Battenkill @ rush hour

30  F  cloudy with a few flakes.

It's been snowing the last three days, we haven't gotten that much snow altogether, but it's still been snowing for three days.

The "Money Shot" from today.

#448 Battenkill @ Eagleville

9 x 12

I've been here before, but never did this exact scene, I think I'm just naturally drawn to certain places, do you wonder why?

The tone was just perfect for the day, but I think that was just luck, and I ran with it.

There were two areas if interest, the water rushing over some rocks in the foreground and the opposite bank.

This is where I ended up.

Here is the scene. Everything's different with the snow, and the water was high and rushing. Today I just had to have a water scene.

Sight-size shot.

The ground was not frozen, and in general it was a pleasant day, but no day at the beach!

For me, a limited pallet  Ultramarine blue, burnt sienna, cadmium lemon and cadmium yellow light, alizerine crimson and of course titanium white. I left off a 2nd blue, cuerealan as of late, and zinc white. Ok so it's not that different, but it's a nod in that direction.

1980, Bennington College and R.H.Ives Gammell.

33  F  wintery mix: the worst weather!

#321 Battenkill @ Pooks,  6-15-14

12 x 16

available @ McCarty's Barn


I chose this to illustrate this post because it was done in mid June and it's a picture of water going under a bridge.







Random thoughts on my art education: 1980

A lot of people talk about this large and unwieldy subject, so I thought I'd start with a post about some of my experiences. I've had a lot of education, I earned a B.A. from Bennington College (1983) in painting and sculpture, and an M.F.A, from S.U.N.Y. Albany(1988) in sculpture and drawing. and the school of hard knocks (2014)

   I started at Bennington in 1979 as a "realist" painter. I had been working on a portfolio of paintings and drawings in high school, having grown up near Boston, and being familiar with the paintings at the Museum of Fine Arts, and the Gardner.  I did figures, still life and some landscapes.  For my studio A.P. at Newton North H.S. my concentration was the self portrait, and I got a 5.  I went to Bennington College fully aware that they taught theory, and non-conformity.  I liked the intellectual rigor, the questioning and the endless experiment.

   During my freshman non-resident term, January, 1980  I introduced myself to Robert Douglas Hunter. I saw his work, (very elegant still life paintings) in Boston. I showed him my portfolio and he arranged for me to learn sight-size cast drawing.  He also leant me a copy of  "The Twilight of Painting" and introduced me to the author: R.H. Ives Gammell.  Mr Gammell, also reviewed my portfolio and saw my cast drawing. He invited me to study with him and 4 other students at his place in Williamstown, MA. that summer. This all happened during the winter, I returned to Bennington, and studied with Pat Adams, an awesome teacher, painter and person. I continued to do some landscapes (yes plein-air) but also did some "dream" paintings that were very weird.

    In Williamstown we worked on cast drawing in the mornings and landscape drawing in the afternoons, I would not use paint at all that summer.  Mr. Gammell's prime student, Bob Moore essentially taught us as Mr. Gammell's health was failing, this would be his last summer.  As an 18 year old, I soaked in so much, but was restless. I loved learning the craft of painting, but I found it hard to straddle the divide with Bennington being the opposition. The same divide exists today between the traditionalists and the modernists, but I don't prescribe to it. Great art is great art, and there are no rules.

    At Bennington my paintings started to go wild, along with the rest of my still teen-aged life. I experimented with a lot of things, substrates, paint, subject, technique. The school format was make your work and then live through the critique of it. These were long, drawn out, gloves off, question everything group sessions. To a large extent these critiques formed my world view.

    By the end of 1980 I had to tell Mr. Gammell that I wanted to stay at Bennington. It was not an easy decision.  Mr. Gammell did not charge a cent, he provided a studio for his students and gave his regular full time students jobs to earn a little money.  This "free teaching" was very old school and very much part of it. When I returned to paint landscapes, (2012) a lot of what I learned from Mr. Gammell (and many others) came back to me, so I'm recounting it in reference to my current work. No matter that 34 years have gone under that bridge.



  Here is a link to my M.F.A thesis exhibit (1988):  http://luna.albany.edu/luna/servlet/view/all/who/Chinian%2C+Matthew+P?sort=Accession_Number&pgs=250

Another day another bridge, Battenkill, Shushan, NY.

23  F  sunny, but some wind chilly!

Here is where I ended up today, it was cold, but clear and sunny.

#447  Battenkill @ Rt 61 bridge, Shushan.

8 x 10

This was looking up my driveway when I left, it was before noon, and I was excited about the brightness.

I pulled over and stopped here, it was like "stop here now", even though the road from my house has beautiful scenery at every turn.

There is a "road" down to the water, but the van could not make it, like Eagle Bridge, Friday. I have been to this spot, a good swimming hole, and I've painted on the other side of the river and bridge, but not recently.

I wanted a view of the light on the side of the bridge, that place put my panel smack in the sun, I did it despite the impossibility of actually seeing what I was looking at, oh well!

It seems just as difficult to look into the sun as this is with the reflection off my panel, it felt like I was lost in this wilderness for most of the session.

The farther along I got the better of a grasp I had, indeed it was a great scene....

A lot of blah, greyish colors, punctuated by some pop colors.

I was able to "read" the values from an angle so despite the glare, I could in fact carry on.

I can't resist places like this could you? (unfortunately it was too cold to bring Ollie, he'd love to come with me, but I was outside for 1 hr, 40 minutes total, and he'd get cold)

This is the best photo of the painting I got today.

Here is my scene at the end of my session.

This is my 8 x 10 pallet, I did a small painting because I was hiking in and it was cold, but I ended up spending as much time as I would on a larger painting on any old day. My pallet fits into the panel carrier, so I use the same size pallet as the panel.





By the end of the session I'm cold, the wind chill factor is very real, and when my fingers start to tingle and my toes feel like they're going to go numb, then it's time to pack it in, but I was done anyway.

Where the RR., River and road meet: Eagle Bridge.

32  F   cloudy

I found this spot on a hunch, it's under the State Route 67 bridge and Turnpike Rd.

#446  Owlkill @ St.Rte. 67.

11 x 14

I knew this place existed but didn't know how to get to it, and by the time I actually got there it had gone from sunny to cloudy.

Not much sky.

It's pretty messy at this point. I wish the tone was cooler.

There is a lot to simplify in a scene like this, even under the clouds I get some shadows under the bridge, and of course the light off the leaves on the hill looking under the bridge.

Moving along.....

Here is where I ended up. The clouds were actually pretty thin, so a lot of light filtered through, and I liked that.

Here is the scene, nice.

Sight-size shot.

This is the hiway bridge, cool.

I liked this too, but it had a lot less water in it, and in general too complicated. I'm liking the more intimate views these days.......

This is coming back up the "road" to the hiway. There were no signs, so I assume it's fair game.

It's hard to see, but there's a road going down to the river, I might have made it with the van, but I didn't want to risk it, the hike in was nice, anyway.

Hoosic River, Schagticoke, with a minute of sun.

33 F  mostly cloudy

The panel is in the light so it's a bit washed out,

#445  Hoosic River, Schagticoke.

9 x 12

Early in the session the sun was out and the shadows were strong.

The tone was not too different that some of the middle ground....

I had to wing it with the sun going behind the clouds and staying there, I felt a bit guilty of this, but oh well, when in Rome....

 The bridge acts a a big "NO" sign through the landscape, ya?

This is where I ended up, I thought the sun was going to come out, it didn't, but it was a lovely morning anyway.

This is the scene when the sun was out, too bad it didn't stay out, because there are two paintings going on, and there was also some wind which changed the reflection....

The road splits a lake-like area of the river, so there's water on both sides of the road, and there is a falls, just down stream, I had painted that in September.

Sight-size shot.

Wait's Hill from the other side: looking into the light. + a video

34  F  sunny

I've been eyeing this spot for some time, but the light had never been right, today it was.

Today's "Money Shot"

#444 Nolan Farm from Wait's Hill Rd.



11 x 14






Here is the link to my u-tube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95-dfDpiRwA

I started around 11:00 A.M. and the sun was bright. I was looking into it, although it would move.

When the sun is bright like this, weird things happen, so I put the video on to chat about the weirdness, click on the link, its 2 min. 40 seconds long, and mostly comprehensible.

The contrast in this scene was fantastic, but hard to get a handle on.

When the reflections take over the rest of everything else becomes black, I didn't want it that severe, I wanted there to be some description of the middle tones.

I was able to get some of those middle tones in.

Here is where I ended up, not a lot of color, but there you have it, there isn't much out there.

Here is the scene at the start, as the sun moved the contrast between the reflections and the shadows mellowed a little, and it was a bit easier to see.

Sight-size shot.



The paintings are for sale,  please e-mail me @ mattchinian@gmail.com thanks!