Top Hat and His Tomato

6"x6"  oil

OK the title probably isn't very P.C. but I couldn't help myself.  Forgive me.

Bottles and Balls

6"x6" oil

3 Pears of Wishes For All that You Want

8"x10"  oil 

 "3 Pears of Wishes For All that You Want"
I named it after lyrics in a Dwight Yoakum song.

Good Health

6"x6" oil

Roses are given meanings by their colors.  Yellow roses stand for friendship and good health.  I am trying to stack the cards on the side of good health so I decided to add a yellow rose to my bouquet.

Falling Lemons

8"x10" oil

You know that phrase about "when life gives you lemons make lemonade"?  Well I have been given lemons this year so this painting is about lemons falling.  When my lemon situation corrects itself I will paint a glass of lemonade!

Little Cabin In the Woods

8"x12"  oil

Three Barns and a View

6"x6" oil

I tried this for a 3 color challenge for Daily Paintworks.  I used blue, yellow and red.  It really was a challenge for me and I so wanted to throw in some other colors or even more shades of the three I chose.  You could also use white and black and I did use white but not black.  I like it better after coming back to it.  There is a lot of texture.  It is a grouping of barns near where I live  A couple of years ago they painted the traditional red barn a deep yellow.  Actually it is more of an ochre color but I chose cad. yellow light, so it is a brighter tone than the real barn.  I love that you can make up your own world when painting and sincee we can't compete with the real one, we might as well!

The Visitor

6"x6" oil 

In the summer I frequently have visitors that are not of the human species because mu studio has garage doors I open.  Hummingbirds have made numerous visits and chipmunks seems to love my work as well!

Facing the Stage

7"x7" oil

Nature plays out her drama in vivid colors in this early fall foliage pageant.  I was going to call it "Dressed In Red" but really this is one of those perfectly staged scenes put together by naturally occurring elements plus a few chairs!

Washed Up

8"x10" oil 

First some complaining...I had a really hard time getting good photos today as everything has a glare.  I am re-doing, fixing up, or repainting some things I have previously done.  Although I don't necessarily solve all the problems, I am learning a ton from the exercise and am much happier with the results.  Some artists just stop when it isn't working and start a new painting, but I tend to prefer to work on it until I apply enough of what I know to make it work out satisfactorily, at least to my current standards.  Hopefully the bar will go up in my expectations over time.  This is from one of our gorgeous lakes in a state park and now I don't think it is all washed up! 

Mia Loves Maizie

This is a watercolor sketch for an illustration for a children's book.

My art group went to Peter Huntoon's studio today for a demo.  It was so much fun to see how he loosely begins his work and turns a scene which may not be particularly exciting into an athletic and stunning work of art.  Peter has recently added oil painting to his repertoire of watermedia and he approaches it very similarly as he would a watercolor painting, with lots of drips and splashes and interesting tools.  He is one of the quintessential Vermont painters.

Autumn Crossroads

7"x7" oil

This was a challenge for our art group for this month.  We are having a meeting later this month and will share our results.  It is from the center of the crossroads in Chittendon, VT.  Like so many Vermont towns, it is a lovely community made up of crossroads and various  roads winding through the mountains.  One of the coolest PK-8 community schools is located here.  It is an old school built in 1933 that has been added to in an architecturally consistent way, maintaining its charm.  It has a fabulous playground that has a premier view of the surrounding mountains.  I think the kids must adore playing in this environment. 

Lost and Found

11"x11"  oil 

I called this one "Lost and Found" because it is another resurrected painting from my box of failures.  I do think that failures or wipe-outs are good educational tools but it is also fun when I can salvage them.  I originally painted this plein air but it didn't have any punch which was so disappointing because it was such a lovely place to paint on a cool, but sunny day.  This has a nice play of tight and loose which is nice.  I am not very good at painting architectural features accurately and also with a fresh looseness mainly because I can't draw a straight line.  Have you ever heard that phrase?

Resurrection

8"x10" oil

I decided I needed to thin out my loser box.  That is where I put paintings that just aren't right and make me uncomfortable.  Using a razor blade I scraped off edges of the brushwork that showed.  I did this instead of sanding to reduce dust, and breathing toxic chemicals.  Then I painted a solid color over them.  A few of the paintings I decided had good enough starts to try and resurrect them, and this was one. Originally I painted it plein air (outside on the spot) but I finished it in the studio letting the painting tell me what to do, instead of looking at a reference photo.  I am pretty happy actually with the results.  It is a small church in a beautiful and picturesque town in southern Vermont. It is for sale by auction on Daily Paintworks.  Click to bid on the button under the image.

Panorama

4"x10" oil

After not painting for days, I did a complete wipe-out painting. It may also have had to do with the fact that I have been doing only watercolors for the last 5 weeks. So I had to get back on the horse and I did this little "Panorama" with limited brushwork, to warm up, and I really liked the muted foreground. Not something I would normally do.

Remembered Landscape #4 Going Over the Pass

                                                                         4"x6" oil
Almost everyday I drive these mountains and am filled with their beauty, but I am also busy driving, so, although simplified, this is the impression on a cloudy day of the autumn colors changing the landscape. But beyond the heavy layer of clouds is a blue sky.

Remembered Landscape #3- The Creek

6"x4" oil

I am just getting over the flu so haven't painted for a week.
This was harder to do because there were several days between actually seeing it and then painting it from memory and it was kind of complicated. I think the key is to keep it loose and not too detailed. I may have to rethink this one.

Remembered Landscape #1 The Meadow

4"x6" oil  Price $45

 I have several projects going at once right now (not my favorite way to work) but I am happy that I am inspired and able to do this.  This project is to do small oil paintings of remembered landscapes.  I drive to the gym every morning and am so fortunate to have so many beautiful things to look at along the way.  I study what I see and then when I have time, I recall what I saw and paint it.  I think it is a wonderful way to train myself to quickly record an idea made of shapes and color and then when I think about it later, the key features are what comes out.  I started very simply for this 1st one.  They will get more complicated as I go, I think, although that is not my intention.

Butterfly Zentangle

5"x10" watercolor and ink

I have been wanting to try zentangle so here it is. I know I didn't follow "the rules" but then, I never do. It was fun, but very time consuming. It is meditative, but I think most of creating art can be that way. Not always, but frequently.

Laundry Day

This was just for fun. I made it for an online card about my high school reunion which is coming up.  Below is the card.  It is just kind of silly, but I am still counting it toward my 30 paintings in 30 days.