No. 874 Tulips in Glass Vase

Tulips in Glass Vase

Oil on Canvas Panel

7" x 5"

Tulips are not easy to paint. Flowers in general are not easy to paint. I had a tough time this year doing any still life with tulips that I was very happy about. I did end up being pretty happy with this one.

No. 863 Primrose Gratitude

Primrose Gratitude

Oil on Gessobord

5" x 7"

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The last of the January primrose paintings. I found this old Coca-Cola tray at an antique store in Snohomish. At the time I felt a little guilty about buying it. Guilty no more! I LOVE those primroses in that old tray. They make me smile every time I spot them outside the front widow.

No. 862 Toolbox Meets Primroses on Steps

Toolbox Meets Primroses

Oil on Canvas Panel

5" x 7"

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Two of my favorite subjects this January- together!

This is my favorite winter plein air painting layer. It's a second hand cashmere sweater - soft, thin, warm, colorful and wonderful. I purchased several of them from Thredup.com averaging about $20 each.

No. 861 More Primroses

More Primroses

Oil on gessobord

6" x 6"

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On yet another fabulously wet and windy day, I sat on my own front porch and enjoyed painting these cuties.

If a pair of feet could have heroes these boots would be mine. They are waterproof, insulated boots by Vasque and kept my feet warm and dry no matter how wet the day was.

No. 860 Primroses Tucked on the Side

Primroses Tucked on the Side

Oil on Canvas Panel

5" x 7"

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Money well spent on these primroses as they were a bright spot on particularly grey days.

My favorite gloves when painting this time of year. They transform from mittens to fingerless and back again to mittens when the fingertips get frosty.

No 856 Taking a Break

Taking a Break

Oil on Gessobord

5" x 7"

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This one is part of my January painting challenge. I was really happy to complete the challenge painting outside every day during the month of January. I made lots of great discoveries and will share those with you in the following days. 

Almost immediately after the challenge I was given the opportunity to teach a small workshop in southern California. How cool is that? I'll share more about that very soon too!

Most recently I've been having a blast watching the Olympics with my family. I thought this painting of a pair of ice skates was timely. :)

No. 843 Toolbox Latch on a Winter Afternoon

Toolbox Latch on a Winter Afternoon

Oil on Stretched Canvas

6" x 8"

January bums me out big time. Every year I try something new to cheer myself up. The only thing that seems to work is a trip to sunny Colorado. Alas, that isn't always possible. This is one of those years. 

My newest attempt to evade the winter blues is to do a plein air everyday in the month of January. I'm hoping all that time outside and a challenge to focus on will do the trick. So this is my first. It's a close up of an old toolbox I normally have flowers in during warmer, happier times of the year.

No. 842 Ornament Reclining on a Ribbon

Ornament Reclining on a Ribbon

Oil on Canvas

I have a difficult time convincing my students and, lets face it sometimes myself, the extreme value of doing a value study as a first stage to developing a painting. Values are so important to creating a strong design and sense realism. Doing a value study helps you focus on this important aspect before adding the complexity of color. 

Created as a demo in class, I'm sure this value study had everything to do with the success if the painting above.

Speaking of class, there are openings in the Wednesday morning and evening class for anyone who is interested. The focus in class this month is skies, big glorious skies!

Oh yes, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Wishing you all the very best this year!

No. 841 Frosty on a Ribbon

Frosty on a Ribbon

Oil on Canvas board

8" x 6"

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. We had a rare white one! I spotted the neighbor boy and his grandpa, outside our kitchen window, building their own snowman. Adorable!

No. 840 Vintage Ornament #2

Vintage Ornament #2

Oil on Gessobord

6" x 6"

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Merry Christmas Eve! (If you're not reading this before midnight). If I had to choose which day I like better Christmas or Christmas Eve, I would choose Christmas Eve hands down. Can't beat the thrill of anticipation!

-Susan

No. 839 Karen's Crackle Glass

Karen's Crackle Glass
Oil on Canvas Panel
6" x 8"

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This was painted at the PAWA winter paint-in. Held in picturesque downtown Edmonds, it's always a great opportunity to catch up with plein air painting friends.

- Susan

No. 837 Nutcracker Under Poinsettia

Nutcracker Under Poinsettia

Oil on Canvas Panel

8" x 6"

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It's not Christmas without a nutcracker painting! Christmas is almost hear and I have a lot of holiday painting to do so I'm off and running!

- Susan

No. 836 Spools on a Green Book

Spools on a Green Book

Oil on Canvas Panel

5" x 7"

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Squeezing in a last spool painting, a little on the cool side.

-Susan

No. 835 Vintage Ornament #1

Vintage Ornament

Oil on Canvas

7" x 5"

The center of this ornament was quite the challenge to paint. I'm hoping it reads sparkly.

-Susan

No. 834 Santa on a Ribbon

Santa on a Ribbon

Oil on Canvas Panel

7" x 5"

I did a painting very similar to this a couple of years ago. It's a glass ornament I inherited from my mom. She was very, very fond of Santa. I've looked for glass ornaments as charming as this one for years and have yet to find one I like as well as this one. So why not paint it again?

-Susan

No. 833 A Pair of Apples

A Pair of Apples

Oil on Canvas

5" x 8"

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A demo for one of my new students. It's great when we can paint an exercise together and I never get tired of painting these apples.

- Susan

No. 832 Variation on a Theme

Variation on a Theme

Oil on Canvas

6" x 6"

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A different book and slightly different arrangement. I'm pretty happy with this one.

- Susan

No. 831 Spools with Little Vase

Spool with Little Vase

Oil on Gessobord

6" x 6"

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And they keep on coming...

No. 830 Bowls of Spools on a Red Book

Bowls of Spools on a Red Book

Oil on Canvas Panel

5" x 7"

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I've gotten a lot of mileage out of those spools!

- Susan

No. 829 Creamer with Spools

Creamer with Spools

Oil on Canvas Board

5" x 7"

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I believe the best part of my most recent spool painting is the brass thimble.

-Susan