Chairs By the Pond

original oil 8"x8"

This was painted at the end of Sept. when the brightest of the trees were just beginning to change.  Now, only the yellow leaves are clinging to the branches.  It was a very chilly day so I kind of rushed this one and had to do some re-dressing back in the studio.  Everywhere you look there are Adirondack chairs in Vermont.  I think we should come up with a variation and call it "The Green Mountain chair!

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Church

original oil 8"x10"

IIt was such a lovely day when I painted this.  The sun was bright and the sky blue and it was just a tad bit cool.  The white against the blue and green and the plum colored maple out front all charmed me!

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11"x11" oil

This is a view to wake up to!

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Shed In the Grove

The way the sky peaks through the tall trees is what drew me to this composition.  It just seemed so lovely and simple, but not simple to paint.  It was actually pretty complicated and took some effort to eliminate confusing shapes and colors.  I wanted a feeling of late summer coolness and I think I have accomplished it.  It is just a little shed in a grove of tall trees.  A nice place to feel alive!

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Play By the Wall

8"x10" oil

I think I am finally over the flu, although there are symptoms that appear to be very fond of me and want to stick around for a while.  But, I went out today!  I am itching to start new projects and paint up a storm, so I think all systems are 'Go!"  The paintings I am posting this week are ones I did in Sept., plein air.  I really hit the darks hard in these.  I think that is because I was painting in bright light, as opposed to painting in artificial light inside.  Since I am a neophyte at this process, I think my methods should improve with time.  I don't think I will be like Eric Tobin or Peter Huntoon though, who paint outside all winter long.  I was drawn to the bright light on the field behind the wall, and the setting which suggests children playing.

To find out more about this painting, and purchasing information click here.

Moody

original plein air oil 8"x8"

The title says it all.  My daughter and her family left to move to Oregon today.  I am elatedly happy for them and seriously sad to be missing them already.  They sold their house yesterday...how fortunate is that, since they only put it on the market 2 weeks ago?!  Anyway, this painting is titled "Moody" and that is how I am feeling.  Thank goodness for Skype, unlimited long distance, and jet airplanes!  I can't imagine how mothers felt when their children took off from the East to travel the Oregon Trail.....yikes!

Hay Bales

original plein air oil 11"x14"

My goal in painting this painting was to capture the light and the diagonals of the hills.  My painting friend Heather Shay, who has a really good eye for evaluating the things that work and don't work in a painting, didn't like the look or placement of the hay bales on the hill, but this was one instance where I didn't follow her advice (feel free to write a comment letting me know your take on this).  My eye was really drawn to those hay bales, and they do tell a bit of a story so I left their odd placement as my focal point.  Sometimes the rules need to be broken (at least this is my excuse).  The deep coolness of the copse of trees had a magical quality that I tried to capture.  When I started the painting there was a herd of cows in their shade, but they quickly got up and left and then returned as soon as I was ready to pack up.  I guess they were a bit self conscience.  I will try to capture cows on another trip.  Did I say, I love plein air painting?

To find out more about purchasing this painting click here.

Side Yard

original oil 11"x14"

 Recently I was wishing for some time to be bored.  Be careful for what you wish.  I realize that there are a few things that will guarantee having boredom time, one being getting the flu.  I don't recommend it and being bored is overrated anyway.  I just felt like I was over-scheduled and over-committed. The only way to slow time down seems to be having lots of time to do "nothing."  Apparently being confined to bed is my only option at this point.  This painting was from a workshop I did with Randall Sexton.  His advice helped push me to make bolder strokes.  It was a plein air (outdoor) workshop in Vermont just prior to peak foliage.  This day I was enchanted by the way the light fell on this hilly back slope of a beautiful colonial house right in town.  I set up my easel in the shade of the house and proceeded to freeze all morning painting this.  In the afternoon I moved into full sun and finally was warmed up.  Honestly painting, particularly plein air painting, stops time if only for a few minutes.  It is one of the reasons I love to go to that place...the zone.

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Poles

11"x14" original plein air oil

This is a plein air oil painting I did while attending Susan Abbott's workshop.  It is a church in Plainfield, VT, a lovely, quintessential Vermont setting.  Susan emphasized having a visual idea to work with and having a plan that includes the structure of the space. There are a lot of things I like about this painting, including the three strong verticals with the poles and steeple.  The large masses of red and green trees with the white of the building and the electric/phone lines that dissect the space.  I highly recommend Susan as a teacher.  She structures her workshops with studio exercises and outdoor painting and she focuses on specific concepts to work with.

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Final Grouping

These are 29 of the 30 paintings I did for the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge.  The last one was a watercolor so I didn't include it here.

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 #28

2"x4.5" acrylic SOLD

This is an image I have wanted to paint for years, but never got around to it.  I took a photo when visiting Florida (my birth state) because I was so blown away by a garden filled with orchids.  They provide the image of such interesting structure.  I love how they smell and how they make me feel and I have the perfect place to grow them indoors, but I won't because I could not bare to kill them or let them die, and that is a very likely scenario!

30-30 Challenge #27

2"x4.5" acrylic  SOLD

I have to remember to plant zinnias and cosmos next year.  They offer such easy to grow options that create such a beautiful design through the summer and into fall.  What I really liked about painting this one is the patterns of the flowers, stems, "leaves" and buds.  Pattern is so important in paintings and I sometimes forget that, and then other times it becomes the theme of the painting.

30-30 Challenge #26

2"x4.5"  acrylic SOLD

 

This little miniature was purchased a couple of weeks before I painted it or even knew what I was going to paint. That's fun!  My childhood friend, the friend that goes back in time to pre-school, the daughter of my mom's best friend, and my buddy for all those years in school, purchased it.  Neither of us are butterflies...but the world is lovely to both of us.  We are both optimists and love to laugh.  We have spent some of the best moments of our lives together.  I hope this painting reflects that emotion.

30-30 Challenge #25

2"x4.5"  acrylic SOLD

I am currently at a Susan Abbott workshop in Marshfield, VT, during an incredibly beautiful Vermont fall with lovely temps in the 60's and 70's.  And then...winter comes (which I also love) but at the end of winter is mud season which they call spring in other parts of the country.  Our spring is usually very short, but when those crocuses pop up (frequently through the snow) it gives hope for a very green season.  Crocuses make me happy.  They seem like an especially sweet gift.  I hope it makes you feel that way too.

30-30 Challenge #24

2"x4.5" acrylic

This is #24 in the 30 day painting challenge.  I am so glad I decided to do miniatures as I have learned a lot including the importance of composition.  I missed that a bit with this one as the top bird is not quite positioned at the most advantageous place.  But my main concern with this one is that it looks like the wings are moving and I think I got that.  Value is so important in painting and I continue to see that when something isn't working, frequently it has something to do with the values (light and dark) against each other.

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.

30-30 #21

2"x4.5"

This also is from a reference photo by Dale Waack.  It was hard to paint this mighty bird with enough detail and energy to suggest its magnificence and strength, but I had fun trying and also to make it worthy of copying the photo...like adding enough color to the water to make it interesting.

30-30 #20

This painting is from a reference photo by Dale Waack, who is a wonderful wildlife photographer.  It is a red winged black bird, one of my personal favorites because of the brilliant flashes of color they have on their wings.