Talkeetna Cafe, Alaska Landscape Oil Painting on Canvas Panel

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This is an out-of-the-way spot in Alaska, a little town called Talkeetna, which sits at the base of North America's tallest peak, Denali. This cafe was rustic, beautiful, and served delicious food. 

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Are YOU Talking to ME? Chicken painting oil on canvas 8x8 inches

Are YOU Talking to ME? 

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I love the comical look that chickens can have, and this one made me think of Robert di Niro's classic scene in Taxi Driver. Sometimes the title comes before the painting.

This is painted on gallery-wrapped canvas, no frame needed.

This was my entry for the monthly challenge on the Pieces of 8 blog. Click here to view the other very clever entries.

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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.

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Pair of Pears Watercolor Painting 8x10

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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.

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Coconuts and Allamandas, 6x8 Original Oil on Canvas Landscape

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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. 

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Peaceful River, 24x20 Original Oil Painting of Florida River

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This is a completed commission inspired by Florida's Dora River. It's quite a change from small daily paintings.

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Moon Over Miami, Original Oil Daily Painting 11x14 Oil on Canvas Panel

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Our Pieces of Eight painting challenge for February was to illustrate a song or poem, so I chose the old standard "Moon Over Miami." Go to the Pieces of 8 blog to see all the challenge responses.

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Oil Painting, "Anna Maria Reverie," 5x7 Oil on Canvas Daily Painting

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Even though I just came from North Captiva Island, this painting of Anna Maria Island was started before my vacation. I finished it today and I'm looking forward to painting more of N. Captiva next. Both places are beautiful and the turquoise waters of the Gulf of Mexico are very different from our surf here on the Atlantic. 

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Red-Bellied Woodpecker, 8x6 Oil on Canvas, Bird Painting

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Our painting group had a challenge last week to paint this cute bird. You'd think it would be called a Redheaded Woodpecker, but no, it has a spot of red way down on its belly, hence the name. 

We take turns assigning a weekly challenge, and while we are meeting that challenge an interesting phenomenon occurs. A hush falls over us. This is the only time this unusual occurrence happens, and only after two hours of complete concentration do we break into song (or sometimes, dance). This is followed closely by food consumption. This is why we live for Thursdays.

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Orange Blossom Special, 5x7 Oil Painting

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I grew up in Central Florida, where the sweet smell of orange blossoms filled the air. This original oil painting is on the cover of the memoir I am working on about growing up in the small town of Dundee. After living many different places in the world, I settled on the coast of Florida, two hours from where I was born. In the days of my childhood, Dundee was all about oranges, so choosing a cover theme was easy.

Girl in a Kayak, 6x6 Oil on Board

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I was standing on a bridge when this lovely sight suddenly appeared, and I was fortunate to get a shot of her before she sped away. I'm so lucky to live where there is so much water. In an interview I once was asked where I would live if I could live anywhere in the world, and I couldn't think of a better place than here.

I am continuing my list of irritating, teeth-gritting things we put up with (see previous posts):

From my son:

4. People driving slowly in the left lane.

5. Airplane passengers who bring carry-ons so heavy they can't lift them into the overhead bin.

Blue Pots, 8x6 Oil on Canvas

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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.

Rose Bowl, 7x5 Oil Painting

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This was a painting of red bowls. I let it sit on my easel and hated it more each day, though I liked the colors. I finally painted over it completely and used the same color scheme. That's the nice thing about oil paints, they are fixable.

Art restorers frequently find that the old masters had other paintings underneath their masterpieces. There's one thing for sure: the painting underneath is not a masterpiece, or they would not have painted over it. Just let that thing stay hidden under there, complying with the artist's wishes. You would not want to embarrass him by revealing his red bowls or whatever...

Everything's Better With Garlic, 7x5 Oil on Canvas

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I like everything about garlic: the look, the taste, the smell. My grandmother was Italian, yet she cooked very few Italian dishes, and I never saw garlic cloves in our house. When she and my grandfather became pioneers in Florida she became a Southern cook and learned to fry everything. He was from Spain, so I wonder what he thought about that? The other non-traditional thing for an Italian woman was that she didn't like to cook. Bad luck for us.

Flower Fantasy, 20x24 Acrylic on Canvas

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Here is my acrylic skin technique on black. It is like collaging with paint skin, and just as messy as paper collage. Perhaps I could combine the two? Hmmm...

I love painting with oils, but now and then I digress and chase intriguing shiny objects. This one is, literally, shiny. The heavy lines are metallic gold paint.

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.

Rise and Shine, 6x6 Oil Painting on Canvas

I thought I would walk to the beach to catch the sunrise, but I was late coming out the door, and this is what I saw. I didn't make it to the beach in time, but I love the silhouetted palms against the colorful sunrise. Florida sunrises and sunsets are so fabulous it's hard to make them look believable.

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The Depths, 7x5 Acrylic

I could have called this Abyss but The Depths sounds much friendlier. The word Abyss seems to imply a one-way trip, not the invitation to adventure in turquoise waters that I am trying to portray.  

Coconut Palm, 6x6 Oil on Canvas

I can see this palm over our backyard fence. I painted it before in my painting, "Palm Before the Storm." I like to catch it in different light. Yesterday was so blistering hot and sunny and these clouds were building near the ground. They had that "just watch what I'm going to do later" look about them. Sure enough, we had a much-needed good ole frog-strangler in late afternoon, so I was glad I got the palm in  bright sunlight while I had the chance.

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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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