Playing with light....aceo and 5x7

I've always liked paintings that played with light. Not the Thomas Kinkaid light thing but real light...Misty light, foggy light...Low light...Unusual light.

I decided to try a bit of it this morning and see how it went.

This is a work in progress. It's little. 2 1/2 by 3 1/2 inches... I'm painting on itty-bitty canvases... Since I'm just starting out I don't know if that makes it harder or easier but I can tell you it sure saves on paint!


And speaking of light - whats up with photographing art? No matter what I do I can't seem to make the photos look like that art? In the case of the ACEO the painting looks more misty and gentle... And definitely not so GREEN. In the case of the 5 x 7 below I couldn't even get a reasonable shot without taking it way way far away... And even than it's much choppier looking. The picture seems more muted and subtle to me.

Heres another attempt but it's still not good... It's rough looking.

I'm still working on this...

Where are you going?

where are you going
Originally uploaded by popcornfeet

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Going forward can be the most difficult thing in your life. Just putting one foot in front of the other and taking the next step... You know the direction your going... You can see your path clearly... But doing it, that's the tricky part.

It's scary because you never know if your doing the right thing... if you took the right road.. if you picked the right direction at that last cross-road. And you won't; until the end. The truth is you really do pick the right directions at the cross-roads in you life. You pick the best option available you had at each event in your life. You pick the very best thing to do based on all you knew at the time. If you knew more, or less, you might have done something different but...well, that wouldn't have been you.

Relish your wins and rethink your losses. Maybe they weren't losses. Maybe they brought you to the next cross-road smarter, better, more prepared for a more difficult decision. Maybe you needed to make the last mistake to not make the next two...

I've made some mistakes that saved me bigger ones... I'm thankful for those.

This card was done in standard ACEO format of 2 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inchs on heavy mat board. It started with a background collage with multiple art papers to enhance the main image. The photograph is one I took recently while driving near my home. I pulled out my camera, rested it on my steering wheel and shot. A good result, I think.

Your fences frame your life

the fences frame you
Originally uploaded by popcornfeet

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I was looking at my photographs the other day and realized I had a lot of shots of fences. At first I thought it was odd. Why would I have taken so many pictures of barriers? Things blocking my path? Objects that stopped me on my path?
I started to work with the pictures and realized that I loved the images and found them beautiful. If the fences hadn't been there I would have continued on my way - walked ahead and never noticed the scene beyond.

Fences - barriers in your life - can be blockades. Places that you stop and feel you can't go forward but maybe there is another way to see them.
The things that stop you give you a frame of reference. They show you where you are now... They show you what's in the future... They shift you.
Stopping to assess your life is never a bad thing. Knowing what could be a ahead is important... Figuring a way to get past a hurdle is growth. Maybe the fences in your life are as important and the open paths. Maybe stopping to see where you are and figuring out how to move ahead is a gift.

Maybe fences are the picture frames of our lives. A pause, a still picture, a place to refect back on how far we've come and to see what's beyond...


ACEO 2 1/2 by 3 1/2 inch done on heavy mat board. The background collage uses several art papers and acrylic fixitives. The photograph was placed on top of the collage and the entire card was sealed with a glossy acrylic medium.

This is a photograph taken close to my home on a walk.

Nighty night

Contact tracyreinhardt.art@gmail.com for purchase information

Unframed $75.00

Nighty-night is a 6" x 6" acrylic painting on masonite. I just finished painting it - in fact it doesn't even have the glossy sealer on it yet.

To me it's like every peaceful night I wished for as a child. Clear sky, shining starts, bright moon to see your hands, and soft hills of grass to roll down.

It's peace to me.

Chairs to infinity at sunrise

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I took this photograph in Capy May, New Jersey. These were the chairs on the balcony at the Grand Hotel... There was something about this photograph I've always liked.

There is something beautiful in those chairs. I can imagine myself sitting there resting, gazing over the railing... and it's quiet. Even though there are so many balconys and so many chairs no one is outside. No one takes time to stop and sit anymore... to just look at what's there.

I think about my life and I don't take much time to stop and sit either. There is always a call to make... a phone to answer... a bill to pay.

I must have missed so many beautiful sunrises just sleeping when I wasn't really tired...

ACEO 2 1/2 by 3 1/2 inches on heavy mat board. The card was done in two steps. First a background collage was done to compliment the picture and than the photograph was attached. I used several acrylic mediums, the last one glossy.

Night waves

Contact tracyreinhardt.art@gmail.com for purchase information

unframed $75.00

I have this thing for the beach. I'm sure it's noticable. This is a 6 " x 6 " acrylic painting on masonite.

The picture of it didn't get the purple glow at the top or the clouds the moon is hiding behind. I really need to work on photographing my artwork.

I'm not sure if this is done yet or a work in progress. I thought photographing it would help but frankly the photo is so poor it doesnt help much.

I guess I'll live with it and see.

Exhaling with the tide

This is an acrylic painting on 16 x20 stretched canvas. The sides are painted black like the edges of the painting - it all flows together.

I started doing these horizons recently to loosen up my tight view of the world. I love my photographs but they make me a little obsessive.

There is something wonderful to me about the misty, haze and far off in the distance feel. I like the lack of foreground. I like the lack of 'the now'.

New Jersey Shore Photograph

This is a photograph I took of a boat docked somewhere at the Jersey shore. I've always liked it.


There is something quiet about it that reminds me of the paintings I'm doing.

This Beach, Cape May 2006

This is another of the Acrylic Paint on mulberry paper on canvas pieces that I've done in my attempts at peace.

It's based on a photograph I took in Cape May, NJ. This one has a stronger border than some of the others - where the dark border melds with the scene. The peace, for me, comes from the simplicity of color and design.

This Beach is done on a 16 x 20 stretched canvas with painted sides.

Working looser and getting erfüllte Sehnsucht

So. The tight way I work is getting to me. While I like the art I've been doing very much it's gotten to be a bit like a migraine. Tight. Very tight.

In an effort to loosen up my head and my thoughts I bought some canvas and paint. It's a very scary thing because I'm not a painter. I've never painted. The largeness of the brushes and the wetness and runniness of the paint makes me crazy but I thought it was called for.

What has happened has been magical. I started painting everyday in an attempt to learn how...and also to exercise my relax-muscles.

I'm enjoying the process more than I thought and enjoying the results. When I walk past what I've done my whole body feels a collective 'ahhh!'. Like a peaceful exhale. The things I'm doing are simple and loose up to a point. They are acrylic paintings done on canvas that has had mulberry paper collaged onto it prior to being painted.

The rough surface is visually pleasing and I like it much better than working on canvas. All the things I've tried on just canvas have been done over...and over and over... until I cover it up with paper and do it with the fun nooks and crannies.

I have a series of these misty blue and green landscape type paintings - one color fading into the next...fading to black at the edges. erfüllte Sehnsucht, I call them.

Zen and the art of art...

There is art everywhere. I was shopping for new dishes and took this picture. This was one set I was considering.

Even though I didn't buy these, they will stick with me long after the set I did buy because these plates became art.