Ski Vermont 16"x20" acrylic

This is day 30 in the 30 day challenge.

Like the painting I did yesterday, this was for the non-dom challenge I submitted to DPW.  I painted this completely with my left hand.  I am continually amazed at how different places look depending on the light.  I understand how Cezanne could paint the same scene over and over, because it really is changing all the time depending on whether it is cloudy or where the sun is in the sky.  This is really evident when looking at a time lapse film of something like the Grand Canyon (or better yet, meditating on the rim for a day) where there is such a grand vista to capture the subtle nuances of light and shadow.

Soft Gray Kiss 16"x20" acrylic

This is a DPW challenge that I created to paint with your non-dominant hand.  It was painted from a photo I took when I was walking with my grandsons up their street early one foggy wintery morning recently.  They live in one of those quintessential New England areas with equestrian farms, stone fences, and colonial homes.  It was such a beautiful scene and I knew I had to try painting it. 
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Four Act Play 8"x8" acrylic

All four acts put together.  I have wanted to do a painting like this for a while so it feels good to finally do it.  It is such a spectacular time when the lilies bloom.  On these frigid days it is hard to remember what summer feels like, but I think it is great to have all seasons...especially because I get to paint them!

$180 $10 ship

Act IV acrylic 4"x4"

Day 27 of the 30 Day Challenge

 This is the last piece and tomorrow I will post the all four pieces together.  I like the composition of this one and I think it makes a nice abstract. 

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Act II 4"x4" acrylic

Day 26 of the 30 Day Challenge.  Act III is interesting because it is divided into right and left, brilliant color vs. darkness.  The floating pedals help balance it out and the suggestion of cool foliage in the shadows.  This is an odd composition, but I think you can do all kinds of contrary things when working in small sizes that you couldn't pull off on a larger piece.

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Act II 4"x4" acrylic

Day 25 in the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge.  
 This is Act II of a 4 part play.  The wind is still gently blowing and light is intense in the summer heat.  I can't say that for today as we head out to ski, I think it might have reached zero degrees which means it is only going to be single digit negative on the mountain (lets hope the wind doesn't kick up). $45 $10 ship

Act I 4"x4" oil

This is the first part of a four piece painting.  The idea is that each part stand on its own but that they all fit together in the end.  I am painting them separately with the same palette and adding "floating pedals" to unify all four pieces.

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Crystal and Sea Glass 6"x6"

On another note....I did this painting glass challenge for DPW.  It is a cut glass bowl with green sea glass in it that I got at the beach this summer.  I like how abstract it is.  Painting it wasn't easy but it was fun.  I originally had some shells in it, but they were just a distraction so I painted over them.  I love how the light dances through the many facets and casts all kinds of bouncing light colors. $100 and $10 shipping

Five Golden Rings 3"x4" acrylic

I got this idea before Christmas to do a DPW challenge to paint one of the "Twelve Days of Christmas" from the song.  I chose 5 golden rings, which I always liked in that song because it gave me break in all that fast singing!  It is so amazing the beautiful photos they can take of space now....it really expands the imagination.  It is somethings real, but to most of us, it doesn't feel real because we can't really see it without the aid of very expensive optics.  It is a cross between the real and imaginary, between realistic and abstract.

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Not So Subtle 4"x4" acrylic

I like the movement in this one...the juxtaposition of straight lines and large shapes and curvy lines and small spaces.

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Rhythms and Rhymes 4"x4" acrylic

My house if filled with music as my husband is a collector (mostly of vinyl albums) and we have music playing gadgets everywhere.  We are also a family of rhymes because we love to make up rhymes for everything to entertain ourselves and our grandkids.

$45 $10 ship

San-Zhi Ree 4"x4" acrylic

This one started as a photo of a demolition of a bathroom...this is not the original orientation.  I used the shapes and lines I saw and then just played with them with texture and color.  I named it San-Zhi Ree after a real (abandoned) resort housing project in Taiwan and a science fiction village, because I thought it looked like that.
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Warmth of Winter Magic 4"x4" acrylic

30 Paintings 30 Days Challenge:  Abstracts and Large Paintings (something different) day 18    This is a transition piece from the non-objective abstracts to abstracts that are based on something I have seen.  I was inspired by the shape of a rhododendron bush on a really cold day when the leaves curl into tubes and the snow wraps itself around everything.  This is my reality today.  I think I will go skiing.

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Mumbo Jumbo 4"x4" acrylic

This is last of this particular series and I think I may frame them all together.  I titled this "Mumbo Jumbo" because it sounds cool to say it and generally means "something incomprehensible" to most of us.  When I researched it though, I found out it is from a  Mandingo name Maamajomboo, a masked dancer that took part in religious ceremonies.  It represented an idol of chaos or something.  Anyway I didn't mean to represent anything dark so just take the phrase as something light hearted and silly.

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Flibbertigibbet 4"x4" acrylic

30 Paintings 30 Days Challenge:  Abstracts and Large Paintings (something different) day 16
 When I was in school my mom would show her sympathy for my neurotic wining about how one of the girls hurt my feelings by calling them a "flibbertigibbet."  Definition: A silly, scatterbrained, or garrulous person, a flighty or whimsical person.  It didn't sound mean at the time and I think she did it just to amuse me and diffuse the power I had given their remarks or actions.  She would also tell me not to be a flibbertigibbet.  Isn't that a great word.  It does and silly dance off your tongue when it is said.  I think in many ways I am actually a flibbertigibbet, but then, that is part of the charm!

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Fascination 4"x4" oil

Sorry that this photo is blurry.  I will have to re-shoot it tomorrow.  The series of abstracts I have been working on start with a shape and move into more shapes and colors which suggest a mood or feeling or action which then inspires the title.  I started with a big piece of gessoed and toned canvas and had my 3 year old granddaughter help me paint big brush marks on it.  Then, after it dried, I cut the canvas into 4"x4" squares and worked each one as I was inspired by the remaining marks of the original.  This was a "fascinating" process for me and really loosened me up and helped me see where I would like to go with abstracts.  I may take all of this series and frame them together as a mosaic.  I will post it if I decide to do this.

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Gone With the Wind 4"x4" oil

30 Paintings 30 Days Challenge:  Abstracts and Large Paintings (something different) day 14
DPW Challenge:  Paint Movement
It is interesting how to create the impression of movement with the brush.  A photo captures it either in implying an object in a position of movement, like a runner or a galloping horse, or by a blurred image.  I get lots of blurred images when I shoot photos because I do lots of low light shots and forget to reset my camera!  It is similar  with painting except it really is about how to move the brush and paint around.  When painting realistic images it is easy to forget that you (I) am not painting a real thing, rather an impression in two dimensions of something.  It is all abstract at its core.  When painting an abstract, and wanting a particular feeling to be portrayed, it is easy to just focus on the color choices and the way the brush moves.  The intention of this one was to create movement.  It reminds me of a seed pod flying through the air, but could imply (as the book "Gone With the Wind" does) that it is more about ideas of our lives and world that are ethereal, here today gone tomorrow.

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Why Oh Why acrylic and oil 4"x4"

Day 13 in the 30 in 30 Days Challenge  I have chosen to do abstracts for my challenge, and large paintings.
My grandkids have each gone through that 2 year old phase of asking constantly "why?"   In response I made up a song about a bird that flies into the sky and cries "Why Oh Why"....when I sing it I get giggles instead of the whining "why."  Someday I may illustrate it and make a little book...for now, this painting carries the spirit of that song. $45 $10 ship

Come Dance With Me 4"x4" oil

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Born On A Blue Day 4"x4" acrylic

"Born On a Blue Day" is a title of a very interesting book by Daniel Tammet.  He shares his insights growing up as an autistic savant.  When I painted this, I thought about that book and how he saw numbers as colors.  I don't see things like that, but I believe we all have a unique way of looking at the world.  Artists generally express and share their particular way of seeing through their art. It is a combination of the eye and the hand.  The way I handle the brush is one voice and the colors and shapes I am drawn to, is another voice.  I better stop before I reveal how weird I really am!

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It's Just Complicated 4"x4" acrylic

I love the earthy colors of this one and how there are little bits of pieces poking out of the layers.  I have been thinking about relationships lately and what makes them work and well....It's Just Complicated! $45 $10 ship

River of Life acrylic 4"x4"

I painted this one with heavily saturated colors and thin layers, dragging an almost dry brush over the canvas.  When I looked at the thumbnail photo of it, it looked like a river in a desert and I thought of archeology and buried evidence of previous life....so the title "River of Life" came to me.  When I googled it, I found out it is a gospel hymnal and popular name for Christian organizations, camps, etc. That interpretation was not my initial intention, but I like it so it stuck!

$45 $10 ship

A Tough Break 4"x4" oil

I am really enjoying painting these abstracts.  When I looked at this to photograph it, the title, "A Tough Break" popped into my head so I went with it.
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Girls Just Want to Have Fun 22"x28" oil

This is larger than I have done for quite a while.  I found a little line sketch that was just an idea which I drew a few years ago and decided to turn it into a painting which is from my imagination.  I painted the background with a palette knife in shades of light blue but decided it was too distracting from the main idea and so went over it with a teal-like blue using the palette knife.  I wanted the bodies to be fluid and loose with just a gesture to the faces.  It was fun and reminded me of playing with my sister.

Birth of an Idea 4"x4" oil

Doing these abstract pieces helps me discover what shapes and colors are most appealing to me.  When my husband and I bought our first house in VT we later talked about what really appealed to us about the house.  I said the huge window in the kitchen that looked out on our (to be) magical garden.  He said he loved the perfectly square bushes in the front.  As soon as we moved in I bonsai-ed the bushes, not knowing how much those geometric edges meant to him.  He is an engineer (nough said).

$45 $10 ship

Red, White and Blue 4"x4" oil

This is a similar view out my studio (to the one I painted a few days ago) except the size is MUCH smaller, and the season was pre-snow.  I love the 3 main colors with the very light birch verticals and the very dark crab apple diagonals.  Day 4.

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Change of Heart 4"x4" oil

The challenge I am participating in has encouraged us to do things we don't normally do.  Since I didn't choose a theme or style, I decided to just play around with different things, which is the reason I did this abstract.  It was fun!  I think I will do more!  I sort of have an idea of a shape or feeling that appeals to me and then I play with it.  I am not even sure if I really "like" it, but it was fun to do.

$45 $10 ship