Skinny Dippin'

12"x18"  oil  Commission

What are you doing on this incredibly beautiful summer day?  I have been thinking about teaching a class on painting  kids/grandkids and this painting has reminded me how much fun it is to do that.  I like the combination of soft/hard edges, loose rendering and accurate drawing.  Actually my painter friend Heather Shay is the one who reminded me how much I love drawing.  She paints, but admits that it is the drawing part that really appeals to her.  Her painting style is very precise and is much like drawing itself.  Her subject matter is infused with color and fun material so it all comes together without looking too fussy.  I am including a painting of hers below.

by Heather Shay

The Climber

9"x9" oil

This is the second go on a previous acrylic painting, interpreting it in oil.  It is for a show in which I am participating in August.  I am showing 41 paintings of children.  The show is for my mentoring group of 9 artists who are diverse but all very accomplished.  It should be a great show.

Flying Acrobat

8"x8" oil

 I have been neglecting my blog and I feel bad about this.  It is my accountability partner...my assignment.  I don't like to not get my homework done because I think all my assignments are really good for me!  Can you tell I am the zealous teacher/student?  I have been painting but also teaching, and framing (and entertaining company, etc.).  Framing is a big deal.  If you pay more than you think you should for frames you probably aren't.  It is a lot of work to make a good frame and then finish it.  I have been working on 30+ frames.  This is my drying rack for them.  There is a lot of sanding and painting and repainting and then the whole process of putting them in the frame and finishing it off nicely.  It, like everything else in my life, is a learning process.  I am getting better.  My husband and framing partner, Carl, is a huge help!  He does the initial cutting and assembly.  I do the rest.  I am getting ready for a big show in August.  I am doing all kids for this show, but I included the flying acrobat above, because it is fun!

The Illusions of Youth

8"x8" oil

Honey, it is all an illusion...but enjoy when you can! I worked finishing my brick patio from 5am-8am, mostly moving sand.....they call it hard labor for a reason! And it feels good...really, but I look nothing like this little princess...and there was no one else to do my bidding! Now I can start my day...with a shower and then an hour of yoga.....ok...that even sounds crazy to me!

It's a Party

8"x8" oil

Another painting from my book that I have done in oil.  I hope your day is as magical as this little girl's is!

A Celebration Selfie!

It is my birthday...so I couldn't help myself...I had to post a celebration "selfie"

Downhill

0il 8"x8"

This painting  is an oil version from a series I did in acrylics.  The previous paintings were for a book I made for my grandchildren, the oil paintings are for a show my art group is exhibiting in August.  I am excited about this because my paintings will probably appeal to kids and I am going to have some activities to go along with it.  We don't have many shows that really draw kids in, so I am hopeful.

Morning Hike

oil 9"x9"

My family had a reunion in Colorado recently.  We build in lots of time to do what we want, so groups of us head out to hike, rock climb, shop or visit museums or music venues.  One morning we went hiking with one of my sisters and her husband.  It was a beautiful, cool day in Estes Park.  I am showing my initial sketch below and how I finished it above.  I love the bands of color and the structural relationships.

sketch

More Fun

watercolor  each 4"x4"

Fun Flowers

These are not representative of my usual work, but they are an exploration of creative fun.  I did them as an experiment in goofing around with my watercolors.  I am also using them to teach a class that encourages drawing and using materials to express yourself creatively.  I want to build in more time to just mess around as I think I have compartmentalized much of my work time.  On the other end of the spectrum I am also thinking about doing some really big paintings.  I have to say, these were a lot of fun and I am going to do more of this!

It Goes With Anything

6"x8" oil

We're having spaghetti for dinner....what are you having?
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Pear Trio

This is a repeat with a different color background.  I still have a lot to learn about choosing colors.  Changing background colors is one way of doing that.

Waiting For the Rest

5"x7" oil

I decided to dramatize the background by painting in a complimentary color.  I really like to paint with a areal view.  I like how it catches the light and is a different perspective than a more classically approached still life.

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Cowgirl On a Mission

9"x12" oil

My niece's daughter, encouraged by my renegade nephew, turned into a cowgirl with attitude the minute she put on a holster and hat.  I was lucky enough to capture a photo as she strutted out to rob a train.

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Folding Laundry

10"x10' oil

I am including my drawing and first steps in painting.  This is from a photo I received after my mom passed.  It is of me and my daughter Ruthann.

It's a Joke

10"x10" oil

  A painting of a woman at the opera by Mary Cassatt is featured in this painting.  There is a man with opera glasses also looking at her and she seems to be looking at the young woman who are checking out a muted Monet.  Monet was a contemporary impressionist to Mary Cassatt, so it is believable that she would be checking out the competition!

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A Private Moment

There are a lot of paintings titled "Woman at Her Bath" but many less, "Man at His Bath" as this rendition of Gustave Caillebotte's painting is.  This was the first nude impressionistic painting shown at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.  I loved how this couple was fascinated by this painting but their posture implied they were timid about peeking in on this private scene.  I have been absent from daily painting because of a bunch of things, but am hoping to get back into the swing of it now.

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First Time

10"x12"  oil

My good friend from high school, Karen Thomas, graciously gave me permission to paint from  a photo of her grandkids.  I lived down the street from Karen for a few years when we were younger and we remained friends throughout high school.  Karen has one of those lovely stories about marrying her high school sweetheart and they have raised a lovely family together.  I titled this "First Time" because it is the first time I have ever drawn or painted a deer and of course because it tells the story for the kids getting to feed the deer.  The photo captured that magic moment and I hope my painting brings it to life.

Why We Live Here

8"x10" oil

I am selling this painting with all proceeds going to help a young man (former elementary student of mine) finance a trip to Haiti to help build an orphanage.  It is $225 plus $10 shipping and I am selling it framed.  The painting was inspired by a painting I saw of Italy, but I decided to do my home state of Vermont with Camel's Hump in the background, a colonial style house, Rosa Rugosa in the foreground and field of rape seed which is the source of canola oil and is being pressed in New Hampshire and sold in Farmer's Markets.  Trials on growing rapeseed in Vermont have been studied by the University of Vermont, but sunflower growing seems to have taken hold throughout the state.  Both sunflowers and rapeseed make for a very picturesque landscape! Email me if you are interested in purchasing this painting which will aid Josh on his humanitarian adventure.

6"x6" oil

He's a sweetie for sure!

Spirit

6"x6" oil  SOLD

I was trying to capture her spirit and I think I accomplished it!

Two Ladies on a Couch

10"x10" oil

This came out very blue.  Sometimes I go through painting a bunch of very warm, saturated paintings and then I do a bunch of cooler and more neutral pieces.  One thing I wanted to accomplish with this was to get a sense of the rich wallpaper and how the light hit it differently.  I wanted that effect without spending a lot of time painting in specific patterns.  Maybe if I was doing this very large, then that would be more important, but I didn't want it to distract from the John Singer Sergeant painting or the the ladies that are looking at it.  There are two large Chinese vases in the painting and also two that are standing on either side of the painting at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.  I loved the style of the two ladies sitting and looking at the painting.  I think this would be a fun painting to do in a larger size in warm colors.  I really enjoyed doing this and I love his work.  I also took a lot of photos of hands he paints.  I love the way they look so elegant with minimalist strokes.

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Aggressively Monet

8"x10" oil

When I walk into a gallery of Monet paintings it is like meditation, calming, pastel, pleasant with brilliant reflections.  This couple offered such a striking contrast.  Even though she was a small, petite woman, her posture and what it does to her coat gives her an almost batman like aggression.  There is no one who does these types of paintings better than Karin Jurick, but I keep trying my hand at them because it so appeals to me.

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Time to Sit

6"x8" oil

I have a stack of paintings that I just never have been satisfied with and I pulled this one today and reworked it so now I do like it!  It is very satisfying for me to work on a previous painting and end up happy with it.  Some paintings...well there is no hope for them, but sometimes I am close to getting it right and it just takes looking at it for a while to figure out what is wrong and then being at the right place to correct it or improve it.  I had a meeting with my art group today so there wasn't much time for painting.  I feel like I used the little time I had in a productive way.  All is good! 

Still In Love

9"x12" oil

True love lasts a lifetime...even if you have a bunch of kids.  This scene is from Ireland.  It is a commission which I was thrilled to do.  My painting group is meeting tomorrow and I think I will have them critique it for me, but I am pretty happy with the results.  Let me know if you see something I don't.
ENTER MY PAINTING GIVE AWAY   directions here.

Here are the clues:  1) It is a BBC production
                                2)  It is a period piece
                                3)  It is a popular TV series
                                4) These characters were only featured in the first two series
Today's clues           5) It is set during WWII
                                 6) The female character in the painting is Bea.
A winner will be chosen on Friday.

In Progress

This is a section of a commission I am working on.  I can't show the whole painting so I just chose this part and only in the "sketch" phase.  I did that because I love this part where I don't focus too much on details or exact colors, but just lay down a thin layer of very loose  brush work.  It helps me to see the composition and general color scheme, and what to do with the focus.  The focus of this painting is figurative (people) so I didn't show that part.  I am excited to see where this goes!
ENTER MY PAINTING GIVE AWAY   directions here.

Here are the clues:  1) It is a BBC production
                                2)  It is a period piece
                                3)  It is a popular TV series
                                4) These characters were only featured in the first two series
A winner will be chosen on Friday.

Give Away

8"x8" oil

I am giving away this painting.  I really like it because it has all those ingredients that make it a lovely story with true romance!  A picnic in a meadow...a young couple....a kiss.....a baby in daddy's arms...what more can you ask for?  I got the idea from watching a production on Netflix.  It is a period piece with episodes and I am sure it is on TV as well although I don't have TV so I can't say for sure.  It is a popular show.  To win this painting, guess the name of the series.  If I get more than one correct guess, I will randomly choose a winner.  I have been thinking about doing this painting for a while and am so glad I finally got around to doing it.  I did it with a very limited palette (green, red, yellow, blue and white and kept it very loose so that I didn't overwork it.  You can register your guess by making a comment here, or on my facebook page. The value of this painting unframed is $180.  I will choose a winner on Friday.

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A Second Look

8"x10" oil

I feel like I have been away for years when in fact, it has been 5 1/2 weeks.  My daughter had a beautiful baby girl, Juniper (10lbs. 4 oz. because I know you want to know) and I have been helping them out.  I returned home ready to reclaim my other life.  So I am doing art things, but I found this painting I did before I left and never posted because I wasn't happy with it.  It was an experiment, and now that I have given it some space, it suddenly looks better to me.  There is a lesson in that.  I was taking care of my two preschool grandsons while I was away, and although we did many creative projects every day, I did no painting myself.  This made me really look at my priorities and see that for me, being an artist can't be my one and only focus.  I need times to do the other things, like be a good grandma and mom.  I came to peace with that.  Now I have to rebuild my blog friends who have given up on me over the last month and a half.  So if you see this post, and read it, please make a comment so I know I still have an audience!  And, I do appreciate you so much!

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Orange and Grapes

10" x8" oil

No Baby yet!

I am at my daughter's and we are on baby watch.  After several false starts that looked promising, we are trying to be patient.  Thank goodness that my two grandsons offer excellent distraction!

Lighthouse

There are so many things I don't know how to do with my iPad that I wished I had figured out before I was in situation where it is my only tool for posting.  I guess I will have the opportunity to learn if I can find the time.  I am at my daughter's.  She is due to have a baby and I am offering support both in the delivery and in taking care of her adorable boys. I am not finding time to seriously paint, but am getting to do creative things with a three and five year old each day.  Today we painted watercolor for about two hours.  It was a blast and reminded me how much fun it is to just play with paint and try out new things.  Unfortunately I haven't figured how to post photos from my iPad library.  I am sure it is possible but can't find that option!

Chocolate Covered Waffles

I have no idea how these two paintings animated themselves...but it is very cool!

Block Village

Early Morning Walk

8"x10" oil

20 minute painting....just to get the gist....

Babushka Baby

8"x8" oil

One of the reasons I write a blog is to catalog my work and the thoughts involved in painting it.  This way I record something about my frame of mind as well as the process of discovery and growth that I am experiencing on the journey.  Of course I also do it to expose an audience to my work and hopefully create an interest for buyers and those who want to have a commission done. I read other artists blogs to get insight into how they work and because I am so amazed at how well so many people tell their story through color and brushwork.  This little one gave me fits!  I spent so much time on this painting which really looks straight forward an d simple.  I tried painting it loose and I tried painting it detailed.  So what did I learn? (that is what Jo MacKenzie always asks in her blog).  Once again I am reminded that the tools you use make a big difference.  The texture and quality of the panel, the consistency and color of the paint, and the brushes and other tools all have a big impact on how it will turn out.

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The View

8"x8" oil

I did this painting in acrylic but was not happy with the results so I changed some things and re-did it in oil.  I am really disappointed in how the photo looks because the colors are all wrong, but this was after multiple attempts so I am going with it, and after the snow storm which is burying us right now, I am going to change up my indoor set up and come up with a better way to take photos!  So, use your imagination with this one!
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Still Life 9

8"x8" oil

I think I am about done with this series.  I may do a couple more, but I am thinking about my next project.  I am currently working on these, a series of portraits of kids and families, and I have been thinking about a series of abstract landscapes I want to do.  Today I was listening to a classical radio station and they were featuring a violinist and quoting this musician about how he came to the understanding that thinking about his performances in terms of being the best or not good enough limited his ability to fully experience his art form.  He realized they were never as good as they could be or as bad as he thought they were so he quit designing his programs around these ideas and just started to enjoy his own work.  I think this applies to so many aspects of our lives.  We tend to live in a state of comparison and we need to free ourselves to do what we love and share it with others.  So this is for you in hopes that you get some enjoyment from looking at it!

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True Pleasure

8"x10" oil

I understand our arctic temperatures are going to reach seasonal norms tomorrow.  Yeah!  That means 20-30 degrees which sounds down right balmy to me right now!  And...we are going to have sunshine to-boot!  In celebration I decided to paint this picture which was inspired by a photo I saw a long time ago in a newspaper.  There were several kids in the photo, but I thought this expression told the whole story.  We should all find this much pleasure in the simple things!

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