Rest Assured

Blue and white pottery is exciting to me for some reason. I guess it is because a blue and white vase always seems to go perfectly with whatever bouquet goes into them. My favorite flower for this vase would be the white lily. There is a kind of sophistication with this combination; as if it belongs in an apartment high above Central Park in New York.

Spring

I painted something like this 3 years ago at a wonderful Nancy Medina Workshop. I took photos of the flowers we painted. I love hydrangeas and the sunflowers are the perfect complement to the blues and purple.

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!

Lucky Charms

 

These zinnias remind me of a box of lucky charms cereal.,of course there are a few colors missing but still beautiful.they love the heat ,. We have plenty of heat around here!
 If you received this post  originally by email there were some nonsense words at the top-I don't know where they came from! At least it was entertaining.

Terra Bella

Our trip to Italy was one of our best vacations. At every turn was another photo opportunity. I must have taken a thousand pictures in 10 days. The food was so wonderful but of course a photo could not capture the taste. But I am glad to have taken the pictures of the scenery and the people to  keep as memories.

Table Talk

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This painting is on a 12x12 gallery wrap  canvas .The vase is almost like a full fishbowl shape, able to hold a lot of blooms. Painting something like this involves a lot of thinking and decision making.I am asking and answering questions to my self the whole time. Questions like-- is there harmony between the color of the table and the wall? Is the negative space interesting? Does the glass look believable? Do the shadows and reflections on the table work? I'm exhausted!

Shelf Life

I love these kind of blue and white vases. Add some beautiful flowers and everything is good to go. I tend to paint flowers a lot  because I really love them. I do some landscapes and still life set ups and enjoy it but my heart is with flowers. I am really not a cow person, no matter how popular they might  be at the moment! But never say never!

SMALL TALK

Small Talk is painted on a gallery wrapped stretched canvas ready to hang. Pansies are a favorite . I love the self confident petals- they seem to say "Look at me!"A lot of flowers are bigger and taller but can't match the punch the pansies have.

Violet Shadows

I did an earlier version of this composition a few years ago. I wasn't satisfied with that painting so I thought I would try it again.I am much happer with this one. Painting every day has really helped improve my painting? It is just like exercise, you have to keep it going to get results.

On a Pedestal.

These geraniums were on the terrace of a beautiful historic home that we toured. The pot was on a pedestal in the bright sunlight of a courtyard there. I took a photo and painted this watercolor later. I collect photos and memories rather than things.Easier to dust!

Transparent

I used to be so intimidated about painting glass; especially glass with something inside. It is just like anything else in life- you just have to jump in and do it. My first attempts were not so great but after a lot of practice I have gotten the hang of it.It is a matter of just painting what you see no matter how odd it seems. Add a few highlights and voila! You have a little miracle.

New Easel

I received my new easel last weekend in a box ready to put together. My valiant husband agreed to put it together and I was there for moral support and holding the screwdriver.Maybe an experienced handyman or carpenter could decipher the diagrams sent but it was not easy for 2 ordinary people. After some upside down and backward errors we got it assmbled with no extra parts on the floor.It holds larger canvases and also converts to a table for painting flat. I am thrilled with it and my hsband is happy that I don't need diamonds to make me happy!
P.S- tray can hold a snack or two

Magical Garden

Maybe being near sighted most of my life has caused me to appreciate the closeup view.I have learned that varying the color; such as cool and warm greens makes a picture more pleasing. I don't worry about painting exactly what I see. If that was important to me I would be a photographer. Which is also a good thing to be since I have seen some photographs that take my breath away.

Triple Crown

This reminds me of an old fashioned picture from a seed packet.I wanted to show a more subdued approach to sunflowers, they are so bright that they take all the attention. These are mature,sedate sunflowers with enough wisdom to sit backmand share the limelight. They wouldn't dream of taking a selfie!

Celestial

I think a dark background really makes the subject matter pop. I am hoping I showed the light hitting the flowers despite the darkness.Every painting is like a little puzzle; just hope there are no left over pieces at the end! How many of you have some of those nuts and bolts hanging around after putting together something explained as "easy assembly"?

Boston Doors

I took this photo almost 2 years ago when we visited Boston. For some reason I have put off painting it.I am thinking it is becauseI don't know if I can do a better job than the photo already does. Another reason is I don't love painting straight lines.
I am posting it on this blog to force myself to pledge to start the painting soon. Kind of like announcing to sign up for a marathon run! People would be asking if training has started yet, maybe they will ask me if I have started this painting.

Big Shadows

Al

One of the things that I notice most in a painting is the contrast. I try to make sure that I show some of 3 vaues ( light, medium and dark) in my painting. I have learned that it is better to not have the values in equal proportions- some paintings will be mostly light with a few dark and medium values thrown in; the same goes for opposite combinations.
Even with all the rules, sometimes intuition takes over.

MEANDER BLUE

Blue flowers are not as common as other color flowers. I think the rarity makes them even more beautiful and desirable. I like the composition and color of  these flowers; especially the contrasr between the blues and greens.

Pre- Independence Day

i did this painting as a demo on Instagram. At least I started it there-- I finished it a little later. I am thankful there was no camera crew there; just me,an iphone and a tripod!