Woodland Roadway Claimed

Woodland Roadway 12.5" x 15" Watercolor on 300 lb Arches paper Claimed Isn't this a sweet little watercolor? I wish the image were mine, but I must tell you that I copied it from a pastel in a book by Elizabeth Mowry called The Pastelist's Year. Here web site is here: http://www.elizabethmowry.com/artist.htm and she does gorgeous pastels. The composition and the colors are her's, and I just trned it into a watercolor. But I did want to paint and practice today, so here's what came out. Thanks for looking.

Lashaway Lake / Palette Knife

Lashaway Lake / Palette Knife painting 16" x 20" Oil on Canvas board Available at $55.00 plus shipping

detail of knife work on trees

I was challenged by one of the subsrcibers to try more palette knife painting, so this is one I worked on last night and this morning. A knife in the hands of a master is an awesome tool, but I don't have the command of it, and find that there are aspects of it I like and some I really don't. You really have to work with it awhile to have control, I think. The water was hard, but I enjoyed "mushing" the trees and slopping the paint around for the shore. The little boats were awkward at best.

I went to a new blog this morning, and if you want a real insight into the working thoughts of a fine painter, who is funny and forthcoming about the struggles of getting a painting to turn out well, check out Robin Weiss and his work here: http://inpleinair.blogspot.com/

His work is wonderful, and the reading is really fun.

This is the last oil painting I'll be posting for awhile, as I am accompanying the family on their vacation to help out with kids. I plan to sketch and do little watercolors on the trip, but of course, no oils or posting after Monday. Thanks as always for looking, and for your encouraging comments.

Garden Watercolor - SOLD

Garden Watercolor 13" x 20", 300 lb Arches rough paper Sold at $35.00 plus shipping. A somewhat subdued watercolor after all the bright colors of oil paints. Another hazy summer day in Massachusetts, painting this morning with Sarah in her garden. Thanks for looking.

Lake Lashaway - SOLD

Lake Lashaway 8" x 10", Oil on Canvasboard Sold at $25.00 plus shipping It was one of those hazy, humid days here today, and I tried in this one to mix the colors of the hazy distance, and find the color and value of the greyish, silverish, blueish water. Thanks for looking.

Morning Garden - SOLD

Morning Garden 10" x 10", Oil on Canvas board Sold at $40.00 plus shipping. While the watercolor class was working inside at Sarah's home this morning, I went out in her garden, where the Siberian irises were still in bloom. It was a scorcher today, so I didn't last too long, but with the small canvas, I was able to do a corner of her morning color. It was the hazy blue in the background with the redness of the tree that I found appealing. Thanks for looking.

Red Maple Walkway - SOLD

Red Maple Walkway
16" x 20", Oil on Canvasboard
Sold at $65.00 plus shipping.

I'm pleased with this one, the quality of sunlight works here, don't you think? Lots of color, lots of different greens and shadow colors. Done from a photo I had taken in Gaithersburg, Maryland last year. Thanks for looking.

Field Shadows - SOLD

Field Shadows 8" x 10", oil on Canvasboard Sold at $45.00 plus shipping. Along Wauwinet Road, I still have not exhausted the beautiful spots to paint. This little gem (didn't it turn out nicely?) was just a glimpse along the road that I pulled over and painted this afternoon. Another glorious day. I did take some photos, but really, for the first time, I see the wonderful differences between being there and working from a photo. The subtle tones in the shadows are simply not there in a photo. Lovely rich browns, deep greens, blues, purples, turquoise. Thanks for looking.

Three Trees- SOLD

Three Trees Oil on Stretched Canvas 16" x 20" Sold at $55.00 plus shipping Trees in the front yard on a gorgeous day in June. Thanks for looking.

Sarah Painting - Bartered

Sarah Painting 8" x 10", Oil on Canvasboard Bartered for a Sarah Watercolor.

Moss Pond Clouds - SOLD

Moss Pond Clouds 16" x 20", Oil on Canvasboard Sold at $60.00 plus shipping On Saturday I drove through a crazy hailstorm, and as I was nearing home, the clouds were magnificant. I stopped at Moss Pond and it was so dramatic that I had to stop and shoot some photos. There was a fine wind and the storm that I had come through was heading in. This one turned out well, and I'm very pleased that it has some "feeling" to it. Thanks for looking.

Barre Falls Dam - SOLD

Barre Falls Dam,
Oil on Canvas on board 9" x 10.5"
Sold at $40.00 plus shipping.

I got the heebie jeebies driving over the dam and spillway at the Barre Falls Dam today, so I just went to one of the overlooks and enjoyed the distant view. There was a nice swaying field with something lavender in it, and at one point the clouds cast a really nice shadow across the mountain, so I tried to pop that in. Thanks for looking.

Connors Pond - Gifted

Connors Pond 9" x 12", Oil on Canvasboard Gifted. I had to get my car inspection done today, and on the way back, I stopped at this pond, where there were wild yellow irises blooming along the edge of the water. Is there such a thing as water irises? Anyway, it was one of those truly perfect summer days, so fine just to be in a beautiful spot, enjoying the sun and listening to the sound of the little waterfall beside me. Thanks for looking.

Apples and Tomatoes - SOLD

Apples and Tomatoes 12" x 16", watercolor on Arches 140 lb Cold Press Sold at $25.00 plus shipping. When it looked like it would rain this afternoon, I grabbed this basket of apples and tomatoes that my daughter (Happy Birthday, Mieke) had sitting on the counter. While a layer was drying, the sun came out and I headed up the road to do the tree, posted below. A productive day, and thanks for looking.

Old Tree - SOLD

Old Tree 9" x 12", oil on canvasboard Sold at $35.00 plus shipping. Between showers today, I went up the road to where I had spotted this beautiful old tree, with most of it's foliage to one side. The trunk was catching such great colors that I just mixed them up and popped them in. When I got it home, I didn't want to disturb it by blending and fussing, which is what I generally do. So this one really is alla prima. Thanks for looking.

Riverside - SOLD

Riverside
Oil on Canvasboard, 9" x 12"
Sold at $40.00 plus shipping.

A gorgeous sunny day down by the water, and all I could really see (because there was so much to see) was a couple of bright spots of reflected water, an overhanging branch and spots of sunlit greens across the water. Thanks for looking.

After the Rain - SOLD

After the Rain,
Oil on Canvasboard, 16" x 20"
Sold at $50.00 plus shipping

This one is another redo of an earlier plein air painting posted on my sketching blog: http://nelsartmarks.blogspot.com/2006/11/landscape-class.html It was done at Butler's Orchard with my painting class, and a few folks stayed to wait out the rain and paint afterwards. I had just bought a "slicker" and wanted to use it. The colors and the puddles appealed to me. This actually turned out quite differently than the original, but I like it just as much. Thanks for looking.

White Irises - SOLD

White Irises Watercolor and Pastel on Grey Watercolor Paper 25" x 19.5", all deckles intact, full sheet Sold at $50.00 plus shipping I went last night with a new acquaintance, Sarah Dyer, who is a fine watercolorist and teacher, to a meeting of The Massasoit Art Guild, link here: http://www.massasoitartguild.com/live/, and got to enjoy a pastel demo, which of course, made me want to get out my pastels. I had a "dog" watercolor on really nice grey paper, that never did quite "work" so I played over it with pastels today. It is so much better. It could also be cropped down, like one of the following, or into two matching sized pictures: Thanks for looking.

Gerber Two

Gerber Two Oil on Canvasboard, 6" x 8" Available at $25.00 plus shipping. These guys are harder to paint than you'd think. But this one turned out better than the last one, I think. I still want to try one more, to see if I can't get an image I really, really like. Thanks for looking.

Town in the Valley Two and Three - SOLD

Town in the Valley Two and Three 10" x 10", each at $30.00 plus shipping, Oil on Canvas Sold I did a painting a while back called Town in the Valley. Since it sold, two other folks asked for copies, and it was actually kind of lazy fun today to copy my own work as a photo. Thanks for looking.

Quiet Inlet -SOLD

Quiet Inlet 16" x 20", Oil on Stretched Canvas Sold at $50.00 plus shipping. I've been noticing the wonderful colors of the sky at sunset, the glow of yellow in the sky, and the beautiful almost turquoise color above. I wanted to play with these colors and this made-up landscape is what evolved. Thanks for looking.