Bountiful Basket

"Bountiful Basket"

We'll head into the weekend with thoughts of spring blooms.

I painted this also many moons ago...I like the way the blossoms

morph into eachother..that way you create volume without over

thinking each individual flower. Fusing the picture plane. If I had

painted each stem separately it would have looked very stiff. It's okay

to have things touch and overlap...that's the beauty of watercolor, the

fluidity and the "kissing" of neighboring pigments!

Robed in Red

"Robed in Red" 15" x 11"

This was an experiment in colors...trying to work

the foreground and background by overlapping the

negative shapes. I love "carving" out the leaves or

petals of flowers from the first dried washes of the paint.

I simply apply a darker second wash and then avoiding the

shape I wish to have in the negative. I will sometimes pencil

in some guidelines so I don't get lost.

The Rose Tree

A sketchbook entry today...thank you to all who got

in touch or left comments yesterday regarding my blogger

troubles..It seems to be fixed (for now!) so happy,

happy, joy, joy once again. Last week I said I was going

to wimp out and paint some winter scenes in the studio..and

that's exactly what I've done...I'll post one of those paintings

next week. I took a bunch of pictures of winter farms and I've

been trying to capture those ever since. I also washed out

one of my large plastic palettes, so I have fresh new colors

squeezed out. I am using some new to me pigments and will

report on those as well.

Iris Family

"Iris Family" 15" x 22"

This is another "historical" painting. I did this about 8 years

ago or more...I've really improved on my backgrounds and

negative painting. I have a blogger question for everyone..

have you ever come across blogger not loading your updated

pages? When I load my own blog I get last friday's entry as the

latest post...but when I go to someone else's blog and they have

a link to mine the most current one loads??? HMMMM...any

thoughts on this, or should I start looking inside my own PC?

Computers...they make our lives easier and more difficult at the

same time. If you can, let me know if you are getting the emailed

posts at the regular time like usual.

Orchid Trio

"Orchid Trio" 7.5" x 7.5" private collection

I will have another chance to paint orchids soon, because

my 3 year old orchid has consistently put out flowers and

looks like it is sending out some new stalks as we speak. I

bought the orchid as a disposable plant...treating it like I would

a bouquet of cut flowers...meaning no high hopes of it surviving

longer than two weeks...but surprise, surprise...it has continued

to display gorgeous white and pink blossoms. Goes to show, you

can always try something new and you might be pleasantly surprised!

Posh Peony

"Posh Peony" 15" x 11"

I am teaching a 1 1/2 day workshop at the Helen

Day Art Center in Stowe in May...ofcourse the focus

will be flowers. I like to buy big bunches of whatever is

at the stores plus intersperse them with some silk flowers

and place fruit and other still life items around on a big

table in the center. I have a collection of fabric pieces, including

napkins that also serve to populate the set-ups. In the works

is another workshop in May for an Arts League and then I would

like to do the second annual Peony painting workshop in June.

That is a one day class at a local church that has the most

incredible peony displays. My college reunion is around the

same time so I will have to plan carefully. Stay tuned...

Cottage Garden

'Cottage Garden"

When the flowers are in bloom...this painting was done

during a garden tour event where artists were invited

to paint at various gardens on a tour stop and then the

resulting paintings were displayed at a local gallery. Fun

activity. I did several garden tour events over the years.

I was asked to paint images for posters to announce the

tours and then painted the day of in a couple gardens.

I could watch someone demonstrate their painting technique

for hours. Or any other creative activity for that matter!

Purple and pink

"Purple and pink profusion" 22" x 15" Fabriano Uno CP

This was a little different for me using the teal/turquoise

pigment for the vase. I like how it contrasts with the lemon

yellow and the acidic greens of the apples. That's what I'm

trying to do now is work with some different colors. Either

straight out of the tube or mixed with another pigment that

you normally wouldn't associate with being a good partner

to that color. I could be pleasantly surprised. I also like

looking through some of my art books to see what the authors

look to for unique mixtures.

Stars among us

"Stars among us"

Happy inauguration day! The airwaves are

saturated with happenings in Washington D.C.

The crowds are incredible. Enjoy all the buzz.

I've taken a wimpy approach to painting the winter

scenery...taking some pictures and doing the work

inside the studio! We'll see what emerges. I want to

make an attempt to actually do some plein air work, but

the mercury has to rise a bit for me to try it. In one of

the more recent art magazines, someone actually made

a palette and paper holder that had some sort of heating unit

under it so he could paint outside without fear of freezing

pigments and the surface of his painting not responding like

it would under normal outdoor conditions...pretty clever!

Summer respite

This is an older painting and I'm going to

post more of my "historical" work in the coming

weeks. It's fun to see where one comes from. It's

definitely a journey this painting thing! I'm wondering

if anyone can give me some advice on posting a slide

show on their blog. I've seen some of them on other

blogs and wanted to try my hand at it. Hope it's not

too hard to do. We've warmed up to the twenties here

Whoohoo, so this painting warms the soul with summer

blooms and a place to rest.

Sunkissed vases

"Sunkissed vases" Fabriano paper

I like that the stems are inside and outside

the vases..also the sharp negative space defining

the handle on the right side. I like playing with horizontal

or vertical pieces of paper. I've seen some really exaggerated

sizes like 6 inches by 30 inches..that would be fun to do. Almost

a panoramic effect. That would work well for a landscape piece.

Tall flowers like sunflowers take well to a tall skinny piece of

paper. Make the size of your surface determine your subject

matter! Have a great weekend everyone..and happy birthday Mom!

Slice lemon sketch

Sliced lemons...an easy still life set up. I always try to

plan something for dinner that will use my "portrait" food!

I hate things to go to waste...I should try some exotic items

from the grocery store, that way my paintings will go in a new

direction and maybe my cooking will as well! I should shop

at the store with some new tube colors in my hand to see which

items will force me to use those paints! What a challenge.

Steeple

Another trip back to last fall...The colors aren't as vibrant

as I would have liked...let's blame it on my camera settings!

I just got some new colors and I've been trying them out.

I don't have them in front of my, but I will name them later

this week. They are by M. Graham and Co. and the binder they

use is honey...I use a variety of manufacturer's paints, everything

from Winsor Newton, DaVinci, Holbein, Schmincke, Sennelier and

Rembrandt...I have this large gallon lidded jar that has over (!)

200 tubes in it. So I don't have an excuse to try something new.

On a Stroll

"On a stroll" 22" x 15" Fabriano Paper

Taking a leisurely stroll through the grass...

This rooster was done almost two years ago

and I love the contrast between the rusty oranges

and the inky blues. They are quite powerful birds,

just look at his puffed out chest...he's got something

to prove! I start with their combs and work my way

to their feathers..halfway through I'll put the eyes in..

that's when their personalities come into play. Those

sideways glances...not quite sure if they can trust you.

Summer Sonata

"Summer Sonata" 7.5" x 7.5" private collection

The files are labelled and the studio is slowly getting in

order. I had a thermostat problem in the studio and it

was dropping below 50 degrees in there at night! But that

is all fixed now and ready to get organized. Tonight is the

first figure session of the year and I'm planning on being

in attendance. New colors, adventurous spirit, nothing

to lose, everything to gain. I'll probably be a bit rusty at

first...but I'm ready to jump in the pool!

Resolutions

I had to post this pool view...sketched a couple years

ago in a warmer and sunnier climate. Ahhhh.

Did anyone make any New Year's resolutions? It is

nice to start something new on January 1st...but it's

another thing all together to stick to it. I just resolved

to be a little more adventurous with my paintings. I don't

know what that means, yet, but I will find out. As I always

say it's just some paper and some pigment...what's the worst

that can happen?

Tall Blondes

"Tall Blondes" 22" x 10" Fabriano Paper

Here I go again with the tulips, but I can't

seem to help myself. I just bought a bunch of

purple and pink tulips and they are just now

starting to fade after a week. Did you all know

that tulips continue to grow in the vase? That's

why they twist and turn to nicely and start to flop

over after a while. If you haven't had a chance to

see all the results of the portrait challenge on the

Different Strokes blog..please check it out...it's great fun.

Redhead

'Redhead"

The winter figure sessions are starting again

next week and I'm prepping my travel kit so

I can be in attendance. At first I brought almost

everything I owned so I would have choices while

I was there, but now I've whittled it down to just

a few bare essentials that get the job done just the same.

Plus during the winter months they really crank the heat

up for the models, which means we are nice and toasty

as well!

Summer memory

Visions of summer sunflowers dance through my head!

I went to a great sunflower field this past summer and took

tons of photos of these stately flowers. They towered over

me and nodded their heavy heads. Their leaves were bigger

than my hands! It's amazing how such a little seed can produce

this thick stalked, 8 foot tall blooming giant! I tried to grow them

once, but our local squirrel population liked them as well and

snapped their seedy heads right off. Oh well, then I just have to

buy them at the farmer's markets.

Leghorn

"Leghorn" 15" x 11"

Happy New Year all...it's back to the drawing board

so to speak. A fresh look ahead and hopefully some

great work will emerge. I received notice that my

application for a solo show at the Southern Vermont

Arts Center has been accepted and I will have a show

there this August-September. As I get some more details

I will fill you in. I still haven't gone out to paint any winter

scenes, but we still have many months to go! Yikes.

I have a new digital camera and so will dig through my paintings

and capture some new images for my blog! Stay tuned.