Patchwork River, 16x20 Oil Painting Landscape on Canvas

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The Pieces of Eight were hiking in the woods on an artists' retreat and came upon this peaceful scene. This was in North Carolina, the same mountains where we went whitewater rafting and bonded over a near-death experience. Below is my drawing commemorating that scene.

Carol, Donna, Denette and I were airborne. We were The Flying Grannies.

The Yellow Swing, original oil painting, 16x20

We are in Lake Junaluska, North Carolina and I am very excited to see rhododendrons blooming everywhere. They are lush and gorgeous, and I have seldom ever gotten to see them because they don’t grow in Florida. There’s nothing like a front porch swing, and the pink rhododendrons make it even more inviting.

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Storm Over Hopetown, 16x20 Oil on Canvas, Bahamas Seascape

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This is a happy memory of Elbow Cay in the Abacos Islands. I was leaving on the ferry while a storm was approaching. Elbow Cay is a beautiful little island with gorgeous beaches and no cars. A golf cart is all you need. 

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The Lacemaker, 16x20 Gouache Painting, after Vermeer

Well, looky here! I was cleaning out my studio and this lady turned up. I painted her in a college class over 30 years ago. I think the assignment was to copy a master and change the color scheme a bit, so I copied Johannes Vermeer's The Lacemaker and warmed it up colorwise. Why I used gouache, I don't know. It is not the most accommodating medium. 

Vermeer and his wife had ten children, and during an economic downturn he was unable to sell his paintings. His wife said that the stress of the situation killed him. I can understand it; if I had to live off my art and had ten children, the stress of it would probably do me in as speedily as it did poor Johannes. Below is the original of The Lacemaker. I am awed by it.

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Still Water, 16x20 Oil on Canvas Landscape Painting

"He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul."

--23rd Psalm

SOLD

Happy to report this painting just sold to a lovely lady. This is a scene off Landmark Road in Middleburg, Virginia, near where my sister Genie used to live. She heads up an event called Shakespeare in the Burg every year, which is March 27 to April 2 this year. If you live nearby, check it out. It's always nice to visit Middleburg for any reason.

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Sunshine Girl, 16x20 Watercolor Print, Giclee of Child in Garden

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This is a giclee print of a watercolor that I am particularly fond of. The purple and green complementary colors and the warm sunshine backlighting her hair remind me of the day this child was opening a seed packet to plant flowers in the garden. It's a wonderful age, when you can tell a child what to do, and they actually do it. I miss that!

I need to send out a thank-you to all the Nigerian friends that I didn't know I had, who are just dying to send me millions of dollars. Every day there is a new email from these generous people. For some reason they are just loaded and they can't wait to share their wealth with their special friend, me. It's hard to believe anyone would fall for the scam, but some must or they wouldn't keep sending these things. My last offer was from a woman who wanted to send me exactly $10,500,000 dollars.

For a much better deal, check out my Etsy page at https://carmensart.etsy.com

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Audrey Hepburn, 16x20 Collage

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Audrey Hepburn was one of the most elegant and appealing women who ever graced the Silver Screen. Much of this collage is made up of torn pages with scenes from her movies. I must say, it's not that easy to make eyes from little pieces of paper--not that I'm complaining. I'm pretty proud of this portrait.

Detail

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Simonetta, 16x20 Collage on Canvas, Botticelli's Venus

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This collage is made entirely of paper torn from fashion magazines. It is a partial view of Sandro Botticelli's famous painting, Birth of Venus. What a challenge! The fun part was her hair. Much of it is from Charlene Theron's "J'Adore" perfume ad. Collage, especially in color, takes me twice as long as oil painting--sometimes three times as long. I do love the result, though.

Simonetta was the woman believed to be the model for Birth of Venus. Read all about her life in our Pieces of 8 member Fay Picardi's book Simonetta.

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P.S. The painting Hot Cubans has been reinstated on Etsy, with no explanation about why it was taken down in the first place.

Breakfast Club, 20x16 Oil on Canvas Panel

SOLD

Happy day, just sold this seascape. I am almost out of large seascapes. I'd better get busy! 

Three Portraits, 16x20 Graphite Drawing

This was a long-ago commission, graphite on paper. I haven't done a portrait in this style for quite a while.

I have been devoting too much time to marketing art and not enough time to doing art lately. I don't like that. I start thinking of my painting time as a guilty pleasure, and that is warped thinking. That's my job, and if it happens to be a pleasurable job, well, good for me. I've also been neglecting my health by not exercising enough. I told my husband I was going to suffer from flabosity if I didn't change, and he said there is also danger of gelatiny (pronounced jel-at'-nee). Such a wiseguy.

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Aunt Bea, 16x20 Pastel on Paper

I have learned that lots of people, not just Opie, have an Aunt Bea. Mine was a corker. When she gave us stink eye we knew we were in trouble. She figures prominently in my book Crackers and Oranges. When my daughter Suzanne was a baby she fell asleep in her high chair with a pork chop in her hand and Aunt Bea said, "Hmph! She's faking it." Devious little baby. 

This portrait was done years ago when I was dabbling in pastels. It's the only pastel I've ever posted on this blog. I do enjoy the medium, but I need to concentrate on my oil painting. I had a period of doing caricatures in pastel, which really worked for that medium. Let's face it, there are only so many hours in the day and so much energy I can expend, so I am working on the application of squishy oils on canvas, which I enjoy most of all. And the occasional collage. 

Baby Alexsa, 16x20 Oil on Canvas, Portrait

This is another blast from the past, my granddaughter as a toddler. She looks very serious, and no telling what was going on in that little head. She's the one who named me Bubba.

The Golden Flute, 16x20 Oil on Canvas Portrait

This lovely lady was a fellow member of the National League of American Pen Women, and she would treat us to beautiful music at our meetings. Hearing the music and seeing her playing her golden flute made her irresistible to paint.

Simonetta, 16x20 Collage on Canvas, after Sandro Botticelli's "Birth of Venus"

$420, Buy Now

One of the members of our painting group, Pieces of Eight, has written a book about Simonetta Vespucci, the beautiful woman who inspired Botticelli's painting, "Birth of Venus." Fay Picardi's fascinating book, Simonetta, takes us to the 1470s during the Italian Renaissance in Florence. Simonetta was considered the greatest beauty of her time, and today, over 500 years later, her face is seen everywhere in Florence--even on T-shirts. Her life was short, but her beauty endures.

Fay's book launch will be on November 6th 5:30 to 7:30 at Derek Gores' art gallery in the Eau Gallie Arts District. If you live in the Melbourne, Florida area, stop by; our painting group will be exhibiting our very diverse and surprising interpretations of Simonetta. There will be a booksigning and Fay will give a short reading at 6:30.

Books and art! What could be better?

Broken, 16x20 Oil on Canvas Portrait

This painting has been on exhibit in the Fifth Avenue Art Gallery's "Word" show this month. Artists were given three words to be possible titles for a painting. I picked "Broken" and painted this homeless man. He looks like he has been broken by life; maybe by addiction, or foreclosure, or even an illness that bankrupted him. He has a sad story that is written on his face.

Patrons visiting the gallery opening were given the list of words to see how many they could match to a painting. A very clever idea, isn't it?

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Portrait, 16x20 Pencil Drawing, Graphite on Paper

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Yes, it did take a long time to do the hair, but I enjoyed every stroke. It's very different from the way I work in paint. 

I have discovered another New Zealand artist to admire--John Crump. Plein air at its best. 

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The Kayakers, 16x20 Original Oil Painting on Canvas

SOLD

This is a completed commission. I took a few photos as I went along, and put them together as a very brief little slideshow. Check it out on Facebook. In retrospect I wish I had cropped the photos; I had some misguided idea that it would look very much "in progress" if a little of the easel showed. 

On to the next commission, then on Monday I am challenging my painting group Pieces of 8 to do a painting in only 37 minutes. The idea came from Robert Genn, who did this exercise in his workshops. It is an agonizing exercise, and I hope we will all still be friends after it's over! 

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