Vignette

A small vignette...I like the way the orange

bled into the shadow. I love the ooziness of

watercolors..is that even a word? Well juicy

like a nice orange would be! I should go out

and get some Valencia Oranges...they make

the best juice! Plus having a bit of Florida in

a glass can't be beat...especially if you are in

damp, fall weather Northern New England!

Orange and Orange

Orange and Orange...color of the week! I'm going to run

out of colors soon...well maybe not, but at least as a

dominant theme in my paintings. So next week will be

back to "normal", whatever that means. I'll post some

paintings that are in area shows and I'll update you on

what shows I'm in. That way if you are near any of those

spots you can pop in and see for yourself.

Birthday post

This sunflower stands tall..as does my

oldest niece...she might have me beat by

half an inch...but anyway this post today

is a shout-out to her because she's fourteen

today! So happy birthday sweet sweet girl!

Love you lots. Stay tuned for my entry in

the different strokes blog...white pumpkins...

you thought painting white flowers was hard. GULP.

Permanent Yellow and others

"Sunflower Grandeur" 22" x 30"

Permanent Yellow, Gamboge, Aureolin...those are

but a few of the yellows I use. My palette changes once

in a while..with so many new and exciting colors out

there, why not experiment. The location of them on my

palette never changes though..you should be able to reach

for them blindfolded...but alas I don't think I'll be attempting

to paint with a David Blaine attitude...not that painting

blindfolded is like being suspended from a wire for three

days, or being trapped in a block of ice, but hey, as artists

we stare down that white sheet of paper and have to be brave

enough to put down those first marks!

Row of Sun

"Row of Sun" 10" x 22"

And we come to Wednesday...An in your face kind of

painting! Sunny side up. Speaking of sun...it's shining

again today. We've been very lucky up here in the Northeast.

Does this mean we'll be in for it this winter? Oh, don't go there

yet...Thanks again for all the comments...as far away as Israel!

Stay tuned for another Different Strokes entry later this week.

It's fun anticipating what Karin will come up with each week.

See you in September

"See you in September" 22" x 15" private collection

Day two of "yellow" week...this painting was done

at a time in the season when sunflowers were at their

peak...I love painting that way...what's available.

There was a comment linked to yesterday's post

asking if I mask or paint negatively...I've taught some

workshops on this technique and I always say:

"There is nothing negative about negative painting!"

...so there is the answer...alot of negative painting.

I love the way it makes the foreground pop...and if you

are careful with your transparent pigments you can build

up quite a few layers. The lily buds in the upper right hand corner

of this painting were done that way as well.

Harvest of Sun

"Harvest of Sun" 15" x 11"

This painting is one of five currently on display

at the Round Barn Show in Waitsfield. The opening

was last night and it was a great party. This week will

be yellow week...and maybe a double whammy of all

sunflowers? The chill is creeping up towards New England

and Fall has descended upon us...literally! So happy first

day of Fall. We are supposedly in for a b-e-a-utiful week.

Red conclusion

"Red Barn" 15" x 22"

This concludes the "red" week...with an image I did while

out in the field several weeks ago. It was the only landscape

painting that was predominantly red...well at least one that

was on my computer already...there might be some unphotographed

ones in my flat files. Monday rings in the first day of Fall, so I

hope you get out there and enjoy all the fall happenings, from

picking apples, to mulling cider, carving pumpkins, making soup,

hiking through fallen leaves and oh yeah...maybe some plein

air painting tucked in there as well. What "color" should next

week be?

Red Shoes

Here is a fun image from my sketchbook...one night sitting

on the couch with brush in hand and journal close-by...I was

searching for some inspiration and right there on the floor

in front of me....kicked off shoes. Goes to show that a suitable

model just isn't that far away. And ofcourse they are RED.

I am participating in a new blog called Different Strokes from

Different Folks...started by a Texas artist named Karin Jurick.

Every Wednesday she posts a new picture for folks to try their

hand at their own interpretation...so go to my blog to see my entry

each week and from there link to her blog.

Delicious

"Delicious" 15" x 15"

More red...but this time with some complimentary colors

of greens and teals. Yesterday was the delivery for the Round

Barn show and spying a few of the other artist's works it's

going to be a great show! They actually solicited over the

web and received a number of entries from out of state.

One as far away as Portland, Oregon! The show will always

be predominantly showcasing Vermont artists, but this way

they mix in some potentially "never been seen in this area" work.

Now it's time to finish my prints for the Shelburne Farms show.

Dropping off my work for that next Monday...Yikes, busy.

Thanks everyone for your lovely comments along the way. Keep them coming!

Soft in the Shade

"Soft in the Shade" 11" x 15"

Another entry for my red week. I am getting ready to

deliver my work to the Round Barn show in Waitsfield

today. This is always a beautiful show with a killer opening.

The food is outstanding! The show opens on Sunday from 4 - 7 p.m.

The entry fee for the opening is $15.00. The show runs

through October 13th. It is a beautiful part of the state for

those of you who have never been. Well worth the trip and

several great farmstands along the way. It's pumpkin season!

Red coffee cup

Okay, so I thought I'd try for a "red" week.

So all my postings this week will feature the

dominant color red. I'll finish off the week with

one of my plein air paintings from last Thursday.

Hurricane Ike has roared its way up to Vermont

with winds up to 40 miles per hour. We don't have

the rain, but the winds are impressive. You'd really

have to hold on to your easel if you were outside today!

painting outside with friends

This little painting closes out the week. Another "pretty

in pink". I painted out in the field yesterday with friends

and we had a super time. Beautiful weather, picnic

lunch with wonderful food, lovely relaxing afternoon and

the most magnificent dinner with fresh silver queen corn!

How sweet it is. I'll post some of my efforts next week.

I was trying for the most paintings in a day(personal record!) and

I think I threw pigment on about 6 pieces of paper! Hey

why not...it's only paper and paint, right?

Thanks, Jan for a most spectacular day!

Pink peonies

Pink peonies from a summer class session...with some

studio tweaking done later. Always fun to revisit paintings

in the limbo stage and try to finish or approach them in a new

way. I think we might be bolder with our colors or our intent

if we've decided the painting wasn't going to get out of the

paper drawer again. Today I am visiting with friends and

we are going outside to paint...the sun is shining and today

is supposed to be the pick of the week weather-wise.

Pink Pop

"Pink Pop" 7.5" x 7.5"

Okay so instead of continuing with the stargazer theme,

I'll finish out the week with a pink theme. The Vermont

Watercolor Society is having a group show at the Walkover

Gallery in Bristol, Vermont. The show opening is this Friday

from 5 - 8 p.m. If you happen to be in the area please stop

by...I have a piece in the show....nothing pink, but something

with feathers :) Hope to see you there.

Gaze upon pears

"Gaze upon pears" 22" x 15"

Another stargazer painting...I guess a theme

is being detected. I just realized I've reached a

blogging milestone...I've surpassed 100 posts!

I don't know if that means anything, but hey I've

seen mention of it on other blogs, so maybe there's

something to it. Weather is stormy here. We've been

lucky lately and have had gorgeous weather for a few

weeks...so today it's all the hurricane action from the

south finally making an appearance here.

Gazing Glory

"Gazing Glory"

Here are some stargazer lilies...I will paint them

on occassion, because they are always easy to get at

the florist. I have been preparing for my upcoming

shows and have not been in the studio very much!

Hopefully that will change this week. I've been working

on matting prints, making cards and organizing paper work.

All stuff that needs to get done. I am thinking about freshening

up my blog and adding some extras to the side of the blog.

I will need to scout around and figure out how to do it all

and what other bloggers are doing. A slide show might be

nice...or some updated links..hmmm more work that'll

keep me from the studio. Like I said I'm only thinking about it.

Formidable

"Formidable" 7.5" x 7.5"

I am posting this rooster today in rememberance of a

family friend who passed away last week. She loved my

roosters and had one of my early originals plus last year

her husband got her a print of another one. This one kind

of reminds me of her...she was a formidable woman, quite

dapper and always ready for fun...I'll miss her.

Wine and food

I'm back! My computer wasn't the problem,

it was my modem from the cable company.

So reinstalled, back on-line and hopefully that

will be fixed for a long time to come. Sorry I've

missed so many days. Hope your labor day was

filled with barbeques and family and friends. The

image above was created several years ago for a local

organizations' Fine wine and Food festival. Very high

quality posters were created announcing the event so

my work was on walls all around town and beyond, plus

I got to go to the event to sign posters and eat good food!