Romance, 8x6 Inch Oil Painting by Kelley MacDonald

SOLD

There was a wedding at the Providence Art Club, and every table had a gorgeous silver vessel overflowing with old fashioned roses in whites and pinks.... perfection. ( The painting is so hard to photograph!)  But I love the little petals that fell around the base of the pitcher, and the reflections  too!

I'm about to delve into a week of painting in Maine with some buddies.  I look forward to this all year.  I may not be able to post, but I'll try.  A farmhouse on the water, filled with talented, generous, funny women - a whole week of just art, laughter and fabulous dinners - I'll think of you all!

Red Roses For A Blue Lady, 8x8 Inches, Oil

My son made this round - ball-like vase for me.  He remembered I said I wanted one for roses - and it's creamy white - perfect for reflecting the roses!  I got some red roses to put in it and I just love it!  Do you remember that song in the 60's "I want some red roses for a blue lady... send it to the sweetest gal in town...."?  I'm old, I know.

Above is the last painting of the workshop I just took with Leslie Saeta and Dreama Tolle Perry.  I was going to post the 2nd one I did - with the palette knife, but when I went to select it I realized I hadn't cropped it.  So... next post!  Also next post I'll show you the painting I started when we played "Musical Easels"!

Swirling Vase and Roses, 5x7, oil

My son made this pottery vase for me in kind of a 'swirl' pattern.  It's a creamy white and has spaces for about 5 rose stems to tuck in.  Roses continue to be a challenge for me, and so... I will continue to try to paint them! These were backlit - another thing I need practice on.

I have a poll on the top right hand side of my blog about my subject matter.  You can choose more than one.  I'm just curious about what you think my best pieces are.  

And thank all of you who voted for me in that contest.  I did not make it to the Top 5, but that's OK.  I enjoyed the ride, and, I'll keep myself busy....

Holiday Bouquet, 8x8 Oil

Here's a painting of a beautiful bouquet my husband indulged me with while we were grocery shopping. I wanted to paint in the style of my previous winter bouquet with greens, but this is what I came up with after 2 tries. I guess every subject has it's own voice, and you have to be true to it. Here, at my house the time between the holidays is sort of out-of-focus, with me confusing what day it is - who's home? Who's stopping by? Who are we visiting? And although I love it I kind of am looking forward to burying myself in the studio for long hours again.

Fall Roses, 4x6 Oil

The garden is in it's glory.  The roses are seemingly happy to do without the summer heat.  The white and the tangerine roses have given up their last, while the orange bush seems hell bent on reaching November.  Fine with me!  Here's the last white and the last tangerine blossoms.  Hard to get shadows in flowers... and I definitely need new/different vases for the little blooms!

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....

Light Pink Rose, 6x8 Oil

Here we are with #3 in the Rose series.  I think I'm done for a while, but it was a good exercise in looking.  Light pink roses are also a symbol of sympathy, and I'm dedicating this one to my friend who is grieving right now.  

Tangerine Rose, Oil 5x7

"The rose speaks of love silently, in a language known only to the heart." - unknown

I'm going to keep going with the roses for a while in my Daily Paintings.  I feel I can learn so much about color and design, not to mention transparencies of glass.  This rose is a little gorgeous deep orange flower that we bought this year.  To say it's in it's first year, it's been generous in it's flowering.  I'm feeling the rush of the end of the Summer and I want to grind it to a halt, dig my feet in and stand under the sun... begging for just a little more time!

A Red, Red Rose, 6x6 Oil

Robert Burns wrote :

My love is like a red, red rose

that sweetly blooms in June.

My love is like a melody

that's sweetly played in tune

And that's all I could think of as I painted this gorgeous red rose this morning.  And Tim's favorite color rose is red, and we have two beaurtiful rose bushes because of that.  Left to my own devices I'd fill the garden with pinks, both vivid and pale, white, yellow, orange and lavendar roses.  But I have to admit... when the light hits these roses they're electric red.  It's funny, this one just flowed out of me... I didn't second guess myself or struggle.  I did think of Carol Marine's post today about when things 'glow'...  And I think I'm getting closer to achieving my goal of being able to paint roses this Summer.... and just in the nick of time, too! :)

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.

Rose Bouquet, Acrylic 5x7

We have an abundance of roses.  I'm thinking it's got to be easier to paint them one at a time! :)  But the gorgeous colors make it too hard to decide on any one.  In this bouquet I stuck little purple flowers that look like balls, or thistle into it.  Yesterday it was lavender sprigs.  

Anyway the zillions of petals are always what grind me to a halt when painting flowers.  Here I just stopped my eyes and let myself do one at a time.  One way to do it.  I also could have looked at the 'whole' of the bouquet and given the impression of the mix.  Another day, another bouquet...

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 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...)

White Rose, 6x8 oil

I love the challenge of a rose, and this one is gorgeous - the inner folds are creamy pinky-orange (how's THAT for technical color names?).  I concentrated more on the rose than the glass, though maybe I should have spent more time on the reflections, etc.  Daily Paintings are wonderful exercises for the eye, as is plein air painting.   Now that the weather is good, I'll get more of THAT in!  Enjoy the day!

Valentine's Day, Oil, 6x6

I did this from a sketch I did at a restaurant last year.  I want to wish you all a happy Valentine's Day. 

Molly's Rose, acrylic 6x12

Tim picked this rose for our daughter and I loved the subtle colors together. Roses are so hardy, and prolific... such a great plant when they 'take'! My success rate is one out of two, though. This is a pink & orange rose, spectacular at every stage.

Garden Roses, 5x7, Acrylic

When is a rose NOT just a rose? When you've been cultivating them for 3 years, through plagues of bugs, black rot and mildew! These babies are killers for scent (the yellow ones) and elegance. To top things off we (and here I mean HE) painted the back door a gorgeous purple - the Chinese say a purple door invites good fortune. Anyway I put my roses up against it and it begged to be painted. I think oils would have been great, too, but it's very hot and humid, so I wanted a quick clean up!

Well, I've been struggling since I've gotten back, to paint my 'Dailies'. Everything came out wrong. Of course, I was also getting ready for the Plein Air Show I'm in at Gallery 297 this month in Bristol, RI. I have nine pieces hung there, plus the "Oil on Water" show - I'll post the painting from that on my studio blog. So I've been framing and carting things around, and it's been a plethora (!) of birthdays, and I'll always be ready to celebrate a birthday! So LIFE has been hectic, but with all good things, and now I'm back in the saddle, so to speak ;)

Beach Roses, 4x6, Oil

SOLD

Today was gray and threatening, but I went to Horseneck Beach anyway to buy a beach pass, so I could paint there whenever and not have to worry about having cash (I never do). Of course the beach wasn't 'open' (staffed) yet, so I went for a walk, and the sun came out! So I had to paint... been neglecting my 'daily' paintings - with a million 'good' excuses, I swear! Well, these beach roses demanded my attention, and I was happy to give it to them...

Mother's Day, 6x6 Oil

I figured it was time to paint flowers other than tulips! I find flowers a real challenge, and so tend to avoid them. These roses were a gift on Mothers' Day from my oldest son, Rory, who is so thoughtful and always good to me - he knows how much I love to have fresh flowers on my table! So this is the first pass at the roses, and I will do more before my stint at Boston's Beacon Hill Artwalk http://www.beaconhillartwalk.org/ where I will be on Sunday June 3rd. I'd love to see any of you if you're in the area... best be for parking would be the garage under the Common. My Daily Paintings will be for sale there - at a higher cost, due to my own increased cost. HOWEVER, if you mention to me that you saw a painting on the Blog and wanted to see it in person before buying it, I will give you the Blog price of $100, unframed! At any rate, come say 'Hello'!