The Kayakers in Progress

When I get a minute to myself, I will finish this painting and put the steps together as a slide show. This has been an impossibly busy time for me, what with appointmentsPenWomenLuncheonpaintingdemoPiecesof8meetingMothersDayhousechoresetc! It all runs together.

A perfect Mother's Day gift would be: drop me in a shady spot by the river with my painting equipment and come back in three hours. So, for our May 12 Pieces of 8 Challenge, that's what we are going to do. And with only four tubes of paint. This will be followed by lunch and a nap. Plein air painting is exhausting in a very good way.

Texas Bluebonnets, 8x10 Oil on Canvas

NFS

Van Gogh would have liked these flowers. They are pretty ornate, with little white dots all over them, so the big decision is: how much detail? I may go back and put a bit of blue in the sky, even though there wasn't any, just so the painting doesn't seem quite so divided into three parts. 

Carmen

Blue Pots, 8x6 Oil on Canvas

$99, Click to Purchase

I love the colors of Mexico. This is Number Five in my series of paintings of San Miguel de Allende, and it almost has a Florida Gators orange-and-blue look (but not quite). Spanish style houses are my favorites, especially if they have beautiful courtyards. In San Miguel there are no front yards or sweeping lawns, but the casas' openness and courtyards make it feel as if you are very comfortably living outdoors.

Pardon My Back, 24x18 Oil on Canvas

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This is the first in a series and it's a bigger painting than I usually post. I didn't pose these birds, they were standing exactly like this, so this was one of those paintings that got named before I started it.

While in the Everglades I got to see plenty of mangroves, mangrove forests and mangrove islands. What fascinating trees they are. They thrive in salty environments because they are able to obtain fresh water from saltwater. Some secrete excess salt through their leaves, and others block absorption of  salt at their roots. Their intricate root design makes a protective nursery for tiny marine life.

A Rest in the Park, oil on linen, 11x14

In this park by the famous Pike Place Market in Seattle, one can escape the crowds and loll on the grass. With the fresh air and the view, it's just a wonderful place to be.

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Serpentine, 6x6 Abstract

Had to loosen it up a bit after the previous post. This is acrylic paint and glue, truly mixed media. For some reason "Far out, Dude" keeps running through my head when I look at this one. Maybe it reminds me of a lava lamp.

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Shoreline, 6x6 Oil on Canvas

The Olympic Peninsula has everything to offer: seashores, mountains and rain forests. Take a jacket, though, because one minute you are in a cold mist and the next the sun is shining brightly and everything changes from gray to color. In the distance in my painting you can see Vancouver Island in Canada--until the mists roll in.

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Eye of the Eagle, 6x6 Acrylic Abstract

I think this is a patriotic painting, with a slightly frazzled eagle. Maybe he is sick of the do-nothing Congress, or maybe he just suffers from allergies. I read that the United States is the most allergic country on earth. Is it the genetically altered foods? How about those hormones in meat and milk? Global warming and the highest pollen levels ever? Maybe my eagle is like that Indian in the old commercial--remember him, the noble man with the tear? Actually, that looks like a red tear running down Mr. Eagle's cheek. Is he sad, or is it just his allergies?

I know, you're thinking I've gone off the deep end...don't worry, it's nothing new, and I'm still treading water.

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Cascade Mountains, 6x6 Oil on Canvas Board

This scenery in Washington State just takes my breath away. We were above the clouds, in clear, crisp air, and we saw lupine and beargrass flowers blooming. The views were spectacular. At the very top of this little-traveled road we met two girls who were volunteers in a watch tower. They were as enthusiastic about the place as if they had not spent the cold night in a flimsy structure on top of a mountain. That's exactly who we want watching our forests!

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Yellow Buoy, 6x6 Oil on Canvas Board

I'll be painting the Northwests' mountains and rocky shores in a few days, but I liked this little boat so much that I just felt like painting it yesterday. It was in a calm bay with no mist (we saw a lot of mist) and bright sunlight.

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Below are some pages from my journal depicting some of the things we saw during our trip. I added a running theme of coffee and ice cream, which provided sustenance quite frequently.

Here Comes the Sun, 6x6 Oil on Canvas

This was a very misty morning. All my photos were so mysterious and peaceful-looking, and some are really asking to be painted large. I will do that one of these days.

I'm not posting as frequently as usual, just because I am frequently off to find new things to paint. Coming soon: the Olympic Peninsula.

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Seamist, 48x24 Oil on Canvas

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This is our very own Satellite Beach, on one of those days when sea mists are rising. This was a commission, 48 inches wide by 24 high. Our beach never looks the same way twice; it changes color, shape, and after a particularly rough surf, sizeable rocks appear that were never there before. I love it all, except when hurricanes take a great deal of the beach away with them. 

Morning Sunrise, 10x10 Oil on Canvas

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Have any of you artists ever painted something, then been bothered by it every time you look at it? This is the updated version of this painting. In the first version (below) there were just too many things going in conflicting directions, which jarred me every time I saw it. I have a problem of painting what I see, and sometimes you just have to change what you see to make a painting.

I reworked the painting, toned down the vertical reflection, and made the sunrise part warmer. Our flashy sunrises in Florida can look very contrived and unreal, and caution is needed to avoid a "painting on black velvet" look. We can't help it if our sunrises are fabulous here.

Mystery Bird, 6x6 Oil on Canvas

I am not sure what this bird is, and if anyone knows, please let me know. He was hanging out in the Everglades looking so cute, I just had to paint him. I donated him to the Lagoon Fest to be held in October 2014 to benefit Oyster Restoration for the Indian River Lagoon.

I read in the paper that a large number of pelicans and manatees have died here on the Space Coast, and it's likely because of the sorry condition of our waterways. The Banana River and Indian River are polluted by runoff from pesticides and fertilizers, and this is good for no one. Our river used to be full of clammers and I never see them any more. I don't think a green lawn is the priority here. I think I should have pride in the sorry-looking lawn we're sporting these days. I'm looking at it in a whole new way.

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Morning Sunrise, 10x10 Oil on Canvas

I never know what I'll see when I step on the crossover to the beach. There's always that moment of anticipation as I take the steps, and I am seldom disappointed. Weather phenomena combined with sunrise was a real delight.

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He Feedeth Among the Lilies, 8x8 Oil on Canvas

This was done from a photo shot by Uncle Emmett, who is not my uncle, but the uncle of a friend. That makes him my Fruncle.

The artist Robert Genn has many made-up words like that in his blog, The Painter's Keys, today. They are all about art and they are very funny. I was inspired to make up a few of my own:

Liarkinding: Complimenting an artist on a painting you hate because you don't want to hurt their feelings.

Clownvisagia: Going out in public unaware you have paint on your face.

Saddergaller: Depression because you didn't sell well at your show.

And my favorites of Robert's: 

Snooler: A person who gushes over your work but who you suspect privately thinks he can do better but actually can't. 

Superalphabetted: A person whose name is followed by a lot of letters. 

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View from the Top, 20x20 Oil on Canvas

When the Pieces of 8 were in North Carolina, this is the sort of view that greeted us every morning from Cindy's balcony. I don't think I have done it justice. The mountains are like islands in the clouds.

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My good news: I am featured in an article in Space Coast Living Magazine, a beautiful local publication. Here's the link: Link to article

Hurricane: Before and After, 8x10 Oil on Board

Before the Storm

After the Storm

My first reversible painting! It's stormy on one side, sunny on the other. I'm always fascinated by the changes in the ocean, and a hurricane passing by Florida creates awesome drama. This family wisely stayed in shallow water and watched the mighty waves crashing.

Hurricane Isaac was long and drawn out, so it was many days before the peaceful, warm, sunny scene in the "After" painting. I am so lucky to live here--barring storm surge, of course.

This painting comes with an easel so it may be easily displayed according to your mood. It's kind of a "Mood Ring" of art, and it's two paintings in one!

 SOLD

Calm River, 6x6 Oil on Canvas Board

Sometimes I don't see certain things until I have posted them. In this case, I have to laugh because I notice that the rocks that are just below the surface in the river look a bit like a body. I don't suppose that's a selling point...or is it?

I am looking at the work I have scheduled to upload in the next week or so, and it looks like I dabble in everything. My previous post was collage, this one is an impressionistic oil, coming next are a watercolor, an abstract, then a 16x20 landscape. All that's lacking is one of my cartoons. Hmmm...there's an idea.

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Ready for Takeoff, 7x5 Oil on Canvas

I thought it was time to do a Spoonbill in oil, but I may follow this up with the same bird in collage. I love those wings, even though finding paper with the proper colors is pretty challenging.

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