Turquoise Twosome

I was on a roll last night with these peppers and put them on a light turquoise cloth for this one. Using my slippery new Utrecht #239 Brights felt like ice skating over the surface of the painting. They are synthetic like the ones Kelley gave me. Amazing that I could stop the brush since I coated my panel with Liquin prior to beginning, something I never do. I've always painted with bristle brushes, rarely a sable, ever. It gives a completely different look to the paintings. This one's going up on eBay later with the same starting bid of $60, which reflects my, 'adjusted for recession', prices. I would also like to mention that I once had a subscriber list through FeedBlitz. which no longer responded to my password or emails for some unknown reason, so I ditched it and installed the FeedBurner box to the right for that same purpose. I would so appreciate for all of my visitors to sign up for an email when I post a painting. The more subscribers the more recognition my blog gets in search engine hits. Type in your email address and then verify by clicking the link in the email you'll receive. Thank You! Check out Not Really a Cleaning Lady for a new post about my upcoming Open Studios Liquidation Sale!

Pepper Duo

These peppers stayed remarkably fresh while I went to New Hampshire this past weekend. This time I used a gesso board panel instead of canvas board and some very soft brushes I got at Utrecht. Painting this one felt completely different. Very smooth and slippery. I am also putting up my eBay auction so if you'd like to buy it, click to bid.

Dancing Gourds 4x4

Well, they aren't really dancing but their lacquered surfaces look like they are. After reading An artist lost a sale today, I plan to include a click to bid button on each painting I post for sale and I will post at least 3 paintings a week to eBay for auction, no reserve. It drives me crazy when I can't find the prices on things I want to buy and I won't ask either. You heard it here.

Pepper Party

Click to Bid Who doesn't love these things strictly for their beauty and dazzling array of shapes and colors? Even if you don't eat them. I had fun session today, painting them on such strong background colors(fabulous dishtowels from the $ store). I like this one, actually. I can't say that about every one so, luckily, the beauty really IS in the eye of the beholder.

Joy's Cottage 8x10

This cottage belonged to 3 sisters, one of whom died two summers ago. Her name was Joy and everyone who knew her said her name described her perfectly. I think of her spirit being here when I paint this little cottage. I will mention also, that the photo does not do justice. Like reproductions in art books, the computer monitor doesn't give the depth of seeing the real painting and some works photograph better than others. I need to tweak this just a touch, but for now it's up for all to see.

Parrsboro Red Rocks 6x6 oil

I can only describe this place as ‘magical’. The colors are amazing and since I think my viewers might not believe they are true, I included my reference photo. My friends and I enjoyed a spectacular adventure to Cape d’Or yesterday on a perfect Fall day. It was sunny and warm. We were so overwhelmed by the landscape that we didn’t get to paint. Today is raining so we are painting out the windows.

Cape Blomidon

I am in Parrsboro, Nova Scotia for a week painting with two of my friends. We are staying in the same cottage that my hubby and I visit each summer. This is the first time I've been up here in the Fall and it's just wonderful. This was painted during the mid afternoon when the light was slightly overcast and the water appeared in total glare. I plan to paint it again and again this week.

Loading Dock Oil 8x10

I wanted to keep this painting fresh by not overdoing my paint application. I like an orange underpainting (which was dry) because it really vibrates the sky color. I used a mixture of Ultramarine, Viridian and Alizarin to lay in the dark shapes in one take. For some reason, I have strayed from this mixture and it feels like coming home to use it. It's a very versatile transparent dark and you can lean it towards any of the three colors. By adding white and some orange you get beautiful harmonious grays throughout the painting. I used an appropriate amount of red in my greens to push them back in the frame, and applied my paint stroke by stroke, wiping my brushes in between to keep the color fresh. I was never a one brush painter because some colors just need to be separated, but there is something to be said about limiting brushes to a few to keep the color harmonious. My husband thinks that the building needs some windows on the right side, but I just want to darken it with very carefully placed brushmarks to set it back more. It's too light to be the shadow side of the building. Maybe another stroke on the truck too. What do you think?

Cedgie 8x10 watercolor

This is a little Brussels Griffon doggie named Cedgie who belongs to my friend JoJo.

The Daily News

I did this little watercolor in conjunction with Karin Jurick's Different Strokes from Different Folks blog. Go on over and check it out. See my paintings for sale at Daily Painter's Marketplace.

Loading Dock Watercolor 8x10

Another homage to old factory buildings. I can't help myself. Anyone want to weigh in on the tree shape in the middle? It started as a tree from the foreground and I later realized that it wasn't as logical as I'd like it to be. So I cropped. This is a scene I'll do again when those trees start turning.

The Full Monty

This sweet little cottage colony in Dennisport, Massachusetts, started out as tents in a campground, circa 1940's, and morphed into charming one or two room seasonal cottages. Here I am trying to work the cloudy gray day into a marvelous painting. Didn't happen, but I had fun. The real highlight was meeting Monty the sweet bulldog, whose photo I also posted at Not Really A Cleaning Lady.

The Ocean State

The great thing about New England is that the entire six state region is about 70,000 square miles which is only a bit larger than the State of New York. You can drive to destinations by the ocean or to rivers, lakes, mountains and forests in a matter of hours . It's all here. Yesterday was a picture perfect day to paint in Rhode Island, about an hour South of my home. Tiverton and Little Compton are located along the Sakonnet River. which abounds with rolling farmland with river and ocean views, incredible stone walls of yesteryear, old barns and sheds, Farm stands, harbors with boats, lots of livestock and rolled up bales of hay. We spent the day like tourists exclaiming over the light, the views, the animals, the water! I managed to get this small (2.75 x 2.75) sketch done before the boat pulled away from the dock and later on I managed to just catch the sunset over the marsh using a real cigar box palette that I picked up at a tobacco store. No set up. Put your stuff on the trunk or open hatchback and stand there. I keep it in the fridge in between uses. This was a perfect day.

Sunflowers #3 Oil 9x12

I started this one last summer and stayed up half the night putting a finish on it after practicing Sunflowers all week. This beautiful embossed pitcher was a bargain at Nobles Camera and Gifts in Hingham last summer. I love it.

Sunflowers in Aqua Glass Pitcher W/C 8x10

My Sunflowers are still robust after a week. I am trimming the stems every other day and using the flower crystals, but really, a week is long for Sunflowers. That being the case, there was only one choice of subject matter today.

Sunflowers Watercolor

I started this watercolor a few days ago and finished it this morning. The sunflowers that are modeling for me are spectacular. I bought them last Thursday and the heads are still magnificent. So I better paint faster. I'm listing this over at Daily Painters Marketplace.

Guitar Man 5x7 Watercolor

I was so exhausted by the fanfare surrounding my award that I haven't been able to paint . Just kidding ;) Saturday evening I went to an outdoor party where a band was playing. This guitar man, caught my eye as a perfect painting and I took a bunch of snaps of him. The red spot lights set the mood. I included a detail from the initial sketch just for the heck of it.

Art y Pico

The bloggers are a generous lot, passing out compliments and awards to their bloggie friends. I don't know what else to say after getting the Art y Pico Award from both Kelley MacDonald and Jeffrey Boron, two of my fellow artist bloggers. Thank you! :::::::taking a bow:::::::::: This means I get to pass it on to five other bloggers and believe me, there is no shortage of terrific painters and artists out here in the blogosphere. I can't wait to share these blogs with you.

To quote the originator's intent in creating it, "The Arte y Pico Award has arisen from the daily visits that I make to many blogs which nourish and enrich me with creativity. In them, I see dedication, creativity, care, comradeship, but mainly, ART, much art. I want to share this prize with all those bloggers that entertain and enrich me day to day. Doubtlessly, there are many and it will be hard to pick just a few."

The Rules:

1. You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award through creativity, design, interesting material, and also contributes to the blogger community, no matter of language.
2. Each award should have the name of the author with a link to their blog.
3. Award winners have to post the award with the name and link to the blog of the person who gave them the award.
4. Show these rules and the paragraph (above) explaining the awards origination. To quote her description of this award: The Arte y Pico Award has arisen from the daily visits that I make to many blogs which nourish and enrich me with creativity. In them, I see dedication, creativity, care, comradeship, but mainly, ART, much art. I want to share this prize with all those bloggers that entertain and enrich me day to day. Doubtlessly, there are many and it will be hard to pick just a few."

My Picks: Rob Ibjema's paintings are an exciting mix of abstract design and color that turn out to be cars. Frank Gardner is an American painter living in San Miguel, who shares lots of great info on his blog and his paintings are wonderful. Jennifer Bellinger paints the best lemons anywhere and her beautifully executed still lives, both large and small, are total eye candy. Liza Hirst is from Berlin and paints beautiful street scenes and still life. Jennifer McChristian, a California painter whose dramatic paintings say more with less.

Sunflower Study

I set up on the back deck yesterday afternoon and did a drawing of a pitcher of sunflowers right on the canvas. I managed to come up with a good sketch but the painting, not so much. I just couldn't get the colors right and it got a little muddy so, I wiped it off ;) Anyway, it was a great way to spend a glorious summer day. Our very short summer is slipping away so I'm beaching and reading and gardening here.

Sagamore Bridge pencil sketch 8x10

Just to stretch myself I did this drawing of the Sagamore Bridge, one of two identical bridges that span the Cape Cod Canal. I love bridges and would like to develop this into a painting. I'm going to step back (from the computer and the palette) and enjoy the beautiful weather we're having here on the coast of Massachusetts. It's all too fleeting.