Jana's Roses - SOLD

Jana's Roses
Oil on Canvas board, 10" x 12"
SOLD at $60.00 plus shipping.

My friend and fellow artist, Jana Bouc, gave me permission to use her photo of a still life which she had assembled. We have a mentoring arrangement and I wanted to see what I could do with her photo. Her sketch blog is here: http://janabouc.wordpress.com/ and I did this one as a tutorial of sorts, which I will post later on my own sketch blog. This one was intended to be very loose and directly painted, and I think I got it, at least for the most part. The colors are vibrant and dramatic, which is what I was going for. Thanks for looking.

The Edge of Autumn - SOLD

The Edge of Autumn Oil on Canvas board, 12" x 16" Sold at $50.00 plus shipping. I found this trail around Moss Pond and decided that it was a perfect day to be out painting it. There is just a touch of color in the trees and bushes now, sumacs turning red, hints of burnt oranges in the trees. The vines in the treetop here were bright red against the sky, just lovely. Thanks for looking.

Path to the Old Red House - SOLD

Path to the Old Red House Oil on Canvas board, 16" x 20" Sold at $75.00 plus shipping. This is a salvage painting that I had started some time ago, and put aside. It really only needed freshening up, and now I'm glad I didn't put it in the trash heap (at the price of canvas panels, I hesitated) as I was going to this morning. I always like the sense of shade into light, or light into shade; which makes either one pop out. Thanks for looking.

Kitchen Tableau - SOLD

Kitchen Tableau Watercolor on 140 lb Arches paper 9" x 12" Sold at $20.00 plus $5.00 shipping. A little watercolor with things from the kitchen, a few minutes here, a few minutes there. I see now that I could have composed these better, but I did something different with the shadow and I liked it (just let all the primaries float in). Thanks for looking.

Watercolor Iris with Bud - SOLD

Watercolor Iris with Bud 14" x 23", on 300 lb Watercolor Paper Main Flower is around 10" x 9" Sold at $85.00 plus shipping. I had actually forgotten about this one, as it was in my daughter's study. It was done and posted in early June, but didn't sell (priced too high, maybe.) It's really pretty elegant, with the subtle folds and shadings. Figured since yesterday's little watercolor sketch was a bust, I'd post this one up again. Thanks for looking.

Apples in a Bag - SOLD

Apples in a Bag 9" x 12", Watercolor on 140 lb Arches paper Sold at $20.00 plus $5.00 shipping A quick watercolor sketch yesterday afternoon so that we could make apple pie. Max loves the Pampered Chef apple peeling crank, and he likes mixing up the apples with the cinnamon, sugar and nutmeg. Quite the 3 (almost 4) year old cook! Thanks for looking.

Jo's Commute - SOLD

Jo's Commute Oil on Canvas board, 16" x 20" Sold. This is Connor's Pond again, with imaginary fall colors. There's something not quite right about it yet, but it's for the lovely lady at the Post Office who asked for it. Jo rides past this pond every day on her way to work, through the woodlands and past the pond. Don't you city folks feel jealous now? Thanks for looking.

Lemons in Blue Bowl - SOLD

Lemons in Blue Bowl Oil on Linen Board, 10" x 12" Sold at $60.00 plus shipping. The pottery bowl was part of my latest goodie cache from the trade with the potter at the Farmers' Market. And the lemons were huge, but that was what I could get locally (out in the country, you have your choice of one town grocery.) This one comes closer to how I want to paint all the time; loose and sketchy, not labored and overworked. I think I've finally finished using up my green pitcher mixes now. Thanks for looking.

Little Boat Two - SOLD

Little Boat Two Oil on Linen board, 10" x 12" Sold at $60.00 plus shipping. It's been raining here too, so I settled in with all the soft greens I'd mixed to paint the green pottery pitcher and a photo from the other day's excursion and did another painting of the little boat. Softer greens than I usually use, and I do like them. I am also pleased with the dappled light in the boat, doesn't that work nicely? Thanks for looking.

Field with Flowers Watercolor - SOLD

Field with Wild Flowers Watercolor 13" x 15", Watercolor on Arches 140 lb paper Sold at $40.00 plus shipping. The thing with watercolors is that you hardly have to define exact items in a landscape. The suggestion is enough, and the rest can be dreamy. I like the warm tones in this one. Thanks for looking.

Mancini Pepper - SOLD

Mancini Pepper Oil on Canvas board, 6" x 8" Sold at $30.00 plus shipping I wasn't quite done with these cool peppers, so I did a little single one. Thanks for looking.

Mancini Peppers with Pitcher - SOLD

Mancini Peppers with Pitcher Oil on Canvas board, 12" x 16" Sold at $85.00 plus shipping. This is a study in reds, yellows and greens. The peppers are called "Mancini Peppers" according to the lady at the Farmer's Market yesterday. Aren't they cool? They wrap around and do all these neat twists in reds and green. The gourd I just thought was too neat not to include. Very complex paintng, I could've kept picking at it, there were so many little details to "see." Thanks so much for looking.

Pitcher with Bananas

Blue Pitcher and Bananas Oil on Linen board, 10" x 12" Available at $60.00 plus shipping I gave the linen another chance, and this worked more smoothly. One fast sitting, and the paint didn't get tacky. I wanted a drapery, so I turned an old apron inside out. Going to have to get some fabric, I think. I love my blue pitcher. Thanks for looking.

Passing It Along

It was fun to have received The Creative Blogger Award the other day, and part of the honor is to be able to choose five people on whom to bestow the award. (Ah, the power...) So here are my five picks: Jana Bouc: a wonderful watercolorist and an honest down-to-earth blogger who shares both her artistic discoveries and struggles in her lovely blog: http://janabouc.wordpress.com/ Laura: the most incredible drawings, travel journals, flowing watercolors; just delightful: http://laurelines.typepad.com/ Nina Johansson: a Swedish artist whose pen and inks with watercolor knock your socks off, mine anyway: http://ninajohansson.blogspot.com/ Lin Frye: I don't know anyone who does more work on her art, whose progress is shared and used to support others along their creative paths. One of the biggest hearts I've encountered along the road: http://viewfromtheoak.blogspot.com/ and last, but by no means least: our own Kate Johnson: who has given herself away as a teacher and as a friend to so many artists, new and struggling, beginners and advanced. A wonderful online teacher and published art book writer. Beyond that, incredible watercolors, just inspiring, and fun to read whatever she write online. http://cathyjohnson.info/

Tomatoes and Pepper - SOLD

Tomatoes and Pepper 10" x 12", Oil on Linen Board Sold at $50.00 plus shipping. The line kept running through my head "things that are red" in answer to some quiz show question. What I really liked about this set up was the shadows, especially that little curlique up top. I'm still deciding if I like the linen as a surface or not. It somehow seems more "slippery" than normal canvas. Thanks for looking.

The Blueberry Picker - SOLD

The Blueberry Picker Oil on Canvas board, 9" x 12" Sold at $45.00 plus shipping. From a photo of my grandson Jimmy picking blueberries. He really does have skinny little arms and legs, but he's okay with that, since he knows how smart he is. Good for him! This could be any kid enjoying the fullness of summertime. Thanks for looking.

Shady Lane Limited Palette - SOLD

Shady lane Limited Palette Oil on Stretched Canvas, 12" x 16" Sold at $85.00 plau $15.00 shipping. Going back to my limited palette work, this time using a blue orange palette. I'll list the colors for you at the bottom. This is from the book, The Yin/Yang of Painting, by Hongnian Zhang, a wonderful book with loads of information. With the blue orange palette, you get to mix your greesn, and can get some nice subtle shades. Thanks for looking. Here are the colors, for those interested: white and ivory black pthalo turquoise cobalt blue blue violet indigo burnt sienna cadmium red scarlet cadmium yellow deep cadmium orange

Little Boat - SOLD

Little Boat Oil on Canvas board, 12" x 16" Sold at $50.00 plus shipping. At first I couldn't get the drawing of this little boat right, and kept correcting, until I realized that it was moving in the breeze. Duh. I took a bunch of photos at this spot also, so you'll see this wonderful little boat again. Thanks for looking.

Backyard Serenity - SOLD

Backyard Serenity
Oil on Canvas board, 12" x 16"
SOLD.
 I'm studying greens, can you tell? I feel like I put too much yellow in most of my greens, so I'm trying to correct that. This grass is much better also. And yes, this really is the backyard here at my daughter's home. On another note, I was awarded a "Creative Blogger Award" by Helen Read, whose web site is here: http://www.helencread.com/, and that's very cool. Now I get to pick five creative friends to mention and send awards to. Isn't that fun? Thanks for looking.

Gladiola Stems - SOLD

Gladiola Stems Watercolor on 300 lb rough Arches paper 15" x 22" Sold at $80.00 plus shipping. Some gorgeous stems of gladiolas from the Farmer's Market, and have they ever lasted. The advice I'm taking is to draw tight and paint loose, so this is not as exacting in execution as I normally would do. I do like it, it turned out soft and floaty. Thanks for looking.