Rolling Hills Over Farmland

"Rolling Clouds Over Farmland"
6X6
Oil on Gessoed Panel
Available

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Warming up with a small and simple landscape. This is one of those scenes that grabs you as you are driving along on the North Carolina roads. Red clay, green trees, and blue skies...and with luck, some really pretty clouds crossing the horizons. Having been away from my brushes for a couple of weeks has not done my skills any good whatsoever. Couldn't be helped, but now I hope the path is cleared somewhat and I can get back to it. Of course there is the task of putting up the ornaments and getting the house finished with the holidays and ready for the New Year. And the ever present care of the "ancient one."

One of my personal challenges for the New Year is to tackle my phobia of doing landscapes. I've been studying them over the holiday and having long hard talks with myself on the subject. I intend to conquer this thing and just plunge forward. I do still plan some still lives and animals, too....so it looks like we're in for a mix of different genre this coming year. In other words, you never know what you are going to get at Painted Plums. Hopefully, you'll find something you really really like!

Scottish Christmas Dreams

"Scotties and Snowman"
6X6
Watercolor
©Cheryl A. Pass

Hey out there....still struggling with time constraints and family obligations, made even worse with Christmas activities. This little watercolor card design was inspired some time ago by the darling Scottie we used to have named Bailey. He was so cute and fun! We still miss him. We have some adorable Christmas Scottie ornaments on our tree because of Bailey. I think after I write this I will take a moment to go look at the "Barney Cam" at Whitehouse.gov so I can enjoy some more Scottie antics. If you ever want a great dog, the Scottish Terrier is the one. (Don't tell Bosley, our replacement who is an adorable rescued Mutt who makes us very happy, too! Besides, if you had to find a good replacement...Bosley is it!)

Hoping to get back to it soon with my oils. Just have had zero time lately. I know you also have holiday craziness at your heels, too...so thanks so much for stopping by and staying tuned!!

'One Turtle Dove'

"Christmas Turtle Dove"
8X10
Oil on Panel
NFS (for now)

Click on picture for a larger view.

Commonly known as Mourning Doves....my mother used to call them "Rain Doves" because they would always fly into the yard just before a rain came. Now I know them to also be the classic "Turtle Doves" from the 12 Days of Christmas. We have them hanging around our yard frequently. They are so beautiful and I love them, in spite of the efforts they make at grabbing the seeds we put out for the smaller songbirds. They waddle around and flee with noisy flapping when I let our dog out. Their colors are so subtle, yet I think they look very sophisticated in their soft browns and black spots. The blue around their eyes is a very beautiful blue...recalling that softest of sky meets the sea kind of blue.

Sorry for not keeping up with posts for a while. This thing with taking care of my Dad has really cramped my time. And while I am not painting as frequently, when I do have time, I am researching ideas and thinking of what to paint next. I recently went to a gallery crawl in Charlotte and feasted my eyes on wonderful works by other artists. And I keep looking at the websites of artists I admire, gathering as much as I can by studying their works. In fact, I think I have come up with a new malady....I am calling it "Admiration Paralysis." I can get so taken with other artists' work that I hit my head against the wall asking myself how could I ever be THAT good and WHY am I even doing this!!! But after beating myself up, I force myself back to the easel and tell myself just to dive in there and keep going. I am running out of time for Christmas cards...but may try to get this image done on a card to send. If not, I'll just send out some other cards I bought on stand-by.

'Two By Two'

"Two By Two"
12X9
Oil on Linen Panel
Available
Click on picture to enlarge the view.

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Since this is about water and a pair of ducks, it seemed the next progression (at least in my mind) was a Noah's Ark allegory. "And they came, two by two...." (This painting actually would be lovely placed in a child's wing of the house, but could work anywhere you have a collection of birds.) Mostly it is just about local wildlife which I love and enjoy so much. We are lucky to have some small lakes and a couple of big ones in our area, plus the Catawba River, so the birds are abundant. Occasionally I catch sight of some Great Blue Herons..so prehistoric and elegant.

But back to the ducks.....the water was a bit choppy and I didn't want the background to overwhelm the sillhouettes of their beautiful white feathers and charming, eager faces. It was a lot of fun to paint!! I was happy to have the time yesterday to paint most of the day. First time in over a week. Yippee!!

'Just Before the Fall'

"Just Before the Fall"
5X7
Acrylic
Private Collection

I have been so slammed with my Dad's concerns, sorry to keep repeating this mantra, but I have had little to no time for my painting this past week. So this is a piece I did a while back. It is much more vivid in real life. The title refers to the fact that this lovely farm close to our town was bought out by a developer and a church and no longer exists as a farm. I had admired it for a long time. They had those wonderful Belted Galloway (Oreo) cows and fields of hay. It was beautiful and then it was gone. I know this is happening everywhere all over the country, but my heart breaks to see these smaller family farms bite the dust.

Now, hopefully, to squeeze in some time for new work. "Hopefully," being the operative word.
Stay tuned! :-)

'The Twig Thief'

"The Twig Thief"
8X10
Oil on Masonite Panel
Available

Click on the picture for an enlarged view.

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It was the look on his face....so wary, as if he was going to be caught in the act or maybe the twig police were after him. I've been saving painting this one for Halloween weekend. I knew I would be in the mood for painting this beautiful black bird and the spirit he conveys.

The background color in reality is a much softer yellow than the greenish cast that came out in the photo. I tried it three times, but my camera must like the green shade better than my soft fall goldish yellow. The blacks are much darker black in reality, too. Sometimes the colors come out just right..other times you just know the camera isn't going to reproduce the painting as exactly as you would like.

'Cruising'

"Cruising"
12X16
Oil on Masonite Panel
Available
Click on Picture to enlarge the view!

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I've been working on this one for the better part of two weeks. I know that sounds like a long time, but if you have been following my blog, you know that I am now very time challenged with the care of my elderly father. This has become nearly a full time job, so.....I am not giving up, just trying to keep up. And this is a bigger painting than I have been working on lately. I hope you will enjoy it!

Anyway, this scene is from this past summer's trip to Blowing Rock. As my husband and I enjoyed some gorgeous weather and walks around Bass Lake and the lake at the park in the middle of town, I carried my camera and took some shots as we walked. This was at the lake in town. Two very nice Mallards came by to greet us as we stood by the lake. I know Mallards are as common as dirt, at least where we live....but I like them nonetheless. They are sweet natured and only wish to hang out...cruising on a beautiful summer's day.

'Munchies before sleep'

"Ram"
10X8
Oil on Panel
NFS

This one is a painting for a friend of mine. The story is this: Some years ago my friend and I were shopping, cruising around some antique shops to be more specific. As we looked around in one particularly nice shop, she spotted an antique painting of a ram and she fell in love with it. It had that presence about it...strength, patina, that air of confidence, a celebration of being. It was expensive. Really expensive for those of us raising our school age children at the time and not something she could justify buying. But years have passed and that painting sticks in her mind. She never got over it. A short time after we saw it she dragged her father over to that store to show it to him. I think she was secretly hoping he would buy it for her, but that didn't happen. She still talks about that painting. So here we are, all this time later and it suddenly dawned on me that, while I couldn't possibly replicate that exact painting, I could at least paint a ram for her for Christmas this year. She is in the redecorating mode for her bedroom and I was thinking this might be just the thing to gaze at while going to sleep....counting sheep? Only one, but what the heck! (if you happen to know who I am speaking of, don't tell her! It would spoil the surprise! So....shhhhh!)

Off to the next thing...
Thanks for visiting my blog!!

And the winner is....

"Pomegranate in White"
9X12
Oil on Board
$625.00

What a nice surprise! I entered the Mooresville Artist's Guild Show, The 26th Annual Octoberfest, for the first time this year. I'm going to say glowing things about the Mooresville Artist's Guild, not because I won the show, but because they are doing a terrific job of showcasing their members' art and maintaining a lovely facility / art gallery. The guild is housed in a former train depot smack in the middle of a small, but booming, downtown area. As you know, small towns all over America have taken a huge hit over the years from the outlying shopping centers. The town of Mooresville has not let this demoralize them, from the look of it. The buildings are renovated and business appears to be thriving. It is a charming townscape and on last Friday night of the Art Reception for the Show, the main streets were alive with interested shoppers and live musicians performing along the sidewalks. I have to say, I was very impressed with the enthusiasm I saw in Mooresville, for the arts, but also for the ongoing life of a small town. The Mooresville Artist's Guild is certainly doing their part and have a very dedicated core group of people who are putting in quite an effort to make their guild a success. The depot has 4 large rooms for gallery space, three of which are rotating galleries each month for member artists. This show filled up three rooms plus part of another room. Very nice, Mooresville and Guild!

The icing on the cake was the scene I saw when I entered the depot. There was my painting hanging in the very front room with a blue ribbon next to it! Now that doesn't happen every day to this artist who spends too much time in her studio, away from the world. I was quite surprised and delighted, and have to say I enjoyed the evening.

'Silver and Seashells'

"Silver and Seashells"
8X10
Oil on Canvas Panel


I must admit this is a re-post of a painting I did a year or so ago. It's hanging here in my house. It is one I particularly like and I don't think I can even say exactly why. It might be that painting that silver was something I dared myself to do. Reminds me I should try to do more silver/metallics.

There has been so much going on that I have had just a bare minimum of time painting. I do have one in process that I will post soon. My Dad's situation has escalated into more and more Dr.s appts. and more care-taking as time progresses.

So here is the news:
I am currently in two shows.
The first one is "The 26th Annual Octoberfest" sponsored by the Mooresville Artist's Guild, 103 Center St. Mooresville, NC. The opening reception is this Friday, October 10th, 6 to 8 pm and you are invited to come. I have three pieces in this show. I've been told I have won some award, but they keep it a secret until the reception, so at this moment I have no idea which piece or what award. Very suspenseful!

The second is "A Visual Harvest" sponsored by the Gaston County Art Guild, at the Jeanne Rauch Gallery, Gaston College, Dallas, NC. The opening for this show is October 16, 6 to 8 pm and you are also invited to attend this one. I have two pieces in this show. I spent most of Saturday assisting with the entries and the judge for this one.

Our local miniature show is coming up next month, too. That one is always fun and I love to participate in it. Stay tuned... :-)

'Preening Lady Duck'

"Preening Lady Duck"
6X6
Oil on Masonite
Available

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I don't know if this is a quirk or something typical of artistic temperment, but when I am painting certain subjects, I seek allegory as I paint them. Does she have a Saturday date for a swim with a handsome Drake? Or is she merely picking at a bug in her feathers? Whichever it is, I also ask myself, "Where would this painting fit into someone's life?" Would you place it in a dressing room where it would remind you of primping? Or do you love ducks and would put it out with a collection of them? Would you give it to a friend with a card that says, "I hope things are just ducky!"

Silly artist....just thinking up reasons for someone else to love a painting that I enjoyed creating. I hope you like her. And I hope things are "just ducky" for you today!!
Thanks for visiting!

'Queen Anne's Road'

"Queen Anne's Road"
5X7
Oil on Masonite
Available
$150.00 unframed

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One of the prettiest gifts of sight in the summer is Queen Anne's Lace along the sides of country roads. This particular place had a profusion of blossoms that made me stop in the middle of the afternoon and grab a picture. Queen Anne lives here! You can tell this painting is of an August day with wheat colors morphing into gold with just a hint of what September will bring us.

'August Mountains'

"August Mountains"
5X7
Oil on Masonite Panel
Available
$175.00 Framed

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This is from our trip up to the mountains last month. You can pronounce that word 'August' either way, as the month or as the adjective meaning exalted or resplendent. Our North Carolina mountains are so beautiful! This painting is but a small reminder of the scenery as you drive up, around, and through them. I hope to do more paintings to keep these beautiful mountains in our hearts. This one shows some tall grass by the side of the road at a resting spot with a stunning view.

A lovely little gallery in Darlington, South Carolina has decided to represent some of my work recently. It is called the Chameleon Art Gallery, so, if you are in that neck of the woods, do stop in and take a look!

As some of you know I have taken on tending to my father who is nearly 91 yrs. and who fell a few weeks ago. It has been more time consuming than before, since his fall, so my paintings are not coming as fast as I would like. I think it has taken me almost two weeks now just to find a couple of hours to get my paints out. Each day I look for the amount of time I need. And each day I find only bits and pieces, here and there, not enough to make it worth getting the brushes wet.....however, I have found some time to plan paintings, so maybe that counts towards the ones in the future.

There are two shows coming up...entries due Thurs. this week and also on Oct. 4th. I have been varnishing and framing to prepare for those. Will fill you in on that later.
Stay tuned....

Fine Art meets Commercial Art

"A Taste of Kindness"
9X6
Acrylic on Paper
NFS
One of the career goals I have strived towards, when I had my stationery business and beyond, is that I love to match up fine art for use as commercial art. Those two categories cross paths often, but I happen to think the best of commercial art actually is fine art. The lousiest of commercial art is never fine art. Witness the upsurge in popularity of posters for collectors, i.e. Hollywood posters, Skiing posters, Travel posters, etc. Those posters achieve something of the best of both worlds. Same with magazine covers, a la Norman Rockwell. You get the point, I'm sure.

So this is the kind of project I think is a great deal of fun, bringing my fine art to the useful endeavor of taking a commercial message to someone in some way. My stationery business was like that. It was fulfilling a commercial need while at the same time making something beautiful for lots of people to enjoy using and sending. Great fun it was.
This time it is a Cookbook project to benefit the Battered Women's Shelter of my county. They are always seeking ways to increase their funding and this year they decided to embark on a Cookbook to sell. When I heard about it I was happy to offer to create some art for the covers to get them some shelf appeal and hopefully lots of sales. The art you see here is waiting on approval, so we'll see if this is what they will like. If not, I will be back to the drawing board. Below is an idea of what the cover will look like with type / copy.

That's it for today....stay tuned!!

Cover with Type

Hey, Hay, Hay!

"Hay Bales at the Edge of the Woods"
5 3/4 X 9
Watercolor
Available

$75.00 plus postage

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This is from my trip up country to the mountains a few weeks ago. I took my watercolor pencils with me and managed to squeeze in a little time to do this as a study for a larger painting I am planning to do. These hay bales looked like they had been forgotten almost, but I am guessing they are there to save as needed for the livestock. It was near dusk and the sun was streaming across them while the woods had a dark and mysterious look under the trees. That is what captured my interest.

Things are still hectic with all of the running back and forth to my Dad's, but he is doing better and healing is taking place. This afternoon I am meeting also with the Battered Women's Shelter administrators on the fund raising project, a recipe collection / cookbook. I already have several pieces of art that relate to foods so I am looking forward to seeing this work into a very nice publication for them. We'll see how it goes!!

Thanks for visiting my blog.

'Wool in the Rough'

"Sheep #1"
5X7
Oil on Panel
Available


ADDED NOTE:
I am adding to this post on Labor Day Monday.....just to let anyone reading know that some events have occurred since last week to keep me from my paints. Besides the circumstance described below with my daughter's little cocker spaniel, my (ancient) Dad fell last Wednesday. This fall resulted in the skin scraped completely off of the back of his left hand. Seriously. All day in the ER on Wednesday. We were fortunate enough to have a spectacularly talented Doctor who spent hours stitching what skin was left back together, like a patchwork quilt or a jigsaw puzzle. There is still a place with no skin, so we are now going to the plastic surgeon tomorrow to see about a skin graft. Taking care of him and also nursing Lucy has kept me and my husband very busy these past days. Lucy has now gone back to my daughter's house for the rest of this week, but I am having to jump in and do more for my Dad, plus arranging for some in-home health care for him for the coming weeks. I am hoping to get some time to paint in between all of this...so I will post whatever I can come up with as I find the time. Thanks for staying tuned!
_____________________________________________________________
About the painting above:
Where knitting begins....with this little beauty! I look at that coat and find myself amazed of the gift of all of that wool. Maybe some of you don't know that I like to knit. My mother taught me how when I was very young and I have loved making sweaters for myself and my family all of my life. Now that I live in the South, wool sweaters are saved for only the coldest weather. There are other types of yarn to use for other seasons such as cotton, acrylic and blends thereof. But I do love wool yarns and a great love of the sheep who bring us such a wonderful textile with which to work.

Update on Lucy, (see below) she will be coming home from the hospital tomorrow and, from the look of things, she is in for a lengthy recovery. She cannot yet use her back legs and that is going to take time and therapy. She is as sweet as ever and we are looking forward to getting her well. Thanks to all her sent me concern and hope for her. It is much appreciated!

'Lucy'

"Lucy on a Book"
8X10
Acrylic on Panel
NFS

There she is. I painted this a couple of years ago, but am re-posting this picture because #1. Lucy is the reason I don't have a new painting, and #2. Lucy is at this very moment under the knife! There is a whole long story about Lucy. The short version is that four and a half years ago we found her near death as a puppy on our street,covered in thousands of ticks and starving, we saved her and my daughter took her as her own to keep. Lucy has not been feeling great lately. (I have been keeping her at my house for several weeks..another long story that I can't elaborate upon right now.) A few weeks back she developed an inner ear problem. Luckily that resolved in about four weeks. She seemed to be O.K. though not her peppy old self. Then a couple days ago she started whimpering and moaning and wouldn't eat and, by today she could barely walk at all. I fed her from my hand and finally got her to drink a little....we all, my daughter, her best fellow, my husband and I, met at the vet with Lucy this afternoon. We have an awesome vet!...who sent us right away to a veterinary neurological specialist. (You can just see the dollars flying out the window as fast as dust in the wind...can't you?) Low and behold, our little Lucy had a ruptured disk in her back and needed surgery to fix it. And it will be fixed...to the tune of a small fortune. How much is a little stray Cocker Spaniel worth? Lots and lots! We love Lucy.

So no new landscape to show you today, and tons of other interference, but it will be coming. I have my ancient Dad to feed Sunday, a dreaded jury summons for Monday, a Dr.'s appt. Tues., a meeting on cookbook illustrations for the Battered Women's Shelter on Wednesday, my own husband and dog and house, and will probably have Lucy recuperating at my house also by Tues. Are we having fun yet???
Ya have to say....it is never boring!!!

'Riverside Cramerton Park'

"Riverside Cramerton Park" / Cropped Version
Oil on Canvas Panel


O.K. Trying to save face...I first posted the entire painting and absolutely hate the thing so much that I decided to just take the part of the painting I really like and ditch the rest...so what you are seeing here is just a part of a painting. The big version is just awful. Maybe just a bad composition on the whole...but this part works, so I am going to make an effort to start over and just do a painting with this view.
This was from a "plein air" outing that was organized by an art guild friend a few weeks ago. More than twenty artists arrived at the park to paint. I don't paint "plein air," so I came to take photographs and observe. The day was horribly hot and, after sweating for more than two hours, I decided to head home. My favorite part of the whole painting is the reflecting of trees in the water, so that is what I am showing here.
I am determined to get past this landscape block I have!!
Thanks for visiting!

'Roll in the Grass'

"Hayroll & Barn"
8X10
Oil on Gessoed Panel
Available

Contact to Purchase

As promised....landscape! This was late afternoon, hot August, an overgrown field with a barn that caught my eye due to the blue cast on the roof against the gold colors in the hayroll and surrounding grasses. Remember I am a studio painter....and to that point, I want to quote an artist who does gorgeous landscapes in his studio. His name is Peter Fiore and there is a wonderful article on him in the most recent Artist's Magazine. In the article he says, "Some plein air artists profess their works are somehow more valid because they were painted on location." Continuing, he says, "If you're a musician inspired by nature, does that mean you have to create a symphony out in the field?" You can check out his work by clicking on the link. Very impressive.

And that is how I feel about landscape painting. I think the snobbery of "plein air" painting has gotten way out of hand. My paintings are inspired by the beautiful scenes I see as I go about my area and travels. And they are of the places I think are beautiful that I wish to share with anyone who takes a moment to view my work. I can easily get overwhelmed when working on landscapes by the awe I feel, the diverse plant and animal life, the wide vistas, the love I have of the countryside. That is what motivates me to do landscape, but also intimidates me. I struggle with trying to live up to all of that beauty. Anyway, I will be concentrating on landscapes for a while, so we'll see what I can accomplish.
Thanks so much for visiting my blog!!!

'Bluebird Equals Happiness"

"Bluebird"
7X5
Oil on Gessoed Panel
Available
$250.00 framed

Contact to Purchase

I have the perfect frame for this one. (either wall or tabletop) And it is an opportunity to give 'the Bluebird of Happiness' to someone as a gift. (maybe that someone who has everything else, but makes you happy!) They will think of you every time they look at it.

We have families of these gorgeous North Carolina Bluebirds around our neighborhood. They love to visit us in the fall when our Pyracantha bush yields its reddish orange berries. We love to watch them, but they are shy and fly off easily if people are too close by.

My husband and I love having the birds flying in and out of our feeding areas. He is the one who keeps the feeders full and I swear they know him and look for him to come out there with the seeds.

I did get several photos for landscapes while I was away in the mountains, so my intentions are to try try again and see if I can master the genre to some degree of satisfaction. That's what I'm up to next....stay tuned! :-)

'On the Road'

"Nursery on Rte. 321" Oil on Canvas Paper
NFS

This is a painting from a trip we made up to Blowing Rock, NC. a little while ago. We are heading up there again this weekend and I am so looking forward to the cooler air and the scenery, camera and sketchbook in hand! :-) The nursery is obscured now by looming industries encroaching into the countryside, so I am very happy I captured the scene when I did. The field on the right now is nothing more than a big tan colored box of a building.

I've been struggling with myself over landscapes. I love landscape paintings and have been admiring several other artist's work, some plein air and some studio painters. So when I sit down to try to do one lately, I am filled with inadequacy and trepidation and can hardly pick up the brush. I am determined to get myself past this bug-a-boo I am having, so the intention of this trip is to get some photos and sketches from which to work. Not to mention getting away from the oppressive heat we have been suffering through this summer. Believe me, one small weekend is not enough! But I'll take it!!

Have a great weekend!!

'Jack Russell on a Red Rug'

"Jack Russell on a Red Rug"
5X7
Oil on Gessoed Masonite
Sold

I wanted to share with you this sample of what I can do regarding commissions of dog (or animal) portraits. The owner took this picture of his Jack Russell resting on their oriental rug and it just happened to be a terrific pose and photograph from which to do this painting. If you have really good photos, I can use them for painting. Believe me, the photo matters. I also work from my own photos by appointment and I like to do that locally, but the owner is in a unique position of capturing the dog (animal) in all kinds of circumstances that I would not necessarily see. If you are considering having a portrait made from your photos, get out that camera, keep it handy, and take lots and lots of photos to increase your odds of getting that perfect shot.

An oil painting of your pet is a keepsake to last for generations. It's really fun to have. Great for Christmas or Birthday presents, too! If you are thinking Christmas present, now is the time to schedule it. (please don't wait until a few weeks before Christmas) It's also fun to do a collection of favorite pets on the wall, as one of my clients has done with all of her white boxers that she has rescued. The collection is a treasure for her and for her family to enjoy from now on.

For pricing and more information, you can contact me at cpass@carolina.rr.com

'Follow Your Nose'

"Follow Your Nose"
12X9
Oil on Masonite Panel
Available

Click on picture to enlarge the view.

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No secret I love dogs...so here is the latest! I slapped a lot of paint on this with the palette knife to get the background textures I wanted....ergo, this one will take quite a while to dry.

Crazy stuff happening this week, mostly involving the hot water heater, the heating and air conditioning, water flowing where it shouldn't have, workmen coming and going, all interspersed within the other nutty things going on...so it was paint, stop, paint, stop, paint, stop.....until you just have to subscribe to the chaos reigns theory and go with it. Glad I could get one finished, to tell you the truth.

Onward and upward.....stayed tuned!!

'Gilded Cage'

"Gilded Cage"
9X12
Oil on Raymar Linen Panel
Available

Click on picture to enlarge the view.

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As you walk the paths at Stowe Botanical Gardens you will come across a Victorian birdcage the likes of which you have never seen......or, at least like I have never seen. I could never cage a bird. In fact, if I could fly I would be gliding over the tree tops right now. But the irony is that I think bird cages are pretty...no doubt because I've never been cooped up in one. This one is amazing. It is the biggest one I've ever seen and it is a new version of a Victorian style. If you look closely at my painting you will see a red and yellow parrot that was sitting on a perch in the middle section. As I painted this I was wondering how the birds in it are managing the unbearable heat we've been having this entire month. I'm hoping they took the birds to an air conditioned location and left the birdcage empty for the summer months.

One of the challenges of painting this was indicating the screens. I hope I accomplished that. I worked on this painting off and on all week due to the other obligations of taking "the ancient one" to Dr.'s appts. and making meals for him as well as our household. I feel like I should apologize for the drop off in my posts the past few months, but it just can't be helped since I have taken on some family duties I didn't have prior to this. What is that movie quote? "I'm dancing as fast as I can."

'Red, White, and Blue'

"Red, White,and Blue"
12X9
Oil on Raymar Linen Panel
©Cheryl A. Pass
Available

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Most of my Hydrangea blossoms have devolved to some green colors, due to the acidic quality of the soil, I guess. This one was one of the last really blue ones. I bought some sulfer additive that is supposed to bring the blue colors back, but the package says it will take a few weeks. Meanwhile, I grabbed this one to compliment the beautiful reds of the cherry. The colors are more intense in the actual painting. This reminds me to tell everyone that the color representation on everyone's monitors are different, so take that into account. I do try to get the best possible image for computer display, and it is usually pretty accurate, but intensity sometimes blows away in the digital process.

About the title....I think my heart is with the founders of the country these days, so the colors of our flag come to the forefront of my mind often. So much was given to us, and yet today, so many people are trashing our country that sometimes I just want to shake people's shoulders and say, "Wake up dimwits...you are throwing away the greatest gift you could have ever been given, i.e. the United States Constitution." So red, white and blue are the colors of my mind today and most days lately.

'Cherries on Blue'

"Cherries on Blue"
5X7
Oil on Gessoed Board
Available

Click on Picture to enlarge the view.

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These were called Rainier Cherries at the grocery...very pretty little things with yellow and red and most of them still had their stems. I was trying to do something with a different background color here (got out an old blue shirt and laid the cherries on it)...and really slapped on the paint for a more impressionist texture. I made myself back up and loosen the brush strokes. I honestly don't think this picture does it justice..much prettier in person.
There went Monday.....

'Idyll Moment'

"Idyll Moment"
9X12
Oil on Raymar Linen Panel
Available

Click on Picture to enlarge the view.

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Well, I could have titled this a number of different things; "Election Year Bull," "Pasture Idol," "Here's Looking at You," "Invest in Cattle Futures,"and more.....But I landed on "Idyll Moment" because this guy was caught on camera just surveying his domain. (The election year comment seemed too demeaning to the guy since I think he is quite grand and has more integrity than the politicians! You can vote for the title you like the best, if you wish.) I think the guy has that Alpha Male presence... Really fun to paint!! The photo was given to me by a friend who was doing a lot of plein air painting and took this shot while on one of her outings. She handed it to me saying that she doesn't do animals, but she knew I like to do animals so she thought I might like to try this one. I am emailing this to her as soon as I post it, so she can see what she wrought from her gift.

'Fourth of July Zinnias'

"Fourth of July Zinnias"
12X9
Oil on Gessoboard
Available
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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.

'Beach Baby Ella'

"Beach Baby Ella"
10X8
Wash and Pencil on Ampersand Gessoboard
NFS

Scroll down to see Beach Baby Bennett, too.

Well...changing my mind. I originally was doing these two pieces as underpaintings. But as I worked I decided I liked the effect of the washes and pencil on the surface and, honestly, I don't think I could do a full blown painting of these that I would like as well as this....so I'm leaving well enough alone and moving on to the next thing.

Ella and Bennett went to the beach in Hawaii with their parents on the way to Korea. I think if you are going to the beach for the first time, it might as well be some gorgeous place like Hawaii....don't you? They were actually sitting side by side on a water board in the sand, but I split the picture into two parts, thinking that they might like to each have one of their own someday. What strikes me in both of them is the look of concentration as they try to get familiar with this strange stuff that they have never seen before.

'Beach Baby Bennett' WIP

"Beach Baby Bennett"
In Progress
10X8
Value Study / Underpainting

I was not going to post anymore 'works in progress,' but I decided to post this one because I like the drawing quality and watercolor effect. I am originally trained as a watercolorist, so learning to work with oils has been very challenging for me. I always want to work from light to dark instead of dark to light. The two mediums are so opposite from each other that I must force myself in oils to try to undo all I know and work backwards.

Anyway, this is my grandson, Bennett, at his first outing at the beach. He is one and half yrs. and had no clue what to do with the toys and the sand, but I can see his concentration here as he tries to figure it out. I have another one of his sister, also first experience at that beach, that will be coming along as well.

'Ravishing Red'

"Ravishing Red Radish"
6.25X11
Oil on Gessoed Masonite
Available

Click to enlarge the view.
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Back but not too rested actually...the real R and R will have to come later. But I did have a nice time and it was great to get away for a little bit.

I do think radishes are ravishing...the color is such a splash in a salad! They bite just enough to make your tastebuds tingle. In the right frame, possibly antique gold, this will look ravishing. What is that saying about tickling the earth and it laughs (flowers)...?... but in this case it laughs radishes. This one was in my kitchen waiting to be painted for eternity.

Brief R and R

"Pearson's Beach House"
16X20
Acrylic on Board
Commissioned / Sold

This is a repeat of a previous post from over a year ago and not a daily....but....
I am just about collapsed from responsibilities, elderly parent, kids, dogs, house, yard, etc. etc......so I am ducking out for only a few days. Not to this beach house, but I am going up to some cooler elevations. This is not nearly long enough to regenerate my energy, but at least it is something of a respite. I'm taking my camera and sketchpad and visiting with a friend at a house with a million dollar view.....so it will be bliss.
I'll be posting again toward the end of next week when I can get back and paint some more for you.

'Ba Da Bings"

"Life is Just a...."
5x7
Oil on Gessoed Board
Available

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I'm dedicating this anti-oxident bowl of yummies to my Dad. "The Ancient One" at 90+ yrs.has been struggling lately, fighting off a bad crummy cancer and he deserves a bowl of cherries as much as anyone could right now. I think I'll have some myself!!

The situation has been distracting and my posts are maybe not as frequent because of it...
Plunging onward anyway....

'Walkway at Stowe Botanical Gardens'

"Walkway at Stowe Botanical Gardens" (Spring 08)
10X14
Oil on Gessoed Board
Available

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Right about now I either have great sympathy for George Seurat or I would like to strangle him. Whenever I do this type of landscape that involves lots of different plants and petals and leaves, all I can think of is how he had to have gone completely mad doing this in dots.....dots....and more dots....ugh!! He must have been the forerunner of the computer pixels ...more dots. So while I am painting this kind of scene I am trying to not be George Seurat. As hard as I try to simplify the thing, it still requires a lot of different strokes, colors, little bitty hits with the brush to reflect the light on those beautiful plants.
Anyway, here is what I saw at Stowe Botanical Gardens a while back on a really splendid spring day!!

'Buddies'

"Buddies"
5X7
Oil on Gessoed Panel
NFS

Click on picture to enlarge the view.

As I look across the room, from where I sit typing away at my computer, this is the scene at the door to my backyard. These are the two studio buddies I love!! Lucy, the Chocolate Cocker Spaniel, actually belongs to my daughter, but when she goes away on trips we get to keep Lucy with us. Bosley, our adorable PBGV, loves having Lucy visit and they hang out together while I work. They are priceless buddies to us and to each other. Have a happy weekend!

'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!

"Pink Pansies"

"Pink Pansies"
6X6
Oil on Gessoed Board
Available

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Just now I was thinking this might be a "girl thing." Pink ruffles make me smile and think of my grand-daughter, Ella. My mother used to dress me up in ruffles and by the time I was in junior high I remember telling her to stop it already...I thought I was ready for the black cocktail dress with a slit and spaghetti straps by that time. Now I think of pink ruffles and smile!

This one was done on gessoed board which is fast becoming my favorite substrate on which to paint. My husband is going to be very busy in the wood shop cutting boards for me.... :-)
Thanks for taking a look!

Stowe Botanical Garden Irises

"Iris Times Two"
9X12
Oil on Raymar Linen Panel
Available

Click to enlarge the view.

This morning I worked only on the flowers.....so much variation going on here. Shapes and many different blues, violets, purples, deep crimson, all to be offset by the many greens of the foliage surrounding the blossoms....Finished this afternoon. Remember that everyone's computer monitor is color calibrated differently. The rich purples and blues were a difficult combination for photographing this time. I took the picture without any incandescent light, only natural light in my studio to get the best possible representation. The painting looks a bit more purple in real life than the blog is showing me.
There were a lot of sun strikes, transparencies, and shadows happening in this so it was truly difficult to capture all of the nuances. Hopefully I managed to do it without too much confusion.

"White Lily"

"White Lily" Study
7X5
Oil on Masonite Panel
Available

Have had precious little time this week to paint. The "Ancient One," otherwise known as my Dad, had a biopsy, lots of family stuff going on with adult children making arrangements for flights and care of a huge dog, on and on. So this was a quick small daily I managed to get done this afternoon.

An artist friend and I spent some time recently at Stowe Botanical Gardens and I took some photos to use for paintings. This is a variety of Lily I found there..not known to me. It had those beautiful little black curly pistols, a red stamen, and gorgeous red buds coming along. I may do a bigger version of this with more in it...my photo has two of the Lilies. White is tough to paint. Sometimes it picks up all of the colors around it, but in this case it stayed pure and blasted with sunlight. It was hard to paint the nuances and get any texture this time. Some of it I just had to exaggerate in order to get the shape of the flower.
On to the next time!!!

"Garden Store Dog"

"Garden Store Dog"
14X11
Oil on Linen Panel
Available


It was an adorable scene that day. My daughter and I were at Pike Nursery in Charlotte, picking out plants for her yard, when a lady was pushing her cart with this great little Cairn Terrier in the basket. After asking about him, we found out his name is Frasier. He smiled nearly the whole time we talked ...I wonder if he knew we were saying the nicest things about him. I took several pictures of him and then a bit later, as I looked across the aisle in the store I saw this one and snapped another picture. I think this one is my favorite.

You never know where inspiration will find you....I thought I was going to be taking pictures of flowers...instead I came home with pictures of this happy little fellow!!

"Garden Store Dog" In Progress

This one is later this afternoon..
The bottom pic is from this morning.



"Garden Store Dog" In Progress
14X11
Oil on Linen Panel

As I am wading my way through the leaves and details, I am asking myself if I should have cropped this further and just painted our little fellow in the cart. But the idea might have been lost in that case, since I really wanted a sense of place. Atmosphere means something to me, giving a subject a place to be in this case especially, getting the feeling of a good and patient dog sitting in a place unlikely for a dog, yet good as gold just waiting for his owner to finish shopping. So while I would have found it easier to paint less of the scene, to me, the scene contributes so much to the feeling of this one.

From here out, I am going to be working on the bottom third and working the whole painting in a way that, hopefully, won't lose the dog in the landscape. All paintings are about values...but this one is killing me with values...how much dark, how much light, how many shades of green .....oh my gosh. Very challenging.

Daily Painting, "Vespa 4"

"Vespa 4"
10X8
Oil on Linen Panel
Available (As a collection...Unframed @ 150.00 each)

Right about now I am thinking Sausalito. What do you think?? Venice Beach? La Jolla? Monterey? East Coast....Boca? Where ever you are you can put your mind on this Vespa and tour someplace wonderful......You name the place!!!

Now I've finished my short Vespa fetish for the time being. The collection includes Yellow, Blue, Green, and Red! My daughter liked the green one best....I think because of the white wall tires. And now that I think of it, she had a little scooter when she was a small tyke that was green with white wall tires. Maybe that's why. Anyway, they are all 8X10's and make a really fun collection for the Vespa lover .....or for anyone with Vespa dreams!! It has been a lot of fun doing these and I hope whoever decides to buy them has as much fun looking at them as I did thinking about them while painting!!! They will look good hanging together, or in pairs, or individually.

Above are the four for you to see! Remember to click on the pictures to enlarge the view!

Daily Painting, "Vespa 3"

"Vespa 3"
8X10
Oil on Linen Panel
Available

Green means "Go!" Ah, dear petrol loving friends, how doth your vehicle go? It goes on roads using oil and humming along, getting us gratefully where we need to go. Somehow I don't remember people resenting this in earlier years of my lifetime. In fact, we were proud of our car manufacturing industry and, as I previously mentioned, my Dad the tire dealer made a good living selling those wonderful round rubber things that meet the road!!!

I love to drive and, I suppose this will not make me popular, but I love the smell of gasoline. I love energy. I love mobility. My carbon footprint is not that large, people. I don't owe anybody any carbon credits. I don't own a hummer and I don't fly places even once a year, though I would if I had the opportunity. I am good for the earth and I only use what I need, so don't go crashing on me for telling you this, but oil is good for engines. (I never did buy into those stupid plastic bags at the grocery store because I happen to know they are made from oil and that trees are a renewable resource, plus I reuse the paper bags and they bio-degrade. You can count me on the cutting edge...ahead of the curve on that one!)

So here is some food for thought today for my thoughtful friends who can read and write and know the difference between corn oil and sweet crude: Washington, May 9 - Gas prices have soared from a $2.33 per gallon average on January 4, 2007 – Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) first day as House Speaker – to a record high of $3.67 per gallon today, according to AAA. This recent gasoline thing is NOT "Bush's fault!" The price of a gallon of gas went up only .90 from the day he took office in 2000 until the Democrats took charge of congress in 2006, a year and a half ago.

We'll all be driving Vespas if this keeps up. I recommend drilling in Anwar and building a few refineries, using nuclear power and "clean" burning modern coal plants. And for God's sake, let me have my incandescent lightbulbs!!! I am not causing the world to fall apart because I use ENERGY!!!!

One more Vespa to do....what color next? I'm thinking red, the color of passion!!!

Daily Painting, "Peony Buds"

"Peony Buds"
7.5X11
Oil on Gessoed Masonite Panel
Available


In my previous post I was waxing rhapsodic about my peonies and saying how much I love them like babies.....when, as I finished this painting this morning, it dawned on me how symbolic it is that I picked this composition for Mother's Day! I have two children, both of whom I adore and cherish tons!! One older. One younger. As I finished this today, my eyes saw two burgeoning buds...just like my own children. So Happy Mother's Day today to all of you...and Happy Mother's Day to me!! Nurture nature!! It's a good thing!!