Winter Farm - 6x6 Oil Painting

6"x6" oil painting on canvas panel
SOLD

“An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.”
- Bill Vaughn

Happy (almost) New Year everyone! I thought I'd send the old year out with a snowy winter scene, even if it is currently in the 50s and foggy where I am.

A View of Bogue - 5x7 Oil Painting

5"x7" oil painting on canvas panel
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I'm late in posting and starting this one for the night. But here it is! Another from Bogue Sound.

Winter Road Revisited - 4x8 Oil Painting

4"x8" oil painting on canvas panel
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"The growth of understanding follows an ascending spiral rather than a straight line"
- Joanna Field

I originally approached this scene in a larger painting at the end of last year (original post here). I got this idea a week ago that I should re-approach the very last scene that I painted in 2008 to see what's changed about my style in the last year. It was a fun and interesting exercise for me, and gave me a clearer view about where I'm trying to head now.

I was painting in a more impressionistic style at the end of last year, and while I enjoyed it, I wanted to get to a point in my paintings where I really got to play around with edges and softness and more subtle transitions. I know people that still prefer my older style, and it's not really about which is "better" but which suits me better as an artist. It didn't really click for me until this month, but I finally feel like I'm getting closer to making the picture in my head match what's on the canvas, and I'm excited to see what happens next year!

I also wanted to share this video of Ira Glass with some comforting words about transitioning as an artist. I originally saw it posted on artist Celeste Bergin's blog; I've found it to be very useful, because I know that we're all sometimes a little harsh on ourselves as artists and it's easy to want to give up when you're stuck.

Endings - 6x6 Oil Painting

6"x6" oil painting on canvas panel
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“Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.” - Carl Bard

I hope everyone had a great Christmas! I had a great one and am now starting to play catch-up on chores and painting. This was one I completed before Christmas, because you know I love to paint sunsets!

My mother gifted me with Landscape Painting by Mitchell Albala and while I've only gotten to read bits and pieces of it so far, I'm looking forward to getting to sit down with it, read through the tips for landscape painting and admire the artwork inside. I'd like to expand my art library a bit next year, so this is a good start.

Merry Christmas!

I wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, and hope all of you stay safe over the holidays. I got a pleasant surprise today when I checked Empty Easel's "Holiday Artwork Series" and saw that the painting above that I sent in was one of the featured ones, even if they did spell my name wrong!

I'll have some new paintings up after Christmas!

Oak Tree - 6x6 Oil Painting

6"x6" oil painting on canvas panel
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"I think that I shall never see
a billboard lovely as a tree.
Perhaps, unless the billboards fall,
I'll never see a tree at all."

Ogden Nash

I had a non-fun emergency visit to the vet today for one of my cats who's come down with a bladder infection. He apparently didn't give the vet an easy time of it, either. No time for painting - but I did have this one ready to go.

Blue Ridge Dawn - 6x8 Oil Painting

6"x8" oil painting on canvas panel
SOLD

"I keep the subject of my inquiry constantly before me, and wait till the first dawning opens gradually, by little and little, into a full and clear light." - Isaac Newton

I'm not sure why I don't do many paintings in this size and up to 11x14 or so; I was previously always interested in the smaller paintings and large paintings, with little in-between. I think on my next canvas order I'll get canvases in the middle range and play around a bit.

All is Quiet - 5x7 Oil Painting

5"x7" oil painting on canvas panel
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"Just when I think I have learned the way to live, life changes and I am left the same. The more things change the more I am the same. I am what I started with, and when it is all over I will be all that is left of me." - Hugh Prather

Finale - 6x6 Oil Painting

6"x6" oil painting on canvas panel
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"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

I've updated my artist links! I realized last night that they hadn't been updated in a very long time. Check them out on the right, and let me know if I've missed you and you'd like to be added to the list.

The colors in this painting really spoke to me; I loved all those creams and purples and orange-pinks.

Solitude of Evening - 6x6 Oil Painting

6"x6" oil painting on canvas panel
SOLD


“I know myself now; and I feel within me
A peace above all earthly dignities,
A still and quiet conscience”
- William Shakespeare

This painting was so meditative to approach, and I can't overstate how much I loved working with those silvery grays. I've really enjoyed painting lately, which honestly isn't always the case; I hope it sticks with me!

Marsh Sentinels - 6x6 Oil Painting

6"x6" oil painting on canvas panel
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“Know what you want to do, hold the thought firmly, and do every day what should be done, and every sunset will see you that much nearer the goal.” - Elbert Hubbard

Winter's Gift - 6x6 Oil Painting

6"x6" oil painting on canvas panel
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"We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand... and melting like a snowflake. Let us use it before it is too late." - Marie Beyon Ray

My internet connection is creepy-crawling today so I wanted to go ahead and get this posted. I've always loved the look of a pine tree with branches weighed down by fresh snow. We don't get much snow on the east coast of NC so I don't see scenes like this as much as I used to when I lived in the mountains. I miss it sometimes.

Bogue Sound - 5x7 Oil Painting

5"x7" oil painting on canvas panel
SOLD


"The poetry of the earth is never dead. " - John Keats

Foggy Day Harbor - 18x24 oil painting

18"x24" oil painting on stretched canvas
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"The fog comes
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on."

- Carl Sandburg

My last painting was fun with all those bright oranges, but I still love scenes like this, with a million different grays.

Orange Boat at the Dock - 12x24 oil painting

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12"x24" oil painting on stretched canvas

Photo reference courtesy of: http://www.flickr.com/photos/plutor/ / CC BY 2.0

"We did not all come over on the same ship, but we are all in the same boat." - Bernard Baruch

Months ago I approached this reference of an orange boat on a smaller scale and with a limited palette of only cadmium orange and french ultramarine, but I always wanted to paint it on a larger scale without color limitations. I started with a yellow ochre gesso and went straight for those oranges when I started painting, which was very mind-trippy. The oranges looked strange and dull until I started filling in the colors around it. I really enjoyed it; working with such a strong color as a focal point was invigorating.

Beach Meditations - 5x7 Oil Painting

5"x7" oil painting on canvas panel
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“As I gaze upon the sea! All the old romantic legends, all my dreams, come back to me.” - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

This one's got a little bit of glare going on on the left side, sorry about that.