Japanese Irises, 12x9, Oil

Sat in my garden and painted these last night.  I didn't have any of my small panels or boards, so I used what I could find - a 9x12 canvas.  The surface was a bit absorbent for some reason, and the paint went on in a washy, watercolor-like fashion - you can really see it on the bottom two flowers.  My irises are very special to me, and I have 3 types, bearded black, bearded ice blue, and these.  The black ones have gone by, and the ice blue ones got stomped by the small pug who runs my life.. :)  Oh, Paco!!!!

Red & Ready, Oil, 6x6

One of the last few red roses, this flower is much more beautiful than depicted here. I remember Qiang when he was 'struggling' with roses (THAT's how long I've been blogging!), and I see where he's gone with it. Maybe I'll get there, too. I felt like I should paint a flower... after all, it's Summer! Wish me luck on the Studio Tour tomorrow!

*+*+*+*+*+ If anyone is planning to come by, you can download the brochure Here , BUT there's a zillion artists spread out over a large area. To stop by my studio first (it's very convenient and right on the way to a ton of other really cool studios) just take rte 24 South INTO Rhode Island, Get off at Exit 2, Take a LEFT and I'm about a mile or so on the left, at #1888, right after the gas station (there's only one). I'll have lemonade & iced tea & munchies, too, so get refreshed!

One Tomato, Two Tomatoes, 6x6 Oil

SOLD

Thanks so much guys, for your support of yesterday's post - I had responses immediately (and a sale!). I will continue to play and learn with more of that texture and transparency painting. Today, though, a set of little tomatoes from our garden. I loved the light shining through the tomatoes, and their long, curling ... what are those things near the stem? First I painted the background too warm - it didn't let the tomatoes have the 'spotlight' so much.

The next post will have a step-by-step series of images... maybe you'll enjoy that - I enjoyed thinking about it and doing it!

Age

Here's how it goes as you get older: You wake to a beautiful, pearl blue dawn, whisper a prayer of thanks, and slide to the edge of the bed to sit up and... DOH! Sizzling pain in your neck, cascading down over your shoulder - for what? One bone in your spine got slightly out of line as you sat up????? So now you can't hold your head up straight, and your whole vision is tinged with red from the pain. Studio? I don't think so! Well, this was my day yesterday, and though I did try to paint (don't tell Tim, I promised I wouldn't!) because I couldn't help it! Nothing worked out that I tried, so I spent the whole day in a beach chair in the garden with ice on my neck, and a steady stream of Advil in my bloodstream. So here's what the garden looks like (from a watercolor journal from 2 years ago - everything's still the same!):
And below a splashy rendition of my beloved geraniums:
And Harry the cat, my special baby, claiming his right to Paco's newest sleeping crate (Harry THINKS he's a Dog Whisperer, but I bet there are those who would disagree!

Geraniums Waiting, 6x8 oil

Finally today I got to drag out my portable easel and attempt to paint my geraniums that I got this weekend, but can't plant for a few more weeks. I admit it was tough with Paco racing under the easel, pulling on my jeans legs, knocking into the tripod legs and then making off with a brush that fell as a result! So the result isn't as finished as I'd like, but at least I got to paint!

Yesterday was dedicated to dropping off 3 large paintings (the sunsets from my studio blog) at the South Shore Art Center for the Festival Juried Show. I'm not counting on anything there. But Tim helped me carry them in, and so Paco got his first visit to his 'Dad's' office, below. I think he was a 'hit'. Then he went for his first walk on Wollaston Beach in Quincy, MA, and his first lunch at Tony's Clamshack. After we dropped off he had his first ice cream at JJ's Soft Serve, and then saw his first BIG dog (Jack Dicerson's - he lent me a crate for a grown up Paco). So it was a lot of 'firsts' - but no painting yesterday. Tomorrow.......
(Sorry, my laptop is CRAZY these days - it deleted the bottom image, and when I tried to re-insert it - it won't let me move it from the top - so... obviously, the top image is Paco & Tim, the bottom one is the geraniums in the entry....
........

The Last Of The Harvest, 6x6 Acrylic

The very last eggplant and little Heirloom tomato posed this morning.  This will be my last post before Carol Marine's Worshop in Santa Fe.  Fighting off a cold and trying to organize myself and my house (heh, heh... only kidding about that last thing) before I go, I have to stop painting.  **sigh**  Well, I'm going to try to blog from Santa Fe, and I'll take pictures and show what I've accomplished through the week.  I'm excited because I've never been to Santa Fe, and I've been wearing out the pages of "American Art Collector" magazine trying to pick galleries to visit.  Hmmmm, and Harry the cat was snuggled into my suitcase yesterday, between the t-shirts and the shoes... I think trying to be a stow-away.  The cats definitely know when I'm going away and start acting all crazy as soon as I pull out the suitcase!  Anyway.. it's supposed to be wonderful weather here and in Santa Fe, so I'm definitely counting my blessings!

Sweet Red Pepper, 4x6 Acrylic

This pepper is from our garden - Tim and I thought it was a Bell Pepper, but... no!  It's sweet and beautiful, too.  We've been having a nice summer harvesting all kinds of tomatoes, eggplants (which I'll try to paint this week), and some sort of globular cucumbers.  I tried actually not to be conscious of what I 'should' and 'shouldn't' do as I painted this... consequently it went very fast!  I think sometimes I 'think' paintings to death.  But after a while you can kind of let it go and paint on autopilot.  Let me know what you think...

Orange Rose, 4x6 Oil

This rose is stuck way up towards the sky, about a foot above the rest of the bush.  I loved the contrast between the sunlit petals and the sky.  I think... practice makes (almost) perfect, I am more confident about roses now.  2 months ago they made me shudder....

White Rose, 8x10 Acrylic

Stayed home today just in CASE there was another water funnel in the area, like yesterday.  Turns out while I was gone the intense wind sucked one of the doors on the porch open and my cat Isabelle got out.  Hours later when I arrived home (even though I left the studio as soon as the worst had passed, there were trees snapped in half laying across the 2 main roads out of town, and telephone poles laying in the road) I saw what looked like a small piece of luggage on my front porch up against my door - it was Isabelle - traumatized!  So I played it safe and stayed home to paint with my acrylics, first a wipe-off of watermelons, then this beautifully opening rose.  Even though painting roses makes me go cross eyed, I'm determined to 'get' them this Summer.

I think the edge of the table is too sharp, so I'll probably soften it.

The Wild Cosmos Garden, 6x12, Acrylic

This was a request from my husband, who has the greenest thumb ever!  At the edge of his garden the Cosmos self-seeded and he couldn't bring himself to weed them out - so... we have a wild edge to the vegetable garden, with gorgeous pink flowers!  This one's not for sale, it's for his new office.

And I'd like to invite anyone who's in the area of the South Shore of Boston, to come see my show at the Ventress Library in Marshfield, MA (a great little town on the ocean with lots to see & do around, too), it's open now through mid-August.  The Opening Reception is Monday, July 14th from 7-8:30, and the show is sponsored and run by the North River Arts Society.

Also some new work is on my Studio Blog... please feel free to check it out and comment...  I must apologise for not posting recently, I have had yet another 'camera incident'... believe me, you don't want to hear about it!

Tiny Purple Roses, 6x6 Oil

Would you believe it if I told you these look much better in person?  And I couldn't get the glare off the photo, either... in the shade it looked too dark, in the light (or even the 'light' shade) it was bouncing off the canvas.  Oh well.  These are from a tiny rose bush that I had no expectations of - last year it yeilded just a few blooms.  This year - BANG!  Of course we caught a lot of the insects earlier this year.  I'm going to master 'roses' if it kills me.  This morning it's been humid and very warm, but a storm is rolling in, I can see it coming across Aquidneck Island, and I want to catch it on canvas, so instead of preparing my house for the 4th of July festivities, I'm painting (surprise, surprise!)!  If I don't get to post tomorrow (I'm going to try to paint chickens at a local farm) I want to wish everyone a Happy 4th of July!

Yellow Roses 6x6 Oil

These roses are from my garden - there are so many right now I can't keep up!  I have vases, cups, bowls - all filled with yellow, white, red, striped, orange, peach and pink roses - I'm in 7th heaven!  My show was supposed to Open last night but there was a problem with the Library's plumbing - so it's been postponed two weeks.  I'll dedicate a post to it later.  Right now, after the intensity of getting ready for the show I told myself I wouldn't paint for 2 weeks - an enforced 'vacation'.  To let my creativity lie fallow for a little while and see what comes of it.  It lasted 3 days, and for 2 of those days all I could think about was painting!

First Cosmos, 6x6 acrylic

This is our first, but not last, Cosmos.  I love the dark pink color, and look forward to it's cheering me throughout the heat of the summer.  I wanted the challenge of looking down on the little flower and little vase, measure, measure, measure.  We got these big sqare stones in a light sand color that act like stepping stones, providing a nice, warm neutral backdrop.

Happy Fathers' Day to all the Dads out there....

First Roses of Summer, 12x12 acrylic

This is going to be sold as a Daily Painting, despite it's size.  I couldn't find a 6x12 canvas, and I didn't want to make it a 6x6 today.  So.... These are two of the first of our roses, blooming despite our battle with worms, aphids and spiders this Spring.  Roses are so complex, I'm determined to conquer them this sumer.  But rather than work, work, and overwork this one, I'm packing some water, fruit and a book and hoofing it to the beach for an hour or so :) (must refresh the senses...)

Just Kale, Oil, 6x6

I can't let go of Summer, but I do love it when the kale and mums have their time. I am fascinated by all the varieties of kale, and how long they last into the cold months. The colder it gets, the more vivid the colors of purple, pink, olive and sage seem to get. Here I was having a little fun with the rufflinng leaves, doing some calligraphy on top. The actual painting has more contrast, but I have not successfully learned how to Photoshop that. Now I'm off to the beach for a little sun on the dunes. I have the whole day to myself, and I'm going to try for 3 painting sessions:)

Morning Glory, Oil, 6x6

SOLD

This morning Tim challenged me to capture the luminosity of one of the varieties of Morning Glories gracing the garden. There's a story (of course) behind this. I've always loved these cheerful little flowers, and have struggled to grow them, while other people seem to have them weed-like in their garden. Last year I was NOT to be denied. I bought 300 seeds of varying types of Morning Glories and soaked them overnight to soften them, then carefully planted them around the whole perimeter of the garden. Not realizing this, my dear husband came along a few days later and dug up the entire perimeter to plant sweet peas and peas and beans. Well, this year, I INCREASED the amount of seeds I planted, and staked out the territory (with pleas to Tim to allow them to grow undisturbed), and, well, something 'clicked' and I am absolutely overrun (I'm not kidding, they've practically killed a few rose bushes) by Morning Glories. Well, now that they're here, I'm loving all the different varieties, although, just like me I forgot all their names. (I hope they re-seed, too ;). I tried to keep it kind of loose and only let myself use a small flat soft brush. I also am experimenting with edges, trying the Carol Marine thing of going back and painting overlapping colors back and forth over the edges. I like it... do you?

Garden Geraniums, Acrylic, 6x6

These are geraniums from our pots in the garden. I loved the color combo of violet, fucshia, and orange. So bordering the vegetable garden (which has gotten a little out of control) are four black urns with these geraniums. Weekend very full, hoping to get some painting in, though, and I have been plein air painting (see http://welcometomyartworld.blogspot.com ) in this beautiful weather.

Sunflower Riot, 6x12 oil on Bristol Board

Taking my cue from Mary Sheehan Winn's Blog (see link to the right) where she talks about travelling far and wide for subject matter, when it's 'all' right in front of you, I went into the garden yesterday morning and plunked myself down in front of the sunflowers planted by the birds. See, if you feed the birds sunflower seeds, they repay you by planting some of them. These are growing on the perimeter of the tomato garden - perfect placement! Yesterday had a beautiful blue sky and I loved the blue I found in my paintbag - Horizon Blue by Holbein. I don't remember buying it but I'm in love with the color. Being New England, today couldn't bee more different, with the morning fog swirling around in violent wind, whitecaps on the river - these pretty sunflowers are bent to the ground! Ah, well, they had a lot of life yesterday, and I think I 'got' it.