Peu Vieux Vert Renault

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

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 While perusing a weekend market morning in a small village in south west France, I came upon this little old green Renault. It had seen a lot of miles, but still had a sense of adventure about it.  Made it quite easy to imagine a road trip through the countryside, windows open, hair flying, singing at the top of our lungs! (Hey, do you know the words to any French songs?).  Allons-y! Let's go have an adventure!!

Peonies In Sunlight

20"x24" x0.75" oil on gallery wrap canvas (edges are painted)

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By the time you read this, I'll be flying out of Boston, en-route to Paris, France. I am so excited over this trip, and can't believe it's finally here! I expect to gain lots of insights from our workshop leader, Dream Tolle Perry - and I'll be glad to "share the scoop" with you! I know that as I write this (Tuesday), she's already had chocolate in Paris (France, not Kentucky) and arrived at our destination to prepare for the sixteen artists that are due to arrive on Thursday at Le Vieux Couvent! 

Meanwhile back in Connecticut, I've been painting, between packing and preparing. Everything that has bloomed in the garden has been ripe for the picking, cutting, arranging, etc. The peonies were no exception. Standing out in the backyard painting in my "art dining room" of both sunny and shady places has really been rewarding.  It's taken a lot of sweat effort from hubby and myself.  I've got roses pouring off the fences right now. I hope they'll continue until my return.

Back to packing, au revoir!

Hopeville Pond Reflections & packing for France!

8"x10" oil on linen mounted on panel

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A fine plein air morning two whole weeks ago! It's been a busy few weeks, so I've been painting, but not blogging! 

I'm currently working on a commission....while packing for the trip of a lifetime....and painting some small works in-between.

I'm heading out to France soon, to go paint with Dreama Tolle Perry - and really looking forward to this workshop! We'll be staying at Le Vieux Couvent, in Frayssinet.  I've been planning this since last summer, and now it's finally here! I do hope you'll follow along on the journey!

Coral Begonia

 

5"x5" oil on gessoed masonite artboard

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Last summer I started collecting begonias of various types. This is a new one, a gift from a friend when I was in the hospital for surgery back in April.  And.....it's still alive and blooming! It hasn't stopped blooming at all, and looks like it will keep on going all summer! I'm not actually sure how long they are able to keep going, as I've never had one last that long - until last summer.  Could it be, that after all these years, I've finally got the knack for growing them? I hope so!

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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Spring Froth

10"x8" oil on linen mounted on archival panel

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One of my friends described this time of year (up here in New England when Spring finally bursts forth) as 'frothy'. Yes, it is sort of like that- trees stay a lavender bare limbed tangle, until sap rises and gives them a reddish pinky blush at their uppermost heights...then the bright fresh yellow green leaves begin to emerge- slowly but surely.....before you know it another week has gone by and the whole canopy of woods is filled from top to bottom!

Here at home, the tulips have come up, the crab-apple trees have bloomed...and now as I type this, they are fading, and other things are following right on their heels to take their turn in this symphony of color and texture----fluff and froth!

Oh what a delight after winter! Spring is just never disappointing!

As you can see, we are across the street from another building lot (hence the large dirt pile), so I can be selective - choosing to be rather interpretive and expressive in my painting rather than a literal rendering. 

Spring does go by so quickly, I'm amazed at how quickly I paint one scene .....and those blossoms are gone! But the act of painting them seals those garden memories into my very being.  A wonderful comparison from year to year....showing me how far this portion of Eden has come!

Peach and Raspberry Sorbet Tulips!

6"x6"x7/8" deep oil on wood panel

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Wow, the garden has been great inspiration this year! These two varieties of tulips have been really interesting as they've matured over the last two weeks. They light ones start out a very peachy color (like peach sorbet) and the darker ones quite the raspberry color. As the days have gone by and turned in to weeks.....each of these colors have changed!  The lighter ones have gone to a bright pink and the darker ones to a deep bluesy burgundy! And the blossoms are nice and BIG!

For my fellow gardening friends, we ordered our tulip bulbs in the fall from Colorblends, they ship them to you when it's the right time to plant them.  We've ordered daffodils, Spanish bluebells, and other tulips as well as these.  They've all been very beautiful, but these 2 colors have been spectacular!

Clear Autumn Morning, Variations & Improvisations

6"x6" oil on gessoed masonite artboard, $110

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I like to take some of the small studies I've done and make small color variations of them. Hence, the "Variations and Improvisations" series! It's a fun way to take these familiar views of my favorite hiking spots and try out different brushwork/techniques or color variations. Sort of like musicians take familiar tunes & musical phrasings and do the same with those. 

To help me remember which ones are which,  the plein air scenes done on location are the 6x8 size, and my variations/improvisations are in the 6x6 size.

Sure Sign It's Spring

8"x6" oil on linen mounted on panel

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These are the first things to bloom in our year when Spring decides to show up! Two weeks ago they were bobbing their lovely blossoms around reminding me of the day I painted this. It's still one of my favorite paintings (and looks lovely framed in gold by the way)!

Bright Spot In Your Day Sunflowers - SOLD!

5"x7" oil on gessobord
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Sunflowers hang in there for such a long time! They're so cheerful! Still trying some of these techniques with layering & using brushes AND knives.  We're having glimpses of Spring-like weather now & then. Maybe it won't be too much longer before I'm back outside painting again!

Flowers For Vincent

8"x6" oil on linen mounted on archival panel

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Winter frequently brings me square head-on into a big artist block! I'm not sure if it's a mental rebellion to cold weather or what. So, I have been toying with some fresh ideas in my studio. One that I've been noticing is a method Julie Ford Oliver calls "fracturing".  It's sort of like 'lines interrupted, with subtractive & additive painting going on'. (I'm sure that clears things up!).  Visit her blog here to see more of this idea.

It's quite different from the painting method I'd comfortably morphed into over the last few years.  I had been using very thick knife work and Henry Hensche colorist theory I had learned from Leif Nilsson and Camille Przwodek, painting directly.  For the last couple years I had really focused on shapes and values.  Julie's method is more of a building up of layers. I'm enjoying this in the studio (hey, I've only tried this twice). But I'm trying to imagine how I'd use it outdoors, when the weather is decent enough to paint plein air. 

I'm a firm believer in all that we learn is cumulative. Building on things we've taken in over the years.  Always tweaking, finding new things that pique our interest.  In visiting museums over the years, I recall two separate retrospectives, one of Monet, and another retrospective of Renoir. Seeing how their work changed over their life-times was quite illuminating to me! It's okay to change...to morph into that next stage.  The thought of it is a bit terrifying ...and yet, quite exciting.  Will I make a drastic change? (I doubt it, yet I never rule out what exploration might bring). 

As an artist, how does change in your artwork make you feel? Excited? nervous? exploratory?

As an art lover or collector, how does change in an artist's work make you feel? Interested, worried, curious, happy?

I wonder if it's my longing for Spring, that always puts me on edge at this time of year? Yearning for new growth, outdoors as well as in my 'art spirit'.  Well, I'm going to keep exploring some of these ideas. Hold on tight!

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!

Sunset Marsh, Eastern Shore

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I have some paintings "in the vault" in my studio, that still need a home - perhaps yours??
                  
             
One summer I was on a painting trip down to Easton, MD. This was a marshy area not too far outside of town where  some artist friends & I stopped to paint the sunset! Man! does the sun every move FAST when you're trying to paint it! But it's always worth the effort to paint from life- all the reflections in the water, that fading golden light & memories of the dusk of that day stay with you when you paint it while you watch it!

Geranium Dance Floral ACEO Floral Oil Painting

3.5"x2.5" oil on fine canvas board

Bidding starts at just $1

  This pot of geraniums has been one of my favorites. I've been able to 'overwinter' it in my garage for a couple of winters now. As long as I can keep it from freezing, I know I'll have some great blooms next summer! It is one of the most forgiving, yet extremely cheery plants on my summer deck!

  

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!

Zinnias & Daisy Riot Floral ACEO Oil Painting

3.5"x2.5" oil on fine canvas board

Bidding starts at just $1

 If you have followed my work for a long time, you know I'm a garden painter. From early spring to late fall I'm out there (with my hubby, the main garden guru) planting for painting! Every surface in my garden is a topic that I've painted. To check out what I'm up to, visit my web-site and blog!!! We had a great gardening year - which made it very inspiring for painting.The zinnias were outstanding this year, and the daisies just outdid themselves. These were among the last batches that I cut before our first big frost! And yes, I am indeed enjoying painting these small ACEOs... between painting breaks on a large one that I'm working on. 

  

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!

Summer Medley, Hydrangeas & Sweet Peas ACEO Floral Oil

3.5"x2.5" oil on fine canvas board

Bidding starts at just $1

This summer was wonderful with all the fantastic blossoms.  This is our fourth year in our garden and things are really starting to look lush! The hydrangeas are some of my favorites- but this summer I started making arrangements out of them and adding other things, like astilbe, sweet peas, and Lady's Mantle- which is sort of a lemony- green that makes those purply- blues just POP! (Can you tell I'm missing summer?).

  

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!

Plush Pansy Pot ACEO Original Oil Floral

3.5"x2.5" oil on fine canvas board

Bidding starts at just $1

For those that have followed my work for a long time, you know I'm a garden painter. From early spring to late fall I'm out there (with my hubby, the main garden guru) planting for painting! Every surface in my garden is a topic that I've painted. To check out what I'm up to, visit my web-site and blog!!!

 

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!

I also had another commission for one of these fun little collectables- another batch of daisies! 

So if you have a hankering for a tiny bouquet that you can actually carry around with you (and not actually look like a bridesmaid wannabe) this is perfect!! Let me know your favorite flowers & vase colors - we'll come up with one just for YOU!  

Bright Floral Sunshine & Happiness Oil

10"x8" 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 spend a lot of time painting flowers from my garden, (or paintings of my garden...). Here's a lovely bouquet of cut flowers, in a very cool pottery vase from a friend! Hope it brings you a bit of "Sunshine & Happiness".

I'm continuing the holiday sale with some of these older works. In the meantime, I'm working on a larger 30"x40" landscape based on some of my recent plein air paintings over at Barn Island! 

Stay tuned, I'll have some more of those cute little ACEO florals again, too!

I certainly enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday, but it's also nice to be back in my studio.  I'm looking forward to Christmas and the New Year! 

Lacey Windows Irish Cottage Irish Landscape Oil

6"x8" oil on linen mounted on archival panel

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One of my favorite views is right here- my friend's cottage in Ireland. There are always plants, herbs,  flowers and vines in the garden of her stone cottage.  Lace at the windows, and a brilliant blue door graced the front, a very welcoming place!

Dingle Peninsula Landscape Ireland

8"x8"x1"deep on cradled birch wood panel

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From my travels to Ireland, this view is along the road to Dingle.  It's another one from 'the vault' that I've lived with for several years now, painted during my Irish series.  

I hope you've been enjoying a wonderful holiday weekend with loved ones.  I'll be heading home from DC to CT on Monday & will be mailing out several paintings on Tuesday!