6"x6" oil  Oh Irene!  SOLD

This is from the hurricane Irene which devastated Vermont a few years ago.  It was pouring down rain and the river was a raging mass of mud, rocks, logs and other debris from bridges and structures it had swept away.  This is not far from where I live.  The barn has been converted into a home.  The river-side balcony is on the second floor and the water was washing over it. Scary...exciting and sad all at once.

River Tubing

6"x6" oil

I fussed and fumed over the painting I posted yesterday but I followed it up with this one which practically floated off my brush.  I really got my environment and my mind set up before I put a brush to the panel.  I had a plan and, well I guess it is clear, I love the result....clean, well drafted, and loose.

Morning Coffee

6"x6" oil

Lovely place to enjoy morning coffee with their pouch.  It is actually from Brookfield, VT, and they are watching those fishing from the floating bridge, which should be a subject for another day.  If I owned that dock however, I would put some Adirondack chairs on it.

Shade

6"x6" oil

Sitting on a bench in the shade, watching the river go by, this couple has found their piece of paradise today.

Escape

11"x11"  oil

I could paint reflections in water all day long!  I tried a different approach to the process of doing this painting by starting in the middle with the people in the boat and painting that first.  Then I just worked out from there.  I am always a bit intimidated by painting little itty bitty people as it is very easy to try and put too much detail in them which looks unreal and fussy.  The trick is to keep it loose but have enough detail to identify them and their postures.  I used a fairly limited palette in this piece which does seem to unify it.  Even though it is a rather silly scene (a giant swan pushing a boat) it also is very bucolic I think, which is the whole point.

Bridge

original oil 11"x11" 

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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!

30-30 Challenge #29

2"x4.5" acrylic SOLD

 

There is a pond behind my house that has a creek running into it and creek running out.  It provides the lovely sound of babbling water and frogs in the summer.  My grandkids love to fish there, although actually catching a fish is secondary to just standing or sitting on the dock with a fishing pole!  We get interesting visitors to that pond , including an occasional heron and ducks and geese.  I have seen a ermine and on rare occasion a moose or bear.  This photo reference was the product of wildlife photographer Dale Waack, whom I really appreciate giving me permission to study it and use it for this painting.

30-30 Challenge #23

This is painting #23 in the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge.  It is from a photo reference taken by wildlife photographer Dale Waack.  He generously gave me permission to use his photos to paint from for this challenge.  I chose to do 2"x4.5" miniatures.  On top of that, I am going to 2 workshops this month.  So, I put myself in the awkward position of painting in 3 different styles this month.  I am feeling like a total amateur....but I am learning!  It is good to be on a learning curve, but I think I just made a lot of confusion for myself this month.  Can you relate?

30-30 #22

2"x4.5" acrylic  sold

This is #22 of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge given by Leslie Saeta.  It inspired me I thnk because my grandkids were visiting for the weekend.  I find it almost impossible to paint when they are here (a very small sacrifice) but I was able to squeeze this one in.  Other than that, their grandfather and I got to do some outdoors fun things with them like fishing and hiking to the Clarenton Gorge.  We also picked mint, grapes and tomatoes and did some fine cooking.  The boys are 3 and 5 and their little sister, who is almost sitting up and almost crawling, is 6 months.

Saturated oil 9"x9" oil $175

The oranges look very uniform on my monitor when in fact they are more varied.  This was a Daily Paintworks challenge, but it was fun to do a landscape after so many portraits.

Round the Bend 8"x8" oil $150

This is what I am hoping to do this weekend!

Irene and the Old Mill #335 oil 6"x6"

I shot this photo during the hurricane..my camera was drenched after just a couple of shots and it was inside my raincoat! The river is not suppose to be banging up against the mill. The waves were as high as the second story balcony but fortunately, the mill held and so did the covered bridge near it. There was so much dirt being carried by the river that the air smelled like dirt and the normally crystal clear water was muddy brown. I am not sure it is powerful painting, but it was a powerful scene to witness. This river washed out some key roads in the area.

Skidmore Crew oil 5"x7" oil #290

This is my niece with her Skidmore Crew.
SOLD