Monday, September 8, 2014

Geranium Close Up

I have painted geraniums before but this never this much of a close up. The shapes become almost abstract.





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Thursday, September 4, 2014

Perfect Sky

On our morning walk we were blessed with this beautiful pink sky. I took a photo and painted it when I got home. We are lucky to have such a beautiful place to walk!



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Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Single Sun


I never tire of sunflowers. They are so beautiful and sturdy hopefully turning toward the sun.Painting them is like therapy!


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Saturday, August 30, 2014

Best Blooms

After painting with bright colors for a week, I enjoy switching gears for some more understated painting. This one is has color but more muted and neutral.these flowers were such a pleasure to paint.
My daughter has started back teaching art in a new school district. It is hard to believe she is beginning her seventh year. It gives me a sense of continuity that she is following the career path that I took.Teaching children can be a headache sometime but it is a worthy endeavor.What other job has people so glad to see you walk down the hall?


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Friday, August 29, 2014

Market Share

I love walking by flower markets, even the flowers in front of small groceries in big cities like Boston. I think it is the combination of all the colors. Each flower by itself is not as impressive as the group. Maybe that could be a metaphor for our lives?


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Thursday, August 28, 2014

Garden Chair

I like garden settings that look inviting. This blue cushioned chair is just waiting for me to sit and and enjoy the view. Rather than smooth brush strokes I chose to add texture with some stronger strokes.I love that every time I sit down to paint I never know what is going to happen. That really suits my personality. I remember loving to substitute teach because everyday was a new situation.my niece hated doing that because she liked to know exactly what was going to happen. We need all kinds of people ( her house is much neater than mine!) but I will keep doing what I do.


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Saturday, August 23, 2014

Serious Pansies

This is a small(6x8) painting of a few purple pansies. I like the very close up approach. I am thinking that maybe I get a little too close. I went to the eye doctor yesterday. I examined my glasses before I went and found several tiny dots on the surface. I realize that they are paint! I was able to get them off of the surface. Maybe I need some welder's headgear!



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Thursday, August 21, 2014

Rose Gate

I saw a lot of this kind of scene when traveling in Massachusetts this summer. It is like roses are meant to hang around white picket fences. Summer is going to fast; although I won't be sad to say good bye to the upper '90's we are having this week. Think cool!



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Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Afternoon Shadows

Often when I am out looking for things to photograph I find myself searching for shadows first.they can become more important than the objects .this reminds me of a scene that might have been in an old Alfred Hitchcock show. All that foreboding black and white photography.


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Sunday, August 10, 2014

Rose on the Edge

I like this Rose. It seems to know that its days are numbered but exhibits some optimism.Or hours!
There is a new song out by a group from England called Bastille. The song is Pompeii, a song about what happens to the doomed city. One of the lyrics say"if you close your eyes, nothing is happening. I'm going to be an optimist about this"very clever lyrics and catchy tune.


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Thursday, August 7, 2014

Reservation for Three

I like the drama of the shadows from the jars. Lighting from windows is always pleasing to me.
We had the pleasure of keeping our 5 year old granddaughter yesterday.She has started kindergarten but they only attend one day the first week in a small group setting. We did a lot of things but she liked the spin art we did the best. She said"this is a good experience" haha I hope all of her art experiences in the future are good!
Art tip: take an old salad spinner,tape a piece of card stock or small paper plate inside, squirt paint from small acrylic paint bottles onto paper, then spin!
A really fun project!


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Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Roses and Daisies

I painted this one today in my painting group. When I say group I mean one other friend who paints in watercolors. We meet at our church and solve all the world's problems while creating new work. What more could you ask for?


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Monday, August 4, 2014

Red Lineup

This is a large (16x20) painting that I have finished for a big art sale in November. I have to prepare about 15 paintings framed pretty soon. I think I won't have a problem having enough; the hard part will be choosing which ones!


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Sunday, August 3, 2014

August Zinnias

We have had such a cool summer here so flowers are still thriving. Something about the beautiful colors of zinnias makes my heart feel the way it does when I hear a saxophone! I can't quite explain the way I feel about music. I don't play the piano or an instrument but I do love music. For our 25th anniversary this summer we have scheduled 5 concerts. We see James Taylor here in Memphis next week and then a few days later David Gray in Nashville. Fun!,



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Friday, August 1, 2014

Daisy Bucket

This is what I call a casual bouquet. Stems just dropped into the bucket are just nicer than an artfully arranged florist type bouquet. I just read with my book club a book entitled The Language of Flowers. It is a novel but references the qualities and words associated with each flower. Kind of like a horoscope for flowers. I would recommend it.



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Thursday, July 31, 2014

Full Color

Sometime it is all about the color. Actually it is usually about the color! If this painting was an abstract it would still be pleasing because of the color harmony. Luckily nature does the harmony all by itself. Love my job!


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Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Out in the Country

I like the sunlit path with shadows. Makes us wonder where it leads to.



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Monday, July 28, 2014

Barely There

I hope someone is traveling the country photographing deteriorating barns before they collapse. I would do it but am just too busy taking pictures of old water towers!



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Friday, July 25, 2014

Violet Trio

African Violets bring up images of little old ladies and crocheted doilies but I do love them. The colors are so rich and jewel like and the leaves so fuzzy!



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Thursday, July 24, 2014

Salmon Sky

I like to paint landscapes as a change of pace from my flower obsession. I look at the real scene before me but am always compelled to add extra color or shapes. I figure that it is my chance to jazz things up!


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Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Framed French Flower Market

I sold this painting to a customer fom Florida last year. She sent a photo of it framed. I rarely get to see the "kids" after they leave home!


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Friday, July 18, 2014

Rites of Passage

I started this painting and thought I had finished. When I took a photo of the painting I realized that it wasn't complete. The values were too close and I had some colors wrong. I worked in it some more; adding darks and lights to the mediums. I now call it complete!(8x8)



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Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Party of Three

This is a combination that I like- sunflowers and bottles.Three is such a good number for a composition, it is hard to go wrong with it at all.


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Thursday, July 10, 2014

Red Possibility

When I painted this I kept feeling that something was just about going to happen in this scene. Sometimes a still life painting is just that- still- but this one has ants in its pants!



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Monday, July 7, 2014

Rose Parade

These roses were just breathtaking and also a challenge to paint. I wanted to show their beauty but also keep a fresh approach to the painting.minimum brush strokes!


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Friday, July 4, 2014

Duomo Doze

We are sitting in the Atlanta airport waiting on last leg of trip home. We had a wonderful time but always glad to go home. I have some great ideas for paintings and look forward to raking the palette out of the freezer in the morning and getting started. I am posting this watercolor I painted of people in the Florence Duomo on a very hot day in July because we are enjoying the people watching here in the airport. It is amazing what we see walk by us. We just saw a whole family including teenagers wearing the same 4th of July t-shirts. I am impressed that they got the teens to wear the shirts; some bribery must have been involved!




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Thursday, July 3, 2014

Market Corner

I have seen some beautiful flowers this week; in yards and and in flower markets. This painting is of some flowers in a market. I liked the variety of the textures and colors.
We are waiting to go to the James Taylor concert in a few hours at Tanglewood in Lenox, Massachusetts. The rain has held off , hopefully for the whole evening. This is probably my 15th James Taylor concert and I never tire of his music.



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Boston Doors

My favorite thing to do on vacation is to find things I would like to paint and take photos. I had a great time walking the streets of Boston looking for scenes like this. I can't wait to get home and paint!


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Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Quiet White

I painted this one a few weeks ago. I started with a lighter background which looked fine 5 inches from my nose but washed out a few feet away from this small(6x6) painting. The dark works much better to dramatize the whites of the flowers. That's what backgrounds are for anyway!
I am still traveling in Massachusetts. We stayed in Salem last night. There are all sorts of witch places, ttarot readings, haunted house tours. Which all seems pretty strange since the original witches probably weren't witches at all.


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Sunday, June 29, 2014

Zinnias

I have seen some beautiful flowers here in Boston this week. Something I have noticed about the Northeast is that the people here don't take their flowers for granted. Maybe it is because the winters are longer here and no one wants to waste a minute of sunshine. Back home in the south , spring is the best season for flowers. By August the summer flowers are struggling against the heat there.



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