Figuratively Speaking - Red Barn

8"x8" oil $160

Aren't we lucky that we get to do revisions?  It takes a lot of failure to get to success but the good news is that it just takes some tweaking to get it right.  I am not sure what I am talking about, but it does apply to painting.  I have been studying Vermeer and his method of layering glazes to get it just right...not everywhere, but where it counts, has inspired me.  I am usually in a hurry but I realize I need to slow down and pay attention to what details are needed to make it glow or sing or just be sweeter.  I think it applies to a lot of other things though. Like cooking for instance.  My friend Heather is a talented chef.  I can make a decent, and healthy meal, but she pays attention to every detail in layering and flavors and textures and presentation.  Going to a dinner party at her house is a special treat.  It applies to exercise.  Theresa is a beautiful woman who hikes and does Tai Chi and swims and does yoga, but she doesn't stay in shape for the sake of exercise.  She does those things because they keep her way of thinking healthy.  Shinrin Yoku is Japanese for "forest bathing."  It is a method of breathing in the energy and peace of the woods.  Theresa does that moment to moment in her everyday life.  It applies to relationships as well.  I was going to try and stretch this analogy a little further, but I guess I really don't know what I am talking about.  I need to give this one a little more time and let the literary glazes slowly build up.  Go Figure!

Figuratively Speaking- Grandma's View

5"x5" watercolor and ink on 400# paper

Yesterday was my son's birthday and today I am staying at his house and watching my granddaughters while he attends a conference.  It is so cool to get to do that.  We live 2 hours from each other so we get to be together fairly often.  He is a very busy man.  Who would have guessed t42 years ago, that he would become a business person and I would be sitting on his porch painting a little watercolor of the village store across the street, while I wait for the school bus.  Speaking of school buses, we lived in a school bus when he was little, with his father, sister and brother.  Talk about tiny house living!  I have to say I loved it while it lasted.  Actually his sister was born in a school bus, but that is another story.  Adam was born in Bethel, MO, in a big old house that had been sort of subdivided into 3 living spaces that we shared with 2 other friends.  One was a potter and the other a weaver.  Adam was born at home early in the morning after a ridiculously short labor while his father was going to pick up the midwife.  Yes, it is true, I was alone, but not for long.  Everything turned out fine, although numerous people have chastised my foolishness, I wouldn't have made it to the hospital anyway.  We could have a long discussion about this, but I don't think it would accomplish anything, so I just hold my tongue and keep smiling.   Sometimes I dream of traveling, visiting exotic places, meeting wonderful artists and others, then I think back and remember all the unusual adventures I have had and how wonderful life is now and I feel content.  Not bad....Go Figure!

Guest House

8"x8" original oil

This painting was both a challenge and was freeing for me.  I somehow deleted the photo I had taken of this guest house at my friend's home on the cape.  I had done a sketch which I based the painting on, but I hadn't made color notes.  The challenge was to get enough detail to create a mood and try to capture some of the details which originally enchanted me.  The freeing part was not being tied to a photo and getting to lmake it up as I went.  What I really like about this lovely cabin is the turquoise used for the trim and flower pots and the metal sun sculpture hanging by the door.

This is a better photo of yesterday's painting.  I am still thinking about making some changes to it.

Sarah's House

11"x14" oil

This was a commission I did a while back.  It was challenging because I was working from numerous photos that each only showed a part of the house and none directly from the front.  Also I created the autumn atmosphere because there were lovely deciduous trees around the property.  This house has been in their family for generations and they graciously sent me a very early rendition in a folkart style where all the trees had been cut down to build the house and barns.

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?

Bridge

original oil 11"x11" 

To find out about purchasing this click here.

The morning was chilly and I stood in the shade painting and shivering.  As soon as I finished I stood in the bright sunshine all afternoon trying to warm up. I didn't pay much attention to my location, other than facing directly into the sun, but this is what I saw: a lovely bridge with flower baskets over a beautiful river lined with rocks and boulders.  It was a good afternoon!

Windy Hill

7"x9" oil

I was inspired to do this because I cleaned out my studio and went through my photo references (hard copies) and found a photo of the house I lived in when I graduated from high school.  Daily Paintworks was having a challenge to paint your house, so I decided to put the photo to good use.  By that time in my life I had already lived in 8 houses in 6 cities in 4 states, as we were kind of an upscale gypsy family.  After high school it got worse and I became more of a real gypsy, but I have great memories from this place, and once I married a stable guy, I more or less settled down.  I love the shadows and feeling of moving air and hope I have captured that quality.

To purchase this painting go here.

To sign up for my newsletter go here
To "like" my fanpage go here
To go to my website click here
To see my DPW gallery go here 

PICO Lodge 5"x7" oil

This is where I spend a good number of mornings during the week.  It is where the "locals" ski and I love it.  March skiing has been so great!  The day of this photo the fog was so thick you couldn't really see the mountain behind the lodge, just the bottom of a few trails, which look like swirling smoke in the thick fog.

$100 and $10 shipping

Alle'e Joyau 8"x10" oil #372 architecture

Quebec City has eye candy around every corner.  Today was a linear day so I painted architecture.

Ragazza Sulle Scale 4"x4" oil 368 architecture

dailypaintworks.com challenge...I wanted to see what I could do with the given photo in a 4"x4" format  $60 + S&H
SOLD

Sunshine Balconey 6"x6" oil on linen board #356 architecture

This was a group project we did at the recent workshop I attended.  It was like musical easels and everyone had the opportunity to paint on each others' paintings.  It was timed too.  I wasn't a very good sport and had trouble getting into the spirit of the activity.  When all was said and done, I came back to my easel, wiped off the work and redid it with some variation.  It looks like a confetti garden!