Iris Garden

8"x10" oil on gallery wrapped stretched canvas with edges painted

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Ahh, can you tell, I'm dreaming of spring? And tomorrow we have another snow storm on its way in here. Fickle weather! I was out walking this morning, and it definitely felt like spring. I was sure that snow was over for good. Oh well, I've been mixing in some older brush and layering techniques along with some of the things I've learned over the last several years working with just a palette knife. I think it's good to continually tweak what we do as artists. 

I used to collect and trade iris with friends and neighbors each time we would move (which was about every three years with the Navy). During one Navy move we finally had to leave them where they grew. But during that time while I was trading & growing, it was always fun to trade for a new color, and my iris garden began to look a bit like this! Now I haven't grown iris in many years, and I find I do miss them. Perhaps it's something I might find a spot for in this garden I'm tending now!

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:
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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!

Late Day Sunlight On Coneflowers - SOLD!

7"x5" oil on gessoed masonite archival artboard

"Adopt the pace of nature; her secret is patience."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

There are certain times of day when it's fun to see what gets illuminated in the garden. As the light moves around the house from sunup until dusk, it's like a showcase of various points in the garden. Around late afternoon the stems of these coneflowers become lit up, and seeing the colors that come out of this is really fascinating to me! Our childhood brain might say "flowers have green stems" but if you really look at how light hits certain ones, you really have a lot of color in them!

Sunny Side Of The Sunflowers

8"x6" oil on Belgian linen mounted on museum quality panel

"Grab your coat, don't forget your hat
But, leave your worries on the doorstep
Life can be so sweet, just direct your feet
To the sunny side of the street."
- Jimmy McHugh


On my morning walks with my neighbors, we pass by this big display of sunflowers. Right about quarter of eight when we pass by, the side of the house is lit and the front is in shade. It's such a wonderful contrast, and it catches our breath every time....that is on days when we stop talking long enough to look! It is rather funny, there's 3, sometimes 4 of us, (and all gardeners & flower lovers) so when there's some new unusual bloom, conversation stops...oohs & ahhs abound. It's a great way to start the day, a walk with friends, to take in all the sights of the season.

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:

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Price: $125 USD plus $10 USD s/h
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