Up-Beet Spring- Revised

Up-Beet Spring-revised

This is the painting from my blog post on May 7, 2011.  I was looking at it the other day and decided that the beets should be darker than they were in order to read like beets, instead of radishes, which is what someone thought they were.  I am happier with this deeper color.

6 x 6 in. oil on panel

 available framed at ONE ELEVEN MAIN

Stargazer Lily

Stargazer Lily

These lilies are blooming in the garden right now and they are very fragrant, with wonderful color.  I read something helpful today, just before I cut some to bring into the house.  Pollen sacks, technically known as anthers, should be removed from the blossom filaments as soon as the flower opens. Removing the pollen sacks prevents pollen petal staining of the flowers. It also keeps the pollen from falling on the table and staining the tablecloth. 

I bought these bulbs about ten years ago and they bloom every year and seem to be spreading.  They are very easy to grow.

6 x 6 in. oil on panel

Beach Walk

Beach Walk

This couple was walking quite fast along the beach and the little bird stayed with them at the edge of the water for a very long time.  Maybe he liked the bright red hat and swimsuit.

SOLD

6 x 6 in. oil on archival panel

Field Of Sunflowers

Field Of Sunflowers   SOLD

We stopped here on Sunday evening on the way back from South Carolina to take photos of this amazing and vast field full of Sunflowers.  If you have driven on 24/27 west of Carthage, you have probably seen it.  I will paint more of these because there is something I love about these growing in their tall splendor as far as the eye can see.  I plan to go out there one morning this week and paint plein air so I can really capture the colors.

6 x 6 in. oil on archival panel

Jenn's Hibiscus

Jenn's Hibiscus

This is from a beautiful yard in Charlotte and I painted from a photo.  It was really fun to observe all the variations in color on the delicate petals of this flower.  Since each flower only lasts for a day, it is intriguing to see how many blooms there are each morning, some days many, and some days just a few.  Happy Summer! Let's take time to enjoy it with all it's many wonders.

6 x 8 in. oil on museum quality panel

Green Beans Growing

Green Beans Growing

This is what would have been yesterday's post had I been free of computer difficulties that would not allow me to post.  This is another vegetable garden painting and I picked quite a few of these beans and cooked them so I can vouch for their fresh delicious flavor.  This is my 100th post.

6 x 6 in. oil on museum quality panel

Squash Blossom

Squash Blossom

This is a wonderful and very productive vegetable garden in South Carolina.  The soil is mostly red clay, which is so different from the sandy soil where I live.  There has been lots of rain this week and the vegetables are growing very rapidly.

6 x 6 in. oil on gesso board

Delicata Squash

 Delicata Squash
This lovely striped squash is almost ready to pick and will be part of dinner one night this week.  It is growing in the garden of Le Chateau Terry in South Carolina.  I can hardly wait to be among the lucky dinner guests who are treated to a taste of this exotic vegetable.

6x6 oil  on museum quality panel

Sunlit Greens

Sunlit Greens

Standing inside the fence, watching the leaves blowing despite a temperature of ninety one degrees, I watched the sun flit back and forth over the leaves and the colors kept changing.

6x6 oil on museum quality panel

Oh Happy Day!

Oh Happy Day!

What fun it is to celebrate having three dads in the family now!  It was also fun to remember what a great dad I had and all the love and gratitude I still feel for him.  

6 x6 oil on gesso board

Baby Face

Baby Face

This is what I worked on today and it is not yet finished.  I have some changes I want to make in several areas, most of all I want to show more of a distinction between the tongue and the lower lip and also give the lips a little more of an upturn to show the pretty smile on her face.  I will post it again later when it is finished.

6 x 6 oil on gesso board

Juicy Peaches

Juicy Peaches

This was so much fun to paint with all the reflections of peachy colors on the stainless steel colander.  I love painting things from above when they are in some sort of container.  I hope you are enjoying peaches right now as much as I am.

6 x 6 in. oil on gesso board

Peach Palaver

Peach Palaver

These peaches are meeting to discuss the current state of affairs in the peach orchard where they grew.  It seems that some of the peaches are demanding to have a say in what they end up being used for.  Some of the traditionalists(11%) want to be used in Peach Melba, 13% of peaches only want to be used for jam, 17% for peach pie, 20% for peach cobbler, 1% for peach salsa, and a whopping 38% demand to be made into Peach ice cream! 

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6 x 6 in. oil on gesso board

Each Peach, Pear, Plum

Each Peach, Pear, Plum

Here is yesterday's post which for some mysterious reason did not go through yesterday.

When I set up these three pieces of fruit I was reminded of an old dipping rhyme:

Each, peach, pear, plum,
Out goes Tom Thumb;
Tom Thumb won't do,
Out goes Betty Blue;
Betty Blue won't go,
So out goes you.


This was popular as a jumping rope chant and as a way to choose sides for
various games. I always loved jumping rope and became pretty good at it-somehow jumping rope when you have to hold it yourself takes much of the fun out of it.

6 x 6 in. oil on gesso board

Blue Hydrangeas

Blue Hydrangeas

I picked these flowers early this morning but did not get around to painting them until late in the day.  This was a very quick studio session because someone, who will remain nameless, wanted me to accompany him on a walk with the dogs when he got home from work.  It is not always easy to paint while someone is calling from the bottom of the stairs every two minutes, "Are you ready yet?" And so I painted this and finished before the fifth call.  ( I told you it was fast!)

6 x 6 in. oil painting on gesso board

Color Mixing Exercise

Color Mixing Exercise

This looks like an abstract painting, doesn't it? Actually, it is a painting of the knitted patchwork blanket that I just finished making for Maggie.  I brought the blanket into my studio, then I tried to match the yarn colors by mixing the colors I saw with oil paints.  It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be.  The color I used for the background is an approximation of the wall color in her room. If you would like the knitting directions, e-mail me and I'll send you the link!

6 x 6 in. oil on archival panel

I Love Peaches

I Love Peaches

Here I go bragging about North Carolina again.  We have some of the best peaches grown anywhere. I am so happy to live in one of the best peach growing counties in the state, Moore County. The Sandhills have long been known for great peaches, especially the ones from Auman Peach Orchards in West End, just a short drive from Pinehurst.

There are a couple of places out that way that have great homemade peach ice cream, too.

6 x 6 in. oil on gesso board

Boats In Cassis

Boats In Cassis

I'm not sure what got me started today thinking about these boats and how beautiful they were on the May morning that I snapped some photos of them.  I guess something just triggered thoughts of France and my memories started flowing.  I love painting boats, no matter where they are.

6x6 in. oil on gesso board

Summer Porch

Summer Porch  
A porch is a great place to sit and watch nature and people and birds  and animals.  It's also a nice place to entertain friends or read or even paint. The days here are hot and humid right now but there is always a part of the day that's perfect for porch sitting.
6 x 6 in. oil on gesso board

Gardenia

Gardenia
Sultry as a summer evening and as intoxicating as an exotic perfume, the scent of gardenias settles like a memory onto your soul.
Gardenias originated in the Orient but are named in honor of a Southerner, Dr. Alexander Garden, an 18th-century botanist and physician from Charleston, South Carolina
Jazz singer Billie Holiday considered gardenias to be her signature flower and wore them in her hair whenever she performed.
Information from Southern Living Magazine.


6 x 6 in. oil on gesso board

Two Cups

Two Cups

This is a study for a larger painting and a taller stack of cups that I have already collected and tried as one of my setups.  I want to experiment a little bit with the arrangement and the final painting will be tall and narrow, probably 12" x  36".

6x6 in. oil on gesso board

Sailing At Oak Island

Sailing At Oak Island

This is from a photo that I took last week at the beach from our back deck.  There were so many boats out in the water that day, most of them were fishing boats, but when I saw this sailboat approaching I really wanted a picture of it. It was quite large which is hard to tell from the painting. My friends who have owned boats still say the two best days are the day you buy the boat and the day you sell it.

6x6 in. oil on gesso board

Sandy Is Dandy

Sandy Is Dandy
Dogs love the whole beach adventure!  There's so much to see and so much to sniff,  but one of the best parts is getting covered with sand and salt.  The lucky dog being walked by the sea usually attracts a lot of children who can hardly wait to shower your pet with love and attention.
Then there are all the other dogs, some of whom ignore every dog they pass, but some who are eager to make new friends. 


6x6 in. oil on gessoboard

Hibiscus In Bloom

Hibiscus In Bloom
These are the days... and nights of glorious summer.  So much to take in and enjoy with all the wonderful sights, sounds, and aromas of life in the outdoors.  This is the largest bloom on the potted Hibiscus on the back porch.  Two more Hibiscus plants on the front porch are filled with large peachy flowers.  They are hard to resist as painting subjects, even though I know that there is no paint color or brush stroke that even begins to do justice to their magnificence.

6 x 6 in. oil on gessoboard

Mountain View Rocker

Mountain View Rocker

The morning was pretty chilly, a brisk 60 degrees for our 6:30 a,m. walk.Later in the day, the porch rocking chairs in the sun looked especially inviting and gave us time to read a bit and enjoy the vista of the surrounding peaks. It's a full house here in White Sulphur Springs and the atmosphere is lively and fun.

It's been a nice break from the heat. 

6 x 6 in. oil on gessoboard

Afternoon At The Greenbrier

Afternoon At The Greenbrier
I had a great opportunity to paint figures this afternoon as I watched people going about their afternoon activities.  This is one of my favorites, the hat was really perfect on this stylishly attired woman.
6 x 6 in. oil on gessoboard

Still Life With Onion

Still Life With Onion
This still life was fun to paint, especially the red onion!

SOLD

Bullfrog In The Fishpond

Bullfrog In The Fish Pond

The high temperature here today was 96 degrees.  I did some yard work early this morning and just before going in the house, I took a look at the pond where we have our koi and there next to the edge sat Mr. Bullfrog.  He looked extremely comfortable in the cool water of the shady pond. I heard him this evening making as much noise as ever.

 6 x 6 in. oil on gessoboard