Figuratively Speaking - Forever Friends

8"x10" oil

Shelburne Farms is the setting for this scene.  The balustrade is in the gardens overlooking Lake Champlain and the Adirondack Mountains in NY state.  These women are some of the important women in my life.  I feel very blessed to have had so many wonderful females in my life, starting with my mother who was humble, sweet, nurturing, supportive and offered unconditional love.  She taught me to see the world in a joyful way and tried to teach me to not be swayed by silly things, opinions or people.  She was an artist and one of my dreams came true when she and I attended a Dreama Tolle Perry painting workshop together.  I miss her funny way of saying things, her passion for her family and her wonderful giggle.  She wasn't perfect, like the rest of us, but her faults have faded in my mind because her positive qualities overshadowed them.  I remember as a 12 year old hearing her story about her mother's death when she was 12 and thinking I could not go on without my mom.  It helped me start to see her amazing strength.  She couldn't read and would have been diagnosed with dyslexia if they had known what it was back then, and she was left-handed, another deficit.  She was one of 13 siblings and the school decided she was unteachable and was needed more at home rather than get an education.  She was ashamed about this, but I think it just goes to show what a resourceful woman she was.  She went to art school for a short time and joined the Navy as a bookkeeper because she was a wiz with numbers.  She was a talented mom to five kids and the true definition of great homemaker.  She felt insecure about her lack of education, but taught herself to read and educated herself and she and my dad both valued their children getting an advanced education.  I didn't know, until I was an adult, that my mom had been faking her way life because she couldn't read.  So many things made sense then, like: not ever reading to us when we were little, spending nights up reading when we were teens, and the way she wrote notes in beautiful penmanship but would always leave out words.  Vocabulary was important to my parents. My dad taught me the word "facetious,"  and he was a good example of that.  My mom taught me to use "flibbertigibbet," of which she was not at all!  Go Figure!

Figuratively Speaking - New Consumers

10"x10" oil

Some of my concerns have been sneaking into my paintings lately.  I try not to be overly political or socially opinionated, but we all have issues that matter to us.  I love painting children, especially in poses that are natural and not posed.  These three Tweeners are conversing about something important in front of a fashion art poster.  I have 3 granddaughters so I am paying attention to the influences our culture has on them.  I heard the phrase "Pester Power" in terms referring to children influencing the buying habits of their parents.  I don't think this is new, it just seems more excessive and high dollar.  I remember pestering my mom to buy me the shoes I wanted.  There were tears involved.  I lost.  I got sturdy tie up shoes instead.  "No," was common in my parents' vocabulary. I am concerned about how advertising is helping to define how the young girls see themselves and forming a picture for them of what it means to be a girl.  On the other hand, I love to see my girls dressed in their lovely pink dresses as they explore the world and discover its magic and mysteries...like catching salamanders!  I may have to paint this scene!  Go Figure

Figuratively Speaking - The Good and the Not So GoodThe

The Good and Not So Good     11"x14" acrylic Price $200

The heater of the pool at the sports club has been broken for a few days so the water temperature is dropping rapidly.  There were only a handful of us hearty souls willing to take the plunge today.  Everyone else thought we were crazy.  Once you move fast enough and your body heats up, it becomes tolerable and dreaming about taking a hot shower and sitting in the sauna kept us motivated.  The other issue at the club is that they are replacing the women's showers, so there is no shower to take and since the sauna is next to the showers, it also is closed.  That's the way life goes.  Sometimes you just wake up and get a bucket of lemons.  There are a lot of things to be grateful for in this story, like being able to swim, having a pool to go to, etc, etc, but it is not November (the Thankful month) it is December (the Giving month) so I won't wax on about gratitude.  So, on to the gifting part.  That came after I dried off, got dressed and walked outside where the snow was falling sideways which means the wind was blowing.  However, after that invigorating swim, it felt great!  My body was completely adjusted to dealing with the cold and I felt more energized than I have for a long time!  So, that is the lemonade part.

This is life...the good and not so good.  We keep moving along and try to grab a hold of the wonderful moments and get through the tough ones.  I paint happy paintings because, well they are easy to look at and they make me feel good. 

What kind of paintings are your favorites?

Connecting

8"x10" oil  Price $200

Figuratively Speaking - Art as Communication
I saw a quote today in a post by Brain Pickings  (an online newsletter that is the source of almost all my reading material) that so caught my attention, I decided to write my own blog post around the idea.  Even though this was written about words, I think it totally applies to paintings which are just chemical colors on something flat, at the basic level, but come to life and create a magic at the hand of an artist.  Ursula K. Le Guin put it best in contemplating the magic of real human communication: “Words are events, they do things, change things. They transform both speaker and hearer; they feed energy back and forth and amplify it. They feed understanding or emotion back and forth and amplify it.”  
A good painting does the same thing.  It can be any style, any subject matter, but when someone is moved by it, it becomes a conversation.  
I work at an artists' guild gallery a few days every month and I  am always conscience that each person who comes in is seeking to interact with something.  What is amazing, is that with all the diversity of types of objects and art, there is a different person to appreciate each and every piece.  Frequently someone will fall in love with something that doesn't move me at all.  I really like that because it reminds me that I am only one little (well, not so little) person with one little opinion. Even though there are others who would agree with that opinion, it really doesn't make it more valid or right.  That is always a good lesson!

Little Elf and the Magic Egg

8"x10" oil $200

Everything seems topsy turvy.  I am in the process of redefining myself as an artist.  There are a lot of invisible things happening that are filed under "the learning curve" folder.  In a short while I will be revamping my blog, my website and all those social media sites I am afraid to go to.  I have been wanting to take my painting in slightly a different direction, and this one kind of reflects that.  Hopefully I will be able to unveil the new direction of my art business as well.  So, figuratively speaking, I am putting on a new dress and dancing to a new drummer!  What is new in your life?

Duet

8"x10" oil

This painting was inspired by a photo taken by Carol Ricker who is a pianist and teacher. These little girls were playing a duet.  The original photo was a close-up of their backs and I loved the subject matter, so I added the missing details of the piano with flowers and their stool and legs.  This is why I say that I use photo references as inspiration or a jumping off place.  It is a bit like a movie about some specialist and only experts in that particular field would be able to tell the fictional parts of the character.  Sometimes it is more convincing than at other times.  For instance, I question the validity of Matt Damon's character in the Martian when he duct taped his suit and tent together on Mars to keep the integrity of air pressure.  Duct tape is amazing stuff...but...really?

Tumbling

8"x10" oil

8"x10" oil

This is painted from a photo taken by my friend at Shelburne Farms in Shelburne, VT, on Lake Champlain, looking at the Adirondack mountains in NY.  It is a must visit place if you are ever in the Green Mountain State.  The bottom photo shows my first stage and the photo reference on the left.  I had fun painting this and it brought back lovely memories.

Sumac Tryptic

7"x12" oil   starting bid $20

I am on grandma duty this week so I am posting paintings that I am putting on auction.

Pear Pair16"x20" oil

16"x 20" oil

This was so much fun to paint.  It is larger than I have been doing for a while and it is on canvas which isn't my surface of choice.  I like to paint on slick hard panels with lots of smooth layers of gesso. So, I felt like I had nothing to lose with this and just cut loose with a wide brush and colors that spoke to me at the moment.  I make a lot of mistakes along my creative journey so it is nice to have something turn out that makes me happy and was a joy to paint.

It's a Joke

10"x10" oil

Aggressively Monet   8"x10" oil

A Private Moment 12"x12" oil

These are three paintings I am entering into The Carving Studio and Sculpture Center members show.

Gerbera Daisy

12"x12" oil

This gerbera daisy was a gift for my recuperation.  I have a great indoor spot for it and it just keeps on producing lovely blooms.  I have been really struggling physically after my surgery and I finally feel like I am starting to gain strength.  This painting reflects the joy I am feeling about that possibility.  I feel so grateful to be able to paint, and to have the ability to see, feel, smell, breathe and soon, walk.  It is so easy to take those things for granted.  The greens in this image appear much more intense and uniform than they are in the painting, and the background is a variety of darks (not just black).

Sumac Triptyque

7"x12" original oil painting

I love Sumac! I love its bony structure that casts beautiful shadows, its horn-like berries sticking up on top, and its brilliant red in the autumn!  Today is a typical early November day in Vermont, meaning it is cold, rainy and very gray.  This explains why this photo looks so dark.  I shoot my images outside and the weather affects the result.  I should have tweaked it in editing before posting it.

Wash Day

8"x10" oil

I love how these sheets have this spectacular view!

To purchase this painting go here.

Church

original oil 8"x10"

IIt was such a lovely day when I painted this.  The sun was bright and the sky blue and it was just a tad bit cool.  The white against the blue and green and the plum colored maple out front all charmed me!

To find out more about this or purchase it click here.

11"x11" oil

This is a view to wake up to!

To purchase this painting go here.

Play By the Wall

8"x10" oil

I think I am finally over the flu, although there are symptoms that appear to be very fond of me and want to stick around for a while.  But, I went out today!  I am itching to start new projects and paint up a storm, so I think all systems are 'Go!"  The paintings I am posting this week are ones I did in Sept., plein air.  I really hit the darks hard in these.  I think that is because I was painting in bright light, as opposed to painting in artificial light inside.  Since I am a neophyte at this process, I think my methods should improve with time.  I don't think I will be like Eric Tobin or Peter Huntoon though, who paint outside all winter long.  I was drawn to the bright light on the field behind the wall, and the setting which suggests children playing.

To find out more about this painting, and purchasing information click here.

The Sunset

8"x8" acrylic

Sometimes something comes into your life at exactly the perfect moment and you just know it was meant to be.  I saw the photo this painting is based on quite a while ago.  It was taken by my high school chum and neighbor, Bonnie Calvert Narvid who now lives on a boat!  Today it was the perfect painting for me to do.  It has much more meaning to me.  Painting can truly be therapeutic!  Whenever I am painting from a photo I have to pick and choose what I will include, what I want to suggest, what I need to add that isn't there in the photo. The other challenge with a photo like this is that, the reality behind the photo is so spectacular it is hard to come close to the beauty with a panel, and some wet chemicals we call paint.  There is the feeling of the air, the smells, the sounds and the emotions they invoke.  That is what I tried to convey.  I hope I came close.  Thank you Bonnie.

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A View Out the Window

8"x8" acrylic

I did this for a DPW challenge to paint a view outside of a window and include the window.  I had taken this photo at the Met, so it fit the bill. I definitely think I will do this in oil.

Summer Fun

8"x8" acrylic

Great story, fun composition, wrong season, but who cares?

To purchase this painting go here.

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To see my DPW gallery go here