Fiery Flair Tulips

 

12"x12" oil on gessobord

For more information, or to purchase, click here. 

I am continuing to will it to be warmer weather up here lately (with these hot colors I've been painting with!).  I think it's working. I actually went outside without a jacket on and didn't freeze! I'm guessing it must have been in the upper 40s? Our own tulips are about 4 or 5 inches out of the ground so far! I'm hoping they'll come up in a beautiful display like they have the last several years! It's such an incredible sight to see! Don't you just love it when Spring really starts to show her face? It'll be time to start digging in the dirt once again! 

Return to Ireland - Cottage in Bunratty

8"x8" oil on archival panel

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This is the demo for the "Monday Mentoring" class I held today.  This little place in Bunratty had been painted a beautiful salmon color...and was surrounded by a small, delightful garden with fruit trees, interesting shrubs and colorful flowers. It's becoming more difficult to find thatched roof structures any where- so this was a particular delight! 

There's still a couple spots left for you to pack your bags and join us!! Barbara Mastaglio's "Art on the Ring of Kerry" is a wonderful opportunity to experience the beauty of Ireland, and I'll be teaching use of a palette knife, how to simplify complex scenes into "simple pieces"; understanding color, value, and temperature...as well as how to be more spontaneous in your painting. Barbara takes us to wonderful places each day, I offer demos, gentle but helpful critiques, with individualized instruction for each attendee.  It's a place I've returned to so many times, it certainly feels like a second home to me. I hope you'll consider joining us for your own unique experience.  It's seven days- June 29th through July 5th for $2500 (air fare not included). Click on the link above and peruse the site for more information, and to hold your spot! You won't regret the trip!

Tulip Bouquet

8"x6" oil on linen mounted on archival panel, $160

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These are the last of these blossoms, they have since faded with all the rain showers we've had lately.  The sunny days that we have been lucky enough to have lately, I've spent painting on my back porch! Nothing like painting from life, outside on a beautiful day!

Stormy Skies, Autumn - Plein air at Barn Island

6"x8" oil on linen mounted on archival board

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I was going through my recent  plein air paintings and found a couple that I had not blogged about yet! Bummer, because I've found it to be the best way to chronicle works over time.  And of course, this started around Thanksgiving, when I somehow allow the rush of the holidays to disrupt everything, rather than to just go with the flow.  Like swimming, you don't want to panic in the water - instead, just relax and go with it.  

On this particular day (October 17th, 2012) I had painted another one just before this (High Tide Before The Storm, see blog post of Oct. 17th, 2012). When I finished, I turned my easel in the opposite direction and the passing cloud cover was truly fascinating.  I finished this just as a line of showers came through.  Cleaned up & made it to the car before getting soaked! Now that was a good day of painting!

Zinnias To Brighten a Gray Day, ACEO Floral Original Oil

3.5"x2.5" oil on fine canvas board

Bidding starts at just $1

 

Each year my hubby starts lots of seeds, but some of my favorites are the zinnias! They are great for cutting to make arrangements and look great in the garden, too! He reminds me to keep cutting them, as the more I cut, the more blossoms they'll put out! How could a gardener, painter find anything more fun?!

 

For those of you not familiar with the acronym ACEO, it stands for Art Cards Editions and Originals.  The miniature paintings are the size of a baseball trading card, 2 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches.  This category of art has become increasingly popular on eBay the last couple of years.  These can be displayed on their own, or with a tiny little easel (like the kind you can find in Michaels Arts & Crafts type stores) on a display shelf, or these beautiful gems can be elegantly matted and framed with perhaps a mat of 4 inches wide.  ACEOs also make wonderful gifts!   

 

Refresh, Renew & Simplify Floral Bouquet

6"x6" oil on archival panel

Bidding starts at $1

I have some paintings "in the vault" in my studio, that still need a home - perhaps yours??

I'm still enjoying sharing some of these older small paintings at some frankly wonderful price opportunities during the holiday season. I haven't been blogging all of them, so in case you've missed some, here's another chance to catch the 'bidding fever fun'! 

I spend a lot of time painting flowers from my garden.  If you've followed my work for any length of time, you'll see this container in many of my floral paintings! I do especially love blue and white pottery and porcelain pieces. Cutting any blossoms I've got in the yard makes for a great day of painting - that's just another reason I love summer so much up here in CT.  As for the title.....isn't that always a great way to start off the year? Each of these little paintings has such wonderful texture from painting with a palette knife - it truly allows the medium of oil paint to show some of its best qualities!

Cove, Marsh Morning CT Coastal Landscape

8"x10" oil on linen mounted on archival panel

Click here to bid!

I have some paintings "in the vault" in my studio, that still need a home - perhaps yours??

  

I do hope that you've been enjoying the tiny ACEOs and my older works 'from the vault'.  December usually ends up being a very busy month, squeezing painting time down to a minimum. I've got the beginnings of Christmas shopping done so that 'to do list' is getting shorter.

Hoping this odd fluke of warmer weather holds out for me to get back outside painting a few more times. Through most of the year, I spend my time outdoors painting (en plein air).  I grew up in the south, but have lived in CT off and on for about a dozen years now. I'm dedicated to spending as much time as I can getting to know my 'newfound' home by going out and painting it. There's nothing like being out in the open air, with nature surrounding you....in all that stillness, there is a lot going on!

Water Wings (and Bull Sharks at Folly Beach!)

10"x8"x.75" deep, oil on gallery-wrapped canvas

$400

 

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or, contact me here. 

Click on the image to enlarge!

Man, oh man, I can't say enough, how much I enjoyed my trip to Charleston.  There's more than enough details coming out in my next 'Cheer Factor' newsletter in a few days.  Charleston is a fantastic art destination. But Folly Beach, is close to where I used to live - and getting to swim EVERY single day of my vacation in the warm Atlantic was heavenly!  I would swim, then come back to my beach chair to 'rest' a little bit, and photograph other beach goers! Watching the moms play with their little ones in the shallow water reminded me of how much fun I had when my own daughters were very small.  I came home with lots of great memories and tons of photo reference! 

 

 

Now, on the next to last day, we swam in the morning....like usual....and turned on the TV to catch the news before heading out for dinner. As it turns out, that afternoon, a 14 year old boy snagged a big bull shark while fishing on the pier - right next to where we were swimming! To catch the drama on video- you've got to see this! Yikes! Needless to say, on my last morning of swimming, I was a bit reluctant to get in past my knees, knowing there was a mad  bull shark on the loose!!

Blue Hydrangea and Pears

24"x18" oil on stretched linen

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

Cool blues of summer....

fresh juicy pears.  

This painting was started outside on my back patio, 

hydrangeas cut from the garden;

finishing touches done in my studio.

Creekside Color, Gray Day, (Clucas Field, Lyme, CT)

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

For more information about this painting, visit this link.

"The subject doesn't matter. One instant, one aspect of nature is all that is needed...Nature is a most discerning guide, if one submits oneself completely to it." -Claude Monet

Saturday morning rose misty and gray.  I was out in Lyme, at Clucas Field painting with others from Lyme Art Association for an upcoming exhibit in conjunction with the Lyme Land Conservation Trust, and the Lyman Allyn Art Museum. 

One of the things I love about gray days, is that the light is fairly steady. The values are mostly fairly close in range, but there can be some rich color in the shadows.  I took an interesting photo of my work against the woods, sort of blends in! 

At the edge of the field, a creek ran down one side.  The notch of a fallen tree rested on another tree, still barely supported by its stump. A large hole in the base of that tree reminded me of the 'troll holes' we used to look for when my daughters where much younger. I felt like I was "living dangerously" trying to avoid the poison ivy and ticks.  Ugh- I had left my 'wellies' in the garage at home! I had intended to bring them knowing full well that I'd be out tromping through a field, and they would keep wet grass, and biting bugs off of me maybe up to my knees.  All in all, I came home with no itchies, no bug bites, and fairly pleased with this little painting (and reminded of just one more thing I love about Spring, yes- even on gray days- the color is subtle, but lovely)!

Beach Frolic

Available for purchase from my website.

8"x10" oil on linen mounted on archival panel

I'm enjoying my visit with my artist friend Norma Wilson, down here in Virginia Beach.  While it's still too cold to get in the ocean without a wetsuit, I'm remembering days of summer past with children playing in the surf and sand.  That's just one of the things I miss from when I lived down here.   Thank you to Claudia Finn for the great photo reference who joined us painting today!

Sunny Brunch of Apricots; Cyclamen, Spring Comes Early to New England

12"x12" oil on gessoed masonite archival panel, price is framed & includes FREE shipping/insurance to continental USA. Please email for unframed price.

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Price: $550 USD

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Oh how the first really warm days of Spring make your skin feel electric- and the warmth finally reaches every part of you. This in some sense it how it feels to be truly alive again after winter. Even if your winter wasn't too rough of a winter weather-wise. So even though there's just the beginnings of signs of life in my garden - a bit of green sprouting here and there, it didn't keep me from setting up a still life in my garden. The light has been so strong and brilliant this week! And if the weather keeps it up- I'll keep up this series for a while!

Baby Kiss

10"x8" oil on Belgian linen mounted on archival board

"When a child is born, so is a mother." - anonymous

Ahh- so much fun painting faces! I threw caution to the wind and decided to use both palette knife and brush on this one. I wanted the lushness of what a knife can bring to the paint, yet a bit more detail where necessary with a brush, without getting too tied to detail.

Glad to be back from a weekend trip to Baltimore to begin settling some family 'stuff'. I'll just leave it at that. It's cutting into my painting time, so I'm having to really concentrate my efforts this week! Got 2 more small landscapes painted today, I'll be posting those soon!
For more information about this painting, contact me here.

Lift Off! Waterfowl & Marsh (Barn Island)

5"x7" oil on gessoed masonite artboard

Who got startled first? Ever been on a hike and the sudden swishing and flapping of wings startles the daylights out of you?!

For more information about this painting, click here, or purchase right here:

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Price: $150 USD
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Windswept Cedar

6"x6" oil on gessoed masonite artboard

"Between every two pines is a doorway to a new world." ~John Muir

I pass by this tree when I go takes walks at Harkness Park, down by the shoreline. It appears that the wind has whipped it around for years. It angles over and up against every winter storm, every late summer hurricane and continues its upward sweep even though it has apparently battled a lot just to stay put. I do love how it bends up and over the path at the edge of the field. Steadfast, hanging in there no matter what.

For more information contact me here.

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Price: $150 USD
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Varying Stages Of Undress; Pears

8"x10" oil on gallery wrapped stretched canvas

I have always admired paintings of those 'fancy pears' that come wrapped in elegant paper- like the ones in those fruit gifts that come at Christmas! As luck would have it our mother in law sent us a gorgeous box of pears (& other goodies). I ate one already, but realized I have these beautiful subjects to paint....and quickly as they'll need to be eaten! Pears have such a beautiful sensual form...and these three in varying stages of un-wrap are well- very fascinating to me.

Contact me here for more information about this painting.

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Price: $450 USD
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Japanese Garden

12"x12" oil on gessoed masonite archival board

"All gardening is landscape painting." -William Kent

Today I returned to one of my favorite painting spots. It's actually my favorite botanical garden, here in Norfolk, VA. And to be able to return during different seasons, is such a joy.

This will be shown during our wet-painting sale at the Out and About Norfolk, Plein Air show and reception that takes place this Saturday from 6pm to 9pm at Waterside in Norfolk. For more information about the event, follow the link, here.

Coastal Light and Calm

6"x6" oil on gessoed masonite archival panel

"Becoming inspired requires that you be curious about, and attentive to, feelings that emerge to help you reconnect with your original self." - Dr. Wayne W. Dyer


This summer I've been doing a lot of exploration in subject matter, size of paintings, and added another color to my palette that I haven't used in over a decade. But I take the advice of "notice what you notice" (what do you really love to look at?)- and I have the good fortune to have done a lot of painting from life this summer!

I have always sold my plein air works as finished paintings, they are usually gone before I even think of using it as a reference in the studio for a larger, or different sized painting. Listening to Dyer's advice about becoming inspired made me realize I had already done just that. I love the big abstract shapes in nature, the effect that light has on color...that changes each hour, each minute of the day.

Making this little gem available before I take on a big one! This painting is available from my DailyPainters.com gallery (check out Newest Paintings) or contact me here.

Time Out For Tea

18"x14" oil on gallery wrapped stretched linen

"Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush."

-Doug Larson

It seems that I've been a slacker when it comes to sending out the "Cheer Factor" emails this week. But I have been working on a new painting, a bit larger than my usual small daily works. I've been thrilled with the better selection of flowers lately at our grocery store! It must be one more 'sign of Spring'. "Time Out For Tea" is the name of this painting I've just finished. It is an 18"x14" oil on gallery wrapped stretched linen. Contact me here for availability of this painting.

Hubby and I also spent some time planning and ordering some seeds for this year's garden. I look forward to being able to paint in the middle of all this in just a few months! Oh the colors are going to be fantastic!!

Be sure to sign up for my "Cheer Factor" newsletter and see all the latest paintings fresh off the easel as well as subscriber specials.

"What's Cookin'?" Copper Pot & Red Onions

6"x6" oil on gessoed masonite artboard

"After all the trouble you go to, you get about as much actual "food" out of eating an artichoke as you would from licking 30 or 40 postage stamps."

- Miss Piggy

I feel like I've been keeping secret some of the new things I've been working on. These still-life set-ups have been so fun for me this winter. I've been more deliberate than ever about considering what actually gets to be "on-stage", and still considering every nuance of color complements. I've also been working on a variety of sizes, some as small as 6"x6" and going up to 12"x12" so far. If winter lasts really long, who knows, I may go even bigger on some of these!

"What's Cooking" has a favorite little copper pot with three red onions. It's a 6"x6" oil on gessoed masonite archival artboard. I am especially fond of red onions over white onions in most everything I cook. And of course, they had a task waiting for them as soon as I was finished painting! They went into a fine batch of Bermuda Fish Chowder! I hadn't cooked this in a long while, but I had recently found some "Outerbridges Sherry-Pepper sauce" at a specialty cooking store and couldn't wait to make this again! What's going into the soup-pot at your house?

Welcome to my latest new subscribers! I do hope you enjoy the paintings, photos & stories! I always love hearing comments from my readers!!

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