Red Sky

Living on the ocean, facing East, 

we wake up to some pretty amazing sunrises. 

I usually avoid painting them because 

I figure the world's Greatest Artist

already does a pretty good job of it! 

Although, the Girls Just Wanna Paint Challenge this month is:

"reflection"

so I thought I'd give it a shot. 

"Red Sky in the Morning"

(Hurricane warning!) 

6 x 6 

This one was particularly spectacular.

It was the morning before Hurricane Irene arrived.

The ocean was like glass and the sky was lit up like it was on fire!  

Back to Normal Now

Nothing like a hurricane to shake things up for a few days! 

During all the upheaval, I managed to get some work done. 

"Perfectly Happy"

 12 x 12 

My friend Franny is organizing a fundraiser called 

"Art Off the Wall" 

for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. 

She asked us all to donate a 12 x 12 painting 

to be auctioned off in sort of a "Yankee Swap" format. 

I kind of want people to be fighting over mine. 

Painting this during the hurricane made me 

forget about the howling winds. 

Commissions Can be Sticky

Commissions can be sticky, to say the least. 

I usually regret it, every time I agree to do one. 

Painting something someone else has in mind,

 kind of takes the wind out of my sails. 

But this one, I actually enjoyed doing! 

It is to be a gift for a woman who was a member 

of my garden club years ago. 

Her daughter saw this one of mine: 

Garden Club Meeting 

8 x 10 

at a mutual friend's house 

and asked me to do one like it.

Garden Tour 

8 x 10 

I included daffodils, orange day lilies, and gladiolas

(even though they are never in bloom at the same time)

because those are her Mom's favorite flowers.  

Duxbury Beach

All summer long 

people with four wheel drive vehicles line up along the shore 

of Duxbury Beach to spend the day on the beach. 

"Duxbury Beach" 

8 x 16 

This is the scene as viewed from the ocean 

on a particularly busy day. 

Old Painting Dilemma

I spent today organizing my studio for September and beyond. 

So what do I  do with these old paintings?

There has to be over 200 panels here. 

Most are class work or failed experiments.

Nothing I would ever want anyone to "own".

I've been told to never 

put them in the trash. 

(Because they could end up on some one's wall)

My friend Sally Dean 

told me a friend of hers burned all of her old paintings 

and then used the ashes to make new ones.  

Any other ideas? 

Good to be Back

I was finally able to photograph the three paintings I did 

on Monday to get me "back in the saddle"

Busy Boys
6 x 6 

First one of the day, and it came so easily. 

Kind of like playing golf after a long break. 

Your first shot is always your best! 

(Something to do with not "over thinking"!) 

Just doing it! 

Sun Hat
6 x 6

 I thought about this too much. 

And it shows. 

For You Dad!
6 x 6

The "Dad" figure worked out right away.

The kid. Not so much. 

Hey. All I know. 

It's good to be back working. 

Amazing Gift

My son surprised me today with the most amazing gift! 

It's a miniature moss terrarium, with a tiny artist sitting on a rock 

painting en plein air! 

It came in a cool glass jar with a lid. 

The moss will grow to the point where you can trim it. 

That's how small the figure is! 

All I have to do it spray it once in a while 

and keep it out of direct sun. 

I just love this thing! 

Check them out at 

http://twigterrariums.com/

I'm a pretty lucky Mom! 

Perfect Storm

A rainy Monday with the whole place to myself and no plans! 

Perfect for getting back to work.

I'm always a little nervous about getting back in the saddle after a long break. 

Last week, I was afraid I was going to forget how to paint, 

so I gave myself 15 minutes to do this on my way out the door.

(I touched it up a bit today) 

Yellow Bucket 

5 x 7 

A great way to loosen up! 

That got me excited to get busy today. 

Last night I prepared three 6 x 6 cubes 

to do some beach people paintings. 

I'll post them tomorrow!  

Garden Club Meeting

One day this summer, our Garden Club enjoyed a tour 

of some amazing Daylily and Perennial gardens

 in Scituate, MA.  

Garden Tour 

6 x 8 

Stephen Tooker and his wife Janet manage 

every element of these meticulously maintained gardens

 featuring over 650 varieties!! 

Painting Big Paintings

Last week a wonderful plein air painter, Laurel Daniel 

posted a very informative "step by step" of how she'd done a really big painting. 

(She usually paints on the much smaller side.) 

It was so helpful to me, as I am attempting a similar challenge.

A few months ago, a friend had given me a huge blank 5' x 3' canvas.

So during a recent heat wave, 

I decided to crank up the air conditioning and attack it.

I had to bungee cord the thing to my easel!  

I covered my taboret with freezer paper to use as a pallet. 

(A la Ken Auster) 

I did a grid and 

blocked in my map using red charcoal.

A big mistake. It made a mess.

I blocked in the dark and light sides of the figures 

the same way I do my small paintings 

using much bigger brushes

Then roughly blocked in the background just to define the figures.

So, this is where I am. 

I'm not sure if I will finish it  

or just cover it up and start over.  

Here is my read on painting huge paintings so far:

1. Details are important so you have to get it just right. 

2. It's harder to just make a stroke and leave it.

3. You have to use an extraordinary amount of paint! 

4. Not to mention how much time it takes!

So it's a huge investment! 

My short attention span and need for immediate gratification 

has kept me away from this.

Now, I know why!  

Note: 

Be sure to visit my Patience with Patients blog 

to see what we did today! 

   

Workshop Announcement

I'm excited about an upcoming "One Hour Painting" workshop 

to be held from 10 - 4 on Sept 24 and 25 

at the South Shore Art Center in Cohasset, MA.

This workshop will explore the practice of creating a painting 

from start to finish in one hour, 

teaching you how to think more spontaneously

 and produce more lively and intuitive work.

 It will help you simplify the process, and be able to “say a lot with little”. 

Generous, quick, well placed strokes will give you

fresher, simpler, more effective paintings.

The workshop will include demos, exercises, and “timed” one hour group painting sessions.

We will work from still life and photos, primarily in oils, 

although the lessons may be applied to acrylics as well.

An understanding of the materials would be helpful.

If interested, sign up early!

Inspiration!

I've noticed a lot of artists are posting paintings that inspire them lately. 

This painting, by Tim Horn hangs at the entrance of my 

 studio at the beach and inspires me every day!  

"Umbrella Man with Towel" 

by Tim Horn

20 x 24 

He is one of my all time favorite artists. 

Look how he captured that feeling of shade under the umbrella!  

If you don't know his work, check it out here!