After the Open Studio Tour

Couldn't post during the tour, no WIFI. Had a great time painting and talking to the tour patrons and the fellow artists sharing the lobby of the Shenandoah University Theater.

"Arts Council Sour Grapes", Steven J Parrish, 12" x 9", Oil on Linen, SOLD

I started this painting Saturday morning and battled sunlight coming in the windows all day. I moved the lemon slice 3 times and finally got a group decision that this was the best composition.Near the end of the day as the sun set and my spotlight finally gave me the highlights I expected I got some great suggestions from tour goers about the reflections in the Ball jar. I wiped off the middle lemon and called it a day. Sunday morning I managed to block the sunlight enough to finish the painting at about 11:30 AM. I remembered to bring some Cadmium Yellow to re-paint the lemon. Amazingly enough you can't paint a lemon with just Cadmium Lemon. My fellow artists and visitors declared victory and told me I was finished. I agreed, I really like the loose brush work and the exposed canvas, this is one of those paintings you can ruin by over working. The title of this painting was also a group decision and is really about the colors and in no way represented our mood or opinion of the tour. We had a real blast talking art and life for the two days. Just need to sign, mount, frame and deliver. As always I am truly humbled when someone appreciates one my paintings enough to add it to their collection.

Me hard at work in front of some of my other paintings.

"Cookie"s Boxes", Steven J Parrish, 10' x 8", Oil on Linen, UNFINISHED

I started this painting on Sunday at about 12:30 PM and managed to get it this far along when the tour ended at 5 PM. The two lavender colored boxes I borrowed from Cookie Robb the stained glass artist setup next to me. The color of these two boxes really went well with the background and the lemon. I hope to finish this painting in the next week or two.

Shenandoah Art Council open studio tour

The Shenandoah Arts Council's open studio tour is this weekend November 10-11 2012. I will be painting at the Shenandoah University Theater lobby both days. Come out and watch me paint.

I will try to post some photos of this years painting at the end of each day.

Here is the painting I did at last years tour.

"Holiday Pressure", Steven J Parrish, 20 x 16, Oil on Linen

This is the painting I did two years ago.

"Odd Lot", Steven J Parrish, 20 x 16, Oil on Linen

Hope to see you this weekend.

The completed paintings + 1

Day 1 painting; I didn't actually do anymore work on this one. I just put a coat of Resin Gel to bring back the color.

"V", Steven J Parrish, Oil on Linen, 8 x 10, Complete

 Day 2; I didn't actually do anymore work on this one. I just put a coat of Resin Gel to bring back the color.

"Art Deco Pipe Wrench", Steven J Parrish, Oil on Linen, 8 x 10,  Complete

Day 3; I worked on the lemon slice, re-shaped the bottom of the pitcher, added the burn out between the lemon and the cup. Sorry about the glare photo taken with iPad. 

"Lemon Aided", Steven J Parrish, Oil on Linen, 8 x 10, Complete

 Day 4; I re-painted the top cup completely.

"C Cups", Steven J Parrish, Oil on Linen, 10 x 8, Complete

Bonus painting (The +1); I painted this in Bethlehem, PA last year with Linda Volrath and Sandra Corpora. I have always wanted to finish it and today was the day. This is part of the construction being done at the Steel Stacks renovation at the old Bethlehem Steel Mill. All three of us painted this view that day, the construction workers thought we were crazy painting their equipment. I don't think we ever convinced them how beautiful it was. I do think they appreciated our interest in what they do. Follow the this link to Linda's painting Sandra didn't put her version on her website.

"Steel Stacks Construction", Steven J Parrish, Oil on Linen, 10 x 8

Painting Challenge Day 4 or 5

Setup

This was my setup for day 4 or 5. Depending on how you keep score, this was my fourth challenge setup, but I was just too worn out to paint the fourth day. So this painting was painted after a one day break. For all you artists out there that can create art for 12 hours a day, every day, I tip my plein air painting hat to you.

This setup interested me for several reasons, the rust, shine, color, and the construction. You can see the clip I had to use to keep the setup from toppling over. I asked my family on Facebook to guess the title of this painting the day I painted it. "Three cups balanced on a 2x4 in a rusty clamp" made me laugh but was incorrect. The title is in the caption of the end of the day image below.

Early afternoon break

I worked for many hours before I took my first break on this painting. I don't have a photo from early in the process but it was pretty dark and I had some drawing issues that were fixed by the time I took this photo. The canvas is covered and the drawing looks about right, the top cup is too large and needs to be corrected.

"C cups", Steven J Parrish, Oil on Linen, 10x8

Finished late in the evening, this is the least finished of the paintings in the challenge. The turquoise cup just had too much paint to finish. I couldn't lay the highlights on or get the reflections in. Will get another days work for sure. Other than that I like the way it is here. I really like the duct tape on the C clamp and the red cup. I believe this is my first painting of a scrap piece of a 2x4. They're kind of boring, but just what I needed to add some interest to the setup.

I am the first to admit I am not a daily painter and my intention with this challenge was to force me to paint still lifes the way I paint plein air landscapes. A sense of urgency and limited time. I used the approach I use for outdoor painting, quick thin lay in, cover canvas early, mix accurate colors, and paint as fast as you can under control. I really enjoyed it, can't wait to see what happens when I start my next large still life.

Thank you for following along, I hope everyone found it interesting, I know I did.

Painting Challenge Day 3

Day 3 setup

This was my setup for day 3, it burned out in the photo but that is a lemon slice hanging over the teacup. You can see a piece of scotch tape between the cup and the lemon, that was to keep the lemon from spinning. The silver carafe is from the The Willard Hotel, Washington, DC. It's not dated but has some years on it. There are great reflections in both the carafe and the cup and that was the focus of the painting.

Morning break

I took an early break in the morning when the canvas was covered. I like the abstract feel of this block in. You can see that the drawing of the carafe and the cup are not symmetrical here. The handles are off as well, that's enough saying what's wrong.

Midday break

Starting to get some of the great reflections in here. You can start to see how the colors of the table and background are showing up in the colors of the silver and blue. The lemon slice is thickly painted here because the background red and purple kept bleeding through. I should have wiped off the area before painting the lemon. Thick paint can be laid on dark wet paint and work but it makes things more difficult.

Late afternoon break

Great fun painting the silver carafe, correcting the drawing issues, some of the highlights are placed but not finished. More reflected light has been worked into the teacup. The lemon slice has even more paint at this point, should have scraped it off so I could bring it to conclusion with the rest of the painting.

End of day 3
"Lemon Aided", Steven J Parrish, Oil on Linen, 8"x10"

Worked over the entire painting to pull it together. Warmed up the colors and refined all the drawing. Worked on the background and shadows. The yarn and lemon were the last things finished since they moved in and out of the volume of space surrounding the other objects. This was a fun day of painting, I wanted to use very expressive brushwork and let the painting pull together from about 5 feet away. Of course all my fellow painters will enjoy the painting from 2" away as well. Will have to evaluate the lemon slice at some point to see if it can be improved. Once again, clean up, critique, wine and prepare for the next day.

Painting Challenge Day 2

Day 2 Setup

The morning of day two and this was my setup. I have really been inspired by all the rusty old tools handed down from my Stepfather in law Jack. I always start looking at the still life items we have in our studios and somehow seem to end up in garage picking through the rusty pile. Some of the construction elements are visible here, the thread keeping the bottle from falling and the Masonite shim under the pipe wrench handle. What you can't see in this photo is the large counterweight at the bottom keeping the whole thing from falling over. 

Even though I am posting a week apart, I did indeed start a new painting every morning.

Day 2 Early afternoon break

I worked many hours on this painting before I took this picture. The drawing and block in took a while to get correct. My values were way off and it wasn't looking good then Linda came in and pointed out the error of my ways. One of the perks of living with an amazing artist.

Day 2 End of day (Night)
"Art Deco Pipe Wrench", Steven J Parrish, Oil on Linen, 8"x10"

Warmed up the colors quite a bit from the earlier stage. Needed the warmth to contrast the cool of the dark blue glass. I'm happy with the way this turned out, I think the background could use some work if I work on it again. Finished later the second day than the first, cleaned up, critiqued and setup a new group of objects for day 3. Painted standing up for day 1 and 2, day 3's setup was lowered so I could work sitting down. Legs and feet really tired.

Painting challenge day 1

Day 1 Setup

As a still life artist the time to complete a painting is very flexible. Unless you're painting fish, cut fruit or cut flowers you can paint a setup over weeks. When I started going out plein air landscape painting I had a real challenge. How do I compose, set up equipment and paint a landscape in the few hours of ever changing light? My wife Linda Volrath and a good artist friend Sandra Corpora would organize plein air marathons and invite me along. Our marathons consist of two landscape painting sessions per day for 3, 4 or 5 days straight. At the end of every day we would line up the paintings and critique. By the end there were 20 to 30 paintings lined up. Quite an accomplishment. I decided to see if I could duplicate this with still life painting. I prepared and set aside a five day stretch to see what would happen. Of course the daily painting groups have been doing this for years, but I had never finished a still life in one day. My plan was to do simple setups and attempt a morning painting and an afternoon painting. I assembled the setup here for day one and realized it was not simple so one painting per day became the new goal.

First Break

After several hours of placing and blocking in, this is my progress at the mid-morning break.

Second break

Second break progress late afternoon. Things are roughly where they belong and refining color and drawing.

End of day 1
"V",  Steven J Parrish, Oil on Linen, 8" x 10"

End of day 1, exhausted. Stopped at around 9:30 pm. Adjusted color temperature, shadows, background and drawing.


When the painting dries I will determine if it needs any touch up to call it complete, but all in all it's at least 90% finished. Clean palette, brushes, drink a glass of wine and figure out a setup for day 2!

New Fall Paintings Delivered 

to The Sporting Gallery

"Autumn Hunt Morning"

The staff and their beautifully turned-out horses gather the hounds and head off on a crisp fall day of sport. My primary inspiration for this painting was the elegant position and conformation of the bright white horse surrounded by gorgeous fall color.

"Hound Show" presents an intimate composition of an athletic young huntsman in his white kennel coat proudly leading his pack of hounds. The expansive green lawn of Morven Park stretches out behind them at the annual Virginia Hound Show.

Sandra Copora Solo show in Bethlehem, PA

"Bucks County Sunset", Sandra Corpora, Oil on Linen, 16"x20"

We just got home from spending three days Plein Air Painting and attending Sandra Corpora's solo show at the Banana Factory in Bethlehem, PA. The show consists of a year of Sandy's painting life. The paintings are great and the opening and artist talk were wonderful. It's always great when we get to spend time painting with Sandy and supporting each others art events.

"Odd Lot" Finished

"Odd Lot", Steven. J. Parrish, Oil on Linen, 20"x16"

I spent a couple more days working on this painting after the two days I spent working on it at the Shenandoah Arts Council's open studio tour. It was great painting live in front of all the people who stopped by to watch. I think it turned out OK now that it's finished.

Once again thanks to everyone who watched me paint this painting live, I had a blast, I hope you did also.

"Painting live at the 

Shenandoah Arts Council"

 "Odd Lot", Steven J Parrish, 20"x16", Oil on Linen

Steven J Parrish painting at the Shenandoah Arts Council open studio tour November 13th and 14th 2010.

As part of the open studio tour I packed up half my studio and set up at the Shenandoah Arts Council's building. I worked on a still life painting I had put together just for the event. I had a great time talking to all the people who stopped in to watch. It was a bit of paint by request. "When are you going to paint that part?"  "Well, now I guess", "How are you going to paint that section?" "Let's find out, now". What a way to get you out of your usual painting method. Everyone was supportive, friendly, and seemed to enjoy seeing the process of creating a work of art. Now I just have to make sure I finish the painting and put it in an exhibit at the council so people can see the final result.

My sincerest thank you to everyone, your kind words are most heart felt and much appreciated.

"Irish Heritage"

"Irish Heritage", Linda Volrath, 12x16, Oil on Panel

The stunning conformation of this elite level steeplechase horse caught my eye and seems perfectly paired with the striking Celtic design of the jockey's silks. The blue and green harmony is reinforced by the intense bright sky, the tents and grooms' apparel.


This new painting will be available at auction during the Calcutta, September 17th the night before the 2010 Blue Ridge Fall Races. This year's auction and races will benefit Hospice of the Panhandle, Inc. and Youth Development Center, Inc. Follow the links for more information on these organizations.

We're back from Paris

"Inspired by the Louvre", Linda Volrath, 10x8, Oil on Linen

Linda spent several days plein air painting around the outside of the Louvre. We both spent several days inside the Louvre and the Musee D' orsay admiring the paintings. We had a great time on our trip and were lucky enough to have a place to stay right in the middle of the Louvre district. We could walk to famous landmarks in any direction. We got to spend time with the Vermeer's, Rembrandt's, David's and Van Gogh's with no crowds. If you can't get inspired in Paris, then you just can't get inspired.

Linda has joined The Sporting Gallery

"Winter Nightfall", Linda Volrath, 10 x 10, Oil on Linen

Linda was honored to be invited to join The Sporting Gallery in Middleburg, VA. She is proud to be included with the world renowned artists they represent. The Sporting Gallery has a reputation for showing the artwork of the best artists, past and present, working in sporting art. The gallery is showing the range of Linda's work, equestrian, landscape, still life and figurative.

Masters of Foxhounds Association Centennial book

"Side Saddle Charm", Linda Volrath, 12 x 16, Oil on Masonite

The Masters of Foxhounds Association (MFHA) centennial book 1907 to 2007 has been published and is now available. The book covers the last 100 years of fox hunting and Foxhounds history and includes two of Linda's equestrian paintings. Linda is honored that her art was selected for inclusion in this monumental project.

Morven Park Commission:

"Morven Park Mansion", Linda Volrath, 14 x 18, Oil on Linen

This painting of the mansion at Morven Park in Leesburg Virginia was commissioned by the Westmoreland Davis Foundation as a gift for retiring Executive Director Will O'Keefe. It was presented at a reception held in the newly renovated section of the mansion. It was through Mr O'Keefe's tireless efforts that the mansion is in the process of a massive restoration. The reception and the mansion were in fine form. Thank you to the Foundation Board of Directors for giving Linda the opportunity to honor the career of Mr O'Keefe and the beautiful historic property at Morven Park.

We personally wish to thank Mr O'Keefe and others like him who commit to the restoration of America's historic properties.

Thank You



"Into the Foothills", Linda Volrath, 18" x 24", Oil on Linen


Linda and I would like to humbly and sincerely thank everyone who helped make the opening reception of Linda's solo show such a wonderful success. Heartfelt thanks to the collectors and patrons who support the arts and buy original paintings. We couldn't have done it without our friends and family, Sandy, Virginia, Ray and Mary. Tracy form the Shenandoah Arts Council and Melanie from Wiseman and Associates, you are both angels and your efforts are truly appreciated.

For those who can't see the show in person you can take an online tour of the show at; http://home.att.net/~volrath-parrish/

We create art because we are artists, we create art because we love it, we create art because it adds beauty to the world. We're glad people enjoy our art and have chosen to make it a part of their lives.

Linda Volrath "Sporting Art and Rural Scenes of the Shenandoah Valley" Solo Exhibition


"Outward Bound", Linda Volrath, 16 x 24, Oil on Linen

The opening reception for Linda's solo show is October 10, 2009 5 to 8 PM at the Shenandoah Arts Council in Winchester, VA. Linda has been working on the paintings for this show for over a year and has created a beautiful body of work. The show is up through November 6th, 2009, so if you can't make it to the reception you can still see the exhibition. If you are not in the area you can see most of the paintings in the show at this link; http://home.att.net/~volrath-parrish/

"Blue Ridge Hospice Calcutta dinner and auction"


"Paddock Stripes" Linda Volrath, 14" x 18", Oil on Linen


"Overdrive", Linda Volrath, 10" x 20", Oil on Linen


"Outward Bound", Linda Volrath, 16" x 24", Oil on Linen

We were fortunate enough to attend the Calcutta dinner and auction to benefit Blue Ridge Hospice on September 18th. The three paintings Linda provided for the auction brought in very generous donations for Hospice. The bidding was fast and furious, thank you to all the bidders and congratulations to the winners. It was a wonderful evening all around, we got to spend time with family and friends, and raise money for Hospice. Thanks to Melanie Marks of Wiseman and Associates for all her effort in this event. We then spent Saturday at the fall point to point races to benefit Blue Ridge Hospice. The weather for the spectators was perfect, the drought made the course very hard for the horses. Thanks to Michael Hoffman and Melanie Marks for co-chairing and organizing both of these great events.

We now turn our focus to getting ready for Linda's solo sporting art show in October.

"Sporting Art Solo Show"


"Overdrive", Linda Volrath, 10" x 20", Oil on Linen

A solo exhibition of the sporting art of Linda Volrath will be held at the Sheandoah Arts Council gallery from October 10th through November 6th 2009. This is a rare opportunity to view and purchase original oil paintings from a collection of Linda's beautiful Shenandoah Valley inspired sporting art and rural scenes. Several of the oil paintings from this collection will be available at an auction to raise funds for Blue Ridge Hospice. The auction will take place during the Calcutta dinner prior to the Blue Ridge Fall Races to benefit Blue Ridge Hospice September 19th 2009. Paintings sold at the auction will be on display at the Shenandoah Arts Council show until November 6th. For information about the Calcutta dinner/Auction you can contact Melanie Marks at mmarks@wisemanandassociates.

If you would like to receive the link to a special VIP online preview of the paintings included in this exhibition please email your contact information to llvolrath@att.net. Information regarding pre-show sales will be included with this preview.