Colorado Mountain View

Portrait of Rudolf Steiner.

Using a black and white photo of an elderly Rudolf Steiner, I challenged myself to portray
him as a younger man.  I really enjoyed working on this painting.

October in Sugar Hill, New Hampshire

The White Mountains of New Hampshire in early October are beautiful.  I attended a plein air workshop with the American Artist, Stapleton Kearns in Sugar Hill, NH a few years ago.  This painting represents a memory of the late afternoon light effects on the muted landscape colors.

Artist at Work

Clouds above Light on Shore

This is an imaginary coastal scene that I created using a palette knife and brush technique.  I sometimes paint a landscape from memory or composite memories of beautiful places I have experienced.  This one represents the low early evening light under the clouds illuminating the islands and the shore.  Painting from memory frees one's creative spirit.  Does this painting evoke any memories of a particular place for you?

Summer Marsh in Ipswich

This painting is a view of the marsh at high tide on the road to Crane's Beach.  Often there are kayakers and boaters on these waterways.  I recently rented a lovely art studio space in an old mill building where I can continue to focus on developing my skills as a painter in the company of many wonderful artist friends.  I find that having a space outside of my home helps me concentrate for uninterrupted hours of creativity.  I'll be sharing more paintings with you soon.

Tea and Roses

Dear friends and followers,
I have been away from my blog for several months while I have been taking classes with a wonderful artist, Kelly Carmody. I have learned a lot and am now inspired to again paint still lifes, landscapes and portraits and share them with you on my blog.  I have reactivated my website and added some new paintings at:  sunnywestpaintings.com.    This is my latest oil painting from a still life set up in my studio.  I love the challenge of painting white roses!  Thank you for sharing my adventures in painting.  It is so nice to have feedback and comments on this blog.   I will continue to post new paintings as they are finished.  Enjoy!

October in the White Mountains

Bright sunshine pours over the hill after the first October snow covers the distant mountain tops in New Hampshire.

Painting a Sargent at the Museum of Fine Arts

This is a revised painting of the woman at the MFA painting a copy of John Singer Sargent's painting.  I made several changes that I hope are improvements.  I am submitting this painting to a juried Members show at the Newburport Art Association this weekend.

Painting Sargent at the MFA

On a recent visit to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, I discovered this young woman painting a painting by one of my favorite Boston artists, John Singer Sargent.  She was doing a wonderful job!  I couldn't resist taking a photo so that I could paint her painting Sargent.

Sonoma Coast

During a recent hike on the cliffs above the ocean in Sonoma County, I found many beautiful scenes to paint.  It was early evening and the light was low on the horizon.

A Man and His Horse

This oil painting is of my friend, Doug,  grazing his horse on a hill in Sacramento, California.

Colorado Summer Storm

Fast moving skies above the Lake in the mountains above Colorado Springs inspired this painting.  While following the path around the lake last September I took over 200 photos for references for future paintings.  This is the first of many I plan to paint.

Fruit Basket

A simple, but evocative still life....

Yellow Lemons

Another Still Life completed.....

Old Jug, Garlic and Grapes

Alla prima Still Life

Portrait of Roger

This is a 16 x 12 inch portrait of my husband, Roger.  It is hard to say when a portrait is finally "done".  There are always many changes one can make.  This is the current stage of my attempt to capture Roger's persona on canvas.  

Boothbay, Maine, early morning light and mist

Two paintings of a Maine farm and marsh near Booth Bay, Maine.  The early morning light inspired me to paint these two paintings.  The barn and the marsh are on opposite sides of the country road. 

Late Fall in the White Mountains

Last weekend I painted this at a plein air workshop taught by Stapelton Kearns in Sugar Hill, NH.  It is the product of a two hour painting session in the bitter cold on a cloudy afternoon.  Usually, I continue to work on a plein air painting later in my studio.  Perhaps, I should leave this one alone and let the experience of that day remain on the canvas?