20-Minute Postcard Oil Paintings

This 20-minute rooster is on an actual canvas postcard, ready to address on the back, stamp and drop in the mail.

This is another postcard done in 20 minutes. This is a nasturtium planted by my daughter when she was here.

As soon as they dry, they are ready to mail.

Carmen

Black Grapes, Still Life 8x10 Original Oil Painting

Purchase $125

Sometimes I just have the best time painting. I had a canvas that was painted green from a painting I considered a "scraper" (which is a nice word for a disappointing painting). I did a 20-minute still life and got a little of the background filled in when the timer went off. I liked this well enough to finish it. Here is the stage I reached in twenty minutes:

What an ugly green color. It needed obliterating. 

Carmen

 

Florida Surf Scene, 8x10 Oil Painting on Canvas

Purchase

 As mentioned in my previous post, Mary Gilkerson's Art+Work+Living.com web page periodically has a five-day challenge to do a painting in 20 minutes. This is such a good exercise, especially for daily painters. I stuck to the time limit to produce this ocean scene. The horizontal dark lines were exactly as depicted.

Carmen

Exercise in Art, 20 Minute Painting, Wildlife Refuge

Inspired by Mary Gilkerson's 20-minute challenge, I did this 8x10 oil on canvas in 20 minutes. This is a great exercise in "loosening up," though it is very nerve-wracking. What is supposed to loosen me up tenses me up.

I went back and refined the painting, with the following result. 

Next time I will do 20 minutes, then leave it as is. You don't know how hard that is, unless you're an artist.

Carmen

 

Summer Storm, Pasture Landscape Small Original Oil Painting 10x8

$155

 

If you cross Highway 60 in Central Florida you will often see a scene like this, with dark storm clouds approaching and sun on the pasture in the foreground. I love this kind of light. This scene reminds me of my childhood in "Old Florida". 

Carmen

Italian Girl With Flowers, 11x14 Oil on Canvas, after Sorolla

Sold

I've had no time for painting this week, so I am posting a throwback to 2008, when our painting group, Pieces of Eight, decided to copy Impressionist masters as a learning exercise. I love Sorolla, so I copied one of my favorites, with the above result. Below is the original by Sorolla.

I also copied John Singer Sargent, the master portrait artist. The best thing I've ever done is team up with seven women with the same passion for painting that I have. It has been such an enriching experience in so many ways, and I have learned so much.

Carmen

Misty Horizon, 11x14 Florida Seascape

 

Buy on Etsy

This was early morning looking toward Cape Canaveral, which is hidden in mist. The receding tide left a dark contrast to the blue of the water. It's something different every day when you walk by the ocean.

Carmen

Marie Antoinette's Hamlet, 5x7 Pen and Ink Drawing

Marie Antoinette had an entire little hamlet built for her own entertainment, and there she played at being a shepherdess. The buildings are well-preserved and the landscaping is fit for a queen, you might say. All of this is on the grounds of Versailles.

Carmen
 

Spring Island, 10x8 Original Oil Painting

 I have fond memories of the Pieces of Eight artists' trip to Spring Island, North Carolina. We painted en plein aire on two islands, and one morning we were so inspired by the light that we painted the scene from our porch while still in our pajamas. I hope that, post-pandemic (will there ever be a post-pandemic?) we will be able to go on an artists' retreat again.

Carmen

Selby Gardens, Pen and Ink Drawing

 My sister and I visited Selby Gardens in Sarasota and were amazed by the Orchid display (see below). It had a circus theme, if you can imagine that. I also love the huge trees with their gnarled roots. I have a thing for roots, but drawing them is like doing a puzzle. 

Carmen