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Edward Hopper- Looking Out

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Edward Hopper, Cape Cod Morning,   oil on canvas, 1950,  Smithsonian American Art Museum Above is a painting I've loved for some forty years. I'm fortunate to be able to see it often as it lives in the SAAM in Washington, D.C. . This painting contains a real clue to Hopper's art. I visit there often as it helps me learn how to see better. Often writers will talk about the loneliness of Hopper's paintings or how his figures feel isolated and rarely interact with one another. While there is some of that in Hopper's painting, it begs a question- why is Hopper's art so widely loved? I'd offer a couple of answers. First, he's one of the most talented painters and was able to invent visual equivalents for strong emotions we humans experience as we live our lives.  He saw color combining in unexpected ways and offered up generous servings of the most delicious color combinations. Yum. Usually, as in the SAAM's Cape Cod Morning above, when he paints...
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Background on Two New Paintings

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Summer Island, oil on canvas, 20 x 30 inches, 2023 My painting Summer Island  is at Somerville Manning Gallery in Greenville, DE. Funny story behind it. Originally I painted a nearby peninsula extending into the waters of a northern lake. The far shore was close by as well and was heavily forested.  I liked the result but as I studied the painting I found the most intrigue in the wonderfully irregular rhythms of the peninsula in the foreground. Wanting to give that the star billing I painted on it further and gradually pushed the background farther and farther into the distance. Eventually the distant forests dissolved into peaceful atmospheric blues. Finally the foreground trees seemed to ask to stand alone, so I cut the peninsula off from the shore. The remaining little island seemed happiest with it new untethered status.  Kitchen Table, Truro Studio, oil on panel, 18 x 24 inches, 2023 Kitchen Table, Truro Studio  is in the new exhibition The ...
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How Did Edward Hopper Make a Watercolor? (Updated)

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I was staying and working in the studio Edward Hopper designed and had built on Cape Cod in Truro, MA for my15th residency a week and a half ago. Above you can see Hopper's easel where for 30 years he produced many of his most famous paintings. The three windows look out from a great height over Cape Cod Bay. In a word: inspiring. Hopper first gained wide acclaim through his watercolors. Most of them were done at a fairly large scale on cold press 140 lbs. watercolor paper (that's a medium weight subtly textured paper). To keep his watercolor paper from buckling as it became wet as he painted on it, Hopper would prepare the paper ahead of time by stretching. On the easel in the photo above is a piece of watercolor paper stretched by Hopper that is patiently waiting for him to return and paint on it.   Here's a close up of the front side of the prepared paper. Over the years it has sagged a little from its original smooth completely flat state. Hopper ...
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