Plein Aire Class 9

Canal Lock #17



8" x 10"


Oil


$100



This is one of the canal locks at Great Falls Park. This is a very popular path for walking and biking. My class is finished so this is the last of the plein aire series. I am now taking one of my studies and making a large studio painting. Hopefully you will see that next week.

Plein Aire Class 8

Along the Canal



10" x 8"



Oil



$100



This little resting spot is along the canal at Great Falls, Potomac, MD. A wonderful park to go walking or biking on the path . also there is a boat that travels thru a few locks pulled by mules that visitors can ride. There is a walking bridge to the Potomac River. What a sight! Rocks and waterfalls.

Plein Aire Class 7

House by the Lake


9" x 16"

Oil

$100


I love to paint houses! This one was nestled back in the trees and the early morning sun was peaking through and just hitting in a few spots.

Plein Aire Class 6

The Other Side

19" x 9"

Oil

$100

Yesterday was so beautiful that I stayed and painted the other side of the house. So you see how the sun is hitting the roof at 1:00 in the afternoon. A brighter green. A good day to be painting but everyday is a good day to paint.

Plein Aire Class 5

Poole's House, 16" x 9", Oil, $100

We have been so lucky with the weather. Lots of sunshine. I fell in love with the way the early morning sun was hitting this house especially the green tin roof.

Plein Aire Class 4

Butler's Market Sign

8" x 10"

Oil

$100

Butler's, our local pick-your-own orchard, has old wagon and machinery scattered on their acreage. Quaint signs tell you where to pick your blueberries and where to check out. I couldn't resist paintings these wagon wheels. I used a palette knife for the background grasses.

Plein Aire Class 3

Front Yard

9" x 16"

Oil

So this one is a little better. You can feel the shape of the trees and sense the depth. It was a beautiful day to be outside.

Plein Aire Class 2

Agricultural

Farm

8 x 10

Oil

This is my first palette knife painting. Not the greatest but it was fun and fast. The purpose of this exercise is to teach you to mass in the general colors and establish the large planes of light and shadow. I'm struggling with seeing the tree color structure; the lights, darks, shadows and the transitional color. Practice, practice, practice.

Plein Aire Class

Butler's Field

8 x 10

Oil

Haven't posted any paintings since I started taking a plein aire class a few weeks ago. Painting outside is a new experience for me as well as painting landscapes. The class is fun and I'm learning quite a bit. But as you can tell I have a long way to go before I can call my trees beautiful. This field is a local orchard where you can pick your own fruit; blueberries, strawberries, and pumpkins in the fall. The early morning sun was low in the sky hence the long shadows. It was a beautiful sight. Not to mention the sounds of birds and kids laughing as they picked blueberries. I didn't realize plein aire was also communing with nature. It gives you a whole new perspective on life. I will post more of my sketches this week. After a few days of just painting scenery I decided to add a building or machinery to make it more of a still life. I decided I much prefer to do that so stay tuned.

Meet Tiger!

Tiger

Oil

10" x 10"

Isn't this puppy the cutest? It is so much fun painting dog portraits.

Single Pear

Ready, Aim, ...!

5 " x 7"

Oil

$60

"No, not me." Yes, little guy. Pretty little specimen and very delicious. Complimentary colors make this pleasing to the eye.

DSFDF Challenge

Farmer's Market

12" x 9"

$100

Another challenge from Different Strokes from Different Folks - Farmer's Market Vegetables. I loved doing this one. Yes, it was a challenge getting the shadows on the vegies just right. Looking at it in this picture I think I might need to go back and adjust a few things. Tomatoes are my favorite summer vegie... gazpacho, tomato tart, brushetta, caprese. Oh, i can't forget New Jersey corn either!

Basking in the Sun

Radish
5" x 5"
Oil
$75
I usually buy radishes in bags but the store had these lovelies with the greens attached. Radishes are so great in salads and I love to dip them in Ranch dressing. Yummy!

PA landscape - DSDF challenge

Here is the Different Strokes for Different Folks challenge. It was a black and white photo of a PA farm and we were to add our own color. It was fun to do. I am originally from Pennslyvania and the landscape seemed so familiar. PA is a beautiful state. Maybe I need to go visit and take my outdoor painting supplies.

Artomatic begins!!!

Artomatic opened on Friday, May 29th. Lots of people, great shows, delicious food. So if you are in DC stop by and have fun. Don't forget to stop by my display on the 5th floor, area 3.

Three Apples #2

Three Apples #2

10" x 10"

Oil

This size is great... not too large and not too small. Can finish in a day. I'm learning alot from using the complimentary colors together. The highlights are a mix of this turquoise and alizarin. Fun, Fun, Fun!!

Three Apples # 1

Three Apples #1

10" x 10"

Oil

This turquoise bowl is Mallo-Ware. Growing up we had a set of these dishes. It brings back great memories from my childhood. I just love complimentary colors, the contrast of the green and red. It was fun putting the light reflections on these apples. Stay tuned... I'm sure I will paint more of these.

Red Pears 1

This 10" x 10" oil painting is one of my artworks for Artomatic. I painted 4 pieces that can be grouped together in a square or hung individually. I love the complimentary colors and the way the pears fill the canvas. It's vibrant and exciting. The loose brushstrokes add to that also. Lately my compositions have been looking down on my subjects. Since I'm tall this perspective is nothing new to me.

Set up Artomatic

Yesterday my daughter and I went to the Artomatic 2009 venue on M St, SE Washington, DC to set up my space. We had to paint and put up lights. As you can see i'm ready to install the artwork. That will be next week since I'm still painting . If you are not familiar with Artomatic, you need to get there this year! Before the building is rented Artomatic comes in and lets over 1000 artists and performers show their stuff! Displays are set up for 2-D artists and there are two stages for performing groups, plus food and drinks. May 29 - July 5, Wednesday thru Sunday, open late on weekends. There are 9 floors this year! (I'm on the 5th floor) Take the Metro to Navy Yard. Free. http://www.artomatic.org/

Pig timer

This is a 4" x 4" oil painting of another timer I have. Don't you just love his expression? I would love to do a series of them but I only have two. Oh, I have to go shopping!!

Chef Timer

I have this timer sitting in my kitchen staring at me when I'm cooking. He is so cute! I had to paint him. It is 4" x 4". He has this quizical look that's asking "Are you sure you want to serve that?" And I say "Yes!" I'm a pretty good cook. Only a few disasters. Like the time I forgot I was cooking meatloaf and didn't remember till the next morning!!!! I was extremely busy. We were moving the next day and I thought leftover meatloaf would make great sandwiches. Went to get hubby at train station, stopped for dinner, walking upstairs to apartment and smelled this wonderful smell. Said I guess our neighbor is cooking. Woke up next morning still smelling this wonderful smell and FINALLY I realized it was my meatloaf. It was shriveled, looked like a piece of coal. We were very lucky there wasn't a fire. Well that's my dumb blond story and I wasn't even a blond then!!!