Table for Two with a Seat for You! Day 20 of #jan30in30 - SOLD!

 

8"x6" oil on linen mounted on archival panel

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She's waiting for you, come on! Could be your friend, or more? A nice seat in the shade on a sunny day, what else is blooming besides the flowers? 

Art has the ability to transport us, jump-start our imaginations, bring those emotions bubbling to the surface...I know I'm always glad it's a big part of my life.  

So yes, I am behind in the 30in30. Two paintings I've completed are related to a commission that is a birthday gift & can't yet be revealed...so I'm actually up to day 18. So...It's possible that I'll catch up. 

Feeling pretty lucky though, I've definitely had my guardian angels following me, earning their wings. Sunday morning I was in the middle of (and survived) a 22 (yes, that's twenty-two) car pile-up here in New London, on the way to choir before church. It could have been worse. Black ice is the worst nightmare. This Florida girl is officially homesick for warm weather where ice is in your tea and not your highway!! 

Ruler of All She Purr-veys - Kitty Floral

6"x8" oil on linen mounted on archival panel

Chairman and Queen of the IBKC (that's Itty Bitty Kitty Committee) ruleth over all she surveys. Oil on canvas. Per special request. Even a feral cat & her human have their day.

Summer Dreams

8"x10" oil on stretched canvas, gallery wrapped with sides painted (design continued around sides)

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Yesterday a couple neighbors and I went up to Boston for the annual Spring Flower & Garden show. It is spectacular- and quite amazing how they bring in all these huge flowering trees and shrubs, granite slabs, stone fountains, etc.  to set up those wonderful exhibits!  We come away feeling like we've been on a great vacation far away.  It is definitely the turning point that makes things feel like Spring is really officially here. I know it's been on my mind non-stop - warm weather, sitting out under the shade trees, with cut peonies from my garden in a big jug on the table.  

The garden is beginning to show signs of life! Tulips, daffodils and Spanish Bluebells are poking through the soil, working hard to grow, waiting for those warm days when mankind and plant-kind feel great turning our faces to the sun! 

Buddha Garden By The Sea, Plein air Harkness Park

12"x12" oil on archival panel

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Today I joined several other members of the CT Plein Air Painters Society for our annual summer paint-out and picnic at Harkness Park, here in the southeastern corner of our state. And what a perfect day it was! It's always such a treat to paint there.

Many different walled gardens surrounding an old Victorian era mansion by the sea,

Sunshine and ocean

Flowers and fragrance

Breeze and beauty.

Afternoon Prelude, Floral

12"x12" oil on gessoed archival panel

“The afternoon knows what the morning never suspected.”

- Swedish Proverb


Thursday was windy and chilly, so I stayed in to get caught up with all my framing for the paintings I'm taking down to Norfolk, VA next week. Early Friday morning I went out for some flowers to paint. All the colors they have now that it's Easter week- hehe, they called some of them "Jelly-bean Bouquets", and the colors were just like that! I've set this arrangement up as sort of a tea-break before afternoon- sort of an afternoon 'fortification'. These paintings I've done in this series are a reminder to bring these things into our lives; flowers for the table, a cup of tea, a bit of honey to sweeten, a bit of fruit, and some colorful linens just for the cheer of it. Hope you can make room in your life for some of these things.

To purchase this painting:

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Price: $550 USD
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*****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!

Filmore Street Sun and Shadow - sold

8"x6" oil on Belgian linen mounted on archival board

"Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you."
- Maori Proverb


The third painting on Friday during my Chincoteague Paint-out last week-end:

I headed over to a 'hidden garden' on Filmore Street belonging to Theresa Bulgher. Filmore St. is a tiny narrow street off of Church Street that edges along a canal on one side. Colorful little beach cottages line each side and lush, interesting gardens with just a touch of "wildness" to them. There was quite a bit to choose from in any direction, but a bit of picket fence caught my eye. If you've followed my blog & paintings for any length of time, you know how I love these in a garden! Combine that with an interesting dose of sun & shadow and I knew exactly what I was after. AND another crepe myrtle still in bloom, too!

Several artists were already painting here in various little nooks & crannies of the garden- all of us with quite different views in mind. One, who claimed not to be a 'landscape painter' but a still life painter, found many paintings in this area that day! I always find it fascinating that you can turn 40 artists loose on an island and have sooo many different, amazing views! Just the thought of that makes me smile!

This painting came together so nicely! What an enjoyable spot to stand and paint, under the shade of large trees, with great views in any direction. By this point, it was 1pm and time for lunch.

This painting sold during our exhibit & sale last weekend...sorry if you missed the show - it was a lot of fun and I know you would have enjoyed it!! There's always next year....and following along with my blog! :-)

Monday Sun & Shadows, Plein Air in the Artist's Garden

10"x8" oil on Belgian linen mounted on museum quality board

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."
- Eleanor Roosevelt

It's so good to be back home. As I mentioned in my last blog post, I've been away at a workshop with Camille Przewodek over the last week, down in Easton, MD. I plan on writing a summary of the week for fellow artists that are interested in her work...and explain our link to Monet! Look for that in the next day or so. I'm still playing catch up here at home, trying to make time for both the painting AND the blogging!

When I set up Monday to paint here in my front garden, I thought back to the previous paintings I did there last year. My peegee hydrangea has gotten thicker, but a bad wind storm the other week really was destructive to this poor thing. It broke a couple branches, and the remainder of them seem to sag a bit under the weight of the flowers. The basil I planted is hiding some of the phlox, and is the size of a small shrub! The big blue pot with the purply,reddish grasses is doing well, but I preferred the plantings I had in it last summer. Sooooo- in gearing up for next years flowers (and paintings), I can see I need to start moving some plants, open up some space for other plants (more lavender, too, I've found a great location where it thrives!).

Monday Sun & Shadows, Plein Air in the Artist's Garden

About This Painting:
Catching the front garden in partial sun & shadow, glad to be back home!

Media: oil on Belgian linen mounted on professional artboard
Size: 8 in X 10 in (20.3 cm X 25.4 cm)

How to Purchase:
send me an email

Cottage Windowboxes

5"x7" oil on gessoed masonite

"Nothing determines your creative life more than doing it. This is so obvious and fundamental, yet how much energy is wasted on speculation, worry and doubt without the relief of action."
- Ian Roberts, from Creative Authenticity


I know there's a trend here. I've always painted what I love- whether places, people, or things. The gardens I'm most attracted to are little vignettes of cozy places, that feel like home....nothing too stuffy or formal, something you might see from the comfort of your lawn chair....or a sight that invites you in....

These window-boxes are from the shops where I have some of work, "Artisan Framing & Gallery" up in Marlborough, CT. It's such an inviting colonial style/farmhouse looking structure, with a nice front porch! Our plein-air exhibit is up through August, if you haven't had a chance to see it yet!

Well, as I mentioned in a recent post, I'm off to a workshop this coming week. Not sure if I'll have time to post or not. I'm going to study with Camille Przewodek! I've admired her work for so long and can't wait to learn some new color insights from her! I'm so looking forward to this! Hope hubby can fend for himself in the kitchen while I'm gone!

Sweet Peas In Cobalt Blue Vase, North Light Studio Window

8"x8" oil on gessoed masonite archival board

"The further I go, the more I see how hard I must work to render what I am trying for, that instantaneousness. Above all the outer surface, the same light spred everywhere....For me, the subject is insignificant. What I wish to reproduce is what is between the subject and myself."
- Claude Monet

Another nature filled day- sweet peas from the garden, studying light, this time as it comes from behind, through blue glass on a white cloth. There were enough flower cuttings to fill several different containers, I was scrambling trying to find a few more to fill!

Later in the afternoon, looking out my kitchen window, there was a HAWK sitting in my bird-bath! It was the oddest looking thing. After you've seen tons of little gold-finches flitting in & out of this same bird-bath, seeing this thing sitting in it, made me realize how huge she is! She nests near us, she marks her return each year with screeching & shrieking!

Ended the day with some home-made basil pesto with pasta for dinner. Basil right out of the garden, what a nice treat!

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Price: $135 USD plus $12 USD s/h
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New England Summer By The Shore

6"x8" oil on museum quality Belgian linen board

"Don't follow the critics too much. Art appreciation, like love, cannot be done by proxy. It is a very personal affair & is necessary to each individual."
~ Robert Henri


My fellow artist & friend Don Watson found this quote by Henri. I was so glad to come across it, it was like another reminder to pull R. Henri's book, "The Art Spirit" off the shelf for another read through.

What a fabulous day we had again today! Now I know if you've followed this blog for more than six months, you've heard me wail about bleak New England winters. But summer is here and life is GREAT! Here on the shoreline, we even get the 'bonus- breeze'. It'll probably get all muggy in a few days, just because I took a notion to brag on the weather up here. Everyone else is sweltering with the heat & humidity....but I think as it moves up past the mid-Atlantic, we'll be having a "fire-cracker" 4th of July like the rest of the Atlantic coast.

We are so lucky to have Harkness Park as a state park, here in CT. It is one of the lovliest places I've ever seen...and that's in all seasons. Right now, everything is blooming like crazy! There's a large rose arbor to the left, it's tall enough for even very tall people to walk under. Today I could hear the birds echoing inside the thing from across the lawn while I painted. The day lilies are in full bloom, in so many wonderful colors, from pale yellow, peachy cream, orange, all the way to a deep burgundy red. The air was clear and the water sparkled off in the distance, and the breeze was certainly welcomed today. Ahh, can you tell I'm loving summer? By the sounds of all the happy people today, I know I'm not the only one!

While it's wet & unframed:

Buy this painting on PayPal
Price: $125 USD plus $10 USD s/h
Or, send me an email