"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.

"Zydeco" a 20" X 12" fluid acrylic painting

Zydeco by April M Rimpo

Zydeco
20" X 12" acrylic in brushed silver frame

Available for Purchase - learn more here

There's nothing like a 4-day concert to get my juices flowing. Not only for the fantastic music but also for the emotion of the concert, the place, the musicians, and the people who attend.  As a visual artist I want to share it all, which I do through my paintings. This was my first experience enjoying Zydeco music; it was so much fun.  

Enjoy more of my artwork celebrating those days:

• Percussions: A Serious Business
• A Better View
• La Gelateria

Contant April here
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.

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.

"Arriving Home" and "On the Canal" Celebrating Venice

Celebrating Venice

Arriving Home by April M Rimpo

Arriving Home

Watercolor and Fluid Acrylic

32" X 24" painting in

39" X 31" frame with white mat

Available for Purchase - Learn more here

On the Canal by April M Rimpo

On the Canal

Watercolor

17" X 14" painting in 

25" X 22" wood frame

Available for Purchase  - Learn more here

Click here to Contact April

Please consider joining April's friends and collectors by signing up for her twice-monthly email. You will learn more about April's art inspirations, tips about her painting process, or art business tidbits. April also shares when her art is in exhibits and where. 

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.

By the Sea

I can't think of the phrase, "By the Sea," without this tune flashing through my mind.

"By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea!

You and me, you and me, oh how happy we'll be!"

Excerpt from "By the Beautiful Sea" from the musical "For Me and My Gal"
(Harold Atleridge / Harry Carrol) (1914)

I find paintings can work the same way. During the creation of a painting I feel like I am transported back to the place that inspired it. It always makes me smile when someone sees one of my paintings and tells me about a memory they feel when they see it.  It is the greatest thing that someone can tell me. 

So I've decided not to share my story about the paintings in this blog post and ask that you share yours with me. Please leave a comment.

Fishing Day by April M Rimpo

Fishing Day

24" X 18" Fluid Acrylic

Available for Purchase - Learn More Here

Dockside by April M Rimpo

Dockside

5" X 31" Fluid Acrylic painting

8.5" X 34.5" wood frame that has a bit of a weathered-board appearance.

Available for Purchase - Learn more here

Masts on High by April M Rimpo

Masts on High
14" X 10" Watercolor

Available to Purchase - Learn more here

Below you can see how including paintings around a consistent theme can enhance a room.  

Click here to Contact April

Please consider joining April's friends and collectors by signing up for her twice-monthly email. You will learn more about April's art inspirations, tips about her painting process, or art business tidbits. April also shares when her art is in exhibits and where. 

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.

"La Gelateria" 24" X 18" fluid acrylic

In Situ Image includes: La Gelateria,
Percussion: A Serious Business, and A Better View

"I always think of shade as being full of light. That is why I like to use the word shade rather than light and shadow. Shade seems to play over the thing, envelop it, better define it, while shadow seems to fall on the thing and stain the surface with darks." -John Sloan

La Gelateria by April M Rimpo

La Gelateria
24" X 18" fluid acrylic
Varnished and Framed
in a Silver Wooden Frame 
$1700


Click here to Contact April if you are interested in purchasing this painting.

Exhibited in a Baltimore Watercolor Society Member Show at Quiet Waters Park, receiving a Signature Member Honorable Mention Award.

La Gelatoria celebrates New Orleans and all the great hidden away spots throughout the French Quarter. It is a study of light from bright direct light to subtle variations in the shade. It was interesting to see how the people walking down the bright street had their heads down, trying to keep the sun out of their eyes, which those in the shade sat quietly enjoying a cup or gelato from the local shop. 

I particularly love the cast shadows from the stairs above, plus the bits of shine on the French Quarter's cast iron railings that pick up pale reflected color from their surroundings.

Learn more about the other paintings shown in the inset:

• Percussions: A Serious Business
• A Better View

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.

"Rush Hour" 36" X 24" Fluid Acrylic

Rush Hour by April M Rimpo

Rush Hour

Fluid Acrylic

36" X 24" gallery wrapped

$2075

April Rimpo is one of 63 artists selected for Maryland Federation of Art's

 American Landscapes Exhibition

by show juror Joann Moser. Joann Moser, Senior Curator Emerita, of Smithsonian American Art Museum was the Museum’s Senior Curator of Graphic  Arts from 1986- 2016.

Rush Hour will be on exhibit August 23rd through September 2, 2018 Reception and Awards: Sunday, September 9th, 3-5pm 

ABOUT THE PAINTING
Although the traffic was at a halt, the undulation of the rolling hills, making waves of city buildings appear before us, provides a different type of motion through the city. I can only hope the drivers, who are waiting to move, can see how lovely the city is laid out before them. Even the crane, that reveals the constant change in every city, seems to add to the rhythm of city life.

You can see more "Traffic Jam" paintings at these links:

• Traffic Jam at the Concert - Concert goes waiting on the ticket takers
• Traffic Jam - Sometimes it doesn't take much
• Traffic Jam III - Cyclists backed up at a crossing
• Full to the Limit - An overloaded canal
• Thoroughfare - Amsterdam: More bikes and trikes than you can believe
• Traffic Jam II - No spot at the port for the incoming boat
• Country Tour - Cars waiting on a bike race
• Trapped - Traffic congestion in a tunnel

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.

"Main Street" 9" X 12" Acrylic on Canvas

April M Rimpo standing under her painting, Main Street.
See the little red dot on the tag? It was sold at the reception.

Main Street by April M Rimpo

Main Street

9" X 12" painting

14" X 17" frame

$360

SOLD 

Through the Howard County Arts Council Gallery
8510 High Ridge Rd, Ellicott City, MD 21043

Re-Create Ellicott City Benefit Exhibit

July 9 - August 17, 2018

How can you help Ellicott City artists on the road to recovery? Visit the Howard County Center for the Arts to see our Paint It! Ellicott City show and the Re-Create Ellicott City Benefit Exhibit. A percentage of sales goes to the Re-Create Ellicott City Grant that will provide funds to artists and non-profits recovering from the May 27th flood. April is contributing 75% of the sale of this painting.

• Contant April here

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.

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.