TEXAS BLUEBONNETS

Texas Bluebonnets

Bluebonnets Close Up

I ended up doing 2 different painting for the Texas themed painting.  I thought a close up might work better with the other 3 paintings in this set of 4 but we decided a landscape would show bluebonnets as we all typically think of them--in sweeping masses of blue.  These 4 paintings represent the 4 states significant to our son and his wife.  So the final four are:

Texas

California

Louisiana

Maine

10x10" oil on linen/stretched canvas  

copyright 2012

CALIFORNIA WINES

This is one of the four paintings I've been doing for our son and lovely daughter-in-law.  Our son lived out in Southern California for a while near Temecula wine country.  Orfila and Witch's Creek are two of the wineries one can visit there.  If you ever get to that area you should make time to go to a few of the many vineyards there.  It's a beautiful area!

10x10" oil on linen    copyright 2012

DRAWING

I don't practice drawing like I should but I try to get to life drawing on a regular basis.  This was from last night.  Our scheduled model didn't show so our monitor sat in.  This was about an hour's worth of drawing.  She never once slumped in that whole time--amazing!!

Also I have 3 paintings in an exhibit "The Human Side" at River Arts currently.  Visit their website to view a slide show of the featured works.  River Arts is in downtown Damariscotta, Maine if you ever pass through there.  It's a beautiful small town on the coast of Maine and River Arts is in one of the old houses on Main St.

24x18"  graphite on paper

BEETS and BUTTERNUTS

It's cabin fever time and I can't help but think about gardening already.  We may skip the veggie garden this year--so we say now.  I love watching plants grow and change.  Weeding is therapeutic for me.   BTW this painting is not washed out on the right in person.   Photographing larger paintings is more challenging than little ones for some reason.

12x24" oil on stretched canvas  copyright 2012

WINTER SUNLIGHT

What a strange winter we've had so far.  Thursday night it was lightly snowing when we went to bed.  We woke up to brilliant sun and 8" of fluffy snow.  Since then it's been very cold.  This morning it was -7.  Tomorrow it be in the high 30s.  I don't like the cold but there is a special beauty to fresh snow and the play of light and shadows.  This is the view from my studio.

14x18" oil on stretched canvas  copyright 2011

FRUITY

After the buoy painting this was so liberating.  It was like my brush had freedom to  roam the canvas.  I wish every painting worked like this.

24x12 oil on stretched canvas  copyright 2012

HARPSWELL BUOYS

I feel like I've been caught in a catch-22.  I've had trouble being home at a time when the sun is out so I can get decent photos of what I've been working on.  Taking photos inside never nets a good image and too late in the day outside doesn't work either.  But it is what it is.  Either I post not-so-good photos or post not at all.

This was a painting I had high hopes of what it would be--loose and a bit primitive.  Next thing I know I'm painting blades of grass.  So I attacked another canvas with absolutely no reference and went very loose.  It was like shaking out the kinks.  It's a Jekyll/Hyde thing.  Maybe some day this battle of styles will end.

24x30 oil on stretched linen copyright 2012

Some Sales!

I picked up my paintings today from Gallery 5 as "Precious Things", their show with small works of art ended.  I was delighted to learn 2 of my 4 paintings sold.  This one "Wallflowers" and another called "Big Bunny Pal" sold.  Yay!!

NAP TIME?

I can't seem to get a good photo of this but at least it's proof I have been painting.  When the snow stops and it dries out I'll try for another photo--outside.  This is "Who's more ready for a nap?"  One of the things I remember best about having little ones was the fatigue.  The dilemma of whether to get stuff done during naptime or take one yourself.

24x30" stretched canvas

STICKY PINECONES

I had a lot of trouble getting a photo of this one that didn't look washed out or too shiny.  I finally settled for a shiny one.  This painting in the series I'm doing represents Maine.  The pinecone and tassels is our state flower.  I've yet to think of pinecones as flowers.  They often remind me of removing pitch from our kids hands when they were little.  Crisco usually did the trick!

10x10 oil on stretched canvas

CRAWFISH BOIL

This painting is a gift for our son and his wife.  I am doing a series of 4 paintings for them to represent 4 states significant to them: Maine, Louisiana, California and Texas.  This is for Louisiana.  Those crawfish look like under-sized lobsters to me.

10x10" oil on stretched linen

OUT BACK

This is another redo-a paint-over of a wood's scene that I felt was awkward.  I kept most of the trees but redid a lot.  Now all I need to do it get a better photo of it because this one isn't too accurate.  Lately I seem to be covering up old paintings with new ones.  A canvas is an awful thing to waste!

30x40" oil on stretched canvas   copyright 2011

CHARLIE

 

If you want to challenge your drawing skills go to a life drawing class or group.  I am humbled every time.  On rare occasion I haul my paints along which I did this last time and this was what I got after about an hour.

18x14" oil on canvas panel  copyright 2011

ROSE HIPS

This is a small painting of the Rosa Rugosa rose hips I recently saw in Lincolnville, Maine.  The plants had very vibrant yellow leaves and many of the rose hips had dried up.  I love their shape and colors and the tangle of thorny branches. (please excuse the shiny photo)

6x6" oil on stretched canvas  $65 copyright 2011

BEACH ROSE HIPS

I did this in an effort to shake off the "tighties".  You know-when you fully intend to stay loose painting and the next thing you know you're adding tiny details.  So I set aside my "tightie" and picked up a failed painting and painted right over it unconcerned with where it was going.  You can easily see the texture of the leeks I painted on the first go around (actually the 2nd round).  I like the happy free look to this.  How many of you painters give a new face to an old painting?

14x11" stretched canvas copyright 2011  $200

CRAB BOIL

When folks we know sit down to their annual crab boil the crabs get dumped in the middle of a table covered with a plastic tablecloth.  Soon the table is a mess of cracked shells, debris and beer bottles.  It makes for a good abstract scene.
10x10" oil on stretched linen  $120 copyright 2011

GREEN and RED

The holiday crush has begun so painting has slowed down a LOT!  This is one I did a while ago.  The bowl is a great old wooden bowl that had belonged to my mother-in-law.  I love it's thick sides and well-used look. 
10x10" oil on linen  $120 copyright 2011

FALL BOUQUET

Good advice if you pick a bunch of fall leaves is to put water in the vase.  I skipped that step, then put a hot spot light on this and the leaves dried up and changed shape as I painted.  I had to keep reworking it.  I love these arrangements of the last hurrah of warm weather. 

30x24" oil on linen panel  copyright 2011  $650

CUSHING, MAINE

This is the Olsen House in Cushing seen from the field where the cemetary is where Christina Olsen and Andrew Wyeth are buried.

12x12" oil on stretched canvas  copyright 2011

GERMAN CAFE-The Daily Paintworks Challenge

It's been a while since I've done a painting with a number of people of in it.  Makes me wonder how so many painters did those epic paintings with whole armies in them.  This is the current Daily Paintworks Challenge.  Check them out to see all the entries and also their featured artists. 

15.75x20" oil on gessoed MDF copyright 2011  Lower price of $200 due to odd size

THE STAR

I like to think of this as the star lounging in the sun and too lazy to read the book lying on the ground.

6x6" oil on stretched canvas copyright 2011

WHELK #2

Susan Roux has a good post "Playing with Color" recently about background in a painting.  She puts a lot of thought into hers which you can see.  I am not really happy with this background color but it's the third that I tried.  I find the background is often the hardest part of any painting.

6x6" oil on stretched canvas copyright 2011

SAND DOLLAR

After this was done I wondered why I spaced the shells the way I did.  Not the greatest composition.  Live and learn--as I frequently say!  Sand dollars really have the most delicate design on them.  I tried to be careful not to overstate it.  Tonight is the opening for "Precious Things" at Gallery 5 in Lewiston.  It's an exhibit of small paintings, crafts and jewelry, all great items for someone's Christmas list.

6x6" oil on stretched cotton  copyright 2011

SNAIL SHELL

This might not really be a snail shell but it looks close enough.  It would accommodate a little hermit crab.

6x6" oil on stretched canvas  copyright 2011

WHELK

I did a few shell paintings recently that are headed to C. Periwinkle, a wonderful gift shop in Harpswell.  This is one of them.

6x6" oil on stretched canvas  copyright 2011

SHOW OFF

There's one in every crowd who has to climb to the high spot and taunt the flat-landers.

10x10" oil on stretched linen   copyright 2011

SUNFLOWERS II

Because I can't always think of a witty title this will just have to be "Sunflowers II" because I'm pretty sure there's a "Sunflowers" paintings in this blog already.  These flowers are long gone by.  Happily I got photos before Irene came along and flattened all but the short sunflowers.

12x12" oil on stretched canvas copyright 2011 

DEADHEADS

Usually it is a good idea to cut off the "dead heads" of plants but coneflowers have the coolest, prickly seed heads.  Occasionally we'll see a goldfinch feeding on the seeds.  Not sure if I like them better than poppy seedheads but it would be a close second.  But then there's milkweed pods.......

16x12 oil on Raymar panel  copyright 2011   $250

Daily Paintwork Challenge-"The Simplify Cuteness Challenge"

I haven't done a little person for a while so thought I'd do what I consider a double challenge--simplifying and painting a young girl.  Young kids are so tricky to do.  They have lovely smooth faces so it's hard not to age them when painting them.  I made a mistake in positioning her head too close to the top--something I seem to do a lot!  Check out the Daily Paintworks Challenge.  They have a new challenge each week with multiple artists posting their works.

10x10" oil on Raymar  copyright 2011

GOING to SEED

Poppies, annuals or perennials, are a favorite for me.  Even after the flowers fall off you're left with these very cool seed heads.

8x8" oil on stretched linen  copyright 2011