Winter Stream in Turquoise - SOLD

Winter Stream in Turquoise
Oil on Stretched Canvas, 12" x 12"
SOLD at $23 plus $7 shipping.

I had a strange day painting today. My "aim" was off. Or maybe it's the canvas, yeah, I'll blame it on the canvas, which has a tight, smooth weave that doesn't catch the brush. At any rate, after fumbling, and some wiping and scraping, I'm fairly happy with this one. The colors are great, aren't they?

For 2014, I've decided to join the Daily Paintworks folks, so very soon, my paintings will be showing up in their auctions, and hopefully, going for a little more than lately. I'll let you know.

Quick Sale - SOLD

Here are a few pieces that didn't sell, reduced for clearance.
Good to end the old year with a clean slate.

Country Road
Oil on Stretched Canvas, 11" x 14"
SOLD.

Apples Two
Oil on Canvas Panel, 9" x 12"
SOLD.

Birches in Snow, slightly revised
Oil on Canvas Panel, 11" x 14"
SOLD.

Winter Stream, slightly revised
Oil on Canvas Panel, 11" x 14"
SOLD.

As usual, buy more than one, pay shipping once for all.
Thanks for looking.

Snowy Ramble at Sunset - SOLD

Snowy Ramble at Sunset
Oil on Stretched Canvas, 12" x 12"
SOLD at $20 plus $7 shipping.

I found the reference photo for this one on Wet Canvas, and thought the color combination was just so appealing. Yummy snow shadows.

Apples Two - SOLD

Apples Two
Oil on Canvas Panel, 9" x 12"
SOLD.

Same guys, just rotated and different postures.

Four Apples - SOLD

Four Apples

Oil on Canvas Panel, 9" x 12"

SOLD at $20 plus $7 shipping.

A very simple subject for a winter still life.

Winter Sunset, Corn Field - SOLD

Winter Sunset, Corn Field
Oil on Stretched Canvas, 14" x 18"
SOLD at $50 plus $10 shipping.

I hope that you all had a splendid Christmas day.
And that you are enjoying the winter break and festivities.
Another winter scene for today, a peaceful farmhouse against a winter sunset sky.
I'm pretty happy with the results

Stragglers Two - SOLD

Stragglers Two
Oil on Canvas Panel, 9" x 12"
SOLD at $15 plus $7 shipping.

A smaller version of the painting from the other day, of my lovely straggler leaves.

Snowy Country Road

Snowy Country Road
Oil on Stretched Canvas, 11" x 14"
Available at $33 plus $7 shipping.

Lots of winter colors in this one.

The Lovely Stragglers - SOLD

The Lovely Stragglers

Oil on Stretched Canvas, 11" x 14"

SOLD at $35 plus $7 shipping.

Every winter I so appreciate that there are a few trees (is it the oaks?) that keep some of their leaves. In the right light, they glow a lovely faded orange. My lovely stragglers.

Simple Winter Sunset - SOLD

Simple Winter Sunset
Oil on Canvas Panel, 9" x 12"
SOLD.

Practice with sky and snow colors.

Birch and Snow

Birch and Snow
Oil on Canvas Panel, 11" x 14"
Available at $23 plus $7 shipping.

I've been doing some fussy detailed work lately, on commission (see below) so it felt good this morning to just do a swishy landscape. Quick and easy brushwork.

Apples on Holly Dishtowel - SOLD

Apples on Holly Dishtowel
Oil on Stretched Canvas, 12" x 16"
SOLD.

A patterned dishtowel with some Fuji apples.
The apples look very flat here, they actually look so much better than this.

Farmyard in Snow - SOLD

Farmyard in Snow
Oil on Canvas Panel, 11" x 14"
SOLD at $25 plus $7 shipping.

A farmyard covered in snow and quiet.

Winding Winter Water

Winding Winter Stream
Oil on Canvas Panels, 11" x 14"
Available at $25 plus $7 shipping.

A simple landscape with winter colors.

Winter Stream - SOLD

Winter Stream
Oil on Canvas Panel, 11" x 14"
SOLD at $30 plus $7 shipping.

A little runoff stream that winds along Wauwinet Road, in Barre, Massachusetts. Brrrrr.

First Snow - SOLD

First Snow
Oil on Canvas Panel, 11" x 14"
SOLD at $30 plus $7 shipping.

It's so cold out right now, that I thought it was time to find the beauty in the snowy landscape.
This one is done from a reference photo  I took in Massachusetts, but it feels appropriate for this week.

Abandoned Cabin - SOLD

Abandoned Cabin

Oil on Canvas Panel, 9" x 12"

SOLD at $23 plus $7 shipping.

I had such a nice response from posting my first challenge entry to Daily Paintworks, that I wanted to do another one. This was done from the posted reference photo. I'm pretty happy with it. Again, here I am using the Zorn palette of colors: Cad Red, Yellow Ochre, Black and White. (No blues, greens, purple or orange.)

You can see all the challenge entries here:

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/challenge/the-zorn-palette-challenge/201

Interesting collection of paintings!

Zorn Palette Plus Blue - SOLD

Landscape, Zorn Palette plus Blue
Oil on Canvas Panel, 9" x 12"
SOLD at $20 plus $7 shipping.

I had a lot of paint left over, and wanted to use the same colors again, but with blue added. Here I am using Ultramarine Blue, and it does influence all the other mixes...the green, the purple grey.
So, the limited palette here is:

Yellow Ochre
Ultramarine Blue
Cadmium Red
White
and Ivory Black

Fun stuff!

Zorn Landscape - SOLD

Zorn Landscape
Oil on Canvas Panel, 9" x 12"
SOLD thru Daily Paintworks, at $20 plus $7 shipping.

The "challenge" this week at Daily Paintworks is to use the Zorn palette for a painting.
This color palette includes: Ivory Black, Titanium White, Yellow Ochre and Cadmium Red, that's it.

Pretty cool how many colors you can get out of just these four.
Just for fun, I have submitted it for the challenge.
You can see it here:
http://www.dailypaintworks.com/challenge/the-zorn-palette-challenge/201

Beside a Brook - SOLD

Beside a Brook
Oil on Canvas Panel, 9" x 12"
SOLD at $20, includes shipping.

What do I want to paint on a sleeting, freezing day? Green, of course! Out of my imagination.
(We did get to go to church before it got too bad out, here in the Maryland, DC area.)

Path Thru the Pines 2 - SOLD

Path Thru the Pines 2
Oil on Stretched Canvas, 11" x 14"
SOLD.

A short "series" this time, with just two paintings. This one is done using the same reference as day before yesterday's posting. With a different format, rectangular instead of the square format, (which I love using.)

Puddle in the Road, Revised - SOLD

Puddle in the Road, Revised

Oil on Stretched Canvas, 16" x 20"

SOLD at best offer plus $10 shipping.

I actually repainted most of this one today. I liked it well enough, but there was something lacking.  I think it may have been detail. I used the palette knife for a lot of the foliage, especially where it overlapped, to give some fine leafy edges. I straightened the road, and made the puddle edges crisper. Repainted the sky, the puddle, ....you get the idea.

Much better, I think.

Here is what it looked like before:

See what I mean?

Path Through the Pines - SOLD

Path Through the Pines
Oil on Stretched Canvas, 12" x 12"
SOLD at $28 plus $7 shipping

This one was so hard, took me hours. I just forgot how to paint. Isn't that weird? But sometimes it happens. I have been busy with other things, and when I sat down to work, I just wasn't sure how to paint. Eventually it came back, after much hesitation and slow going.

Poppy a la Georgia 2 - SOLD

Poppy a la Georgia 2
Oil on Stretched Canvas, 12" x 12"
SOLD at $25 plus $7 shipping

Even thought there is a terrible glare on the black center, if you tilt your screen, you can get an idea of how this actually looks.  (At least that works with my laptop.) I apologize for the glare.

I had so much red and orange paint left over from the other day, that I thought I'd better make another poppy painting. I'm happy with this one. A splash of red on a grey December day.

Quiet Grove - SOLD

Quiet Grove
Oil on Canvas Panel, 9" x 12"
SOLD.

A good place for a fall meander.

Poppy a la Georgia - SOLD

Poppy a la Georgia
Oil on Stretched Canvas, 16" x 20"
SOLD.

It is almost impossible to get a good photo of anything red with my little camera. This one actually has a nice variety of rich, deep reds to fire engine reds to orangey reds. Sadly, none of that is showing up here. Trust me, it's a lot better, and more painterly, than it's looking here.

Farm in the Valley - SOLD

Farm in the Valley
Oil on Stretched Canvas, 12" x 12"
SOLD.

I wanted to paint a sky, for some reason today. So with memories of West Virginia, and a bit of imagination, here's what came out. Simple, I know, but it has a nice distant feel  to it.

Wauwinet Road in Fog - SOLD

Wauwinet in Fog
Oil on Stretched Canvas, 12" x 12"
SOLD at $23.00 plus $7 shipping.

I am very pleased with this one. It does have the foggy mood I was hoping for.
With just those sweet touches of color.

Remnants - SOLD

Remnants
Oil on Stretched Canvas, 12" x 12"
SOLD at $23 plus $7 shipping.

This is how today felt. Overcast with subtle greys and browns, but a few scattered clinging colors here and there. I was going to call this one "Cling-Ons" but figured I'd save that for one that was even more grey and brownish.

The Field Beyond 3 - SOLD

The Field Beyond 3
Oil on Stretched Canvas, 12" x 12"
SOLD.

This will be the last in the small series of "Field Beyond." For this one, I painted the sky last night in acrylics, and the foreground was underpainted with pink-orange gesso. I think it's my favorite of the series, so it's time to stop, and try something else. Kind of fun, though, to work in a series like this.

Leafy Path - NA

Leafy Path
Oil on Stretched Canvas, 12" x 12"
Gifted.

An interesting little exercise, yesterday, today and probably tomorrow as well. I am using the same photo reference, some spot in Massachusetts, near Barre (I think near the dam) and changing up the backgrounds or techniques. This one looks completely different than yesterday's, but if you look at both, you can see the underlying bones of the reference. I am happy with both.

The Field Beyond - SOLD

The Field Beyond
Oil on Stretched Canvas, 12" x 12"
SOLD.

Ahh, I like this one. I had gessoed the canvas orange, and painted this one really loose. There are little bits of the orange showing through here and there. I think it has a nice "mood" to it.

Moss Pond, Revised - SOLD

Moss Pond, Revised
Oil on Stretched Canvas, 12" x 12"
SOLD at $20 plus $7 shipping.

This one is a revision of the Moss Pond painting I did last week. I brightened the sky to show the deep blues of autumn skies, punched up the trees, and repainted the water. Better, I think.

Works on Paper - SOLD

Various small watercolors on paper, one acrylic on paper. Eight pieces total.
These range in size from (image sizes) 4" x 8" to 11" x 14".

SOLD.

Puddle in the Road - NA

Puddle in the Road
Oil on Stretched Canvas, 16" x 20"
Not Available, revised on 11/18/2013

This is another Wauwinet Road painting, just after a rain.
The puddle reflecting all the colors caught my eye.

Moss Pond in Early Fall - SOLD

Moss Pond in Early Fall
Oil on Stretched Canvas, 12" x 12"
Revised and SOLD.

This one is not so much the blazing colors, as touches of fall turning here and there.
Still sporting a lot of greens.

Sky Study - SOLD

Sky Study
Oil on Canvas Panel, 11" x 14"
SOLD.

A little break from all the blasting colors of fall that I've been painting.
Outside today, we have a gray sky and wind, sweeping lots of the colors away.
Still lovely, though. I do adore the fall, in spite of the cold and less light.

For Serious Collectors, Ivan Dobroruka

A special offer for my serious Art Collectors.
I will be featuring some gallery offerings here from time to time, since I am acquainted with a gallery owner who has semi-retired from the owning and operating of her gallery, but still has stock of serious professional artwork to offer. These are not only beautiful pieces, but an investment as well.

Three Musicians

An Ivan Dobroruka hand pulled full page etching. 

Size is 15 width x 22 height, an AP III/III

Special Price is $350, includes shipping.

Ivan Dobroruka was an old school purist and and did all the graphic printing himself and hand painted when necessary.  The Three Musicians is a small edition he created for a gallery show.

He generally would not print more than 50.

The AP III/III is a true artist's proof as he would correct as he went along if he was not happy. 

Background:  Ivan passed away about 10 years ago from pancreatic cancer.  He lived in Canada with his wife Elizabeth and two sons.  Dobroruka was born in Czechoslovakia, lived with the monks of Mt. Athos in Greece during the war…learned how to paint with the gold renaissance icon finish, spoke 5 languages, loved classical music  and played the piano beautifully (classical), and followed the surreal style of art creation.  Ivan was well respected/collected in Europe but fell in love with a Canadian, married her and moved there. Many of his art selections show his fantasies, dreams, and love of his wife ( he puts her in most of his work somehow) His art has not gone up in value since his death because there is nothing on the market.  Ivan kept his prices down in order to sell and make a living. 

if you are interested in this piece, please send an email to NelVanL@aol.com, and I will pass it along to the gallery owner. Alternatively, if you are interested in what else is available, send me an email and I will put you in touch with my friend.

Along Wauwinet Road - SOLD

Along Wauwinet Road
Oil over Acrylic, on Canvas Panel, 12" x 16"
SOLD.

I've had the reference photos for this one for years, and hadn't ever used them. This was intended to be cropped into a 9" high painting to become a 9" x 12" for a class demo, but turns out most of my students are sick this week (flu bugs and colds going around) so we've cancelled class. Which makes this one available, and I think sort of interesting with the vertical orientation.

Experiments in Fall Acrylics - SOLD

Fall Acrylic One
Acrylics on Canvas Panel, 12" x 16"
SOLD.

Fall Acrylic Two

Acrylics on Canvas Panel, 9" x 12"

SOLD.

These are experiments to try to figure out something for my students to paint on Wednesday, but I think they are both too complex, and will try something simpler tomorrow.

I think they both turned out nicely regardless.