Reflected Light

Honest Abe

2011-03-15T17:05:00.000-07:00

Happy President's Day a little bit late. Makes me proud to be a Kentuckian when I look at Abe. Tis I did for the dailypainters challenge.

Flowers for Japan

2011-03-15T16:51:00.000-07:00

Today, I painted this to honor the Japanese who have shown such dignity in the face of such devastation and uncertainty. A friend recently gave me this beautiful scarf of an Oriental design and the flowers were given by relatives last week for my birthday. The cup from a friend. Hang in there!

Zippo deedoodah

2011-02-21T06:44:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I did this small painting and submitted it on the Daily Painter Challenge. Michael Naples initiated the challenge. I have admired his paintings for several years now. I enjoy these small spontaneous challenges and always learn something - even if it is something I already knew. Like my "achilles heel" of painting is 'too much white' - it gets into everything and lessens the impact of the color. So today's challenge is to paint something without using white or at least minimally at the end for highlights. The same challenge would be fine but I have a landscape in mind. You can create all the values you need with ultramarine blue, burnt sienna, and titanium white. Even portraiture! It really is all about values; values are to painting as line is to drawing.

In The Swing

2011-02-20T14:09:00.000-08:00

In Colorado up in the mountains, a fresh breeze arrives every morning. Just right for a swing by the creek. Here are some new friends doing just that.

St Augustine Sleek

2011-02-01T06:58:00.000-08:00

Carol Marine issued a challenge to paint an old shiny car on the streets of St. Augustine. I gave it a quick shot and had some fun with doing it.

Let Sleeping Dog Smile

2010-01-26T18:46:00.000-08:00

Our dear dog is aging gracefully having turned 16(or was it 17) recently. She loves being around people and gives us more warmth than this fire is providing her.

After Carlsen

2009-12-09T07:44:00.000-08:00

This is a tiny painting I did of a detail of one of John Carlsen's landscapes. Nobody paints snowy trees like Carlsen. And his book on landscape painting is truly the best I have read.

Finish By Noon

2009-12-09T06:13:00.000-08:00

This painting is ready for a coat of varnish and then off to a friend who requested I paint a Colorado mountain scene for him. He loves to hike and like all good boy scouts know - always be prepared- when hiking in the high mountains you must finish by noon for that is when the clouds move in and often the rain. I hope he likes it! We had hiked this area - Maroon Bells- beginning early in the morning and as we finished we looked back upon this view.

La Chinoise

2009-10-16T11:28:00.000-07:00

Painting with Friends time again and today our model held this lovely parasol. Here's today's effort. I may have to get a parasol just to have on hand to paint. Fun!

Mates

2009-10-14T06:42:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture of what I was told is a sand crane. The bird was just standing there very still as if it did not mind me taking its picture. So I did. But as I started to walk away, I noticed a second bird's beak and neck rise up from the lagoon not far from the first(not in this oicture). This bird had a small fish in its beak and began a gargling motion to jiggle its catch down its neck. Then it disappeared into the lagoon and emerged a few minutes later with another catch. Now my model began to squawk a bit. Praise or warning? Sand cranes mate for life in an elaborate dance and song. Later that same day I attended the wedding of my son's best friend from high school. I think this crane and his mate were a good omen for the marriage of Tyler and his bride.

And a Happy Birthday to my mate! Live long and prosper!

Appreciated

2009-10-08T12:22:00.000-07:00

This is the painting I entered in the "Brush with Bardstown" competition and received an "award of merit." We all feel honored when our work is appreciated. I loved doing this one - the sun was out and the wind was blowing - lovely day!

The Bard's Town

2009-10-03T05:54:00.000-07:00

Romantic English major that I am I like to think quaint little Bardstown was named for The Bard, Shakespeare, the great poet. Yesterday, it certainly lived up to its name. This brave town hosted a wonderful 'plein air' event called "A Brush with Bardstown" in which I participated. The stormy skies cleared, then the winds blew, and by mid-afternoon the sun reigned supreme.

By 9 AM my canvasses for the day were stamped and I was on my way to find a spot for painting. This little canvas was used to paint Bill's Barn. This is a barn just big enough to hold the antique fire truck once used by the Maker's Mark Distillery in case of fire.

On the Vine

2009-09-22T09:00:00.000-07:00

I painted the lovely vine tomato painting again and am 'gifting it' to a new friend. Ah, living color!

Colora

2009-09-14T06:46:00.000-07:00

Here she is in living color. Hmmmm, a whole new ball game and I'm not sure I like the score...but wait the game is not over. That's the beauty of oil paint - you can easily adjust it. And getting the likeness while in the studio earned me a score to be proud of.

Mona Lisa Revisited

2009-09-10T18:29:00.000-07:00

Tonight I started a new canvas with brush and browns. I love charcoal and have tried to get the charcoal feel with my brush and paint here. Tomorrow is our last time with this model and I wanted to get a head start(so to speak.)

Next feat is to get the flesh tones I need. I remember the great patch of reflected light under her chin - a warm red from the yellow and crimson shawls she wore. Also a bit of greyed smoky blue above left brow and under nose. Overall her complexion is a rosy brown with ivory tones. She must have taken a time machine from Leonardo's day.

Thought I'd better take a photo of this. Tomorrow with paint will be a whole new ball game.

Muse

2009-09-09T06:33:00.000-07:00

Last Friday the studio model was exceptional not only for holding her pose but for her Mona Lisa gaze. We all really enjoyed her and will attempt to convey her likeness again Friday. I have a bit too much white in her skin tone and will get a better palette ready for Friday.

Figure in Landscape

2009-09-06T08:25:00.000-07:00

A painting friend asks "Do landscape paintings need figures?" Well, ask any artist and get a different answer. As with color and just about anything in art, there are few rules. Artists who 'think outside the rules' seem to be the ones we get excited about.

In this painting(dim due to not good lighting here - sorry, it's a gloomy day) I originally had no figure other than that of Pan atop the fountain. But the backlit light hole right of the fountain (see picture two posts ago) seemed ripe for something. Of the many figures walking by I thought a mom with baby in stroller would be nice here. When I stood back, the 'mom' looked more like a child in stature. So, I quickly moved head and hat and voila now I seem to have a 'dad' pushing a baby.

All this, Sarann, just to say that I think the main purpose that figure serves in landscape is to enhance the landscape rather than draw much attention to the figure. As in your painting of the pavillion, you used figure to help define foreground, middleground, etc. and in mine I used figure to balance the composition.

Trees along the Carriage Lane

2009-09-01T11:38:00.000-07:00

My sister's post today is about trees. http://pvedesign.blogspot.com/2009/08/trees-of-life.html I'm a tree lover as well.
I'm posting this painting of mine from last Fall at the Horse Park in Lexington Ky. Horse drawn carriages ride down this lane in the shade of the large trees there.

Hogan's Fountain - Catch the Light

2009-08-30T10:31:00.000-07:00

Two Turtle Fountains _ Yandell and Bernini

Our plein air group continues to paint in the parks around town. I was inspired to get a head start on the next location - Cherokee Park. This fountain graces an area of the park and was designed by Enid Yandell(she also created the statue down the hill from this - of Daniel Boone). The sculptress also worked in Paris for a time with Auguste Rodin. The fountain features Pan holding up his pipes calling the woodland creatures and served, at its installment in 1920, as a watering basin for horses and dogs. In this small study I am capturing the light on the fountain and added a mom pushing a stroller with baby on board.

I look forward to returning and adding the details en plein air. Including the turtles! The turtles - four of them- sit perched on the top edge of the fountain where the water spouts from their mouths. I saw a fountain with similar turtles years ago in Rome. My Uncle Dominic Mattei had encouraged me to see this fountain - he called it the turtle fountain. Little did I know that the fountain was located in Piazza Mattei in the Trastevere. When I paint the turtles in the sun this week I will remember him.

The Dahlia Parasols

2009-08-26T10:33:00.000-07:00

I took this photo last year in a small park near my sis's where I was enchanted by these huge dahlias(dinnerplate?). The gardener had 'planted' parasols strategically in order to shade the flowers and preserve their colors and blooms. Look how the parasol's color is reflected on the petals!

Crater Lake

2009-08-03T13:43:00.000-07:00

Alas, we have one more day before returning home. Leaving the beauty of these mountains will be sad but we will return refreshed! And we hope to come back. An added and uncalculated attraction in Aspen has been the Aspen Music Festival. Celebrating its 60th anniversary this summer, it provides the finest in classical music and gives young performers the opportunity to work with world-renowned artists. Yesterday I attended the Aspen Festival Orchestra's rehearsal in the big tent and delighted to hear "The Sorcerer's Apprentice." www.aspenmusicfestival.com

Let It Bloom

2009-07-27T05:27:00.000-07:00

I found these beautiful dahlias across from the Esceola Lodge in Linville when I visited there. Summertime is so lush and unstoppable in its unfolding petals of living. Take a minute to stand back and admire.

Peace of the mountain

2009-07-13T17:17:00.000-07:00

This weekend hubby and I walked a lovely trail in the Appalachians in North Carolina. I've hiked the area many times but never when the rhododendrons were in full bloom. They are so lovely and I paused and looked back to capture them on film and saw this patch of peaceful light coming through - a spotlight on the flowers and the trail.

To the Pavilion

2009-07-08T17:26:00.000-07:00

Here is the pavilion painting fresh from easel and time machine! I added a woman and child approaching and their dress is what would have been worn at the time the pavilion was built 100 years ago.

Shawnee Pavillion

2009-06-25T13:11:00.001-07:00

Louisville Metro Parks spent $350,000 last year to restore this pavillion at Shawnee Park and enhance nearby restrooms(not pictured here). The balance of the $800,000 total restoration cost was met by the Olmstead Conservancy and Brown-Foreman which gave $100,000. The structure was originally built in 1920. This morning I started a painting of it en plein air at Shawnee Park.

Looking at the canvas at home, I was not satisfied with my focal point and am toying with the idea of adding my great-grandmother strolling with parasol up the path to the pavillion. (See her round parasol sketched in in yellow in the lower right quadrant. She visited this park often by taking the streetcar from the city out to the edge of town. Shawnee Park was developed in part to encourage city people to move further out. Cities were dense and dirty from the coal dust. Funny how times change. Now 100 years later we are trying to get people to move back into the city center.

Painting with friends

2009-06-19T11:06:00.000-07:00

Today we painted the lovely Jessica again. I think I captured a pretty good likeness which is to me what a portrait is all about.

I bet her mama loved her sweet face!

The 4th Revisited

2009-06-18T13:37:00.000-07:00

I just received an electronic invite to the Telluride Plein Air Festival for 2009 and thought I might want to compare my painting from last year's parade with the painting chosen for this year's parade. Maybe I'll rub my ruby slippers together and get thee yet. I see many good things in the painting selected and would like to try my hand/brush again.

The Happy Hand

2009-06-17T19:05:00.000-07:00

Here is the porch again with a few more strokes and hopefully for the better. The funny hand was actually a statue there. I guess it was waving, "Hey look at me and my glowing porch!" Good job Maestro Hand! And a good opportunity for my brush to play with the light and shadow and the green glow! I added a whole lotta nuttin' and the final touches next will be to the hand conducting the play of sun and shadow on the porch.

My own back porch was glowing last night...Mom and Dad and my family gathered for a southern dinner of kale greens, smoked pork chops with green apples, taters, and plenty of iced tea. My Dad saying 'pour me a little more tea sug,' really brought back the memories of summer dinners on their screened -in porch. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, welcome summer!!!!

Porch Aglow

2009-06-16T11:53:00.000-07:00

I photographed this glowing porch last summer when we visited Telluride. Today I painted it. I am not finished but I am pausing for the day and wanted to post my effort so far.

Tooty-fruiti

2009-06-11T12:34:00.000-07:00

Trying to apply what I learned last week...so you tell me, "what is the focal point?"

The Rounded Porch

2009-06-04T18:06:00.000-07:00

After painting the fountain all morning we escaped the heat and dined in the Conrad House on our sack lunches. Like little flowers given a fresh drink we revived ourselves. Then we returned to the 'plein air' and the 90 degree temps. Most of us had struggled with the fountain and wanted to try our hand at painting one of the old homes that line the street. As everyone gravitated to the house with the red geraniums, I turned to see this house on the opposite side of the street. I fell in love with its gracious rounded porch in green and the sun illuminating the red brick of the home next door. I tried to guide the viewer to the square made by the porch columns where the fern's tips were brightened by the sun. Debra gave me some helpful hints and a compliment for my effort as well!

Life is Best viewed through...

2009-06-04T17:48:00.000-07:00

...one window. An old wisdom! The first morning of our workshop we assembled under the shadow of the great Water Tower and listened as Debra dropped many pearls of wisdom. She also did a demo of the building we faced - the old water company and pump building. Such an elegant building for the common function. That speaks of a more elegant time I think. Then she turned us loose on our canvasses. I chose this one window to paint. The sunlight changes so quickly and I did not get it quite right and tried painting over and made it worse then the painting angel - Debra - brought over her magic brush and fixed it! I think this is a lovely window.

Cool fountain for a hot day

2009-06-04T17:43:00.000-07:00

Tuesday morning our workshop participants met at St James Court Fountain. Our wise leader gave us a few suggestions and I listened carefully. I can't believe how right on she was about using your brush to sweep down and leave the impression of water cascading from the fountain. What do you think?

The statue is not well defined but I will try that another day.

How to paint a river

2009-06-04T17:26:00.000-07:00

Monday afternoon was a steamy day along the river. Our workshop group left the air conditioning of the Water Tower after lunch and Debra informed us we were going to do a 'paint along.' She wanted us to understand the process of capturing a large scene quickly and then having the energy left to do a lot with the focal point. So we squinted and saw the varyng color of the three distant hills and put them in. Gotta have that blued color. then scrub in the tree masses and the lawn and bank - then the river and then the sky. I have not put the focal point in as we ran out of time but we did watch as she added sailboats and a family watching, a flag waving and also boats on the left bank. Really cool how she broke it down for us!

Cherry

2009-06-04T13:26:00.000-07:00

Cherries are such beautiful fruits. So red, round, shiny, lovely and tasty. It's like a bonus - that something so pretty could also be so tasty!

One of the things we focusssed on with Debra Huse during the workshop she taught here this week was making your painting have a focal point. She described how putting a "whole lotta nothin and a little bit of sumpin" makes your painting work. Creating a painting is all about inviting the viewer into your canvas and giving him\her a guided tour. The focal point is where you guide the viewer.

Just looking at this painting now I remind myself how important it would be to do this one again as an exercize. First I would conceptualize what was important - the cherry I think. so how would I make a whole lotta nothin with the cantaloupe and the peach which are lovely in themselves but need to be subordinate. I learned so much this week and hope to share and recollect it so that I can go back to it over the next month. Our entire group was energized by this workshop.

Paint Out #2

2009-06-04T13:01:00.000-07:00

This is the second one - of a new building downtown and of the park by the waterfront. It's only a 5X7 so it's teeny but was fun to do. But I have learned so much from my workshop (it started the day after this) that I would like to turn the clock back and try again!

Must clean my brushes and re-pack my art 'stuff.' Look for more tomorrow.

The Great Paint-Out

2009-06-04T12:28:00.000-07:00

I've been tooo busy painting to post lately so now that I'm back I have lots to post. Sunday I participated in the Louisville Visual Art Association's paint-out marking their 100th anniversary. Their chief goal has been to provide free art lessons to children who are interested and show artistic promise in art. I believe my blogging sister may have gotten her start with some of the classes they sponsored years ago at the Free Public Library.

Our canvassses were stamped at 7 AM and we were off to paint until 3 PM when we were to turn our best effort in. Here are the two I painted. It was lots of fun!

Shawnee Park

2009-05-29T19:12:00.001-07:00

Yesterday it rained but we gathered at the park to paint anyway. After much socializing I did this sketch of a painting I want to call 'the music a park makes' and then today I did a quick pre-painting.

Bare Fruit

2009-05-18T07:06:00.001-07:00

We all know we are to go forth and bear fruit! Some of us ask why do painters always paint bare fruit? Have patience with us...we are trying to copy the beauty we see and feel around us. Our tools, like our natures are limited and we are always trying to improve upon our last effort. Mary Anne Currier advises the artist to work upon the same subject - green apples may be my subject! Painting them will help my brush and canvas bear fruit!

Once Again with Feeling #14

2009-05-15T14:15:00.000-07:00

Before this peony drops its petals, I painted it again and learned I should have chosen the crimson one (from yesterday's session) as it would have been easier than shades of white. Live and learn. Fun anyway.

Peonies #13

2009-05-14T07:47:00.001-07:00

The peonies are bloomng in Kentucky and Southern Indiana. This effort I timed at 1 1/2 hours. I am hapy to be back at the easel as the last week has been busy with few opportunites to sneak one in.

T C Steele at Work in the Open Air

2009-05-11T04:28:00.000-07:00

T C Steele is shown here painting from his home in the Brown County hills where my husband and I visited this weekend. We took a 24 hour getaway that was delightful. We heard an old friend perform at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater in Bloomington, spent the night at a lovely B&B in the middle of a red oak forest, and toured Singing Hills, Steele's beloved home and studio. http://www.tcsteele.org/site.asp Our guide was exceptional and one of our group was a founding member of the Indiana Plein Air Painters. Together they made our tour fantastic. Steele was a fine portrait artist but what really made his soul sing was painting en plein air. In addition to his home and studio there are walking tours of the vistas he loved to paint. And all this is only two hours from my home. How lucky!

When we returned home we had dinner cooked by our dear son and his girlfriend. I could not have had a better Mother's Day!

Oz/Louisville #11

2009-05-07T15:01:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day of plein air painting for my friends and I. We were glad the weather cooperated and the rain halted for awhile. We are painting the Olmstead Parks in Louisville this year. The first park on our list is Iroquois. I went early and found a secluded spot on a little used trail that afforded me a view of downtown. Not finished but you get the idea because I focussed on the values. Rule of painting #1 Get the values right and you can use almost any color.

To the Point #10

2009-05-06T18:03:00.001-07:00

There is a famous painter who started this knife composition thing and his name escapes me now.

Tea and Oranges #9

2009-05-06T17:54:00.000-07:00

Here is a request for the blue hand-painted china that was my dear Aunt Louise's.

Julep for You

2009-05-03T08:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we enjoyed watching the Kentucky Derby and a julep too! Here's one for you!

Dogwood for Derby

2009-04-30T08:43:00.001-07:00

It's Kentucky Derby week in Louisville. The festivities have been building for weeks. This year even the dogwoods have participated!

The Shape of things to come...

2009-04-28T09:05:00.000-07:00

The Taylor Gold pears are in now and they are scrumptious. Fruit like ice cream in a brown wrapper. Next I will work on a landscape and see if I can get the shapes of trees and fields as round as the still lifes I've posted recently.

5 On the Vine #5

2009-04-24T14:17:00.000-07:00

Tomatoes are so much fun to paint. You can concentrate on the color because the shape - round- is so delightfully easy.

#4 Complements

2009-04-22T08:29:00.000-07:00

Today I put complements together - purple and yellow.

L'Orange, The Shy Pepper #3

2009-04-22T08:17:00.000-07:00

It may be time to go back to more round fruits/veg's with a few less planes. Still trying to learn how to impart value in the color, you know, how to make orange dark. Add its complement? Shall I go back to monochrome? Here is a shy pepper, turned away with stem peeking.

It's About Time! #2

2009-04-21T11:26:00.000-07:00

I can honestly say I am happy with this painting. Not that it is a great painting but it is expressive and that is where the joy lies. I limited myself timewise which is a good thing because I had to constantly make decisions about what was important.

Daily Painting #1

2009-04-21T09:09:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was inspired by one of the 'daily painters' to begin this work of painting daily a small work. I am told that it is very instructional. Patience and regular effort will I hope bring results. I struggled with this and am not 'happy ' with the results but I do sense that if I keep it up I will get better, er 'happier.'

Natural Light

2009-04-21T05:37:00.000-07:00

I think we all look better in natural light, including this picture. I'm learning the issues of posting the pics I take.

Painting Among Friends

2009-04-20T05:06:00.000-07:00

Here is the fruit of Friday's brush.

Painting with Friends

2009-04-13T10:02:00.000-07:00

A local painter and dear lady offers a studio class that I enjoy very much. It is so nice to have a live model and paint with others present. She arranges all that and we four participants pay a small amount for the model. We don't talk much - but enough- because painting and a little music for background is so lovely.

Here is the fruit of two sessions - quick and unfinished but I am happy with it because it was pure pleasure to do.

In the land of the living

2009-04-02T16:15:00.001-07:00

Leaving Gethsemani several Sundays ago, I turned to this lovely view. One of the readings that morning came to mind as I sketched the scene. "In the land of the living" is the title of this one showing the lovely knobs around the monastery and the road leading home. Spring was in the air but had not shown itself. It was still hiding in those blue hills.

You can't always get what you want...

2009-03-31T09:44:00.000-07:00

Here's the third attempt and still, I think the first had the most potential. That's OK. I may go back to the first as the last in this series and use what I've learned. You know, I might get what I need.

Magnolia in glass

2009-03-28T08:29:00.001-07:00

Here is my second attempt to capture these lovely blossoms but of course I became fascinated with the reflections in the wine glass.

Soulangiana

2009-03-28T08:24:00.000-07:00

The purple magnolias, tulip trees, are in full bloom and already beginning to wane. So I've nabbed a few to paint. I love their organic shape, very primitive and silky. A local fine artist, Mary Anne Courier, reccomends painting a series of the same thing - so here is Number 1.

VOILA! Master Peppers

2009-03-27T08:06:00.000-07:00

When you paint your masterpiece, you will give it your all! Well, I gave it 90 minutes anyway. But it's not about time. It's about brushstroking like the masters. Here's the painting for the day.

I've gone back(must be the recessionary influence) to what I know - still life of fruits and veggies.

You may have to zoom to 75% to see it!

The Birthday Gift

2009-03-12T06:55:00.000-07:00

My birthday this year caught me off guard. And that is a good thing! I seem to have developed the habit of dreading birthdays over the last few years. Why would I dread something that was given me for surely I was not in charge of my own birth. Well, the last few years have been challenging. OK, so get over it and move ahead. Onward through the fog.

We're not in charge completely of our birth, our death, or what comes between. So a birthday, like any other day, is a kind of gift in itself. A bit of retreat/reflection gives one the perspective to see that. And it is to be appreciated! So for your birthday I have these reccomendations. Take the time to welcome it with an open heart, feel the joy in remembering others on "your " day, and then sit back and watch the day unfold(unwrap). This year so many people I love showed their love and remembered me with a call, a card, a hug, roses, gifts, and get-togethers. I felt genuine love pour in!

Spring always catches us off guard. It is such a great gift! The above painting I did when spring gave me dogwood blossoms to paint! After I take down the Christmas wreath above the mantle I replace it with this spring painting I did three years ago.

Tulip Tree

2009-03-11T19:25:00.000-07:00

My favorite flowering tree in the spring is the Soulangiana magnolia - tulip tree. They have not begun to bloom but today I saw a pink cherry tree in bloom and it whetted my appetite for the tulip tree. Last year the tulip trees were as full as I have ever seen them in Kentucky so I will try to lower my expectations for this year's blossom. But whenever they come I will delight in their wild stark silky petals.

Kentucky Blue

2009-03-11T18:55:00.000-07:00

This is a photo I took last August near Stanford Kentucky. I was attending the Amish Produce Auction where my son was buying some tomatoes for market. I bought some peaches for preserves! A blue sky with stacked clouds is such a pleasure to behold. I must try to paint these clouds to capture their movement!

The Heaven Trees

2009-02-18T08:44:00.000-08:00

In Kentucky in the spring the black locust trees bloom with clusters of pea-like blossoms. The scent is luscious and a dear old lady told me once when I asked after that fragrance that it was of the heaven trees.

Hopscotch Fork

2009-02-18T08:05:00.000-08:00

The painting is ready and I just received a high res and lo res image of it from the photographer. He shot about 36 paintings that our plein air group completed for its annual show. We will have a postcard invitation like last year and needed the digital images to e-mail to the printer.

Sisterly Love

2009-01-23T10:53:00.000-08:00

I am very lucky to have three sisters and three brothers. I love them all and am a sort of memory-keeper for them all, but keep up with some more than others. My blogging sister is ten years younger than me and she was the maid of honor at my wedding. I left home at 18 and she was only 8! We have always been close even when distances were great! She, I must admit, has made more of an effort at crossing those distances and I love her for it! Being the eldest, I take my huge flock of brothers and sisters for granted sometimes. But she never fails to reach out and tend the flock, even from afar! Here she is as a child, tending our precious Snoopy! In her recent post, "Beloved Moses", she turns her artistic talent to sketching friends and their loyal pets! Maybe it's time for a self-portrait sis!!!!

October's Terrace

2009-01-23T07:21:00.000-08:00

We added a new stone terrace to our yard last summer in time to plant yellow roses and lavendar petunias. The sun dial was our old neighbor's. She spent many happy hours in her garden and wanted us to have this when her health forced her to move. I thought of her as I painted this last October. She has been gone many years now but she still lives in my garden and my heart and now on this canvas. I finished the lovely gilded frame for this piece yesterday. After a light coat of varnish, this painting will also be show ready, if I can part with it.

Getting ready for the show

2009-01-16T07:20:00.000-08:00

Here are two I am completing for our Spring Show. This pair was painted on location at Hopscotch House off Wolf Pen Branch Road in Louisville, KY. "The Heaven Trees" was painted on a morning in early May and "Fork In the Road" on a sunny afternoon in June.

Poppie-popping time

2008-12-23T04:23:00.000-08:00

The old town of Telluride is known for its interesting homes, many of which were old mining shacks but which have become million dollar palaces. Location, location, location.

The poppies attracted me to this site, a half block from where we stayed, and I spent many happy hours at the easel.

The Town with a View

2008-12-23T04:17:00.000-08:00

Telluride boasts a lovely park - Town Park - which sits at the back of the valley in a box canyon. Water from snow melt runs down the mountains which ring the canyon and into the River that runs through the park. The city hosts a Plein Air festival attracting painters from around the country.

Telluride - July 4th, 2008

2008-12-23T04:07:00.000-08:00

As the season of lights draws nigh, I am reminded of the other season of light - as in fireworks!!!
This is a painting I did of the Telluride 4th of July parade this year. It is a fantastic old-fashioned with a twist parade in one of the most beautiful places in the U.S.A.
Wishing everyone a very happy Holiday! Celebrate!

Brooklyn Bridge in Process

2008-12-11T07:40:00.001-08:00

"And we have seen night lifted in thine arms" is a line from Hart Crane's poem about the Brooklyn Brige. My hubby and I walked the bridge on our last visit to NYC and I must say it is wondrous. I did two quick sketches as we crossed the bridge looking back at lower Manhattan and am currently working on a small painting. Here is a very rough start but at least a start.

Let It Snow!

2008-12-08T17:44:00.000-08:00

Here is the little bench in the snow, painted quickly one day last winter from my bedroom window.

Seasonal Opposition

2008-12-08T06:47:00.000-08:00

The cold has announced winter's coming and Dec. 21 is the official arrival date. So I have posted my spring painting of the wild hycathinths that appear four months from now - when Spring oficially returns to Ky. Call it seasonal opposition disorder if you like - I like to 'think through' the seasons and anticipate what's on the horizon. In Kentucky we have four very well-defined seasons, each of which I enjoy. Tomorrow I will post a small painting of the bench (hiding here) in the winter snow. Season's greetings!

Likeness

2008-12-05T05:40:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I presented the finished work to my friend. She was delighted with this portrait and just could not get over how I had captured the 'likeness.' "It looks just like her!" she said. Getting a good likeness is important in portrait painting and that involves capturing not only the look but also the spirit of the person. As I posted earlier, I painted this from a photograph for my friend but I have also met her sister at her wonderful restaurant in Seattle, Le Pichet. As providence would have it, her sister(my subject) will visit for Christmas. I wish I could be there to see the look on her face when she sees this.

Christmas in a Chandelier

2008-12-05T05:08:00.000-08:00

Decorating the house is my favorite part of Christmas. This year I had the idea to put colored lights in my chandelier just for fun. I used the clear lights but I think the opaque ones may look really good too. Hearkens to the Christmas night child in me when, sitting in the backseat of my parents 1952 red Buick with all my sibs piled around me, we returned home late after feasting at my uncle's and the colors of the Christmas lights twinkled in the silent night.

Sunday in Kentucky

2008-11-30T17:13:00.000-08:00

Kentucky is known for many things including Lincoln's birthplace, its fine bourbons(and The Bourbon Trail), horse racing, etc. Another famous place in Kentucky is near Bardstown and is called Gethsemani. It is a Trappist Monastery and was made well-known around the world by one humble but thoroughly modern monk named Thomas Merton. (It is also famous for its wonderful cheeses, candies, and fruitcakes - visit www.gethsemanifarms.org). Merton lived in a small house on the grounds and wrote many fine books. He was a true contemplative and spiritual guide. He believed the earth was given to us that we might find "meaning. order, truth, salvation" and great joy in the beauty of the world around us, especially its light.

Composition

2008-11-25T20:32:00.000-08:00

A good composition is everything!

This simple pastel of a chair and a pot of flowers works because the chair occupies the paper plane thoroughly. I created this one sunny afternoon in 2004 when we were vacationing in Ouray, Colorado.

The chair and the pot of flowers sat by their lonesomes. I needed a subject and so combined them. Drawing the negative spaces defined by the legs and shadows of the yellow metal chair helped me re-construct the chair. I wanted the chair to touch all sides of the paper creating a firm foundation for the pot of blue.

Looking at the spaces a thing makes rather than the thing itself is a great trick for bringing an object to life.

The Queen of Seattle

2008-11-18T16:14:00.000-08:00

Here is a portrait fresh off the easel. This was pure fun and done quickly - and better than that - it worked! I painted from a treasured photo of a friend. Her sister is a restarateur in Seatttle and here she is with some of the ingredients for one of her feasts and flowers for the table.

Fresh Paint

2008-11-07T07:51:00.001-08:00

I have been painting for over ten years with varying degrees of earnestness and varying degrees of success. Here is a painting that I did for my sister's sale last year that I did quickly but liked then and still like now.

2008-11-07T07:39:00.000-08:00

My sister has been "after me" to start a blog as she has been happpily blogging for almost one year and thinks it has changed her life for the better. Not only are we sisters who share the art gene and many other shares too numerous to mention now, we each seek a persona that frees us from the many roles we play on life's stage(including that of sisters) while allowing us to maintain that stage of life(new bricks, new boards, and of course fresh paint) upon which we strut. More later...