was added and the masking fluid removed, but before I have painted on the masked areas to integrate these lighter passages.

Harvest Time WIP: Acrylic  background of
close-up wheat

Harvest Time WIP: After adding watercolor
 combine and
removing much of the masking fluid

Click here to Contact April

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.

"Art Fest" 21" X 12" Fluid Acrylic

Art Fest by April M Rimpo

Art Fest

Fluid Acrylic

21" X 12" image

I've attended a lot of art festivals and they often are filled with tents where each artist shows their wares.  This one was a bit different since it was held next to a park surrounded by a wrought iron fence.  Each artist hung or leaned their works against the fence or set up an easel or table to work further from the fence.  It seemed a bit more intimate this way. The sun fell through the surrounding trees creating interesting patterns on the walkways, but still providing enough light to let you see the artwork. Since I enjoy painting people and bicycles, and this artist arrived on a bike, I just had to include him in my celebration of an Art Fest.

A nice memory that came back to me after completing this painting was how I once participated in an art fest at a lovely botanical garden where we also hung our art on the fence.  I love how art can bring back memories. 

Please share your festival experiences with me in a comment. Have you ever hung art on a fence?  Did it rain during a festival and you were grateful to be under a tent?  

Click here to Contact April

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.