Sunset Spring on the Sound - sold

4"x4" oil on gessoed masonite

April is all about hope! (and spring) - The days are longer, the grasses growing green again. Sunsets are catching that warm glow on the sides of buildings as in these old barns & outbuildings here at Harkness Park...in our corner of CT.

"It's leaden circles dissolved in the air" sold

18"x24" oil on canvas

It's finally finished - and given a name (besides Big Ben!). Taken from a line in "Mrs. Dalloway" by Virginia Woolf. My daughters are particularly fond of this painting after their semester in London. One of their classes being on the Bloomsbury Group of writers, including Virginia Woolf. This is Mrs. Dalloway's description of the chimes of Big Ben. (and now daughters are insisting I read the book!).

This particular view is mine as I walked through St James Park, looking back towards the big clock tower, daffodils in full bloom, on an afternoon in mid-March.

Seaside Garden in Summer - sold

9"x12" oil on linen mounted on board

This is my favorite spot to end a run (or walk) in summer....this shady little spot under this ornamental tree at Harkness Park. Standing here is at least 5-10 degrees cooler than in the sunshine - and has a grand view of an incredible formal garden and beyond to the Long Island Sound. Cool indeed!

Sun Sets on Winter (The Approach of Spring)-sold

4"x4" oil on gessoed board

Here along the north shore of the Long Island Sound, SPRING IS FINALLY HERE! Things are beginning to warm up, the grass is looking greener! The tips of the trees are budding and ready to try and catch up! Sun is definitely setting on old man winter and dawn will bring another glorious SPRING!

This piece has been sold to Laura Sigman of New York, NY. Thank you Laura!

Cabbage and Leeks - sold

9"x12" oil on linen mounted on panel

I'm down in Easton, MD this weekend at a workshop taught by Tracey Frugoli. This was so helpful, - reinforced much that I already knew, answered questions I was wavering on - and increased my confidence level. All in all, very helpful! I am so excited to get back home and put all this to good use! This exercise today was very fun. I had bought the leeks yesterday at the local farmer's market here in Easton, and some one else had bought some cabbage, other items were brought in & we arranged our own set-ups in the room to share with another attendee or two. I do love to have beautiful produce to paint! And soon, once I get back home to CT, I'll be cooking up some potato leek soup!

Beet Greens

5"x7" oil on gessoed masonite

I'm down in Easton, MD this weekend to attend a workshop taught by painter Tracey Frugoli. We spent this day in discussion and demo - actually VERY helpful for me! Tomorrow we paint all day & she's available to instruct us.

This morning before we began, I went to town early and went through the farmers market- there was some beautiful produce! I could NOT resist these beet greens with their gorgeous red stems and veins! OOHHH - love this color. So when I got back to my hotel room this evening, I just had to set them up on the desk here in the room & paint them! Well, the photography is under a rather warm desk light- I'll need to get another photograph under some good daylight- for a better view! But you get the idea! Have paint-box, will travel AND PAINT!! It's fun being able to take this laptop with me and share paintings done away from home!

This piece is available from my eBay store. Click here to visit and bid.

Palatine Hill, Rome-View Across the Circus Maximus - sold

8"x8" oil on gallery wrap 1 & 1/2 " deep

Spring break - from London, a side trip down to Rome for some sunshine & warmth, and the chance for my daughters to practice their Italian. Perhaps over summer they'll get me up to speed? This trip was a wonderful chance to show my daughters where their dad & I rambled through in 1985. Of course - I brought my old 1985 tour book with all the dates written in where we had gone. My girls were worried that the map wouldn't be any good any more. Our B&B owner laughed & told them, of course it will be good, nothing has changed here for hundreds of years! ha. For me, nothing had changed in 22 years. I still LOVE this city & this country and now I know I have to come back AGAIN when I can stay longer and explore more!

We are standing on the opposite side of the Circus Maximus. Size -wise I don't know how to describe it other than larger than many, many football fields. (okay - the circuit itself was more than 1,090 yards long!). It was their grandest stadium mainly used for 2 or 4 horse chariot races, but also for military victory parades. The Palatine Hill rising behind it, is known as the cradle of Roman civilization! It is an undescribible feeling thinking about how many people have stood in the places we walked!

Big Ben, view from St. James Park -sold

Got a good bit done on this today, it's almost done! It's always exciting to see a painting come together, just a bit more tweaking & it's almost there. Need to go back & indicate where the people are sitting, standing, walking....etc. , then finish the upper hanging limbs. Got a start on a small Italian scene - coming soon to this blog!

Ledge Light - sold

6"x8" oil on linen mounted on board

Ah-ha! got it, finally. Had to get my #1 consultant on it (dear hubby).....I think I've got the computer issue figured out!

This is the piece that is being donated to the Dolphin Scholarship Auction - (see previous blog entries), since US Navy submarine families see this lighthouse....when they are stationed up in the Groton-New London area.

I know some people like to see the initial drawing in of the work, before the blocking in of color begins. I'm going to amend the previous post & place it there!

Ledge Light (finished version!)

Guess I'll be posting this tomorrow as well, please give a look tomorrow!

Draw-in of Ledge Light

(this image was edited/added Tues)

well, for some reason I'm not able to add any more pictures tonight? I'm not sure what's up with the blogger. Guess I'll be adding the pictures later!

This one's going to be 6"x8" oil on linen mounted on board, and is a donation for the Dolphin Scholarship Auction, an annual fundraiser for the Dolphin Scholarship Foundation. The Foundation provides scholarships for children and dependents of US Navy Submariners.

Big Ben (continued!)

Today I got to get back to the work I love to do...after a weekend of getting the taxes put together. Other than that part, Easter was beautiful! (well, cold if you're talking about the weather, but the lilies and other flowers in church were beautiful & made it really seem like spring!).

More layers on here, define the darks, hit the lights on the buildings, then go for the midtones of the trees, which were just getting the sap up in some of them. Some had just hints of spring coming up in them! Next the middle & foreground. I do hope I get a large block of time together soon!

Big Ben (unfinished) the continuing saga

18"x24" oil on canvas

Well, here is the first pass. The darks are placed first, then I go to the sky & block that in (it is usually the lightest light & in this case it will be). Then I'll go back to the shadow areas....& then back to the light areas,,compare, compare....evaluate. Hopefully it will meet my original expectations. Fun, fun, fun.

Homage to Rubens

6"x6" mixed media on gallery wrapped canvas 3/4"thick

I enjoyed the "Homage to Guercino" piece so much I decided to look through some books with my favorite Masterdrawings and try a similar piece. This piece is also done with an oil wash on canvas, red & umber chalks, sienna inks, and a gold ink rub on the corner areas for that look of antiquity. I quickly realized the difficulty of drawing in chalks on canvas with even a fairly smooth tooth - still necessitates simplifying!!

Floral Study - sold

3"x4.75" oil on gessoed masonite

Here's one I forgot to post! Just playing around with one of my smaller boards I prepared, using as big a brush as possible in as small of a space & getting the values to be really strong. Fun little piece & I enjoy painting my white pitchers & vases.

This painting is sold to Fred Hanson of Redondo Beach, CA. Thank you!!

draw-in of Big Ben

18"x24" oil on gallery wrapped canvas, (stapled on back) 3/4" thick

I think this is going to be a very fun one for me to paint. Mainly because it brings back memories of a wonderful trip with my daughters that I have just returned from. They are studying over in London this semester and were able to show me all around when I visited during their spring break. We spent this particular afternoon walking through St. James Park. The daffodils were such a great thrill for me as back home in CT everything is still brown & grey...(okay the sprouts of some bulbs are just starting to poke out of the ground!) Looking back across the park, you see Big Ben rising above the tree line. The people appear so small in the distance, this place is much bigger than I first thought!

Her Best Friend - sold

5"x7" oil on gessoboard

Aww, now she's all done. I was thinking of the phrase, "Dog is man's best friend", and know lots of ladies who adore their dogs, too. Gave her teeth & whiskers today, and played with some of her other features. Now I have 3 other canvases started - new projects for me to continue with tomorrow!

building a dog (unfinished)

5"x7" oil on gessoboard

Here's little Mikka again, not quite finished. I went shopping today ... so I didn't get much done in the paint department. But I got the bulk of the dog & background blocked in. Tomorrow the paint will still be wet- I can add, delete, move, paint over.....I love oil paints! it's like sculpting or building.....So this cute little friend of mine will get some refinement (on the paint surface!) instead of a chunky paint-by-number sorta thing. Thought it would be fun to share my process - I like seeing that sort of thing with other artists. Once Mikka's declared finished tomorrow, I'm starting on some larger paintings from my recent trip to London & Rome!!!!