The Frog Pond, Brookside Gardens

The Frog Pond
Oil on Canvas Panel, 11" x 14"
Available at $60.00 plus shipping.

I love how the water turned out in this one. Though I didn't nail the path of wood chips, which was really pretty. It was really hot there today, but every once in awhile, a little breeze, and the sound of lazy frogs. I got some fairly good photos to use and want to try this one again, bigger.

Scattered Cherries - SOLD

Scattered Cherries, Diptych
Oil on Two Canvas Panels, 6" x 7" each.
Set SOLD at $40.00 plus $7.00 shipping.

I didn't have a large enough, but smallish, canvas to do what I wanted, so I made a diptych out of this one. You can frame them separately and hang them together. Kind of fun, yes?

Cherries and Sunflower - SOLD

Cherries and Sunflower
Oil on Canvas Panel, 9" x 12"
Revised, see post for 6/27/2011. SOLD.

Running out of canvas, so this one is on a panel. Pretty simple, but I like the way the glass and sunflower turned out.

Sunflowers - SOLD

Pocket Sunflower
Oil on Gessoed Board, 6" x 6"
SOLD at $20.00 plus $5.00 shipping.

Sunflower Watercolor
Watercolor of Arches paper, 12" x 16"
SOLD at $20.00 plus $5.00 shipping.

I'm getting the last of the current series of sunflower paintings out of my system. The watercolor was my "justification" to sit down in front of the TV the other night and watch James Bond movies. (You can watch TV as long as you're getting something else done. You know that rule?)

I have more of the 6" x 6" panels, and I keep looking at what other painters can fit into this tiny space and am amazed. I always feel so confined, but I'll keep trying.

Creek View - SOLD

Creek View
Oil on Stretched Canvas, 16" x 20"
SOLD at $85.00 pus shipping.

This one is different for me, sort of an experiment. It's a view of a creek looking down from a bridge, so mostly it's just water and foliage, with bits of reflection. It was fun to paint, but I'm not sure about it hanging on a wall somewhere, kind of an odd subject.

Sunflower and Mangos - SOLD

Sunflower and Mangos
Oil on Stretched Canvas, 10" x 10"
SOLD at $45.00 plus shipping

I clipped one of the sunflowers down to almost no stem and popped it into a glass to combine with the mangos. I like the richness of this one, with all the ornages and deep reds. A little more bold than my normal backgrounds.

Sunflowers on Blue - SOLD

Sunflowers on Blue
Oil on Stretched Canvas, 12" x 12"
SOLD at $60.00 plus shipping.
Detail (color enhanced) below

My sunflowers are lasting, so I simply had to do another version of them. Such willing models they are. Have a great weekend, everyone, and Happy Birthday to my daughter, Mieke, today.

Summer Sunflowers - SOLD

Summer Sunflowers
Oil on Stretched Canvas, 12" x 12"
SOLD at $50.00 plus shipping.

No plein air today, rainy off and on. So, some sunflowers from the grocery store instead. Thanks for looking.

Plein Air Brookside Gardens - SOLD

Plein Air Brookside Gardens
Oil on Canvas Panel, 9" x 12"
SOLD.

A little plein air painting again today, since we had another bright, clear and gorgeous day. I painted at the edge of the parking lot, so I'd be easy to find, in case some of my students wanted to come. There were other painters there at Brookside Gardens, and I met a fellow Maryland painter named Vince Neradka and it was fun to talk "painting." He also has on his website some neat paintings of Brookside.

Two Mangos - SOLD

Two Mangos
Oil on Panel, 8" x 8"
SOLD at $25.00 plus $5.00 shipping.

Tired and uninspired today, grey and cool out. Ho hum. Lots of palette knife work here, and I do like the overpainting of the blue over the yellow green. But it's a basically simple piece today, since I had a hard time thinking of what to paint.

Plein Air Monday - SOLD

Plein Air Monday
Oil on Canvas Panel, 11" x 14"
SOLD at $30.00 plus $7.00 shipping.

Today we had a nice break in the weather here in Maryland. Sunny, clear, fresh air, less humidity, yum... a perfect day to be out painting. The trees in the background were originally an apartment building, hmmm. Buildings are tough, so out it went.
The only things that are actually authentic about this one are the trees, everything else is just contrived, but it sure was fun to be out, and it made for a nice meadow.

Peony Face - SOLD

Peony Face
Oil on Stretched Canvas, 10" x 10"
SOLD at $50.00 plus $7.00 shipping.

Didn't this one turn out nicely? I wanted to call it "Quick, before They Wilt!" but figured I'd better be conservative. Some of the delicate pink-magenta colors are easier to achieve in watercolor than in oils. Very elusive, those colors. But I think I got pretty close on this one.

Apple Fractions - SOLD

Apple Fractions
Oil on Stretched Canvas, 6" x 9"
SOLD at $35.00 plus $7.00 shipping.

This one speaks for itself, isn't it fun?

Little Blue Iris - SOLD

Little Blue Iris
Oil on Canvas Panel, 6" x 8"
SOLD at $15.00 plus $5.00 shipping.

This one was a reject for a small floral grouping for one of my collectors. He chose a small red iris instead, so this one is up for grabs, and I dropped the price.

Overhanging Tree - SOLD

Overhanging Tree
Oil on Stretched Canvas, 16" x 20"
SOLD at $130.00, includes shipping.

My fellow painter, Dee Sanchez showed a lovely photo on her blog the other day, and gave me permission to paint from it. I liked all the blues in the photo, and the sense of sunshine and shade ( yeah, I know, I do a lot of those.) Now that I've done it once, I know for next go-round, what I'd like to change, refine, edit.... but I'm pretty happy with this one. Lots of palette knife work in here.

Pink Peonies in a Jar - SOLD

Pink Peonies in a Jar
Oil on Stretched Canvas, 11" x 14"
SOLD at $60.00 plus shipping.

I tried some different pink colors with this one, and let a little of the jar show in the painting.  My bunch seems to be lasting pretty well, but I feel like somethig different for tomorrow, maybe back to landscape again. I've taken a lot of photos for the winter watercolors.

Pink Peonies: Take Two

Pink Peonies: Take Two
Oil on Stretched Canvas, 8" x 10"
Available at $40.00 plus $5.00 shipping.

I added some thoughts of lavender, mauve into the shadows, and got a little closer on the light pink peony. The deeper pinks still aren't quite there yet, but it's getting closer to what I want to do.

Peonies: Take One - SOLD

Peonies: Take One
Oil on Stretched Canvas, 8" x 10"
SOLD at $30.00 plus $5.00 shipping.

I was perturbed with myself for missing both peonies and lilacs this spring, but voila! there were some peonies in the floral case today at the Giant. I scooped them up, took 'em home, and stuck 'em in a jar. I'm not sure how to paint them, so I'll have to try several approaches. Here's the first attempt. We'll see how I do.

Neighborhood Lake - SOLD

Neighborhood Lake
Oil on Stretched Canvas, 16" x 20"
SOLD at $80.00 plus $15.00 shipping.

Isn't this one summery? Done from my photos of Lake Artemesia in College Park, a lovely man made neighborhood lake, wonderful for walks and bike riding.

Portrait Play

Portrait Play
Oil on Stretched Canvas, 8" x 10"
Available at $30.00 plus $7.00 shipping.

In my critique group, we've been talking a little about a simplified palette, and some of my bloggers there are interested in portraits, so I did this one as an example of a face done with our simple palette. She looks like she's about to laugh, but she's nobody I know.