Game Board 5"x5" mixed media

There are a lot of layers to this one.  When it was done I thought it reminded me of an abstract game board which made me think of the challenges in solving a puzzle or winning a game: the excitement, the trepidation, the disappointments and the thrill of success while keeping a cool head.  That is a metaphor for life as well.  I like to do Suduko and much like painting, the excitement of doing it is what I like.  When I realize I am coming into the home stretch and have solved the problem, I lose that excitement.  I finish because it doesn't feel right to leave it undone, but I love the doing of it most.  Of course not every painting comes to a satisfying finish.  Many paintings still bug me for ages until I rework them or toss them.
$45 $10 ship

Creation 4"x4" oil

I am trying to come up with a method for my madness with the option of changing it at will.  So I decided to post abstracts on weekends and other work during the week.  I love doing the abstracts and want to continue to explore how to do this, but there are other things I want to do too.  The weekends tend to be the most challenging time for me to find time to paint.  This works well for painting abstracts because I tend to do them more quickly.

$45  $10 ship

When We Met 2"x6" acrylic

My husband and I met on Valentine's Day and that is when we started dating.  I did this little painting as part of another project as a gift for him.  We are a case of opposites attract and it has worked out well for us.  We are really good friends and really enjoy some favorite activities.  So now we are headed off to ski because he took the day off as a surprise Valentine's gift for me .  Hope you have a good day too.

Pineapple Heart on Painted Plate 6"x6" acrylic

Happy Valentine's Day.  It is my opinion that we all need to love and be loved so I think Valentine's Day is for everyone, not just lovers.  I really like pineapple so when I was cutting one up and looked down and saw a heart shape, I plopped it on an antique plate hand painted with pansies, and painted it as my Valentine to everyone...and then I ate it!

$100 and $10 shipping

Canoe Presents 6"x6" mixed media

This abstract is one I made for myself.  I like the round shapes of artist Mareva Millarc who is an accomplished abstract artist and generally great person.  She is married to Peter Huntoon who is a successful watercolorist who has a unique style. They are two of my favorite Vermont artists.  I wanted to give a nod to Mareva for her inspiration so I looked up her name and in Tahitian it means, "canoes bringing presents from island to island."  This is interesting but too long, so I shortened it to "Canoe Presents." Mareva is not Tahitian, so her name I suppose is a French combination of Marie and Eva which is lovely.
NFS

Impressions 6"x6" acrylic

This is a piece I did when I was feeling a little distracted and had a hard time focusing on anything that required a great deal of "hard looking" or deep thought.  I had an idea about what I wanted but I let myself go and just create rather than trying to achieve a specific image.  I used both my right and left hands for this and I love how it looks.  It may not be a master piece, but it makes me happy!

$100 and $10 shipping

With Hope 4"x6" watercolor

Something different...I did this with watercolor, which is not my medium, but a tool I would like to become proficient with.  I went for drama with this one.  After doing my last DPW challenge I received a comment that it reminded them of Crystal Cook's work, so I looked her up and she does wonderful, dramatic, up close portraits of children (among other subjects).  This is nothing like her style, yet she was my inspiration. I hope to do more watercolor in the future.  Belinda Del Pesco is another water colorist that uses high contrast and a bit of gritty surface.  Her work is dynamic.  I like this combination, although I can appreciate the transparent lovely colors of artist Jo McKenzie as well.  That gives you three artists to look up if you don't already know their work!

$45 $10 ship

Rtst Style 5"x7" acrylic

This was for a DPW challenge to emulate the style of another artist.  I chose Roger Akesson who is a Swedish painter who does lovely, graphic images of fruit, flowers, branches, cupcakes and other things using deliberate brush strokes and outlining in broken black and white lines.  I chose a different subject than he does,  did less outlining, added red to the mix, and probably the biggest difference is that I used a lot of dry brush strokes that are less deliberate looking.  So it is an interesting combination of what I do and his influence.  It was a fun challenge and through it I really took the time to study a few other artists' work, which is always a beneficial exercise.

100 and $10 shipping

Cinderella's Workshop 6"x6" acrylic

OK..now for some fun.  This is a combination of still life and made up (the spool of thread).  I love how the patina of the mouse captures the light  but my favorite part is the shadow.  I think this photo is tilted slightly as the horizon is not going uphill!  So this is Cinderella's Workshop.
 

$100 and $10 shipping

Glow of Sunset 5"x7" acrylic

This was inspired by a photo I saw in the newspaper, which is a funny place because the color and resolution are so bad in newspaper images.  I liked the simplicity of the shapes in the photo. That sometimes is all it takes to get the imagination working.  There is a glowing light in early evening cost on the mountains to the east as the sun is setting on a cloudy day, but the horizon in the west is clear.  Golds and purples fill the "canvas." This is Camel's Hump near where I used to live.  It is landmark, although not the highest mountain in the state and was even chosen to be the image on the Vermont quarter.  Anyone here who hikes does this mountain because it is a full day hike with a unique alpine terrain on the top and spectacular views.  I love the abstractness of this.

$100 and $10 shipping

Heartland Winter 22"x28" acrylic

I spent many years in the mid-west and learned to appreciate the phrase "spacious skies" and "amber waves of grain."  Now I like living in "purple mountains majesty."  Although many complain about the cold winters of the NE, I actually think they are more tolerable than those bone biting, windy, humid, rainy days of mid-west winters. But,  it is no wonder that it is the breadbasket of the US because the soil is deep and rich.  The snowy days of NE winters inspire me. Summers are mild, if a bit short, and you can't beat the colors and feeling of autumn. However, that being said, can I come visit you in mudseason? Springtime is my favorite season in the mid-west as it brings such beauty and intense storms after the bleak winter. This poor barn has suffered from that windy weather and now is see-through. The house is gone, lost when this farm was incorporated into a megafarm, probably leaving a patch of daffodils that will pop up in springtime somewhere near that forest of four trees. I have included detail.

SOLD

How I See It 22"x28" acrylic

I love this painting because it really is how I see it!  Lately a few people have asked me if I really see all those colors.  I frequently punch up the colors because I think it works and it makes me happy, but when I look out at the world...even on a very gray day, I just see color in everything if I look beyond my immediate impression and really see it.  A paraphrase from the "The Ideal Husband" (by Oscar Wilde) that I like is that there is a difference between looking and seeing.  This painting of a barn in the valley between mountains on a snowy day is close to where I live.

Contact me if you are interested in purchasing this.  $1200

photo collage

This is the photo collage I made of the abstracts I did in the last 30 days only I couldn't figure out how to get 30 cells on the collage so I finally went with 25.  I will go back and try to figure it out but my blood pressure is rising so I am going to take a break!

Ski Vermont 16"x20" acrylic

This is day 30 in the 30 day challenge.

Like the painting I did yesterday, this was for the non-dom challenge I submitted to DPW.  I painted this completely with my left hand.  I am continually amazed at how different places look depending on the light.  I understand how Cezanne could paint the same scene over and over, because it really is changing all the time depending on whether it is cloudy or where the sun is in the sky.  This is really evident when looking at a time lapse film of something like the Grand Canyon (or better yet, meditating on the rim for a day) where there is such a grand vista to capture the subtle nuances of light and shadow.

Soft Gray Kiss 16"x20" acrylic

This is a DPW challenge that I created to paint with your non-dominant hand.  It was painted from a photo I took when I was walking with my grandsons up their street early one foggy wintery morning recently.  They live in one of those quintessential New England areas with equestrian farms, stone fences, and colonial homes.  It was such a beautiful scene and I knew I had to try painting it. 
SOLD

Four Act Play 8"x8" acrylic

All four acts put together.  I have wanted to do a painting like this for a while so it feels good to finally do it.  It is such a spectacular time when the lilies bloom.  On these frigid days it is hard to remember what summer feels like, but I think it is great to have all seasons...especially because I get to paint them!

$180 $10 ship

Act IV acrylic 4"x4"

Day 27 of the 30 Day Challenge

 This is the last piece and tomorrow I will post the all four pieces together.  I like the composition of this one and I think it makes a nice abstract. 

$45 $10 ship

Act II 4"x4" acrylic

Day 26 of the 30 Day Challenge.  Act III is interesting because it is divided into right and left, brilliant color vs. darkness.  The floating pedals help balance it out and the suggestion of cool foliage in the shadows.  This is an odd composition, but I think you can do all kinds of contrary things when working in small sizes that you couldn't pull off on a larger piece.

$45 $10 ship

Act II 4"x4" acrylic

Day 25 in the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge.  
 This is Act II of a 4 part play.  The wind is still gently blowing and light is intense in the summer heat.  I can't say that for today as we head out to ski, I think it might have reached zero degrees which means it is only going to be single digit negative on the mountain (lets hope the wind doesn't kick up). $45 $10 ship

Act I 4"x4" oil

This is the first part of a four piece painting.  The idea is that each part stand on its own but that they all fit together in the end.  I am painting them separately with the same palette and adding "floating pedals" to unify all four pieces.

$45 $10 ship