Woman in Gold, Female Portrait, Mixed Media on Canvas,11x14 Oil Painting

 

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This is a mixed media painting, using gold gesso, gold acrylic paint, ink, stamps and oil paint. I was inspired by seeing Gustav Klimt's work in Vienna and found his technique for painting skin as fascinating as all that gold. This was my response to the Pieces of 8 painting group's challenge for December, using materials I have not used together before. The gold is more metallic than it looks online.

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I Have a Little Shadow, Watercolor Print, Painting of Child in Pink

 

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I love the fact that this painting has drama created by the light, yet the subject is soft and feminine. I painted watercolors for a very short time before returning to oils, and this was one of my favorite works. The original sold, but giclee prints are available on Etsy in varying sizes.

Wishing you all a calm, peaceful and prosperous New Year.

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Snowy Farm, Christmas Greetings, Oil on Canvas Landscape

I haven't painted too many snow scenes, so found this one in the archives. This is the Pennsylvania farm where our daughter and her family live. We look forward to the day that they live closer to us, which would be especially nice at this time of year. If we had our way, all our children would move here right now!

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Reflections on Breakfast, Oil Painting on Gold, Daily Painting Print

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I see so many sights when I walk on the beach, including closeups like this one. Prints are available in various sizes and prices, on paper or canvas. 

 

I bought myself a Bluetooth Hat, which is so clever, especially for people who don't like earbuds. You can listen to a book or your music library on your phone, but in your hat while doing your morning walk! 

The only drawback is that I live in Florida, and if the weather isn't cool, I roast. I'm glad that it does occasionally get cool; one day it's 80, another day it's 50...that's my cue to don my Bluetooth Hat and hit the road (or the beach)

The Gondolier, Oil Painting, Original Art, 8x10 Venice Scene

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Since we are now into the Christmas season and I have had no time to paint, I am re-posting one of my favorites, a scene in Venice. It brings back wonderful memories of that very unique place. 

Yesterday our painting group, Pieces of Eight, had our Christmas party, which is always a hoot. 

From left to right: Donna Vines, Carol Schiff, me, Jean Thomas, Mary Warnick, Denette Schweikert, Kathy Garvey, and Fay Picardi. 

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Oil Painting "Rough Surf" Seascape, Small Daily Painting Original Art

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This was my second painting from our group's plein air day at the beach, a tiny 5x7-inch seascape. We meet a lot of nice people when we are painting on location. One group had just ridden 30 miles on bicycles, and it was only 10 a.m! People like that make me feel like a slug, but when given a choice between painting and exercise, painting usually wins out. If there is a creative fire within you it won't be quenched by pushups.

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Window on the Beach, Oil Painting, 7x5 Florida Seascape

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My painting group gathered at the beach on a beautiful Florida day last week and did some plein air painting. That is always an invigorating experience, and I was happy with my little picture. In picking my spot I noticed how vivid the water looked when viewed through the sea grape window. When I walked to the crossover and looked at the beach with nothing framing it, it didn't seem nearly as saturated with color. I'm sure my friend Qiang Huang could explain this to me in technical terms because he knows everything about optics and about art.

My cartoon today is one I did for a T-Shirt. It's called "The Pleininator" and features a hat with a brush holder, paper tower holder, citronella candle, cup holder, and viewfinder. My inspiration was when I painted in a cow pasture with weeds, bugs, and extreme thirst.

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Dora Canal, Oil Painting, 24x18 Florida Landscape

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Our painting group, Pieces of Eight, was in Mt. Dora, Florida, and we went on a cruise across the big lake to the beautiful Dora Canal. The canal is pretty short, and turns into this lovely river. There is something so intriguing about a swampy river with cypresses and live oaks. The more you look, the more you see, like the plants that grow on the oak limbs, or (though not in my painting) the occasional gator eyes and nose peeking from the water.

I've decided to add the occasional cartoon to my blog, as a kind of journal illustration of what's going on in my life. Hope you like it.

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The Death of Truth, 8x10 Avant-Garde, Picasso-ish Oil on Canvas

The Pieces of Eight Painting Group's Monthly Challenge for November was to do an avant-garde work, stepping way outside our comfort zones. I used Picasso as my inspiration, although if I were trying harder, I guess I would have had an eye where the ear is, or a foot coming out of the head.

I think the painting is self-explanatory.

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Young Cardinal, 6x8 Oil Painting, Wildlife Art

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This was an experiment, adding punch to this painting with vivid color. Baby birds are just so cute, especially when all fluffed up.

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Gordes, France, A Page from My Sketch Journal

I love Provence. I love the vineyards, olive groves, lavender fields, medieval villages, Roman ruins, and the food. I love hearing, "Bonjour, Madame," and the all-encompassing word, "Voila!" I love the people. 

Did I mention the food? Vive la France!

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Mougins, France, a page from my journal

The beautiful little village of Mougins sits atop a mountain, as do so many Medieval villages in France. Only a few people live there. The town is full of art galleries and restaurants, and when we first saw it, my sister said, "I want to live here!" The food--oh my goodness, the food is so good, every time I had a meal I wanted to shout, "Vive la France!"

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Stormy Day, 5x7 Original Oil on Canvas Panel Seascape

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The beach and stormy weather are an exciting combination. The colors become subdued, but the action does not, and I love being able to see the rain far off in the distance. 

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Like an iPhone Cowboy, 6x8 Small Oil Painting on Canvas

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I was hiking with our painting group, high in the Smoky Mountains, when I saw this man talking on his phone. Subsequently, he almost fell off the horse, which makes me wonder what kind of disturbing conversation it must have been. I do like the pretty little horse. You never know what you'll see in the mountains.

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Iris, 6x8 Original Oil on Canvas Daily Painting

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I am mining pictures I took of the gorgeous blooms at Brookgreen Gardens, South Carolina for floral daily paintings. Sometimes I think I'd like to be locked away to just paint for days with a "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door. It worked for Rembrandt, at least artistically, but he forgot to pay the bills. That was unfortunate, because he was quite the consumer.

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Provence Biker, 8x10 Original Oil Painting of the South of France

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My sister and I were on our way to Fontaine-de-Vaucluse in Provence when we saw this man on his bike. Except for the very narrow roads, this is a beautiful place to be riding, surrounded by olive groves, vineyards and lavender fields. Though I have many photos of Italy, France and Austria, I just couldn't wait to paint this guy.

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Florida Vista, 6x8 Original Oil Landscape with Clouds, Free Shipping

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I enjoy the contrast in light that Florida weather creates. In this instance the clouds were putting the foreground in shade and the sun was shining brightly on the pasture in the background. This is an original 6x8 inch oil, signed and ready to frame. 

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Beach Birds, 14x11 Seascape on Canvas Panel

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I enjoyed painting this bright and airy beach scene. The birds were very busy that day. This is an original oil painting on canvas panel, 11x14 inches, signed and ready to frame. 

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Bermuda Scene, 6x8 Oil on Canvas Panel Seascape

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The past three weeks have reminded me of when I lived in Bermuda, because we have a leak under the slab of our house and have not had the water turned on, except to quickly get essentials done. In Bermuda we caught our water on the roof and it went into a tank under the house.

When we first lived there we thought we had a leak in the tank, because we ran out of water. The local Bermudians advised us that the leak was at the top; namely, us. We learned to conserve water very carefully, with bricks in the toilet tank, turning off the water while brushing, etc. An interesting note: the tank had blind goldfish in it for the purpose of eating mosquito larvae. Yes, we drank from that tank, and the water was cleaner than it is in most of the United States.

We lived in Diamond Cottage on Suffering Lane; that was our actual address, no house numbers. In spite of the rainy winters, it was a wonderful place to live. There was beauty in every direction.

The scheduled date for our house to be replumbed is Election Day. Yes, we already voted!

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Adventures in Gordes, France from my Sketch Journal

See my sketch of the steep road we walked down? You might think that's an exaggeration; no, it is not. The cobblestones have probably been there since 1300 AD. Inside the restaurant we had to climb a steep, narrow spiral staircase that had me hanging onto the railing. It was all worth it. We had a table on our own little balcony, with a view of the sunset over the valley. The meal was elegant and delicious, the service impeccable. Gordes is a beautiful medieval cliffside town full of kind and friendly people.

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Red Shoe, 8x10 Collage on Canvas

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This collage is made of torn magazines; can you tell Derek Gores was my teacher? Collage is a lot of fun, and a lot of work. It is very messy and challenging, but I really like the results.

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Tree Frog, 10x10 Collage on Canvas

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I am very partial to tree frogs; they are the cutest of reptiles. This collage is made of torn and cut magazine pages and is mounted on stretched canvas. The canvas has one and a half-inch deep sides and needs no frame.

Tahiti Beach, Elbow Cay, Abacos Islands, 6x8 Oil on Canvas Panel

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This is one of the most beautiful places I've been. When you're there it feels like a dream. The water is so clear and the sand is so white. This is an original oil painting, 8x6 inches, signed and ready to frame.

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Salt Spray, Seascape Original Oil Painting, 8x10

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This was painted on a bright sunny day when the air was clean. Unfortunately, right now we are afflicted with Red Tide, and every time I go outside it makes me cough. Dead fish litter the beach and some intrepid volunteers have been out picking them up. It's a very unhealthy situation. We used to have lots of tar on the beach from oil spills. I prefer that. At least I could breathe without coughing.

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Ibis, 6x8 Oil on Canvas Panel, Wildlife Art, Daily Painting

I've been painting a lot of flowers lately, so here's a little change of pace. These birds were at our wonderful Brevard Zoo in Melbourne. To quote the zoo website, here is how it all started:

It began as a small group of people...
A small group of people with a big dream; building a zoo. A world-class zoo that would serve as a conservation hub where people could gather to learn about animals. A place to escape from the urban world and get closer to nature, to be reminded of the diversity of the life with which we share this planet.

Now we have a state-of-the-art zoo with rhinos, giraffes, meerkats--it's an amazing testament to what community effort can do.

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Lotus Buds, 6x8 Oil on Canvas Panel Floral Painting

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I was far from home while doing this painting, and I managed to leave my white paint home! I dealt with it by subtracting color with my turps. This produced a very dark painting, as my canvas was not white, but a toned neutral color. When I got home I mixed more color with white and finished my lotus buds. I like the way they stand out now. These lilies were at Palma Sola Botanical Garden in Bradenton, Florida.

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Sunrise on the Beach, 8x6 Original Oil on Canvas Seascape

 

Watching the sunrise on our beach is such an awesome experience. In a turbulent world, there is so much peace on the other side of the beach crossover. It's nice to change the noise of traffic to the soothing sounds of the waves.

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Waterlily, 8x8 Original Oil Painting on Canvas, Floral Painting

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This painting was done in response to a challenge to paint with three primary colors and white. Every color was mixed from those three colors. Yes, I did long to grab my handy-dandy tubes of Permanent Green Light and Sap Green, but I resisted.

Our painting group, Pieces of Eight, has a challenge each month. My waterlily is for October's challenge, done early because I will spend much of October in Europe. September's challenge is to use patterns from nature, and may be viewed online here.  Each challenge is uploaded in the Pieces of Eight blog on the last day of the month.

 

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Dragonfly Wings, Watercolor on Paper, 11x14 Wildlife Painting

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This departure from my norm is in response to the September challenge for the Pieces of Eight painting group, to create art from patterns in nature. I love oils, but it's fun to do watercolor now and then. There is an actual blue dragonfly like the one I painted.

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Portuguese Grapepicker, 16x20 Oil Painting, Terceira, Azores

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I painted this before I knew what I was doing. I had not taken classes or workshops, but I read a lot about painting. Imagine, children, it was the 70s and there was no Google or YouTube to consult. We lived in the Azores Islands and I really wish I had known more about painting and had preserved on canvas the scenes I saw there every day. I'd like to go back and do better next time.

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I Phone, Therefore I Am, 5x7 Oil on Canvas Panel, Businessman with Phone, Figurative Art

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I did a series of people on phones, and this man was included. We can't see his face, but we know he is all prepped to receive calls and texts; just look at his grip on that phone. 

On a completely different subject, I am appreciating Charles Dickens and Jane Austen even more lately. It seems that all the more newly-published books I have picked up lately have drunk or crazed women as their protagonists. Some are both drunk and crazed. It is starting to wear thin. Could we have some memorable woman to look up to? I don't need the heroine to be perfect; she wouldn't be realistic if she didn't have some flaws--but could we have someone who doesn't eat business cards, see dead people or drown herself in booze every day? Any recommendations?

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Stepping Stones, 5x7 Original Oil on Canvas Panel, Smoky Mountains Art

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We were hiking near Boone, North Carolina and crossed this little stream with its reflections of blue sky. It was a glorious Fall day and I was with my painting group, some of my favorite people in the world. It doesn't get any better than that.

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Paris Crosswalk, 5x7 Oil on Panel, Daily Painting, France

This is one of my favorite paintings. I took the photo from the window of our hotel in Paris, and I love the simplicity of it. I love Paris in the Springtime...I love Paris in the Fall...

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Beautiful Azores, 12x12 Oil on Canvas, Landscape of Terceira Island, Azores

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My family lived for many years in the Azores, Portugal and it was a lovely place to be, with beautiful scenery and warm, friendly people. They are nine volcanic islands about 850 miles west of Portugal, and we lived on Terceira. Street bullfights were an exciting event, with men holding one end of a long rope and the bull on the other end, charging at people in the street. I learned that bulls can easily run up steps or jump over walls. They also have bullfights in a ring, but never kill the bull.

I think I need to go back for a visit, especially after reading Diana Marcum's book, The Tenth Island, about the Azores. That is what inspired me to paint this.

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Waterfall, 11x14 Oil on Canvas, Smoky Mountain Landscape Painting

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It's amazing what you can find a few steps off the road in the Smokies. This was a magical place, with mossy green rocks and falling water. I love my home at the beach, but those mountains call to me now and then. This is a signed original, ready to frame.

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Christmas Palm, 12x12 Oil Painting on Canvas, Tropical Trees

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Christmas Palms are so beautiful. I see a lot of them in public landscapes, but there are never any berries. I guess they are considered too messy and get trimmed off. In Elbow Cay in the Bahamas I saw a lot of them left on the trees and it gave such a lovely touch to the landscape. What other palms have such a striking fruit?

Cowshade, 12x12 Oil Painting on Canvas

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This is such a peaceful scene. It was challenging having the shade in the foreground, and it certainly didn't turn out to be a "daily" painting. It took a while to get it like I wanted, but I'm happy with it now. This scene is the view our daughter gets from her backyard.

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Seneca Lake, Oil Painting on Canvas, 8x10 Landscape

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This painting is a happy memory of a day of visiting wineries and vineyards in the Finger Lakes. This view had pasture, vineyards, a lake and hay bales. What more could an artist want?

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