No. 527 Ruby Beach Plein Air

 

 

Ruby Beach - Plein Air

Oil on Linen Panel

5" x 7"

 

This was painted on a recent trip to Lake Quinault for a PAWA board retreat. A huge thanks to Jan Jewell for letting us stay in her amazing cabin there. Having grown up on the protected waters of Puget Sound, I'm always amazed by the size and power of the waves on the coast.

 

I hope everyone had a terrific Thanksgiving. I know did and I for one have much to be thankful for - wonderful family and friends, and an opportunity to paint, just to name a few. I'm also very thankful for you taking the time out of your busy day to look at my work. It's one of the things that keeps me going! 

 

No. 526 The Very Last Dahlia

 

 

 

 

The Very Last Dahlia

Oil on Linen Panel

7" x 5"

Having lots of fun spending time with family. The feel of the holidays is definitely in the air.



No. 525 Chinese Lanterns, Again

 

 

Chinese Lanterns

Oil on Linen Panel

7" x 5"

 

At this point is it safe to say I'm obsessed with Chinese lanterns?

 



No. 524 Autumn Stil Life #5

 

 

Autumn Still Life #5

Oil on Linen Panel

7" x 5"

 

Tried integrating more lost edges and texture with the help of a palette knife. It can be oh so hard to loosen up sometimes.


No. 523 The Last Dahlias #3

 

 

The Last Dahlias #3

Oil on Linen Panel

7" x 5"

 

Look at that. I could only go a day without throwing a Chinese lantern in!

 

I'm pretty happy with the way the dahlias are coming out. Truth be told I'd been avoiding them all summer. So many petals! I wasn't sure I could pull them off in a daily painting. Joe Anna Arnett's method of filling in most of the flower with the inner color and then coming back on top with petal highlights works again!

 

If you would like to know more about Joe Anna Arnett click here. Her still life DVD is on my wish list. :)

No. 522 Last of the Dahlias #2

 

 

Last of the Dahlias #2

Oil on Linen Panel

7" x 5"

 

These days I'm finding the back of a flower as interesting as the front.

 

On a separate note, I'm having photography issues. My favorite time to photograph paintings is outside on an overcast day. Finding such a day in the Northwest is not usually a problem, especially this time of year. Recently though we have had a long string of cold, clear days. Photos of paintings on those days tend to come out with some strange colors and too much contrast. For instance, in this painting the red scarf looks pretty good, the rest of the background is more raw sienna than burnt sienna. Cloudy days where are you?

 

No. 521 The Last Dahlias

 

 

The Last Dahlias

Oil on Gessobord

6" x 6"

 

 

I'm sad to say these were the last fresh flowers collected from my garden before the hard frosts hit. Fortunately, I had a chance to paint them a couple of times before their petals dropped. 

No. 520 Autumn Still LIfe #4

 

 

Autumn Still Life #4

Oil on Linen Panel

7" x 5"

 

Still playing around with those Chinese lanterns...

No. 519 Teapot and Lanterns

 

 

Teapot and Lanterns

Oil on Linen Panel

5" x 7"

 

To view auction click here.

 

I find myself attracted to paintings with large black shapes in them. Can anyone tell me why? Here is my small attempt at one such painting.

No. 518 Autumn Still Life #3

 

 

Autumn Still Life No.3

Oil on Linen Panel

5" x 7"

 

Last week the winds were blowing and rain pounded on the roof. Now temperatures are poised to drop below freezing and it's dark by 5:00pm. Time to get cozy indoors.

 

No. 517 Autumn Still Life 2

 

 

 

Autumn Still Life 2

Oil on Linen Panel

5" x 7"
Click here to view auction.

 

 

Chinese lanterns are the coolest thing ever. I spotted a large clump of them growing along a fence near our cabin on Mt. Baker. So I made a point of stopping at a local nursery to see if I could get my very own clump. What I found was a small plant in a decorative pot. Between the time I set the plant in my cart and I the time got to the register I had no less than three nursery workers stop and tell me how invasive they are. How sad. I guess it's just one little plant in a pot for me.

 

 



 

Chinese Lanterns - fabulous color and shape. What more could you ask for?

 

Chinese Lanterns growing along a fence. They look harmless enough...

No. 516 Autumn Still Life

 

 

Autumn Still Life

Oil on Gessobord

6" x 6"

 

This orange pumpkin was carefully chosen at the pumpkin farm for it's fabulous stem. What a great stem! I'm feeling wistful because I wasn't the only one to love this little pumpkin. My daughter, Megan, decided she must have it to carve for Halloween.

 

 

No. 515 Pansies with Apples and Lots of Red

 

 

Pansies with Apples and Lots of Red

Oil on Gessobord

6" x 6"


Pansies continue to challenge and fascinate. Such a modest, charming little flower and so devilishly difficult to paint. By the way, have I ever mentioned how much I love red?



No. 514 The Big One

 

 

Morning at Artists Point

Oil on Gallery Wrapped Canvas

40" x 30"

 

 

I'm very excited to announce that this painting along with it's companion plein air piece have been accepted into Plein Air Washington Artists exhibition Nature's Gift of Water. How exciting! The show is being held in a beautiful gallery in downtown Tacoma during the month of December.

 

I don't know if you noticed the size of this piece. It is a whopping 40 by 30 inches. I haven't painted this large since college! I have to admit I enjoyed working on a piece this size. It reminded me of the theater sets I used to paint while working for the college playhouse. It's a much more physical experience than painting the small pieces. I wasn't sure at first that I could pull it off but the subject matter demanded I give it a try.

 

For more information on the show visit www.americanartco.com