Bleu Lavande

8"x10"It

This painting was done at the Beu Lavande farm near Magog, Quebec.  It was a beautiful day when I arrived and set up.  Then I realized I had forgotten some really important colors, so I did what I could.  As I was working on it, dark stormy clouds suddenly moved in over the distant hill.  Quickly I packed up and made it to the picnic shelter before I got soaked.  My painting however was quite altered by the rain which quickly turned into hail accompanied by fierce winds.  I made a new friend with a young woman playing the harp until the noise from the storm drowned out her music.  Finally I headed home in torrential rains, dodging downed branches on the road.  When I crossed back over the border the US customs agent was unnecessarily rude.  He accused me of lying when I told him I hadn't bought anything.  I guess he never encountered a plein air painter.  I showed him my painting supplies.  I get the importance of vigilance at border crossings, but being rude because you have the power is just not OK.  The Canadian crossing authorities had been very friendly, thorough, and told me to have a nice day.  Something is wrong with this scenario.

6"x10" oil

This was a fast painting as the sun was beating down.  It is a farm in the hills of north western Vermont.  The good thing about painting fast is that you focus on the main shapes.  Painting slowly has its advantages as well, but I am not as well versed in those.  Maybe I will be soon.  We'll see.

Uptown

3"x7" oil

 My husband describes Vermont as a state park with lots of villages.  This was painted plein air in Jericho.  I am dedicating the next couple of weeks to mostly posting plein air pieces with a few other ones thrown in.  The great thing about painting on the scene is that the painting, good or not so, is a reminder of the feeling of the day...the smells and sounds and how the air felt to the artist.  It is even more of a meditation than painting in the studio, which also is meditative....except of course for those frustrating moments.

Deep Breath

12"x12" oil 

I have been busy painting...really I have, but I just haven't been good about posting.  This is something I promise myself I am going to be better at.  The above painting was done plein air with Peter Huntoon, who is an inspiring plein air painter.  He is equally adept in water colors and oils, and amazingly, approaches them with the same technique.  I am so grateful that he was generous enough to spend an afternoon at this lovely spot painting with me.  He gave me 2 tips, which aren't new but so good to relearn them.  I seldom paint plein air but love doing it.  It does overwhelm me though at first.  I actually had to come back the next day to finish it up.  The water was so calm and the light was so lovely.  Peter reminded me to block in the big shapes like I am cutting them out of paper (great tip) and upon finishing it he said to soften the bright colors I had put in on the trees to the left of the island (which I did) because they drew too much attention from my focal point.  It really helps to have a second pair of eyes looking at your work.  I am heading to Cape Cod this week to practice plein air painting with two good buddies, so I am glad I had this warm-up.  Please check out Peter's work by clicking on his name.  He is the quintessential Vermont landscape painter.  He has an auction for a painting once a week on his website/blog.  I love how professional he is with everything he does.

Hay Bales

original plein air oil 11"x14"

My goal in painting this painting was to capture the light and the diagonals of the hills.  My painting friend Heather Shay, who has a really good eye for evaluating the things that work and don't work in a painting, didn't like the look or placement of the hay bales on the hill, but this was one instance where I didn't follow her advice (feel free to write a comment letting me know your take on this).  My eye was really drawn to those hay bales, and they do tell a bit of a story so I left their odd placement as my focal point.  Sometimes the rules need to be broken (at least this is my excuse).  The deep coolness of the copse of trees had a magical quality that I tried to capture.  When I started the painting there was a herd of cows in their shade, but they quickly got up and left and then returned as soon as I was ready to pack up.  I guess they were a bit self conscience.  I will try to capture cows on another trip.  Did I say, I love plein air painting?

To find out more about purchasing this painting click here.

Riches 5"x6" $90 still life

I just returned from a week on the beach.  After unpacking and dumping loads of sand, doing laundry and resting up from my exhausting fun, I finally got down to the job of painting.  I haven't painted for more than a week, and as many of my fellow artists will testify, there is usually an attack of trepidation associated with starting up again.  So I cleaned my palette, squeezed my paint tubes, sorted brushes, unpacked my art stuff, and downloaded a million photos.  Three hours later, I finally settled on this little still life.  I was deliberately trying to do something a bit simple and not beach related.  One of the many riches you discover when returning home from a summer vacation is an abundance of produce in the garden.  I consider my bed, my quiet country home, my personal routine, friends and family to also be daily riches in my life.

Osprey View 6"x6" oil landscape

Another view of Megansett Bay.  One of the interesting features were all the Osprey nests and chicks.  It was fun watching the adults coax the fledglings from the nest.

Karen's Garden 5"x7" oil floral $100

Karen's gardens are a masterpiece of colors and shapes with darting birds and flitting butterflies and this overlooks a magnificent view of the bay.   After days of staring at the boats and water my eyes were strained by the sun and I wanted to do something "quiet" in the shade, so I plucked these blooms from her garden.  I worked and worked on the color of the butterfly bush ...they were the most electric of magenta/purples I have ever seen, but I couldn't figure it out, although when I compared the actual flower to the painting it looked spot on.  This is one of those weird things you have to figure out...is it the value, the contrast, the background?  This may look like just another boring bouquet to someone else, but I recall how closely I studied them, how I felt in the shade and breeze, and all the challenges I tried to resolve, and I can't help but love it!

Megansett Bay oil 6"x6" $100

This is one of those paintings that I worked on keeping loose but felt like there was a lot of fiddling to get all the details in.  I may re-do this one in a larger format which might work better.  I was challenged to get the boats in.  There masts are much higher than you might think and there were a lot of them in the bay.  I loved doing the 2 American flags! SOLD

Dinner Bell 5"x7" oil $100 plein air landscape

This is from my trip to Cape Cod with my friend Heather who did watercolors that were so charming.  We stayed with her friend (and now mine) Karen.  Karen's house is up on the bluff over-looking Magansett Bay.  I spent a lot of time just staring at the view. She had a perfect shady porch with a constant gentle breeze to entice us out there and the view was mesmerizing.  The food was wonderful, the company delightful and the ambiance was charming.

Barber Farm oil about 6"x8" #318

Saturday morning I painted at the Barber Farm in Jericho, VT, with a group of wonderful plein air painters at a festival organized by the Emile Gruppe gallery. It was really hot and sunny and my umbrella shade failed, so I did this pretty quickly. It got some sawdust on it, which I will remove once it dries. The Barber Farm is so beautiful.
SOLD

Jericho Center about 5x10" oil #317

I went to a Plein Air Painting Festival this weekend. I did this one of an area off the town square in the afternoon; it was really sunny and hot, but I was in the shade and it was delightful. I took a long nap today.

Fast Lily oil 4"x4" 316

What can be done when you only have 15 minutes to paint?

Happy Hydrangeas oil 6"x6" 315

I love this painting and I loved doing it. I was intimidated by painting hydrangeas but they actually weren't as hard as roses or lilies. Maybe it was just a good day for me. I like the bright colors and the sharp edges surrounding the flowers and the abstract qualities. For some reason when I pull the photo in, it shows as code instead of the actual photo, so I can't resize it to be larger. If you understand this problem please let me know!
This painting is available at http://dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/5375