Red Gerber Daisy & Strawberries

One of the perks of painting flowers are all the pretty bouquets you get to have around the house. This red Gerber Daisy was part of a glorious bunch that sat on my kitchen for the better part of a week. I love red and these large blooms just caught my eye.

I worked out a preliminary sketch than transfered it to the board. You can see some of the petals I roughed in. I paint in a direct manor, but I never can get all the detail in one pass. As it drys I can go back adding color, lightening and darkening as needed.

Early Morning Light

Here is the finished painting of Early Morning Light (formerly titled Thaw - In Progress). If you go back to the original post you can see that I worked on the color considerably. My goal was to capture the warm sunlight falling across the cool snow. A painting like this is more of a study for a larger piece.

I would like to thank Dean of Deano’s Den for including me in a group of artists receiving a blog award “A Passion for Painting”. Dean has a great blog and is a very talented artist. There is a sense of community about his blog, he responds to everyone who leaves a comment with a very personal & friendly touch.

Out Of My Comfort Zone

I finished the painting that I posted last week. That was out of my comfort zone and I feel like I fought for every stroke. It's a good thing to stretch and paint beyond what you are comfortable with. Right now it is drying, and I am back working on some new flowers. I did add two images to my other blog this week. One of my favorites, Country Brunch above. You can click here to see the card. And Santa's New Elves, click here.

Thaw - In Progress

Thaw - 5"x 7" oil on board

This is the current small painting I have been working on this past week. The day after I started this it snowed, now we have temperatures in the 60's and the snow is basicly gone except for the mud. And that is all I am going to say about the weather. Nose to the grind stone and see if I can finish and repost.

The inspiration came from the brief period of time in the morning when the light first peaks over the horizon. In the summer you have that special slice of time, before the rest of the world stirs, to see what has opened up in the garden or just to sit on the back porch with a cup of coffee and listen to the birds. In the winter it is a little quieter - but you still get those few moments when the sun rises and sets of pastel beauty.

Still Life completed

Here is the completed oil painting that I was working on in my last post. You may note that I did not have the the light and shadows on the rock as well defined before. It was that strip of light at the bottom of the rock that caught my eye and made the composition. I also darkened the background, I wanted the leaves to pop a little more.

I was very sorry to learn this week ( and I may have been the last person to find out) that Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion is no longer being published. This month would have been the artist studio edition which I totally enjoyed. This was one of those treats you allow yourself, curl up with a cup of tea and get lost in all the creativity. I still go thru old copies and find something new. I guess there were a few more magazines that fell victim to the economy. Unfortunately, I liked many of the ones that did not make it. Look on the bright side, I will be saving some money.

Still Life with Nasturtium

This is the oil painting I worked on this week. Some more glass and another Nasturtium. This piece was setup outside last summer, I found the shadows cast on the rock by the flower and leaves interesting. I hope you all had a nice Valentines day. My family is getting together tonight for a family Valentines dinner, just a nice home cooked meal and some conversation.

Once again when I am finished I'll scan it and post the finished piece.

Amber Glass Update

This is the scanned version of the painting I posted about two weeks ago. At that time I just could not get the photo to come out. I am still having a few issues that will have to be ironed out but I'm glad I tackled it.

Basking in the Light

Basking in the Light - today was anything but, we had the full compliment of snow, sleet and now freezing rain. Cats are bored, they go out to sit on the back porch and end up crouching under the chairs watching the birds feed in the feeders. So far they have not wanted to venture out into the elements and pester the birds.

I did finish the painting I posted last week with the red glass but I cannot get a good photo today. So I'll let it dry and scan it in a few days. Above is a pastel of Ember on the bed, taking a little cat nap.

I work from photos that either I or my husband take. He kindly lets me use some of his, especially any cat photos he has. I have a Sony Cybershot that I can slip into my pocketbook and keep with me at all times. At least this was the plan, I am going to work harder at taking more photos, I don't know how many times I have seen a great painting as I am riding around or out for a walk. It's not like I don't have the camera, it's getting into the habit.!!

Renewal - A New President

Today is a day for renewal, a new president and for me a celebration of hope for my country. Tonight I am going to work on my painting and watch TV, I have been listening to the speech and peoples reactions all the way home from work. So now, I will settle in for the evening and join the rest of the country to watch a piece of history that was made today.

Working on a snowbound weekend

We had an extremely cold and snowy weekend - so I went into hibernation, stayed home and painted. This is an oil on a 5" x 7" board and as you can see I am still plugging along. I have learned alot working on this piece, most important, simplify the reflections that you see in the glass. At first I tried to paint every single detail that I saw and became lost. After a while I would stand back or leave the room for a while and do something else. I noticed when I returned the detail that I was fussing over was not even important and that the general shapes seem to work better at conveying glass. I am going to work on this again tonight and will keep you posted.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!! I had a great Christmas and a snowy and frigid New Year. It's been a little tough to get back in the saddle again after all the festivity of the season but it is time to get back to work. I will say that I truly enjoyed the holiday this year, I splurged on our tree and even though it has to be small to fit the space that we have it was beautiful and I spent many evenings on the couch watching movies and enjoying it. I have not made any New Years resolutions, I am simply going to work hard, stay open to learning as much as possible and try to keep a balance between working with oils and pastels. I am going to try to finish more pieces this year which will mean working in a smaller format ( 5 x 7). hmmm - did I say no resolutions?
The above detail is from a larger oil painting from a few years ago. Well, here is to a fresh start, a new year, glad to see the last one go.

Merry Christmas

Have a Merry Christmas!!!

Pendants & Pins

We woke up Sunday morning to an inch of new snow - just enough to put you in the spirit. I put the lights up outside around the lamp post and hung the wreath. I even managed to get some decorating done inside. As you can see above I have been busy making Pendants and Pins for Christmas presents this year. I am trying to keep them graphic - each design is painted in oils on a hard board - scanned and then printed on art paper with archival inks. I have to keep this short as we have to go out and put the snow tires on the truck, nothing like waiting till the last minute, but we may get sleet or freezing rain tomorrow.

Happy Thanksgiving - Belated

Happy Thanksgiving, a little belated. This is my favorite holiday, maybe because of the extended weekend and a little time off from work, or the anticipation of the holiday season, I just enjoy it. We had a nice dinner with my brother and his wifes family, with tables extending out of the dinning room into the living room. Plenty of good food and company.
I am working on Christmas gifts and this is a sketch for one of the pins I am currently working on.

Summer Shadows - In Progress

This is one of the paintings I have been working on recently. It's our pantry window with the shade pulled down to keep the summer heat out. Our home is older and small, not alot of closet space, however I do have a pantry and it is wonderful. There is extra counter space in there and all the cabinets for dry and canned goods plus storage for pots and pans. When you have a small house it does not take much to make it look messy. Clutter around our home is our worst enemy.There is a flower box outside the window, in the Spring I have Pansies, however it is also a favorite sitting spot for every cat we have ever had. They get a good view of the bird feeders from up there and they also can get your attention if they want to come in. So it has become a battle to keep flowers in for any length of time.

The red dots are the beginnings of a hanging Geranium plant, and at this point all I have done is located the space in the painting it will occupy.

Back To Work

I had a wonderful morning today - a crisp cold sunny morning with leaves falling outside my window, a hot cup of freshly brewed coffee and the house to myself. Cats were napping, Lily and husband sleeping, time to catch up on everyones blogs and see what happened last week. Seems a little odd not to have been home for Halloween, I enjoy the decorating and always buy way to much candy for the number of Trick or Treaters that we get.

This is the completed painting of Pewter "Just Hang'n Out". Finally got to a point where I feel satisfied with the image. This is the initial sketch and this is the in progress painting. I always find it hard to know the exact time to stop working on a piece, I'm sure many others do too.

So now that I am rested and inspired, I saw some great art work last week along with some beautiful scenery, it's back to work!!!

Off to Vermont

I will not be able to post this week - So have a spooky Halloween and have a treat or two for your self.

Little Hay Burners

Last weekend was Columbus day - a three day weekend for schools and maybe Government employees ( I'm not sure). Anyway, it was a glorious weekend, perfect shirt sleeve weather, clear blue sky, you just had to get out and enjoy because you know that this weather cannot last much longer. This is also the weekend for the Riverton fair, the last fair of the season around here. It is a small fair that manages to pack in the chickens, bunnies, canned goods and Draft Pony pulls. (my favorites!) I love these little guys, they have such heart, they are so animated, and wide as they are short. I go year after year whether it is cold or hot to sit on those narrow pine bleachers, eat fried dough pizza and enjoy the day. I had my seat, my camera and food and we waited........and waited...... Unfortunatly there was a conflict this year and there was a Horse drawing event up in New Hamshire, so only one team showed up. They did three pulls for us and I took as many photos as I could, but what could they do. The above pen and ink drawing is from a couple of years ago.

Training New Elves

This is the completed image for this years Christmas card. It was fun to paint, my favorite Corgi is the little guy on Santa's boot.

We had a busy weekend, so much to write about, so I will put together another post in the next few days about the Riverton Fair and the Draft Pony pulls.

For All Creatures

For all creatures,and this includes you, some of them crawling, as some of them flew, these Halloween wishes - for "Spooks" just like you.

October is here, a chill in the air and first frost on the way. I am heading out to pick my Cosmos.