Detour

Oil

16 x 20

This painting is the Carmel Arts & Design District at Detour: An American Grille  restaurant. 

Warm Days

Oil

24 x 24

Another unseasonably warm fall afternoon

Days growing shorter

Beautiful jewel colors

Warm breezes

Bub's Burgers

Oil

8 x 10

Bub's is crowded with families in the summer.  And you know what, it's pretty crowded in the fall too!

Bub's Burgers & Ice Cream

Oil

8x10

Painted this from a combination of photographs. Bub's Burgers & Ice Cream in the Carmel Arts & Design District.  Wonderful place to hang out with the family!

Guess Who?

Oil

6x8

Lots of artists painting faces/portraits - Jerry Points recently painted John Lennon, Carol Marine is painting silly faces, and Stuart Ball just painted Steve Jobs.  So here's my face painting of a not so famous young man - at least he's not famous yet!  Guess who?

Dusk

Oil

12 x 36

I continue to paint the wetlands around Lake Tippecanoe even though I find these paintings to be challenging.  The photographs are dominated by greens, even the water appears greenish in midwestern lakes, so I try to push the colors.  I painted this at night and used artificial lights to brighten my workspace.  As this painting progressed, it appeared lighter than I wanted so I kept darkening the colors.  However, when the artificial lights were turned off, the painting looked more like dusk than midday.  Any suggestions for lighting a workspace?

Followin' Mama

Oil

6 x 8

This painting is my entry in the Every Mother Counts Challenge.  All proceeds from the sale will be donated to the aid organization Every Mother Counts.

The need: Every 90 seconds, a women dies from childbirth. Fully 90% of those deaths are preventable.  Every Mother Counts is training midwives in Afghanistan, opening health clinics in the Democratic Republic of Congo and shipping unused medical supplies to South Sudan. These are tangible, practical projects designed to combat maternal mortality and injuries worldwide.

Sunflower Farm

Oil

8 x 10

This painting reminds me of a trip to Italy many years ago.  We drove through Umbria and Tuscany and enjoyed field after field of sunflowers.

Autumn Jewels

Oil

24 x 24

Sold

Available at Gallery 116 - Fishers, Indiana 

Painted this in hopes of a colorful fall in Indiana.  Still a lot of green on the trees, but we're starting to see splashes of orange and yellow.

Happy Face

Oil

8 x 10

Sold

I tried to grow a smaller variety of sunflower this summer.  Unfortunately, I planted them next to some ornamental grasses that grew to 5 feet tall throwing deep shadows over the sunflowers.  I guess sunflowers really do need lots of sun!

Muldoon's Irish Pub

Oil
9 x 12

SOLD

I took my camera to downtown Carmel, Indiana and photographed some of our favorite places in the Carmel Arts and Design District. It took me longer to paint this one than usual . . . I caught myself putting in every single detail instead of keeping it 'loose', or at least somewhat loose. Consequently, I had to remove details to get this painting where I wanted it to be. Now I'm happy.

Bub's Burgers

Oil
9 x 12

Sold

This painting is my donation to the Carmel Library Guild Fundraiser's silent auction.  The silent auction is part of the annual Book and Author Luncheon.  All proceeds go to the Carmel Clay Public Library children's literacy programing.

Library Guild Book and Author Luncheon

Most people go for the burgers . . . I go for the mahi mahi with peach mango salsa!

Fall Wetlands

 
Oil
10 x 14

Sold 

Autumn Wetlands

Oil

9 x 12

Sunflowers

Oil
9 x 12

The Debra Huse workshop was supposed to be plein air, but Indiana weather didn't cooperate. One of the days, we could choose between a still life, the sunflowers, or bring a photo to paint. I worked on the landscapes shown in the prior post. However, the sunflower paintings were gorgeous and cheery . . . so I painted them yesterday.

Wetlands

Oil
9 x 12

Sold

Available at Gallery 116 - Fishers, Indiana 

Debra Huse Workshop

I recently had the wonderful opportunity to attend a workshop with impressionist painter Debra Huse. These are the three paintings I completed.

Hay Harvest

Oil
16 x 20

Sold

Took the summer off and started painting again a few weeks ago. Probably not a good idea to take such a long break - I forgot some important painting tips. But it's coming back now. Driving through Indiana late summer reveals some beautiful rural scenes.

Trader's Point

Oil
10 x 14

Had a wonderful day yesterday with Jerry Points. Painted this landscape from a photo Jerry took at Trader's Point in Zionsville, Indiana. I also had the benefit of viewing Jerry's on-site plein air painting and his guidance and instruction.

Lake Tippecanoe

Oil
12 x 12

This is the view from the east side of Lake Tippecanoe looking out across the lake toward the Ball Wetlands Nature Preserve.

It's My Turn

Oil

6 x 12

This little guy was so upset when his brother took off with the truck. I painted this from a combination of two photos taken at Seaside Beach, Florida.

Boat Ride

Oil
12 x 12

I was going to paint the next Grassy Creek attempt and focus on adding color, tweaking the composition, and simplifying; however, this photo a boy in the front of the fishing boat has been waiting to be painted - simple, colorful, and composed.

Gambel's Quail

Oil
12 x 12

Sold

Painted this quail family from a photograph. I've seen adult quails in Tucson but never the babies. Maybe the next trip we'll cross paths.

He's So Cute

Oil
8 x 10

Last week another artist mentioned she had picked up the Carmel City Guide because the dog on the front cover was so cute. I had picked up the guide as well for the same reason! I painted He's So Cute yesterday when the storms rolled in and forced us all inside.

Clouds & Sea

Oil
12 x 12

I've been so distracted by clouds lately . . . when I'm driving. The last few days have provided spectacular cloud shows and it's impossible not to admire them. On days such as these, I need to walk rather than drive. I'll live longer.

This painting has beautiful clouds and the sea rather than the strip malls and highways anchoring our city sky.

Early Autumn

Oil
20 x 16

Sold

This is an interpretive landscape. I want to paint with more color, a little less realistic, but still something less than modern or abstract. I like this and plan to continue with this approach to see where it leads.

Triple Threat

16 x 20
Oil

We drove to Florida in April and passed through Birmingham, Alabama and other areas that were devastated by tornadoes shortly after our trip. Severe weather followed here as well keeping twisters in my mind.

Awesome Sunset

16 x 20
Oil

Another sunset inspired by photos I took over the Gulf of Mexico. Obviously, I took liberties with the color and design.

Winter Sunset

Oil
16 x 20

This is my first larger painting, which is still pretty small in the scheme of things. Painted from two photographs of the sun setting over the Gulf of Mexico.

Serenity Lake

Oil
11"x14"

Painted from a photograph.

Hill and Dale

Oil
11"x14"

A geographic representation of hilly farmland painted from a photograph strongly edited to eliminate most buildings and roads. This painting may not be finished yet so I wanted to take this photo before I added additional detail.

Molokai North Shore Cliffs

Oil
9"x12"

Painted from photographs taken during our lunch break while visiting the Kalaupapa peninsula on Molokai.

Father Damien's Church

Oil
9"x12"

Painted from a photo taken on our trip to Molokai to tour the leper colony at Kalaupapa Peninsula. Father Damien's burial monument is next to St. Philomena Church.

Lost

Oil
6"x8"

Sunset

Oil
8"x10"

Beachwalk

Oil
6"x8"

March 2011 - Learned a few new techniques in Mary Johnston's class yesterday. Tried some of them out here.

Go Fly a Kite #2

Oil
6"x8"

March 2011 - Speed painting. Also switched the sun and the shadow.

Go Fly a Kite

Oil
6"x8"

March 2011 - Switching to oceans and beaches. Painted from a photo.

Perfect Back Yard

Oil
6"x8"

March 2011 - This is the view from my parents' backyard in Arizona. I painted this from a photograph.

Mount Kilimanjaro

Oil
6"x8"

March 2011 - Going smaller - 6 x 8's now. A painting of Mount Kilimanjaro was on the front of a clothing magazine. I could clearly see the brush strokes so it looked perfect for practice. My copy is above.

Mini Meanie Cat

Oil
8"x10"

March 2011 - Went to Arizona to visit my parents. A bobcat kitten had climbed to the top of a saguaro cactus and lounged there for awhile. Then mama bobcat demanded he climb down. I didn't have a photo so I painted this from my parent's backyard and added a bobcat. Doesn't look quite right - I'll try it again when I have the photos.

Grassy Creek #4

Oil
8"x10"

February 2011 - OK. I'm excited to combine techniques from Jerry's class with techniques from Mary's class . . . and I painted this upside down. Also added a new color to my palette - cerulean blue. Just a touch near the horizon. Making progress.

The Barn

Oil
9"x12"

February 2011 - Haven't painted for a while but recently learned of another opportunity to paint with an artist. I joined a small class with artist Mary Johnston. Her style is completely different from Jerry Points so I have new things to learn. I'll post a photo of "The Barn" painting from Mary's class shortly. (Posted March 2011)

Siblings Interpretation

Oil
8"x10"

January 2011 - I painted this upside down (see prior post). This was wonderfully fun and satisfying. After turning the painting right side up, I only added 4 - 5 strokes plus my signature.

Painting Upside Down

Painting by Ronaldo Macedo "Siblings"

January 2011 - I found this photo of Macedo's painting in a magazine and loved it. I'd like to be able to paint like this. And, since my classes are finished, I needed a new challenge. My sister gave me the idea of painting upside down in order to concentrate more on shapes and less on things. So, I turned Macedo's painting upside down and painted it. The result is in the next post.

Fruit Still Life

Oil
8"x10"

January 2011 - Painted this still life in the last class in the session with Jerry Points.