Country Tree, 2 for 1

Bid now on auction, click here!

This painting is on foamboard and starts at $20.  There is another

painting on the back, see it above, the tomatoes and beans

on a black and white dishcloth.  

Maudsley and European Arches may be finished

I say maybe because I'm done for now but who knows how I'll feel later on.  I'd like to do something more with the Maudsley painting, but it was such a dreary day anyway, and I did capture that!  I just like more colorful paintings, probably because I've been in my flower painting mode for a while now.
The picture doesn't even do it justice, it's safe to say that I will probably do something more with it.

Maudsley Park, blue flowers and daffodils, new leaves starting on trees, forest beyond, 10x12"

Here are the progression pictures of the European Arches painting.  It was LOTS of perspective!

--and many shades of warm colors.

European Arches, 9x12' oil on board

I do love warm colors.  :)

Lately...

I'm painting, just not finishing.  Saturday morning at the Cox Reservation, windy again so I took photos and listened to David.

Tuesday morning painted at Maudsley, here is my effort.  It needs some corrections, but so far all painted plein air.

What's the difference?  One photo was taken indoors and the other with natural light. 

Today I painted on the progression painting of European Arches.  Maybe one more day to finish it.
Here is it so far.

I sketched things in somewhat, then more or less started at the bottom right and worked my way around clockwise and have yet to work on the area at 3 o'clock.  Funny how one never attacks a painting the same way twice. 

Still Life Today

Still life in the style of David Laffel

Today I wanted to get started on the portrait for the September show in Newburyport, but I couldn't find the photo.  I guess I'll have to make a trip to the library and hopefully there will be one there.  So I randomly chose this from my pile of things to paint and got a start on it.

Picked AGAIN!

I'm so happy to be picked again!  This was for the Canadian Marsh painting.

European Painting

I haven't really painted anything that reflects the great european trips I have taken over the past five years.  While I was working with my art student today, I got started on a outdoor cafe scene with arches and umbrellas that has nice bright colors of yellows, oranges.  I hope I can remember to take photos as I paint it so that I can show the progression from beginning to end.
I bought some plastic containers to house my palettes.  I need to keep separate palettes for plain air, studio, landscape colors, still life, etc.  I'll be preparing soon for the Lori Putnum workshop in NY and getting the palette together and experimenting with it.

Canadian Marsh and more

Canadian Marsh on a Rainy Day 8x10" oil on gessoed masonte

After a couple of years, I took this painting out to paint over it and brought it to a group painting event.  People liked it and said, "Work on it some more, don't paint over it."  So I did.  I added the tree and made the flood bigger.  It does capture the weather conditions and has a sense of solitude.  I was painting under an umbrella at first but then moved to one of those shelter buildings they have on park properties.

Pond Painting with ripples added.

You may remember this from about a week ago, I added the ripples I guess I'm in my lively attitude lately, brightening everything up, maybe because Spring has finally arrived.

John Greenlief Whittier Birthplace

I brought this painting to the Rhythm Cafe yesterday to replace a painting that was sold.

View for Two with Two Birds

View for Two with Two Birds (I like that the birds are there but not very prominent.)

I've been touching this painting up, or maybe I should say liven it up, and plan to put it in the upcoming Northshore Art Association of Gloucester, MA show along with this other one

famous McCurdy's Smokehouse in Lubec Me.

I think I sold another little gem today, The Swing, from the Bear Hill Road series I painted a year ago for my first Rhythm Cafe solo show in December of 2012.  Boy, how time flies.  I'm currently showing there again but we are now in 2014.  Doesn't seem like 16 months ago!

Ripples on water

Today I put ripples on the water of a painting I have already put up on DPW's site, but guess what, I can go in and exchange the old one for the new one.  This is good to know because sometimes I'm almost finished and miss a day of posting because I don't put one up.  It's a good idea to only put one up per day, so this is a good solution.

Today I also worked on and almost finished a foggy marsh painting started on a rainy day in Canada.

I've been asked to be the Artist of the Month for August at the Merrimac Library, and I had an idea to do a project while I'm there, but it has to pass approval, and it may not, so I won't tell you what it is. :>)

Tonight I'm going to a friend's art reception and WINE TASTING.  That sounds like fun!

Saturday is portrait day and I want to work on a 12x12" format to see if I like it.

Two Sunflowers and two birds

My Two Sunflowers painting, 10x20 oil on canvas, sold yesterday at Rhythm Cafe.

I finished my Two Birds with Grape and Pear painting yesterday.  See it on Daily Paintworks tomorrow or on my store page today.

I received frames this morning from King of Frame.  Everytime I get a frame from them and open the box I say, "wow, that's beautiful".  This frame is for the entry for the regional show to be delivered on Saturday this week.  Saturday will be a busy day for me as I paint with the portrait group in the morning and then I have the reception at the Rhythm Cafe for my current solo show, then deliver this painting (Red Lily) to Newburyport.

I'll be working on finishing my newest lily pond painting this afternoon.

Second day in the field

2nd day of this field painting--TOO WINDY

I could only work for an hour today because it was like painting in a hurricane!  It was cold, in the mid-40s but the wind made it feel much colder and it took me a long time to get set up to paint.  It was a good experience, setting up in this high wind, I finally got everything anchored so I could paint.  Then I still had to hold the canvas with one hand and paint with the other.  I couldn't even let go to change brushes. I covered everything with a coat of paint, but getting into detail was out of the question.  I wanted to do it, but mother nature had other ideas so she finally got her way and I left.  I didn't realize how cold it was until I got back to the car.  I might have painted elsewhere but wasn't prepared with another canvas in tow.
It wouldn't have been so bad if the canvas was smaller.

I'm a DPW pic!

Another rung up the ladder--today I got this:

Newman Marsh Sold

I love to hear stories from people who purchase my paintings.  Thursday someone bought my Newman Road painting on the auction on Daily Paintworks.  I'm hoping to hear the story of why the person connected with this painting.  This is what I hear from people when they see something that they buy, that they have a connection.  I know what that means as far as I'm concerned, that's when I buy a painting.  AND when I don't buy it, I always regret it, but sometimes I can't afford it.  The big one that got away was by Jeff Weaver:

Jeff at work.  This is a photo of him, not his painting. :)

Look at Google Images so see some of his wonderful work.  He has a show coming up nearby in a month or so and I'm looking forward to going to the reception.

Shipping and Painting

I sold two paintings Thursday.  That's what I call a good day.

Painting was cancelled today on the Greenbelt, and we will go tomorrow instead.  That's good for me as I was going to drive the 100 miles tomorrow anyway, so one trip is way better than two.  So I'll paint for the second day on the Cox Field Painting in the morning and go to the reception at 2, then I teach a skating lesson at 4.

I should show it to you now before I continue, a little progression painting--well, not little--20x24".

Today, after I got one painting packed and shipped, I worked on two paintings that will go into the North Shore Arts Association (Gloucester MA) upcoming show. I had finished them a while ago, but there is always something else you can do on them.  You know how that goes, once you start, you get carried away.  Now just one of them is finished and the other one will need, yet, more paint!

I have two other little paintings that are almost done, the grapes and birds painting 5x5", and the other is a lily pond painting 5x7".  I'll work on these two on Monday morning.

Quite the assembly line I have going here!

Sold one at Rhythm!

Go to this quick video to see a huge geese migration where he paints:  Robin Weiss, en plein air

I was so happy to hear that another painting of mine has found a good home!

Tiger Lilies, sold

Today was a painting morning with Marc Hayden and I started a small painting that I thought of just before leaving the house.  I took pictures of a bowl of fruit in my dining room with a couple of birds in it.

  I'm almost finished with the high-key lily pond painting.  I kind of like it, Marc thinks it needs a little more.

,

Purple Pond Lilies

View this morning out my window, ice is melting! Bright Indian Yellow reflections.

Purple Pond Lilies, 5x7" oil on Gessobord

Ordered more frames today from King of Frame from their on sale section.  They were very nice and shipped them out today so I may be able to use that frame for the regional show entry if it looks good.
I finished this pond painting and started another one.  The other one is very high key, a challenge for me.