Wetland Woods – Spring

Posted on 05/24/2023 by Teri Malo

After the silence and freeze of winter, spring can seem like an explosion of sound and color. Every green imaginable is reflected in my favorite swamps and ponds. The peepers are singing, the birds are flirting, and I want to put the feel of all this exploding life into a painting. It is all about joy and life! Details below. Enjoy.

TM9728 Wetland Woods – Spring – detail from upper left

TM9728 Wetland Woods – Spring – detail from lower center

TM9728 Wetland Woods – Spring – detail showing use of roller, brush, and pencil

Technical painting notes: I used a thin black oil paint (reduced with stand oil and mineral spirits) to roll a few broad gestures on the white, primed panel, then used an ebony pencil to draw more details. When this base was dry, I used Liquin glazes over the whole surface, then began blocking in the sky reflections to set the composition and values. From there, it was a process of layering glazes with more pencil drawing, some detailed brush work, and lots of “painting” with my soft rubber rollers. Building the surface and colors with repeated layering of semi-transparent paints allows the painting to almost glow. It’s an old watercolor trick translated into oils with soft brushes and the roller.

The free-form marks suggestive of branches and trees either reflected or bending over the water sets up a syncopated rhythm that I used to suggest the energy of spring.

Notes from the Garden – Glory Morning

Posted on 05/16/2023 by Teri Malo

Paintings develop from an idea. It might be an image from photographs, a memory, a color and mood, something seen on a walk. In the case of this morning glory painting, it’s from memory and photographs I took each morning walking to the Victory Gardens in the Fens. The translucent blues were so fragile and transient. If I walked later in the afternoon, the flowers were closed. They were a special delight.

For the painting, it was important to capture the delicacy of the flower and the persistence of the vines, that twining, searching line sent out into the world. The more I worked, the more important the lines (vines) became, offering an opportunity to add color and a defined hard edge, while the soft shapes left by the re-rolled marks of the roller provided a sense of movement. Details below. Enjoy.

TM9726 Notes from the Garden – Glory Morning detail from upper right

TM9726 Notes from the Garden – Glory Morning – detail from top center

TM9726 Notes from the Garden – Glory Morning detail from upper center

TM9726 Notes from the Garden – Glory Morning – detail from lower center

Notes from the Garden – Spiderwort and Friends

Posted on 05/14/2023 by Teri Malo

My Memere had a beautiful spiderwort in her side yard, and I was always fascinated by the blue-shading-to-violet color of the flowers. When I saw a similar spiderwort at the Victory Gardens last summer, I knew I had to paint it, surrounded by the various other plants that made up its neighborhood. Presenting my homage to the humble spiderwort, with all its old-fashioned delights. Enjoy.

TM9725 Notes from the Garden – Spiderwort and Friends – detail from upper right

TM9725 Notes from the Garden – Spiderwort and Friends – detail showing use of rolled and drawn lines

TM9725 Notes form the Garden – Spiderwort and Friends detail from lower left side

Ode to a Rhododendron

Posted on 05/07/2023 by Teri Malo

I love a big showy rhododendron, but when I started this painting I thought it would be of peonies. I had loosely blocked in the blousy forms and was waiting for them to dry. As it happened, I had printed the photo of peonies on a sheet that also had a photo of the rhododendron. When I looked at the two photos, the gestural base layer I had blocked in looked more like the rhododendrons. Was it an accident? Or maybe my unconscious? From that point, I changed my palette and went with the second option. The crisscrossing leaves offer a contrast with the fluffy flowers. I have to find more rhoddies this year! Details below. Enjoy.

TM9724 Ode to a Rhododendron – detail showing use of various widths of rubber rollers

TM9724 Ode to a Rhododendron – detail from right side

Technical painting notes: I started with a loose pencil drawing on the white panel, then mixed a blue-black oil paint and started blocking in the darks with three and a four-inch soft rubber rollers. When I lost the forms, I went back to drawing with ebony pencil. THe back and forth of rolling and drawing produced interesting textures and lines. I let the panel dry, then built the image by refining with brush work, rolling, and drawing in layers. The roller keeps things loose and roller “accidents” yield interesting shapes.

Notes from the Garden – Breezy Days

Posted on 04/27/2023 by Teri Malo

The garden is a place for trying things: new plants, creative techniques, new combinations. Painting the garden is the same. The plethora of forms, colors, shapes and constant change demand that the artist be open to trying new techniques and constantly search for honest ways to depict what is seen. I like to think of my garden series as searches for what’s “out there.” Exploring with pencil, playing with rollers, trying to find the right color and form – it can be very abstract and real at the same time. Just what I love. Enjoy!

Good Morning

Posted on 04/17/2023 by Teri Malo

For me, art is always about finding a way to express what I see and how it feels. The question is how? Sometimes the two are at odds. Too much detailed realism and the painting can feel dull and premeditated. Too much improvisation and the subject can get lost. Lately, I find that going back and forth between drawing into the wet paint and inventing with the rollers is an interesting way to explore the process. It’s all an experiment. Details below. Enjoy.

TM9721 Good Morning – detail from upper right

TM9721 Good Morning – detail from lower center

Notes from the Garden – Summer Morning

Posted on 04/14/2023 by Teri Malo

Every year as the weather warms I look forward to painting the Fenway Victory Gardens. Notes from the Garden – Summer Morning feels as warm as the 88 degrees we experienced today – in April! I used brush, roller, and pencil to describe the casual feel of the victory gardens. Details below.

TM9720 Notes from the Garden – Summer Morning – detail from upper left

TM9720 Notes from the Garden – Summer Morning – detail from lower left showing use of blend rolls

TM9720 Notes from the Garden – Summer Morning – detail from right side

Morning Glories from the Fens

Posted on 04/11/2023 by Teri Malo

With their cheerful morning faces, Morning Glories always seem like harbingers for a great day. I love the chaotic way they climb and twist. They seem to epitomize nature’s energy. They certainly make me feel better. Details below. Enjoy.

TM9719 Morning Glories from the Fens – detail from center left

TM9719 Morning Glories from the Fens – detail from upper right

TM9719 Morning Glories from the Fens – detail from center right

Technical painting notes: I started the painting by blocking in major masses with small rollers loaded with a blackish green oil paint, drawing into the wet paint to suggest a few details of the flowers and leaves. When this base was dry, I glazed the darker areas with an indigo glaze then started refining the image with a roller loaded with various greens and gray tones. I used a broad angle brush to suggest the flowers, painting the form then rolling over it to smudge their faces. More brush work and glazes, followed by roller work, built up the image and details without getting too fussy. I went in with the pencil lines toward the end for definition and because Iove the contrast of the fine graphite lines against the broader roller marks.

Teri Malo Studio

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