Joy, Peace, and Love

Merry Christmas to all my blog friends and followers.  Wishing you the happiest of holidays and a very wonderful, art-filled and heart-filled New Year. 

Thank you all for your comments and interest in my paintings.  I don't get a chance to paint every day anymore, but I really enjoy the days I do paint and am glad I have the opportunity to share my paintings with you.    Today, instead of a painting, I am  sharing a photo of my one year old granddaughter that I took during a recent visit.  She loves to play her viola like her mother plays the bass. 

Street Musician (Recorder)

This very animated gentleman was playing his recorder in the market square for summer tourists.  I so much enjoy painting figures. 

Red Boat on Essex Marsh in Summer

This is the second time I've painted this beautiful summer scene.  Using different colors and a larger canvas I had hoped to again capture the quiet beauty of this treasured marsh along the northern Massachusetts coast.

Roses and Mandarin Oranges

My most recent painting stems from memories of  Holiday celebrations with our darling daughters.    

After the Milking...

This painting was started during a plein air class with Donald Jurney at Appleton Farms.  I have worked and reworked it to convey an impression of the "old world" and the peaceful atmosphere of a dairy farm.  This style differs greatly from my previous post of the ocean. 

Coastal Rocks and Waves

In my youth I spent many hours at play near big rocks such as these on the California coast.  I painted this from my memory of the powerful roar of the sea, the biting cold winds and the excitement of the crashing waves.  

Homegrown Tomatoes and Garlic

Here is a small 6" x 6" still life to sharpen my observational skills.   I have been struggling to create engaging  landscapes recently and have found it relaxing to take a break and paint a still life.  I wonder what message I should take from this insight?   Hmmmm  Perhaps if I had the opportunity to revisit the plein air painting locations to "complete" a painting, I could make more accurate observations of nature.  Here in New England the weather and lighting is never the same for two days in a row, or even for 2 hours some days. My finished landscapes sometimes involve as much imagination as observation.