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.

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Hydrangea

12"x12" oil on gessoed masonite archival panel (Ampersand's gessobord)

"Solitude is as needful to the imagination as society is wholesome for the character." -James Russell Lowell


I spent this morning under a shady archway, where this side of the house is in shade during the morning. Our yard is planted with many hydrangeas, but this one has turned out to be the biggest. The blossoms are in various shades of deep purply blue, some of them leaning more towards magenta, and some of them a bit paler blue. There's some plantings of lamb's ear near the base of this huge shrub, which is a nice accent along our garden path.

Being able to stand and really see your subject for a couple hours, really gives you an appreciation of the tonal qualities you are looking at. The warms and the cools in the foliage, as well as the blossoms; with some areas grayed down from being in deep shade. I can't think of many better ways to spend a morning!

This painting is available directly from me at my DailyPainters.com gallery store.

Beach Day 4th of July

8"x6" oil on linen mounted on archival panel

“Why do we love the sea? It is because it has some potent power to make us think things we like to think.”

--Robert Henri

I've had a delightful long weekend, with both of my daughters visiting from Arlington, Virginia. We've been hiking, playing cards, and just enjoying each other's company. Today we went out to the beach where I got to paint a quick sketch of Chelsea, based on Henry Hensche's "mud head" paintings. I brought my little 'thumb-box' once again, to keep things very light weight. With a limited palette this exercise came together quite easily- which was a very nice surprise. I've been trying to push my comfort level on a few things this summer with some of my plein air works.

Escargot Begonias

6"x8" oil on Belgian linen, mounted on archival panel

"We are made to persist. That's how we find out who we are." - Tobias Wolff


Swirls and whirls of leaf shapes - the only way I know how to describe this plant. I was looking to buy one last year, and the only nursery I knew that had them sold out. This year I was ready! I knew if I wanted one of these, I had to get it while the "gettin' was good"! Sure enough, my friend went to go buy one a week later, and they were all gone. Funny name for a plant, but it does swirl in pattern like a snail shell, bigger and bigger. Hoping I can figure out how to propagate these so I can have some more!

I've found a frame that looks fabulous on this- black with a gold inset, I'll need to order this size. Price is $350 for framed painting and includes shipping to the continental USA.

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Price: $350 USD
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Splash! (Norfolk Botanical Garden) sold

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

"Where I was born and where and how I have lived is unimportant. It is what I have done with where I have been that should be of interest."
- Georgia O'Keefe

On the Friday morning that I spent painting for the "Out & About Norfolk" plein air event, I took myself back to one of my old favorite 'hang-outs'- the Norfolk Botanical Gardens. One of the most delightful things is to walk the paths through the gardens, and find the ah-ha! place that takes your breath away. Depending upon the season and what is blooming at the time, it can be a different place each visit....most likely many places within the garden will provide this!! And of course, one of my very places to set up and paint is near the fountain. This garden is created so that you can see this fountain from so many different angles...and all the plantings behind that part, frame up the view perfectly! I'm always amazed at the artistry of the plantings, it's like a painting everywhere you look! So here is a view I hadn't noticed to paint before...
This painting "Splash" is an 8"x10" oil on Belgian linen mounted on archival board sold that Saturday evening at the show and now belongs to my newest corporate collector, Bank of Hampton Roads!