Japanese Fish Vase

6"x6" oil on archival panel

"Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare."

- Japanese Proverb

It's been a while since I've posted, I've been traveling again. I'm down in FL for an intense week of helping out my mom. So I haven't had much time for painting, or posting work, but I did finish this painting the morning before I caught my flight down here.

"Japanese Fish Vase" is a 6"x6" oil on archival panel that I've painted just for
"Daily Paintworks"- 'The Help Japan Challenge'. This painting is available at auction from their site, and I am donating the total proceeds to The Japanese Red Cross Society. Bidding for this painting starts at $100.

I've always loved pieces of blue and white Asian pottery and china in my home, and came across this unusual little vase last weekend in a wonderful little shop in Manhattan. It's small, roundish shape has a 'goldfish' swimming across the front of it, but it also has two raised faces coming out of opposite sides of the little vase. I knew right away when I brought it home, it would make a wonderful little painting for this challenge!

As of this writing, Daily Paintworks has raised $15,369 in just one week of selling paintings- going directly to help our neighbors in Japan. I challenge you to be a part of this aid as well!!

Happy Birthday Bouquet!

22"x28" oil on canvas

My husband lets the florist know that choosing some great flowers will end up in a painting! This makes it doubly fun for me! Out comes a cheery yellow French linen tablecloth, my favorite green jug -....and lots of paint.

Misty's Marsh, Chincoteague

"Every year the Chincoteague fire department rounds up the wild ponies of Assateague. island, and then auctions off the colts and yearlings to thin out the herd. A young brother and sister, Paul and Maureen Beebe, have set their hearts on owning one particular wild three-year old pony, The Phantom. Only they have to earn the money, the Phantom has to be captured in the roundup (which she never has), and then they have to outbid everyone else for her in the auction. And even the Phantom herself has a surprise for Paul and Maureen: a foal named Misty." Review written by Kathy Li



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

Saturday morning we painted at one of the marsh areas over on Assateague, the National Wildlife Refuge where the wild ponies are. Artists love to paint this side in the morning as the sun is behind us & illuminates the trees and grasses so beautifully. Frequently the ponies end up grazing through while we are there painting in this area. The day was hot, humid and bright as opposed to the day before- Friday was an overcast sky. The contrasts are frankly quite fun for painters to have such a back to back contrast from one day to the next!

End of the Island, Chincoteague

“Did you ever see an unhappy horse? Did you ever see bird that had the blues? One reason why birds and horses are not unhappy is because they are not trying to impress other birds and horses.”

- Dale Carnegie

8"x10" oil on linen mounted on board

This is Friday late afternoon's painting. After lunch we drove around the island to check out other places,...& ended up coming back close to where we were in the first place. But this part of the marsh had a ton of egrets feeding in the marsh when we set up. They stayed there for almost the whole time we painted, leaving after they gorged themselves for another 2 hours. Then, practically in unison.... they arose & left all together.... This is the marsh after the quiet.....

Morning Marsh, Chincoteague - sold

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
- Maya Angelou


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

Today's painting is called "Morning Marsh". What a wonderful scene, the lovely abstract shapes in the land and water here on the island of Chincoteague, (VA). We painted in the morning, had lunch (oysters, YAY) and painted again in late afternoon.

It's so good to be visiting my VA friends again - I do miss seeing them & wish we weren't so far apart! It's a joy to get together & be a part of this large paint-out here in one of my favorite places! And...I'm eating all the fried oysters I can! YUM! We had a great day painting, I'll post the afternoon one tomorrow!

Peekaboo Lamb, Portmagee, Ireland - sold

"Any glimpse into the life of an animal quickens our own and makes it so much the larger and better in every way."
- John Muir

7"x5" oil on gessoed masonite artboard

I'm not sure how to tell how old this little black-faced sheep was, but he seemed young and inquisitive. My friend and I had gone to paint in one of her friend's pastures that has an incredible overlook, just outside the village of Portmagee (Ireland). A couple sheep kept an eye on us. The older one acted like he could care less, but this young one, had to get a look at us from every vantage point! He was incredibly cute peeking over the ledge with all the wildflowers, looking as if he had climbed up from the sea! The sun was shining bright & high, the light was brilliant that day!


*****Well, I'm almost all packed to head down to Chincoteague, VA Thursday. It's an eight hour drive for me. But I look forward to this every year! I get to paint with dear friends (from when I used to live down there) and from Thursday through Saturday, we paint, eat, talk, paint some more...and sell! Saturday night is the show and sale at the Comfort Suites hotel, 4195 Main Street, Chincoteague, VA. The show hours are 6-10pm & coincides with 'The Art Stroll' in town. The Fifth Annual Plein Air Event is sponsored by the Chincoteague Cultural Alliance.

Mountain Road From Portmagee to St. Finian's Bay

May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face.
And rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.
- Irish Blessing


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

On each visit to Ireland - we always go across the channel from Valentia Island to Portmagee, then take the road up and over the mountain around to St. Finian's Bay. It's a wonderful place to go paint...and delightfully close to the "Skelligs Chocolate Factory"! I don't recall a day when I've been down that road when there isn't fog at the top.... for at least part of the day. When the fog settles it lends a dramatic mood to the scenery. When the weather blows through and the clouds lift, it is just another kind of beautiful! These 2 cottages are settled into the mountainside and the road is winding and SOOOOO narrow! Down below are crashing waves of the bay! Up and down the mountainsides are every shade of green you could ever imagine...and then some. For purchase information, click here.

Rooster at the Lucky Star Bar, Aran Islands, Ireland

“Nearly all the best things that came to me in life have been unexpected, unplanned by me.”
- Carl Sandburg

9"x12" oil on stretched canvas, ready to frame

This was one of those unexpected sights. On my trip over to Ireland this past summer, we took the ferry over to the Aran Islands. We stayed overnight at the largest island, taking a long walk during the day. In a land with much green & blue, there was this brilliantly colored pub where these fabulous chickens were strutting all around! A big dark shiny rooster with amber colored feathers near his head, was napping on the wall of the courtyard in the front of the pub. It was mid-afternoon and the place was closed up tight. But the whole scene just struck me as quite funny!

For purchase information, click here.

Gathering Shells on a Crisp Day, Assateague

It's Friday ....hope you have plans for an enjoyable weekend.

"One learns first of all in beach living the art of shedding; how little one can get along with, not how much."
- Anne Morrow Lindbergh ('Gift From The Sea')

10"x10" oil on Belgian linen (stretched on stretcher bars)


Today's painting is called "Gathering Shells on a Crisp Day, Assateague!". Off season at the beach, in particular - Assateague National Wildlife Preserve - is such a beautiful time, things are quiet. Late fall into winter the grasses dry to a golden color, and on a sunny day, the sky is bright & clear - there's a crisp breeze in the air.

I do take commissions - perhaps for your favorite travel or family memories! Contact me at roxannesteed@gmail.com for prices per size & to discuss your ideas!

If you are interested in this particular painting, please contact me at
roxannesteed@gmail.com.

Celtic Crossings - sold

Welcome to Wednesday!

"Ireland's ruins are historic emotions surrendered to time." - Horace Sutton

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

The other night it was raining, and I was dreaming I was back in Ireland. This is one place my mind always likes to travel back to....these ancient stone crosses in a large expanse of bog, on Valentia Island, down by St. Brendan's Well. In the distance you can see Doulus Head, and part of Dingle Bay & the cliffs at Culoo. It is so close to staggering cliffs, you can hear the surf crashing, and the wind waves the grasses in all directions on a summer's evening, yet it is so quiet you can hear your heart beat. It is such a peaceful place to 'just be'....and when you touch these ancient stones, you sense that you have touched humanity from many hundreds of years ago. How can one place bring such a sense of calm, yet make your heart race with the simple beauty of it all? When I talk to people who have traveled there, they have had that similar experience. Not a one has left the placed unmoved, or unchanged. And...it continues to call you back there. It is that 'sense of place' that wraps itself around your heart....and reels you back in. I must begin to plan my 5th return visit....

Campfire Below the Dunes - nfs

Hope you get to spend a relaxing, fun weekend, happy Saturday to you!

"Our memories of the ocean will linger on, long after our footprints in the sand are gone."
- Anonymous


Today's painting is called "Campfire Below the Dunes", 6"x6" oil on gessoed masonite artboard. Here is another little gestural oil sketch of friends at the beach, enjoying the company of their family on a late fall day....at a campfire below the dunes.