Leslie in the Rose Garden

Today's sketch is "Leslie in the Rose Garden ". This is all the artsy progress of the day, just mentally thinking on paper the next thing I'd like to paint. Leslie is a friend of my daughters - we were touring through the Leu Gardens in Winter Park, FL. - one of my favorite botanical gardens!

Hope you had a fun Halloween evening. We enjoyed the young trick-or-treaters in their funny, cute (and yes, some even slightly scary) costumes! I can hardly believe October is gone...and November is here already!

****** For my friends and collectors in the local area (CT, RI, MA) if you have areas that you love to hike in, favorite views, & don't mind sharing this scoop, please pass on the info to me! I love a good walk in new surroundings ....some become favorites that I return to again & again!

I do welcome requests for commissions. Please contact me at roxannesteed@gmail.com for a price list per size.

Red Carnations for a Gray Day - sold

8"x10" oil on Belgian linen mounted on professional artboard (Raymar)


"To be overcome by the fragrance of flowers is a delectable form of defeat."
- Beverly Nichols

Some more of my favorite things...not only beautiful, but the slightly spicy fragrance of carnations brighten up any day! This is an image I've painted before though it was in a smaller square format. I do love the poetic license of the palette knife!

Click on the image for a closer view.

I spent this afternoon tinkering with my printer(it's been a bit cantankerous lately)...before heading out to the post office to send out another painting. Many thanks to my new (and repeat) collectors this month from Florida, Georgia, Utah, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maryland, California, North Carolina, Virginia, New Jersey, Indiana, and District of Columbia! I am so grateful to "share a common vision" with others who see poetic beauty in the everyday things around us.

Tulips for a Rainy Day - sold

12"x9" oil on gessoed masonite artboard

“The business of a poet, said Imlac, is to examine, not the individual but the species; to remark general properties and large appearances. He does not number the streaks of the tulip.”

- Samuel Johnson


Oh, I do like this quote...as I like to think I paint 'poetically' rather than botanically- more of what you feel when you think of .....remember THAT particular bouquet of tulips.....

Click on the image for a close-up view of the palette-knife work.

Summer BarBQue

30"x30" oil on canvas

"Women always worry about the things that men forget; men always worry about the things women remember."
- author unknown


Today's painting is "Summer BarBQue". This painting is from my private collection. I've hung it in my home for the last 5 or 6 years. Now it doesn't quite have a spot where it 'works' in this new home where we live now...so it needs to find a loving home with a new owner. Perhaps you know of a good spot for it?

Yellow Roses, Lace and Memories - sold

10"x8" oil on gessoed masonite artboard

"One may live without bread, not without roses."
- Jean Richepin



For today's painting, "Yellow Roses, Lace and Memories" I wanted a floral that evoked those hazy romantic memories of flowers grown (or given), carefully arranged...and lovingly placed in a favorite spot of honor...Now the funny thing is, I have painted various views of this arrangement,various sizes....it WAS my favorite little ginger jar, long since broken by a kitten that shall remain nameless. But the thing that I do remember is the way the sun filtered through the sheer, lace curtains, and the fragrance of the roses! .....and a dear friend who has since given me another ginger jar for more paintings!!! (thanks Joanne!). And for the roses in my life....thanks Ron!

Autumn Marsh, Barn Island, Stonington - sold

24"x36" oil on linen

Today's painting is "Autumn Marsh, Barn Island, Stonington". One afternoon during a recent weekend we hiked here....it's one of my favorite views.

"My profession is to always find God in nature."
- Henry David Thoreau


I think it's done. At this point I set it aside & look at with fresh eyes tomorrow. I'll see if there's anything I want to tweak...but for now...yes, I think it's done!

As for the quote....this really struck a chord with me....on Wednesday evenings, I go to a book study group at church. We have just started the book, "Listening for the Heartbeat of God - A Celtic Spirituality" by J. Philip Newell. I was just thinking this afternoon while painting, I do feel "a closeness with God" when I am out-doors, painting....spending time in one place focused on my surroundings...we are blessed with life in such a wonderful world. Certainly there is a 'spark of God in all things'.
****** For my friends and collectors in the local area (CT, RI, MA) if you have areas that you love to hike in, favorite views, & don't mind sharing this scoop, please pass on the info to me! I love a good walk in new surroundings ....some become favorites that I return to again & again!

Windowsill Bouquet - sold

8"x10" oil on Belgian linen mounted on professional artboard (Raymar)

"I have never had so many good ideas day after day as when I worked in the garden."
- John Erskine

Tomorrow we're going to plant bulbs in the yard.....so we'll have a beautiful spread of flowers to pop up early spring. As for now, I have to get some from the florist. I try to make the most of them - making as many arrangements as I can out of one good batch, paint from one set-up, then photograph as many different other set-ups as I can to have more ideas to paint from later. I love the look of flowers on the windowsill, even on days when the light is subdued, there are interesting effects in so many places....and it's so good to just ....slow down and look......squint....look again ....

I'm enjoying painting with palette knives- it's such a joy to be able to manipulate the paint with this tool!

Crag Along Culoo - sold

5" x 7" oil on gessoed masonite artboard

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven..."
- Ecclesiastes 3:1 (King James version)


Today's painting is "Crag Along Culoo". This painting is a small color study for a larger version. I've been wanting to paint these rugged cliffs & rocks along Culoo. This is an area at the edge of Valentia Island (Ireland) bordering Dingle Bay. In winter it is truly terrifying to see the waves crash 40 feet above these edges, yes, you can see it from miles away. In the summer it's much more calm.....relatively speaking- it's still awe inspiring...and can still be dangerous along the edges. Some fishermen go way down along the cliffs....don't know that you could get much closer to the fish, until you get washed in...which some people have! The power of the North Atlantic below is incredible. For a chance to bid on this painting, this link will take you to the auction site.

Kerry Cow Calm; Ireland series - sold

11"x14" oil on linen mounted on professional artboard (Sourcetek)

Along the road to St. Brendan's well on Valentia Island there are vast pastures dotted with cows. Past the hill the land drops gently to bogland, then cliffs. The sound of the cattle is so quietly calming. This is one of my favorite walks on the island.

This painting is done all with palette knives- I love how the paint colors just barely blend...as two or three colors are drawn together in the light stroke of the metal.

Fire Side Chat

6"x8" oil on linen/board (Raymar)

"Optimists are the elixir of life. They constantly remind the pessimists that life isn't as hopeless as they think. They are the extra ingredient that makes life bubble."
- Sara Henderson

Today's painting is "Fire Side Chat". Each year, some artist friends & I get together to paint landscapes in Chincoteague. On our last morning there, before we head home on long road trips for each of us, we meet at this one little boutique-y coffee shop. It has clothes, shoes, funky art & house-hold things, books, ...gosh, a gals favorite things. And wonderful coffees & home-made breakfast cakes. So we eat, drink, & talk about all the fun we had over the past several days....and we keep making the same challenge after seeing the fun & funky art pieces in this shop. We always challenge ourselves to paint something 'whimsical', out-of-the-box, different than what we might ordinarily do. So this is my first attempt after this years venture. While it may seem trivial, each little stretch into the unknown will gradually become something we incorporate into our "regular" work. And what may be wild for one of us, seems tame to another....but it's does open the door of the mind to try new things.....

To purchase this painting, click here for the link to the auction, where you may consider a bid.

Mums Along the Step - sold

10"x 8" oil on Belgian linen mounted on professional artboard (Raymar)


"Joy is a flower that blooms when you do."
- Author unknown

Every where, there are colorful mums, along porch steps, planted in yards, in the garden centers. Such a strong punch of color....it's the only flower that can "hold its weight" in color against the fall foliage of yellows, reds, and orange trees! These are from my front porch!...and yes, they are painted mainly with palette knives!

Sailing on the Sound - sold

16"x20" oil on canvas mounted on professional artboard (Raymar)

"Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine."
- Anthony J.D. Angelo

Today's painting is "Sailing in the Sound". The last couple weekends I've been hiking down by the shore (I live close to the Long Island Sound)....the boats are out getting their last outings for the season. When the breeze kicks up these sail boats really move. I'm not a sailor, but I do love to watch these boats. They are another beautiful part of being in New England!

I found a statement by the artist C.W. Mundy that really strikes a chord with me- my thoughts on painting...."The power of suggestion is greater than the statement of reality." I made the connection at one point that the mind will fill in where needed...and I've been working towards a looser style ever since. Over the past few years I've been working with bigger brushes and palette knives - experimenting with the marks these tools make as opposed to smaller, flatter brushes. I'm enjoying this immensely!

Knightstown, Valentia Island, Ireland

9"x12" oil on Belgian linen mounted on professional artboard (Raymar)

"There is a secret bond between slowness and memory, between speed and forgetting."
- Milan Kundera


Today's painting is "Knightstown, Valentia Island, Ireland". This quote I found pretty much sums up my Ireland paintings. I think one of the reasons I really enjoy my visits over there is that even though I feel like I'm packing in a lot of activity- usually that activity is painting, in one place for a large segment of a day. This painting was done on location one afternoon, at the top end of the street in Knightstown, standing at the end of the churchyard...across the street from the "Fuscia Restaurant" (a wonderful place btw!). Even on a gray day, the colors of the buildings are so very vibrant- it just spoke of a "whimsical" attitude to me. How can a rain shower get you down when your surroundings are so brilliant (and the weather does pass pretty quickly as well). I brought this one home...to tweak a roof-line later, and kept it in my private collection for a while. Now I'm releasing it to the world....for purchase information, click here to go to the auction site and consider a bid.

Nature's Show

9"x12" oil on Belgian linen on professional artboard (SourceTek)

Some mornings could just make you spill your coffee! As I was looking out, the sun came over the rooftop, hit the tree line in the back yard....and the big show began! The sun hit some of the branches on the dead looking tree...pointing the way to the "star of the show"(and here she is!)... the first tree to turn a vibrant red in the yard. Through a break in the trees, a spot-light made a vibrant green light for the red tree- just to showcase her 'beautiful attire'! Could I have such a lucky start to my day - the sun knew just where to direct my attention. For purchase information click here to go to the auction and place your bid.