Pocket Full of Posies

 

8"x8" oil archival panel

For more information, or to purchase, click here. 

In a world where everything seems to have gone awry, 

you're the one who understands the importance of beauty in our lives, simplicity, a bit of wonder

in each day....and trusting in goodness. 

You're the one with 'a pocket full of posies', the glass more than half full, seeing an opportunity around every corner (and having the nerve to act upon it). 

And if you think that has never been there for you...well, you do have to actively seek it. It is there, sometimes in the unlikeliest places.

  

Geraniums and Lavender

5"x7" oil on gessoed masonite archival panel

For more information about this painting, or to purchase, click here.

Summer flowers are such a delight...fragrance, color, and the sounds of bees humming happily. 

So serene.

The lavender is ready for me to harvest.

Bringing in big bundles, the fragrance is wonderful inside the home home as well as out. 

Yes, this is what I crave all winter long. 

I am enjoying this moment of bliss in my garden, 

a little haven - heaven - here on earth.

I'm returning from almost two weeks of travels with family and am so glad to be back home. I was actually worried that I'd miss so much in the growing season, by being gone for that long.  One lucky thing, the very day I returned, my little orchid in my kitchen window has re-bloomed for me! 

Summer Beckons

20"x24" oil on stretched canvas

"Summertime is always the best of what might be." 

-Charles Bowden

For more information about this painting, please visit my website here.
 
Delightful seaside cottages, summer gardens, here in New England (or any place you can imagine for that matter), cool breezes off the water - can you think of any place you'd rather be?

This one took me longer than usual to finish - it's a bit bigger than I usually paint.  That, plus I spent the whole weekend working in my own piece of paradise- our own garden is over-flowing with blooms right now! It's my favorite time of year!

 

Late September Morning

6"x24" oil on linen (2 stretched canvases, 6x12 each)

I've been wanting to paint this bit of garden all summer. Especially for the peegee hydrangea at the corner of the fence. It starts out with limey green blossoms early in the summer, which gradually get huge and a warm white. As summer turns to autumn, they turn a rosey-mauvey-burgundy color. This it the 3rd summer in our garden - and the blooms on this one this year are huge!

This piece can be purchased (unframed) from my DailyPainters.com gallery or contact me here.

Zinnias of August

10"x8" oil on Belgian linen mounted on archival panel

"Flowers seem intended for the solace of ordinary humanity." ~John Ruskin

After two solid days of non-stop rain it felt so great to be out painting in the garden again! My husband started these zinnias in the yard this year, and they are doing so well! Almost waist high and such a nice variety of pinks, magentas, & cream. The hummingbirds love them, too! Which reminds me.....I haven't mentioned yet that we have 'BABIES'!!!! Little baby hummingbirds! They are half the size of the adult birds. The little ones were staying close to the butterfly bushes - I'm wondering if there was a nest in there! There is something truly delightful when you take the time to paint out in nature. You notice the things that you might not (probably not) have noticed if you were quickly just taking photos. I'm hoping to develop that out-door memory, so that when I am back in my studio again (especially over winter) I have lots of these outdoor memories and smaller paintings to develop larger ones from!

This painting is available directly from my DailyPainter.com gallery store.

Hydrangea

12"x12" oil on gessoed masonite archival panel (Ampersand's gessobord)

"Solitude is as needful to the imagination as society is wholesome for the character." -James Russell Lowell


I spent this morning under a shady archway, where this side of the house is in shade during the morning. Our yard is planted with many hydrangeas, but this one has turned out to be the biggest. The blossoms are in various shades of deep purply blue, some of them leaning more towards magenta, and some of them a bit paler blue. There's some plantings of lamb's ear near the base of this huge shrub, which is a nice accent along our garden path.

Being able to stand and really see your subject for a couple hours, really gives you an appreciation of the tonal qualities you are looking at. The warms and the cools in the foliage, as well as the blossoms; with some areas grayed down from being in deep shade. I can't think of many better ways to spend a morning!

This painting is available directly from me at my DailyPainters.com gallery store.

Front Garden, Daylilies and Coneflowers

9"x12" oil on Belgian linen mounted on archival panel

"Belief consists in accepting the affirmations of the soul; unbelief, in denying them." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Deep into mid-summer and so many things are still blooming their hearts out! The view of this front garden is interesting from so many angles! Here, I'm looking out from my garage, this time, instead of avoiding the rain, I was seeking a bit of shade. But how wonderful to see things from different view points. Which is helpful in more things than we care to admit!

This painting (unframed) can be purchased directly from my DailyPainters.com gallery store.

Open To Possibilities

14"x11" oil on linen mounted on archival board

"A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be at peace with himself. What a man can be, he must be." - Abraham Maslow


Open to possibilities....a period of growth...thoughts of change. I have been wanting to work bigger for a while, so I'm inching up gradually again. For work on location, smaller surfaces means I can capture the light before it changes, get my ideas down in a limited amount of time and space. It also means I can keep my gear light. I've worked larger canvases indoors in my studio, but not so much outside. But a bit of exploration is in order. Over the remaining weeks of summer I intend to try to some bigger canvases outdoors. Even if I end up bringing them back into the studio to finish, I know there will be much gained from the effort.

Lavender and Coneflowers by the Fence

6"x8" oil on linen mounted on archival panel

"A multitude of small delights constitute happiness." - Charles Baudelaire


At any given moment, this fence-line is full of small delights. And it surround my front porch, so that I can sit right there in a bit of shade and just look....and paint. I LOVE it when the lavender is in full bloom, the row of it in this flower bed just smells so wonderful. The arch of roses on the fence had finished its first round of blooms a few weeks ago, but a second round is on its way. Even the New Guinea impatiens in the huge blue pot were filling in their big dash of color. Later afternoon the sun comes from the west (or from the left side of this painting) and hits the tops of the fence, warming those rails before it finally sets in the evening.

Don't we all need a spot like this in our gardens?....that multitude of small delights?

This painting is available directly from me and can be purchased unframed from my DailyPainters.com gallery store.

Cloudy With A Strong Chance Of Flowers

9"x12" oil on Belgian linen mounted on board

"An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory." - Friedrich Engels



During my 'computer crash' time I decided I'd push a little larger on some of my plein-air work. I had been working on a steady stream of 8x10s, and wanted to gradually push towards some larger pieces. This was not a huge stretch into bigger sizes by any means, but I was pleased with the results!

They were calling for thunder storms the day I painted this. I didn't want to get caught out in bad weather, but didn't want to loose any painting days outside if possible - so, from the protection of my garage, this side of our lawn was a perfect view! Somehow on a gray day colors of flowers seem even more intense. The sun isn't bleaching out the color nor is it so blinding that you can't see. Which makes those gray days quite enjoyable for painting!

This painting can be purchased directly from me in my DailyPainters.com gallery store.

Eden Roses Along the Fence at Morning

8"x10" oil on linen mounted on archival panel

"Art is a staple, like bread or wine or a warm coat in winter. Man's spirit grows hungry for art in the same way his stomach growls for food." - Irving Stone

I was headed out this morning to go paint along the shoreline, but caught sight of the Eden roses on the fence....summer is filled with so many wonderful things, and it goes...so....fast.....

I pulled my gear out of the car and set up right there in the garden. So many things are just getting ready to pop out with blooms soon, day lilies, hydrangeas, Montauk daisies, and more.

Hopefully, tomorrow will bring another day of sunshine for some more painting outdoors!

Contact me here, for framing information. Price is $450, framed, includes shipping/insurance to continental USA.

Morning Sun on the Rose Arbor

8"x6" oil on linen mounted on archival panel

"Gardening is about enjoying the smell of things growing in the soil, getting dirty without feeling guilty, and generally taking the time to soak up a little peace and serenity." - Lindley Karstens


Thank goodness for a long bit of sunshine today! We've had so much rain lately, I felt like I need to keep checking to see if I've grown gills yet. This past Saturday my hubby and I went over to the Stonington Garden Show, for a bit of inspiration. Even though I don't have the ocean view, I love this garden we have. It's designed to have many intimate spaces almost like outdoor rooms or passages that connect. Passing through this arbor and gate, this climbing rose is a fragrant one, and is so delightful to pass underneath it! Just a little bit of peace and serenity in my own yard.

Rose Oasis

6"x8" oil on Belgian linen mounted on archival panel

"Faith is the daring of the soul to go farther than it can see." - William Newton Clark


Table for two, old stone patio surrounded by roses arched along a picket fence. A variety of other blossoms, fragrance wafting on the gentle breeze. A cool front has taken the humidity of the previous day and blown it out to sea. Come join me in this enchanted space where hummingbirds flit among the blossoms. Feel your heart rate slow, your shoulders relax...and just - be. Please contact me here for more information about this painting.

Memorial Day Mist 2011

"Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves."
-Albert Einstein

6"x6" oil on gessoed masonite archival panel

This morning I set out to paint my annual 'Memorial Day' painting, with the bunting on my front fence....when thunder started rolling. The skies were already dark, but I thought I could get a small painting in before anything blew through. Well, the wind picked up, too. So I picked up my gear & headed to the front porch where I could just paint another section of the garden. Glad I did, I wasn't painting very long before a light rain started falling.

The day did redeem itself, the sun came out in late afternoon, and I am getting ready to cook for some good friends who are coming over this evening.

Yes, I've been away for almost two weeks now, no blogging or painting happening here. Like Einstein says in the quote above, there are things you just need to give full attention to. I've been down at my mom's house in Florida, helping her move to a smaller place. She's moved to smaller digs in a retirement community, and the house she's leaving is where we grew up, she'd been there for forty-three years. It felt so strange to say good-bye to the place. But mom is ready, and chose the place where her new apartment is, saying she wished she had done this last year. And as one dear friend reminded me, "Home is where your mom is" (thanks Norma!).

Looks like it will be a very busy week. Tuesday, I'm headed to a plein-air paint out in Danbury, CT at Tarrywile Park and Mansion. Hoping to get some good painting time in this week! More about the show and sale in my upcoming blog-notes!

This painting is available in my DailyPainters.com gallery. (will show up Tuesday morning)

Gray Day Spring, Third Year In The Artist's Garden, Plein Air

6"x8" oil on Belgian linen mounted on archival panel

I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden. ~Ruth Stout


This week I've spent a lot of time painting BIG! I've been staining/weather-proofing my back deck. I'm reminded how much energy is spent when you are using your whole body in the painting process. Man I am worn-out, but am happy to have completed this project, before this week's coming rains set in! Saturday, once I unfolded all the achy parts of my back and every limb I decided to paint outside. It was that soft gray day, with no cast shadows, no strong sunlight, but no dark clouds just yet either. It has been really fun documenting the changes in this garden over the past three years. Sometimes it's hard to believe all this has been created in such a short time. The rose canes are thick and strong, arching across the fence line, with so many buds forming to blossom in the coming weeks! The creeping phlox is blooming in great mounds of lavender and pink. Soon their show will fade and something else will come along to add some color. It's going to be quite the year in this garden!