11 x 14 inch oil "Apples and Pot"

This painting is a departure from my normal style of painting. Instead of brushing on the paint, I dabbed it on after putting a layer of color in the forms. It didn't start out this way, but I was not liking how it was turning out, so I switched my technique. Sometimes you just have to do that!

8 x 10 inch oil "Bowl of Grapes"

I had a very sucessfull weekend as far as painting goes. This one just seemed to just flow effortlessly. I decided that I was not going to do any layering of my oil , just lay the color where I wanted it and leave it be. Also I did very little blending and I really like the effect. The total painting only took around 5 hours versus many hours if I was to layer. I think I will try this technique again. I have another still life all picked out.

20 x 24 inch oil "Orange Rose"

I have been working on this one for a couple of days, and for the size of it, it has gone pretty quickly. I discovered it is really hard to get a decent orange with only cadium yellow pale and permanent alizarim red. I think I will get another yellow to add to my pallett.

6 x 8 inch oil "Mill Bay Beach"

I did this little plein air today while relaxing at the beach. It was a beautiful day for painting by the sea!

16 x 20 inch oil "Cobble Hill Wild Flowers"

This painting is hot off the easel from my own reference taken from a farm very close to my home. The photo was taken late in the evening and I loved how the sun highlighted the grasses in the foreground. I did struggle with the wild flowers and the foreground grasses, but overall I am happy with it.

8 x 10 inch plein aire "Poppies"

This is my very first attempt at doing a "plein aire" painting. I had to try out my new portable painting box so I went into my backyard and spotted these poppies and gave it a go. This was a quick, fun way to do a little painting and I definitely will be doing this again.

20 x 16 inch oil "Blue Jug"

This is another go at using The Carder Method. I don't think I quite have the hang of it yet, but i am learning as I go. It is hard painting from real life! It is so hot out in my studio lately, that I had to finish this one up faster than usual. The paints were drying too fast, even with all the Delq added. I really need to buy a small fridge to keep my paints and palett in.

8 x 10 inch oil "Narrows Inlet # 6"

I really felt like doing a landscape today and did this one very quickly from a photo taken last summer at Narrows Inlet. It was nice to get away from the tightness of the still-life set ups and do something a little more looser.

14 x 18 inch oil "The Study"

This is my first attempt at painting "The Carder Method" (http://www.thecardermethod.com/). I purchased the video in the hopes that I would learn to see color more accurately. For me it really worked. Although there is a lot I don't like about this painting it did force me to check each color before I placed it on the canvas. The method was quite tedious for me to follow but since it is a direct method of painting with very little blending and no layering of colors it went a lot faster that some of my other paintings. I just need to slow down and learn to check each color before putting it on canvas. Hopefully my next one will be better. For anyone wanting to learn how to paint with oil, the Carder Method is well worth the money.

10 x 8 inch oil "Narrows Inlet #5"

This is another in my "Narrows" series, a logging road that we travelled on while on vacation last year. I am trying to decide if I should put a black bear ambling down the road. I will have to wait until it dries to do that.

8 x 8 inch oil "Narrows Inlet #4"

I just finished this painting, the 4th in my "Narrows" series. I am really enjoying doing these little paintings, mainly I think, because they are finished so quickly. This is the view looking down onto the inlet from atop one of the mountains. I took this picture last summer while exploring the area with my husband on an ATV. Great fun!

8 x 8 inch oil "Narrows Inlet #3"

This is the third installment in my little series. Again I tried to keep it simple and did this quite quickly, around 2 hours in total. I may go back in when it dries completely and punch up the highlights.

8 x 8 inch oil "Narrows Inlet #2"

This painting is another view on Narrow's Inlet. There is a mist that flows over the mountain and water quite frequently and I tried to capture it as it was beginning to form. I am liking this small format quite a bit for these landscapes. I can finish a painting in one sitting which is really nice.

8 x 8 inch oil "Narrows Inlet #1"

This is a small study I have started from a grouping of photos that I took on vacation last year. I did this one very quickly in about 1 hour, wet on wet, which is very different from how i have been working lately. I found it very hard not to stop and put in all those small details. I had to keep telling myself this is just a study, so keep it simple!

11 x 14 inch oil "Water Lily"

I have been playing with this one for a couple of weeks, just working on it an hour at a time but I think it is pretty close to completion now. I found the photo on WetCanvas (thanks to the contributor and loved the colors in it. I hope I did the beautiful photo justice.

8 x 10 inch pastel "Old Ford"

This was a fun little painting I completed today from a photo I found on Wetcanvas.com. I loved the colors and found the crop interesting. It felt really good getting to use pastels again.

24 x 30 inch oil "White Horse"

I think I may have finished this painting finally, just a little fine tuning left to do. I found this one quite challenging trying to do a white horse without using just white paint. I think it turned out ok although I am not totally satisfied with how the ears turned out. I think this is where the fine tuning will come in.

My Studio

I though it was about time I took a picture of my little studio. By little, I mean really little, only 8 x 9 feet. It may be small but I have a lot of things packed into this space. I use all the walls of course to hang some of my favorite paintings (there is not enough wall space for the 200 or so paintings I have hidden away in the drawers of the dresser!) I love this room because of the wonderful light I get in the afternoon from the floor to ceiling window. I also have my computer in this space to the right of the horse painting I am working on. I still have a lot of work to do on this painting, but it is coming along nicely. I will post a shot of the completed painting in the near future.

WIP -Finished!!

I think I am calling this one done for now although I may go back to it in the future. I am quite happy with the results. I have painted the sides of the canvas so this can be hung on the wall without a frame. I really like this look for the large canvases. I have started another canvas the same size (24 x 30) of a white horse. This should be a real challenge just getting the drawing right as I don't really know a lot about horse anatomy. Stay tuned!

WIP day #6 oil "Elephant"

I spent another couple of hours on this today working mostly on the background. This photo is probably the closest I have got yet to the true colors. I am very happy with the progress I have made to date and I can finally see the end in sight.