"First Snow"

This is a painting I did of my Aunt Mary's deck.  She lives in Minnesota and still has snow on her deck.     The title comes from the fact that this is my first attempt at painting snow.  One of my new year art resolutions was to paint snow... so here it is!!!  I learned a lot from this painting.  I found it interesting how much color is in snow!  Size is 18 x 24  oil on canvas.

Crystal Basket

I decided to paint glass with a lighter background for a change.  I always liked the dark backgound against glass because of the pop it gives the reflections... but I also am pleased with the lighter background.
18x24

room for one more

room for one more

Hello everyone... it has been almost 9 months since my last post... I underwent six months of medical treatment and am now once again healthy and active in my studio.
I was unsure about what subject to paint after such a long time without even picking up a brush.  So I decided to go with something I really love and here is the result.  It feels great to be back.


room for one more

20 x 20

Third layer of color .....Will this ever end?

Here is the 4th and final layer... I was soooooo glad to complete this and I now have this method completely out of my system... It is wet on wet for me from now on.... no doubt about it!  I have been ask about the final painting so here it is.  3/10/13.... I actually complete it in January.

Lilly Pad 

This is the third layer of color.... all in all I am pleased with how it is going... but I am tired of this painting.... I do see a difference with each layer added but I still am pondering when will it end... I mean can you put too much color on a painting... and how do you know when enough is enough... if I add more and it is too much then is it ruined? I am happy to have learned a new method but I don't think this one is for me.... back to my basic " paint what I see" method.

oh... by the way... HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Water Lilly WIP 2nd layer of color

Remember that Bill Murray movie "Groundhog Day" where he wakes up and repeats the same thing time and time again... I am kinda starting to feel that way about this painting. All in all I am enjoying learning something new and all that but it is starting to feel repetitive and that I am not so crazy about.... but I will continue. Not sure how many layers there will be ... I guess when ever I feel like it is finished....

Water Lilly WIP

OK... so this is the first layer of color.... this is soooo different from the way I have always painted and I am having a hard time determining just how detailed I need to be on each layer... but it is progress and I am enjoying doing it very much... the idea is for the colors to intensify as the layers are added. I feel I am losing a lot of detail because I am blending so much.. but hopefully I am on the right track and it will all work out in the end.

Water Lilly WIP

I think this is all I am going to do as far as the grisaille layer goes.... this is a learning process for me so if I mess up... I mess up... well I am a bit of a perfectionist so I hope I am not screwing up too badly. Once this dries throughly I will start the color glazing. I am enjoying this so far. The reason I wanted to try a painting using this method is because I think glass painted this way would look awesome.... so I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Water Lilly WIP

Second layer of the grisialle applied.... will probably do one more layer before starting the color glazing.

First of many layers....

This is the first layer of the newest painting. It is the exact opposite of the way I have always painted and I am struggling with applying my paint thinly. This layer is called grisialle pronounced "grizz- EYE" . I will be applying several layers of these tones to create the various values of the painting. Then I will be glazing thin layers of color over the values. I have to wait for each layer to dry before I can lay on the next. Like I said .. VERY different for me and really fun to be learning a whole new approach to painting. Too early to tell if I will ever paint this way again... stay tuned!

ps ... I have no clue how this is going to turn out!

Keepsie 12 x 12 original oil painting

I love the name of this one... it took me some time to come up with a fitting title and when I found it I just knew it fit! I was doing some internet browsing about marbles and came across an article about the rules of different marble games. One of the games is call Keepsies..... soooo I figured if I had won this marble in a game (instead of winning it in a bid on ebay) I would surely have kept it! So Keepsie it is!

The Triplets 12 x 24 oil

I have not been able to paint for a while ... life happens. I was so glad to have the time once again and of course I went back to what I love.. glass. I made a few changes from the original set up I created and I think it works. I tried to keep the eye moving round the painting instead of the swirls leading the eye out... hope you like it.. I had such a good time painting this one.

Cottage

This was an experiment... I have always painted in a very realistic style and I wanted to really give a try at painting in a looser more impressionistic way... so I did not premix my palette or put any type of sketch onto the canvas... for me this is really a huge jump. It was very scary for me to have this blank canvas in front of me and just start putting on paint... I like the results... and may do this again.

Fresh Cut

Maybe the glorious weather we are having made painting flowers seem like an enjoyable subject... it was and then I also belong to a group of artist who have a monthly challenge and July's painting challenge was flowers. It is kinda fun to make your self do these challenges as you sometimes have a subject that you normally would not be drawn to. I enjoyed this one very much and hope you do too!

Evening Blush

I finished this one this morning.... I have painted several skyscapes but this one is by far the most colorful. I like painting clouds and sky... it is very peaceful and soothing. 12 x 24 oil on canvas.