Christmas Tree ATC

Christmas day is always full of family, food and fun - and a whirlwind of activity beginning to end.  It is so nice to settle down at day's end with my pen, ink, watercolor, and visiting with my parents.  There is something so relaxing in the glow of the Christmas tree, a little peace and serenity in a holiday full of rush and bustle. Perhaps we could get a little more snow now that I'll have more time to paint it!  Painting number 1801 in 1801 days.

Sunset at Home

As I pushed the wheelbarrow back to the mulch pile last night, this is what greeted me as I turned around!  I don't think I've ever seen the sunset from this edge of the pasture, and I've certainly never painted from over here!   When I was a kid, this was the barn lot, with barbed wire fencing right here.  I took some great photos and worked until dark.  At today's Tri County paint in, this is what I painted from.  Now that I know how gorgeous this is, I will be racing out here with the next fabulous sunset!  Painting number 1504 in 1504 days :)

Fleeting Light

The sky is full of paintings tonight!  Every direction boasts of another fabulous sunset composition!   I am simply not fast enough to paint the three beauties before me!  So, I will have to paint the others from memory and my photos.  I can only hope to do the landscape justice.  I'm trying a couple of new brushes with this one.  They are the poly tipped filberts by Princeton, and they work like my bristle brushes, only they feel different as they apply the paint.  So far, so good.  I may need to use a lighter touch as the brush seems to push down on the surface a little harder.  I am having fun with these sunsets, this may just be a week of sunsets!   Painting number 1290 in 1290 days :)

Fleeting Light
Oil on panel, 7x5
purchase here

Sunset Glow

Some days, the setting sun is irresistible, and I must go get my paints!  Everything is so lush outside, with all the rain we've had this week!  What could possibly set off this landscape more than a glorious show in the sky?  With so many clouds, I started this one with my gray cloud colors first,  then moved to the violets overhead.  Next, came the lighter hues, followed be the brightest lights.   The landscape was last, since it was important for me to get the sky color in before it was gone!  This painting îs the 1289th in as many days :)

Sunset Glow
oil on panel, 7x5
purchase here

Winter Magic

Winter Magic
Oil on masonite, 22x28
purchase here

Today, I have been working on commissions, and nearly have two of them completed.  Once I lost the natural light, I switched to finishing a large winter landscape - 22x28 inches.  Bringing this one nearly to completion a week ago, I then hung it on the wall to see if anything called out to me.  Indeed it did!  I had finished at night, and the full light of day showed that I needed more working time!  My colors were too cool throughout, needing the balance of warm middle and foreground hues.  So, I have made those adjustments tonight, and we’ll just see what the painting tells me tomorrow!  I will probably need to take a daylight photo of this painting as well - the colors are not reading true.  It feels a little awkward to switch from acrylics to oils - especially after a month of using acrylics!  The trick is to be sure I pull out the right brushes for the right medium every time! This painting makes number 1064 in 1064 days.

Winter Light

Winter Light
Oil on canvas, 7x5

Wow!  What a day!  All of my mom's side of the family came out for our annual Christmas gathering today - and what fun we had!  It is so good to get together and talk about our childhood memories - and those of our parents when they were children, too!  The new baby was a real treat - and all of the little ones were a delight!  On such a busy, busy day, I am only now finding time for a quick painting before going back down for a board game.  Painting number 728 in 728 days :)

Warm Winter Morning

Warm Winter Morning
Oil on Panel

I just love the reflection of the sun off the snowy ground!  This one is another painting done from reference work on location back in the woods.  I first textured my surface a bit before sketching in the composition.  I then painted with my oils - heavy in places, and topped it all off with a little palette knife work.  As Christmas approaches - I find less and less time to paint,  which means I must now paint smaller and faster - if I am going to get my paint fix in!

January Beckons

January Beckons
Oil on panel
Private Collection

One frosty morning in January, I found myself strolling through the woods.  The light softly glistened off the snow reflecting this beautiful peachy pink glow.  Too cold to set up, I simply sketched out my composition and put down a little color reference with a few colored pencils I carry in a small kit.  I keep this in the car - just in case I find a scene that I absolutely must capture on the spot.  It is also ideal for those freezing cold days that I just can't make myself paint outdoors!  Although, this winter I will be packing heat packs for my hands and feet - it is hard to paint when my hands are shivering and I keep dropping my brushes :)

Tumbling Waters

Tumbling Waters
Oil on panel - 14x11

Another beautiful location to set up easel and paints - Dogwood Canyon!  I could paint here every day for a month - and still have 100's of paintings left in my head.  This creek passes through the whole park with beautiful waterfalls and bridges at every turn.  I set up just west of the Chuckwagon Site - where the campfires were burning, to provide a little relief from the cold.  I started this one completely in sepia, and only decided to glaze in some colors towards the end.  The sun was warm, and the scenery inspiring - what more could an artist want?

A Little Night Magic

A Little Night Magic
Oil on panel - 11x14
Original Sold
Print Available

This new nocturne painting is of the Kansas City Club (the 13th and Baltimore location from 1922-2002) to commemorate their 130th Anniversary.  This cityscape was submitted to the Buttonwood Gallery yesterday.  I have really been getting into these nocturne paints lately - thanks  to Jason Sacran and John Lassater and an October night paint on the square in Carthage, MO!  This is only my fourth one, ever, and the possibilities are just unfolding before me.  Cityscapes are also a change of venue - and I am finding that I love painting them.  It is so fun working from dark to light - just the opposite of my normal daylight process.  Learning new techniques and stretching the boundaries can be so exciting - and challenging at the same time!

Falls the Shadow

Falls the Shadow
10x8, oil on panel

The dance of light and shadow instantly drew me in.  My first time to the Battle of Carthage State Park, and I wanted to explore this place with my oils.  The warm, late morning sun stretched across the field on this perfect October day.  Leaves were rustling all around me as I set my easel up in the deep shade.  I have been trying different techniques of paint application - and on this day, I used a palette knife for almost this whole piece!  It is so liberating to try something new - like blazing a new trail!

Lamplight in the Garden

Lamplight in the Garden
12x9 oil on panel
Original Sold
Print Now Available

The night was cold and crisp as the signal was given for painters to start their pieces (for the Nocturne Paint at Big Cedar).  I was quickly grabbing my panel and heading to a spot that had just grabbed my attention.  I loved this garden scene, and how the lamplight illuminated the path.  The paints flowed freely and I finished before the two hour time limit.  Painting a nocturne outdoors is always a surprise.  You just don't know what you have until you are finished and bring it inside.  With this one - it was a pleasant surprise, indeed!  I love when that happens.

Sunlight in the Garden

As I approached this path, I knew instantly that this would be my scene for the Sunset Quick Paint at the STEMS Plein Air Event.  Time after time, I find myself picking out spots where I am looking into the sun as I paint.  I am drawn to the way the light illuminates the flowers and foliage as it strikes them from behind.   Trying to keep my wide brimmed hat between the sun and my eyes, I mix the oils and apply the paint.  Laying in the lights quickly - I move next to the shadows.  Upon finishing, I find this is one of my favorite plein air pieces painted in one of my favorite places.
Sunlight in the Garden
Oil on panel - 14x11

A Dream of Hydrangeas

Early one morning before a workshop, I set out to find just the right spot to paint at the Overland Park Arboretum (during the STEMS Plein Air Event).  As I approached the beautiful iris garden, these hydrangeas bloomed in profusion!  It has been such an early year for all the flowers, that these were out a month early.  It was misty and damp as I started blocking in the masses.  This time, I worked in acrylic, fully intending to top it off with oils.  The early morning sun cast a golden glow as it rose over the tree line.  I used a little soft gel medium to add texture to the petals, laying in the colors in a loose manner.  As I neared the finish, I stepped back, took a long look, and decided the oils just weren't needed.  The effect was misty and moody - and it was time to put the brushes down.  That is one of the hardest things to know - just when to stop.

A Dream of Hydrangeas
14x18 acrylic on panel
sold

Magic in the Morning

I painted this one at the Two Hour Quick Paint competition at the Deanna Rose Farm on the last day of the STEMS Plein Air Event.  Arriving by 6:30 am, the artists were treated to donuts and bagels, before we all headed out to paint at 7:00.  This spot is located a good distance from the entrance, but is a favorite place of mine for garden painting.  Hustling down with my gear, I came to this spot, and the light grabbed me.  The early sun lit up the flowers, while the shadows remained long across the path and into the more heavily treed area through the gate.  I set up my easel and started on my masses.  About half way through, the sprinkler system came on, drenching the whole left side of my scene!  I already had most of the preliminary work done, so I concentrated on the rest, knowing the sprinkler would go off soon.  As I worked, I noticed there were also sprinklers right in front of my easel leg.  Boy, I hoped they wouldn't go off next!  I worked faster, feeling the pressure that I might have to suddenly move if the "rains" started.  In 20 minutes, the sprinklers went off.  Five minutes passed, and YIKES!!! - they came on right behind me!  I quickly moved up six paces to clear the downpour - and set back to work!  I raced to a finish, and started packing up my easel, just before the last sprinklers went off in front of me!  Plein air painting is always an adventure.  One day, it is the bugs in my pant (or up my leg), the next - hidden sprinklers pop up out of nowhere and rain down on my painting.  I have almost lost my easel twice as it started sinking down into the edge of a lake.   I have painted in the cold, driving rain (and hail), as well as the hottest summer sun at 105 degrees.  But, I have also painted numerous occasions in weather so beautiful, surrounded by God's beauty and abundance - that I am forever inspired to go back out and capture the glory.

Magic in the Morning
11x14 oil on panel

Frisella Falls

I set up for this painting early one misty morning before sunrise.  Frisella Nursery is a wonderful place in Defiance, MO, full of garden scenes, statues, water features and foliage.  If you love gardening, this is the place for you.  It was hard to pick my spot with so many beautiful choices to paint!  The air was so crisp  - my fingers stiffened up around those brushes!  I had to take a break midway through just to go in and grab some hot tea and a wonderful yogurt parfait loaded with fresh fruit! Hands warm, back to work, and the paint just slid off the brush.  The early sun bathed the scene in a pink glow just long enough for me to get the color in.  Too soon the light was gone, and it was time to move on to another event.  I hope to return here someday and paint again.

Oil over acrylic on panel
sold

Mountain Glow

On this painting, I underpainted the whole scene in acrylic, and then came over the top with oils.  I found the oils flowed smoothly over the acrylic, and really popped the warmth and lights up a notch.  The oils seem to add to the depth as well.