Fall Color on the Connecticut River in Old Lyme

12"x16" oil on linen mounted on panel

available here

I've just returned from a Leslie Saeta workshop in Waco, TX in time to see the last bit of New England color! During our week of studying marketing with Leslie, we endured - (umm, actually ENJOYED) temps in the low 80s...while back home they actually had snow flurries mid-week! It felt great to wear sandals in November! 

What an amazing time we had! Our workshop was held at the Magnolia House B&B built by Chip and Joanna Gaines of the HGTV Fixer-Upper show.  I have just become aware of them this year when one of my galleries and I were chatting about "industrial farmhouse" style favored by Chip and Joanna of "Fixer Upper" fame.  But I'll share more of my trip with you on my next post! I promise! 

Today and yesterday I've been out hiking in the glorious woods of fall color!  It's just past the peak (omg, I almost missed it!). The days are so much shorter and the sun much lower in the sky. But the trees...oh they are wonderful.  This one was painted on location by the Connecticut River, but I also like to paint in watercolor in my sketchbook, and then work up an oil painting from that as well. 

I do love returning to my favorite sites over and over again to see what each season brings!

This black frame really complements this painting!

 I love how it looks with Stickley furniture! 

Here's a side view for you! Contact me if you think this would look great in your home!

If paintings aren't in your budget right now(I do offer interest free layaway), I also have this image available in my 2017 calendar, by clicking right here.

"Water's Edge", Watch Rock Preserve, Old Lyme, CT, IRISH TRAVEL JOURNAL artist's workshop

6"x6"x1" oil on archival cradled panel

For more information, or to purchase, click here.

I am really enjoying the process of these paintings - starting with a watercolor sketch on location, and basing an oil painting on these, using intuition, memory and the color sketch. 

This is such great fun, and I find that I'm able to record a lot of 'usable' information visually. Not only do I get to enjoy the sketch journal, but I enjoy them a second time when I use them for the basis of an oil painting. 

If you like this idea, you should consider joining me this September in Ireland! I am leading & teaching an IRISH TRAVEL JOURNAL workshop. We'll be based on Valentia Island, with Barbara Mastaglio's Art on the Ring of Kerry (Ireland) Plein Air Artist's Retreat. I've been there many times now....8? 9? or 10? after a while, who's counting- I'm welcomed like a local, and you will be, too! Barbara lives there when she's not in the U.S. and we are able to see and experience some incredible things! Mark your calendar for September 11-18th, 2016. The website will be updated soon will this year's information: http://www.valentiaart.com/ In the mean time, enjoy the scenery!

 

Wide Wetlands (dyptich)

6"x24" x2" deep cradled panel -dyptich, 2 (6x12")
To purchase, or for more information, click here.

and here's a close up of the left side:

 (side 1),

and below is side 2, the right side:

I've been wanting to paint a wide panoramic view of what I see out at Barn Island. Usually I just choose one small area to paint. The place is so expansive! Actually I could go on with additional panels and continue the view as though I were standing in the midst of the place.  haha, but that's another project for yet another day!

Morning Path Through The Marsh, Late September - SOLD!

6"x8" oil on linen mounted on archival panel

$200 

Buy It Now

or contact me here for more information.

Mornings are quiet on the marsh...

Reflective times, 

watching the weather,  

and the birds as they stalk prey in shallow water, 

perhaps a walker with their dog passes by.

Niantic River & Marina, Plein Air

12"x12" oil on archival panel

For more information about this painting, click here, or contact me here.

Every beautiful day that's left during summer, I'm hoping to get out of the studio to go paint on location. This was one of those days! I packed up the gear & headed over to Niantic. Across the river from me is the striped awning of where I had lunch with friends another day that week! I painted this on a Friday, and the boats were pretty active, coming and going (mostly going out into the bay and beyond!).  Some people going fishing, some just cruising, others heading out for a day of sailing.  At the riverside park I was painting from, there were several people out fishing from the banks, some just bringing a lunch to get outside for a short bit, and some just out walking enjoying the sunshine on a terrific day.

Passing Showers

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

"I believe that there is a subtle magnetism in Nature, which, if we unconsciously yield to it, will direct us aright. ~Henry David Thoreau

Thoreau really had it right. When I do get outside to the woods and fields, I really do find it exhilarating (and that I've got myself in the right place). And that's whether I'm painting, hiking, or even taking a short stroll. Lately I've been exploring some additional painting possibilities in our region.

This morning I did take a short trek over to nearby Barn Island, just over in Stonington. I could see that the sky was clearing in that direction, and thought that there would be some interesting cloud cover as the front blew over. It started sprinkling when I pulled out of the driveway, so I wasn't sure if I'd get to paint or just be rained on. But it was a nice heavy cloud cover with band of clearing sky near the horizon. I was really drawn to the way the bands of cloud light reflected into the marsh water pools. On gray days, everything is much closer in value range (and the color can sometimes seem so rich).

This painting can be purchased unframed directly from me at my DailyPainters.com gallery store, or contact me here.

Back of the Dunes

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

I am always pleasantly surprised at the wonderful 'abstract' shapes in a landscape that you see when you squint your eyes down to see just the values.

Even on a gray, misty, overcast day, there is some wonderful color in the dried out grasses along the back of the dune. And yes, it's one of my favorite painting spots, over at Waterford Beach Park, the little path before you walk out to the beach, back in the marshy area. I finished this painting before the mist turned to a light rain. It was a wonderful morning of 'information gathering' with some good ideas tucked away in my memory to use for a larger studio painting, that I'll be sharing in an upcoming blog post!

Contact me here, for more information about this painting!

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!

Boats On The Cove

12"x16" oil on linen mounted on archival panel

“A rising tide lifts all boats.” -Proverb

Another perfectly fine coastal Connecticut summer day. A cloudless sky and still water in early morning turned to big puffy cumulous coming from the North-west. The ripples from more boat activity broke the still reflective surface of the water.

I'm feeling pretty fortunate that we've had so much good weather for plein air painting this summer. I always find myself wishing it lasted longer. But maybe it's having that cold time in the winter that makes me appreciate this so much!

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

Remains Of The Day

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

"People live for the dream in their hearts. And I have yet to know anyone who has not some secret dream, some hope, however dim, some storied wall to look at in the dusk, some painted window leading to the soul." ~Zane Grey

I'm down in Norfolk, VA this weekend, visiting with fellow artist Norma Wilson, and trading out some paintings at London Square Gallery. A few of us got together yesterday just to paint and catch up. Luckily I brought my laptop with photos of Barn Island, in Stonington (CT) that I've been wanting to paint. I love the abstract shapes within the marsh as dusk falls. The colors of the grasses change minute by minute until the sun finally sets...purple dusk turning to night fall, the sun giving its final light show before taking a bow below the horizon.

This painting can be purchased framed, directly from me, through my DailyPainters.com gallery store.

North Cove, Old Saybrook

16"x20" oil on linen mounted on archival panel

"Do not tell fish stories where people know you; but particularly don't tell them where they know the fish." -Mark Twain

Another beautiful day here in New England! I was able to go back to Old Saybrook and finish the piece I started on last week down on the North Cove. My friend's yard overlooks the cove and all the boats moored out there are so beautiful.

I had been wanting to work on larger pieces on location. I usually work on this size in the comfort of my studio. But I did want to see what I could bring to the effort by being on location. I got the canvas covered last week, with everything blocked in & indicated in placement (in particular the boats and the clouds, which continue to move all the time). Once I indicate the direction of light hitting the boats, that's the crucial point for me. (***And I strongly suggest to artists just starting out, to lay out a lot of paint!)

This week I came back for the finish, which actually doesn't take that long once the "bones" (or foundation) of the painting are carefully set.

This painting may be purchased directly from me, at 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.

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.