Sold "Sweet Peonies" to a new collector in Gig Harbor, Washington. My brush is feeling rusty this summer with a lot activities and visitors.  Back to doing a few rose studies in the garden while they are still beautiful.

This painting sold yesterday.  "Forgotten Rose" 8" x 10" - oil on panel. This has been a great year for rose paintings - the reference for this one was a rose from my Arizona garden.  I really am nuts about flowers in general and especially roses. Time to paint more.

I have been working on this painting for some time.  Since we live by the water, I am always intrigued by boats and how they sit and reflect in the water.  The reference photo for this is actually a small harbor in Cornwall, England.  I know my dear cousin Kenneth will enjoy this.

This painting of "Sunflowers" sold last week.  I painted it about three years ago when I was doing more formal still lifes.  I had it in our home and decided it was time to take it to the gallery at the Mesa Arts Center in Arizona.  I am very happy that it has found a new home.

My dear grandson Alden is a terrific photographer.  He sent me a photo he took in the woods close to his home in New York.  I absolutely loved the imaged and recently painted it.  This is an 8" x 10" - I am thinking of doing a larger one from the same reference. The photo on top and the painting on the bottom.

The following paintings just sold.  "In the Sticks" - became interested in the stick houses that reside on the water in the Northwest - took many, many photos - this one is about a mile from our house.

And, "Elizabeth's Sunflowers."  A dear friend sent me several photos she took last year of sunflower fields - I could not resist painting them.

Painted "Here She Comes" from a photo I took in January from our deck in the Northwest looking at Vashon Island.

Several years ago, my husband took some amazing photos of the tulips in La Conner, Washington.  I finally got around to painting them this week - just in time for spring.

Painted these sunflowers from an image some friends sent last summer. Enjoyed painting this size, 8" x 16".  Playing around with another one with a bit different composition.

Just finished "Nuts about Geraniums" 10" x 20" Oil on Canvas.  I decided I wanted to tackle a clay pot filled with geraniums, focusing mostly on the pot and the leaves.  I did not expect the pot to be so difficult to paint.  It took many tries, with lots of scraping in between.  I think it was the under painting of some blue that did the trick.

Just off the easel "Sentimental Geraniums" 18" x 18" Oil on Canvas

First sale of 2016.  "Peaceful Water"  purchased by the President of Midwestern University for one of their two campuses.  Often artists are not told who buys their artwork.  Really nice to know.

The following paintings sold in the last month Dancing Pansies and Manchester.  Great to see the art market so active.

The following paintings recently sold, "Hot Cocoa," and "Coronado Roses."  Hot Cocoa was painted from roses of the same name from my garden in the Northwest.  They were at the end of a cycle, drooping and changing color quickly.  Coronado Roses was painted on the island of Coronado in California, this past July.  It was a family vacation - I was able to sneak in some painting time during a rain storm.

 

 

I learned a lot from this painting.  Always take a photo of your reference.  I had a panel that I wanted to reuse - set up a few flowers and leaves - painted for a couple of hours - then set it aside.  A few days later, the flowers long since past their prime - and no photo to look at - I went into the garden, found an almost dead sunflower bud, some lazy Susan stems with no leaves and let my imagination take over.  I am very pleased with the result...

I spent last weekend plein air painting in Snoqualmie and Seattle on the docks.  The weather was perfect. 

I painted this "shed" the first day.  The light was terrific and I could not resist the addition of the red can.

The next day by the river the air was very misty and there was a lot of smoke from the wildfires several hundred miles south.  The result was a very subdued painting.  I added a few hard edges to take the eye back, but kept the composition and the palette, much like the day, subdued.

The Seattle fisheries dock provided lots of opportunities to paint.  In the morning, I painted an old boat that had seen better days, the hull had originally been painted a turquoise blue, which showed through a lot of rust.  In the afternoon, I turned my easel and painted a large yellow truck - such fun.  This one painted itself!

 

 

 

I have many rose bushes in my NW garden - one of the most remarkable is "Hot Cocoa."  The buds are a dark pinky violet, as they begin to open they turn to orange and then a rusty tone. With the recent hot weather the roses are not lasting as long as usual.  I picked these yesterday and they were turning color and drooping as quickly as I was painting them.  It's parents are Playboy and Easy Living - this particular bush is between the two.  Over the years I often see roses take on the characters of other roses beside them, a white becoming pink, etc.  One of the things I love about gardening!

Just returned from a family vacation in Coronado, California.  Not much time to paint, more fun being a Grandma.  During a huge rainstorm I was able to take a few hours and paint some roses I had spied in a neighbors garden.  No matter how many times I paint roses - it always seems like the first.

I recently launched a new website and have made a commitment to blog more frequently.

The idea for this painting began last summer - a few miles from our home in the Northwest is a lovely garden - each August it boasts amazing sunflowers.  I took several photos last year - some in the evening - the result is this painting - "Full Moon" 30"x40" Oil on canvas.

This painting, "Road Home," has been juried into the Arizona Art Alliance Holiday exhibition.  The scene, in Montana, was the result of combining two photographs.  The field was full of sheep, which I decided to leave out. This has been a busy fall - I am looking forward to holidays with our family.

This painting of peonies, which I finished late this summer, has been juried into the Best and Brightest exhibition at the Scottsdale Artist' School.  Please join me at the reception on January 9.

I donated the painting below to the Mesa Contemporary Arts Center for their Fifth Annual Benefit exhibition.  It sold that evening.  Right now I seem to be seeing pansies everywhere - they were one of my Mom's favorite flowers.

As a result of the painting of Ali and Charlotte, a dear friend commissioned me to do a painting of her and her daughter in Maui. It was a lot of fun - I do not think that I did Gracie justice, but her Mom says she smiles every time she  looks at the painting which makes me happy!

We are back at our home in Arizona - we arrived just in time to miss a grim storm that hit the Northwest.  Back to painting outside and loving it! Last week Glen Dean led a workshop - the painting below was done at Lost Dog Trail in Scottsdale.  We had to deal with a lot wind and hot weather, but it was worth it.  The sky was amazing.

We have spent the last few months at our home in the Northwest.  I had promised myself I would paint everyday, something about "best laid plans."  What with some construction on the house, visitors and travel with family and friends, I am way behind on my goal.  On a trip to Cape Cod with family, I took a photo of my granddaughter Charlotte and her Mom doing cartwheels on the beach.  I loved the picture and decided to go out of my comfort zone, and try to paint it (not sure that I even have a comfort zone these days, but I do know figures are not it).  Below is the photograph and the finished painting.  The process was a huge struggle, I did a small study, began on a 16 x 20 canvas - decided to crop it, etc.  I learned a lot doing this.  I do love the reflections in the sand, I did learn that I need a lot more work with figures!

Last month I took a workshop in San Francisco with Carol Marine.  Having no experience with painting street scenes and being a glutton for punishment, I thought why not?  Below are two paintings I did from the photo.  The first painting in the workshop the second when I came back home, yes more punishment.  I actually like the light in the second one better - definitely need a lot more work on this!