Spring Skies and Artist's Garden Tour Video!!

8"x6" oil on linen mounted on archival panel

For more information or to purchase, click here.

My first plein air painting of Spring, painted on Monday the 8th, before I took some time off for surgery (on the 10th).  Spring has finally arrived in our corner of New England,  and I wanted to take time to "paint now, talk later".  So now I have some catching up to do.  Each Spring I look forward to getting back outside to nature! Getting to watch the colors of this marsh area of Barn Island over the span of a year is a wonderful thrill for me. 

Now, the moment I've been waiting for all winter - getting back to my garden! I'd love to share some of what I get to see each growing season, some of my favorite painting views. My hubby (aka Garden Guru) and I planned planting for painting, wonderful views that are in a small manageable space.  Garden Guru's main goal was having a minimal amount to mow, with a maximum visual impact. Both of us wanted an organic lawn with NO chemicals! We're so happy with the results! I'll take you through our growing season, starting with the views this weekend.

I'm so glad to take you along, come back often and see what's growing....what's becoming worthy of being painted, some helpful organic gardening tips, too (from my personal Garden Guru).

For a little preview of what this may look like in just a few short weeks, take a look at the home-page of my web-site, I've got a photo of a painting in that space from the first Saturday in May (yes, Kentucky Derby Day!).  www.roxannesteed.com

Summer's End

12"x16" oil on linen mounted on archival panel

Well, hip-hip-hooray! I finally have blogger working again and am able to load photos here once more. Just as I've about decided to go with another blog format. More discussion about that in an upcoming post. Now it's been over a week since I painted this, but my goal that day was to get back to the cove for a simple boat study...of a grouping of boats. In observing them while standing out there over a period of hours, they of course, shift with the winds and tides, swinging to face one direction or another. Usually they all swing to face the same direction, but depending on where they are anchored, some in the grouping may be facing a different direction. So part of my effort - as a painter - was to observe their positions at any one time, and indicate on my painting, where I'd like each of these to be. So while the painting doesn't have the painstaking detail of boats painted neatly in the studio, it is an actual fleeting impression of that moment in time....that part of the day when perhaps the winds were coming from the northwest and the tides changed...you get the idea. And I'm finding that the more I learn, the more there is TO learn. And though I have lived near water most of my life, my boating experience has been limited to canoeing and kayaking with friends.

For more information about this painting, contact me here!

Summer Coastal Fog, Harkness Park, Coastal CT - sold!

10"x8" oil on linen mounted on archival board

"It's hotter than hell, but not as hot as Texas!" - R. Steed


Seems like I had vanished off the planet for a while there. I just survived a pretty big computer crash/mishap/disaster. What ever you call it, it was not fun. Two weeks without my work-companion left me feeling adrift! At the same time we had our credit card number stolen, and I got a nail in my tire (that was not pluggable). They say things come in threes, so looks like I'm over that hump and am coasting for some good things to come my way! At least that's how one friend suggested I look at it!

In the mean time, I did do a lot of painting done. On the first day back to my easel after "the crash" (as we'll call this computer disaster) I went over to Harkness Park, a favorite spot of mine, whether to paint, walk, or just un-wind. The fog was thick over the coast line during this morning of painting, and was just starting to burn-off, a ray of light seeming to cut through to the garden space I was viewing. For those familiar with the park, this is the area behind the old mansion, where weddings are now held, looking over into the walled garden. The fairy-roses were in their full glory arching over the walls of that garden space.


My postings to come will be like a garden tour of sorts. Today I'm continuing a large painting (24"x24") I started yesterday on the back deck. It's a certainly a challenge to go big when you're working outside. Most of my plein air works are 9"x12" or smaller. But that's a post for another day!

Thanks for following along, and thanks to those of you who asked "where are you"!

Inlet To Goshen Cove, Gray Day

8"x10" oil on Belgian linen mounted on archival panel

"Make voyages! Attempt them! There's nothing else."

- Tennessee Williams



Wednesday opened on another gray day...perfect for heading over to the cove at Harkness Park. I'm so glad to live so close to the shoreline, the area has certainly provided some wonderful inspiration. While this morning looked a lot like yesterday, and I was probably not a mile further down the coastline, and I dressed about the same, I was cold to the bone. At least my hands and feet were quite chilled being out in this damp air. But the effects of that heavy mist in the air is so interesting. There are some places where the fresh greens of spring grasses are starting to show near the waters edge. The fog hangs thick over the distant horizon, making it look even further away than it really is. Depending on how the air is moving, it thickens and thins in those distant places. Nothing enhances memory of a place, like standing out in it for several hours, and recording everything on your canvas, and on your heart.

*****Just a reminder for my Hampton Roads friends; next week I'm headed to Norfolk! Saturday, April 30th I'll be demo-ing palette knife techniques and speaking about "Finding Your Artistic Voice" at London Square Gallery from noon to 2pm. I'd love for you to join us!

Dunes and Wetlands, Gray Day

8"x10" oil on Belgian linen mounted on archival panel

"To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring."

- George Santayana

Tuesday was calling for rain. There was that wonderful heavy mist in the air, but still okay visibility. I knew the colors of the wetlands behind the dunes over at Waterford Beach would bring me another great morning of interesting color. I finished just as the sprinkles starting getting heavier.

Spring Comes To The Shoreline

8"x10" oil on Belgian linen mounted on archival panel

"Too many times we stand aside and let the waters slip away, till what we put off til tomorrow has now become today. So don't you sit upon the shoreline and say you're satisfied. Choose to chance the rapids and dare to dance the tide."

-author unknown

Thursday morning the sun was out, and the remains of the storm clouds were breaking away. So of course I headed back to the same area, there is so much to paint there near Waterford Beach. I love this little spit of land where the rocks jut out into the water, and the evergreens offer continuous color throughout the year. The morning didn't disappoint me, and the clouds were such a wonderful comparison to the skies of earlier in the week. I am determined to spend as much time outdoors painting this year as I possibly can! This week has been quite rewarding!

Welcome to my latest new subscribers! I do hope you enjoy the paintings, photos & stories! I always love hearing comments from my readers!!

Contact me here, to purchase this painting.

Romantic Garden By The Sea - Sold!

8"x10" oil on Belgian linen mounted on archival panel

"Happiness seems made to be shared."

- Pierre Corneille

This painting, is from one of my favorite local parks to go paint, Harkness Park, over in Waterford, CT. Apparently, it's a favorite place for weddings to happen as well! And I can certainly see why - in July it's filled with blooms in it's many garden spaces. This particular area that I painted in that afternoon, is a large, walled in garden, with one of the gate openings facing a view to the sea. Such a romantic setting!

Yes -it's another painting to bring out of the 'archive'! I am offering these 'Valentines' at 2009 prices during the month of February. They are dry and ready to ship as soon as your Paypal payment clears! I also accept personal checks - it just takes a good bit longer for it to travel through the mail from your house to my bank. Paypal is that sure bet to receive it in time for Valentines Day!

******For these Valentine special offerings, I'll cover shipping via Priority Mail (for continental US) between now (Feb 1st) and Feb. 14th! Treat your sweet-heart to something wonderful, that lasts forever, isn't fattening, and is the perfect size! Forwarding this email to 'the likely suspects' might be helpful as a gift-giving guide! OR be good to yourself, a personal Valentine 'from you to you' might be just what you need.

My fifth Valentine offering for my subscribers this month is, "Garden By The Sea, Summer Afternoon" an 8"x10" oil on Belgian linen mounted on archival panel. Reply to this email to let me know you'd like this piece & preferred payment method. Your Valentine price is $125 +zero for shipping (see above)! ...all in the name of love!

Now go on, work on that love life!

Yes, indeed, I have been painting new pieces while posting these older works, I have a couple saved up ready to post soon!



Welcome to my latest new subscribers! I do hope you enjoy the paintings, photos & stories! I always love hearing comments from my readers!!

Turning Into Autumn

8"x10" oil on Belgian linen mounted on archival board

"Listen! The wind is rising, and the air is wild with leaves,
We have had our summer evenings, now for October eves!
- Humbert Wolfe

Today I took the time to go over to Harkness Park and paint outdoors - on our first sunny day this week. The trees are turning, the wind was up a bit, but the air was so clear- you could see forever across the Long Island Sound. But I painted at the cove, the tidal flow making ripples across the water. The grasses are beginning to turn gold, and the trees have their yellows and reds, too! What a beautiful morning! I'm calling this 8"x10" painting "Turning Into Autumn".

Summer Breeze

6"x36" oil on gallery-wrapped canvas, 1 1/2" deep, edges painted with design continued from front

"Live each season as it passes."
- Henry David Thoreau

Today's painting "Summer Breeze" is a different format than I've worked on before, a very long, 6"x36" oil on gallery-wrapped canvas that is 1 1/2 inches deep. The sides are painted with the design carrying around the edges, so there is no need to frame if you choose that contemporary look. I love being able to live close to water, everything about it- to hear the wind blow across, smell the salt air, and try and see as far as I can - especially in the varying weather. One of my favorite places to just 'be'.
To purchase, please contact me: roxannesteed@gmail.com