Summer in My Head...

"Summer Place" oil 18x14" by Bonnie Mason

I don't know about you- but it doesn't take very many gloomy wet winter days before I'm dreaming about summer time or escaping to a warmer climate! One of the great things about painting is that it can take you back to someplace wonderful.

While on vacation at the Outer Banks a few years ago we discovered this quaint old home with its beautiful little garden. It always seems that wherever we go we spend more time at the local gardens than anywhere else. I think its where we feel most at home...

I recently had a chance to paint this view of the garden and it is now hanging in a Double Line Painters exhibit at Harrogate in Salem. Whenever I see this image the memories of laughter, warmth and sunshine come rushing back. I hope it will help you remember some happy times in your life today! 

The Zorn Color Palette

Last week after experimenting with the Zorn palette of colors during a plein air session I painted this chart on a scrap piece of canvas. My husband had a good idea (because I have a habit of making these charts) that I could punch holes in the sides and keep them in a 3 ring binder - which I thought was a great idea! Its not perfectly balanced in hues or values but was a great learning tool. A nice side effect was that I ended up with good size piles of all the colors to use on some backyard plein air pieces.

"Down the Path" on 6x8" canvas panel

"Down the Path" is a 2 hour sketch of a view into the garden from my kitchen window. It was a cold drizzly day so I was glad to have something I could paint from inside. One morning a few days later I painted the garden bench from up in my studio. It was a sunny day but very windy and cold. The red oak leaf hydrangea leaves were stealing the show. Reds seem to really pop in this palette of colors so I probably should have toned it down a bit, but had fun just letting the colors fly!

"Stealing the Show" on a 6x8" canvas panel

The Zorn palette consists of Ivory Black, Cadmium Red Medium (which I didn't have so I used Grumbacher Red), Yellow Ochre and Titanium White. I've been working on a larger studio piece of a foggy autumn day using these colors and will share it next time if all goes well. Thanks for stopping in!