"Five Is Too Many" by Mary Beth Brath

Five Is Too Many

ACEO - ATC - Acrylic on watercolor paper

I have started a series of paintings called Confections. This is an Artist Trading Card that has been matted and framed. It is available for sale at Gallerie 13 in Mechanicsburg.

Enjoy.

King's Gap Garden Corner by Mary Beth Brath

Well...I thought I was finished with this one until I took the photo. I think I will break up the pinks so the bush is not so thick and add some darks to the tree in the distance. This was blocked in on site during a huge Harvest Day Festival at King's Gap State Park. This was painted with a constant stream of onlookers. Not sure at this point if I will consider it plein air since I have made so many changes.

Susquehanna River at Fort Hunter by Mary Beth Brath

5 x 7" Acrylic on Canvas

Mini Plein Air Painting of the Susquehanna River at Fort Hunter. This was painted on a perfect early fall day in September 2009. It is currently available at my studio in Gallerie 13.

Fall in Boiling Springs - Mary Beth Brath

Fall In Boiling Springs

8x10" Acrylic on Canvas

Can you tell I love color? This was painted earlier this year from my own photo. I created it while working at Gallerie 13 in Mechanicsburg PA. My easel was set up in the front showroom and I enjoyed talking to people as they came in to scope out the gallery. I am comfortable painting around a crowd since my entire career so far has been creating art while raising children. It is part of my journey.

www.marybethbrath.com

Dad's Bench

Dad's Bench

Acrylic on 9x12" Watercolor Paper

I am finished. I added more to the rock and changed some things in the background. My camera is not picking up the details well so it is hard to see the small branchs I added to the tree. The coloring between the 2 blog posts is so different. Really odd. It is time to move on.

Thank you for all of the wonderful comments on the blog and facebook.

Work in Progress - Dad's Bench

This is not finished. It is a very personal piece for me. At our family cabin in Northwestern PA, there is this bench under a crab apple tree. The original bench was there for 25 or so years and recently had to be replaced with new wood. It is such a simple bench. The tree has been split right up the trunk for over a decade now and has a huge hole as you can see in the painting.

But you see, this was my father's favorite place to sit at our cabin. The New York Yankee hat symbolizes his lingering presence. Mom and Dad have both passed away, but when I am at our camp, I feel like we are all together as it used to be.

I need to work on the rock some more and vary the design more in my background. Maybe add some twigs reaching out from the crab apple tree through the leaves. It is what it is...Dad's Bench.

Downtown B&B in Mechanicsburg by Mary Beth Brath

Downtown B&B in Mechanicsburg

20x24" Acrylic on Canvas

This spring, my plein air buddies and I painted at a local B&B. I started it on site, took it into the gallery down the street where I work and continued to work on it there when I had a chance. I brought it home last weekend and put on the final touches and varnish.

Lately I have been in a few conversations about scenes that lack people vs. scenes filled with people. Many of my pieces are quiet with a little of the human element. I think this is due to the fact that my life is so packed with people and events that when I go out to paint for my own pleasure, I look for peace.

Happy Artists and Collectors

Artist Deb Richardson and a Happy Collector

Artist Susan Gray and Happy Collectors

Artist Pat Keough and a Happy Collector

Organizing and Curating Events is a very exciting part of my artistic journey. During the Gettysburg Festival I was able to watch these highly disciplined plein air artists work in very humid 90 degree weather. On the last day of the paint out, we had a fantastic exhibit and sale of our work. These photos show 3 artists that sold work at the exhibit.

At the end of the exhibit, I was already busy gathering artwork to show in a gallery Patriotic Group Exhibit in Mechanicsburg. I am currently organizing a large group exhibit for the Daily Painters of Pennsylvania that will hang in the PA State Capitol Building East Wing Rotunda during the month of September.

Curating and Planning Events has become a passion of mine. There is something so special about bringing together the artist and the collector whether it is in a gallery setting or an independent exhibit.

If you are looking for a curator for an upcoming event, contact me at mbbrath@verizon.net.

View from Hertzler's Farm by Mary Beth Brath

View from Hertzler's Farm

Painted Plein Air during the Summer of 2009

Near Mechanicsburg PA.

8x16" Acrylic on Canvas Board

This was a lovely day to paint on site. Some days everything comes together as if someone else is doing the painting. Other days are not so easy! This painting was shown in Schmucker Hall of the Gettysburg College Campus last week.

www.dailypaintersofpennsylvania.blogspot.com

www.marybethbrath.com

Day 3 of the Gettysburg Fringe Festival Paint Out

Today in Gettysburg we gathered at Sach's Covered Bridge next to President Eisenhower's farm. It was a peaceful clear day with 14 artists creating artwork in several mediums.

Lyn O'Neal

Glen Souders and Deborah Lovelace Richardson

Marti Yeager

Michele White

Jackie Mickler

For more information on the paint out, go to http://www.gettysburgfestival.org/program/event_detail.asp?event_id=817

Wildwood Sanctuary - Harrisburg PA

Acrylic on Canvas 16x9"

This painting was started on site and finished in my studio earlier this spring. The trees were just starting to look crimson and the new growth was ready to burst. Wildwood Sanctuary is located just outside of the capitol of Pennsylvania.

Daily Painter of Pennsylvania Mary Beth Brath

Preparing Canvas for Gettysburg Festival

I am preparing canvases for the Gettysburg Festival. This year I will be involved in both the Main and the Fringe Festivals. Since I will be plein air painting for about 10 days, I need to have many supports ready to go. It is an intense week, but a great challange.

Brath Accepted into Gettysburg Art Colony

Photo is from the 2009 Gettysburg Festival and shows the painting "View From Gettysburg Battlefield Amphitheater" nearing completion.

I will be studying under Master Artist Lisa Egeli during the 2010 Gettysburg Festival Art Colony. For 3 days, selected plein air artists and sculptors will gather in an art colony setting to study and exhibit. For more information on the Gettysburg Festival, go to http://www.gettysburgfestival.org/.

Hunter's Valley Winery by Mary Beth Brath

Hunter's Valley Winery in Liverpool PA by Mary Beth Brath

16x20" Acrylic on Canvas

$260

This painting was about 80% completed on site at the winery late last summer (2009). The winery hosted a plein air painting and wine tasting event. The Susquehanna River can be seen in the distance. This place is a piece of heaven on earth and I hope to be invited to paint there again this summer!

Daily Painter of Pennsylvania Mary Beth Brath

www.marybethbrath.com

www.dailypaintersofpennsylvania.blogspot.com

Mountain Laurel by Mary Beth Brath

Mountain Laurel

by Daily Painter of Pennsylvania Mary Beth Brath

11x14" Acrylic on Canvas

Available at the Vancura Gallery of Fine Art

Pennsylvania is full of mountain laurel. When I vacation near Cook Forest State Park, I am in heaven while walking through the twisted branches of the laurel. This painting is part fantasy, part reality. It has a European feel although it was inspired from hiking in my own state of PA. This painting is currently available for sale at the Vancura Gallery of Fine Art in Middlefield Ohio. For more information go to http://www.vancuragallery.com/.