Shiny Ornaments

As I deck the halls, I find a bowl of old ornaments that I keep for painting! Where fancy and ornate adorn my trees, the shiny colored glass balls make great subject matter! Reflecting colors off of each other, they are happy, bold and bright! I use acrylic paint for these baubles - and can't wait to paint some more.  Perhaps this will be my Christmas card theme for the season?! Painting number 3975 in 3975 days. 

Tree at Nelson-Atkins Museum

I have never been to the Nelson-Atkins Museum at Christmas time, and was excited to see the nativity scenes at up in this main hall.  My artist friends had told me how lovely it was, but the expansive hall was empty, except for this lovely unadorned tree.  With a few poinsettias flanking it, this was the only seasonal view.  So, I sketched the tree with pencils and lunched with Mom and friends, still longing for a gorgeous Christmas scene.  I think we're going to Union Station in a couple of weeks so that place will surely meet my needs!  Painting number 3974 in 3974 days. 

First Snow at Yellow Barn

Painting on a snowy morning is one of the most peaceful experiences.  All is still and the air is crisp, snow crunches underfoot.  The sun warms my back as I work, and I turn to face it every so often.  There's almost no wind this morning, and the paint time is delightful.  This early snow makes Christmas feel near, and the beauty around me is invigorating!  I hope there is more snow coming soon, I can hear the dripping as this one melts!  Painting number 3973 in 3973 days. 

Snow at the Blue Barn

A beautiful blanket of snow arrived overnight, covering hill and dale.  Rushing my morning work to get out and paint, I found the sun warm and the wind calm.  The cedars catch the snow so gracefully, it makes me so happy to have nurtured them to this size, to be painted.  All I plant and cultivate here is with an eye to future paintings.  I can already see them in my mind, and all I have to do is work toward that vision.  Painting number 3972 in 3972 days. 

Farmhouse Snow

Our first snow is a beautiful one - blanketing the landscape in glistening white!  Dripping from the eves as soon as the sun popped out, I knew I had to get out there quickly.  An overcast morning soon opened up to a clear sky before I finished, and I did not chase that light.  The morning glow remains in the sky as I paint the beauty before me.  What a treat to wake up to this, now if only it would last a few days!  Painting number 3971 in 3971 days. 

Christmas at Union Station

 Wow!  What a magical place Union Station is at Christmas time! With holiday music in the air, and families coming to enjoy the tree, all is merry and bright!  I feel nostalgic in this place, with a feeling of reverence as I remember the six generations of my family that have walked these halls, that I now paint.  Could any of them have imagined I would?  As I do so often - and hardly anyone knows - I have painted my family members into the crowd, and I am all the way to the right - painting the scene at my easel. Just a little something extra for those who really look!  Painting number   3969 in 3969 days. 

Family Tree Christmas

 

This place is brimming with Christmas spirit - and one can't help but be swept away!  Meeting artist friends here for our weekly plein air outing, I could hardly decide which tree to paint!  There are many here, all with different themes, just begging to be painted!  Michaela and the little ones met me here, since this is close to their house.  The boys picked out special ornaments, and we enjoyed steamers back in the greenhouse.  It's always balmy out there - even on those snowy days!  I love sketching here so much, and it always gets me in the mood for holiday painting!  Painting number 3966 in 3966 days. 

Christmas at Family Tree

Painting this time of year at a favorite local nursery always gets me in the Christmas spirit!  Family Tree Nursery welcomed our Monday watercolor group today, and Michaela and the boys joined me there as well!  As I sketched a couple of beautiful trees, they picked out special ornaments and a gift for Daddy. We enjoyed hot steamers in the greenhouse afterward, and I picked up a few new plants on the way out.  It was a lovely morning filled with holiday cheer and we'll wishers add I visited with the shoppers. What a lovely way to kick off the week of Thanksgiving!  Painting number 3965 in 3965 days. 

Autumn Drive

I couldn't resist the gorgeous fall foliage along this gravel drive, so I parked a little way back and got a quick painting in! The leaves have been blowing and there is a chill in the air - our beautiful, warm days might be over tonight! We've had such a long, warm fall, but I'm still not ready for it to end.  I am thankful tonight that I've had the extra days to capture this color this year, and I'm looking forward to painting the holiday season now, too. 

Light on the Tanks

I've lately been hunting up special requests from patrons, and have come across a few paintings never posted. In an effort to update my records, I'm adding them when I find them. It gives me a place to tag those paintings and make them visible to those in search of them. This is an acrylic painting of an oil field site somewhere near Fairfield, Illinois.  It was down a gravel path unknown to me, and I didn't record the exact location.  I've not been to that site since, so can only guess that is was north/northwest of town, based on what I remember. Painting number 3963 in 3963 days. 

Autumn Hay Bale

I often paint over old paintings, and there is a walking bridge though the woods under this one.  At 5 inches wide, it doesn't quite fit my 7x5 thumb box pochade, but that doesn't stop me.  I spent most of the day looking at this scene while cutting trees and brush from around the milk barn. I just had to make time to get this painted! The reds of autumn are fading fast, so I'm out making the most of it while the leaves remain.  I love having the hay bales in the pasture so much, too.  I hope to get many more paintings before they are removed!  Painting number 3962 in 3962 days. 

JC Nichols Fountain Nocturne

The JC Nichols fountain is one of my favorite Kansas City places to paint, and I especially love painting it at night!  I've painted 4 different nocturnes here, two in oil, one in acrylic and oil, and this one in acrylic.  I like to use a heavy body acrylic paint with a dry brush technique, never adding water to the paint.  I don't even rinse out my brushes until I ready to wash them, so that water doesn't dilute the paint.  It's been a while since I've used my acrylics, and it is fun to switch mediums daily.  No better way to keep things fresh!  Painting number 3961 in 3961 days. 

St. Vincent's Chapel

 St. Vincent's Chapel sits atop a hill at the Chaumette Winery near Sainte Genevieve, Missouri.  This is a lovely place for unforgettable weddings, and a wonderful place to paint!  This one is in acrylic, and I find I'm interested in that medium again!  I think I'll revisit my acrylics more often in the coming weeks. Painting number 3960 in 3960 days. 

Autumn at Union Hill

These autumn days are fleeting, and I'm so lucky to get to paint them before they fade! We're having a gorgeous November, and it is my pleasure to work in perfect weather.  What a treat!  The leaves are dropping quickly now, and I feel my painting window closing.  The next season has it's own beauty, and I will love painting it, too.  Painting number 3959 in 3959 days. 

White Barn Autumn

What glorious color there is in autumn leaves!  Shining and saturated, these colors sing in the landscape against the green grass. I see a subtle shift in the color each day, and the leaves falling to the ground are a sure sign of bare branches to come. I do wish the trees could hold onto their autumn best for a month or two - then maybe I could get my fill of fall painting!  Painting number 3958 in 3958 days. 

In Retirement

This is the second painting of this style, in this field full of oil well equipment painted while in Fairfield, Illinois.  A very complicated scene when first drawn, I've come to know my subject better now. What was like a puzzle of angles and lines is now a rhythm of pump jacks and parts.  It has been very interesting to work in this field, and I can't wait to find more oil fields when I return to Fairfield!  Painting number 3957 in 3957 days.  So happy this painting has a new home with two others!  Yay! 

Autumn Hay Bales

The reds of autumn are really popping here on the farm, and I am delighted to capture the beauty in oil!  This may be the first time that our last cutting of hay has coincided with peak autumn color!  Though I'm painting small plein air pieces each day on our property, I intend to paint them larger when I've got more time!  LOVE painting the beautiful autumn color in this pastoral setting I love so much!  Painting number 3956 in 3956 days. 

Plaza Lights Magic

I absolutely LOVE painting the Country Club Plaza for the holidays!  Always inspiring, this place is celebrating it's 100th year!  Though I've painted these gorgeous streets multiple times, I've never chosen acrylics to do it with.  I've been painting a great deal lately, so it's wonderful to stretch into a different medium for a bit.  I'm using a do brush technique with heavy body acrylics, without water.  They build up with a thicker, more opaque quality this way.  And the color pop of that acrylic paint is also very different from my oils.  Such a great change!  The best bonus is that the painting dries very quickly, so I could frame it up the same day!  This one is now showing at HDR Inc in Kansas City along with 14 others.  It is the 3955th painting in 3955 days. 

Golden Pond

 I love the golden hour light on our pond, especially on such a still evening with glassy reflections!  The autumn color all over our property is spectacular, and all I want to do is paint all day, afraid the colors will fade before I get them all painted.  This was a difficult day, saying goodbye to a dear friend for the last time, remembering the good times with others.  Spending a little time at water's edge has been so very soothing.  I can always turn to nature with my paint for healing.  Painting number 3954 in 3954 days. 

Autumn Path

 Oh, how I love the colors of autumn!  The pin oaks are really putting on a show today as they near their peak color!  The golden orange is pushing to red, and I'm so happy to get the chance to paint them!  75 degrees in November is a chance not to be missed when it comes to plein air painting!  Hoping for more opportunities as the days roll by!  Painting number 3952 in 3952 days. 

Autumn Path to the Woods

 

I'm thankful today for an amazing day to spend at the zoo with family - and a little time to paint, too!  The chilly start soon turned to the 70s - and we couldn't have had a better day for family fun!  The most beautiful leaves are fading, but I'm hopeful the reds will soon begin.  The path to the southwest pasture is lovely in it's autumn glow - and it just had to be painted in oils.  What a treat this late in November!  Painting number 3950 in 3950 days. 

7 Tanks

 

Love sending paintings to their new home - and this one is headed to Fairfield, Illinois!  Sketched on the outskirts of town, the rusty color of those tanks grabbed my attention.  With ink and watercolor, I painted the scene leaving the sky for last.  I didn't want to detract from the composition by adding color to the sky, so I didn't!  Painting number 3949 in 3949 days. 

Autumn at the Historical Society

 

I LOVE painting the colors of fall - while they last!  The autumn leaves are always glorious at Union Cemetery this time of year - and the historical society farmhouse makes the perfect backdrop.  Those cool shadows make the warm sunlit leaves shine, and that color is reflected on the fallen leaves as well.  Such a lovely time of year, and I can already see a shift just past peak in our color.  This season's color is swiftly passing!  Painting number 3948 in 3948 days.  

Oil Field Remnants

When in Fairfield, Illinois, I get the chance to paint the most interesting oil field equipment!  It's so fun to draw such a complex gathering of metal lines and angles - and very challenging!  It's a bit like pouring together a puzzle, one line at a time, radiating out from my start point! I've chosen pen and ink for this one, giving it a vintage feel.  It feels timeless in black ink on handmade paper. So happy this painting will have a new home near where it was created!  Painting number 3947 in 3947 days. 

Last Whisper of Sunset

Oh, how I love the moment the sun slips below the horizon!  All is still this evening in the landscape, and only the sound of my brushes working to capture this light breaks the quiet.  I wish I somehow had the time to paint sunset every day, how much a could learn from that daily practice!  Perhaps I can focus on this in January, when my schedule eases up a little.  There's just something special about sunrise and sunset each day.  Painting number 3946 in 3946 days.