???

Dark and sultry, the iris beckons from the

shaded garden corner...so begins the newest

romance novel..ha ha, but doesn't it sound like

that? I don't have a title for this one and thought

maybe you all could send some suggestions my way..

Remember I like alliteration...thanks and looking

forward to seeing what you come up with...

Poppy duo

Just a quick posting today...we're painting poppies

in class today...at least I will be and I have tons of

photos of other flowers for people to choose from!

Should be fun, bold and bright, loose and free.

"Buddies"

My oil painting blog has been all about the pears lately,

so I thought I'd follow suit right here. These cozy little

fruit friends tucked away on a festive plate make me happy.

Had a great first class yesterday with a LARGE group of painters.

We were tightly squeezed into the room, but everyone got a

spot, paint and water to do some fun, colorful florals. I had

raided the local farmer's market and various other flower shops

for a wide variety of blossoms to use as inspiration!

Blush of pink

Hollyhocks have been on the brain..I've taken some

pictures around, because they are out and blooming

right now...I got a new camera for Christmas and it's

small and compact..you can put it in your pocket, so I

find myself hardly ever without, which is a good thing for

recording the seasons of flowers. My reference file is growing

and I should be able to get through the winter with plenty of

material to paint...winter, winter, it's just starting to look like summer!

(as one fellow blogger pointed out the other day...some of you are

enjoying winter right now!)

Red, White & Blue

My rendition of the latest Different Strokes challenge.

This was done on a 7.5" x 7.5" piece of paper. I usually

do them in my journal, but decided to use my "regular"

watercolor paper and see if I could apply my "regular"

painting approach. Journal paper is quite different and

doesn't take as well to the watercolors...it works great to

just record you sketches, but for layering...not so.

Winter Chick

Winter in July? Well it hasn't been much of a summer here,

so I guess I can post an image of a chickadee in the snow...

I did some snowy/holiday images of birds for my publishing

company earlier this year..so who knows they might end up

on cards or wrapping paper? For those of you in a heat wave,

maybe this visual of a stark blue sky and the thin film of snow

on the branches cooled you off!

sorting pix

"At their peak" 15" x 22"

I tried to post yesterday, but my picture didn't upload.

I assume it was an issue with Blogger...anyway here I am

today and getting that much closer to my workshop week!

I did this painting from a photograph and one of

the workshop days we'll work from a floral reference

picture. I'm sorting through all my photos so I have a nice

grouping for folks to choose from. I have a HUGE stack of

peony ones from my June workshop, so that bloom is covered!

Still life with fiskars

Yet another still life painting from my workshop

with Charles...it's so nice to spend uninterrupted

time painting and being with other artists. Something

we all should give ourselves as often as we can!

Next week I'll be on the other side of the easel so to

speak and teaching some floral classes at the Holbein

Vermont Art Event.

Tulip Tapestry

"Tulip Tapestry" 18" x 24"

Phew! Back from missing a few posts at the end of last

week! It seems it might be like that for a little while.

Lots of stuff coming down the pike..but I'll try to keep up.

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer..as I post such a

"spring" painting :) This was done during an artist residency

program back in 2000. I can definitely see that my negative

spaces have gotten more defined, but I do like the almost

softened stained glass effect of this piece.

Tomatoes & Pears

Sorry for the flash reflection on this one!

This was a painting I donated to our local theatre

fundraiser years ago. I had put together 4 separate

paintings in one frame. This makes for a bigger

impact, larger piece overall and allows you to work

in a series or tie together work you might already

have around in your studio.

made-up

Since I posted the landscape yesterday I wanted to share

with you some work I did in acrylics(!) some long ago time.

I had a fun time inventing these imaginary landscapes and

smushing the paint around, even with my fingers! Guess I

won't apply that practice to my newly found oil passion...

even though I think some artists do get that tactile with their

chosen medium.

Show choices

"Big sky, Red Barns" 10" x 22"

I just sent off four images for a show in Southern Vermont and

this was one of the quartet...I'll find out by the end of the month

if any of the paintings were chosen for inclusion in the show. I'll

let you know. It's a show of "New England" work, scenery, animals

etc..to be found around NE. Yes, I did enter some of my "flock"

(roosters that is:)

Feathered Friend

Just a quick post today...another "Feathered Friend"

to start off your weekend...

Amaryllis Bouquet

I keep posting work from several years back..

this gives you the full spectrum of my work..a road map

so to speak of where I've been and where I'm going (maybe).

I do think there's a common thread throughout my

watercolors...I guess it's true for everyone, your personality

can't help but shine through...it's inevitable.

Sketch-time

Back to my time at the Charles Reid workshop and a

quick sketch I did of him while he was working his magic.

I had this view quite a few times during the week and made

some other sketches as well. It all adds up to practice and

a model who is in the same pose (even though he's working).

DSFDF week

"Boater Floater" 6"x8"

Another week, another Different Strokes challenge.

I've placed the boater in a Lake Champlain setting.

She was originally billed as a Lake Michigan rower.

That's the artistic license we all have in our wallets!

Lake Champlain is celebrating it's Quadricentennial

this year..thanks to the discovery by Samuel de Champlain.

Show opening

"Walking the Plank" 15" x 15"

This weekend was the opening reception of the first

awards show for the Vermont Watercolor Society.

The show is in Grafton at the Hunter Gallery of Fine Art

and the Phelps Barn, which is attached to the Old Tavern.

The epitome of a quaint Vermont town. My painting won

an honorable mention merchandise award! The show looks great

and there is a wide variety of work, subjects and techniques.

(Through August 2nd)

Inspiration

From tulips to irises...I sure do jump around a bit..but

That's the way I paint as well...sometimes I'm raring to

jump into poppies because I want to use red..other times

I spot a bouquet at the store of beautiful purple irises and

start a whole series of those blooms..keeps life interesting!

This piece is from at least 8 or 9 years ago...time flies.

Will post again after the weekend...enjoy your Fourth!

Crowded together

Just a quick post as I dash out the door to a meeting.

A flash of spring bulbs to brighten your day!