Big Pears11x14

11"x14"  acrylic

I ate one of these enormous pears when I finished the painting!  It is a demo for a class I am teaching.  We were focusing on how to use light and shadow to create volume.

Little Pumpkin

5"x7" acrylic SOLD

Coming out of the fog of 4 days without electricity, internet or telephones.  It is really beautiful here..kind of like a magical winter wonderland, but there is a harsh side to the reality.  One that requires preparation...a generator, woodstove, lanterns and down comforters.  Once those things are taken care of, our attitudes can switch from "what we don't have" to "what an amazing place this is!"

Daddy Day

8"x8" oil

It is so fun to watch parents teach their little ones how to ski.  Kids pick it up so easily but it takes a lot of control and strength for the parent to ski down the mountain in this position.  Even though you can't see it, there are giant smiles on their faces!

To purchase this painting go here.

Poinsetta

11"x14" acrylic

I had so much fun painting this.  It was for a "Sip N' Dip" painting session I facilitated.  Basically people come to the art center and pay a fee to get to do a painting in one evening.  I have done many of these and they are always a treat.  It allows me to just enjoy the painting process and help others to feel it too.  I always focus on a couple of lessons to help them understand the decisions an artist needs to make.  In this case it was choosing analogous colors and complimentary colors using a design that was both objective and abstract.  I try to give the participants a lot of choices to make along the way.The coolest part of the session is at the end when we line up all the paintings and see how creative and different they all are even though they were based on a design. It also gives me a chance to paint in acrylic which is not my first medium of choice.

Gratitude

6.5"x6" acrylic

I am grateful for my knees.  I am sure that sounds odd, but I am facing double knee replacement surgery this month (my Christmas present to myself) and it makes me appreciate all the hard work my knees have done over the years and the hope I have getting new ones that will be pain free and strong.

Waffle Break

8"x8" acrylic $19

0 framed

Lingering Impressions

12"x12" oil

As I was driving home from my daily routine at the gym I saw this scene.  It is one that I always love because it offers a broad view that changes daily with the light and humidity.  November in Vermont can be cloudy every day which makes the world look gray.  However if you look carefully, all those grays have unique characteristics...unique flavors...some leaning yellow or lavender or all the other color influences.  Today when I saw this in passing, I knew I wanted to remember it as well as I could and try to recreate what I saw.  I am happy that I gave this exercise its due.  I watched a demo by Peter Huntoon who said that "painting is like bungee jumping...requiring great attention and focus but itbrings great joy. "   I loved that quote but I think he left out the part about how they both start with a wave of fear!

Music

2"x6.5" acrylic

These abstracts are a result of a Mareva Millarc workshop I attended.  I titled this one "Music" because it has order and rhythm and little singing notes!

Bone Puzzles

2"x6.5" acrylic

Yesterday was full of doctor visits but no painting.  Knee surgery is scheduled for the end of December.  That sounds so matter-of-fact and simple, but I was in a whirlwind last night thinking about it.  Today, however, I am feeling calm and optimistic and grateful.  I am disappointed that ski season  is over for me and I haven't even been out yet!  I will be painting skiers, and snowshoers, and other winter sports as a substitute.  This abstract I call "Bone Puzzles."  I painted it last weekend, before I know I would be having double knee replacements, and feel like it is serendipitous that I am posting it today!

A Good Day

8"x8" original oil

It is cold enough for the brave to be out skiing today, but there are not a lot of trails open yet.  I love skiing.  It is invigorating, pushes me to my limits, and I think it is just breath taking to ride the lift up to the top of the mountain and see such grand vistas.  I have been wanting to do a series of ski paintings for a few years and I think I am finally ready to do it. 

To learn about this painting or to purchase it go here.

8"x8" oil

I set up this still life in my little solarium with natural light on it and the background with the back yard through a window.    I was just playing around with some things I like, a patina bronze bird sculpture and a  antique bluish glass bottle I found at a yard sale/plant sale.  I was there for the plants, but didn't find any I liked and as I was leaving this bottle called out to me.  I really don't like yard sales or collecting things I don't use, but this bottle was such a lovely color, I new I wanted to paint it.  So it has been sitting around for a while and this is my first attempt.  I don't know why I put the mum on the back of the bird...but I did and I like it.

To purchase go here.

Copper Cup

6"x6" watercolor

I was going to post watercolors and abstracts on the weekend, but this weekend I was incapacitated with my knee up and on ice, so I wasn't able to paint (actually my arms worked fine, but getting to the studio was the problem.  So I did this copper cup for a DPW challenge.  It is a very simple subject, but getting the idea that it is a hard copper surface, not so easy. 

There is a Season

8"x8" original oil

 II needed to do this painting.  I needed to loosen up and go a bit abstract and this painting accomplished that for me.  What I learned from this (I borrowed that from Jo Mackenzie, an artist I greatly admire) is that cobalt blue and alizarin crimson make a lovely purplish-gray....the color of today.  There is a big story that goes with this cat.  I will leave it at that!

To purchase go here.

The Big One

6"x6" oil

Honestly, I have been struggling for a while.  I could make a list of reasons why, but the bottom line is that is doesn't always come easy and sometimes it is easy to get lost.  I just keep plowing through hoping that something will suddenly make sense.  This may not be a brilliant painting, but it is a great story and they really did catch this big trout by themselves and they were pleased as punch once they got over the shock!  This was on a day where the blues weren't so blue, the reds weren't so red and the there were no shadows...but I can't help myself when it comes to punching up the colors.

To find out more about this painting or to purchase it go here.

The Browns

12"x12" oil Sold

This is a commission which took me forever to frame.  I don't know what I was thinking when I painted it in this diamond shape...sometimes doing something different backfires!  Anyway, I am happy with how it turned out and am hoping the Browns feel the same way.  They are such a beautiful family.  I added the suggestion of a white fence to help ground the diamond shape.  I think that works.

East Meets West

11"x11" original oil painting

So...this may not be my most brilliant painting, but I learned a bunch doing it. I think I achieved the feeling of the place, even though I beat it to death with my paint brush back in my studio. I wish I had photographed it along the way because I made so many changes including removing a barn, numerous boulders and added a few bits too.  What I can say is that it was a really beautiful spot that is hard to capture...not impossible, but it offers plenty of challenges.  I would love to know what you think!

To find out more  or to purchase this painting go here.

Artist's Studio

original oil 11"x11"

I started this one plein air and finally finished it in the studio, after making some changes.  I find I really enjoy just letting a painting tell me what to do.  If something isn't working, change it or eliminate it.  This really gives me a feeling of creative freedom.  When I look at this I can remember how it felt to be there;what the temperature was and how the air felt. 

To find out more or to purchase go here.

A Crowded Room

3"x7" original mixed media

I went to a workshop with abstract artist Mareva Millarc.  She utilizes the "left over" materials from her husband's workshop.  He is landscape painter Peter Huntoon who does beautiful watercolors and oils.  Mareva's method includes, music, mixed materials, freedom and identifying the interesting shapes and lines needed to make a statement.  Mostly it was just a lot of fun to try out someone else's method.

Lighthouse #5

3.5"x5" watercolor on 400lb. paper

I have been experimenting a lot lately...drawing, watercolor and I even took an abstract painting workshop.  I find I tend to do this when I am full of ideas with no clear direction I want to take.  There is value in sticking with a subject, style, palette, medium, to master those things...to become really familiar with them and know what to do.  On the other hand, experimenting reminds me why I work so hard at this.  I have fun, learn some things, and come back to what I do with a fresh perspective.  I also think it just might push me onto a completely different path that might be the journey I should take.  I am trying to relegate my watercolor and mixed media experiments to the weekends.

Sumac Triptyque

7"x12" original oil painting

I love Sumac! I love its bony structure that casts beautiful shadows, its horn-like berries sticking up on top, and its brilliant red in the autumn!  Today is a typical early November day in Vermont, meaning it is cold, rainy and very gray.  This explains why this photo looks so dark.  I shoot my images outside and the weather affects the result.  I should have tweaked it in editing before posting it.