Beach Sunrise, Oil Painting on Canvas Panel, 10x8 Seascape

 

Click to Purchase

We may be trapped inside for months, but there is always the beach, as long as it isn't crowded. Early morning people tend to be true beach lovers, with a true appreciation for being in a beautiful place.

Carmen

The Black Hat, Portrait of Woman Original Oil Painting 8x10

$175

This is quite a departure from the 50-stroke paintings I've been doing. I don't know what got into me, but I really enjoyed this one. It has a vintage look but with a timeless feel. We need a little glamour now and then.

Carmen

A Gift from the Sea, 8x10 Original Oil Painting Still Life Coastal Decor

Click to Purchase

When I lived in Bermuda I collected antique bottles. In the old days Bermudians used to dispose of bottles by tossing them into the sea or burying them in shallow holes. It's great sport there to dive for bottles, and I lucked out finding this one, a Cobalt Blue Castor Oil bottle, pre-1900s.

This is oil paint on a metallic gold background.

Carmen

Pair of Pears Watercolor Painting 8x10

Click to Purchase

I don't do much watercolor except for my sketch journal, but I recently was inspired by a watercolor demo. I thought I'd make our Pieces of Eight September Challenge a real challenge by departing from oils.

Carmen

Finding My Roots, 8x10 Pen and Ink Drawing on Paper, Smoky Mountain Scene

I love twisty, wandering roots. These were spreading over a ledge in the Smoky Mountains, and I have to say that it was quite meditative drawing them.

Carmen

Jungle Garden, Original Oil Painting on Canvas 8x10 Florida Garden

Buy on Etsy

I love mysterious garden paths through jungle-like gardens. What exotic plant is around the next corner? There were bromeliads galore in this garden.

Carmen

Red Barn and Sunflowers, 8x10 Oil on Canvas Landscape

This is the time of year I always try to rethink my time, my business, and my art. As I spend more time marketing on the computer, I have less time to spend painting. If I spend more time painting I end up with lots of inventory. But what is more fun? 

I'll be in my studio.

The painting above is a non-painful commission. You artists know what I'm talking about. There are enjoyable commissions, then there are those where someone gives you a bad picture--or maybe two or three that they want you to combine--and you are supposed to make a great piece of art out of them. Painful! Just say no.

Carmen

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

 

Print for Sale on Etsy

 

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.

Carmen

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

Buy on Etsy

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)

Red Shoe, 8x10 Collage on Canvas

Click to Purchase

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.

Carmen

Seneca Lake, Oil Painting on Canvas, 8x10 Landscape

Purchase

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?

Carmen

Color My World, 8x10 Oil Painting on Canvas, Portrait of Woman

This was my contribution to the Pieces of 8 challenge for July, which was to paste a half face to a support, then do a creative rendering of the other half. Everyone did an amazing job, which you can see at Piecesof8art.blogspot.com.

Summertime always means painting between traveling and yardwork. Am I still a full-time artist if I keep stopping to pull weeds? Hmmm. Not sure. This week I was weeding four feet away from a large snake, but he was pointed the other direction, so I didn't bother him and he didn't bother me. I did keep an eye out, though. I try to be at one with nature, as long as nature isn't a roach. I will kill myself trying to get away from a roach.

I complain a lot about weeding, but in truth I enjoy gardening, and in my family we have a name for that. It's the "Chulie Gene." My grandmother Chulie was a master gardener, and most of our family is infected with the Chulie Gene. My niece actually has a nursery, Paradise Found, and works like mad to grow very exotic and unusual succulents.

See what I did here? I plugged the Pieces of 8 and my niece's nursery, all in one blog post!

Carmen

Sweet Orange Blossoms, 8x10 Oil on Canvas, Fruit Painting

Have you ever walked through an orange grove when the trees are in bloom? It is the sweetest smell, rivaling any flower known for having a perfumed aroma. Nowadays I see the groves giving in to condos and housing developments, and it's a shame, because trees and fruit are much healthier than concrete block and pavement. I remember walking through orange groves as a kid and running into these fancy-looking spiders hanging between trees in their webs. It's a Spiney Orb Weaver spider, and it looks worse than it is.

Carmen

Oil Painting, "Little Hikers," 8x10 Painting of Children at Silver Springs

SOLD

The Pieces of Eight had a wonderful art show and sale Saturday and we met so many nice people. It was a great team effort. I had to say goodbye to my "Little Hikers," above, my painting of children at Silver Springs. I have to say that people interested in art seem to be the nicest people, and it is invigorating to be able to share what we have worked on in our studios all year long.

Carmen

The Photographer, 8x10 Original Oil Painting on Canvas

I took this photo of our Pieces of 8 member Kathy Garvey while she was intently photographing poppies. She liked them as much as I did. It was really fun to paint her, and of course it was an excuse to paint more poppies. Here's a little slideshow of the painting as it progressed:

Roseate Spoonbills, Giclee Prints on Canvas

Buy Prints on Etsy

This is the painting I did for International Artist Magazine's March 2012 issue. I sold the original last year, but I now have giclee prints available in my Etsy Shop at varying sizes and prices. These beautiful birds were hanging out in the Everglades, feeding in the mangroves. They are such a contradiction, with their funny spoon faces and their exquisite plumage. Perhaps God didn't want them to be too vain.

Carmen

Original Oil Painting on Canvas, Ocean Clouds, 8x10 Seascape

Click to Purchase

There was a heavy cloud in the foreground as I stood on the beach, and bright stripes of sunlight farther out to sea. Colors in the ocean are all about what the sky is doing, and I love when it takes a dramatic turn.

Carmen

Everglades Spoonbills, Prints, Giclee on Stretched Canvas, Roseate Spoonbills

Click to Purchase

When winter comes to Florida, I get that urge to go to the Everglades. Sometimes I get really lucky and get a picture like this. I love Spoonbills, with their luscious pink plumage and their comical faces.

This is a high-quality giclee print on archival canvas, from an original oil painting.

Carmen

Crossed Palms Giclee Print, Florida Beach Scene

Buy on Etsy

I'm always painting seascapes, but I like this one where the water is secondary and the dunes and palms are prominent. I'm so lucky to live by the beach.

This painting is sold, but I am offering giclee prints on stretched canvas in my Etsy Shop. Various sizes are available. The prints are on archival canvas and very difficult to tell from an original oil painting.

Carmen

Christmas Sale, All Original Artwork, Oil Paintings and Collage

I am having a sale in my Etsy shop, and I want to use words like "HUGE," "PRICES SLASHED," and "NOT SOLD IN ANY STORES," but all you really need to hear is the magical: "FREE SHIPPING." Those are the words that always make me jump to attention. Not only that, but I am discounting all original art 20%.

The sale starts November 20th and ends December 20th. Just remember 20-20-20, the dates and 20%. These are one-of-a-kind paintings and you can shop in your jammies and avoid the crowds.

Click here to visit my Etsy shop.

Carmen