Firenze Jumble

Firenze Jumble
9" x 12"
oil on linen canvas board
Click here to purchase.

I stumbled upon this cluster of houses on one of Bill Guffey's virtual paintouts. The lines on the houses looked like they were trying to get as far away from each other as possible, as soon as possible. The colors were alluring- I did embellish them a bit, but i like it.

I am learning that painting doesn't have to be hard. Lately, I have not been sketching the scene first. I've been going with my gut and going with visualization... you know, visualize what I want the composition to be and then just putting it down. Sometimes the final painting is a little odd, but I can always change it or start over. Lessons learned.

I like it! Jumping in feels good.

Multitasking: Completed Castle, another plein air painting, and Kreativ blogger.

Castle on Anderson Road
11" x 14"
oil on canvas
Sold

Woohoo! Finished! I fought with the fence for a while- scraped it three times. Finally I daubed some paint down and holy-pamonie! it looked like a fence. How did that happen!?

Thank you little painting elves.

Sunset Cloud Study
6" x 8"
oil on canvas board
Click here to purchase.

I got to paint outside again last night! I ended up with this high key painting of the view from the parking lot in front of the apartment. I wasn't chasing shapes this time. I sketched out the basic design first and then went with it.

And, thank you Jared Kelly for passing the Kreativ Blogger award on to me. I will happily pass it on to seven other people whose blogs I really like. Check them out- it is worth your time.

Marian Fortunati
Laurel Daniel
Liz Holm
Perry Brown
Dana Cooper
Lee Brown
Rick Nilson
Terry Miura

So that was eight... I can't count.

Socks on a Chicken

Socks on a Chicken

16" x 20" Oil on Canvas

Ta-Daaaaa! He's finally finished. This one had some washes, which I do not normally do, but I like how it turned out. And guess what?!?!?! It was fun to paint! Holy cow!

I just put in an order for some new paint... Ooooo! I'm going to play with some Cobalt blue and a different red. I usually use Ultramarine blue, but am having trouble getting a really vibrant blue.

Several years ago I painted a picture of my father-in-law's Boston terrier, Princess Priscilla Pe-pe (pay-pay), and used Cobalt blue and white for the light parts of the dog. I really liked the look of it, but was soon distracted by landscapes and forgot all about that lively blue.

I have been trying to find pictures of that painting because I really liked it at the time, but I cannot find any. I would have loved to show it to you. It was similar to this one in ways. She was sitting on a gaudy throne-like chair, but I don't remember much more of it. Funny how a painting can be all-encompassing while in progress, but send it off into the world and it is quickly forgotten.

I haven't seen it since it went to its new home. I wonder what I would see in it now that I didn't see then.

Time and distance have a way of showing us the reality of things.... or just blurring them out in our memories until they are gone.

Just Peachy

Just Peachy

7.5"x 11.5" oil on canvas

This was another fun one!

The peaches were a lot easier to paint than the plate, which still has some issues...
I have been working on putting the paint down and leaving it alone, rather than dab, dab, dabbing until everything turns into mud. I managed to get some of those bold brush strokes on the fruit. It felt really good.

Painting in a hurry

Bud Vase
4.5"x6.5" oil on canvas

Today I have to pack to go away for the weekend with the family, so I didn't think I would have a lot of time to paint. I doodled. It was fun. Not my norm, but hey, its good to try something different once in a while.

Day 3- Three's company

Hothouse Tomatoes
4"x6" oil on canvas

I had fun painting these tomatoes. I love the crinkly crackly stem sticking out there. The sticker on the tomato is a favorite as well.

This painting was challenging in many ways- mostly its size. It was difficult to get all those colors into such a small space. I am happy with the outcome though. Somehow, seeing it in a photo makes it seem more polished.

Funny how doing something you love can provide so much peace. I am blissing out- I got to paint again today!

Day 1- Beginning Again

Mater Plate
5"x6" oil on canvas

Well here it is - my first painting in almost two years. My arm, wrist and fingers creaked as they tried to maneuver over the canvas in ways that were once so familiar. The final result is better than I thought it would be after such a long break. I spent the rest of the day in bliss because I actually got to paint!

The lip of the plate is my favorite part. It really seems to show its weight.