Not Made For Walking

Not Made For Walking
8 x 10
Oil on Canvas
SOLD

These boots weren't made for walking in all day but in reality they are surprisingly comfortable. I bought them in a small village in Tuscany at the urging of a friend who insisted I go into the shoe store. I resisted thinking I had more shoes than I needed but finally gave in. I walked in and there they were right in front of me in all their supple, leathery, luxurious smelling glory. There was no doubt that they were coming home with me. I might just do a big painting of these.

This was another great exercise in painting quickly and decisively. It does me good to do this.

Summer's End

Fern Study
8 x 10
Oil on Canvas
SOLD


Tipsy
9 x 12
Oil on Canvas

Fern Study was done on the porch in the shade on a blistering hot 31 degree day. This quick study had an imposed time limit in which I had to be selective about what items would be in the background and foreground and how much of the fern I would actually paint. A fantastic exercise in being decisive. Painting loosely like this isn't about being messy or careless with the brush it's as much about control and careful planning as is a tighter painting.

Tipsy was painted in the studio but with no time limit. Careful planning was also done here to create a fun shape which the pear provided with it's elongated body. Playing on that shape with the tilted Chinese teacups made this whimsical piece great fun to do.

Summer is pretty much over and fall is on our doorsteps. The task of cleaning up the garden and putting the plants to bed is about to start. I wonder what fall views will inspire new paintings this September?

Thanks for all your wonderfully encouraging comments over the past year. It's so rewarding to hear that people, are indeed, touched by art.

Artists on Rails

Morning Plums
5 x 7
Oil on Canvas
SOLD


Morning Pear
5 x 7
Oil on Canvas
SOLD

The dog days of summer are here and a somnolence has set in making me feel like lazing in the hammock on the shady porch doing nothing but read and listen to the bees buzz and bump around in the flowers, however, I have weeds to battle, paintings to paint and fun projects to do.

Three days were spent as a visiting artist on the Artists on Rails tour going to Jasper, Alberta in the Canadian Rockies. I was invited to participate in this project which is to provide tourists with some of the culture of Alberta as they travel through the province. Painting and visiting with the guests on the train as we travelled to Jasper on Via Rail was a fabulous experience.

Above are two of the paintings from the Early Morning series which were part of my display on the train.

Early Morning Paintings

Pucker Up
5 x 7
Oil on Canvas
Sold


Morning Tomatoes
5 x 7
Oil on Canvas

These two little paintings are part of my Early Morning series that I started this April. I began a series of small paintings with natural morning light and artificial light. I prefer the natural light but it doesn't always cooperate. For one thing the sun only peeks through that window for an hour at the most. To make things really interesting the shifting morning clouds makes the light vary dramatically moment to moment with sunlight one minute and cloud the next. After some frustrating days with inconsistent light I started to experiment with artificial light and I'm not quite sure if I like it. At least it stays still.