Gazebo in Venice Florida

"Centennial Park Gazebo, Venice, FL"

9"x12" oil by Cindy Mott McGarry

"Creativity takes courage." 

- Henri Matisse

There is a plein air painting group called "Lightchasers" www.lightchasersinc.com based in the west-central Florida coastal area. They search out and frequent a variety of places for artists to paint. It is a great way to meet and learn from other artists and challenge your artistic abilities by painting from life. 

Working on location has many challenges. Wind, insects, fire ants, animals, heat and cold, rain ... can sometimes make an artist pack everything up and leave the site. However, plein air painting is more about laying down the composition, larger shapes and values with the advantage of seeing the subject in its true natural form. Then, when the painting is taken back to the studio, the painter can use the help of photos, memory and imagination to finish the piece.

Painting man-made objects is not something I really enjoy, but I took the challenge alongside other Lightchaser artists and painted this "Centennial Park Gazebo" in downtown Venice, Florida. The sun was very bright and the white paint on the structure really created some great contrast and made the gazebo stand out. I got the structure down and fully blocked in the other areas before taking the piece home to finish - adding more details and had some fun with loose color work.

This gazebo painting is currently on display at the Venice Art Center www.veniceartcenter.com in the "Reflections" Art Exhibit until August 17, 2018.

Happy Summer!

Cindy

www.cindymottmcgarry.com

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Flower Time

"Hydrangea Zoom"

 18"x24" oil on canvas

- Cindy Mott McGarry

"I decided that if I could paint that flower on a huge scale,

 you could not ignore its beauty."

- Georgia O'Keefe

While going through a fascination phase with hydrangea flowers I could not resist examining their beauty on a closer scale. There are so many colors in one single petal. Focusing on shape, color and value helps with decisions that need to be made throughout my paintings. Impressionism and the all wonderful "artistic license" opens up such freedom to use imagination and concentrate on what I really want to see and reveal. 

In this painting using small shapes of color became addictive and highly expressive. Pointillism is a method of neo-impressionist painting in which using tiny dots of different pure colors appear mixed in the observer's eye. This method was started by Georges Seurat in order to create a higher degree of luminescense and intensity of color. I believe certain colors laid next to one another cause a glow, or rather, a vibration of colors.

Until next time!

Cindy

www.cindymottmcgarry.com

Colorful Matter

"Siesta Key Grassy Dune"

9"x12" oil on canvas board
-by Cindy Mott McGarry

"To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow."
- Audrey Hepburn

The abundant butterflies, the lush greenery and flowering plants of Spring are so uplifting. Mother Nature brings artists so many new subjects to paint this time every year. 

Baby birds abound, too. Here in Venice, Florida the tall, lean and elegant Sandhill Crane birds have babies which resemble small, brown, fluffy puff balls that hop around while always being protected by their parents. 

The painting above was created originally en plein air on Siesta Key Beach (voted the #1 Beach in the U.S.!) while standing at my easel under a large tree in the shade. Color, shape and value were my main focuses. I worked on it a few more hours on the days following in my home studio and was pleased with the amount of color that ended up throughout the painting. 

Lightchasers of the Suncoast had their 2018 Shows in March at the Edson Keith Mansion at Phillippi Estate Park in Sarasota, Florida. It was a good opportunity to share this painting for the first time in public. There are over 600 artist members in Lightchasers and only 90 paintings were accepted for the members' show, so I felt fortunate to get into this show. 

Spring is here and it's exciting to imagine more colorful paintings to create - grasses, florals, birds and landscapes come to mind!

Happy Spring!

Change, Adventure and Growth

"Sunrise Over Bird Key"

24"x30" oil on canvas
- by Cindy Mott McGarry

"The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking.

 It cannot be changed without changing our thinking." 

- Albert Einstein

With 2017 almost behind us, hopefully we can all look back and see positive growth in many parts of our lives. I believe some exciting, frightening or even sad changes can gradually bring about very positive experiences, adventure and enlightening growth. In the present moment of huge change it is sometimes difficult to see what it will bring us in the future.

Our move from Raleigh, North Carolina to Sarasota, Florida in February of 2017 was a huge change for our family. We had lived in North Carolina for 30 years! What a beautiful state it is and it holds so many fond memories with family and friends. It also was a place of huge growth. Leaving our family, our friends and our last home of 20 years were emotionally the most difficult.

Since our move to Sarasota we have all grown exponentially in so many tiny and large ways. After rearing my children in Raleigh (my most cherished learning and loving experience thus far on this planet!), making new friends and exploring Florida, I have grown to see the reasons people keep moving down here in droves. The beauty, spectacular weather most of the year, outdoor life with all  of the water, white sandy beaches, wildlife (especially the wide variety of birds, large and small), the many different kinds of palm trees ... and the relaxed and creative energy here are so enticing.

We are now planning another move next month from our rental house into our new home. Next month we will have lived in three different homes and moved all of our belongings twice in less than one year! As I look back and recognize the tremendous growth we have been through, I can see why the changes occurred and that our new adventure will bring us to an even brighter future. Our thinking was changed for us out of desire and necessity ... and we have created our new world.

There will be much more art to share and on it's way in 2018! We will settle in our new home and my art space will be full of light and inspiration! The endless natural attractions here, inspiration, creative energy and opportunities in Florida are awaiting sharing platforms and this blog will be one of those platforms. 

Stay tuned! Happy Happy New Year!

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Glowing Light

"Lido Key Sunset" 24"x30" oil on canvas

by Cindy Mott McGarry

"There are two ways of spreading light:

 to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it."

- Edith Wharton

This painting, "Lido Key Sunset," was juried into a summer art show at Art Uptown Gallery in downtown Sarasota, Florida. The glowing light of sunsets are mesmerizing to me and capturing the "Glow" of the sun as it lowers beyond the water has been a mystifying challenge.

The lavender, orange and pink colors in this painting helped me to best express the glowing light that I saw in the sky and on the water one beautiful evening on Lido Key Beach. This painting was created with many colors to spread and share with viewers the glowing light of this particular sunset.

After surviving hurricane Irma recently it is wonderful to look forward to enjoying the unique beauty surrounding us again here in Sarasota, Florida.

Wishing you all the best!

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Color as Therapy

"Purple Hydrangea" 16"x20" oil on canvas

Cindy Mott McGarry

"The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts."

- Marcus Aurelius

Have you ever noticed how you feel when you walk into a dark gray or brown colored room? Happy? Scared? Excited? Most of the time we are unaware of how much color effects our mood. For instance, color is one of the most important marketing choices branding professionals have to make about a product. Marketing research shows that 90% of quick decisions to purchase a product are based on color.

Color psychology is an area of research committed to analyzing the behavioral and emotional outcomes created by colors. Each color has its own unique vibration and provides an important function. Decorating styles are heavily based on color. Blue colored walls would be more calming for a bedroom and yellow more uplifting for a living room or playroom. Here is a list of some colors and how they make most people feel:

Blue - calming, tranquil

Red - stimulating, energizing

Orange - happy, positive

Yellow - playful, optimistic

Pink - loving, compassionate

Green - soothing, refreshing

Purple - meditative, creative

White - clarity, purity

Paintings displayed in homes, offices, and hospital rooms can uplift or bring people down. Combinations of color and blending can create a sense of peace and tranquility or a sense of dread. Research also shows that artwork depicting nature scenes and subjects brings about a feeling of calm and or happiness, whereas, abstract art can create a feeling of anxiety.

Color is powerful. It can effect our mood, behavior. and even our thoughts. Color can heal. Therefore, art can be very powerful. The "Purple Hydrangea" painting above is meant to provide an image of nature and beauty which produces a meditative state for viewers.

Enjoy playing with beautiful colors! 

For more information on color psychology Click Here!

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Why Do You Paint?

"Sunset" 18"x24" oil on stretched canvas

by Cindy Mott McGarry

"Color provokes a psychic vibration. Color hides a power still unknown but real, 

which acts on every part of the human body." - Wassily Kandinsky

I paint because I believe there is a distinctive energy transference that takes place through my art.

I believe the love and intentions that I pour into my work is absorbed by those who experience it.

There is a powerful healing, a peaceful kind of meditation, that occurs for me as I paint.  My goal is for people to experience the same sensation when they view my finished work.

Research has shown that patients in hospitals surrounded by art are helped substantially throughout their stay and statistically recover faster.

     

When someone interacts with my art I also want to unleash their imagination.

Creativity heals and moves us beyond where we are presently.

I continually search this wonderful world for beauty that inspires me.  I then harness my energy and imagination to express it uniquely.

My unrelenting drive to paint is best expressed by my artist motto:  “Create, share and heal.” 

Being creative is important and brings challenges and happiness to all art makers and viewers.

Paint away! 

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