Painting Retreat

"Lilies"

6x6 watercolor
$100

I am off for a week of painting with a stellar group of fun ladies on the rocky coast of Maine. One week of focusing only on my art is exactly what I need at this time.
I did this watercolor in Naples a few months ago. In my quest for abstraction, what better subject than lily pads?  
I'll be posting more of these studies which never made the blog this winter and you can look forward to some paintings of beautiful, soulful Maine!

DPW Judge's Pick and a Ramble

Jackson and Reagan

12x12 oil on panel

commission ~ SOLD

Out of 107 entries, I am one of the Judge's Picks in the December 2014,  DPW Monthly painting contest! Such an honor. This painting of Jackson and Reagan was a commission for a dog lover friend of mine. Check out the winners here.

Also, my class at Von Liebig will be on FRIDAY, not THURSDAY as I have previously posted. Check it out here.

Don and the girls and I arrived in Naples, Florida late yesterday afternoon. The good news is that everyone lived, but we were all very tired ;) 

Stay tuned for my cat challenge paintings.

 my Auntie's cat, Cleo

 

Morning Glories

"Morning Glories"

6x12 watercolor

My second painting in Leslie Saeta's 30 in 30 challenge is this tower of morning glories which I grow on trellises inside ceramic pots on my deck. The 'heavenly blue' shade of these flowers is almost impossible to paint, but I tried. I so love sitting on my deck painting these gorgeous flowers! This has been a perfect summer and I hope this is a trend in the weather.

Collage Workshop

Cigar Box Decoupage

I had great fun bringing out my 'inner' abstract artist at a weekend collage workshop at the Art Complex Museum a week ago. I love cutting and pasting and gluing and I 'arted' up this cigar box with a torn map and buttons a la Sally Dean. She's the education coordinator at the ACM and was also a participant. Of course, we were incorrigible ;)

Inside, I put a photo of my niece Chrissie and I, taken in one of those photo booths, at Paragon Park, way back in the day. 

She's an artsy girl herself and I'm giving it to her. She will love it!

Cigar Box Interior

One of my brothers did the rabbit ears thing :D

Try This at Home

"Old Glory"

6x6 oil on panel

I am on what's known as a 'stay-cation'. There is no place I'd rather be than home during the summer, and this particular summer is one of the best ones, weather wise, that we've seen in a while. 

YES! Perfect New England summer!

I've been spending my days on our deck under a shady umbrella, painting. First up were my mother's little garden gnomes who live with me now. She loved for me to refresh them for her and of course they had a lot more panache after a meeting with me and my brush.

But, our sweet little shed, the purple trim painted by my husband, has been calling to me and yesterday I answered the call. Actually, the flag is my favorite part.

Mama's Garden Gnomes in progress

Perfect Pair

"Perfect Pair"

3x5 watercolor on arches 140

More watercolor sketches of my back yard birds. I am really enjoying the winter here at home. 

Cardinals in the Snow

"The Missus"

watercolor on arches hot press

It's my thing to see more color than may actually be there, when I paint and although this female Cardinal is looking a bit tropical, I really see these colors in her.  The male's incredible scarlet color is arresting but the beautiful golden feathers of the female are complimented by dusky purple grays and rusty maroon tail feathers. She really sparkles. 

I'm loving watching all these birds in the snow.

Shark Tank

"Shark Tank"

6"x12" oil on panel

I'm really happy with this one :) I love the colors and the movement. Yup, I do.

Drive By #4

Drive By #4 5x5 oil on panel

* I am currently unable to create PayPal buttons. All of my available paintings are in my DPW gallery

Somewhere along the Jersey 'Pike heading North. You know I love industrial scenes and there are plenty of them along there. Railroad tracks and bridges. Again, I had to invent color because the photo is quite monochromatic and I removed some phone poles that were in the foreground after deciding that they added nothing to the composition.
Check out 30 Paintings in 30 Days to see the rest of the work. 

Parrsboro

View over Five Islands

We didn't realize how much we needed this vacation but it's been a beautiful week! We packed up the car and the cats and took off Sunday morning arriving in Parrsboro around 7:30 PM in a hard rain. I awoke Monday morning to the sound of pouring rain outside my window which meant..... sleep some more ;)  Needed that. We read all day while we listened to the rain and watched the tide come in. Bliss. 
Tuesday dawned clear and sunny and the weather has been great every day since. Yesterday, we drove from Parrsboro up through Pugwash and along the Northumberland shore to Pictou and back down through Truro and home again. 238 miles. As always, Don has to stop or turn around or back up so I can take yet, another picture, which he cheerfully does. He now brings his book with him to pass the time. I plan to paint tomorrow and post something by Saturday. 
We're heading home Sunday, relaxed and refreshed and ready to work.