Holiday Sale 11/2/2013

 

 
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I will be showing small paintings at a fund raiser/flea market at Severna Park High School this Saturday.  Hours are 8:30-12:30.  Admission is $1 with proceeds going to the class of 2017.  Paintings will be half the usual price so you can get a beautiful work of art for a fantastic value.  Come out and see me!

Sunny Autumn Hike

Not too warm so wearing a jacket to protect from scrapes is just comfortable.  Gorgeous colors of the trees to capture your attention and no mosquitos!


4" x 4" oil on Gessobord.  This painting is not currently for sale.



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Sentient

: able to feel, see, hear, smell, or taste

This painting has evolved over multiple sessions.  That's the way they happen sometimes. 
It began as a vertical painting of a night time ocean.  I didn't love it then (or in the interim designs).  I love it now.  There is a nice reflective feeling and the layers of previous paint have added depth to the overall painting.


14" x 18" oil and acrylic on canvas board.

Apple Season

Autumn is upon us.  It's apple picking season.  Time to rake the leaves into a big pile and then jump in them!

This painting is from the Palette Knife workshop I took last month.

6" x 6" oil on Gessobord.


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Dancing Reds -- SOLD

I see the pear as getting down rather than reclining.

I'm working to make my paintings more impressionistic.  The "perfectionist" in me wants to blur all the lines together and make invisible transitions but I make myself hold back from doing that.  Paintings I see without many blurred lines are the most striking to me and this is the style I'm striving for (excuse my grammar).  I believe a painting should look like a painting, not a photograph.

6" x 8" Oil on canvas board.
This painting is for sale.  Please click here.

Onions One and Two

I like the comparison of these two.  The same still life on the same day.  The top painting is done on canvas board and the bottom painting is Gessobord.  Both are painted a similar color but you can see the difference in texture here.  The canvas board has quite a rough texture to grab the paint and Gessobord is smoother and ends with a slight gloss without varnish (I did varnish both later, when they were fully cured).


Buy the top painting here.
Buy the bottom painting here.

Bottles Two

Since I started painting still life, my collection of beautiful jars, bottles, and small vases has grown.   They look so lovely all lined up on the shelf, each one waiting for a turn in the spot light.

This painting is available at Daily Paintworks.com auction.

10" x 10" original oil painting on canvas board.

Maltshop

Sometimes my abstract paintings are just an idea of colors and shapes that are pleasing together.  Sometimes I take a scene (a photo, other painting, or still life) and break it down into really basic shapes and change the colors so that one thing blurs into another thing.

This painting was originally a watercolor of an industrial scene.  With the blocky shapes and change of colors, it is now reminiscent of a dessert cart or malt shop counter scene.

I think it looks tasty.



This painting is available on Daily Paintworks .com auction.

14" x 18" original oil painting on canvas board.

Delicate Shadow

I liked the last painting very much but I also wanted to do a close-up of the butterfly.  This canvas has a bit of texture and I like the effect here.



This painting is available on Daily Paintworks .com auction.

6" x 8" original oil painting on canvas board.

Going For The Middle

My co-worker found this perfect but dead butterfly and I couldn't help but think of painting with it.

I got the strangest look when I asked if I could borrow it for the weekend and bring it back Monday.

To suspend the butterfly, I tied stretchy mono-filament string around it in a loose knot and taped the string to the top of my shadow box.


This painting is available through Daily Paintworks .com auction.

10" x 10" original oil painting on canvas board.

Stand-off

It looks like someone isn't going to make it onto the plate.  Especially if Pink Tomato has anything to say about it.

It was fun to add a little personality to still life.  I hope it makes you smile.

This painting is available from Daily Paintworks .com auction.

8" x 8" original oil painting on gessobord.

Sunflowers and Peppers

One bonus of painting flowers in still life is, I can justify buying myself flowers.  I love flowers but I would usually think of them as a luxury purchase.  Something that will die in a few days.  This way they are a necessity.

WIN !!

Knowing that flowers have a short life span also spurs me to paint more while they are around.  Try to get the most out of them before they begin to wilt.

This painting is available on Daily Paintworks .com auction.

12" x 12" oil on gessobord.

Orchid and Bromeliad

Just back from a trip to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC.  Looking for inspiration of ways to spend my millions when I win Lotto.  I went with my mother and daughter and we each had our favorite areas of the estate: Daughter, the farm; Mother, the house; me, the gardens.

I got lucky and the light was really lovely for taking photos so I have lots of references for future paintings.

This one is from the greenhouse.

This painting is available through Daily Paint Works.com auction.

10" x 10" oil on canvas board.

I'll Be Your Umbrella

I'm still figuring out my painting style and sometimes it takes a couple of tries to get the look I want to achieve.  In the case of these Sunflowers, the third time was the charm.

I love planting things but once the heat of summer hits, I wilt pretty quickly.  If a plant needs a lot of care, it isn't going to do well at my place.  A friend told me that Sunflowers are especially easy to grow so I will probably make a little plot for them in my yard next year.


Painting is available through dailypaintworks.com.
6" x 8" oil on canvas board.

A Gift For Mother (Not For Sale)

24" x 36" oil on stretched canvas

My mother had purchased a painting for her dining room that always bothered me.  It had sort of a Native American theme and a large part of the painting was the bottom of a stool.  A stool?  Really?  The technique was realistic so there was no mistaking what that thing was that took up half the painting.  Was the artist trying to be clever about something?  Was I just missing the point?  I didn't understand how all the objects fit together and Mom couldn't explain it she "Just liked it okay and needed something to fit in the space..."  I guess I complained a lot about that painting because she asked if I could paint over it and give her something better.

I should have started from scratch because the painting was done in thick impasto and I could tell it had been taken off the original stretcher (and probably shipped), then re-stretched onto a really cheapo stretcher that was not put together properly.  I reinforced the stretchers and stretched the canvas again, as carefully as possible.  Then I covered over the painting with Flexible Ground and allowed it to dry completely before priming and beginning my painting.

You can still see a hint of Ground behind the painting but I kind of like the texture of it.  Once varnished, some of the texture may disappear.

The original painting

After the Ground is applied



B&W to check values













This painting is Not For Sale.

Fossil Knoll

An abstract landscape where you can imagine all sorts of adventures.

 6" x 8" Oil on canvas board.

Hide and Seek

One Sunflower enjoys the limelight while the other is a bit shy.



This painting is not for sale.



8" x 8" oil on canvas board.

Red Climatis Vine

Easton, MD

 

This week I visited the prestigious Plein Air Easton! festival in Easton, MD.  Walking around, I saw this beautiful Climatis stretching its vines outside the fence of one home in the Historical District. 

I'm glad the flowers were enjoying the heat, I felt like I was melting and I'm glad to be back now in my cool basement studio to paint.


10" x 10" oil on canvas board.




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Into the Fjords

A fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created in a valley carved by glaciers.

I have a cousin who lives in Norway and he is the inspiration for this painting.  Some day perhaps I'll take him up on his invitation to visit and see the fjords for myself.



10" x 10" acrylic on canvas board. 
This painting is available on dailypaintworks.com.




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Sunrise At Spa Creek

My first attempt at Plein Air painting.  It was a lovely morning but the sun gets up way too early for a Saturday.  I setup on the sidewalk area of the drawbridge over Spa Creek in Annapolis.  There were a few runners and bikers while I was there.  Only the rumbling of buses over the bridge was a bit disconcerting.  I held my place for as long as my bladder could stand.

8" x 8" oil on canvas board.

Bottles One -- SOLD

Two of the bottles in my lovely collection.  I love the way the light dances within them.


6" x 8" oil on canvas board.

Misty Point (Not For Sale)

Protected by the rocks, this little piece of land supports just a few scrubby trees.  One tree juts out, reaching for the sky and peering over the edge, at once.


8" x 8" oil on canvas board.





This painting has been donated.
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Felicity -- SOLD

: a pleasing manner or quality especially in art or language.


9" x 12" oil on canvas board.

Tiqo

I like the boldness of this one.  It really gets my imagination going and I "see" so many different things in it.

6" x 6" Acrylic on Masonite panel.

Orange Study 2

Working on my dexterity with a palette knife.  In the Fall, I will be attending a workshop for improving my understanding of the palette knife but I'd like to get in a bit of practice before then so I can pace in front of the easel muttering displeasure at my imperfections in private.


9" x 12" oil on canvas board.









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Home Sewn -- SOLD

When it comes to painting, I have a pretty short attention span.  I may do some quick sketches but mostly, I think of an idea and want to paint it right away.  Sometimes when I come up with an idea that seems really great while I'm away from home, I remember to use the notes app on my phone and I write it down for later.  The idea of this flag teased me for a while and I did a few sketches before I felt good about painting it.

I love the feeling of movement here.

9" x 12" oil on canvas panel.








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Southern Window -- SOLD

My daughter came into the studio while this painting was in progress and said, "That's our window!"  I love it when others can tell what the picture is supposed to be.  Then I know I'm doing something right.


16"x20" oil on stretched canvas.


This painting is SOLD.

Jeannie's Bottle Hides in the Open

"I Dream of Jeannie" was such a fun show.  Ahhh... a more innocent age of television.


8" x 8" oil on canvas panel.









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Burst of Spring (not for sale)

Today is a snow day (in Maryland, that means it might snow later) but I'm dreaming of Spring.


9x12" mixed media on canvas board.





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Splash -- SOLD

I love different opinions of what people see when they look at my abstract art.  I thought this looked like water splashing and trickling down stone steps.  A friend said he thought it looked like condos in Aspen.  What do you think?


9x12" oil on canvas board.

This painting is sold.

Orange Beauty -- SOLD

My family seems to have a knack for choosing just the right time for needing my attention -- when I'm trying to concentrate on painting is the time they seem to prefer (when I'm not particularly busy doing anything, they pay no attention to me). 

So, a quick abstract floral study was just what I needed to help regain focus.



9x12" oil on canvas board.

Woven

This makes me think of so many things: pot holders, a tea pot, chocolate... the warm and cool colors just play so nicely together.


9x12" oil on canvas board.

Feeling The Sun -- SOLD

These two give a very bright feeling that makes me want to curl up on the porch with a tall glass of lemonade.


6x6" Oil on Gessobord.

So Close

Oranges huddle in a bowl and look very content about it.

6x6" oil on Gessobord.

Day At The Beach

Lilian and Brendan having a grand time being kids.

6x8" oil on canvas board.

Daily Special

My submission for the Daily Paintworks Challenge: Paint Some Fabric.


9x12" oil on canvas board.

Flowers For Avvy -- SOLD

I really love Abstract so you will see quite a lot of that.  I like the cool and warm flowers against this neutral background.


8x8" oil on Gessobord.

Green Dish

I love this little ceramic chicken.  She is so sweet.  I hope she shows up again some time.

6x8" oil on hard board.

Welcome!

Welcome to my art blog.  I hope you find it delicious.