Red Tanager, 8x10 Original Oil Painting

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Not much to tell, was just in the mood to paint a little bird.

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Beach Memory, Original Oil Painting Tropical Island Scene

 $145

This photo reminds me of time spent on Elbow Cay in the Abacos Islands. No cars are allowed, and my daughter and I explored every square inch of the island. We even found an abandoned hotel. There were so many flowers blooming brilliantly in the little main street in town that my daughter called it Electric Avenue.

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But Cereusly, Original Oil Painting on Panel 8x8 Flower Art

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I have called these flowers Dragonflower, Cereus, Night-Blooming Cereus, and I still am not sure of the proper name. I welcome any enlightenment anyone can give me. All I know is, it's very hard to catch it blooming, and I was happy to get a good picture of it.

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Florida Vista, 8x6 Original Oil Painting Landscape

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I always enjoy seeing a bright strip of sunlight streaking dramatically across a scene. This was on the lonely Highway 60 across Florida. Most of Florida is flat as a flitter, whatever a flitter is. The exception is where I grew up, in Polk County. I used to get out of the lake after swimming all day and pedal my bike up a very long hill. Just my luck to have a hill there! 

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Ballerina, 8x10 Figurative Oil Painting on Canvas Panel

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This is a change of pace for me. I love the grace of ballerinas, and I try not to think of how their feet must hurt when they are en pointe. They sacrifice so much for their art and yet make it look like they are floating effortlessly. 

Years ago I copied a Degas painting of ballerinas as an educational exercise (below). Our painting group spent a great deal of time copying the Masters, and it was time well spent. Our grand finale was a collaboration on Klimt's "The Kiss,", which we auctioned off for charity.

Being part of a group of like-minded women artists was the best thing I ever did, and I highly recommend it to any artist, experienced or not. There is always something to be learned from others.

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Brass Bowl, 8x10 Oil on Canvas Panel, Still Life

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The only thing that would make this painting harder would be to add a lemon. You can see the influence of Qiang Huang in this one. If you like a challenge, try painting pewter, glass, brass and fruit in one painting, like this one.

The other day I painted one that was a "scraper." I don't often scrape a painting away, but the one yesterday deserved it. A large part of a still life painting is the actual setup, and I should have known the pot was too bright yellow and the spotlight too far away. The irises were beautiful, but they got scraped too. Darn yellow pot. Not every painting has a happy ending.

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