"Freight Yard", 24" X 45" gallery wrapped acrylic and watercolor

Freight Yard by April M Rimpo

Freight Yard

acrylic and watercolor
24" X 45" varnished gallery wrapped paper
$2595

AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE HERE

I am not sure what draws me to industrial scenes,  but it is probably the colors and the structure of the equipment.  I didn't want the blue crane to blend in with the sky so I decided to use a golden, gray colored sky.  I love to use red and orange with blue to create tension with this red based analog color scheme. By using very dark values I accentuated the structure of the equipment and the train rail. Contrasting the geometric shapes of the freight yard with the soft sky and wet runs at the bottom of the painting provided an interesting balance between industrial and organic.

Freight Yard is included in North Light Books' AcrylicWorks 4: Captivating Color, best of acrylics. Read the press release for the book here. Below is an image of the cover and page 31, where my painting is included.

April's other industrial paintings include:

• Shipping Port
• Port of Call - NYC
• Streetcar

To see a sample of my prints check my store.

"Ready to Roll", 22" X 22" and "Delivery Trike", 19.5" X 27.5"

Delivery Trike by April M. Rimpo

Delivery Trike

watercolor
19.5" X 27.5" image
27" X 35" brushed silver framed
$1250

On Exhibit at Laurel Art Guild's 48th Annual Open Juried Exhibition from
March 10 - 31. The Opening Reception will be held March 12, from 2 - 4 PM.

Delivery Trike is part of my bicycle series, although in this case an adult size tricycle.  I had seen this trike at a park at least 15 years ago and immediately thought there would someday be a painting. I’m not sure if it is something about the geometric contrast between the wheels and spokes with the overgrown plants behind the trike, or the contrast with the bright linear rectangles of the crates on the back platform.  Regardless of the original attraction I think it is both of these characteristics that continued to summon me to the original photograph. 

I remember being amused by the thought of a large delivery tricycle and thought others would equally be amused.  It felt like a throw-back to another era and  the overgrown plants behind the trike told me it had not been used for a long time.  It now felt more like a decoration, but I believe at one time it was a very useful vehicle. I hope my rendition will make people think back to earlier times when our ingenuity brought about vehicles like this to help us do our work and the elegance of such solutions.

Other bicycle paintings can be seen in these blog posts:

• Missing You
• Department Store

Prints are available in my online shop.

One other bicycle painting that I have not described in a blog is shown below.  Ready to Roll was a playful piece where geometric squares and triangles were played against the circular wheels of the bike and curve of the handle bars.

Ready to Roll by April M. Rimpo

 

Ready to Roll

watercolor and gouache

22" X 22" image

28" X 28" brushed silver frame

$995

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.

"Morning Commute" 24"X20" gallery wrapped acrylic

There are a lot of bike riders in the area where I live. You see them year round, in rain, snow, sleet, or hail (oh yeah that was the postal service motto); so maybe the hail part was an exaggeration.

The more I have painted people riding bicycles the more curious I have become about the biking community. Recently I discovered The League of American Bicyclists who are working to improve bicycling across America, inspiring Bicycling Friendly communities, and more. During National Bike Month they advocated a Ride to Work Week across the country. 

I also learned about the USBRS (United States Bicycle Route System that was established in 1978 by the American Association of State Highways and Transportation Officials.  This is the same body that coordinates the numbering of Interstate Highways and United States Numbered Highways. 

Learning about these groups and inspired by my neighbors, I decided to paint "Morning Commute" as a tribute to these organizations and those who support this work.

Morning Commute

Fluid Acrylic on Paper, Varnished and Gallery Wrapped

24" X 20" X 1.75" deep

$1200

March 1 - April 2, 2017 see this painting at Touchstone Gallery
901 New York Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001
Opening reception: Friday, Mar 3, 6 - 8:30PM
Artist at Work in gallery: Sunday Mar 5, 1 - 4PM

OPEN: WEDNESDAY- FRIDAY 11-6, SATURDAY-SUNDAY 12-5

More of April's paintings with a transporation theme are:

• Port of Call - NYC
• Streetcar
• Delivery Trike
• Missing You
• More Beautiful with Age
• A Clutter of Kayaks
• The Dugout
• Shipping Port
• Aerial Bikes II - SOLD
• Smart Car Choices
• Trapped
• Movement II
• Freight Yard
• Cycles
• Arriving in Kensington - SOLD
• Country Tour

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.

Movement Series

I have been painting bicycle and bicyclist for a while.  In my latest paintings my intent is to emphasize motion, speed, and energy. 

In both paintings I enjoyed letting the background flow into the image of the bicyclist.  In Movement I the background becomes part of the shirt and the race number attached just below his back.

Movement I by April M Rimpo

Movement I

Fluid Acrylic

25" X 18" Varnished Gallery Wrapped Paper

In Movement II the background shapes can be seen running into her flesh tones, helping to ground her in the scene.

Movement II by April M Rimpo

Movement II

Fluid Acrylic

25" X 18" Varnished Gallery Wrapped Paper

You can see both Movement and Movement II on my website under Art > Cyclists Gallery

For your favorite cyclist, consider this.

Set of giclee prints on watercolor of 

Movement I and Movement II 

Each print is 16" (h) X 12" (w)
$150 for the set, includes shipping within USA
Contact April if Interested in a print set.

Movement was selected by juror Carole Pickel for the 8th Annual International Society of Acrylic Painters Open International Online Show.  See the exhibit here.  It was one of 60 paintings selected from a field of 300.

It has also been selected for North Light Books' AcrylicWork5: Bold Values, to be released in 2018. 

Other paintings in April's Movement Series include:

• Race
• Cycling
• Movement III

April's Movement series shown at right 

in an Office Environment

Copyright April M Rimpo 2015 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.

 #bicycles #hocoartist #hocoarts #bikerace #cyclists

"Thoroughfare" 12" X 20" fluid acrylic

Thoroughfare by April M Rimpo

Available for purchase - Learn more here

When I hear the term bicycle-friendly, the first place I think of is Amsterdam. The cyclists truly rule there.  Thoroughfare, celebrates an underpass that runs under Rijksmuseum; this scene depicts the entrance to the underpass. Early in its history this underpass was open to motor traffic, but is now only for cyclists. As you can see, it is heavily used. During a major renovation, completed in 2013, there was a plan to convert the underpass to a major entry for the museum, but the cyclists won that battle and the underpass remains.

If you travel to downtown Amsterdam, nearer the ferry boats that cross the IJ, you find so much bicycle traffic moving quite fast, that pedestrians need to pay more attention crossing the bike routes than crossing streets. 

This contrasts with a huge bicycle route built in London that remains nearly empty, even during peak travel times.  I guess the Brits are not quite ready for that option.

I have noticed when traveling into Washington DC on the DC Metro, that the bicycle routes that parallel the tracks are always busy, even in cold weather. Clearly cycling here is less than in Amsterdam, but much more plentiful than you'll see in London.  

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

• Traffic Jam at the Concert - Concert goes waiting on the ticket takers
• Rush Hour - Enjoy the view when trying to get home
• Traffic Jam III - Cyclists backed up at a crossing
• Full to the Limit - An overloaded canal
• Traffic Jam II - No spot at the port for the incoming boat
• Traffic Jam - Sometimes it doesn't take much
• Country Tour - Cars waiting on a bike race
• Trapped - Traffic congestion in a tunnel

* The image wraps around the edge thus requiring no frame. The painting is varnished to protect it from the elements and damage from UV light.

Contact April here

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.

#NBS17 #bicycles #BicycleFriendlyFriday #aprilrimpo #amrart #hocoarts #hocoartist

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.

Cycles, a 16" X 26" fluid acrylic

Cycles by April M Rimpo

Cycles is part of my Transportation Series but also fits well with my urban paintings.  There is something about the combination of organic, curved shapes with line that fascinates me.  Perhaps that is why I enjoy painting urban, man-made objects. We humans seems to incorporate geometric shapes in the things we manufacture.  Not quite so true of all handmade objects, but even in many of those (e.g., pottery, glass pieces) we tend to make them in oval or spherical shapes. I'll leave exploring the whys of this phenomenon to another time.

This painting not only explores contrasting shapes (lines and curves) but also complementary colors (warm oranges and cool blues). Even my painting process was a combination of opposites. Starting with the pouring process I discussed in my blog Cycles - A work in progress, and the very detailed work I used during the later part of the painting to define the lines and shapes of the motorcycles. 

The reflections of the colors from the environment off the chrome on the motorcycles was great fun, especially since I had decided to use bright colors in the background and cooler lavenders and blues in many of the shadows. The repeated push and pull of warm and cool colors exists throughout the painting.

I hope you enjoy this painting as much as I enjoyed creating it.

Cycles

Fluid Acrylic on Gallery Wrapped* and Varnished Paper

16" X 26" image (21" X 31" including the wrapped edges)

ORIGINAL SOLD

Options:

Canvas Print 20inx32in $420.00 USD

Explore some of April's other Urban and Transportation Painting:

• Freight Yard
• Smart Car Choices
• Aerial Bikes II
• Intersections
• Tenement
• Fresh Fruit to Go

Cycles - A Work in Progress

The Spring paintings are just about out of my system now that the weather has improved. The threatened snow, predicted earlier this week, did not happen, so all is so much better in the world. 

Instead I started on a new painting that I plan to include in the "Modes of Transportation" solo exhibit I'll have later this year. So far the drawing for Cycles is done and the first two layers of poured paint have been completed. 

Cycles Step 1: Mask and First Poured Wash

I wanted to show you photos I took after the first two pours to show how much the personality of a painting can change with color. The first image is shown at left. I wanted soft grays in this first layer with just a little tinting of lavender and orange-tan. The lavender is a result of Cobalt Blue mixing on the paper with Quinacridone Coral. The next photograph shows a closeup of the center of the painting where you can see there is a fair amount of variation in this layer, but only noticeable in the closeup image.

I succeeded in achieving a fairly neutral gray underpainting, but was worried that the finished painting would be too muted if I didn't take a much bolder step with my next pour.

I mixed a tan, orange, and Cadmium Red Light together in a cup and produced an orange I liked. That color excited me enough that I took out a different sheet of paper, thickened the liquid mixture with acrylic medium and placed some randomly on the paper. Next I took some tube acrylic Cerulean Blue added that to the paper and sprayed it with water to loosen it up a bit and let it run around.  I ended up adding some white liquid acrylic in a few areas to create some lighter areas.  I don't know what I will be doing with that full sheet, but I liked the color combinations and decided to use a much more subtle version of that for my next pour on Cycles. 

I slept on it and must admit each time I awoke that night I realized I was thinking about the painting. By morning I had a plan how I would use the colors I had experimented with to brighten Cycles without drowning it in so much color that I lost the first layer.  I had applied more mask to the painting to preserve linear areas in the motorcycles that needed the first lighter grays, but that didn't mean I totally wanted to obfuscate what remained of the first pour in areas I had not preserved.  This is where transparency of the pigment is so important.

Cycles Second pour: Adding a bright middle value

So here is the result of the second pour. I started with an orange mixture similar to what I had created the day before and applied it selectively along with some Quinacridone Coral and a tiny amount of a yellow blend that was predominantly Quinacridone Gold. I wet these pours and tilted the support board to get the oranges to move about until I was happy with their placement.

Next I  added some Cerulean Blue in a rhythmic pattern between the orange areas and some French Ultra blue near the top, outer edges of the motorcycles, and a little in the shadow area below the bikes. I didn't want the foreground to get dark, so I tilted the board toward the top of the painting and let the color flow and intermix on the paper. I avoided using a brush as much as possible because using complementary colors at the same time does risk turning to brown. The light lavender blends you see between the blues and oranges are from the first pour. Since these complementary colors did not touch very much.

Here is another closeup from the center of the painting where you can see how the Cerulean Blue and Orange shades intermingled beautifully and the underpainting colors shine through. The Quinacridone Coral is visible in the tire toward the right from the first layer; Some green blends were created from the second pour where the Quinacridone Gold and the blues combined.  It is this wonderful intermingling of color that I love about watercolor and fluid acrylic.  This painting is entirely fluid acrylic but since I handle it like watercolor, watering down the paint so it flows on the paper, very similar results are achieved.

Now it's time for me to figure out the third, and likely last pour. I'll get to a medium dark value with the third pour and then I'll shift to my brushes to finish the darkest areas.

"A Clutter of Kayaks" a 20" X 36" varnished gallery wrapped paper

A Clutter of Kayaks by April M Rimpo

While out painting one afternoon I watched a pair of men unload kayaks from their vehicles and place them along the edge of the estuary. There were a dozen kayaks by the time they were done, then gradually more people began to arrive. They all dressed in life vests, got into the kayaks, and headed out for what appeared to be a lesson. I don't know how long they stayed out on the water because they had not returned before I finished painting for the day. It was clear they were all having a great time.

These kind of moments, when people are out enjoying their environment, always speak to me.  After selecting sections from a variety of my photos from that day, I composed this painting, included some of the sailboats in the distance that were also on the water.  Then I decided on a color scheme I felt would feature the kayaks while also making them at home in their surroundings. 

A Clutter of Kayaks

20" X 36" fluid acrylic on

Gallery Wrapped and Varnished Paper

$1730

Using a lot of gray to emphasize the stillness of the water also helped communicate the distance between the kayaks and the bridge.  This was an unexpected result, but one that might be helpful to me in future paintings.  

This painting is done in fluid acrylic on watercolor paper, then gallery wrapped around a 1.75" stretcher, and varnished to provide UV protection and to seal the paper from its surroundings.  Because the paint wraps around the edge of the stretcher bars it can be hung without a frame, if desired.

Arriving at Kensington, 24" X 34" fluid acrylic

Arriving at Kensington by April M Rimpo

Arriving at Kensington

Fluid Acrylic
24' X 34" varnished and brushed silver frame
Original SOLD

Prints Available to purchase at HorseSpirit Arts Gallery

info@horsespiritartsgallery.com 

410-461-3505 

 

Arriving at Kensington I walked around Kensington getting to know the town, including the antique shop district and the lovely tea room, but the train station was the spot that struck me as something I wanted to paint.  I'm sure the station has been painting hundreds if not thousands of times, but I had to take my stab at it too.  I was quite happy with the result and hope you are too. 

Here are links to several of my other landscape paintings.

• Flores
• Pigeons I
• Making a Difference
• Ponte Vecchio
• The Conservatory
• Vineyard Life
• The Beach

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.

Country Tour - more bikes

Country Tour, 20" X 36" varnished acrylic on paper, varnished

Country Tour

fluid acrylic

20" X 26" image

shipped within the United States*

Available to purchase here

Every year there is a bike race that is routed through our town.  Many years I had errands to run on the day of the race and was unable to get photographs of the racers.  This year I put the race on my calendar so I could be sure I'd have time to get some new reference material.  I took countless photographs that day; I believe I watched the race from the arrival of the earliest riders to the last to make it through town.  I combined three of my photographs to develop this design and took liberties with the colors of the buildings but believe I stayed true to the spirit of the day.

The riders were the inspiration, but including the police who helped direct traffic and the volunteer with the flag who helped direct the riders through the turn were important elements of the occasion.  

You can see some of April's other bike paintings by following the links below:

• Aerial Bikes II - (SOLD)
• Bike Ride
• Bike Trip I and II
• Bicycle Series
• Missing You

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

• Traffic Jam at the Concert - Concert goes waiting on the ticket takers (SOLD)
• Rush Hour - Enjoy the view when trying to get home
• Traffic Jam III - Cyclists backed up at a crossing (SOLD)
• Full to the Limit - An overloaded canal (SOLD)
• Thoroughfare - Amsterdam: More bikes and trikes than you can believe
• On the Fjord - No spot at the port for the incoming boat
• Traffic Jam - Sometimes it doesn't take much  (SOLD)
• Trapped - Traffic congestion in a tunnel

* For purchase outside the United States, contact April regarding shipping costs

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.

"Trapped" 36" X 36" fluid acrylic & watercolor

Trapped by April M Rimpo

Trapped

fluid acrylic & watercolor mounted on

36" x 36" X 2.5" deep cradle Cherry Wood

$3110

Available through April's Website

Trapped was born "in my list of must do paintings" when leaving New York City through the Holland Tunnel a couple years ago.  My husband was driving and I was delighted by the reflections of lights in the ceiling and walls of the tunnel. Now you might be wondering, if this was a happy moment enjoying the lights, then why is the titled Trapped?  Well, although the initial moment when entering the tunnel was a happy one, my reaction once I get inside tunnels that are under bodies of water is angst.  I really dislike tunnels under water.  Maybe there have been too many movies about water flooding these kinds of tunnels that works on me.  Generally in the movies this occurs after some bad guy sets off an explosive (not a natural disaster), but none the less these movies have gotten into my psyche.

When invited by the Columbia Art Center to participate in an exhibit titled "Things that Scare Me" I thought of the pictures I had taken and decided it was time to do my Holland Tunnel painting.  Part of me says I shouldn't call this painting Trapped since it was the beauty of the reflections that really made me want to paint this.  While getting ready to paint this I decided to emphasize the dark "hole" at the end of the tunnel, but wanted to contrast it with the beautiful subtle colors in the concrete and tunnel walls. The calming colors surrounding the dark hole make me smile when I look at the painting.  Maybe this painting will end up being therapeutic and help me get over this phobia.  

Other urban paintings by April include:

• Smart Car Choices
• Freight Yard

Contact April here

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.

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.

"Bike Ride", 14" X 11" acrylic and watercolor

Bike Ride by April M Rimpo

Bike Ride

fluid acrylic and watercolor

14" X 11" varnished in brushed silver frame

Available to purchase at HorseSpirit Arts Gallery
info@horsespiritartsgallery.com 

410-461-3505 

I am really enjoying my bicycle series paintings. I've been taking photographs of bicyclists every time I see them along the road. In this painting I decided to combine a couple of lone riders into one scene to add some energy to the image.  I also liked the idea of them having someone to ride with.  There is a couple who live near me who ride together nearly every day, but somehow I never have my camera with me when I see them.  I think in a way this painting is a tribute to them.

Since the focus is all about the riders I chose to abstract the background providing only hints at the trees and landscape behind the riders.  While I was in the mood for abstraction I also decided to use colors that would energize the scene.  This painting was done almost exclusively with Dioxazine Purple (ASTM# PV23), Alizarine Crimson (Quinacridone) (PV19),  Gamboge (Hue) (PY97/PY42), and Viridian Green (Hue) (PG7/PW6).  You may wonder where the Viridian Green is hiding.  I used it with the Alizarine Crimson to create the muted maroon shades.  It is amazing how a color can nearly disappear when used in combination with other colors.  Although the two pigments were applied directly to the paper they blended on the paper to make these wonderful shades. Only a few hints of the green remain. A similar approach was used with the Dioxazine Purple and Viridian Green.  So those of you who found this post based on the triad color scheme, be assured the green really was used it just hid itself among the other colors.

After Gallery Wrapping

* Although the flat painting size is 17" X 14" I gallery wrapped this painting ove r a 14" X 12" stretcher bars which results in a painting surface as show at right, with the balance of the painting wrapping around the edges.  It is varnished so it can be hung without a frame or glass.  Let me know what you think.

Note: ASTM International, formerly known as the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), is a globally recognized leader in the development and delivery of international voluntary consensus standards. ASTM International defines pigment standards (designated in parentheses above), which includes the pigment's light fastness, transparency, and other characteristics.  Paint manufacturers use these standards allowing artists to identify the actual pigments used in paints, getting beyond the manufacturers name for the paint.

Links to my bicycle and other transportation paintings can be found in the "Smart Car Choices" post.

** Contact April regarding shipping outside the United States