Featured Art - Looking Up

Looking Up, a 36" X 40" fluid acrylic by April M Rimpo

Here is a change of pace for my series of Featured Artwork on display at RE/MAX Advantage Realty. Looking up celebrates a beautiful day in Autumn after the leaves have changed their color by before they fall. This painting is a great way to bring a bit of the outdoors into your home. 

I enjoyed this painting while it was hanging in my living room over the fireplace. It looked great on the brick wall and really let me relax and be taking away, up through the trees to sore wherever my imagination took me.  

If you need a breath of fresh air in your home, perhaps Looking Up is just what you need.

Looking Up

36" X 40" fluid acrylic

varnished and framed in a brushed silver frame

$3175

Original:

36in x 40in Looking Up $3,175.00 USD

If you would like to see the painting, you can stop by RE/MAX Advantage Realty, 729 East Pratt Street, Suite 100, Baltimore MD 21202, and say you are there to see April Rimpo's artwork. All purchases are made through April, so contact her if you have questions or would like to meet at RE/MAX. 

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 2014 All Rights Reserved. You may share my work with attribution, but all other uses are prohibited.

"Through the Trees" 8" X 10" acrylic on canvas

Through the Trees by April M. Rimpo

Through the Trees

Fluid Acrylic on Canvas

8" X 10"

$200

The leaves have fallen but I keep painting them because I hate to admit they are gone.  This year we had pretty good color in the trees here in Maryland. You would think that by now I would have figured out the pattern of when we will have good color in the trees and when they will just turn brown and fall quickly. But no matter how I try to second guess what will happen, I never guess correctly.

Now my husband and I believe we do know when there will be a good crop of acorns in the trees; dry years seem to have a large yield and wet years very few acorns.  But the color of the leaves?  Not so much luck.  I have a feeling it is a mixture of rainfall, temperature, and a few other variables that just allude us.

Being an artist I can just pretend every year is a great year for color and create paintings that celebrate the glory of the leaves.

If you know the answer to the puzzle of Fall's color, please do share.

The making of "By the Stream", a 24" X 72" fluid acrylic on gallery wrapped paper

By the Stream by April M Rimpo

I love the colors of fall, so By the Stream, provided an opportunity to explore these colors.  Being a large painting it took a while to complete.  I found that I kept examining the leaves near my home every time I left the house.  As I drove around the area I enjoyed the little flecks of color that stood out in from on darker trees.  Each time I resumed work on this painting I brought that new knowledge with me.  

By the Stream

Fluid Acrylic on Varnished, Gallery Wrapped Paper*

24" X 72"

SOLD

By the Stream started as a poured painting.  This was the quickest approach to get some base color over the entire surface of the painting. You can see there was some masking fluid on the paper to preserve some white areas. After the paint dried over night, more masking fluid was added to save the sky, some of the light colors in the trees, and reflective spots in the water.

The next day I sprayed the paper with water then applied paint using a very large brush. Because the surface of the paper was quite wet, I tilted the paper to let the color intermingle, much like using a pouring technique. This started to define the water and structure of the landscape.


The image at left shows the result after one more painting session and removal of the masking fluid. As you can see, there is a lot of work to do to integrate the light areas where the mask was and make a cohesive painting.

In the image at right I've worked on some trees on the left and reflections in the stream. Here I was able to test out an approach for finishing the painting. While looking at this photo I realized I needed more light blue reflections on the right side of the stream to clarify the transition from the stream to the bank. 




The detail at left shows distant trees added to the light sky areas. I've hinted at bushes at the base of the trees and used greens as well as browns to indicate the depth of the woods. I am happy with these results, so I continued with the rest of the painting using the techniques used here. There is a great deal of push and pull between light and dark areas and between warm and cool colors creating a rhythm to the painting.  

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the painting.  Also feel free to ask for more specifics about my process.

The making of "By the Stream", a 24" X 72" fluid acrylic on gallery wrapped paper

By the Stream by April M Rimpo

I love the colors of fall, so By the Stream, provided an opportunity to explore these colors.  Being a large painting it took a while to complete.  I found that I kept examining the leaves near my home every time I left the house.  As I drove around the area I enjoyed the little flecks of color that stood out in from on darker trees.  Each time I resumed work on this painting I brought that new knowledge with me.  

By the Stream

Fluid Acrylic on Varnished, Gallery Wrapped Paper*

24" X 72"

SOLD

By the Stream started as a poured painting.  This was the quickest approach to get some base color over the entire surface of the painting. You can see there was some masking fluid on the paper to preserve some white areas. After the paint dried over night, more masking fluid was added to save the sky, some of the light colors in the trees, and reflective spots in the water.

The next day I sprayed the paper with water then applied paint using a very large brush. Because the surface of the paper was quite wet, I tilted the paper to let the color intermingle, much like using a pouring technique. This started to define the water and structure of the landscape.


The image at left shows the result after one more painting session and removal of the masking fluid. As you can see, there is a lot of work to do to integrate the light areas where the mask was and make a cohesive painting.

In the image at right I've worked on some trees on the left and reflections in the stream. Here I was able to test out an approach for finishing the painting. While looking at this photo I realized I needed more light blue reflections on the right side of the stream to clarify the transition from the stream to the bank. 




The detail at left shows distant trees added to the light sky areas. I've hinted at bushes at the base of the trees and used greens as well as browns to indicate the depth of the woods. I am happy with these results, so I continued with the rest of the painting using the techniques used here. There is a great deal of push and pull between light and dark areas and between warm and cool colors creating a rhythm to the painting.  

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the painting.  Also feel free to ask for more specifics about my process.

"Standing Tall", 20" X 16" varnish acrylic on gallery wrapped paper

Standing Tall by April M Rimpo

View of gallery wrapped edge

Standing Tall

fluid acrylic 

20" X 16" varnished gallery wrapped paper

$500 within the United States*

A little whimsy to brighten your day in Standing Tall. These multicolored trees tower above the ground, so tall you can see a bit of the curvature of the earth.  Their roots intertwine and reach deep, anchoring the trees for all time. Part of me feels fairies might live among these trees.  

* Contact April regarding purchase outside the United States.

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 2016 All Rights Reserved. You may share my work with attribution and a link to this source site, but all other uses are prohibited.

"Looking Up" 36" X 40" acrylic and watercolor

Looking Up by April M Rimpo

So you've seen several of my paintings looking down on city streets so now it's time to take some time and enjoy the beautiful scenes above our heads.  Almost 18 months ago I was headed to one of the local art centers and happened to park on the street.  While walking up the hill toward the center I happened to look up.  It was a gorgeous fall day, the leaves had changed and I happened to have my camera with me.  Since the stars had aligned I took a photograph, as I am likely to do when I see something that catches my eye.  I had decided I wanted this to be a large painting to help convey my feeling when I saw the trees.  They were this magnificent stand above my head saying hello as they swayed in the breeze.  So hello from the trees; I hope they make you smile too. 

Looking Up

Fluid Acrylic and Watercolor on Paper

Varnished and Framed

36" X 40"

SOLD

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 2014 All Rights Reserved. You may share my work with attribution, but all other uses are prohibited.

"Shadows on the Path" 8" X 10" acrylic on canvas

Shadows on the Path by April M Rimpo

"Shadows on the Path"

by April M Rimpo

8" X 10"

acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas

$200 includes shipping and handling with US

On a trip to the Hudson River Valley a few years about, my husband and I visited a few wineries in the area. We arrived at one winery about an hour before the tour was to start so we wandered around the grounds.  It was mid-morning but the light in October on the Hudson Rive is essentially early morning light;  there were great shadows and lights.  As you all know by now, I am drawn to scenes with great shadows and lights, so I took many photographs to help me remember the mood of the scene.

A couple days later, my husband, brother, a friend and I attended a Levon Helm "Midnight Ramble" concert at his studio home in Woodstock, New York.  We loved the concert and were so happy we got to see Levon one more time before his death the following year.  He and his band were truly amazing.  This painting brings back all these memories for me.  I'm sure you too have seen places like this and I hope this painting brings back equally good memories for you.

"A Spot of Color", 8" X 10" acrylic on canvas block

A Spot of Color by April M. Rimpo

Every Fall I walk around our neighborhood talking photographs of the trees and the beautiful colors of the fall foliage.  Unfortunately this year there were not many colors to be found.  Apparently the weather conditions weren't conducive to leaf color change, so most leaves had changed directly from green to brown and fallen.  There was one very small tree nestled among the larger ones that had turned red, gold, and orange. The sun lit this tree so it glowed, jumping out from the shadows.

A good friend and I decided to have a paint-in one wet day, so we huddled in her studio and worked on our own creations.  It seemed like a good opportunity for me to work from the photos I had taken of the little tree. I wanted to share the beautiful lights and shadows of that day, so A Spot of Color was born.  This painting is acrylic on a gallery wrapped canvas board.  I plan to include this little painting in an exhibit held each year during the first couple weeks of December at a local art center.  The exhibit is called "Singular Sensations" where local artists can share some lower priced original art to the public. See the variety of art produced in the area is always great fun. 

"A Spot of Color"

by April M Rimpo

8" X 10"

acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas

$200 includes shipping and handling within US