"Let's Dance" 24" X 20" watercolor

Let's Dance, watercolor © April M Rimpo

Let's Dance

watercolor on watercolor paper

mounted, varnished and framed

24" X 40" painting in 26" X 42" frame

Available for Purchase on my Website

LMy My My inspiration for Let’s Dance came from a trip to New Orleans during the French Quarter Jazz Fest. A great festival with 21 stages from small ones like this stage set up next to the French Market to very large stadiums. A portable dance floor was in front of the stage encouraging everyone to dance. The central couple appeared to be professional dancers and their movements and energy motivated me to paint the scene. I had fun brightening it up with color to reflect the energy I felt while watching the dancers and listening to the lively music.

Whether you are a dancer or like me enjoy watching other’s dance I hope you enjoy this painting and the story of the day.

This painting was selected for the prestigious Baltimore Watercolor Society's 2020 Online Mid-Atlantic Regional Exhibition. Paintings are available through the artists and available upon completion of the purchase.  No waiting for the end of the exhibition.

Interested in April's artwork or taking one of her 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 Select the General Interest topic 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 support of April M Rimpo Art.

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.

"Letting Loose" 20" X 32" Watercolor

Letting Loose a watercolor by April M Rimpo

Letting Loose

Watercolor

20" X 32" painting

Mounted, Varnished, and Framed

The enthusiasm of musicians during a concert, giving their all to the audience, is the subject of Letting Loose. Not only their enthusiasm but also their joy in delivering their best is revealed in their expressions. The lighting of the stage made them appear like they were emerging from darkness, partially obscuring the equipment behind them on stage.

I preserved a few reflections off microphones, drum sets, and other equipment by using a thin mixture of gesso and liquid acrylic medium. These partially masked areas allowed me to complete the background using quick gestural brushwork and highly saturated watercolor paint. Working fast was essential to achieving vibrant colors, imitating the multicolored lights moving about the stage. My energy in applying  paint reminded me of the musicians’ movements during their performances.   

Interested in April's artwork or taking one of her 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 Select the General Interest topic 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. Select as many topics as sound of interest. Thank you for your support of April M Rimpo Art.

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.

Inspiration to Exhibit

Some of my paintings that will be in my and Elaine Weiner-Reed's exhibit, "Portraits of Life - The Art of Storytelling," were inspired by a concert that my husband - Chas- and I attended last year.  This post starts with some photographs I took during the concert that lead to many of my musician paintings.  After the video I show several of the resulting paintings. 

The concert was Voodoo Threauxdown featuring Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Galactic, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, New Breed Brass Band, Cyril Neville, Walter Washington and Kermit Ruffins.  

Letting Loose by April M Rimpo 22" X 34"
(Inspiration: The Preservation Jazz Band)

Heating Up by April M Rimpo  24" X 24"
(Inspiration: Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue)

Jammin by April M Rimpo  12" X 12"
(Inspiration: Galactic)

Leading the Way by April M Rimpo
36" X 24"
(Inspiration: Cyril Neville)

Showin' Off by April M Rimpo 20" X 36"
(Inspiration: The Preservation Jazz Band)

There are paintings of people in different endeavors and other musicians in the exhibit, but I'll save those for another post.

This is not your standard exhibit. In addition to a reception with a Gallery Talk by both of us, we're also holding two collaboration events with poets and musicians.  They have written work inspired by our paintings that will be read or performed during our Collaboration Events on May 21 and 22, from 6-8pm.  The poets will read on May 21st and Bob Jacobson will perform some improvisations on saxophone or clarinet in response to our paintings.  May 22nd will feature Rogue Collective a group of  violinists and a cellist who bridge the gap between classical and popular music.  They will perform structured improvisations to our paintings. See the full list of performers here.  I hope you can come enjoy our art and these events.

Interested in April's artwork or taking one of her 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 Select the General Interest topic 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. Select as many topics as sound of interest. Thank you for your support of April M Rimpo Art.

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.

Jammin' 12" X 12" watercolor

Jammin' by Aprl M Rimpo

Jammin'

Watercolor

12" X 12"

Jazz music has been one of my favorite genres of music for quite some time, but perhaps my love of this music grew just a bit more after a visit to New Orleans during Jazz Fest. The energy at this 5 day event was contagious and we roamed around between the 21 different stages and performance venues to take in as much as we could.

Last summer the "Voodoo Threauxdown" tour come to Baltimore and my husband and I bought tickets immediately. We knew some but not all the groups who performed that night. The energy again was high. The various performers gave their all and we took it all in, loving every moment. 

This concert has resulted in quite a few paintings by me, with even more planned. I'm saving most of these paintings for a first reveal at my exhibit "Portraits of Life: The Art of Storytelling" that will feature artwork by me and Elaine Weiner-Reed. This will be one of my paintings. 

Jammin' features the saxophonist and trumpet player from Galactic.

Interested in April's artwork or taking her 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.