Spirea and Iris on the Driveway

 

Hey Friends, The painting above was painted last Sunday, 5-25, and a couple photos of the work in progress below.  It's up for auction in Ebay now, CLICK HERE

 

 

It's a struggle to get the values right when outside in the bright sunlight.  I started with a dark warm brown canvas, as you can see above.  I think it helped.

 

 

This photograph looks more like or is closer to the real colors and values of the painting.  The top piece is scanned and looks too dark to me.

Just adding a side note here, on the other side of this scene on the driveway , my brother drove up to find a rattlesnake there !   Yuck Yuck - I can't stand a slithering snake, none of them, much less a poisonous rattler.  I went to Northwest Hardware and bought a bag of sulfur to sprinkle a band around the house.  Supposedly snakes will not cross the line.  Ordinary snakes, a band 4" wide, for rattlers, a band 8" wide !  The bag says this.

 

Anyway, Come to the Sedalia Center Artisan Fair tomorrow, Saturday May 31st.

I will be there with my painting buddies, the Double Line Painters of the Blue Ridge.

Have a great weekend

Happy Trails

Travel Safely

Memory Painting from Green Hill

 

Hey Friends,  This was a real treat to paint.  I call them Memory paintings.  I start at the site with sketches, take a couple photos and sometimes even start the canvas.  But I finish at home and try not to use the photos.  It's more of a challenge and more fun.

The wild phlox and mertensia is what compelled me to paint this.  CLICK HERE for ebay. 

Thank you for stopping by.

Happy Trails

Judy's Garden - Two Views

 

Hey Friends,  A couple more added to the Ebay auctions.  CLICK HERE for more info.  Both are 9"x 12" acrylic on canvas panels and varnished.  Painted from photos taken at a friends garden last summer.

 

She does one heck of a great job with her landscape.  She evens grows berries and vegetables.  She has a dog named Daisy that enjoys helping with the chores and showing guests around the gardens.  I saw my first Red-Winged Blackbirds in her gardens.  Beautiful.

We had one member of our painting group, the Double Line Painters of the Blue Ridge, dress up with a hat and aprons and a water bucket for this photo shoot.  It was a great day.

Happy Trails

Travel Well

Little DragonFly and Plein-Aire in Botetourt

 

Hey Friends,  A sweet little Dragon/Damselfly briefly resting on a purple butterfly bush, buddleia.  They are such flitty little creatures.  I keep every dead one I find.  They are my "models".

CLICK HERE

 

 

And a few photos for your enjoyment.  DLP and I went to the Greenfield Park in Botetourt this morning to paint.  It 'twas a gorgeous day.  Nice breeze and sunshine.  The very best time of the year.  Above is my canvas panel already toned with a burnt orange.

 

And this is about half way through the painting process.  The canvas is covered now with the local colors.  I stopped at this point to get started on another.  I think I have finally figured out the way to paint in the field.   I do a better job if I start in the field and finish up in the studio.  If I know a space very well, I can continue, like I do when I'm painting at home or the neighborhood.  I guess I'm not as easily distracted as when I'm in a new space.

 

This is my 2nd start.  For me I think the ideal situation would be to go to each new area for a week.  Paint only in that space for a week.  Then jump in my motorhome and go to the next town.  Now if I can get my little plastic motorhome to start, I'll be all set.

 

 

Last shot of some local residents.  The white one had a funny little top knot on his head.  Go ahead and be envious, we had a wonderful day in the office.

Happy Trails

Travel Safely

"Beach Run"

 

Hey Friends,  Another addition to Ebay.  Click Here for the auction.

 

This was painted with acrylics on Masa Rice Paper.  It was varnished even though work under glass does not need to be varnished.  The varnish gave it a crackly, old appearance.  I love to paint on Masa and need to make time for it.

Hope every one is having a wonderful spring.

 

Happy Trails

Travel Well

"Paradise No.9"

 

Hey Friends, A new addition to the Ebay auctions,  A teacher gift maybe ? or for someone retiring? or maybe someone has a new beach house ! ?

Click Here

 

Happy Trails

Beach Trails

Clematis and Columbine Original Paintings

 

Hey Friends,  I painted this set to hang together, anyway I like them together.  I like the look of bamboo when used like a trellis or stakes.  We all know what happens if you plant them.

Click Here for Clematis auction.

 

And the companion is columbine.  Love these little guys, in all their colors.  I used gingko leaves to make the impressions across the top and bottom of both.

For the Columbine auction, Click Here.

Happy Trails

Travel Happy

"Tuscany"

 

Hey Friends,  This painting was created with acrylics some years ago.  It got lost in my messy disorganized studio.  I've been trying to clean it up.  Sometimes I feel it would be so much easier if I just set it on fire !  HaHa.  Now if the place caught on fire you would blame it on me.  I would never really do that.

Anyway I've listed it on Ebay for auction starting at a penny.  CLICK HERE

Hopefully I'll be finished soon and back to painting.

Happy Trails

"Arbor"

 

Hey Friends,  Hate summer colds and I've got a bad one !  Coughing like somebody that smokes 4 packs a day, but I don't smoke.

So here is the latest painting I found in the studio clean out.  It's a very slow clean out.  Can you see the little cardinal?  She is for auction...CLICK HERE.

Hoping and praying you are escaping the wildfires in the west and the floods in the east.

Happy Trails

Travel Safely

"Bees No. 29"

 

Hey Friends,  Anew addition to the Ebay auctions.  Painted with acrylics on a 12"x 6" wrapped canvas.  Varnished and ready to hang.  Click Here for more info.

I'm still in the process of cleaning and rearranging the studio.  I've been slowed down with a BAD cold and rain.  I'll get 'er done just not this week.

Happy Trails

Travel Well

"Sunflower with Robin"

 

Hey Friends,  My newest addition to Ebay.  This collage was started with a base layer of the tissue paper that sewing patterns are printed on.  You can see bits of it showing through the layers.  I carved the sunflower into a large block of rubber.  The little robin is a painting I made last year and I printed it on Sumi paper.  The rest is acrylic paints.  It is on a wrapped canvas and ready to hang.

Click Here for Ebay.

 

Happy Trails

Travel Well

"It's Mine" Raven No. 7

 

Hey Friends,  Here is the latest to make it to Ebay for auction.  Click Here....But don't leave until you scroll down and see some of the photos I took Thursday at Roaring Run.   What a beautiful place, right here in our back yard.

 

Just 3 little shots.  I took about a 100.

 

And I started 2 paintings.  And I remembered to get a few shots in progress.

 

I don't want this to be so long you get bored so I'll post the paintings maybe tomorrow.

Happy Trails

Travel Well

DragonFly No. 15

 

Hey Friends,  This Dragonfly is painted on a very heavily textured canvas using gel with course grit.  The canvas was toned with magenta after the gel dried.  I then put various gobs of acrylic here and there across the top and sprayed with lots of water to get the drippy background.  Then the details were added and It was varnished.  It is for auction in Ebay,  Click to See.

 

Thanks for stopping in.  My painting group the DLP spent this day at Roaring Run on Craigs Creek and I have some lovelies to share.  Hopefully tomorrow, but my GranSon is here for a couple nights and he won't stay still for long.  So it may not happen tomorrow.

 

Happy Trails

Happy Mothers Day

"RWP Eggs" for Mothers Day

Hey Friends,  Maybe your Mom would like a more colorful home for her chicks.  Here it is !
A red nest with turquoise eggs.
Eggs are a symbol for home, nest, children, and fertility.
The auction ends tomorrow, so check it out HERE.

 

And for some fun news. . . .I got to paint outside today !  This evening as the sun was getting low.

I have painted from this same spot about 3-4 times since the iris started blooming.  I intend to show you the first attempts also but I wanted to go ahead and share todays effort. 

Mainly because I think I did a much better job than usual.

Most of my plein air efforts are too dark when you bring them indoors.  From what I have read, lots of plein air newbies do this too.  It's VERY difficult for me to SEE this when I'm going full-tilt in the sunshine.  I guess you get used to it at some point, with enough practice.

Anyway, I feel like this one is pretty good.  Any comments or helpful suggestions are welcome.

 

Thought I would throw in a couple shots as I worked.  I'm not very good at stopping enough to get shots.  A timer would help.

 

This shot I'm pretty much finished.  So I will live with it for a while and decide what to do with her.

Happy Trails

Travel Well

"Mourning Dove Eggs" Original Painting for Mothers Day

Hey Friends, Are you still looking for a present to give MOM ?  It is right here.  It is in a simple silvery frame, ready for display and gift giving.
Eggs are a symbol of fertility, family, home, children.  I had one local collector order a nest painting with eggs for each child and grand child.   The number of eggs matched how many children each child had.  The grand kids had only one egg. 

This is for auction in Ebay starting at a penny.  The auction ends Wed, the 7th.  So there should be plenty of time for shipping to receive by the 9th or 10th.

Happy Trails
Travel Well

Dragon Fly No. 20

 

Hey Friends,  Not sure if this is a dragonfly or a damselfly.  I think the only difference is the size so I think it's a dragonfly.  Resting on a reed,  for the folks that are new to my blog, I have a couple or three DF's that I have found over the years, mostly in my Mom's greenhouse.  They are my basic models.  It's good to have a real one to paint from, 'cuz I have such a hard time getting a decent photo.  This is for auction in Ebay, Click Here.

Happy Trails

Travel Well

"Mr. Madd" and a Beautiful Day

 

Hey Friends,  Here is Mr. Madd and he is for auction in Ebay.  Click Here.

 

 

And here we go,  Summer time fun !

This is my Babe "Nic"

 

And this is my Babe "Lil"

Haven't they grown up ?  They love going to my sisters.  She has really long rope swings and trampoline and acres to run in with dogs !  Any child's heaven.

Happy Trails

Travel Well