Happy Anniversary

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This painting was done as an anniversary gift from Jen to her husband Jason. She wanted a painting of their yellow lab, Sam, swimming in the South River and sent me a photo. I thought that I recognized the dog from last September when I was doing my Painting Safari there. Sure enough, I actually had photos of the couple and their dog which I had taken surreptitiously. So, how to explain the stalker behavior?  Well, I just came out with it and she understood about the artistic license thing,  Thankfully :D
Contact me if you'd like to join me on my outdoor painting Safari which I will be starting as soon as the weather cools down.

Cleaning the Catch on Naples Pier

"Cleaning the Catch" 18x24 oil on canvas

Our hot summer rolls on here by the sea. I wish I could say that I'm accomplishing lots of things, but mostly I'm just getting a few home  and yard improvements taken care of and reading on the beach or in my air conditioned rooms. 

This 18"x24" scene of people cleaning fish on Naples Pier is on stretched canvas and was painted for the Faculty show at Von Liebig Art Center in Naples. It goes up October 20th through November 24th. Preview party is Friday night, October 19th.

What are you reading?

Girls Just Wanna Paint

It's important to note that I am not always completely successful in my paintings and I don't post any that aren't up to my standards. This is different because I'm stretching and need some feedback. I was going for that backlit, sparkly sunlit water thing and I almost wiped it.  
Can You tell what's going on here?    
This is my entry for Girls Just Wanna Paint.

Boston Skyline

Boston Skyline 8x8 Watercolor

This painting is from a photo I took from the roof of the MFA Garage one late summer day. The view from there is glorious as you can see. 
This summer I'm enjoying doing paintings that are a bit different from my usual work. I just completed another painting which needs to be kept under wraps for now, because it is my entry for North River Arts, Outside the Box show. The point of this show is for the artists to do something that won't be recognized as their work. Can't post it until after the silent auction which ends in early September.
I think I'm flying under the radar on this one ;)
FYI, my recent watercolors are in my DPW gallery and I will include a custom mat with each one.

Evening Shadows

Evening Shadows
4x4 Watercolor, pen and Ink

I love the afternoon light, particularly in the late Fall, when the sun sets early giving a brief golden glow to all it touches. The contrast with the deep shadows in the foreground is the hook. The three deckers are yellow and it's a great place to use the yellow/violet color harmony. This is an Urban scene in the Lithuanian Village area of Brockton. I'll work from this sketch to do this in oils where I think I can achieve more subtlety in the shadow area. Despite the heat we are enjoying an onshore sea breeze today and the tide is right to head to the beach with my book. Stay cool everyone!

Winter Light

"Winter Light" watercolor

It's not winter but that isn't relevant to this sketch done from a photo I took of my street late in December. Love the golden light on the phone poles and the deep shadows in the foreground.

Waiting for The Muse

"Joan 'n Tom" 6x8 Watercolor 
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I read a fabulous book called "My Name is Asher Lev" and was transfixed by both the excellent writing (Chaim Potok) and by the depth of the book which is the story of a young boy who is unable to suppress his innate 'gift' to draw in spite of his father's belief that he is wasting his time and that his "gift" quite possibly could come not from The Master of the Universe, but from the devil. It was a great story on many levels and it prompted me to want to do some pen and ink watercolors. This scene from MacMillan wharf in Provincetown is as familiar to me as my own hand. The boat on the left is named Joan and Tom. It's been there for as long as I can remember. I'm a bit rusty so I'll go back to the drawing board as the expression goes. 

Thanks for all your encouraging comments and support. I'm enjoying summer and thinking about what I should paint next. No pressure.

Summer Days

Partridge Island
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It's only been a week? I thought it was longer and was feeling tres guilty about slacking :D  Anyway, I was able to work through the rust and do this painting of summer in Parrsboro for our GirlsJustWannaPaint challenge which goes up tonight. It's summer here and tomorrow the tide will be perfect for a full day at the beach. That's where you'll find me. 

More of The Greats

Cooling off in the icy waters of Masschusetts Bay

I'm not really on the lam but it appears that way. Just busy with some gardening, visiting and beaching.  Our weather has switched from cool and breezy to hot and steamy. How hot? 97? Is that hot enough for you? (that's the local phrase during a heat wave) Luckily my new behemoth of an air conditioner handles it quite well and I am grateful for that.  I don't have a good painting to post so I'm giving you a link to the Farnsworth Museum to enjoy. There are three stellar exhibits on until the end of the year by some serious GREATS. Andrew Wyeth, Jamie Wyeth and Frank Benson. Enjoy!

In Storage

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I love the abstract quality of the boatyard. Love its gritty industrial look. Summer's here though and the boats are all coming out of their shrink wrap. 

Our Girls Just Wanna Paint show is still up at Duxbury Free Library so stop in and see it if you are in the area. Meanwhile I'll get started on another boat painting.

On the Mud

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This kind of weather makes me feel good about being inside. Here in cool, gloomy, gray New England I'm tucked into my studio painting boats. This boat is moored at Five Islands, Nova Scotia, where the tide goes out completely, leaving beautiful red mud and rivulets of turquoise water.

After being on Daily Paint Works for a year, I've decided to offer my paintings at auction which gives me the option of starting them at a lower price than the 'buy now' price I've been setting. I know that I like bidding on and winning an item for less than the fixed price and so will you. It does happen ;)

Up On Stilts

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I have a file called "my neighborhood" where I store photos of scenes from my beachside neighborhood and the South Shore, the Cape and the region in general. My neighborhood is vast. This is a winter scene from Long Point Marine in Duxbury. 

This painting is available through DPW auctions.

Tools of the Trade

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It's fairly accurate to say that with a warm and a cool of each primary you can mix almost anything, but reds are a different story. Certain reds are necessary to get good pinks. Some of my fave's are Thalo Red Rose (Grumbacher) Quinacridone Magenta (WN) and Quinacridone Red (Utrecht). 

Bright sparkly reds are some of the important Tools of the Trade for me. Check out this month's Girls Just Wanna Paint blog for more paintings of 'tools'. Also, our GJWP show at Duxbury Free Library is up through June so go take a peek ;}

Girls Just Wanna Paint Show!

"Spanish Moss, Darien, Georgia" 6x6
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It's transition time for Don and me and the girls. After my fabulous week on St Simon's Island with my painter girlfriends I returned to Naples to pack up our house for the drive home to Marshfield. No small feat for a woman who likes her 'stuff'. So, this morning after days of cleaning and packing and farewelling we hit the road.  
My last painting from SSI is this cottage in charming Darien, Georgia. The local Art Association/historic society there is housed in the old Jail, where I read some incredible stories about Darien's dramatic Civil War years. Fascinating. 
I'm the last one to give up the gang here and name names ;) Here we are after hitting golf balls on the beach coached by Kathy Cousart. 

Kathy, Carol, Me, Kelley & Laurel

Lastly, I will not be home in time to attend the opening of our Girls Just Wanna Paint show at the Helen Bumpus Library in Duxbury but please go and support my homies from 2-4 tomorrow. The show runs through June.

Jekyll Island

Jekyll Island 6x6 oil on board

We arrived on Jekyll Island to humidity and high puffy white clouds which soon gave way to a breeze (thank Heaven) and a sort of overcast sky. 
The result was this minimalist work, photographed with the dust embedded ;) 
If you like this kind of painting check out Stuart Shils website. Click on Irish Oils and then click on the number 4 which is the period I'm referring to. He's since become more abstract, (which I like)  but these early 90's paintings are the first works I saw of his, in a gallery in Boston.

Postcard From SSI

4x4 oil on Gesso Board

I've been on the lam on St Simon's Island, Georgia with a 'gaggle' of notorious painters who shall remain nameless unless they choose to reveal their identity and let y'all know who they are ;) 
Yes, you heard me say 'Y'all' and I 'might could' be using some other Southern slang after hanging around in Georgia 'on my mind'.
This tiny study which includes the causeway onto the Island is 4x4 inches and was done on Monday afternoon when the weather was rainy and overcast giving a misty violet grey light to the marsh.

Strawberries Revolt

4x4 oil on board $100 plus S&H

I did this second painting on Monday and these strawberries just wouldn't cooperate. I tried to get a great composition with them but they just fell into 'line' like a bunch of pre-schoolers going out for recess. I paid them back by eating them ;)

Red Boat on Bluefish River

6x6 oil on board

This painting of a red boat moored in Bluefish River in Duxbury is my contribution to this month's Girls Just Wanna Paint challenge. Visit our blog to see the rest of the paintings and the information for our show at Helen Bumpus Library.

Strawberries and my 'kids'

Strawberries 4x4 

oil on board

Artists who teach always say that they learn so much from their students and it really is a two way street. These are my 'kids' (Carol Marine's expression and I'm proud to be one of hers) Beth and Linda who have both exceeded their expectations this winter. They've been coming to my home studio each Monday for 10 weeks now and although they are fairly new to oil painting they 'got it' right off the bat. They are diligent and paint outdoors and between classes. It came up today in a discussion about workshops that some artists are reluctant to share their"secrets" with their students so I generously shared my secret which is, that there is no secret. It's all hard work, learning to 'see' and painting miles of canvas.

Linda 

Beth

Von Liebig Center for the Arts

Susan Romanot and Instructor Mary Sheehan Winn
at Von Liebig Center for the Arts in  Naples, Florida

I've so enjoyed teaching here in Naples this season and each group of students has surprised me with their ability to go from-dare I say- fear?.. trepidation?.. to a painting in which they achieved more than they dared think they might. 
They all 'got it' and that has been the Holy Grail of my experience with these fabulous artists who are hungry to express themselves through their brushes as I always have been. I feel their journey and actually get goosebumps when I see their AHA moment.
This was my final class of the season at the Von Liebig Center for the Arts here in Naples and Susan's joy in seeing what she could do with paint was so exciting.
Here is our Face Book 'moment', posted by Callie Spilane, Director of Education at the Von Liebig. I'll see you next season. Same time, same place.