The Lotus Blooms

 So happy to send this sweet painting of the Lotus Pond in Wickford to a new home. This place is known by photographers, artists, and botanists all over Rhode Island. Spectacular!

Rough Point

This is the view of the Atlantic Ocean from Rough Point, the summer home of the heiress Doris Duke. The link will take you to Newport Restoration Foundation which has preserved much historical architecture in Newport, RI. It was a pleasure to paint there on a morning when it wasn’t open yet to the public and our group could explore the grounds freely. I chose a corner of the main house ( really more like a mansion ) and one of the many rocky outcroppings. Plein air at its best!

UPDATE- SOLD!!!

Blue Stripes & Vase

A modernist approach to an interior in this limited palette oil painting. I flattened the shapes so that the outside landscape doesn't recede. This is the view from the sliders to the courtyard and I really simplified the shapes to further flatten the space. Look for where I used lost edges! Those are exciting areas for me!
If I were painting plein air and wanted to show atmospheric perspective I would use different techniques.

Ida Lewis Yacht Club Backstory

Ida Lewis Yacht Club was first Lime Rock Light in the heart of Newport's inner harbor. The first lighthouse keeper was Ida's half brother, then her father took over. When he died Ida ran the lighthouse by herself performing many daring rescues and withstanding rough water, weather, and isolation until her death in 1911. Her unassuming impact on women's rights was the subject of an award nominated documentary by Marion Gagnon titled -  America's Forgotten Heroine: Ida Lewis, Keeper of the Light.

Secret Path

We found a path at the edge of the lake where we (me and Cooper) could walk along and explore and sniff (that would be Cooper) to our hearts delight. It started at the point where I had painted a few days earlier and I wanted this painting to reflect the path leading us in rather than on the water of the lake. The afternoon light cast long shadows from the trees across the path which interested me. Tried again to abstract "everything"! 
Painted on 8x10 linen on panel

Patagonia Lake Reflections

We've traveled south and are now at Patagonia Lake State Park, which is only 15 miles from Nogales, Mexico. This park is remote and known as a birding destination, where hundreds of species have been sighted. The birding trail winds along the shore and I had to take advantage of a guided bird walk led by a Park Ranger this morning. My binoculars are sub par but I got some good sightings and  tips on how to use them with help from Ranger John and learned something new. Isn't that what it's all about anyway- being in the culture wherever you are and being willing to participate in learning?
These folks are birding fanatics! I loved it and loved even more sitting and painting these reflections in the lake 100 yards from my campsite!

Back to the Garden

Have been exploring the still life en plein air- how ever changing natural light affects temperature shifts in color. Painting from direct observation sharpens my abilities to see nuance.

Zero In

I went back to the old barn, the "not so pretty" barn and took a closer look. I cropped the scene using a viewfinder made with my hands- right index finger raised, left thumb and index curved into a c-shape. Primitive but it works! 

I found the major shapes I wanted to emphasize and scrubbed it all in with a thinned down Cadmium Red. I wanted to bring the viewers eye to the shape between the buildings so I made it just a bit larger. 

It took me a long time to use that artistic freedom, but I try to determine what will make a better painting and then do those things. I don't need it to be an exact duplication in oil paint of the scene I'm observing.

"Why would you want to paint this old barn?"

Summer road trip to Michigan; making time to paint in Suttons Bay; when I asked permission to paint this old barn from the owner selling strawberries at a roadside stand, she said, "Why this old barn? There are lots of prettier barns around." 

If you like to paint plein air then you know the strange lure of places that aren't particularly pretty. There's an immense appeal to making sense of the jumble, of sorting out shapes, of determining areas of emphasis, not to mention a sort of reverence of these old structures.

American Beach

A haven when beaches were segregated on Amelia Island, American Beach was established for African Americans and became a very popular destination. Today it's a mix of giant new McMansions and the homes built in the 30's. I started this sitting on the dunes and finished it at home from memory and photos.

Owls Head

This painting was a perfect Maine morning, clean and clear and tranquil beyond description. It sold today at Spring Bull Gallery before it even got hung in the upcoming En Plein Air Show!

I'm delighted it will be headed to New York with a new collector. Thank you!

Camden

On our trip to Maine I happened to have a peaceful morning to myself and found a spot right at the harbors edge to paint. With all of my senses engaged, I zeroed in on shape and color, with a great deal of editing needed to simplify the chaos into a painting. 

Canoes

I was initially attracted to the reflections made by the canoe racks in the pond. Then I wanted to link the shadows and just play with shapes. Then I wanted to use color and shape to flatten the space.

When will it all stop?

The Garden Shed

Another one for Wet Paint

Done more quickly, trying to focus on shape and value while getting those gorgeous summer colors right.

8x10

Gabriels

An old barn sits in a field

Rich soil to its' back

Gentle breezes through the tall grass

And I pick up my brush

Inside

How nice to be painting in a room with a blazing fire, a cup of tea, a beautiful friend, looking upon this!  Loving Vermont.

Looking Up the Hill

The vantage point here usually includes St Georges chapel with its beautiful tower, but I was attracted to the complementary barn and field just to the left. We painted under a gazebo usually manned by beach employees monitoring parking; no one there this past Saturday with the rain was coming down hard as we finished our paintings for Wet Paint, the annual Newport Art Museum Event.

Bailey's Beach

Thrilled that this painting was among 50 to head to the live auction "under the tent" at the culmination of the Wet Paint event at the Newport Art Museum. I was sitting under an umbrella with the rain coming down hard all around and was so absorbed in painting that it wasn't until I got up that I realized I was soaked to the skin.Talk about being in the zone. My motto for the weekend: Live life and paint often!

Under the Mt Hope Bridge

This spot under the Mt Hope Bridge is one I've wanted to paint before, and now here we are. Struggled with this until I took a few suggestions from my painting bud Judy Chaves about value. Things seem to be so much lighter than I see them to be at first, then when I make the correction, ahah, it reads correctly. Thank you!

Cool Woods

Seeking refuge from the sweltering sun and heat last week, we headed for the shady woodsy Glen Farm Road. A perfect spot we thought, til the lawn service trucks rumbled by and the mosquitoes found us! After about an hour and a half we both decided we'd gotten what we needed and packed up. Paint fast and be flexible, I took a different approach with this, striving to keep the foreground as abstract as possible.