A ROMANTIC STROLL UNDER THIS OLD OAK

"Southern Stroll I"

10x10, oil on canvas

Last week we took our kiddos fishing off the local Greenway path which is right by our house. After untangling the mickey mouse push button pole and baiting it with some shrimp, Taj my 5 year old managed to pull up his first crab! He (the crab) fell off before we could pull it in but in the mind of a 5 year old it totally counts! On our walk back (fishless, crabless, and shrimpless) was this beautiful oak tree with the moon sitting pretty just above her. It was the perfect evening; an adventure for my children and a nice romantic walk with my man...awhhh.

Oak trees are incredibly challenging for me to paint so I think I will tackle this same composition a few more times. 

www.marissavogl.com

Morning Palms

24x8, oil on canvas

In this painting I wanted to capture the warmth and the calmness of life on Johns Island, SC. I have been working hard on finding more depth in my paintings. Working with colors that I "grey down" in contrast to the more pure and vivid pigments, seems to be a combination that my eye enjoys. When placing a muted cool green next to a deep rich gold the eye automatically pushes the green to the background while the gold comes forward. I read somewhere that the eye does not see yellow at a distance. So it makes sense that warmer colors work well in the foreground of any painting. Next time you are taking in the landscape around you take notice of the colors you see far away. 

www.marissavogl.com

A PAINTING FOR MYSELF

"Evening Palms"

oil on canvas 8x24

In the spirit of Valentine's Day I thought I would gift my family an original Marissa Vogl painting of our favorite place to spend time together...Folly Beach.  You would be surprised to know that I have very few of my own paintings in my home so this is a treat. 

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY FRIENDS! 

Entering Glacier National Park Painting

"Entering Glacier"

36"x12", oil on canvas

$500

Upon entering Glacier National Park's East side is Browning Montana. This is home of the Blackfeet Nation the largest tribe in Montana. This landscape is full of lakes, rivers, mountains and of course wildlife. I cannot remember what body of water this is. It could be Two Medicine Creek or maybe Milk River. The history behind the Blackfeet Nation is captivating, it will bring you back to the days of true cowboys and indians. You can learn more here http://www.browningmontana.com/

More paintings by Marissa at www.marissavogl.com

"Safe Keeping" Seascape of South Carolina's Sand Dunes by Marissa Vogl

"Safe Keeping"

12x36" oil on canvas.

$500

My family and I LOVE Folly Beach! This is where we collect memories, play together, grow together and wash all our worries away. In August our dune fences were washed away by hurricane Irene this was the view before Irene. 

(photo provided by The Atlantic)

On the bright side, Charleston surfers were able to catch some large waves that grace us on rare occasions. 

www.marissavogl.com

"Sweet Scents"

36"x36" oil on canvas.

Available at Michael Mitchel. 

When I first moved to Charleston 3 years ago the smell of the pluff mud was absolutely horrific to my scenes. I had come from the West growing up in the mountains literally in the pine trees of Montana. To me the smell of fresh air and pine trees was/ is heaven! The pluff mud was stagnant, heavy and much to organic for me. It smelled like compost fresh off the farm that you throw in your garden which is an acquired smell.  Now every time I come home from visiting Montana or wherever my travels may take me I step off the plane into that ohhhh so sweet smell of the pluff mud. Home Sweet Home is Charleston where the salty air mixes with jasmine and the slippery muddy waters of the marsh. Oh yeah and somewhere in there you can smell the fresh pralines moving thru the air from Market Street. 

www.marissavogl.com

Happy Painting, "Fall on Bohicket River"

"Fall on Bohicket River"

36"x36" oil on canvas.

$1100.00 available thru Michael Mitchell Gallery.

Fall on Bohicket River is the largest painting I have completed to date. I have to tell you I am very proud of this painting. It exudes so much amazing energy and good vibes that make me smile every time I look at it. This can often be difficult to achieve when looking at one's own work. Especially when intimidated by such a large blank canvas staring at you in the face.  

There are many challenges to painting large, I don't care what any artist says! It really is not that easy. I will tell you about what works in this painting. The underpainting was done with Quinacrindone Magenta which is a beautiful almost transparent magenta. Allowing the magenta to come thru in areas brings a deeper dimension to the painting and lays down the foundation for a painting that could become nothing but happy and energetic. Originally I set out to use the coral and tangerines against a very hazy almost violet grey sky and an olive green marsh water. As I think this would be a dramatic a beautiful color scheme. However when I mix my grays they turn out turquoise, cobalt, lime green and a vibrant pink...ha.  As the gallery owner of Michael Mitchell says, "Sorry Im so happy!" Even though I don't throw my paint out of gallon size house paint cans and chain smoke miserably, I am very much an expressionistic painter. If I am unhappy I simply cannot and most of the time will not paint, if I did or do the painting turns out horrible. Not that you have to be miserable to be an expressionistic painter. I like the way my eye travels through this painting as well. An interesting and almost complex trail yet my eye always comes back to the focal point by way of the curved bank on the right, bouncing off of the coral water reflection on the left and up to the tree line at the horizon. Somehow your eye continues up into the sky thru the small blue channel between the golden thick clouds and back around to the left where the tangerine cloud to the top keeps us from exiting the marsh scape. I say somehow because we always intend to keep our audience from leaving our painting and every once in a while I accomplish this effortlessly. 

You can see more paintings by Marissa Vogl at www.marissavogl.com