No. 421 Tulips in Plein Air

 

 

 

Tulips in Plein Air

Oil on Linen Panel

7" x 5"

 

Click here to view auction.

 

 

One a glorious spring day I decided to paint my still life outdoors. It was an excellent idea if I do say so myself. The sun lit these tulips on fire, cherry blossom petals were floating by on a soft breeze and Madeleine Peyroux played in my ear phones. Heaven!

 

 

 

 

Tulips in Pein Air ACEO

Oil on Canvas

2.5" x 3.5"

 

Click here to view Ebay Auction

 

 

With the encouragement of my friend Pam, I'm trying out the wonderful world of ACEOs or ATCs or artist trading cards. I will be auctioning these tiny pieces of art on Ebay. While doing some of these I've discovered that I love to paint small, I mean really small.




No. 420 Golden Tulips

 

 

 

 

Golden Tulips

Oil on Linen Panel

7" x 5"

 

 

I love a feeling of abundance. So here we have an abundance of rich color and an abundance of tulips contrasted by a cool white cup. One always needs a bit of relief, even from abundance.

 

 

 

 



No. 418 Primary Tulilps

 

 

 

 

Primary Tulips

Oil on Gessobord

6" x 6"

 

Anyone else think this painting is a bit dull? Just kidding. :)

Indulging my fondness for bright colors here.

Click to view auction.

 

 

 

 



No. 419 Mt Vernon Tulip Fields

 

Skagit Valley Tulip Fields 2014 - Plein Air

Oil on Linen Panel

5" x 7"

SOLD

 

A little over a week ago I ventured up to the tulip fields to try my hand at painting them in plein air. I've been to the fields many times but had yet to bring my paint box with me. Visiting these fields is a "wow" experience. To see such a large swath of intense color in the landscape is breath taking.

 

 

 

Tulip Field Mini

Oil on Linen Panel

3" x 5"

 

For the first hour or so I just took photos. The weather was a bit dicey. The sun came and went but no rain. The fields were quite mucky since it had been raining pretty steadily the previous two days. People were literally "tip toeing through the tulips" trying to steer clear of the mud puddles.

 

 

 

 

 

Then it was time to pull out the old paint box and go for it. I've been experimenting with painting really small. These mini paintings are fast and easy. Because of this, it's easy to experiment and take a chance since there isn't so much time and effort invested.

 

 

 

 

 

It's fun listening to the chatter of fellow visitors as they walk by. I can't tell you how many different languages I heard as I stood there painting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The soil near where I was painting had a surprisingly spongy texture. I'm guessing it's because the soil on top was drying much quicker than that underneath. Many people commented on this as they walked by. One lady remarked to her friend, " It feels like walking on clouds!" My favorite comment was from a gentlemen who said, "It's like walking on chocolate cake!"

 

 

 

 

 

It was a banner day for me. I loved painting the fields. Many kind people stopped to chat. I even sold two of my mini paintings right off the easel. This most definitely will have to be an annual tradition!

 

 

 

No. 417 Spring in the Snohomish Valley - Plein Air

 

 

 

 

 

Spring in the Snohomish Valley - Plein Air

Oil on Linen Panel

5" x 7"

 

 

One beautiful spring day I decided to find a new place to paint. So I hopped in the car, turned on the music and drove and drove and drove.  I was sure a fabulous new view was just beyond the next bend.  Finally, I ended up here. You might recognize it from several past paintings. Thank goodness for the tried and true! The cows were a bonus. I've never seen them in this location before. In plein air painting, you just never know.

 

 

$38 + $6 domestic shipping  



 

No. 416 Petals Tipped in Purple

 

 

 

 

Petals Tipped in Purple

Oil on Gessobord

6" x 6"
 

$38 + $6 domestic shipping

 

Painting this rose was a surprisingly tricky thing. I think possibly because I had the time to study it and the more you study the more you see....






No. 415 White Tulip Study

 

 

White Tulip Study

Oil on Linen Panel

7" x 5"

 

I have heard how tough it is to paint white objects. Really? It can't be that bad, I thought. Oh, yes it can! These double tulips really gave me a run for the money.

No. 414 Midnight Tulip with Fortuny

 

 

 

Midnight Tulip with Fortuny

Oil on Gessobord

7" x 5"

 

 

The shapes in this Fortuny fabric seemed a perfect compliment to this deep purple tulip.

 

 

Happy Easter everyone!

 

No. 413 A "Cool" Still Life

 

 

 

 

 

A "Cool" Still Life

Oil on Canvas Panel

9" x 12"

 

 

 

Still thinking about Alexander Zimin's workshop. Of particular interest is how he arranged his still life and how he lit both the still life and his canvas with only natural light. I'm also trying really hard not to crop in so close. Not sure how successful I was with all of that. Natural light is so cool (a little too cool for me) and the fact that my walls are painted green doesn't help. Hmmm, we'll keep trying....

 

 



No. 412 Outdoors Again!

 

View from Lowell-Larimer Road

Oil on Linen Panel

Plein Air

5" x  7"

 

My oh my, we've had some gorgeous weather recently. It's an excellent time to paint the mountains while they still have lots of snow on them but it's not so cold that you're shakin' in your boots. I've been painting outdoors for the last three days or so. It's 10 o'clock at night and I'm still smiling.

No. 411 Return to Tulips

My Favorite

Oil on Linen Panel

7" x 5"

This is my very favorite tulip painting to date. 

On a different note, I am really, really pleased with how well my 150 painting show is being received. I've sold several paintings already and received many wonderful comments. I took a gamble that hanging so many together would work and it payed off. I love it when that happens! Thank you, thank you everyone!

No. 410 My Latest Show

A New Batch

Oil on Linen Panel

7" x 5"

A new batch of tulips with a new color scheme.

I recently had a wild and crazy idea that I would like to display 365 of my daily paintings all at once to celebrate the end of the year long project. Well, that really was a crazy idea. So instead we hung approximately one hundred and fifty of them. They are grouped by color instead of subject so as to create a mosaic kind of look. The room is part of a corridor with warm colored paintings on one side and cool colored on the other.

A section of the cool color side.

The warm colored side.

The yellowish section.

It's pretty cool to see so much of your work at once. By all means come check it out. The show will be up through the month of April at the Quail Park of Lynnwood. The friendly gal behind the front desk will point you in the direction of the gallery space.

The address is 4015 164th St SW, Lynnwood, WA 98087 and their phone number is (425) 640-8529. 

I would like to thank a thousand times over my husband Don for helping me build the hanging system. Also, I would like to profusely thank Don, my friend Dina and her husband for spending two hot hours helping me hang these little guys. You are simply the best!

No. 409 Tulips in Watering Can

Tulips in Watering Can

Oil on Canvas Panel

5" x 7"

A quick post just to let you know I'm still here. :)

Hopefully tomorrow I will have pictures to show you what I've been up to with a lot of help from Don and friends......

No. 408 Oh yes, I do like orange

Wrapped in Orange

5" x 7"

Oil on Gessobord

Although I'm not a hundred percent happy with the rendering of the teapot I am quite smitten with the rich colors of this little painting.

On a separate note, I believe it's time to go cold turkey on the prop collecting for awhile. The lure of finding a two dollar treasure hidden on a crowded thrift store shelf is addictive to say the least. When you can't find space on the table to set your palette down because it's full of vases, bowls, creamers, teapots, teacups and what not, it's time. Lets see how long I can hold out......

No. 407 Midnight Tulips

Midnight Tulips

Oil on Canvas Panel

9 x 12

This painting is in direct response to a demo I saw recently. Russian artist Alexander Zimin was in town to give a workshop in Bellevue. Sadly, I wasn't able to attend the workshop but was able to view a demo. What a beautiful painter! He uses only natural light and does not crop in on his subject.

Mr. Zimin with the painting he created during the demo I watched. Amazing, right? I sincerely hope to be able to take his workshop he next time he comes to town. A huge thanks to Jan Jewell for talking him into traveling here from Russia and arranging this opportunity.