this is another of my plein air studies that I did at New Harbour this August. I had an opportunity to really study boats. We don't have that many chances to do that here in East Texas.
finished this one last week and it is now in its new home! I love doing bluebonnets.
Monday, November 16, 2009
I never thought I would have the opportunity to paint on location in Maine. So many artists have spoken of the beautiful light there. Well it is all beautiful. We were so fortunate to find such beautiful 70 degree weather all the time we were there in New Harbor, Maine, staying at the amazing property " The Moorings". It was sweltering here in Nacogdoches, tx in the 90s at the time. The crowds of visitors to Maine seemed to all be gone and the locals were beginning to board the windows up and get ready for winter. The flowers were putting on there final blaze of glory before the cold came in. I did this 11x14
11x14 oil on linen canvas oil sketch at Pemaquid Point looking east from 125.00 the light house.
While in New Harbor we often ate at Shaws fish and Lobster Wharf. Soooooo good.
Right across from it was a lobster shack that got some of the boats coming in with their crates of lobsters. We got up early one morning determined to paint on the restaurants wharf before anyone was out and about. Instead it was crowded with a boat full of people leaving for a day trip out to Monhegan Island which seems to just loom out on the horizon. (We are going there next year) We were able to do a couple of quick sketches any way and were ready for the afternoon location
While we were staying at New Harbor, a must see, at the Moorings we painted each morning and evening. We ventured over to the harbor at Round Pond and set up our easels at the Lobstermens coop and I painted this little 9x12. Lunch was fresh lobster (9.95 each) and corn on the cob. It was cooler and the wind was blustery.
I completed this one recently. The photo is not as clear as I would like but it is painted on a large 40x50 canvas and is a commission work for a client. The texas wild flowers are bluebonnets, indian paintbrush and indian blankets.
This painting was done earlier this spring. It is oils on stretched canvas 16x20. The bluebonnets, indian paintbrush and little mock dandelions are rendered loosely to get a sense of distance in the closeup design.
The trip to Greece in April was wonderful even with the long recovery of the respiratory problems I encountered along the way!! Summer has tempted and won me over to a relaxing time with my husband and family. I am still painting but not everyday as I had planned. My next few postings are of various works that I completed in oils on canvas. I hope you enjoy them. I am back to painting almost everyday. Looking forward to painting on location in Maine this month.
It is almost time for the pansies to be pulled up here and replaced with flowers that can handle the hotter temperatures. I can not hardly stand to do it. So just a few in a tiny vase makes a lovely study.
Maybe the long stretch of silence in posting is over!!! I have finally hung my solo show in Shreveport La. 28 paintings at the Gardens of the American Rose. Exit to the gardens off of I20 is #5. Follow the signs, perhaps one mile off the interstate and visit the beautiful gardens and see my show. I hope you will like it. The roses will be best from mid April through mid May. My show will be up from April 1 through June 30.
The Artists' reception will be May 3, Sunday at 2:00. You are invited.
The painting posted above is the final one I finished for the show. It was done with bristle brushes, with the goal of catching the light outside the door as it rapidly changed.
I wanted to get the feel of callas twisting and searching for the light. I love this flower and sometimes I feel that is what I do in my own life. Search for the light. I used soft brushes in the oils with little build up on the canvas.
This was a great little painting, working from photos my friend took in South America recently. Don't you like chicken paintings? I alway wonder why I do but they are something I like to paint.
I have not posted for several days because I have been painting from dawn til after dinner each day. I have a special friend that is an artist and every so often we get together, shut ourselves in the studio and paint, paint, paint. We have worked all week from set ups for still lifes and landscapes from photos we took on our trips. We do critiques for each other and draw inspiration from works each other are doing. Its a great time with a lot of laughter mixed in. I hope you enjoy the next few posts, because I certainly had fun doing them!!!
This little oil sketch was something I painted today to give to my friend. We often paint together. I had finished my painting that day and was walking around snapping shots of the scenery in case I wanted to do another painting when I got home. The sun was hot, the wind was whipping our canvases around, and the day was a wonderful one! Good memories!
I am sure I have told you that I am busy working on florals for my upcoming show. I started this one on Thursday and felt it was done with todays work. The rose fascinates me. I believe they have moods just like we do!!! They are a challenge for me to paint and try to capture that elusive beauty each blossom has. After the more involved look at the anatomy of the rose in some of my other paintings I felt the need to try for a free style that just caught the light on the roses.
In my afternoon class, I did about an hour demo today in which we discussed using a photo and then really exaggerating the color to add some emotion, how to simplify the design, and still use the reference photos we took to use as a guide. I took this photo in Vermont this summer and will finish up the demo painting and post it again.
I taught this painting at a demo class today. It was originally painted last year. It was even fun to do again today. The figs are one of my favorite things to paint.
This was my painting for last Thursday. I demonstrated it for my group at Hideaway Lake. They did a great job on their paintings. My husband and I took a road trip all down the Oregon Coast, Hwy 101. Oh My, What a beautiful state. If I didn't live in Texas, I would want to live there!!
This is a large painting that I did from photos I took at the American Rose Societies beautiful gardens in Shreveport, La. This particular rose just took my breath away. It is so lovely.
I finished this one up last night. I had demonstrated it for a class and love the way we let the oil colors run, fusing together to create a lot of excitement. Then the lilies were pulled out of areas of color washes and some form was emphasized leaving lots of lost edges.
My painting today is an 6x8 watercolor on WC paper. I am exploring the rose as you can tell by my recent posts. It is good to change mediums sometimes to think with a different slant on the form of the object.
This painting is available, matted in a cream color matt for 69.00.
I have been working on this very large painting of one of the AmericanRose Society Roses for several days. It was so beautiful this last summer in their gardens. I have a little left to do on the edges but wanted you to know I have been painting every day!!!!
This was done from the Shreveport La, Gardens. such a beautiful place.
There are 65 individual gardens in this 118 acre American Rose Society Center. It is located off of I-20 close to Shreveport La. I love to visit there.
I painted on this little jewel on Friday and Saturday. Lambs ears are one of my favorite plants in the garden and they work well in paintings too. The texture is wonderful.
Last year I took 34 on an Art Tour of Italy. Not all were painters, but we all photographed the many beautiful sites. We were able to take in the wonderful art museums, the Vatican, Florence, Venice and many other cities in Italy. The painting I finished today was from one of my photos of a sheltered corner at the Villa d'Este. This amazing villa and gardens was built by Cardinal Ippolito d'Este, the son of Lucrezia Borgia and the grandson of Pope Alexander VI. The gardens have something like 500 fountains and the surprising Fountain of the Hydraulic Organ. It is about 34KM from Rome. If you are ever in the area, don't miss this spot. I loved the way the light hit the crumbling wall in the late afternoon in March!
Again, a painting from my Plein Air Painting in Vermont photographs.
I remember standing in the middle of the stream shooting down stream on this one. I have to admit it was much more comfortable painting it in my studio than the one done from the shore on site that day. It was nice and warm but the bugs were pesky.