Today is a beautiful, sunny day.  In fact, it is the first day of autumn. It was 42 degrees when the alarm went off, and it’s warming up to be a gorgeous 73.

There’s no better day for me to be looking at the final painting of the Summer of Gouache series on the studio table. This is truly a What’s on the Table day, and it’s where my creativity and thoughts are swirling.

Late last night I added the last brush strokes, and this morning I’ve finished prepping it for print. I fretted away the last few weeks learning photoshop (a life-long endeavor, no doubt).

A few days ago, I pulled this image out of my memory and photos, and I knew it had to be the last Summer of Gouache postcard — finished right at summer’s edge.

It was a moment from Memorial Day weekend. The image is of a warm, glowing sky, an arched gate, and some newly sprouting vines and foliage.

My dear friends and I were in West Dennis, Massachusetts, at a gorgeous old beach house. I knew I’d get distracted as time went on, so I took a solo walk around the house and gardens before the dinner festivities began. Just my iphone and me, the sunset, and a place that makes you slow down and notice details.  

While I know there will be more paintings from that weekend, the gate seemed the ideal picture to use as a reference photo for this important collection closer.

Artists use reference photos in many ways. Some copy the shapes and lines to practice. Some check proportions. Some use them to remind them of time, place, or feeling and some to capture color, light, and shadow.  Ideally they are combined with the artist’s own interpretation and other photos so it’s truly a new piece.

I even caught myself thinking about a mandatory artist’s field trip to see the actual site in this current season. However, while the original reference photo I used shows late spring, I found it easy to imagine in late summer. I knew this spot could hold the idea and feeling I was looking for: a gateway from one season to another.

So, with the photo and my imagination primed, I began my first quick sketches.

I was mindful to keep myself busy and to work on other paintings at the same time, a trick I use to keep myself from obsessing over perfection as I wait for layers to dry. I played with the angles and perspective, and knew I wanted that sunset glow to shine.

I began with the dark values of the tree and other foliage.  Then I laid in the blues and pinks with watered down gouache. I painted a very watery twilight yellow in the center and around the blues and pinks, but left it barely deeper than the paper white.  I knew I wanted to use pan pastel to catch that amazing golden glow, and I’d use that at the end so it could catch it on the treetops, too.

The Summer of Gouache series was a hard one to close. I’m a firm believer in embracing the actual season upon us, not rushing ahead like so many of the big box stores tend to do. My painting inspiration works the same way.

I can’t force a jack o’lantern, as much as I love them, folks.

The series grew very honestly:

• Fresh June strawberries at the local Pick-Your-Own farm
  
• That iconic lobster dinner after a day at the Maine beaches
  
• Adventures in the Pacific Northwest with purple (PURPLE!) sea stars
  
• A firefly memory spanning two postcards, from my West Virginia evenings and childhood memories of my Grandma Mary Charlotte, aka Dutch
  
• The “Look Up!” canopy, inspired by my favorite spot under our dogwood tree
  
• And now the gate — both a beginning and an end, and a reminder that this series was never meant to look uniform, but to reflect the shifting places, moods, and stories of a whole summer.

That variety is exactly what made the set feel real to me — a mix of bright highs, tricky lows, and everything in between, just like the summer itself.

If you follow me on Instagram and Facebook, you know the summer was also full of printing prep woes, migraines, days when my energy ran thin or was non-existent, and creative road blocks. Yes, they were there.

But so were these moments I’ll remember with so much more clarity. Moments in the sunshine, in the shade, adventuring and slowing down, beginnings and endings. 

Postcard Series Is Done — But the Work Grows

The originals are complete, and early access to the Summer of Gouache and Bright Little World prints are coming. The postcards will be available both as individual cards and in sets.

I have been experimenting in the studio all summer with greens.  I know some of these hues will play key roles in the work to come.  I have plans for some small paintings of Cozy Corners, and later a larger collection.

If you’ve been following along this summer, thank you. Feel free to forward this to a friend or share your favorite piece with someone who’d love it.

Summer may be over, but these memories are still making their way into the world. I’m keeping the postcard of the beach over my kitchen sink so I can hear the waves as I’m doing the dishes this winter.

I’d love to hear which postcard resonates with you.  Feel free to reply or just say hi. I’m always up for a good story.

      — Miranda

          Artist @ Stella & Dorrie Studio

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P.S.   Stella and the Dorrie declined to comment on this post.  They feel they were hugely neglected in this story.  Their feelings are shared, however, with clear body language:  

Critics’ consensus: 7 postcards too many, 0 postcards of them.