An Apple A Day, 6x6 Oil

I tried looking down on this apple.  I was really into the varieties of reds in the shadow side.  Tried to keep it loose, and layered the background.  I was thinking I wanted to paint more food, but after this I think I'm going to look at flowers and birds again for a while.

The Monday Morning Painters, once again, were just Phyllis Adams and me - where are all you Fair Weather Artists who  - all winter - kept saying "TELL ME when and where you go out painting!"  Well, I'm telling, are you serious?

Strutting, oil, 6x6

SOLD

Obviously I love birds.  Animals of most kinds (millipedes are definitely left off the list!), actually.  But I seem to be able to paint what I feel for birds, as opposed to dogs or cats.  I like the neutral background - rather than it 'being nowhere', I find it focuses more on the character of the bird.  Or am I crazy?

Mexican Bell, 6x8 Oil

I SHOULD have titled this one "What Was I Thinking?"  The reflections nearly did me in.  Hopefully it looks like a golden bell.  In San Miguel they hung these from trees and they made lovely music in the wind.  Anyway, if anyone likes flowers, Mexican pottery or crazy orange cats, they should check out my Studio Blog (go ahead... leave a comment.. it's OK.. :))

GOOD ART QUOTE:

The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance. and this, and not the external manner and detail, is the true reality. - Aristotle.  Smart guy, huh?

Plein Air Monday, Sakonnet Morning, oil, 9x12

The day dawned chilly but clear.  With ONLY four layers on, plus my Elmer Fudd hat (red plain wool, with ear flaps) I headed over to Grinnell's Beach across the street from me, thinking it would be a repeat of last week's plein air session.  But Phyllis Adams showed up this morning, and we found a spot out of the wind, where we only MILDly froze.  I used oils, she had her acrylics, and we happily painted for a couple of hours.  By the time we were ready to start wrapping up it got much warmer.  Once again I'll post it here, although technically it's not a Daily Painting per se, then after this I'll post on my Plein Air Blog.

When I got home I worked on a painting in acrylic from last summer that was a plein air piece - NOW I like it!

3rd Rocks, Oil 6x8

You know, contrary to what you might think, rocks are very difficult to paint!  The more you study them, the more their unique 'personality' becomes evident.  There are smooth and rough surfaces.  More shades of gray than you can imagine.  So I had to do one more, and I like to stack stones, like at the 'vortexes' in Sedona, etc.  I'm kind of klutzy at it, so my stacks are generally 4 or less.  On Block Island last Fall Tim & I came upon tons of these 'stacks' (if you know what they're called please clue me in!) at a beach.  I think it signifies a sacred places.  Or a place where there are a bunch of flat stones you can stack :}

Anyway, below I took a photo of how they're placed on the wall of my studio.  I HAD to go to the studio today because I dreamt of my bird painting I'm working on.  

Beach Stones II, Oil, 6x6

Here, again, the beach stones.  Rocks?  People are saying to me.  Yup.  I love the smoothness, the grayness, their personalities.  I love, love the stripes on them, too.  I THINK I'm done.  With these particular rocks, anyway.  Maybe :)

Beach Stones, Oil, 6x6

Today I was headed out to the studio, with no real idea of what to do for a Daily Painting (it's been a few days of just Plein Air, as you can see on my other Blog).  So I grabbed a few beach rocks - I swear my 'real' self is a 7 year old boy - I not only collect 'good' beach stones, people who know me well bring me interesting ones as well!  So I spent some time in the studio positioning them, and the rest was easy.  Yeah.  Gray and White - Sooooooo hard!  No, but really, it was a challenge to make the 'right' gray, and make the white lines in the stones look convincing, not like rubber bands!

Pirate's Cove Plein Air, 8x10 oil

This morning was the very first Monday Morning Painters session, and, it being overcast, 39 degrees, with 20+mph winds, I was the only idiot who showed up.  So I stuck it out in case anyone else came, and first I painted the little island in the cove, only to realize that it looked very, very much like my Gould Island paintings which I could do literally from inside my dining room, so.... I wiped it off.  I was wearing 5 layers, a fleece hat, a hood, thin gloves under my winter gardening gloves.... and it was still freezing.  The wind was rocking my CRV and threatening to drag my eassel into the water by catching the grocery bag tied to the side for paint rags...  NEVERTHELESS I soldiered on, and decided to paint the old quarry buildings across the cove.  Finished it with 2 warm-up breaks for thermos coffee (thank you, Tim) in the car... so here it is.  I don't know that I'll get an actual Daily Painting done, it's kind of  a crazy day, so this will possibly be the substitute!

Congratulations Calla, Oil, 6x12

My daughter, Molly, got a herself a new job on Friday - we were all very excited for her and had a special dinner, etc, and we got her some Calla Lilies, which are her favorite flower.  Before we got home with them, Tim & I stopped at the studio to drop off a bunch of canvases and I had to try to paint the Callas.  I set them up in the black box, and set the light on them and they positively glowed.  

Tomorrow I'm doing (hopefully, weather permitting) a plein air session followed by a figure class - so I'm not sure what will get posted late in the day.  I may just post in my Studio Blog.

Honey Bear, 4x6, Oil

What's that phrase?  "Necessity necessitates?"  Well, there I was at the studio with nothing, NOTHING to paint for a Daily Painting.  I couldn't make myself paint another mug, although I got a cool one for my birthday specifically for the studio.  So to go with a nice herb tea I have a little 'honey bear'.  Put it in the black box and, voila`!

I also mistakenly posted on my Studio Blog instead of here, a  Featured Artist, fellow blogger, Phyllis Adams.  She does cool paintings of dogs, so check her out!

Also you may notice a Monday Morning Painters link, over to the right.  If any of you would like to paint with us, it's a weekly plein air session - no 'leader', but I'll post directions to the site every week.  It's not a club, it's just a weekly site - please feel free to join us!

Periwinkle Cup, 6x6 Oil

I bought these little cups and saucers at the cafe (now defunct) downstairs from my previous studio.  I love the yellow, periwinkle and rose cups with turquoise accents.  What a challenge to paint though, because the colors are slightly muted but still saturated.  Why am I doing so many coffee themed Daily Paintings?  Certainly not because they're in demand :).  I am challenged by the shift in elipses as your eye hits the rim of the cup, the base of the cup, the saucer top - throw in a handle, and it's a morning's eye exercise!    There's that and I love good coffee!

Scottsdale Artists' School Mug, Oil, 6x6

Back to the studio and raring to go.  Finally over the sore throat caught on the plane, I could focus on doing my Painting A Day and not have it look like.... well, the 3 Coke bottles I've been trying to paint all week!  I am also fooling around in the studio with self portraits.  It's terrible when your model won't stay still - even more terrible when it's YOU who are the model!  I'll post those tomorrow on my studio blog for a laugh.  

This is the mug I got when I went to Peggi Kroll Roberts' workshop in Scottsdale.  Well worth the trip, and this was my souvenir.  Reds, as usual, a devil to work with.

Sketches From Mexico, Acrylic

I lost all my photos from Mexico :0 but I have a few acrylic sketches that were done there.  Yeah, yeah, I know about the perspective being off, and stuff like that, but I tried to capture the feel, the colors, the impression I had of San Miguel.  It's a wonderful place, but changing day by day, becoming more 'americanized' because so many Americans are there.  Here are some things that won't change...

Mexican Adventures

Hi, everyone! I´m in sunny San Miguel de Allende, Mexico this week, painting away. What would be the worst thing to happen to me (art-wise) besides breaking my easel (which I did the FIRST time I came here)? I took 300 gorgeous shots and LOST my CAMERA. Uh huh. So... no photos of this beautiful place, or my paintings or anything.

The first day I was here I foolishly thought that, since it was a Sunday the town sqare (called the Jardin - pronounced ¨Har-DEEN¨) would be pretty deserted. HMMM...... not on Palm Sunday it wasn´t! There were billions (well, it seemed like it) of people there to watch the big processions, the holy statues carried around, etc. But I set up right in front of the big church (the Parroquia) and painted this wonderful pink gothic church. I had kids leaning their heads on my shoulders (I did sit down), and Americans asking questions, and Mexicans, too - the whole time. I actually made a friend (hi, Helga!) and sold the painting right off the easel. I sold Paula Villanova´s, too (with her permission, of course!).

Since then we´ve stood at what turned out to be the busiest intersection in town with busses constantly going by, and fumes blurring our eyes, and painted the vista. We´ve stood at the opening of the Mercado, dodging commerical trucks, and vast numbers of pedestrians to paint a gorgeous Jacaranda tree in it´s purple bloom (I especially enjoyed this session, as my easel blew over me in a giant gust of wind while I was bending to get some different paint, and the bucket of water attached to the easel (acrylics, this trip) dumped onto my shoulders, and ran down into my pants, looking, well, embarassing to say the least, not to mention how comfortable that is!). And today I painted a fruit vendor back at the Jardeen and met millions more kind and friendly people, some of them actually could speak English, too. Tomorrow is a sightseeing day, going to Guanaguato, which has a French influence in the architecture, and Delores Hidalgo, which is a pottery area. Hopefully I will refrain from buying myself any more souvenirs, as I bought a painting from Ros Farbush´s Opening for myself!

I probably won´t post again till Monday.... but hopefully that will inclue photos of my Mexican pieces! Thanks for checking in!

You Say Toe-MAH-Toe, 5x7 Oil

SOLD

I think the third time's the charm.  This is (for now) the end of the tomato paintings. I like the way the composition worked out.  I also like the looseness of the brushstrokes, and I think I finally got a background that I like (radiant blue by Gamblin).  I hope to post again on Wednesday, but I'm going to try to set up a new blog for my trip to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.  I'm going on a painting trip with Paula Villanova.  This is our 3rd visit to San Miguel, so hopefully we'll hit the ground running this time!  I've also posted some new work on my Studio Blog, you might want to visit.  Let me know what you think about my 'departure' in style there, OK?

I Say "To-MAY-to", Oil, 6x6

SOLD

I decided to explore the tomato a little more and get a little looser (my husband is questioning my eyesight, saying I'm painting 'blurry' lines) and I like the background a bit more here.  I just have to say it - I LOVE oil paint.  Oh, I like acrylic, watercolor and pastels, too, but I love the feel of oil paint.

One Hot Tomato, 6x6 Oil

Oh, the wonders of technology.  I finished this yesterday before I left the studio, but cropped it and posted from the Honda Dealership, where my car is getting serviced!  The little tomato looks a bit flattened out in the photo - I'll look again, but it seemed to have more depth in real life.  I love the irridescent green background, thank you Daniel Smith Oils!

Black, No Sugar, To Go, 5x7 Oil

Got a comment from a fabulous artist, Sally Dean, that I should be mindful in painting things like toss-away coffee cups, that they really pollute the environment - and so today I'm painting my 'green' coffee mug.  Also, it comes from Coastal Roasters - any visit to RI should include stopping in at this gem of a coffee shop, particularly on a nice day, when you can sit outside and get, essentially, my view ;)  So here's my 'green' cup with the green lid.  Actually, it's Tim's cup, but I gave it to him (and hid it today so he'd leave it for me to paint!).

Small Iced, Regular, 5x7 Oil

Here in Rhode Island (the actual birthplace of Dunkin Donuts, I believe) there's no 'season' for iced Dunkin Donuts Coffee.  No offense to Coastal Roasters, who has my heart for hot coffee, there's something special about DD's iced.  I've sat at the drive up window in a snowstorm behind a string of cars, all getting our fix of the nectar!  I tried to stay loose in this one, and am happily ensconced in my new studio - yay!

Fig Preserves, 6x8 Acrylic

I am supposed to be doing all the responsible things a person does when they've been awol for a number of days, paying bills, running errands, buying cat food, doing laundry, but I keep getting pulled to the easel by some unnameable force!  I've been on a jam buying kick lately, either for the beautiful shapes of the jars, or the lovely colors of the jams, like here, or, because FAUCHON is having a sale (I agree, $35 is a lot to spend on jam - so I'll have to justify it by painting them before I open the 3 jars).  

Here I thought the hardest thing would be the colors in the jam.  Nope.  Nailed it right away.  The hardest things were the stupid elipses on the top of the jar cover - yeah!  I will never be one of those people who takes drawing elipses for granted.  Anyway forgive my jam obsession ;)

Orange You Glad? 5x7 Acrylic

Reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated - or however that quote goes, but they're not that far off the mark!  Last Friday I thought I was simply having a very rare bout with asthma, but it turned into - the flu - surprise!  And while I rallied to 'help' move me into my new studio on the weekend, it was my tireless husband and son Conor who did all the work.  I thought I was out of the woods Monday but lets just say I'm FINALLY human again, and started a daily painting yesterday - it literally took me all day to get to finish it - then today I looked at it and gasped - what 7 year old painted over my painting?  So I went to work again and re-painted it, loving the brightness this time of year, loving the orange and green together.  Also I changed the background and the depth of color (thank you Mary) on the bottom of the lime on last week's 'Limey', but for the life of me, in any light I can't get the right yellow that the background is - even fiddling with it on the computer.  You'll just have to take my word for it till I can capture it!

OOOps and a Belated Intro

Sorry that last post went out without the image!  It's on the actual blog, so one click will get you there.  Speaking of 'one clicks' I'm s-l-o-w-l-y learning how to integrate links, so bear with me.  Also every once in a while I'd like to feature another artist that I've found either in person or in the Blogsphere here in my blog, and I'll tell you a little about them, and supply a link to their (safe) blog or website.  

I'd like to start with Joyce Washor, who I met on the plane to Scottsdale last Fall.  She's a talented artist, teacher, and author, who is working in a small format, without sacrificing any of the 'punch' of the huge pieces you see in galleries.  This is her book, above, which I own, and would definitely recommend, even if you don't exclusively do small paintings.  A good painting is a good painting, and there's a lot of great advice in her book!  Check out her blog, too, and I'll always have a link to that right here on my blog, too.  Enjoy!

Limey! Acrylic 6x6

Snow day today.  I was planning on doing a 4-Art-Show Day with two painter friends, Phyllis Adams  http://blockdogart.blogspot.com/ and Denise Zompa on the South Shore of Boston, but the weather had other ideas.  After getting reports from my husband and daughter about bad road conditions we decided to cancel - and so.... I got to paint!  I felt like doing fruit again, since it's been such a long time.  I liked the multiple light sources, too.

Updated 'Spring' 6x12 Acrylic

Does it count as a 'daily painting' if you take yesterday's painting and edit the backgrounds, shape, highlights and reflections?  I like this peachy background better - I think the flowers actually stand out better against it.  I kept looking at it, and although I loved the Pacific Blue of the original background, the value was too close, and I thought I'd venture away from the blue.  Packing the studio like a good scout today, I will be wishing I had the brush in my hand, but at least I can post this.

Pretend It's Spring, 6x12 acrylic

I saw these tulips in the grocery store last night and had to have them.  They remind me that Spring WILL arrive in the not-too-distant future.  Brings to mind Holland, too.  I love them in this celadon vase that I have, and I wanted them thick and loose.  The name, however, is pretty lame - sorry!

Bordeaux Countryside, 5x7 oil

I was supposed to be packing up my old studio, but when I was going through my sketchbooks to put in boxes I came across the one from France, and was flipping through and decided - ONE little daily painting!  So here's the original sketch, and today's little painting.  I thought it would be easy (should be on my tombstone) but it was a bit challenging!  Brings back great memories, though...

Cup and Saucer, 6x6 Acrylic

I've been experimenting with these acrylic paintings - this one was done with the canvas painted with black paint first, which stayed wet throughout the painting.  So when I painted the pink, yellow or blue it dragged up some black paint.  I had to apply thicker and thicker layers of the color, sometimes changing the colors in the layering so they'd show through.  The background is much more lime green in person, which looks better, I think.

Gray Day, Acrylic 10x20, and New Studio Photo

This is a shot of the NEW studio, as we are painting it.  The color is Quahog (pronounced KO-hog) and it's a light warm gray.  Other than the fact that I liked the neutral light color, I HAD to get this paint because Warren, where my new studio is located is the home of the one and only Quahog Festival (we've never attended one, but will report in this year as to what exactly this entails).  If you've ever seen the TV show Family Guy, they live in Quahog, a fictional town in Rhode Island.  Anyway, this space is amazing, it's in an old grain elevator building, with a cool history.

And, just so you don't think I haven't been painting, I finished up this piece that was started on location.  Typical, it was a gorgeous day with a clear sunny sky and no wind when I started packing up to go across the street to paint the island.  By the time I got my gear and CROSSED THE STREET, the sky had darkened, and the wind was whipping things around.  I decided to stay and paint (and freeze) anyway, being dive-bombed by seagulls and pigeons (there was a car full of people who pulled up behind me and emptied bags and bags of bread, etc. for the birds, who materialized out of nowhere for this feast!  Anyway, paintings like this will drive me mad with so many grays.  I feel a spicy painting coming on!

Saying Goodbye to the OLD New Studio

This week I'll be packing and moving to my NEW new studio in Warren, RI.  This photo of my present studio shows half the space.  Wait till you see my new digs - I have big plans, I'll tell you!  I'll try to do Daily Paintings (because I love to) and post - hopefully my days of tech nightmares are over now, too with the little MAC I have.

**AND if you've been receiving sexually explicit emails from "Thur" or ThurThur", that came from my 'address' it's because someone signed up for my blog, then turned around and 'used' my address as a platform for this stuff.  They have been exiled from Blogger, and I now #1) moderate all comments on my Daily Painting Blog and #2), enabled that word puzzle thing which is supposed to intercept spam.  I humbly apologize and commiserate, because I was getting them, too, and simply deleting them, blaming my Hotmail account - sorry, Hotmail!

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. 

Pretty Little Cactus Pear, Oil 6x6

I wanted to think about WARM things today, and my husband had brought home a couple of these cactus pears for dessert, bringing to mind our trip to Sedona, where the trail behind our B&B was studded with cacti bearing these little pink gems.  I tried to stay loose, and deal with the many reds that appear in the skin of this fruit.  I also loved the mango background I sat it on.

Fallen Pear, Acrylic, 6x6

Today was a day I stayed home, so no oil painting for me.  But I had these luscious pears and I decided to make a painting with them.  The background, originally black, seemed boring, so I looked for a nice red to set off the green pears.  I picked up a tube of Naphtol Crimson, a paint I'd had for a while, but never really found a place for.  It was perfect - and more 'candy-apple' red than it shows in the picture.  I'm no pro at iPhoto (yet!), but this is a pretty good image otherwise.

"Spin Me Around, Dad!" Oil, 6x6

FINALLY I can post again!  Thank all of you for your patience.  I'm nowstruggling to learn how to use a laptop, and learn the MAC language that I used to understand!  Today's painting was based on my recent trip to NYC, where I watched the skaters at Rockefeller Center and saw this little girl skating with her Dad.  I loved the shapes of the skaters against the ice - it was a weekday and there were only a few people there, so looking down on them you got a lot of ice in your view.  Anyway... back to Painting A Day - YAY!  Also in about 15 minutes you can check my studio blog, http://welcometomyartworld.blogspot.com/ and see the biiiiiiiig sunset I finished today!  Again, always, thanks for looking!

This Is What I Do When I'm Bored....

Paint really bad self portraits!  Seriously I don't know what's up with me, I was all excited to go to Duxbury, MA to the Art Association to drop off paintings for their juried show (which I've only gotten into ONCE).  Then I came home and was all set to do a little daily painting, but instead I yanked out a 14x18 canvas and started a self portrait.  Guess I want to do more people, and don't have much luck getting friends and relatives to sit for me.  Also I know I won't get upset when I give myself weird lips or hair, and so I relax more.  This is my painting shirt that is known to some as my 'clown shirt', as it has lots of colors in it - actually I bought it for Tim and he took one look at it and said "I think you bought this for yourself..."  **grin** I guess I really did because I wear it ALL the time!  Any self portrait shows coming up?  I'm ready!

Isn't it funny how you always seem angry in self portraits?  I'm going to try try try to do a jolly one!

Damp Day, Acrylic 5x7

A few days ago when the air was heavy with moisture and the sky was hazy, the Edna Mae, a fishing boat that 'lives' across the street and down a little ways, was heading out.  It was approaching Gould Island, and I snapped a photo (no, it wasn't a plein air painting!).  I have a few art errands today, so probably won't get to the studio, but I painted this little painting of the boat and the island.  On the Island blog, I'll post the photo as well.

New Feature

This is KIND of a Daily Painting.  I did paint it today, but it's larger, an 11x14 painting of Gould Island, the one across from my house.  It's in the Sakonnet River, with Tiverton on one shore, and Aquidneck Island on the other (Aquidneck being much, much larger than Gould).  A funny thing is, and hardly anyone I've spoken to in this area is aware of, there's another island called Gould Island on the OTHER side of Aquidneck Island.  How could these people not notice this?  well, my little island is affectionately known (in my father's world) as 'Rat' Island, since viewed from a particular place it looks like a rat.  Anyway I'm planning a new blog, which will be linked from this one, all Gould Island, all the time.  Paintings, sketches, photos, and I'm hoping to do it for a year.  Stay tuned!

Not TODAY's Daily Painting...

Beach Rock Eggs, Acrylic 12x6

I did this painting last week, thinking of the 'Seeing White' Show at Gallery 297 in Bristol, RI (this one got rejected.... it's OK, my 'Pearl Onions' got in).  I collect egg shaped rocks that are pure white from the beach I go to in the summer.  Then I put them in tall vases.  I don't know why.  I'm thinking of breaking out this summer and collecting pitch black rocks that are flattened ovals, and doing the same (glass jars).  Then there are the speckled rocks, the smooth dark gray rocks with rings of white shot through them.... this is why I loved having little boys who loved to collect rocks.  When we moved from Pembroke, MA to Hingham we had interesting rocks lining every windowsill, and some in book cases, in boxes, in jars, cans..... well, we didn't take them to the new house, and I MISSED them!  

Instead of a Daily Painting today I did a bigger, 18x24 oil painting of a Red Jeep, see it (and the other stuff I'm doing) at http://welcometomyartworld.blogspot.com/. 

Strawberry Jar, 6x6 Acrylic

SOLD

There is an upcoming show featuring the color RED for February, and I've been thinking of what to enter.  At the studio (no, I didn't photograph it yet) I'm working on a fairly large (for me) painting of a little red sailboat being 'guided' by a little boy.  Hoooo-boy - can I pick a complicated subject?  Let's just say it may not get finished!  Hopefully this will be a good workweek and I can post some photos in my studio blog, too.  I bought this little jar of strawberries because it was so beautiful.  I can't imagine that they taste so good, but I decided to take a shot at painting them today.

I used a black 'box' like a lot of the daily painters do (I think Carol Marine and Jeff Hayes and Shawn Kenney use them), with a directed light.  I'll admit it's easier when everything else in the world is taken out of the picture.  Let me know what you think of this.  I liked that it was glass, and then the berries with their luminescent color under the glass, and then - seeds!  Thanks for looking!

White Sangria, Oil, 6x12

I apologize for the bad cropping job - I'll try to re-crop it & post it later.  This is from Spain, the most delightful Sangria I've ever had (not that I've had a LOT of it!).  There is a show about 'RED' coming up, so some of my new paintings will be visual thoughts about that color.  This cherry in the bottom of the glass, I thought, deserved some attention.

Winter Walk on the Sakonnet, Oil, 5x7

This painting was from a photo I took on a very cold December evening across the street from my house.  The whole sky was salmon and the water reflecting it was the same color.  The river was as still as a lake - so unusual, and the reflections of Gould Island were beautiful and rosy.  People walking their dog on the beach I thought I just have to paint this.  It was such a perfect winter evening, and so typical of this area.  You feel like the whole world is pink, and it has a bit of magic in the air.

So glad to be painting again.  December had personal issues which kept me away from the easel, not to mention wanting to not mess up the holidays by being AWOL to the family.  Back in the saddle, now!  Happy New Year to ALL of you!

Sparkly Pointsettia, 6x6 acrylic

It's the time of year to hurry and scheme, to cook and clean and shop and wait... paint! This is a mini - pointsettia, about 4 inches tall, I couldn't resist it and wish I had the whole house covered with them. Merry!

Nutcracker, Holiday Cup

This cup would be my ideal mug from Coastal Roasters for the Holidays. Notice the two little peanut butter/hershey kiss cookies for Santa...

This nutcracker is the only nod to the Season in my house so far. I never nocticed how the teeth on these nutcrackers remind me of the Bog Man's teeth! He could probably crack nuts with them, too!