Near the Shore, 6x6 Oil Painting

The light, color, and movement of the ocean is different every day, and I never tire of walking on the beach and studying it. I used to live in the Azores, where people would sit by a wall and just stare out at the sea. I thought they were dreaming of escaping their small island and going somewhere else, but maybe they were just doing what I do--watching the ocean.

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Aquamarine, 7x5 Acrylic on Canvas

I like color, can you tell? Vivid, deep, inviting color. Painting these abstracts is an adventure, and I look forward to trying different color combinations.

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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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Night Flight, 6x6 Acrylic on Canvas Panel

There's a lot going on here, but it all suggests flight to me. I am really enjoying doing these abstracts, it is so freeing and creative. It's like a dance with paint.

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Ready For My Closeup, 24x30 Oil on Canvas

This painting is currently displayed in the Pieces of 8 art exhibit at the King Center for the Performing Arts in Melbourne, Florida. Our exhibit is called "Black and White and Red All Over" and features all different media and quite a variety of styles. This painting comes with a story, and the story just keeps growing.

This is my dad's cousin Florence Chumbecos, who was a chorus girl on Broadway. I had a couple of her publicity shots but didn't know her last name. My cousin Vicki, who lives in Virginia, discovered our side of the family a couple weeks ago. She never knew we existed, and we have been solving genealogical mysteries via emails to each other. Neither of us knew Florence's last name, but Vicki found it through some detective work, and she found an article written by Florence about dancing with Fred Astaire. It was just like the movies: the lead dancer got sick, Florence filled in and danced in the role for a year. Mr. Astaire was just like you'd think--the nicest of men. Here is the article: http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/23388711

Vicki found this picture of Florence on eBay and bought it. Next we want to know when and where she died.

Stormy Deep, 6x6 Abstract

I've stepped way outside my comfort zone to do this one, and I'm so excited about it that I'm going to do more. The first thing I thought of was deep water in a storm off Bermuda, where I used to live. What a contrast to the misty grey scene I photographed at our beach in Florida the other day. It was beautiful in its own way too.

I'm happy to announce that I won Best of Show in the Contemporary Fine Art International show (www.cfai.co), "Summer Fun" for my painting Leap of Faith.

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Cyberspace, 5x7 Abstract Acrylic Painting

To Purchase

This is poured acrylic over stamped gold gesso, and the title is a nod to the internet, because of the most amazing coincidence this week. In our painting group, when it's someone's birthday, that person brings the cake. This keeps it simple. This week I brought a pineapple upside-down cake for my birthday (more about that later), and Carol Schiff gave me a birthday card that I immediately recognized as being made by my niece, Marta Pelrine-Bacon. Carol's cousin bought a set of the cards on the internet and sent them to Carol, who gave me one for my birthday, having no idea I was related to the artist who made the card. What are the odds?

I wrote to my niece, who has had serious health problems lately, and saw that she was having a big craving the same day for pineapple upside-down cake!  Again, what are the odds?
Here is the very cute card:

 Link to Card

Seven Palms, 6x6 Oil on Canvas

This is Satellite Beach, Florida, on a beautiful sunny day. The weather turned interesting later on, a real frog-strangler. We needed the rain, so I don't complain

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Artists Studios Online Tour and Giveaways - A Blog Carnival

Go Behind the Studio Door and see where real artists work!

Today a group of painters are inviting you in, to visit their studios and see where the action takes place. If you are an artist, you may even get some good ideas from seeing other painters' studios. Some artists have giveaways or special prices. Check them out:

Marla Laubisch	Carol Schiff	Kaethe Bealer	Jo MacKenzie
Michael Chamberlain	Charleen Martin	Sally Binard	Jacklyn Karabaich
Sharon Graves	Sea Dean	Johnna Schelling	Taryn Day
Julie Ford Oliver	Sarah Sedwick	Kim Rempel	Cindy Michaud
Joanne Grant	Carmen Beecher	Cindy Williams	Cathy Engberg

My Studio:

I painted a floorcloth to protect the carpet

I happily paint in this room, which has plenty of north light. My husband built the taboret on which I set my iPad.  I paint from photos on the iPad while listening to music on Pandora Radio. Shelves are mounted on the walls and I let my daily paintings dry there before varnishing.

I looked at this photo and decided it was time to remove some of the containers taking up space on my palette.

After paintings are varnished they move into this room, an extension of my studio. My husband built the map cabinet, and the frame and painting storage next to it. On the map cabinet is the entry Cindy Michaud and I built for the online Mystery Build Contest. It's Moby Dick, and the whole scene is spilling out of a book.

This is where I do my packing and shipping. Underneath is storage for small paintings.

So many paintings, so little time...

Carmen Beecher

Creek Flowers, 6x6 Oil on Canvas Board

Robert Genn wrote in his blog PainterKeys.com about challenging students to paint a landscape in either 37 minutes or 37 strokes. I tried both, and above is the one I painted in 37 minutes. This was a fantastic exercise for loosening up, thinking more simply, and as the master Qiang Huang says, painting mindfully. I am pleased with the result.  

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Below is the one I first painted in 37 strokes, and that just didn't work. That is very few strokes; the trees used up 14 strokes. When I finished it looked like a first-grader did it, so I went on and noodled around with it a bit until it resembled something. It is the same scene I painted in my previous post dated June 19, with a lot more strokes. Next time I try this I'll make it a simpler landscape. I'm not thrilled with this one, but I'm not giving up. It's also good practice for painting greens, and who doesn't need that?