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.

Long Dresses (revised)

8"x8" oil

I just wasn't completely happy with my first stab at this painting.  I thought the gallery viewer was stiff and that was the problem, but after looking at it for a couple of days I realized the background magenta was just too colorful and drew too much attention so I neutralized it and now the person doesn't look odd to me.  The little painting on the left is by Tarbell and is called "Girl Reading a Book." It is my favorite part of this painting, not for the least reason, because it is so tiny and I think I got a reasonable representation of it.  Again, I have to say, Karin Jurick is my favorite painter of these types of scenes.

Engine 316

8"x8" acrylic  SOLD

This was a commission for a train enthusiast.  I did it before Christmas.

Long Dresses

I haven't done any of these gallery viewer paintings in a while.  Karin Jurik is my favorite artist who does these types of paintings.  There is a flow to her work, especially in the stance of the viewer that I feel I have not captured as well in this.  However I do really like the brushwork here and the colors are pretty yummy.  Getting a likeness of the painting on the left was a real challenge because it is so small.   So, all-in-all I like this, but I recognize there are things I need to work on.

Indoor Swimming

7"x7" oil

If it is cold outside with slushy snow, too wet to sled or ski, another great way to entertain yourself if you are 5 years old is to go swimming inside.  I am always doing the dance between accuracy, abstractness and keeping it loose.  When painting very small figures, it is even more of a challenge.

Hello Kitty

6"x6" oil 

Thank you Jennifer Sanchez for the photo reference for this painting.  Although I am very allergic to cats, I really do like them a lot.  They can be haute and irresistibly adorable all at once.

Yummy!

6"x6" oil  

I am taking an online painting course with Dreama Tolle Perry and this painting is the result of the first week's class.  I have taken workshops with Dreama several times and love her overall approach as well as her teaching technique.  At the same time, I am trying to use more grays in my work so I made sure I added plenty here.
Also, I finished Leslie Saeta's 30 Paintings in 30 Days challenge and below is a collage of my 30 paintings on slate.

Day 30 Slate- Alpine Skier

17"x14" acrylic on slate

Day 30!!  I made it!

Day 29 Slate - Chicken

11"x14" acrylic on slate

Who can resist a chicken with attitude?

Red and Green

11"x14" acrylic on slate

Everyone loves Cardinals....what's not to like about them?

Day 27 Slate - Bluebird

14"x11" acrylic on slate

He is a regal looking guy isn't he.  I am making good progress on the studio, doing a little bit each day.  If I get it to a place where it looks lovely, I may post a photo.

Day 26 slate - Let It Snow

14"x11" acrylic on slate

I have shifted my efforts to cleaning my studio which desperately needs it, cobwebs and all!  I constantly seem to be accumulating and it is hard to decide what I really should get rid of.  Eventually I get around to using everything, but is it just a distraction to make jewelry or carve stone or do ceramics when I am trying to be an oil painter?  Questions I do ask myself.

Day 25 Slate - Skiing III

14" x11" acrylic on slate 

This has a glare on the upper right, but it kind of emphasizes that it is a bright day and this guy is  skiing Ovation at Killington, whose slogan is Tame the Beast.  It is a 45 degree slope.

Day 24 Slate - Skiing II

14" x 11" acrylic on slate 

Another skier on slate.  The last week of the 30 day challenge is always the hardest for me because I am ready to move on to a different project.  However, I am having fun with these skiers.

Day 23 slate - Skier I

14"x11" acrylic on slate 

I wish I was skiing, but am not yet able to venture that direction as I can barely walk around the grocery store!  However, there is always next year!

Day 22 Slate- Mother and Child

14"x11" acrylic on slate SOLD

This piece is shown with the ribbon and bow hanger for the stylized Mother and Child.

Day 21 Slate-Mail

14"x11" acrylic

I love the simplicity of this.

Day 20 Slate - Cardinal

11"x14" acrylic on slate 

It is a beautiful sunny, but chilly day in the Northeast.  I am hoping to accomplish a lot today.  As I wind down in this 30 Paintings in 30 Days challenge, I will be returning to oil painting on panels.  I have enjoyed doing this challenge and painting on slate.

Day 19 slate- two sisters

11"x17" acrylic on slate

Two sisters, one very proper and one very silly. That pretty much explains my elder sister and myself.  Guess which one I am?  I find that painting on slate gives me the incentive to go a little funky and more whimsical.

Day 18 slate - Dancers

11"x17" acrylic on slate 

I have been fascinated lately by little ballerinas.  I think I must be missing my granddaughters.  They are both willing dancers and my son loves to put on music and dance with them.  The youngest is a climber (danger baby) and her older sister is very lady like, with a touch of wildness.  They epitomize the expression of 'Dance is the hidden language of the soul," which I believe is a quote by Martha Graham.

Day 17 Slate - Downy Woodpecker

11"x17"  Acrylic on slate 

We get a lot of Downy Woodpeckers at our crabapple tree, in part because it is getting old and is full of insects, and also because we have a suet feeder.  They can be pretty piggish about their eating habits at the feeder, staying for long periods of time and sucking down that seed filled fat.  I think I need to do bluebirds and cardinals, but I need to change subject matter for the moment.  I think I have a short attention span.  So this will be the last bird for a  while.

Day 16 Slate - Tufted Titmouse

11"x14" acrylic on slate

Another frequent flier that has layovers at my bird feeder.

Day 15 Slate - Dark Eyed Juncos

11"x14"  acrylic on slate

This is a sweet little bird familiar to residents all over America.  While the chickadees and nuthatches flit among the trees, the Mourning Doves and Juncos can be found under the bird feeders on the ground.  The Mourning Doves walk and the Juncos hop.

Day 14 Slate - Mourning Doves

11"x14" acrylic on slate

Mourning doves have such an interesting shape with their round little heads and plump bodies.  The dots on their wings remind me of Lady Bugs.  In England Lady Bugs are called Lady Birds, but I think Mourning Doves could comfortably embrace that monicker.

Day 13 - nuthatches

11"x14" acrylic on slate

Onward and upward with the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge.  I have been painting the birds I see outside my window, like these interesting nuthatches, painted slightly more blue than they appear in R.L. (real life) so that they contrast with the gray background slate.

Day 12 Slate - Chickadees

11"x14" acrylic on slate

Chickadees are the sweetest little song birds.  They have the perfect "cute" shape are sociable and don't descend in frantic hoards.  They also have lovely markings and are one of my absolute favorites at the bird feeder.

Day 11 Slate - Ballerina

11"x14" acrylic on slate 

Some of the things I have figured out about painting on slate:
     I like painting sweet things that contrast with the rough stone
     The grey background is fabulous and really makes me think about values
     I love the texture and if I keep the layers thin and rub them in, it gives a nice effect
     Using a variety of shades within a shape helps give it volume
      It is much easier than painting with oils on a canvas or panel.
Also, and this applies to my painting in general, I love painting kids!

day 10 Slate a walk in the woods11"x14

11"x14" acrylic on slate SOLD

This is a little different.  Firstly, it is a remembered landscape, meaning that I took a drive with my sister-in-law on a back road and decided to study a spot and later paint it from memory.  Two ladies in black with red mittens caught my attention.  To get the feel for a deep forest I dribbled black paint onto the slate first, blowing it around and dripping it until I thought it resembled trees.  Then I painted in the background, path, people and underbrush.  I am experimenting, trying to find the best subject and techniques to use on the slate.  I think I am beginning to come up with a plan that pleases me.  The next few I do will be quite different, so stay tuned in!

Day 9 Slate -

11"x14' acrylic on slate

How fun...pulling the little one on a sled and then coming home to hot chocolate and the promise of mom-time while the babe sleeps.  But, alas too tired to think, mom falls asleep in the chair by the fire and wakes just in time to start dinner.

Day 8 slate - Grandkids Are A Gift

11"x14" acrylic on slate

I painted this in honor of 3 of my grandkids.  They live across the country from me and since I haven't been able to travel, I am really missing them.  Each of them has an animal image they use to label things in their home.  The oldest is a blue bird, the middle one is a hedgehog and the baby is a Lady Bug.  The gift is my symbol for how I feel about them.  Cute and sweet I think.

Day 7 slate - Easter Bunny

11"x14" acrylic on Vermont Slate

My friend Heather Shay and I painted slate the day before she took off for Costa Rica and then on to Guatemala.  I won't see her again until June because she lives an adventuresome life of the explorer. We had a great time.  I was feeling whimsical so I did the Easter Bunny skiing and she did Santa on skiis.  I am having fun...can you tell?

Day 6 - Killington Ski Resort

8"x8" acrylic on slate

This photo makes the slate look really dark and the subtle colors are lost.  It is an image of Killington Ski Resort with a happy full moon overlooking it.  The moon was inspired by the talking moon from the BBC comedy The Mighty Boosh which is a very bizarre show created by two very talented guys.

Day 5 Slate 11"x14" - Skiing

11"x14" acrylic on slate

I live in ski country so inevitably all local artists end up doing at least a few ski paintings.  Like any other subject, it helps if you actually ski and have an idea of how people use their bodies, even if it isn't the "correct" posture or ski position.  I am a very mediocre skier, but I know how much fun it is to get out on the slopes with incredible vistas and just glide down the mountain as fast as you safely can (I am very slow).  It will be fun to see if these are popular at the gallery on the mountain.  People like to take a piece of the local scene home with them.  I hope some take home a skier painted on slate.

Day 4 Slate - X-Country Skiing

11x14"  Acrylic on slate

This is inspired by a photo posted by Penny Kipley from a Cross Country Ski day, I believe in Colorado.  I painted it on slate, as I am doing this entire month for the 30 in 30 challenge sponsored by Leslie Saeta.  I loved the original photo which told a story and had all the lovely elements of value contrast between the snow and trees, and the zooming distance implied by the trail.  I, of course, used it as inspiration and then did what I thought was necessary to make it a fun painting.  Photography and painting are two different art forms and need to be respected as such.  Thank you Penny!

Day 3 Slate Piece - Cedar Waxwing

acrylic on Vermont slate   11"x14"

Fun things about painting on slate include the background texture and colors.  I like how the paint grips the surface, which is so different from painting with oils on a slick panel.  I don't even consider painting the background, rather, it is about painting objects on the surface.  This Cedar Waxwing, displaying it's full colors in all their glory, was a great subject.

Day 1 and 2

Slate Day 2

Slate day 1

I am participating in the 30 Paintings in 30 Days challenge. I decided to paint on Vermont slate which is really fun and something different to do.  I am approaching these more decoratively and graphically which is also a nice change.  I drill holes in them and attach ribbons to hang them and they are quite lovely.  This is day 1 and 2 because I started it yesterday.

3 Pear

8"x8" oil

This has been an incredibly difficult year for me, but being able, when I can, to paint and more importantly, being able to see beauty moment to moment has been the vehicle which has carried me through these trying times.  I am so excited about 2016 and the wonderful things it will bring into our lives. It is my hope that 2016 is the best year yet for you.  In the past I always made New Year's resolutions and printed them out to remind me through the year.  It has been a good goal setting exercise for me but this year I just hope I can continue to see and experience joy and beauty and live so that my life reflects the gratitude I feel.

Wading In Gold

8"x8" Acrylic SOLD

This was a commission I did in acrylic so it would dry quickly and I could varnish it and frame it.  I did something different by painting in thin layers with a small paintbrush.  Mostly it was an experiment and I really like some of the affects that created.  This as well, was of necessity because I am somewhat home bound and have limited supplies available.  Most importantly the person who bought it was really happy with the results.

Not Photo Realistic

7"x7" oil

This is loosely based on a lovely photo by Lowell Klock who is a member of the art group I am in.  She graciously offered several photos for our group to interpret with paint.  I loved the photo she took, and I also saw in it a way to paint it quite differently from the source photo.

Seeking the Destination

5"x7" oil

I can't help but wonder what makes couples attracted to each other.  Beautiful looking people often pair with beautiful people and their attraction, which could be much deeper, may also just be based on that, but what attracts people who seem so different from each other?  What made me want to paint this one was the interesting texture of  their hair.  Both of them had big hair that was kind of fuzzy.  I wonder if that was their first point of attraction?  Could be.

Loosley Geraniums

5"x7" oil on archival paper

This painting came from a challenge the art group I am in decided to do.  We voted on a group of photos and the geraniums were the winner (I didn't vote for geraniums).  So I decided to do it abstractly, experiment with shapes and tools and to do it on a surface I have been wondering about, archival watercolor paper.  I prepped the front of the paper with acrylic medium and later decided to do the back side too, then painted with oils on it.  I love the results.  I used a variety of mixed reds that don't show their subtle differences so well in the photo I took, but it is rich and fun. 

Feeding the Deer

6"x6" oil

I passed this guy picking apples for the deer and immediately saw a painting.  The background was originally a cool blue of a house, but it just didn't work so I warmed it up with yellow and really liked that.

Everything Happens In 3's

12"x12" oil

These are huge, but they look great framed!

Alexander, Graham and Bell

 6"x6" oil

I loved painting this...and then eating them!

Heart of the Matter

6"x6" oil

It kind of looks like an orange heart....even has the heart symbol shape...and it is good for your heart too if you eat it...which I did!

Leaf Showers

11"x14" oil

We had a spectacular fall in the NE and then had a huge wind storm.  One day I looked out the window and saw the leaves blowing across the back yard and wanted to capture what I saw from memory.  I spend a few moments studying the big pieces of composition and note the values and colors.  The blue of the sky and water are much less colorful in the painting...more of a whitish gray with a tint of blue.