Original Oil Painting Peace Rose

Peace Rose

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10" x 10"

Painted on Ampersand Gessobord. 

Original Oil Painting Fruity

Fruity

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Painted on an Ampersand Gessobord.

10" x 10"

I am on a strawberry roll. Here is another painting from my studio still life(s) using my California Yummy Strawberries! They are being protected my the other fruit but as usual one tries to roll away.

Original Oil Painting Nuthatch Nestled in Daisies

Nuthatch Nestled in Daisies

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10" x 10"

Painted on gessobord.

Original Oil Painting Life Guard Seagull

Life Guard Seagull 

10" x 10"

Painted on gessobord.

Original Oil Painting Chopped Eclair

Chopped Eclair

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10' X 10"

Painted on gessobord.

 I took some photos before devouring this sweet treat. I had to swipe a cherry from my husband's eclair to balance the composition and it was well worth it. I think all eclairs should come with two cherries, don't you? Yummy to eat and fun to paint.  

Original Oil Painting Spring Blue Bird of Happiness

Spring Blue Bird of Happiness

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10" x 10"

Painted on gessobord.

Here is my blue bird of happiness figurine again. This time I painted it with some spring blossoms from the tree outside my window. I never get tried of painting this little figurine. Happy Spring Everyone!!

Original Oil Painting Duck Duck Goose

Duck Duck Goose

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10" x 10"

Painted on a gessobord.

I painted this from a still life I created in my studio. I love how the duck figurine has a similar shape as the pears. Why I named it Duck Duck Goose I have no idea. It just pop into my head. 

Original Oil Painting Morning Glory Butterfly

Morning Glory Butterfly

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10" x 10"

Painted on gessobord.

There is only one thought that comes to mind: This was a tough one! It took a lot longer to paint than I thought at first. I thought of chucking it out the windows many times. Instead I would just took a break and come make to it. I was painting from a photo of a butterfly which was terrific except the flowers were hard to make out. In fact I ended up changing the flowers completely from little pink flowers to large purple morning glories. The purple is a compliment to yellow and would help contrast the butterfly. The large flowers and leaves really helped balance the whole painting out. The photo I used is posted below and I hope that helps you understand my problem with it. 

Thanks Robin Brad for an awesome butterfly photo. I hope you do not mind the changes. 

Original Oil Painting Fireworks Tulip

Firecracker Tulip

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10" x 10"

Painted on a gessobord.

Well, it is the next day and I am calling it done. If I work on it more I feel it might look over-worked.  My goal was to capture the sheen the tulip petals have. I am happy with my attempt at capturing one of  Mother Nature's beauties. I hope others agree.

I also re-titled this painting from Wild and Crazy Tulip to Firecracker Tulip. It was painted around the Fourth of July and seems to fit that title more. Thanks Deirdre McDowell for the idea!!

I was working from a photo I took at Evergreen. I posted it below.

Original Oil Painting White Roses and Daisies

White Roses and Daisies

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10" x 10"

Painted on gessobord.

My goal was to capture the strong sunlight hitting the bouquet. When the sunsets it casts such a strong light into the house, making my little bouquet so dramatic. I loved the look and knew it was not going to last long enough for me to paint it. This is a case where painting from photos helps but I did note the shadow colors, my impressions and what caught my eye in the first place. I use photos as a tool but my real life observations are my best tools.

Original Oil Painting Worry Bird

Worry Bird

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10" x 10"

Painted on gessobord.

This is a painting of a ceramic worry bird. I have heard of worry stones that people would rub with their thumbs when they are worrying about something.  Kind of like rubbing your worries away. Well, my brother gave me this worry stone bird that he bought at a craft fair. I am lucky that I have not used it much for worrying but I did enjoy painting it. Now I am waiting for that magic lantern with the genie inside. I guessing he is keeping that one for himself.  

Original Oil Painting April Bouquet

April Bouquet

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10" x 10"

Painted on gessobord.

I love the variety of shapes in these flowers. The tiny little white flowers with their dabs of color, the daisies with their strokes of color and the pink flowers with their fractured color. I made a lot of premix color for the pinks. Taking a petal at a time painting each color I saw. It drove me a little crazy with all those bright colors but I do love color! At first I thought they were a little to shocking but the colors grew on me. Probably  because we had so may grey days lately, the bright colors give me hope that brighter days are ahead. When I posted this the sun was out, yeah! Bring on the sun!!!

Original Oil Painting Crocus Flowers

Crocus Flowers

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10" x 10"

Painted on gessobord.

I saw some crocus flowers growing right in the grass yesterday and I knew what my next painting would be. When I have trouble thinking of what to paint I usually try doing something else and ideas just come. I am always thing of art even subconsciously so that is no surprise. But to be able to act on it with out worry about making dinner, house work etc. is.

In this painting I tried to make the colors pop out using a blue discord color. There was a blue flower any way so instead of changing it to gold, I went with it. I added hints of blue to the grass like leaves that were pushing through the flowers to carry the discord through out the painting. In the background I painted broken pieces of  warm grey purples to compliment the yellow. 

The composition of the painting  looks like the crocus flowers are fighting through each other to get to the sunlight. I can not blame them. Sunlight is something we treasure in Wisconsin winters.

Original Oil Painting Just a Couple

Just a Couple

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10" x 10"

Painted on gessobord.

Strawberries were on sale at Festival Foods and I could not resist grabbing them to paint. So after a couple of hours I came up with this still life. It was a nice refresher course on how to paint strawberries. It is so easy to get carried away with all the details. To avoid this I paint them with all the details and then the next day soften the ones in the shadows and brighten the parts in the light. I posted a picture of the still life I was working from below.

Original Oil Painting Glass with Fruit

Glass with Fruit

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10" x 10"

Painted on gessobord.

My goal in this still life was to limit my number of brush strokes painting the fruit. To keep the colors bright and deliberate. It worked out well with the oranges, plum, cherries and even the silver bowl but the glass bottle was a different story. There was too many colors blending together for that to work for me. 

Original Oil Painting Hydrangea

Hydrangea

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10" x 10"

Painted on gessobord.

Yeah, the sun finally arrived today. I was so happy and painting this pretty, blue, purple cluster was just what I needed. This beautiful hydrangea is a perfect addition to my series: Big Flowers on Small Boards. I used a reference photo by Orphie Barella, which is shown below. The photo looked a little washed out so I used photo shop to increase the color and contrast. 

Original Oil Painting Pom Pom Pansy

Pom Pom Peony

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10" x 10"

Painted on gessobord.

Painting with lots of fractured color can be a challenging but I can't seem to ignore what I see. Yes I do exaggerate color a bit to express the feeling I get looking at the flower. The first thing I noticed was the bright yellow green in the peony. It seem to show up everywhere I looked. The white petals in the center seem so reflective of the environment that surrounds them, I love how they frame the golden, furry ball in the center. The gold center seems to glow through the petals, how captivating.

 When I saw this photo that is what caught my attention and that is what I tried to express in my painting.
 The photo was from Gladys Ning.

Original Oil Painting Screaming Lily

Screaming Lily 

10" x 10"

Painted on gessobord.

 This day lily seems to be shouting at me plus all the radiating leaves helps it scream hence the title: Screaming Lily. The hardest thing was trying to keep the shadow temperatures right. You have this yellow green thing going on in the middle and then three petals are pinkish peach while the other three are a very light peach yellow. My eyes and brain are very tired.   

Original Oil Painting Wild Rooster

Wild Rooster 

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10" x 10" 

Painted on gessobord.

I do not get the chance to paint with so many nuggets of pure color to often. So when I saw this colorful character, I could not resist painting him. The background was done very abstractly which complements the rooster well. I was going to just title it: Rooster but with all the colors; wild just had to be added.    

Original Oil Paintings Palm Trees for Mother's Day

Palm Trees for Mother's Day

10" x 10"

Painted on gessobord.

I painted these on request from my niece for a gift to my sister on mother's day. Maybe my niece is hinting at another vacation to Florida?