Pink Jar

I just finished a Karen O'Neil oil painting workshop held in a wonderful studio in Woodstock, N.Y. There were several still life arrangements to paint. Ths is one with an unusual  pink jar.There was also some wonderful garden fresh vegetables and fruit during breaktimes.She is a very good teacher and it was a great 2 days of painting. Now I am in New York City looking at art instead of making it.

Labor Day Whites

Summer is fading quickly. I really like oakleaf hydrangeas because the foliage lasts well into the fall with the leaves changing  from green to beautiful colors.I am currently visiting in New York State and these changes are pending more quickly up here. Back home we have a few more months of warm weather.

In My Dreams

I just sent this 16x20 painting to a customer in Washington State. It is one of my favorite landscapes that I have done. I named it In My Dreams because most likely I wouldn't see all these colors in real life. My dream world is much more colorful than the real world.
I am leaving Sunday morning to go to a Karen O'Neill oil painting workshop in Woodstock, N.Y. The hippies are long gone leaving mostly cows but I will take some pictures so you can see for yourself.

Warm Window

Color affects the temperature of a painting. To convey warmth, colors in the yellow and orange family work best. This would be a good painting to warm someone in the winter! I like the idea of rotating paintings to combat boredom and to reflect the changes of the season.

Checkerboard Basket

I found this really cool basket at a garage sale several years ago. It is unusual in that 2 different colors are used in the basket weave. The eggplant , pomegranates and birdbwere anxious to join in to make a perfect still life set up. I don't do as many watercolor paintings as I used to but still enjoy painting them.

Zinnia Dream

The colors of zinnias just do something to me the way some music affects me. Everytime I see some I want to paint them.It seems that  the colors are meant to complement each other to make a most pleasing picture.

Care Free

When I am painting a view of multiple flowers, I have to remember that it is not a good idea to paint each flower as an individual bloom.I paint in terms of blocks of color because that is how our eyes see them. When planting tulips we are encouraged to plant large groupings of bulbs rather than spacing them far apart., so the same advice could be applied to painting.Impact is the word of the day!

White Blooms

I have been doing some larger stretched canvas paintings. This painting is currently on display in a group show at WKNO( public tv station in Memphis). My favorite part is the transparent and translucent blue vases. They draw my eyes into the picture.

Message to You

This is a watercolor painting I did a few years ago.I sometimes feel like a split personality, wanting to go back and forth between oil, watercolor and  acrylic. But I realize it is all painting , no matter what the media. I think it just depends on what kind of mood I am in when I wake up!

Forever Tulips

Acrylics handle very differently than oils. I am having fun learning about them. Some accidental things have turned out to be exactly what I needed. I guess I can pretend that everything I do is delberate; don't tell anyone else. I like the illusion of genius.haha

Summer Lilies

I wish I had some of these lilies planted in my backyard. They are beautiful and always full of blooms. Daylilies are abundant here. I kind of wish they were labelled Monday, Tuesday, etc. so I could keep up with their progress. This is a watercolor painting.

Best of Luck

This is another oil painting on a gallery wrap canvas. I deliberately left this one high key with few real darks.Of course you really need some darks to make the light colors pop. There are millions of variations of flower arrangements. Maybe I will get through a million, I am definitely on my way. I have tried to count how many paintings I have done over time and I just can't fathom how many. Of course I am including the bad ones in the count!