Lantern Flowers

Back at my studio today I found these lovely orange lantern flowers lying on my table. Someone very kindly left them there for me to find. Natural beauty waiting to be painted against a deep blue tablecloth... In spite of my plan to paint every day, I find that I need to take a break and recharge my creative energies now and then. I'll try to post daily again this month.

Beach Boys

I have had a short vacation from painting this week. "Beach Boys" is a painting I did last summer of two brothers playing in the sand at Crane's Beach. Summer is fading, the nights are cooler and children return to school in the next two weeks. The leaves have already begun to change here in New England and my energy and enthusiasm for painting is returning.

Plum and Sauce

Back to painting still-lifes. Today's subject provided many challenges and many lessons. The purple plum tastes like summer's past. The small pitcher once contained Italian olive oil.














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Summer Skies over Cranes Beach

I painted this today from a photo I took at the beach a week ago. I have painted on the beach before, but I find it very challenging to carry supplies, set up and interact with all the beach goers, winds and changing cloud shadows.

Early Winter at Appleton Farm

My family visits Appleton Farm each year. It is the oldest American farm in continuous operation and now is held in a land trust and functions as a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) growing food for many local families. This oil painting of the cows in their fields gained a lot of attention at a recent art show. Viewers were interested in the light on the cows and the fields.

Low Tide

The weather has cooled some and I have my muse back today. This afternoon I started a larger seascape with an underpainting that needs to dry before I can continue. The small seascape you see here was from a photo taken this weekend at Crane's Beach. I am planning a series of paintings from that beautiful and festive day.











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Ipswich River Meets the Atlantic Ocean

I painted this scene last summer on-site from the gardens around the hill-top Crane's Estate near Crane Beach. I painted this with a palette knife exclusively (no brush work) on a beautiful cloudy day.

Waiting to Sail

This is a large painting I painted last summer and gave to my husband for Christmas. Unable to paint for a couple of days now, I feel the need to post a pretty picture for my fans.

Park Pond

I painted this on location a couple of months ago and finally put the finishing touches on it today. The hot sticky weather is gone for now and we enjoyed a beautiful afternoon at the beach. We took lots of photos with plans of using them as inspiration for more paintings. Painting from photos is not the best, but it beats painting from one's imagination on most days!

Jenny's Wedding Day

This is a painting I did in January of my daughter, Jenny. She was speaking with friends, gesturing with her hands, as she always does, in the photo I took from a distance. Her figure was reminiscent of John Sargent's models and I couldn't resist the painting challenge. I really like how it turned out.

Essex Boats at Rest

These boats were resting in the estuaries of the Great Marsh in Essex, MA during a low tide and on an overcast day. Colors are always more brilliant when the skies are gray. It is a larger painting 18" x 22 " and much of it was done with a palette knife.

Beets!

Today's painting is a very loose painting of some beets from our garden. The wet earthy beets were a deep purple color to start and then the hot spot light dried them to a muddier color. I tried to keep wetting them, without disturbing their position, but gave up and made them a quick study rather than a detailed painting. By posting my uncensored daily efforts, I continue to show my work and my challenges. Some days I am more successfully creative than others. Stay tuned...

Candle Light Reader

This lovely silver and glass candleholder was found by the side of the road. With a little polish, it now serves as a lovely table light. The red book is "Leaves of Grass" by Walt Whitman. Sometimes it is nice to spend an evening with candles and poetry.












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Grapes Galore

Painting grapes is rather fun. There are different approaches and different degrees of exactitude. I hope today's rendition is exact enough, but not too detailed. There are many subjects that I need to paint again and again to fully understand the nuances of color and shapes. Expect to see more grapes during the year ahead.










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Monhegan Harbor

I painted this from a photo I took last September on a trip to Monhegan Island, Maine. I was awed by the brilliant sunshine below the threatening dark skies and tried to put that excitement into this painting. I'm including it today as an extra posting because I was unable to paint and post a new one yesterday. I can recommend a trip to Monhegan to anyone wishing to experience a truly rustic fishing village that also serves as an artist community. About 50 people live on the island year round. The cottages and hotels are open only during the summer and fall. It is a walking, birding and painting paradise!

Captured Wild Black-Eyed Susans

Summer flowers just beg to be picked and painted this month!















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