A trip to Amenia

"Approaching Autumn, Wethersfield New York"

8" x 10" Oil on Wood

After this hot October, of all the days to suddenly cool down, it had to be the first day

of my plein aire painting workshop with Andrew Lattimore.

I f r o z e. My hands were shaking. It was Mohonk all over again, Lavinia!

Anyway, I'm happy with the result. 

Wethersfield is a dream place to paint, and I have 3 more days to work there!

October 2 - "Stillness, Croton Reservoir"

"Stillness, Croton Reservoir"

10" x 5," Oil on Wood

The water was glass smooth and the reflection of the clouds were stunning

and seemed a bit unreal.

October 1 - final collage

Final Collage of Paintings

done in Leslie Saeta's 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge,

September 2017

This has definitely been a learning process

and I look forward to painting more for my December show!

The October exhibit with Lavinia Wiggins and Peg Taylor is up

and we open next week.

Many thanks for following and for your wonderful comments!

October 1 - "Sauvie Island Approaching Sunset"

"Sauvie Island Approaching Sunset"

10" x 5," Oil on Wood

I went to this quality lumberyard named Condon in White Plains

and said I wanted hardwood faced plywood. Yes, maple's good.

Well, you have to buy a 4 foot x 8 foot sheet. That's fine, but I need it cut up

like this: 8x10's, 5x7's 6x8's 5x10's etc. Inches, that is. In other words, a million cuts.

Guess what? they did it. but I gave the guy a good tip.

Day 30 - "Slice"

"Slice"

4" x 4," Oil on canvas

Painting this little guy was like walking a tightrope.

Every stroke was so precious. I'm very happy with it -

happy I finished without falling!

Thrilled but sad thirty paintings in thirty days is over.

The best part is going to the studio daily and getting a painting done,

no interruptions please. But it will be nice as I told my friend,

not to schedule every ten minutes of my life.

Day 29 - "Lemon Half and a Slice"

"Lemon Half and a Slice"

8" x 6" Oil on Wood

I just saw something that needs fixing, the highlight on the cloth on the

fold closest to the right. I'll update this post when I add it, but it probably won't be 

til after the show at he library..

3 people, 30 works each. I asked Lavinia did they know they 

we're getting 90 pieces - the max is supposed to be 60. 

She said "probably." So imperturbable.

If you're reading this from halfway round the world (Laurelle for example!)

hope we can meet sometime. But if you're closer, stop in at the opening.

Mahopac Library, Sunday Oct. 8, 2-4 pm.

Bad picture but fixed the fold!

Day 28 - "Seagull"

 

"Seagull"

8" x 8," Oil on Masonite

I painted this guy in the morning before work.

 So it was a bit of a rush but sometimes that's good.

Focus is intense, details are not fussed over and surprises happen.

Like all that yellow on the left, but I think it works!

Day 27 - "San Juan Lighthouse"

"San Juan Lighthouse"

12" x 9" Oil on Canvas

My husband was cycling with his brother and sister-in-law

up in the San Juan Islands and shot this picture for me.

Day 26 "Pomegranates on the Tree"

"Pomegranates on the Tree"

8" x 6" Oil on Canvas

Talk about complementary colors.

Normally I'd shy away from a red-green composition,

but this doesn't bother me too much. Maybe because there is a lot of 

bright pink and blue green

I'm to deliver these 30 paintings to Mahopac Library

in 3 days, framed, labeled and well, finished. Yikes!

Day 25 - "Pears," finished

"Pears," finished

8" x 6," Oil on Wood

These were posted earlier on June 15 but I was unhappy with them. The background 

was brown but it needed to be cooler and darker. Check.

Also there was something wrong about the highlights.

Much happier now!

Day 24 "Venice" finished

"Venice "

8" x 6," Oil on Wood

So it's day 24, twenty four pieces in a row.

I feel tired, but also that I grow as a painter by working daily.

There is flow...what I think about one day is fresh on the next. More importantly, 

I think less and paint more...which brings me to new places than I've been before.

Process takes over and rumination fades away.

Day 23 - "Portrait of a Pear"

"Portrait of a Pear"

6" x 8" Oil on Canvas

Again I am grateful to the photographers at

morguefile.com. They are creative and generous with their work.

This pear is so beautiful a painter doesn't just do a still life,

they do a portrait!

Day 22 - "Farm in Provence"

"Farm in Provence"

8" x 6" Oil on Canvas

This is a study I did for a larger painting,

but it needed some touching up.

I just read "Lisette's List" a novel that takes place in southern France

and it's easy to fall in love with the beauty there. 

And check out Julian Merrow-Smith, an Englishman who

lives and paints there. You will fall in love with his work!

Purchase

Day 21 - "Spots"

"Spots"

6" x 8" Oil on Canvas

I painted this bird last January but 

it was too wet to put on the spots.

I love how they're highlighted by a lighter color, 

it makes them almost dimensional.

I never fail to be amazed at the richness of nature.

Day 20 - "Octopus Vase Finished"

"Octopus Vase Finished"

6" x 6," Oil on Wood

I saw this vase in a museum and fell in love with it.

Of course I kept no record so I have no idea who, where or when.

My vote goes with some Greek Island in the seventh century.

Of course it could be contemporary! 

Anyway my way of absorbing it is to paint it.

I like thinking about the anonymous artist who designed the octopus.

Day 19 "Lemon Quarters"

"Lemon Quarters"

7" x 5" Oil on Canvas 

I am really getting into how lemons are backlit from outside my kitchen window.

It's a painter-thing most people don't notice.

: )

Hmm..wondering if it's okay to use sideway smiley things on a blog!

Day 18 - "Zinnias from the Garden"

  "Zinnias from the Garden"

6" x 8" - Oil on Canvas

I've done zinnias a handful of times but I'm happier 

with these. I do think I'll darken the background later and will repost.

I'm having a show with Lavinia Wiggins and Peg Taylor,

both of whom are taking on this challenge. 

So this means on September 30th I am to deliver 30 framed and catalogued

pieces. Paint faster! Today I framed 11 paintings.

"Goose Off-Balance," 8" x 10"

Oil on Canvas

I should live in the country, I love animals! Check out Ginny Butcher's amazing cow

portraits, they are so beautiful. A highlight of my childhood was spending several weeks a year

on my dear aunt's farm. I remember there was this one awful cow I was afraid of...

until I found out she was the friendliest and just wanted a good scratching.

Click to Buy

Day 16 "Lemon and Slices"

"Lemon and Slices," 8" x 6"

Oil on Canvas

It's Saturday and I finished painting this morning wishing in time to make it to yoga

but that didn't happen. It was worth it though, I'll excercise later.

For now it's a beautiful day and I'llbrainy again later!

Day 15, finally halfway! - Bird"

"Bird," 6" x 6"

Oil on Board

I don't know what kind of bird this is...well, I just did a search and it has to be a

red-bellied woodpecker. Thanks google! I got the photo from morguefile.com.

I love that site.

Day 14 - "Sliced Lemon in Light"

"Sliced Lemon in Light"

7" x 5," Oil on Canvas

So this painting was looking dead and until I 

realized there needed to be more light and reflection

on the cut plane. Now I'm very happy with it!

Day 13 "House on the Hudson, Peekskill, NY"

"House on the Hudson, Peekskill, NY"

 10" x 8"

Oil on Canvas

  

I've said this before, I love houses with water behind them. They just seem so peaceful.

I'm lucky to live by the Hudson River so I see a lot of beautiful water views.

If the light is right I stop and take a picture.

Day 12 - "Six Eggs in a Deco Bowl"

"Six Eggs in a Deco Bowl"

8" x 10," oil on canvas.

Painting one egg is hard because they're just so darn perfect. 

Why did I paint six?? but they turned out fine.

So did the bowl with its in and out rim. I bought it at a tag sale in Peekskill from a warehouse

that stores stuff to rent to filmmakers. Maybe this bowl was in an Oscar winning movie!

Guess Art Deco bowls aren't in demand by set designers anymore.

Day 11 - "Lemon on a French Dishcloth"

"Lemon on a French Dishcloth"

6" x 6," oil on board

 I painted first thing this morning, before breakfast. 

I always think that's a great time to work, but it doesn't happen often!

Eggs are next, but more lemons are soon to come.

Day 10, "Lemons & a Slice"

"Lemon & a Slice," 8" x 6"

I'm not done with lemons yet.

This is such a small painting and yet so intricate - it was like putting together

a jigsaw puzzle - still, I wanted to keep it simple.

Funny when finished painting for the day, I look at everything in paint.

 My black cat Maxi just jumped on my lap, and I saw the highlights 

on his fur as light gray paint strokes!

Day 8 - "Seagull"

"Seagull," 8" x 8"

Oil on Masonite

Well, here he is. Birds are so cute. Until you paint them. Then their  eyes get beady, 

and their weird bony skulls look more like velociraptors then anything 

you'd want as a pet. But they are beautiful wonderful creatures. 

This guy looks a little on the small side, maybe he's a juvenile.

Day 7...already? "Seagull"

"Seagull," - underpainting  8" x 8"

Oil on Masonite

So this is my post, it's not finished.

But there is often something magical about an underpainting.

Maybe it's something to do with the edges. The best finished paintings have the muscularity 

of nice thick paint with the gorgeous sensitivity of a thin wash.

Day six - "The Shell, III"

"The Shell, III"

6" x 8" Oil on Canvas

This will probably be my last painting of this shell for now.

I wanted a dark background for the drama, especially to highlight

the gorgeous white edge of the cavernous entrance to this creature's domicile.

I'm sure that the creators of the film "Alien" got some of their inspiration 

from shells, a movie that my husband still has scars on his hand from when I scratched

him in mortal terror.   or so he says ;)

"Shell II," 6" x 6"

Oil on Wood

I decided to paint this again, I love when I do that! I'm usually happier

the second time though not always, and it's interesting

how different they often are. This one's looser and I'm looking

more at the way he light falls rather than the idea of a shell.

Shell

"Shell," 8" x 6" 

Oil on canvas

This shell is kind of sinewy and organic. What a mystery it is

that a slug-like creature constructs this strange, protective abode.

Home Sweet Home!