Reflections~ Artful Prescription For Anxiety

Anxiously awaiting her appointment with a specialist after a questionable X-ray, my friend became absorbed in a landscape painting in the doctor’s office. After a few moments contemplating the painting she felt her tensions dissolve.

Using imagery to focus the mind and center emotions is hardly a new idea. Eastern cultures developed intricate mandalas as meditative tools; arabesques adorning the walls of mosques were intended to induce ecstasy in the viewer by virtue of hypnotic eye movement. Here, image is the handmaiden of intention.

Composing paintings with intention demands from the artist a selective eye when painting outdoors in Nature. All aspects~ shapes, colors, direction, and lighting must align with subject matter to express the intention. In Reflections, I sought to prompt a calm and meditative state in the viewer. A glimpse of docked boats reflected in gently lapping water seemed a perfect visual metaphor.

Gloucester harbor is here shown in a quiet, diffused light. Contrasts of color and value are subdued; edges softened, giving objects a dreamy, ethereal quality. The oblong shape of the canvas and horizontality of the pier and boats contribute to the quiet in Reflections. Eye movement is gentle and slow, paced by the handling of the brush strokes. Reflections is a statement of tranquility.

Melody Phaneuf is well known for her evocative landscape, still life, and portrait paintings. Her paintings are regularly on view at The Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury Street, at Fenway Studios, Boston by appointment, and North Shore Art in Gloucester from May through October. Phaneuf has exhibited her paintings at The National Arts Club in New York City, Galerie Herouet in Paris, and with Art du Monde, in Japan.

Melody The Artist Home, founded with photographer and color specialist, Martha DiMeo showcases the artist’s original paintings on tumbled marble tile murals and coasters, fine art prints and note cards. Online ordering at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop

Reflections, oil painting by Melody Phaneuf, 28 x 20

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Related~

• Effects of Art on Emotion
• Using Mandalas to Focus the Mind
• Emotional Effects of Color

Painting Gloucester Harbor~ Morningtide

The many faces of Gloucester provide endless variety for the landscape artist to paint. Here, on the harbor, the wild beauty of the sea is tamed and harnessed. Rugged boats and machinery, equipment for the fishing trade, replace majestic waves and limber shoreline. The harbor in Gloucester is the hub of the fishing industry, which, though diminished, remains steadfast.

The landscape painting, Morningtide, reflects a characteristic glimpse of Gloucester’s working harbor. Old and sturdy houses are firmly planted in the hill, their watchful windows positioned for returning seamen with several days catch. Stout boats, the powerful Sumo wrestlers of titanic hauls of fish, rest here reflecting the light. It’s breezy, the water is choppy, it is barely spring.

The Cool crisp, and somewhat harsh morning light imparts contrast, patterning the shapes with a pulsating beat. Continuous oppositions of triangle/rectangle, dark/light, warm/cool, interrupt pathways of yellow, red, and blue-gray. The resulting syncopation in the design evokes the feeling of this neighborhood surrounding Gloucester’s well-worn harbor. It is here that tourists and artists flock, to savor a taste of life in this mythic fishing community.

A tourist detail~ the two-toned building to the left of the blue triangular blue one, houses the now famous Crow’s Nest, featured in The Perfect Storm, book by Sebastian Junger. The Crow's Nest open this morning, continuing the saga worthy of a novel.

Morningtide represents the ruggedness of generations indentured to the sea, one thread in the rich fabric of all that is Gloucester.

Melody Phaneuf is well known for her evocative Gloucester landscape paintings. Phaneuf works on location and at historic Fenway Studios, Boston, MA, painting still life and portraiture. Phaneuf has exhibited at Galerie Herouet in Paris, The National Arts Club in New York City, and with Art du Monde, a traveling exposition in Japan. Phaneuf’s paintings are regularly displayed at North Shore Arts, Gloucester, MA and The Guild of Boston Artists, Boston, MA.

Melody The Artist Home, founded with photographer and color specialist, Martha DiMeo showcases the artist’s original paintings on tumbled marble tile murals and coasters, fine art prints and handmade note cards. Online ordering at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop

Morningtide, oil painting by Melody Phaneuf, 30 x 25
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Related~

• Historic Gloucester
• The Perfect Storm and The Andrea Gale
• 150 Years of Cape Ann Artistry

Making Paintings~ The Calling to Create

Visitors to my studio enjoy seeing a painting in progress. For some, it is a surprise that I work from actual objects rather than inventing the picture. I do invent; it is the spark of an idea that comes together in my mind, then to some scribbles on paper, which explore the visual interpretation of a concept. Then comes the actual arranging of the props I will use for the painting. The more elaborate arrangements take months to paint, partly because I work on several paintings at a time and partly because of the intricacies of finish. There are technical reasons for letting a surface breath for a while as well.

Having collected thousands of props and fabrics to compose paintings, I am adored at flea markets and local antique shops. The figure in the painting, Calling, is a Caproni plaster cast of Cupid who has lost his wings. I purchased it many years ago in the hopes I could have it repaired, but as it turns out, he is perfectly suited for his role in Calling.

I am most inspired by paintings that attempt to communicate an idea. Calling is the story of a creature, played by the plucky Cupid, who is destined for a purpose over which there is no choice. Cupid, himself, has the commitment to expose a point in the heart in others by skillful aiming of his arrow. Once struck, the outpouring of love awakens desire. Here the desire is for the calling, represented by the ram’s horn ~used in timeless deserts for calling fellow Nomads, now pointed toward Cupid’s ear. Brushes, tubes of paint and palette give hints at what this calling is about. The leafy vine gives a sense of ever growing and the chair itself has a carved leaf like design. The contrast of color is arresting, and the arranged shapes of the fabric communicate a buoyant idea.

And what of Cupid’s wings? As it turns out, Cupid has not been without obstacles but has endured. This often happens when divine inspiration comes to the earth plane, but his persistence gives us hope and willingness toward purpose.

Calling is still evolving and is destined for the International Art Show in Boston this fall. If you would like to visit my studio, please call 617 236 4322 or email melody@MelodyTheArtist.com to arrange a time.

Melody Phaneuf is a Boston Artist, working at Fenway Studios. Phaneuf is well known for her evocative still life and landscape paintings and has achieved significant acclaim for portraiture. She has exhibited at Galerie Herouet in Paris, The National Arts Club in New York City, and with Art du Monde, a traveling exposition in Japan. Phaneuf’s paintings are regularly displayed at the Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury Street, Boston, MA.

Melody The Artist Home, founded with photographer and color specialist, Martha DiMeo showcases the artist’s original paintings on tumbled marble tile murals and coasters, fine art prints and note cards. Online ordering at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop


Calling, oil painting in progress by Melody Phaneuf, 30 x 36

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Related~

• Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Cupid
• The Force of Destiny
• Finding Your Calling

Portraits of Children~ A New Status Symbol

The essence of childhood is fleeting and too soon a memory. From the artist’s point of view, capturing an essence as elusive as time is an intriguing purpose to paint a portrait. But amid young parents, there is a burgeoning trend to commission artistic interpretations of their children. Child portraiture is “the new status symbol,” according to Boston Home Magazine.

I had the pleasure of being included as one of three artists showcased in the spring issue of Boston Home, in an article titled Different Strokes. Each artist offered their rendition of two brothers, children of the magazine’s senior editor, Julie Suratt. I chose to work in pastel because I find the medium especially well suited to describe the elusive nature of childhood.

There are aesthetic and practical reasons to commission a portrait in pastel. Pastel is solid pigment in stick form, which provides extensive versatility. From the aesthetic viewpoint, the artist might select a skillful interweaving of pigment forming visible gradations of color and tone to imply movement and expression of time. Pastel may be applied broadly, as solid mass or advantaged for the linear qualities. The pastel medium can be handled with bold panache or the utmost delicacy, granting the artist a varied repertoire of expression.

From a practical standpoint, the pigments don’t need drying time. Adjustments can be efficiently made; timesaving for the artist translates to cost savings for the person commissioning the portrait. Unlike oil paintings, pastels don’t need final varnishing. They can be matted and framed immediately.

Artist portraits of children become family heirlooms. With Mother’s Day approaching, Boston Home Magazine’s article is timely. Portraits of children are thoughtful, treasured gifts for mothers, and grandmothers, too.

Boston Artist, Melody Phaneuf is well known for her evocative landscape, still life, and portrait paintings. Phaneuf’s paintings are regularly on view at The Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury Street; at Fenway Studios, Boston by appointment; and North Shore Art in Gloucester from May through October. Phaneuf has exhibited her paintings at The National Arts Club in New York City, Galerie Herouet in Paris, and with Art du Monde, in Japan.

Melody The Artist Home, founded with photographer and color specialist, Martha DiMeo showcases the artist’s original paintings on tumbled marble tile murals and coasters, fine art prints and note cards. Online ordering at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop

Brothers, by Melody Phaneuf, 20 x 15 pastel

Commission a portrait by Melody Phaneuf
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Related~

• Different Strokes, Boston Home Magazine
• Affordable Luxury: Children Portraits, New Status Symbol
• Slideshow of Pastel Portraits by Melody Phaneuf

Fragrant Delight~ Balm For The Spirit

If you’re anything like me, you find it a challenge to keep a buoyant and clear mind in the face of constant negative news. I busily go through my day, trying to keep my focus positive, but the sights and sounds in my periphery subliminally seep into my consciousness.

Soothing oneself with beauty is a balm for the spirit. I've often sat in the Museum’s Impressionist gallery to drink in the color and the joie de vivre with which those artists painted. My mood brightens; I defy anyone to brood in the midst of Impressionist paintings.

It is this understanding of imagery’s power that calls many artists to create. The action of creation is, in itself supremely pleasurable but it is the wish to share this delight with others that is the true motivator. For many of us, filling the world with beauty is our service work, an attempt to change minds and lighten hearts.

The painting, Fragrant Delight, exudes abundance and joy. Rich turquoise contrasts vibrant pink and showcases lush garden roses. The intensity of the light causes crisp reflections and pink echoes to radiate from the exuberant blooms. Ripe peaches add golden notes, which augment the symphonic color scheme. A circular composition structures the feeling of wholeness; flowers and fruit, so freely given by Nature cultivate the sense of abundance. A contemporary mandala, Fragrant Delight is a visual antidote to a world rocked with turbulence, harshness, and scarcity.

Melody Phaneuf is a Boston Artist, working at Fenway Studios. Phaneuf is well known for her evocative still life and landscape paintings and has achieved significant acclaim for portraiture. She has exhibited at Galerie Herouet in Paris, The National Arts Club in New York City, and with Art du Monde, a traveling exposition in Japan. Phaneuf’s paintings are regularly displayed at the Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury Street, Boston, MA.

Melody The Artist Home, founded with photographer and color specialist, Martha DiMeo showcases the artist’s original paintings on tumbled marble tile murals and coasters, fine art prints and note cards. Online ordering at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop

Fragrant Delight, by Melody Phaneuf, is a 36 x 34 oil painting. Gicleé reproductions on canvas and fine art tile coasters of Fragrant Delight are available at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop

Related~

• The Nature of Aesthetic Experience
• Role of Aesthetics in Our Environment
• Color Promotes Happiness

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