Coconuts and Allamandas, 6x8 Original Oil on Canvas Landscape

Click to Purchase

This is my neighbor's coconut tree, which I have painted many times. I envy them those coconuts! We had a coconut tree until the freeze of 1989, and when it froze I gave up on growing coconuts; if I had only known about climate change then I would have immediately replanted. Now I grow tropical plants and never have one freeze. It's small consolation for the scorching summers.

In the foreground are my allamandas on our purple screen, a bit of whimsy we added to the garden. 

Carmen

Young Cardinal, 6x8 Oil Painting, Wildlife Art

SOLD

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

Carmen

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

Click to Buy

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.

Carmen

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.

Carmen

Free Range Rooster, 6x8 Original Painting on Canvas Panel

Purchase Here

This rooster was observing me while I was painting a building. He proved to be a more attractive subject than the building, and I really loved the colors in his black feathers where the light caught them. He reminds me of the traditional Portuguese Roosters done in ceramic.

Carmen

Apple on Pink, 6x8 Original Oil Painting Still Life

The Pieces of 8 painting group was practicing painting different objects on different-colored surfaces, and I like this apple enough to finish it; however, I didn't like the background color at all. Since I am busy with my current job, I haven't had time to paint, so I took the above picture, then used Photoshop to try out different background colors. I like this one (below) a lot better than that background color above.

Carmen

Autumn Tree, Landscape Original Painting, 6x8 Oil on Canvas Panel

Purchase

Since I live by the beach, I get very excited when I see Fall colors. This tree just seemed to glow. We were in upstate Pennsylvania, staying on a farm. What a different way of life from flip-flop-wearing, easygoing Florida. 

Carmen

The Little Birds, 6x8 Original Oil on Canvas Panel, Seascape Daily Painting

 SOLD

This is a very typical scene on the Space Coast of Florida. Before I cross over the dunes I never know what color the water will be, what size the waves will be, or how many birds there will be. I only know that a peaceful feeling comes over me--unless it's stormy, and I like that too. Clouds and waves do all kinds of interesting things when it's stormy.

Carmen

Mango High, 6x8 Original Oil Painting on Canvas Panel

Buy Now

It is mango season and there are so many mangoes right now. For those of us who love them it is a glorious time. I was in Bradenton recently, standing under a tree that had dropped mangoes on the ground. Gorgeous fruit just lying all around. Way, way up in the tree were these beautiful collections of fruit, and I especially liked this one because of the lone ripe mango among the lavender ones. So, the title "Mango High" can be taken two ways. 

Here's a tip I learned last week about cutting and peeling mangoes: make a cut around the fruit, all the way to the seed. Use a glass or a cup (easier with a cup, holding it by the handle) and scoop the fruit out of the peeling. Do it firmly and you will have no waste. Then chomp on the seed and get the pulp all over your face like you usually do. Mango high.

Carmen

Flamingo, 6x8 Oil on Canvas Panel Daily Painting

Buy Now

Flamingos are such funny birds. Not only do they stand on those skinny legs, they can stand on one only! When they are resting, their neck can be twisted around and tucked under their wings; however, their gorgeous color offsets their silly looks. They are magnificent in a goofy way.

Carmen

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

Buy Now

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.

Carmen

Field Flowers, 6x8 Oil on Canvas Panel Floral Daily Painting

Click to Purchase

I painted a big happy sunflower on this canvas, then decided I hated it, so I scraped it off. The result was a lovely background that looked like a green field, so I painted these flowers in the field and now I like it. "Scrapers" frequently produce interesting results. I think I'll do more of it. 

Carmen

Shadow Irises, 6x8 Oil on Canvas Panel, Floral Daily Painting

Buy on Etsy

I really like the play of the shadows on the wall. I love visiting Virginia in the Spring and seeing a lot of flowers we don't see much in Florida. My daughter always has a spectacular yard, and in my family we call it "The Chulie Gene." Chulie was my grandmother and she had a plant nursery. Most of my family inherited the Chulie Gene and at this time of year texts fly back and forth among them with images of their beautiful flowers. My grandmother would be so pleased. 

Carmen

White Hydrangeas, 6x8 Oil on Canvas Panel, Floral Painting

Purchase

I had painted this in a different color scheme, and it never appealed to me. Every time I looked at it, something went ick in my head. This was the previous version:

I didn't like the rusty color. I'm just not a rusty person. Creaky, maybe, but not rusty. I decided to give the painting a makeover. I barely touched the flowers themselves, but look how different they appear by changing the colors around them. 

Carmen

Spring Bouquet, 6x8 Oil on Canvas Panel, Floral Painting with Yellow and Magenta

Click to Purchase $110

Our painting group, Pieces of 8, ambitiously painted this still life during one of our sessions. It was a lot of fun. I am trying to get it into my head to simplify, along with all the other disciplines in art that I am trying to get into my head. People always ask, "How long did it take you to do that?" They should be asking how many successes and failures, trials and errors, immersing oneself in values, composition, drawing, color, brush strokes, perspective, form, lighting, subtleties--it goes on and on. That's why there are so many aged artists. Doing art is a constant striving for improvement, and if "artist" is something you are, not something you do, you will do it for as long as you can hold a brush.

Carmen

Gypsy Woman, 6x8 Oil on Canvas Panel

$99, Click to Buy

When I was a kid I always dressed as a gypsy for Halloween. It seemed so glamorous then. I was all decked out in my red skirt with little bells on it and my peasant blouse. Little did I know that real gypsies were more like this woman in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. 

Carmen

Fugitive Sea, 6x8 Oil on Canvas Panel

$99, Click to Buy

There was a bird in this painting, but I scraped him away. He was so cute in my photo, seen from behind dipping his toe in the water (if he had a toe), but he just didn't work in paint. He was so plain that it was cartoonish and I just could not overcome that.

I'm so looking forward to our big Pieces of 8 sale next Friday and Saturday in Eau Gallie at Ralph's Art Supply! See http://www.piecesof8art.blogspot.com/ for details. 

Two Palms, 6x8 Oil Painting on Panel

$99, Click to Buy

Well, I will soon be building my brand-new, luxurious studio because James Comey of the FBI emailed me that for only $750 and my personal information I will receive over 10 million dollars from lottery/gambling/inheritance money due me from "overseas."

I keep wondering how many people fall for this, just another version of the Nigerian scam. Someone must, or they wouldn't keep doing it. The letters are always poorly written and don't even come close to being believable, yet someone must be sending them money.

This has nothing to do with my painting above, I just need to sound off now and then. I once had a friend who would say, "There are eight million people in New York City. If I could just get each one to send me a penny..."

Carmen

Green Swamp, 6x8 Oil Painting

$99, Click to Purchase

This primeval swamp is in Silver Springs State Park, Florida. If you ever go camping at Silver Springs, or stay in one of the comfy cabins for rent, be sure to find the Swamp Trail, because you will walk through this swamp (on a boardwalk), then see the beautiful Silver River at the end. That view is depicted in my previous blog on September 17th. Scroll down to see that one.

See those cypress knees that are kind of bent? I have a knee like that, and I am getting it replaced in October. I will be out of commission for a while, so my posts may be few and far between. I hope I will at least be up to Zentangling, but I'm not promising anything. 

Carmen 

Castaway Point, 6x8 Oil on Canvas Panel, Plein Air Painting

$99, Click to Purchase

My painting group, Pieces of 8, is doing weekly challenges and the challenge for this week was to paint en plein air, using four tubes of paint only. We were at a beautiful spot called Castaway Point, and there were so many lovely views. It is surprising how many colors can be made with three colors and white. Makes me wonder why I have so many different colors in my paint box. I do notice that my painting is a bit softer than usual, and I am not sure if it was because of the paint colors, the bright sunshine, or my canvas being in the shade.