Sketch of Girl, 11x14, Oil on Canvas

This is a quicky-quick sketch of a girl that I did to practice my drawing skills. I need to do more of that. If you can draw a person you can draw anything. I don't know if there's another profession that is a lifelong learning experience like art. It seems that there is a continual striving for perfection. Maybe that's why the dreams I have while sleeping are always about trying to get somewhere and never getting there. I used to dream about flying, but I never flew outdoors. I revealed this once in a psychology class discussion about dreams of flying and the professor said, "See me after class." He just didn't get how much fun it is to hover near the ceiling.

Carmen

Northwest Sundown, 6x6 Oil on Canvas, Farmland at Sunset

$99, Buy Now

After a perfect day with my family in Washington state we were returning home and saw this lovely sunset. Here in Florida the sunrises and sunsets are magnificent, but the Northwest has some good ones too. 

And here's something we don't have in Florida--this is the view behind my sister's house of the magnificent Mt. Rainier.

Carmen

Teacup, 6x6 Oil Painting on Stretched Canvas, Tea Party Kitchen Decor

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This little teacup represents a happy memory at a tea party in a cute little teahouse in Washington state. I miss my Pacific Northwestern relatives, but it is such a long way from Florida. There is so much out there that is exciting to see: big mountains, big trees, big rocks (I happen to love rocks). The towns are adorned by big baskets of flowers hanging from poles. It's a beautiful place.

Carmen

Beach People, 10x8 Oil on Canvas Panel, Seascape Daily Painting

$125, Click to Purchase

As I am writing this it's pouring outside. I hardly know what is left to say about a sunny beach, I have posted so many, so I'll just say I'm glad to see the rain. I am growing Purple Hull Peas, and I know no one north of the Mason-Dixon line knows what I'm talking about. They are the most delicious vegetable one could ever put in one's mouth; they are the Ambrosia of the vegetable world. Though tedious to shell, they are worth it. What could be better than shelling Purple Hulls while watching Last Tango in Halifax? Of course this assumes that I successfully raise a crop. Flowers come easily to me, but vegetables--not so much. We'll see. 

Carmen

Rooster Collage, 8x10 Collage on Wood Panel

$55, Purchase Here

The Pieces of 8 painting group was challenged by Donna Vines to do collage, and she showed up with a massive amount of beautiful papers for us to use. This was really a fun project, and I love the way the black paper, which had many fibers in it, created fuzzy edges when torn. It gives the bird a feathery look. I guess you'd call this "Barnyard Chic."

Carmen

Light of Dawn II, 7x5 Small Seascape Oil Painting, Sunrise Over Ocean

$89, Purchase Here

It's amazing how you can cross busy Highway A1A and leave the chaos behind just by walking on the crossover to the beach. It's like a curtain comes down behind you and you are in a new world. It's peaceful (usually), and there are waves, and birds, and beautiful light. I get the same feeling when I walk from a busy road into the woods. It is so quiet and peaceful. We are so used to noise in our daily lives that we don't even realize how jarring it really is.

Carmen

Alaska!, 20x16 Oil on Canvas, Landscape Painting

$325, Click to Purchase

This is a much-photographed scene in Alaska, and since it was July, I got to see Fireweed everywhere. They are the spiky blooms in the foreground. My cousins took us all over Alaska in an RV one summer, and I can only say it is an astonishing place. It's a good thing I took a sleep mask, because it was daylight at midnight. It's so weird to go to bed when it's still daytime outside. In spite of that and the rough winters, there is a lot to love about Alaska.

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Broken, 16x20 Oil on Canvas Portrait

This painting has been on exhibit in the Fifth Avenue Art Gallery's "Word" show this month. Artists were given three words to be possible titles for a painting. I picked "Broken" and painted this homeless man. He looks like he has been broken by life; maybe by addiction, or foreclosure, or even an illness that bankrupted him. He has a sad story that is written on his face.

Patrons visiting the gallery opening were given the list of words to see how many they could match to a painting. A very clever idea, isn't it?

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Pacific Northwest, 5x8 Watercolor Journal

We've been in the Seattle area visiting relatives and friends, and I recorded various events in my sketch journal. What a handy dandy thing that is. When I can't remember what year or month I did something, I find it in my journal, along with happy memories. First we were in Sequim (pronounced "Squim"), where lavender farms are everywhere, with my cousins, Bill and Louise.

Hap and I in the Big Chair at a lavender farm. 

Opera music plays in the Sequim rest rooms. They appropriately played a selection from "Carmen" when I walked in. What a wonderful small town with a great community spirit and an appreciation for every shade of purple.

Carmen

Beach Chair, 10x8 Oil on Canvas Panel Seascape

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I know there are a lot of stripes in this painting: the clouds, the ocean, the surf, the beach--even the chair has stripes in it. There really isn't much you can do about it, that's the way it looked. I decided to just go with it. There was more seaweed than I'm showing, but it didn't look too pretty. The Sargasso Sea is a large mass of floating seaweed and when it drifts to our beaches, it helps anchor the sand and it provides food for small creatures. When you see a brown tangled mass on the beach, don't complain about it, just thank it.

Carmen