Flowering Apricot Tree

Flowering Apricot Tree

These trees bloom in mid winter or early spring before the leaves come onto the branches.  It is really magical to see something in bloom this early, although not as surprising this year since we have had such a warm winter here in Zone seven.  I took quite a few photos of these gorgeous trees last week at a church not far from my home.  Most of them showed the trees from the ground up, but then I remembered the wonderful painting I saw in Philadelphia at the Van Gogh Exhibition. The title of Vincent's painting shown below is "Almond Blossom" and it is one of my new favorites.

6x6 in. oil on panel

Through Women's Eyes

Through Women's Eyes, By Women's Hands

This wonderful painting is by Jane Filer, a North Carolina artist whose work I love.  This will be part of the exhibition Friday night, March 2 in Chapel Hill.  I am excited to have two small paintings there also.  It takes place from 7-10 pm in the Great Room at Top Of The Hill. Tickets are $50 and all proceeds benefit The Women's Center of Chapel Hill. The painting above, "Fox Trot" will be part of a live auction

Gentleman In Orange Hat

Gentleman In Orange Hat

This man is leaving after having lunch at one of our Pinehurst restaurants which is patronized mainly by locals. The popular spot closes at 2:00, and you can tell it's late because the parking lot is normally crowded. 

6 x 6 in. oil on panel

Tulips In Delft

Tulips In Delft

It's fun to have these tulips sitting under the skylight in my studio and reacting to every change in the weather  outside.  The day they arrived was stormy and pouring down rain and they were closed up tight. I may paint them again tomorrow because they look different after today's sunshine.

6 x 6 in. oil on archival panel

Lemon Trio

Lemon Trio

This was an experiment making a very dark background where none of the light was hitting.

Window Glow

Window Glow

This is another window from the old church I mentioned yesterday. I have always been fascinated by stained glass windows, both the simple and the ornate.  I especially love seeing them at night when driving by a church, all lit up from the inside.

6 x 6 in. oil on panel

St. Phillips Window

St. Phillips Window

This church was built in 1891 in Germanton, N.C. and is in very good condition. It is on the market and may become the "new" church for a fortunate congregation.  I have some nice photos of it and I will be painting more soon.

6 x 6 in. oil on panel

City Traffic

City Traffic

I painted this for the challenge which was posted by Terry Miura on his blog Studio Notes

The scene in the photo provided was very complex and the directions were to simplify as much of the information in the photo as you could.  There were other guidelines provided by Terry which 

were very helpful.  Thanks, Terry, for the interesting and fun challenge.

6 x 8 in. oil on panel

Crab Louie

Crab Louie

This little guy is named after an old-fashioned recipe that my grandmother used to make.  It is a salad with all kinds of good things in it- crabmeat, of course, avocado, hard boiled eggs, tomatoes, asparagus, and a tasty dressing and probably a few more things I can't remember.

6 x 6 in. oil on archival panel

Crabby Abby

Crabby Abby   SOLD

Driving for a couple of hours, sitting in a long gallery meeting in Southport, picking up paintings from my gallery that is closing on Bald Head Island, and then, finally, painting. Getting in front of the easel is not usually preceded by so many other things, so by the time I got to paint, I was ready to make it playful.  It  became kind of an improvisation of a crab with an impatient personality, since I was so impatient to dip into color and have fun.

6 x 6 " oil on archival panel

Trip To Philly

Trip To Philly

This is where I was yesterday morning when the museum opened.  We had tickets to see"Van Gogh Up Close" at the Philadelphia Museum Of Art. We spent some time perusing the European paintings, had lunch in the cafeteria, and then headed to the main attraction at our appointed time.  This is a very special exhibition which reveals  much about the artist and his passionate engagement with nature, particularly in this work created during the last four years of his life. It is almost as if he felt time was running out. Many of the works seem to have an electricity that is hard to define, as if something powerful passed from his eyes to his hands, then to the canvas.
The exhibition travels to The National Gallery Of Canada when it ends here on May 6.  I highly recommend it as it brings viewers much closer to the essential Van Gogh.

Here is a link to a slideshow and article about this exhibition which was published by The New York Times. 

I think it was really worth the trip, even though we were pretty tired when we came out the front doors to this scene around 4:30. You can see a bride in the lower right corner.

Yellow House Windowbox

Yellow House Window Box

I am a fan of window boxes because they look so cheerful beneath a window and you can enjoy them from inside the house or outside.  We have not ever had them but I think I will do some on the deck railing this spring.

 6 x 6 in. oil on museum quality panel

Vineyard Study

Vineyard Study

I did this to try out a composition for a larger painting. I think I will paint this in a similar way

when I do it the next time but it should be easier now that I have done the study.

6 x 6 in. oil on panel

Oranges In A Bowl

Oranges In A Bowl

I found this pretty bowl on sale at Target, it has butterflies on the inside, too.

I am on a kick to eat lots of citrus fruit and it comes in handy for painting as well. I did this in Charlotte at my son's house and used one of Kim's animal print throws to set it up on. It was fun to paint.

6 x 6 in. oil on museum quality panel

Spring At The Beach

Spring At The Beach

This is the painting I worked on today.  I have painted this before in a square format but I  have been wanting to do it again a little larger. The seashells were difficult so I think when I go to the beach next week for a gallery meeting I will plan on painting more shells.  This is not quite finished but I don't have much left to finish-I want to make the spaces between the porch railings a little darker value and tweak one or two other things.

Thank you for viewing my paintings!

Oh, I almost forgot-I am happy to say this is the 300th painting I have posted on my daily painting blog

Pink Roses

Pink Roses

I love painting shadows on the wall behind my still life set up.  This blue vase has an unusual shape and  sometimes makes me think it is going to tip over because it is so skinny at the bottom.

SOLD

6 x 6 in. oil on museum quality panel

available framed at One Eleven Main, Aberdeen, NC
910-944-1181

Headed To Cape Cod

Headed To Cape Cod

I am very pleased that this painting, which I posted recently, has been juried into a show in Barnstable, Massachusetts.  Maybe some of my cousins who live nearby will get a chance to go and see the show.  It will hang from February 23-March 19, at Cape Cod Art Association.

6 x 6 in. oil on panel

Thank you for viewing my art and supporting my blog with your comments, which are always welcome!

Zimbabwe Elephants

Zimbabwe Elephants

I am still going through some old photos and finding more that I want to paint.  Most of these are from a time before I had a digital camera so I had really forgotten about them.  It's hard to even remember taking photos and dropping them off to be printed.

6 x 6 in. oil on museum quality panel

Toucanet

Toucanet

Sometimes the colors in a bird's feathers are so amazingly vivid. I began looking through some old photos and I am surprised at how many bird photos I have.  

6 x 6 in. oil on museum quality panel

Romantic Evening

Romantic Evening

I received my Valentine roses a little early, along with a lovely bottle of wine. We will be  celebrating Valentine's Day tomorrow, with a special dinner and spending the day together.

Thank you for viewing my paintings!

6 x 6 oil on museum quality panel

Please help me expand the reach of my blog by forwarding this to someone you think might enjoy it.

Then they can subscribe themselves by clicking on the form on the right side of the blog. To go to my blog and see older paintings, or subscribe, simply click on the name of the blog at the top of this post.

Nowhere To Hide

           Nowhere To Hide

This pear is not as bold as yesterday's pear.  This one declined a spot in front and prefers to remain mostly in the shadows. I am once again experimenting with color and it's fun with all my painting props to try different combinations.

On a somber note, one of my galleries is closing and I received a message yesterday to come and pick up my paintings at the Woods Gallery on Bald Head Island.  It has been wonderfully managed for BHI incorporated by Shawn Best and I wish her the best in what she endeavors next.

(Hopefully she will have more time for her own painting, as she is a wonderful artist)

Pear Stack

Pear Stack

Painting this stack of cups was really fun and I really like the way the shadows were behind the cups.  The best part is: now I can eat that pear that I have been wanting!

If you would like to see the Daily Paintworks Auction for this painting, please click above on"click here to bid". This does not obligate you in any way to bid but it does allow you to see any bids that have already been placed and to follow the auction if you are interested in this painting.

As always, thank you for viewing my art!

6 x 6 in. oil on panel

Afternoon Tea

Afternoon Tea

I received a tin of tea for Christmas that came from Charleston Tea Plantation and it is really good.  The tea is grown on Wadmalaw Island off the coast of South Carolina. I have a little teapot that I purchased in a shop in Beijing and it has a little clay insert for loose tea leaves.  Next, I decided that there must be a reason these little candles are called tea lights so I made things festive by lighting it.

6 x 6 in. oil on panel

NFS

Enjoying The Paper

Enjoying The Paper

What more could you ask for than coffee, the newspaper, and a spot in the sun to enjoy?  This is my entry for the Daily Paintworks Challenge "Seated Figure".  It was fun to paint, I especially enjoyed the sunlight and shadows.  Click.HERE to see more of the challenge paintings.

6 x 6 in. oil on museum quality panel

Living On The Wedge

I must say that I love shoes and there are some great shoes for spring already in the stores, most of them are unique variations of the wedge sole. Here is one with lots of color and shine! I am so ready for spring to arrive. 

6 x 6 in. oil on museum quality panel

Please feel free to forward this to someone you think might enjoy these paintings and they can subscribe themselves by clicking the subscribe button.

Comments on my paintings are always welcome!

Pottery Stack

Pottery Stack

These are a few of my favorite pieces and I am realizing just how much I enjoy painting shiny objects. I was pretty happy with the way this one turned out.

 6 x 6 in. oil on museum quality panel

contact artist for price

Artichoke Halves

Artichoke Halves

I bought  artichokes to cook for dinner and the first one that I cut did not have the pretty purplish red coloring in the center that is usually found there.  So... I cut the second one open and found it to be really beautiful inside.  Since I had just gotten this pretty new table-runner from IKEA, I decided it would be the background and I set it up in my new shadow box. I am getting much better shadows this way.

6 x 6 in. oil on museum quality panel

Sunset Ferry

Sunset Ferry

This is the ferry I love to take... Southport to Bald Head Island.  It is just a twenty minute ride but there's a lot to look at on the way.  I always try to sit up top for the best view with the wind blowing my hair. Once you are on the island, there are no cars, just golf carts. The view to the left is the yacht basin and marina at Southport and you can see one of  my favorite restaurants, Provision Company.

5 x 7 in. oil on museum quality panel

contact artist for price