Daffodil Reclining

"Daffodil Reclining"
5X7
Oil on Canvas Panel

I am surprised to see my daffodils blooming already....this being February 14th. Since it's Valentine's Day, I thought I would share one of them with you. I painted this one spring before last...but have enjoyed having it around. It sits in a very nice frame on a decorative easel in my studio. This way I get to enjoy a daffodil all year long...and that is one small bright spot in these dismal days.

'Fourth of July Zinnias'

"Fourth of July Zinnias"
12X9
Oil on Gessoboard
Available
Contact to Purchase

Click on picture for a larger view


Zinnias always seem old fashioned to me. I don't know why. They are common and not terribly formal like Irises or Peonies or Lilies, but they are the brightest light in the garden in the summer. In fact, if Mother Nature created fireworks I'd say these are the flowers that suit the purpose! They create a wonderful riot of colors in the garden! I couldn't get the seeds in the ground this year to the disastrous shape of my front flower garden, so, alas, these are borrowed from my daughter's garden.

It took me more than one day to do this one. So much going on here that I am lucky if I can paint for more than an hour without crazy interruptions. Also, I am having a disagreement with this gessoboard. It doesn't like to hold the paint without quite a bit of trouble. The finish effect is good in that it shows the brush strokes, but it starts out with a lot of slipping and sliding that gives me fits. Patience wins in the end, but it takes longer to do than linen or a rougher surface.

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July celebrating freedom.....even the freedom to make fools of ourselves. A great price has been paid for that freedom and I hope it remains in the forefront of everyone's mind this year as the election nears. I, for one, plan only to vote for those who will promote freedom and not vote for those who would steal it from us through more and enhanced big government programs. That is what was on my mind this 4th of July....as I was painting away on the zinnias.

'Hydrangea in a Bean Pot'

'Hydrangea in a Bean Pot'
9X12
Oil on Panel
SOLD

A recent addition to our flower beds is a variety of Hydrangea that blooms all summer. This is a boon for those of us who love Hydrangeas, but used to only see them once in June and then they were gone. I have three of these lovely plants. I am just hoping they'll survive this hot spell we are having of over 90 degrees every day. This blossom wanted to droop right over the edge of the bean pot, but it made such a lovely shadow below that I decided it would do for this version. I stuck a Hosta leaf over in the right side of the pot for some balance...
Thanks for visiting!

Daily Painting, "Gerber Daisies"

"Gerber Daisies"
10X8
Oil on Canvas Panel
Available








First attempt at a plein air painting....which usually would not be a still life, but this was a demonstration at an outdoor event. Kind of a long story...but mostly this was due to arm twisting by one of my art guild friends named Scott Boyle. He is a veteran plein air painter and he came to the event all geared up for two people to paint. He had the two pochades, the paints, brushes, canvas, turps, the pot of flowers,all of it. I have never painted outdoors before, but I admire Scott quite a bit, so when he asked me to pitch in I felt privileged to paint along side of him. It was fun for me to give this a try, not my usual controlled environment and painstaking detailed effort. More like painting on the fly.
Well, here is what I ended up with and I hope you will like it! Thank you, Scott!!


Scott working on his version of the Gerber Daisies.

Daily Painting, Still Life Sign

"Still Life Sign for Art Guild Fund Raiser"
16X40
Acrylic on Foam Board

This is the second and last sign that I am doing for the Art Guild fund raising project. Once again I am borrowing someone's artwork for this, however, this time I don't know who it is. It is a piece I found that I thought would work to illustrate the example of a still life for our sign, but I promise I am not taking credit for the copper pot with the flowers. I only am taking credit for borrowing it for the sign. Hopefully, I am not tramping on anyone's toes by doing this...and I am being up front about it. The point is to catch the eyes of potential guild members and the public who will donate money to the guild.

Because of this sign business and several other family obligations, this is the only thing finished for the past week other than a sketch or two. Hoping to get back to my own work the rest of the week. Thanks for watching!! :-)

Daily Painting Floral Still Life, "Yellow Vase"

Detail

"Yellow Vase"
12X22
Oil on Board
Artist's Collection

Click to enlarge

One more before I take off to tend to my Dad. Believe it or not, this is a painting that acts as a disguise for our breaker box. You know, those ugly gray metal things that look like some ugly hardware on the wall in some inconvenient spot that is impossible to decorate around. My solution was to have that adorable "Norm Abram" type guy I am married to make a door frame around the breaker box and, voila, we have something gorgeous to look at!! (Another option would be to use a chalk board to put inside the frame and then you have something very useful)

The art tip I wanted to point out here, too, is how some paintings offer so much more than just the original composition. There are paintings within paintings. Lately I have been noticing this more and more. I seem to finish a painting and then notice a particular area that could be a painting on its own. One smaller spot that is simpler usually and that is what I am meaning to show you here with the Detail picture above.