WILD MEADOW

 This is a closeup of a flower meadow.The dark background adds depth; making the viewer wonder what else is behind the flowers in the front. The colors pop because of the neutral greens with the surprising yellows.

Parallel Parking

 I did not have to parallel park for my driving test and I avoid it when possible. I drive around the block for 20 minutes or park 3 blocks away also to avoid it. These bottle vases remind me of that parking situation!

Lost in the Garden

 I do floral compositions more than landscapes but do enjoy landscapes as a change of pace. This landscape combines my love of flowers with the outdoors. The flowers draw the viewer in toward the buildings as the blooms get smaller as they recede.

Summer Romance

 Viewers often ask if I draw my subject before I paint. I usually take a brush and a thinned color from my palette to block in the placement of the basic shapes. If I was a beginning painter I might do a lot of preliminary sketches but I have been painting for so long I have a pretty good idea for placement and scale. Since I am using oil; I can also just wipe it off if I don’t like it. I find that I have a fresher painting if I don’t have a tight drawing that I am trying to follow.

Likewise

 These vases had a kind of 1950’s vibe to them ; what you might have had flowers brought to you in the hospital as you recovered  from some kind of surgery  or maybe a baby being born. They may have sat on the window sill for a week because as you know back then hospital stays were at least that long. Now you go in for heart surgery in the morning and they send you home in the afternoon.  Not that modern medicine is so great— all about the money!

Daily Story

 My favorite part of this painting is the white flowers. They are the star of the show and spice up the neutral colors of the flower arrangement. Without the white the lovely purples and blues wouldn’t sing as beautifully. A lesson to all of us that we need each other!

One More Silver Dollar

 The title may seem strange to you but titles just come to me sometime out of the blue.A lyric from the song Midnight Rider popped in my head for some reason. My favorite thing about this painting are the way these colors harmonize with each other. It could be an accident but maybe years of experience play into it. That said, I have many day of painting where I wipe off many paintings and start over. It is never easy!

Good Idea

 Colors that an artist chooses tend to convey the message of a painting.This painting doesn't have the most brilliant colors available but certainly not a New England feel. I would expect this to be from an island home or some tropical destination. There are neutrals, but just enough necessary for the eye to rest.

Peace

 Several years ago we visited England. We started in Manchester, visited London and ended up in the Cotswolds. It was a picture book version of old England. The thatched roof cottages, sheep in the meadows and high tea and scones with clotted cream.This idyllic view reminds me of the magical time we had on our trip.

Blue Table

 I have painted sunflowers many times before . This is a different view; it is a back view and shows the flowers backlit. One way to make a statement in art is to think outside the box. It might be by using different colors or a different point of view. 

Summer Backyard

 Although it is the middle of winter; I choose a summer landscape to display. A few years ago I started doing a series of meadows or fields of flowers. The point of view is what a person or animal would see at eye level of the plants and flowers close up and also at perspective. This view is very close up as if a rabbit is looking through the flowers. Maybe the next painting may show the viewer!