No. 883 Gus McManamen

Gus McManamen

Oil on Canvas Panel

6" x 8"

Sure, life is busy with a painting a day challenge so why not add a kitten to it? Not busy enough? Okay why not add two? Are we completely crazy yet? YES!

Yet to be painted - Mousse (as in chocolate mousse) McManamen

Even with the huge distraction of two kittens the painting challenge continues. A huge thank you to everyone that has subscribed to my YouTube channel. Much appreciated!! I've heard you are not receiving notifications of the newest video being posted. When you are on YouTube click on the little bell next to the subscribe button for my channel and I think that will do the trick. In the meantime here are some links...

Click HERE for a peak at this video.

Click HERE for a peak at my most recent video uploaded at 2:00am this morning. :)


I have a vague memory of the "HERE" links not working in the email version of this post. If that's still the case here are the two links:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YD4MTRwXXTU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4NZHj77hFU&t=2s

No.882 Fall on Highway 2

Fall on Highway 2

Oil on Panel

5"x 7"

Wow! Fall is spectacular right now up in the mountains. I was really lucky to spend several days painting and taking photos in the Leavenworth area. A big thank you to Jodie and Bruce for letting me stay at their cabin. I'm just wonderstruck at all the beautiful fall color I saw up there.

On a separate note I've started a new project! I'm returning to my original 365 day painting challenge but this time I'm documenting it via time lapse video. This way you can see not only the paintings but also how they are created. I will post video twice a week. It's been a struggle to add all of this to my regular schedule. I hope to find shortcuts and get into a rhythm soon. I probably won't post daily to my blog this time though. If you'd like to keep updated on my progress I would love to have you subscribe to my YouTube channel.

Click HERE to view the first video.

No 881 Rainier Over Ebey's Landing at Sunset

Rainier Over Ebey's Landing at Sunset

Oil on Linen Panel

5" x 7"

Sold

It was a lovey evening at Ebey's Landing on Whidbey Island with super clear skies. Skies so clear you could actually see Mt. Rainier!

This is one of many paintings that found new homes last weekend at the Coupeville Arts and Crafts Fair. Thank you so much everyone for adopting one or more of my paintings! It is much, much appreciated. I hope you enjoy them immensely!

No 880 In the Garden at Captain Whidbey Inn

In the Garden at Captain Whidbey Inn

Oil on Birch Panel

5" x 7"

Almost there! Mostly packed for the festival in Coupeville this weekend. A few loose ends here and there. Meg and I will head for the ferry tomorrow morning. Looking forward to getting this party started!

If you are planning on coming (it's a terrific arts festival so come if you can!) my recommendation this year would be to come on Sunday. The weather looks absolutely perfect, 70 degrees and sunshine. Sundays are usually a little more relaxed too. Be sure to get there early when parking is ample and it's easy to move from booth to booth. I'm in booth 197 on the waterfront next to Toby's.

Hope to see you there!

Click here for the festival website.

No. 879 Sequim Lavender Fields

Sequim Lavender Fields - B and B Family Farm

Oil on Canvas Panel

5" x 7"

In the middle of July I traveled with two of my students to the beautiful Sequim lavender fields. It was a great trip, the sent of lavender wafting around us as we painted those beautiful purple rows.

I found my all time favorite coffee drink, a lavender and honey latte, at the Hurricane Coffee Shop

in downtown Sequim. It sounds a bit odd but it was fabulous!!

Thanks for letting me tag along Connie and Carol!

 

Som of my photos from the B and B Family Farm.

No. 878 Claudia's Irises

Claudia's Irises - Plein Air

Oil on Canvas Panel

7" x 5"

In class we had a whole month of painting irises in preparation for painting in Claudia's lovely garden. We were lucky enough to have the opportunity to paint there a couple of different days. Claudia's husband, Dan, works long and hard in their garden and it shows!

Thank you, Claudia and Dan!

No 877 Coupville Wharf at Low Tide

Coupeville Wharf at Low Tide

Oil on Canvas Panel

5" x 7"

Wow! I hope you are having a great summer. We've had an excellent one. Filled with lots of new places to explore and paint, I couldn't be happier. It's that festival time of year though. So it's time to settle down and get ready for the Coupeville Arts Festival. It will be my only festival this summer unless I get a last minute call from the Fresh Paint folks.

I've been redirecting a lot of my online activity from my blog to Instagram. So if you are on Instagram please follow me at scmcmanamen or https://www.instagram.com/scmcmanamen/ 
It's much easier and less time consuming to post there so that's where you will see most of the action. :)

No. 876 Little Ones

Little Ones

Oil on Canvas

5" x 7"

Before painting this, I had no idea how difficult painting cute, fuzzy, little chicks could be. 

No. 875 San Juan Capistrano Mission - Plein Air

San Juan Capistrano Mission - Plein Air

Oil on Gessobord

5" x 7"

This is from my trip to teach in California in February. Peggy took me to the San Juan Capistrano Mission to paint. Wow! I could've painted there for days. Thank you again, Peggy! You're the best!

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 872 Skagit Valley Magic

Skagit Valley Magic

Oil on Canvas Panel

7" x 5"

Sold

Another take on the tulip field/cool old barn combo.

No. 871 Tulip/Barn Magic

Tulip/Barn Magic

Oil on Canvas Panel

5" x 7"

Really, what could be more picturesque than brightly colored tulip fields ending in a cool old barn?

No. 870 Emerald Bay - Plein Air

Emerald Bay - Plein Air

Oil on Gessobord

5" x 7"

Way back in February, my dear friend and past student, Peggy, invited me down to California to teach small painting workshop. What an amazing treat! It was the perfect break from all the Northwest cold and grey. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Not only was teaching the workshop fun but Peggy took me out to do a little local plein air painting too.  Thank you again, Peggy, from the bottom of my heart!!

Palm trees are so cool.

Me holding fresh picked grapefruit right off the tree! I'm still amazed!

No. 869 Charmed by Charles

Charmed by Charles

Oil on Gessobord

6" x 6"

Oh, my poor neglected blog! Thanks for hanging in there with me. Things have been beyond busy around here, in a good way though. The Mt Vernon show way exceeded my expectations. Don and I went on a great PAWA trip to the eastside of Washington. We've had lots of plein air field trips in class. Last but not least, four of my paintings have found their way into local art shows.

"Charmed by Charles", a fabulous rooster I met at Bothell Country Village, is one of two paintings excepted into the Little Gems Show in Anacortes next month.

No. 868 Roaming the Village

Roaming the Village

Oil on Canvas Panel

7" x 5"

Oh, my! We had some terrific bird paintings come out of class last month. Yes, our theme was chickens.  I found this fellow calmly dodging a toddler at Country Village in Bothell.

On a separate note, after weeks of feverishly working on paintings for the Rexville Grange show, I'm happy to say they are done and delivered! For those who are interested in attending this great little show while they are checking out the daffodils or tulips in Mt. Vernon...

No. 867 Tulip Fields at Sunset

Tulip Fields at Sunset
Oil on Gessobord
6" x 6"

I just finished painting a 12" x 12" version of this one. Wow, that was a gorgeous evening. The perk of spending an entire day in the tulip fields is you get to see these special light effects.

Click to view auction

No. 866 The Tulip Bus

The Tulip Bus

Oil on Canvas Panel

5" x 7"

The bus the field workers ride out on and a very handy focal point. :)

Click to view auction

No. 865 Return to the Fields

No. 865 Return to the Fields

Oil on Canvas Panel

5" x 7"

It's that time of year! Spring has arrived and the tulips are poking their heads up in the garden. For me that means getting ready for the art show in Mt. Vernon. I really enjoyed getting to know the local artists there last year and look forward to hanging out with them again.

I'm giving you guys first shot at my newest collection of tulip field paintings before I take them up to the show...

Click to view auction

No. 864 Return to the Wetlands

Return to the Wetlands

Oil on Gessobord

6" x 6"

Click to Bid

Once again returning to the wetlands near my home on a grey but not super soggy day. I have to say I'm really starting to dig this winter color palette.

No. 863 Primrose Gratitude

Primrose Gratitude

Oil on Gessobord

5" x 7"

Click to Bid

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.