Moving to still lifes - Vases, persimmons and color

As the summer winds down the abundance of color and beauty from my surroundings captivates my eye. On my husbands family farm in Tennessee we discovered a wonderful persimmon tree loaded with brilliant ripe and unripened fruit. I was enthralled by the orange and subtle green of the small round fruit with a delightful four leaf top. Pulaski Gardens has yielded a bounty of color with glorious sunflowers, zinnias and lovely chickens. Again on the Tennessee farm purple thistles with tender blossoms reaching out. At the Argenta Farmers Market a great find of Japanese persimmons the size of baseballs. What fun it has been to find these gems to paint.

Persimmons 11 x 14 Oil on Linen available at the Art Group Gallery

Razzle Dazzle Sunflowers II 9 x 12 Oil on Linen Panel
Available direct from Artist

 Summer Thistle 12 x 9 Oil on Linen Panel Sold

Japanese Persimmons 12 x 16 Oil on Linen Available at The Art Group Gallery

Finishing up the Capitol series

This is the last in my series of Capitol paintings. It is large for a plein air work, 24 x 26 inches. It took four different days to get it to the point I could fine tune in the studio. I love painting plein air. My strokes stay fresher and my colors maintain a brightest that only natural light can produce.

Arkansas State Capitol North View 24 x 36 inches Oil on Linen
Available at The Art Group Gallery

Landscapes and Architecture

Life slowed down my painting for a couple of weeks but I am back on track. I have been exploring the Little Rock cityscape and the architecture of the State Capitol. Painting things so that they look like things you are actually seeing with the right perspective and values is a real challenge. Here are some recent plein air works.

Broadway Bridge and Little Rock, AR 10 x 18 Sold

Arkansas State Capitol South View 12 x 24 - available at the Art Group Gallery.

Fine Tuning

Many of my plein air works need a little tweaking back in the studio especially the larger ones. This Capitol View painting really started to shine with some fine tuning. Greeting the Sun Oil on Linen 24 x 24.

New Skyline Plein Air

The rain finally abated and I went to a new location to paint some Little Rock Skyline views. Fort Roots is the VA hospital in North Little Rock. It has wonderful vistas of the city.

Capitol View from Ft. Roots - 10 x 10 Oil on Linen

View to the Railroad Bridge - 12 x 16 Oil on Linen 

Evening Skyline at Victory Lake Burns Park - 6 x 12 Oil On Linen

Challenge of Florals

We have had a rainy last couple of weeks. It has been a while since I set up some florals so rainy days are perfect still life opportunities. I have been experimenting with my palette knife more. Learning how to move the paint with the knife is a challenge but enjoyable. "Jumping Up Lilies" has a good bit of palette knife work. "Spring Bouquet" has more roses in it than I have ever put together before. The shapes of the flowers change by the hour!

"Jumping Up Lilies" 24 x 20 Oil on Linen

"Spring Bouquet" 20 x 24 Oil on Linen

Roger Dale Brown Workshop

I recently attended a landscape workshop led by Roger Dale Brown. What a learning experience! His approach and palette were an excellent retraining tool for me. Roger's painting method has strong traditional undertones with thin paint. Developing the base of the painting with simple strong masses to it's more finished level moves very quickly with this method. Great workshop!

Back Outside

So wonderful to be back outside these last couple of weeks. Painting plein air is just so refreshing. Found some new locations. Nowlin's Creek is a small local spot off Highway 10.

Nowlin's Creek a Runnin' 12 x 16 Oil on Linen

Rushing Through 12 x 12 Oil on Linen

Sitting Pretty 10 x 10 Oil on Linen

Trapped Inside

I became a little stir crazy in March with all the bad weather so I ran up to the store and bought flowers. The lilies beautiful color definitely brighten a couple of days.

Cool Burst Lilies 10 x 10 Oil on Linen

Purple Stock and Pink Peonies 12 x 24 Oil on Linen

Tiger Lilies Orange Burst 10 x 10 Oil on Linen

Scottsdale AZ Plein Air

I recently attended a workshop at the Scottsdale Artist School and enjoyed a couple of days of plein air painting at Papago Park with instructor Gregg Kreutz. This was a new color palette for me. The light was soft and overcast.

Edge of the Botanical Garden - Papago Park 9 x 12 Oil on Linen Panel

Soft Winter Day - Papago Park 12 x 16 Oil on Linen Panel

Camel Back View - Papago Park 9 x 12 Oil on Linen Panel

New Gallery Affiliation

I am very pleased to be a new member of the The Art Group Gallery now located in Pleasant Ridge Town Center  11525 Cantrell Road, Little Rock, AR. Our first open house will be February 7, 2014 4:00 - 8:00 pm. Come by and visit! The Gallery is now open daily from 10 am - 6pm and Sundays 1 - 6 pm. Call 501-690-2193 for more information.

New Work displayed at The River Market Art Space Wall

Very pleased to be the featured artist at the
River Market Art Space Wall for January, February and March

Working Inside at the New Easel

The holidays this year on the family side have been quiet with all my children in other parts of the country. But an opportunity to be a featured artist at a good local venue The River Market Art Space wall put me in painting gear to develop some larger studio works. My new Sorg easel was a great choice for a Christmas present especially since it came two weeks before Christmas.

Golden Pair - Oil on linen 18 x 24 inches

Nestled Back - Oil on Linen 18 x 24 inches

Passage back to the Oaks - Oil on Linen 24 x 30 Inches 

Settled In en Plein Air - Oil on Linen 16 x 20 Inches

Where the River Meets - Oil on Linen 24 x 30 Inches

Rows and Rows of Green en Plein Air - Oil on Linen 24 x 36 Inches