Pond and Trees 2 - SOLD

Pond and Trees 2 Oil on Canvas Panel, 12" x 12" SOLD at $45.00 plus shipping. Another rendition of the Trees and Pond, done by request. Isn't it interesting how every painting, even a repeat of the same image, has it's own distinct flavor? This one has a slightly different "feel" to it, even though it's a repeat.

Iris Study - SOLD

Iris Study after Mark Christopher Weber Oil on Gessoed Masonite, 6" x 8" SOLD at $10.00 plus shipping I am a firm believer in copying, as long as you give credit to the master artists whom you've studied. This is a little study taken from the book, Brushwork Essentials, by Mark Christopher Weber. What I really loved about it was the incredible way he captured the subtleties inside the darks. I didn't get it, but it's a nice little study anyway.

Lavender Line Up - SOLD

Lavender Line Up Watercolor on 140 lb Arches paper, 13.5" x 21" SOLD at $65.00 plus shipping It's very dry here today, and for that reason, I think, my paint wasn't blending and merging like I'm used to. So, this one was drawn tight and painted very loosely. I wanted to try the paper turned horizontally, when usually I use it lengthwise. So it's a bit different for me, but isn't the color yummy? Thanks for looking.

The Blue Shovel - SOLD

The Blue Shovel Oil on Canvas Panel, 10" x 12" SOLD at $45.00 plus shipping. I don't know who these two little boys were, but this is painted from a photo I snapped at Ocean City, Maryland a few years ago. I always liked the image, and have been meaning to do a painting from this photo for a long while. Some of my commenters have been saying that I need to practice figures, so that I can do them more often. It's like anything else, I suppose. If you don't DO it, you don't get better at it.

New Every Morning - SOLD

New Every Morning Oil on Stretched Canvas, 24" x 24" SOLD at sale price. I first painted and posted this one in October of 2008. There was always something just a bit "off" about it, and it didn't sell. I've repainted the foreground to make it darker, added some little buildings, made the line of mountains lighter, and enlarged the trees. Pulled some of the purples from the sky into the rest of the painting. And dropped the price, considering it's a two foot by two foot piece that needs to have a home. Now I like it.

Iris Face Two - SOLD

Iris Face Two Oil on Canvas Panel, 12" x 12" Sold at sale price of $30.00. Same palette colors as yesterday's painting, and same set of irises from Jo's yard as the watercolor (see several days ago.) The difference here is that I made myself use a large brush (1", mongoose), to see what the results would be. It was frustrating for me, since I always tend towards pickiness. And the details were sacrificed. The good part is a more fresh look, better brushwork, and a looser feel. I think. But then again...

Iris Face in Yellow and Lavender - SOLD

Iris Face in Yellow and Lavender Oil on Canvas Panel, 12" x 12" SOLD at $65.00 pus shipping. After doing the watercolor and posting it yesterday, I wanted to try the same irises in oil. Soooo much easier for me, with the big brushes and quicker coverage. But as one of my collectors commented, there's nothing quite like the sparkle of a watercolor. This one, however, for an oil, is pretty and subtle, I think.

Yellow and Magenta Irises - SOLD

Yellow and Magenta Irises Watercolor on Arches 140 lb paper, 14" x 21" Sold at sale price of $70.00. This one is pretty big, a change of pace from the oils. I've been working on it for three days, off and on. It's done from some photos I took in my post office friend, Jo's yard last spring in Massachusetts. Oh, she had beauties! Hope you enjoy the touch of spring color. Click on the image to see a close up.

Little Tapper 2 - SOLD

Little Tapper 2 Oil on Canvas Panel, 8" x 8" SOLD at $45.00 plus shipping. Another view of the pint size Tap shoes. I had to hurry up a bit, as dance school meets on Fridays, and little Katie will need her shoes. It's been fun doing these, and I'll probably explore some other unusual still life arrangements in the near furture.

Little Tapper - SOLD

Little Tapper Oil on Canvas Panel, 8" x 8" SOLD at $45.00 plus shipping. I borrowed my little granddaughter's Tap shoes for this one. I don't know if there's anything as cute as darling 3 year olds all dressed up for dancing school, with the little pink leotards and tights, bows in their hair, all prancing and bright faced. The shoes were fun to do, but next time I'll be more exacting about the ribbons.

Trees and Pond - SOLD

Trees and Pond, Oil on Canvas Panel, 12" x 12"

SOLD at $45.00 plus shipping.

This started out to be a study of brush strokes, with a very simple scene, but the point got away from me. I do like the image though, and the simple colors here. You can still see some of the brushwork in the water at bottom left, small choppy strokes. I was intending to do the whole painting that way, but...

Bosc Pears 2 - SOLD

Bosc Pears 2 Oil on Canvas Board, 10" x 12" SOLD at sale price. It's a study in browns! Ochre, sienna and umber, all terrific colors. I like this one too, it's still got the direct and deliberate brush strokes, with a little more refinement. But not too much. Detail below: Doesn't it sort of look like an Old Masters type study? I think that's because of the darkness and the browns. Cool, I think. I really enjoyed painting this one.

Bosc Pears on Brown - SOLD

Bosc Pears on Brown Oil on Canvas Panel, 9" x 12" SOLD at $50.00 plus shipping. This is very close to how I really want to paint. Brushstrokes, I mean. I used a bristle brush, and did this one amidst multiple frustrating interruptions. The canvas had blue gesso on it, so it was hard to tell the values, and I just sort of "went for it." I'm not excited about the background, but I really like the fabric and the pears. Now if I could just control this way of painting....always something, isn't there?

Chayote Gourds - SOLD

Chayote Gourds Watercolor on Paper, 6" x 10" SOLD at $15.00 plus $5.00 shipping. These are the stangest things. I had never seen them before. But after looking them up, I found out that they are very common in Central America, they are used in a lot of Mexican dishes, they are also called vegetable pears, chcocho, and christophenes (among quite a few other names) and they are treated as you would squash. Very green, with nice tucks and curves. I thought I'd try them in watercolor today.

This Day Our Daily - SOLD

This Day Our Daily Oil on Canvas Panel, 9" x 12" SOLD at $30.00 plus shipping. This isn't a very interesting painting, pretty simple, but I actually struggled with it. I loved it when it was a sketch on the canvas, but then I had to go and muck it up by trying to actually paint it. The colors were tricky too. But I will report that smelling it was lovely and I was careful not to get any paint or turps on it, so now we can eat it, yum.

New England Landscape - NA

New England Landscape Oil on Canvas Board, 10" x 12' Gifted. Isn't this one a beauty? I really like it. Perhaps because I had to go so slowly on it today, which made me careful but not tight. This is the landscape I am using for our demo in Lesson 4 of the class I'm teaching starting next week. So I had to stop along the way and think about what I was doing and take lots of step-by-step photos of the progress. If there is one sure way to organize and articulate the mishmash of stuff you learn about a subject as you go along, it's to teach it. I am learning so much by organizing what I know, and sort of untangling it in order to teach it. It's a good thing.

Tree Study on Orange - SOLD

Tree Study on Orange Oil on Stretched Canvas, 10" x 10" SOLD at $45.00 plus shipping. I have some colored gesso that I want to not waste, so this canvas has an undercoat of orange gesso. I really wanted to let more of the orange peek through in spots, but got carried away too soon, and so the orange only shows through in tiny touches. I do like working on a colored canvas though, really fun. I'll be doing more of it over the next few weeks.

Tucked In - NA

Tucked In Oil on Canvas Board, 10" x 12" Not Available. The title on this one didn't occur to me until I was walking across the studio to photograph it. It reminded me a bit of small faces in a big bed, getting tucked in. Although I really didn't intend that, I just like painting the patterns.

Walnut Hill Afternoon Light - SOLD

Walnut Hill Afternoon Light Oil on Canvas Board, 8" x 16" Sold at $35.00 sale price.. Sometimes I like to go through some of my older paintings, and revise what looks good but may need some changes or touch ups. This one was posted last December and I've always liked it, but it was a bit intense. I've softened some of the colors, glazed here and there, and lowered the price. It wants a home!

Pears on Stripes - NA

Pears on Stripes Oil on Stretched Canvas, 9" x 12" Not Available. Someone had mentioned that they liked the striped and polka dot pieces, so I thought to do another one today. This canvas was slick though, I should have put a coat of gesso on it. Painting today was like ice skating on the canvas, everything was just slipping everywhere. Nobody said that every day would be easy.