Time to say goodbye to the colors of 2020. Every year about this time I trash my well used palette and start with a fresh, unsullied piece of glass to mix my oil paints on. So here’s one last glimpse of the remnants of a year’s worth of painting!
I’m enthralled with this elegant new small work! I’m interested in the complexity of the layered imagery. The sophistication of the color composition and the mixed media process used by the artist are intriguing to me. And I love the nontraditional approach to realism (no huge surprise here.)
Sarsten Noice | Magpie I | Mixed Media | 10×10″ | 400.
The work was done by one of my three extraordinarily talented daughters, Sarsten Noice!
I’ve mentioned three touchstones for my work that I regularly look for when I’m bringing a painting to the finish line: Warm against cool, light against dark, thick against thin. For decades these have been essential aspects of my painting practice.
Marshall Noice | Darkness and Light | Oil on Canvas | 48×96″ Diptych
This recent painting is a great example of these considerations. Specifically, warm dark red against cool light gray green, warm orange against cool blue green, and warm light yellow against cool dark purple gray. To get an idea of the thick-thin considerations you’ll have to see the painting in person. A photograph can’t capture it adequately.
A few weeks back I posted a very early version of this piece, and I have to tell you, I’m really going to miss having this painting in my studio to enjoy. But it’s off to a new home in Arizona. And happily it’s going to be in very good hands!
Thompson’s River View | Oil on Canvas | 40×60″
I will be sending the collectors our lawyers’ standard visitation agreement. Just kidding.
It feels good to be in 2021! I hope it’s a wonderful year for you.
Lately I’ve been enthralled with the combination of Cadmium Red Light adjacent to Quinacridone Magenta. Side by side, one over the other, no matter how you get those two close together, it’s a jangly pairing of colors that almost vibrates on the canvas. Talk about activating the painting’s surface!
In pursuit of giving credit where credit’s due, here’s the pastel sketch that got me moving my brush in that direction a few months back. The subject is a Norway Maple that grows on the west slope in front of our house. It’s a bit of a scrubby specimen, but more than makes up for its lack of shapeliness with a spectacular display every fall. You already know what color it is!
I’m a firm believer in taking inspiration wherever you find it. I think my morning on the mountain with son-in-law Austin will result in some wonderfully soft colored paintings! Stay tuned for shades of Payne’s Gray with just a hint of Cerulean Blue and Cadmium Green Light.
Hey pastel lovers. We have been busily framing smaller works just in time for holiday gift giving! Stop by the studio and take a look. We have a very nice selection
It makes me very happy to see the article about my work in the winter issue of Big Sky Journal. Who doesn’t like to see their name in print? It was especially enjoyable to work with Rose DeMaris. She is an insightful and talented writer! She wrote a wonderful piece!
If any of the paintings featured in the magazine spark your interest, drop me a note and I’ll point you in their direction.
For your kind words about my work, thanks to Wolfgang Mabry of Ventana Fine Art in Santa Fe and Merritt Miller and Rachel Rubin of Renaissance Fine Arts and Merritt Gallery in Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Chevy Chase.
In case you didn’t know, Kalispell has a great quarterly periodical. Owned and operated by the talented folks at Highline Design, Go Local focuses on all things Northwest Montana.
The winter issue, “on newsstands now,” features none other than yours truly!
So if you’ve ever wondered (of course you have, haven’t you?) about my roots and the circuitous journey leading to my here and now, this is your chance to fill in the blanks.