Picnic

6"x6 oil

I love this little scene.  You don't see too many cowboy hats in Vermont, so it is even funnier that it is her sunhat.  It is always good to have a little picnic at the beach.

3 White Lunch Boxes

8"x10" oil SOLD

This is a painting I did 5 years ago at a Karin Jurick workshop.  It was what inspired me participate in the daily painting movement.  I haven't always painted or posted every day, but it has convinced me that consistency and focus on the goal creates momentum.  I love this painting because these women were clearly on a quick lunch break with their cute little white boxes of food.  They were all color coordinated and sat so close together.  So I am posting this to celebrate 5 years of relatively consistent painting.

Pink Peony

6"x6" oil

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is my third attempt at painting a peony.  I am understanding the structure of these flowers better.

Embracing the Story

6"x6" oil

I thought it was interesting that this woman was turned away from the lake.  Her purpose there was the shaded breeze and the ability to completely give herself to the story.  Not a bad moment!

Meditation

6"x6"  oil

Swimming is not what she is here for.  She may not even reach critical midpoint, but getting the legs in cool water and just breathing in the refreshment, peace, relaxation, and joy, are enough.

Can't Wait

6"x6" oil

I know you have been there.  That moment where anticipation turns to kinetic energy and you are flying towards your long awaited moment.  I can say that she wasn't disappointed!

Naia

6"x6" oil

I couldn't help but smile the whole time I was painting beautiful Naia.

Trio

6"x6 oil

This is my second attempt at peonies.

Pink Peony

6"x6" oil

This is my first ever peony.  I have been wanting to paint some after seeing so many beautiful paintings by artists I admire.  I am happy with the results, but know that I won't really get it, until I have painted a gazillion.  So mastery is a gazillion minus one for me!  Here are some links to peonies that have inspired me:  Jonathan Aller,  Jo McKenzie, Shawna Lampi-Legaree

Moonlight Ritual

30"x48"  Acrylic  SOLD

This is a lot different for the paintings I have been doing for several years.  It is quite large and is very stylized.  I envisioned this painting over a year ago and have just now finally painted it.  Although it is very simple in design, it took a lot of editing and revision for me to get what I wanted, so there is a lot of paint on the canvas.  I am really happy with it and I believe it tells the story I wanted to tell.

Do You Hear What I Hear?

6"x6"  oil

I love the pose on this one.  Babies and old folks (like me) know nature's way of amplifying the audio mysteries of the world...just scoop your ear into a better sound catcher!

Goats View

6"x6" oil

These goats looked as happy as any goats I have ever seen.  I am not sure I could correctly describe what a happy goat looks like, but they sure looked confident, well fed, and like they got a lot of attention.  I don't think they are the easiest animals to have around, but they sure are fun to watch.

Waiting

6"x6" oil

Waiting for the wave to crash!

Work of Play

6"x6" oil

When watching kids at the beach, it is easy to be drawn in by their wild enthusiasm. But, it is hard work having that much fun.  There is the digging and the pulling and the riding of the body board and the fighting with the waves to regain air.....so much work of play.

Pink and Green

6"x6" oil

Can you hear the music of the waves?

Also Keepers of the Beauty

11" x 11"  oil  SOLD

First I must give my apologies to Dreama Tolle Perry because I stole her title.  She is a phenomenal artist and writer and posted on her blog about those who are "Keeper of Beauty."  I was doing this commission at the time I read her post, and knew that the owners of this lovely garden are one couple Dreama was referring to.  There are a lot of details in this composition, but I wanted to tell the story of the architecture of the plantings, the allure of the koi pond, the babbling of the brook and bird songs, and the sculptural references.  Unfortunately there is a glare on both sides of this photo, making the edges look washed out.

Courage

6" x 6" oil

A 3 foot wave may not be surfable, but to a pre-schooler, it is daunting.  The child on the right is crouching down like a prowling cat ready to pounce on the wave if it gets close enough, while the toddler in pink is fascinated by the little rivulets of waves lapping at her feet.  Gramps is ready to grab the first one to get in over her head.

Coffee and Tidal Pools

This is another painting with tiny little people.  So I asked myself "why" did I put this burden on myself????  I guess the answer is that I liked the story and it was a challenge.  I like how the rocks, thick with sea weed and moss, turned out.  Grandpa is enjoying watching his grandsons look for critters in the pools, Dad is carrying the baby and trying to drink his coffee.  Mom is having one of those rare breaks.  She is focused on enjoying her coffee and a view that sweeps her away to a lovely sailboat in the distance.  Nice story, don't you think?

Focused View

She is determined, trying to see through the marshland viewfinder but is just a bit too short.  Daddy is there ready to steady her or aid her in the process.  I hope to illustrate the tension in each of their bodies and their concentration but I also had fun with the railings and marshland background.

Going Up

6"x 6" oil

This makes me think about the song "The Bear Goes Over the Mountain."  The excitement of going up, up, up, but not knowing what is on the other side. I think there is magic being in a cathedral of trees with little girls. These figures are itty bitty.  I have been doing a few paintings lately that have miniscule people in them.  I am not sure why I have chosen these subjects, but I am sure that if I do enough, I will figure out how to do them without sweating!

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.

Music

6"x6" oil

This took me a bit to figure out the floor and finally I just decided to add a red rug and that seemed to pull it together.  It is interesting that when I struggle with a painting, somehow the struggle just shows up in the painting.  Sometimes it helps and sometimes it just looks fussy and ruins it.  You decide.

Rosie

4"x6"  oil

Sometimes they just have these moments when they look so adorable you can't help but fall in love with them!

Diner

4"x6" oil

Some paintings almost paint themselves.  This was one of them.  I wanted to capture the way the light bounces around in an environment of stainless steel surfaces.

Mirror Illusions

This was tricky. The idea of painting a concave surface made of multitudes of hexagonal mirrors was daunting, but in the end, it is all illusion anyway!  Someone said, and I often repeat it to myself, that it is all just shapes,  lines and values on a 2 dimensional surface when you apply chemicals that reflect color.  This simplifies it for me when I am feeling overwhelmed.

Want To Be There

One of the wonderful things about seeing fine art is that it can transport you to another time, another place, another state of being.

Barn in Early Spring

This is Furnace Brook Farm barn in early spring with the hillside budding out in a soft magenta and the crabapple tree, not yet blooming.  This is one of those quintessential Vermont landscapes.  This farm has a very interesting history, which you can read about here.

Dance of the Peppers

6"x6 oil

 love the play of colors in this.

Roses in Bottle

4"x6" oil SOLD

I am happy with this painting!

Radish Rose and Onions

6"x6" oil

I set up this still life outside under bright midday sun and I was looking down on it.  I downplayed the highlights because I didn't want it too seem too bleached.  I put the radish rose in it because it was just so amazing.  It came from left over Chinese food from a really nice restaurant and I just had to take the radish rose.  There are a lot of things I like about this but truth be told, I have a lot to learn about setting up still life compositions.  It takes a lot of patience to do it right and my ability to be methodical and patience does not lie in that direction....at least yet.

Babbling Brook

6"x6" oil

Last week I painted this; today everything is leafed out and in full bloom. 
What an amazing change! 

My View

6"x6" oil

My studio is a converted garage so n warm weather I can open the garage door and see this view which changes dramatically with the seasons, light, and atmosphere.  I feel very blessed.

RR Crossing

4"x6" oil

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.

#316

6"x6" oil

I really like industrial landscape paintings, but since I am always drawn to a high key and saturated palette, it doesn't easily lend itself to the smokey grays of industry.  This engine, #316, is a very happy train!

First Daffodills

4"x6" oil

Happy, happy, happy with this one.

Catching

6"x6" oil

I am really happy with this.  I did what I wanted to do and it worked out.  Of course I love the subject too.

Rad Dishes

6"x6" oil

I have been working on larger panels for a while and it was really fun to return to this small 6"x6".  I can't seem to get the variety of colors that are in the painting to show up in my photos, which is a little frustrating for me.  This was a fun painting to do and it reminded me of some of the things I really like doing when I am painting.

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.

Listening

11"x11" oil

My niece lives and works in Antarctica.  Although I am fairly sure she was just goofing when this photo was taken, I think it expresses a lot about her and about life in general.  There are those moments when we are in the frozen tundra of existence and we are seeking that voice to guide us.  Rebekah's life is certainly driven by that desire.  She is also a very brave woman who wants to see it all and experience it all!

Stealing the Show

11"x11" oil

This is looking straight down on a bouquet of lovely flowers.  Clearly the flower that resembles a sunflower (maybe a Gazania?) is stealing the show. 

Tasting the Soup

Thanks to a brilliant and spontaneous photo, I was able to tell the story.  I think that the many hours I spent as a child studying Norman Rockwell's illustrations probably show their influence on my love of story telling.

Picking Flowers

12x12 oil

The most fun in painting this was the folds of the tunic, but how can anyone resist the excitement she expresses in picking her first flower.  Someday someone will tell her that dandelions are weeds, but until then, what magic there is in crawling in a field of flowers!

S'mores and Sledding

This is definitely a "Favorite Thing."  Sledding and eating s'mores with my grandkids and their parents on a beautiful winter day in Vermont.   Today I  awoke to a dusting of snow.  Well that is spring in our lovely state and it will melt before noon.  Unfortunately I got a glare on the photo in the bottom right corner.

Anticipation

12"x12"  oil

This is from my new series "Things I Love."  I am having a lot of anticipation for the next few months and progress on my recuperation.  This child is anticipating a beautiful day at the beach.  Someone asked me why I am painting in such happy colors when I should be painting from the dark (representing my recent challenges) to the light (hope for full recuperation).  We are all made differently and I am definitely a "glass half full" person.  I love to be happy or find happiness and joy and the dark takes care of itself...I just don't want to amplify it!

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).

Bird Feeders

12"x16" oil

For the last four months I have been staring out at the bird feeders in my back yard.  Most of that time there was snow covering much of it, but finally the snow has melted the pond has thawed and may migrating and hibernating creatures have returned and there is a hint of green.  This is not exactly the details of my scene, but I was more interested in the patterns that were here than in capturing the details. 

12"x16" oil

It has been 4 months since I was able to paint or do much of anything.  I am still in recuperation from double knee replacement with some rare complications, but the need to get out to my studio has become pretty over-powering...which is a good thing!  This is the neighbors yard.  Spring in Vermont is mostly patches of snow and ice, lots of mud, and occasional snow shower but we also have sugaring season which makes it all worthwhile.  Sugaring (the process of sugar maple sap running) requires temperatures above freezing in the day and below freezing at night.  Every once in a while, we have absolutely gorgeous days like yesterday and today.  With temps in the 60's and loads of sunshine and blue skies.  The elation that all creatures feel on those days is tangible and everyone is out frolicking at least for a couple of days.