You're Making Me Blush

 

36"x36"x 1.5" deep gallery wrap canvas

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This painting is based on a smaller study from life. Painting larger is always a fun challenge.  It is full out exhuberance! This one brings a powerful lot of cheer to a room!

 

Sunny Hunny

6"x6" oil on gessobord, $100

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I hope you've been enjoying the holiday season. I've had the good fortune to enjoy the company of my daughters for a few days! Now that January is just around the corner, I thought I'd share a bright sunflower with you- to brighten up the dark days of winter, and chase away that case of "the Januaries"!

Daisy Riot - SOLD!!

 

4"x4" oil on archival panel

So far, this is my favorite of the group of recent florals! Very happy with the depth on this one, it's what I've been working to achieve with this broken color and attention to edges in these recent studies.  So it is a mix of technique, using transparent colors (yes, as well as opaques), brushes, knives, and even a squeegee!! These are the techniques I'll be teaching next summer in Ireland! Follow this link for more information about this.  Also, if you live in my area of southeastern CT, I still have a spot available in my studio class in January- "Mentoring Mondays"...from 9 to noon, Jan. 6th, 13th, 20th, and 27th.

 

Gold and Purple Splendor in a Glass

 

6"x6"x .75" deep oil on cradled panel

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Yes, this is the same bouquet, just another day, turned a bit differently, (so the purple flowers show up more) and different lighting as well.  I find it exciting to follow Monet's example of showing up to the same views day after day, at different times, different lighting, and truly observing.

By the way, if you haven't seen these cradled panels before, they are delightful to paint on. I usually use the 1/8" panel for my small panel sizes. But these deeper cradled panels are nice when framing is not desired, they stand away from the wall just a bit and make a clean, uncluttered contemporary look.  I have plans for a set of these, to be hung together as a grouping, or on their own.  Edges are a pale blonde-wood. This one makes a nice set with "Sunflowers In A Glass" posted previously. 

Now, back to packing! Still trying to get the last few panels in that suitcase. Wondering if I should undo it all and start the process over? The hardest part of traveling (for me) is just getting out the door! Pull up a chair, log in, and follow along for the rest of the month. Hopefully the wi-fi's reliable, as I know I'm going to want to share these lovely views with you! 

Did you notice yesterday's travel advisory (noted in my 'Cheer Factor' newsletter?)

***WARNING - Arm-chair travel is usually the precursor to serious travel planning...you stand advised. Of course, you may share this notice with all your friends!

Sunflowers In A Glass

6"x6" x .75" deep oil on cradled panel

For more information, or to purchase, please click here.

If you haven't seen these cradled panels before, they are delightful to paint on. I usually use the 1/8" panel for my small panel sizes. But these cradled panels are nice when framing is not desired, they stand away from the wall just a bit and make a clean, uncluttered contemporary look.  I have plans for a set of these, to be hung together as a grouping, or on their own.  They were requested by one of my galleries.  If you are interested in owning one of these, and live too from from coastal CT to make the shopping trek, please contact me, they will be going to this gallery as soon as they are dry, once I return from my travels!

Sunny Spring Seat

9"x12" oil on linen mounted on archival panel

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Oh how I love this little section of our garden! It's like a little room surrounded by a picket fence and a lush growth of flowering plants from Spring through Autumn, right by our front door. In the morning the sun warms the back of this curvy bench, casting shadows on the slate stones below. They are brightened by the warm light.  

As I've painted this space over the last five years, it's been so fun seeing this area grow and mature. The peonies in the upper left corner have yet to bloom, but this year there are so many buds on them. This particular one is white and fragrant!!!! ooh, I can hardly wait for this one to bloom.  The canes of the rose behind this bench now arch across several spans of fencing. When I first bought this plant via mail order five years ago, it was so puny and tiny, I could hardly imagine that it would ever spread this far! The 'creeping phlox' at this edge of the slate circle mounded up with gorgeous wild color again this year.....so exciting to see after the bareness of winter! Ahh- life is sweet once winter is far behind!

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Orchid Blooms and a Blizzard!

8"x6" oil on linen mounted on archival panel

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This is the third year in a row that I've been able to get this little orchid to bloom! I've found just the right window for it, and have figured out how to feed it to keep it happy! The rest is up to nature.  I originally bought it to paint, and each year it blooms I paint it again! Each time I try to give a different 'twist' to my efforts, even though it is the same plant and not a whole lot biger than when I bought it. This year is used both brushes and palette knives in my painting technique. Even when I've become very comfortable with a particular technique, as I have with using just palette knives, I always enjoy the challenge of trying something just a bit different now and then-to manipulate the edges as well as the surface texture of the paint.

What a crazy few weeks it has been - since I've last posted.  I've survived a tornado in Atlanta with my mother-in-law. (Seriously - we were ready to hunker down in the basement of her southwest Atlanta home, just as a tornado was touching down in the northwest Atlanta area- VERY frightening!).  Just the day before this tornado, we had a lovely stroll through the  Atlanta Botanical Gardens.  Filling our senses with the visual color and textural beauty of camelias, the fragrance of paper bush blossoms, the quiet zen of a Japanese garden. All the while I'm dreaming of summer, filling my creative well with  ideas I can hardly wait to work into my own garden.  Don't you just LOVE this gecko-gate??!!

Then I left Atlanta to go visit my mom in Winter Park, FL. We took her down to Clearwater Beach for a nice little vacation.  I got a text message from Southwest Airlines that my flight home on Friday would likely be canceled due to the incoming BLIZZARD. Oh my, so I switched my flight to last Thursday so I could get home, buy groceries (since I had already been so long) and help my husband dig our way out of this expected mess!

How DEEP did it get at our house?? Stayed tuned for tomorrow's blog post and I'll take you from 'Beach to Blizzard' in no time flat! We have finally dug ourselves out - just in time for the next snow-fall!