Two Pears

12x12 Oil on canvas

Carnations

 I bought these carnations and the vase came from friend. I placed the setup on glass to get my reflection.

16x20 Oil on masonite panel.

Water Lily

Water lilies grow in the Mississippi around here. I took  a photo of this painting using morning light that picks up the high brushstrokes on the painting.

6x6 Oil on Raymar panel

Geode Creek no3

SOLD

On this one I am trying to give the feeling of rocks under the water.

6x6 oil on Raymar panel.

Three Cows

This reference photo is what prompted me to paint these cows. I still needed to edit the photo. I selected the three cows on the left and took out the partial cow on the end and changed the background. In the painting the cow on the upper right pulls you into the painting, then the shadow from the cow below moves the eye around to the heads of the other two with the shadow from the cow on the far left to pull you back up to the top cow.

 6x6 inch oil on Raymar panel $50 Buy

Swan no.5

SOLD

This is second take on a previous subject. I wanted to limit my pallette to quinacridone red, yellow ochre and ultrmarine blue. Using the same subject frees me up to concentrate on the colors. White as a subject matter is also a great way to work with colors

6x6 inch oil on Raymar panel.

Under the Bridge

I had a hard time trying to give this painting depth. The light on the right side on the bridge seemed to be too warm. I finally added a warm orange to the front right and the sparkling water effect on the left front with sharp edges.

Tree Line

This is a pastel from a year ago. With pastel I am more inclined to use brighter colors. That is what I like best about pastels.

19x24 Pastel

Geode Creek no2

This is another view of the creek in Geode State Park. The use of diagonal lines in a painting give it movement, if I wanted calm I would make perfectly horizontal planes. The water appeared yellowish in the foreground from the bottom of the creek this helps give this painting depth with the warmer yellow.

Oil on Raymar panel. 6x6 $50 +$8.00 S&H

Magnolia no.5

This is a 1x1 inch painting that I will mat with a 9x9 mat. Painting this size challenges you on the composition. If it will stand out the compostion is strong.

Since I needed to brush up on my watercolor painting skills for a class I may have a few more painting like this.

Stacy

I did a little watercolor painting today. Time was short as I was busy matting and framing. I put masking tape around the outside and remove it after the painting is finished. This leaves another border so one mat will look nice. This also helps me to compose the painting with boundaries. 

Watercolor on 150 lb. cold pressed paper. 5x5 inch

Water Lily

Midwest Landscape Illinois

SOLD

6x6 Oil on Raymar panel. This was during harvest season.

6x6 Oil on Raymar panel. $50

Magnolia no. 4

This is still from a photo but as soon as the magnolias are out maybe a couple of weeks I will post a plein air painting.

6x6 Oil on Raymar panel. $50

Drill Team

I have painted the whole marching band before. My daughter's school was having a fundraiser and I procrastinated about what to give. The Wednesday before the event I started a watercolor painting of the band. I finished painting, framed and matted it at 10pm that Saturday night before the Sunday auction. A total of 30 band members. I don't think I could ever do that again.

6x6 Oil on Raymar panel.

Tulip Garden

SOLD

These are from a photo I took last year. I don't know whose garden it is because I will go around town taking pictures of what ever looks interesting. Every year the local art center has a garden tour as a fund raiser and I volunteer my plein air painting skills at a garden which gives me the opportunity to take pictures. I have several photos from those events that I use for reference.

Spring Tulips

6x6 Oil on Gessoed Clayboard. $75 Buy

Waiting for Spring

This is another Dailypaintworks Challenge. http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Challenges 

I needed to brush up on my watercolor because I am teaching an art class. This is my second attempt as I believe that my first was just a warm up.

Watercolor on paper. 9 x 7.5 $45

Liberty Horse no.7

This is a combination of several previous paintings.

Liberty Horse no. 6

I edited the original photo is this painting. The horse on the right did not hold his head up like that. I just wanted some variety to the composition, because two identical horses would be boring.

6x6 Oil on gessoed clayboard. $100 Buy

Liberty Horse no.5 Arena Entrance

 This is another in my series of Liberty Horses. Above is the first painting and below is the rework.

Sometimes I will look at a painting an it just doesn't work. I remember the first time I saw an artist's demo, he had an exhibit of wonderful paintings, but the demo was not up to the standard of the artwork displayed. That is when I realized he didn't always keep everything. I still reject or rework paintings. This is one of them. I did not base this painting exactly on the photo but used it for reference and I did not do a thumbnail sketch or color study. After studyng it I decided it would work as the horses entering the arena. Most of these 6x6s are warm ups before I start a larger piece. I still want a successful finished piece.

6x6 Oil on Gessoed Clayboard.

Liberty Horse no. 4

Another Liberty Horse painting, I will paint the same subject until I find something else that interests me. When I took the photo of this painting it was outside and the sun was low so you can see the brushstrokes.

6x6 oil on gessoed clayboard. $100 buy

Liberty Horse no. 3

When my children were little we would go to the local circus. The year that Gunther Gebel-Williams was making his last tour we bought tickets for the circus in Des Moines. This was based on the pictures I took of the liberty horses. They are so called because 'Liberty' horses perform at liberty, without any harness or even touch from the human. He or she directs the horses by signalling, usually with two whips which never touch the animals.

6x6 inch oil on gessoed clayboard.

Winter Anywhere

This scene could be anywhere. I remember advice I received from the late Wendell Mohr who said to tell the customer when they ask, "Where is this at?" say, "It's anywhere you want it to be." I sort of took his advice on another occasion, a collector stopped by my booth at an art fair looking at a farm scene and asked, "Where is this at?" Without thinking I said, "It's in Illinois." He replied that he only collects Iowa scenes. My reply was, " I think the cows came from Iowa." He laughed and bought the painting. 

6x6 inch oil on Gessoed Clayboard. $50 Buy

I know I signed up to follow some blogs but haven't had time to figure out where my shortcut to these are or how to list them. I am hoping to get that list on this site soon.

Midwest Landscape no.5

I will sometimes stop along the side of the road to take photos of cloud formations but the landscape below will be boring or not work with the clouds. This landscape is a combination of one sky photo with another of the ground.

Oil on masonite.

Pears

So far I have posted new paintings everyday and I do throw in extras from my watercolor past. This one was from a still life I set up yesterday.  I am painting as fast a I can and this is a great experience.

 6x6 inch Oil on gessoed masonite $50 buy

Peonie No. 5

SOLD

This is a subject I come back to often, another ode to Spring.

Oil on Gessoed clayboard. 6x6 inch Sold

Miniature Cat no.9

This is a watercolor I painted a while back. The image size is 1x1 matted to 9x9. This concept started as an art exchange between members of a watercolor group I belonged to. I liked it so much I did several of them. 9x9 is an odd size frame so my husband now makes frames.

Watercolor on Arches 1x1 inch $75 Buy

Geode Creek

I like painting water but rocks are a challenge for me. This is a creek in Geode State Park. I removed a tree from the picture and gave a general ideal of the rocks to make the picture work.

6x6 inch oil on gessoed masonite.

Spring Rabbit no2

SOLD

Sometimes I get so wrapped up in the brushstrokes and color I loose track of the subject. On this rabbit I didn't notice that the left ear was too small until the next day then went back in and painted over it.

6x6 inch oil on canvas attached to masonite board.

Swan no.4

SOLD

The pallette for this painting was pthalo blue, cad. yellow, cad. red and cobalt blue. I am trying to keep the brushstrokes similar to the challenge.

6x6 inch oil on board. Sold

Harey Challenge

I liked the daily paintworks challenge so well I tried it again. This time I got it the first time. Loved this challenge. I think I will try to work more in this style.

6x6 inch oil on gessoed clayboard

Painting Challenge

SOLD with the money donated to help the Japanese people.

This was submittted to the daily paintworks Japanese Relief fundraiser.

This is my entry for the weekly Paintworks challenge:

INSTRUCTIONS: Draw your subject (any) on your canvas/board. Make sure you get everything in just the right place – this is very important for this challenge. Then, with a brush (if you have them use flats or brights – at least ½” wide), mix one color. Put down one stroke on your canvas/board. If it’s wrong, mix a new color and put a new stroke directly over the first. Mix a new color (feel free to adjust the first color, on your palette, to get the second, but make sure to start a new pile when needed). Put down one stroke. Mix a new color. Put down one stroke. You get the idea. Don't worry about edges – your painting SHOULD look sort of like a mosaic when you get done. If you start fussing, no dessert for you tonight!

This forced me to quit before I have gone too far and over worked a painting.
6x6 inch, oil on gessoed Ampersand Board.

Oldie

This is one painted two years ago. If I had been blogging longer I could have posted it then.

Oil on canvas. sold