Orchard Road, Palette Knife - SOLD

Orchard Road, Palette Knife Oil on Canvas Panel, 11" x 14" SOLD at $50.00 plus shipping. Detail Below. The palette knife is a cool but tricky tool for painting. I wanted to show the trunk in detail, because it came out with such "magic" to it. Those happy accidents can happen with brushes too, but it's very different with the palette knife. I have no idea what I did that made this work so well. There is a lot of subtlety in this piece that doesn't show up in the photo, but by seeing the detail, you can imagine the kinds of things happening in the rest of the painting.

Just a Pepper - SOLD

Just a Pepper Oil on Canvas Panel, 8" x 8" SOLD. I must admit that I reclaimed this from a painting that didn't sell, simply perking it up and changing the background. Like it much better now.

Pair of Purples - SOLD

Pair of Purples

Watercolor on 140 lb Arches paper, 13.5" x 21"

SOLD.

Detail is second photo.

Purple irises in watercolor, again. But I don't get tired of them. Thanks for looking.

Just an Apple - SOLD

Just an Apple Oil on Linen Panel, 6" x 6" SOLD at $35.00 plus $5.00 shipping The 6" x 6" panels in linen that I bought are just sitting, since I can't seem to paint that small, so I thought to do a "Just an..." series, using these little ones up. This will be the first, just an apple. Thanks for looking.

Techniques Landscape - SOLD

Techniques Landscape Oil on Canvas Board, 16" x 20" SOLD at $65.00 plus $15.00 shipping. Detail Below This one is big, another reclaimed canvas (used to be sunflowers.) I was mainly interested in playing again with the palette knife technique to see if I could combine broken color painting, with splots and dots, with the palette knife work. I haven't yet figured out how to put color onto a canvas with a knife, but once it's there, I'm getting more of a feel for how to mush it around. The detail shows a bit of the combination of blending with the knife, and dotting with the brush. It's a fun way to paint, but really not exact. I don't think I'd attempt much but a landscape yet.

Wild Blooming 2 - SOLD

Wild Blooming 2 Oil on Stretched Canvas, 10" x 10" SOLD at $45.00 plus shipping. I was having such a fine painting time with the one from yesterday that I decided to paint it again, smaller. So this is somewhat changed in composition, but basically the colors are the same. Sometimes I just like going with the flow.

Wild Blooming - SOLD

Wild Blooming Oil on Canvas Panel, 12" x 12" SOLD at $65.00 plus shipping. I have always loved the photo I took of this wild spot in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Gone now, razed to the ground, but it must have been so beautiful in it's heyday. There was a lovely old Victorian house there too, which I painted as "Tattered Lady" but I'm sure that's gone as well. Anyway, I really am happy with the way this one turned out, the colors and shapes came together so well. Love it when a painting works!

Blowing In - SOLD

Blowing In Palette Knife Painting Oil on Canvas Panel, 12" x 12" SOLD at $50.00 plus shipping. Detail Below.I think I must be in an "experimental" phase, since I'm a little restless doing the same things I've done before. Maybe I need new material to paint from. At any rate, while we were in the middle of a nice fierce thunderstorm yesterday, I mixed up all the leftover greens, blues, purples on my palette into neat greys and muted colors, then did this with a palette knife, in a polishing sort of style. Using just the tip of the knife to push the paint into the little canvas divets. I worked from memories of places similar to this, and based it on what was happening outdoors. I really like the colors and flavor of it.

Bending Irises

Bending Irises Oil on Canvas Mounted on Board, approx 16" x 16" Available at $80.00 plus shipping. A little different point of view, looking into a couple of irises in bending positions. I liked the complexity of this one, and all the colored edges. Thanks for looking.

Cherub Face Sketch - NA

Cherub Face Sketch Oil on Canvas Panel, 12" x 12" Not Available, have reclaimed the canvas. I really debated whether to post today's effort or not. I love the look of portraits that have carefully rendered faces, and sketchy backgrounds, so that's what I was aiming for. There is still some raw canvas in this sketch, just so you know. But..the face isn't really where I wanted it to be. Not quite as cute as the statue really is. But one thing I have learned, is that sometimes what I am not happy with, someone else may like a lot. So.

Purple Crimson Iris - SOLD

Purple Crimson Iris Oil on Canvas Mounted on Board, approx 16" x 16" SOLD I had an easy painting session today. The Dark Iris from the other day on one easel, a blank canvas on the one in front of me next to it, and since the canvases were the same size, all I had to do was copy and make changes. Nice to not have to work quite so hard. Painting isn't easy for me, maybe for some, but it's an effort and a struggle most days to get something to come out right. Or right enough. This one was simple pleasure.

Garden Cherub - SOLD

Garden Cherub Oil on Canvas Panel, 12" x 12" SOLD at $45.00 plus shipping. Yes, this is quite different for me. A model that didn't move! My daughter and I were at Hobby Lobby the other day, I needed white paint after all the lilies, and these gardent ornaments were on 1/2 price sale. She said she wouldn't mind it in her garden, it's really quite cute, so I figured I'd paint it a couple of times to see what I could do with it. I like the little smirky smile, and I'm thinking a face next. Where would you put a painting like this? A "garden room?"

Creamy Rose - SOLD

Creamy Rose Oil on Stretched Canvas, 10" x 10" SOLD at $60.00 plus shipping. Not quite done with white florals yet. Though this really is more cream than white. It's from a photo I took at Brookside Gardens in Maryland some years back. I think the rose may have been white, but the photo looks like cream, so that's what I painted today. There's not much drama here, but lots of "subtle." Hope you all had a wonderful, meaningful Easter.

Lily for Easter - SOLD

Lily for Easter Oil on Canvas Mounted on Board, 16" x 16" (approx.) SOLD at $100.00, includes shipping. There was such a response to the Night Lily I did that I am doing a couple more. Not all in a row, but eventually. This seemed appropriate too, for Easter. May it be a blessed day for you, of celebration of the Lord's goodness to us, and His victory over death. I wonder if the angels in Heaven celebrate the day? Or is it Easter every day there?

Watercolor in Spring Green - SOLD

Watercolor in Spring Green Watercolor on Arches paper, 12" x 16" SOLD at $45.00 plus $5.00 shipping. Spring green, and lavender mostly. Great combination of colors. I like the detail in this one, lots of brush marks and a few splatters, touches of blue green here and there. I'm happy with the results.

Dark Velvet Iris - SOLD

Dark Velvet Iris Oil on Canvas Mounted on Board, 16" x 16" SOLD at $85.00 plus shipping. Mostly I wanted to see if this canvas would behave beter wih gesso on it, and indeed it did. So now I know. The iris just caught my eye in my photo stack, and I cropped the photo to a square. Don't you like how rich that deep, deep red-purple is? The touch of cobalt blue is almost icy next to the darks.

Lilacs in Blue Vase - SOLD

Lilacs in Blue Vase Watercolor on Arches paper, 15" x 23" paper size SOLD. A watercolor today, another lilac by request. They each turn out differently, it's interesting.

Amaryllis in Oil - SOLD

Amaryllis in Oils Oils on Stretched Canvas, 10" x 10" SOLD at $50.00 plus shipping. This is painted from the same blossom I used on Sunday, it's lasted well. Though the wind and the chilly snap has not been kind to the stems outside. It has a real "red" presence, for a spot where bright red would work. It was nice to do today, after working in small areas yesterday (strawberries). I think that 10" x 10" squares and up to 14" x 14" are my favorite sizes to work on. Love the square format.

Bowl with "Heart" Berries - SOLD

Bowl with "Heart" Berries Oil on Canvas Panel, 8" x 10" SOLD at $50.00 plus shipping (for VB) Another painting with strawberries, done by request. I also wanted to include a detail, for one of my students who wants to paint strawberries. The little highlights really make them sparkle. Look for the little ovals in the highlights, squint in order to really spot them.

Amaryllis Face - SOLD

Amaryllis Face Watercolor on Arches 140 lb Paper, 6" x 6" SOLD at $15.00 plus $5.00 shipping. Here in Louisiana, the amaryllis grows in the ground. Outside. Not in January pots indoors. This is very new. I've never seen these gorgeous flowers growing outdoors, they are in yards all over. My daughter has a huge, mature plant that is now sporting around 12 blooms. One of the most perfect blooms just "happened" to fall off the stem, while I was looking at it. So of course, I had to paint it. I did paint the whole blossom, but without a background, it needed to be cropped.