green triple decker - 10x8

Even though I didn't finish this today as I planned, I just had to post on the last day of the year and decade! I promise a completed (and much more accurate photo) painting tomorrow. I remember 10 years ago tonight when everyone was so freaked out by Y2K and my unit had to work overtime all night just in case the world fell apart - it makes me smile now to remember that. The challenges of our world are so much greater than what we think yet we remain so distracted in our concerns. I hope this new year will bring the hope, intelligence and courage that are needed - enough said. Happy New Year to all.

roughing in - 18x14

This is the beginning of a portrait commission. The wind finally died down enough for me to take a picture outside. I went to figure drawing this morning so I haven't made much progress on the "daily" I began yesterday. I have found a way to deal with the season's lack of light by late afternoon. I usually do an under painting in the evening by working out the composition and drawing. In the morning I start right in with color and usually finish mid-day. I don't like mixing color by artificial light and have found that this system is working for me.

Flo's (famous for clams) - 10x8

Wow, is it freezing here today; no chance for taking a picture outside, it would surely blow away in the strong wind off the water. I have painted Flo's before but this illustrates the bright, angled winter light I have been loving lately. It is obviously closed for the season.

three dogs - 20x16

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas, I certainly did. My son left last night and I am back at work........the refrigerator isn't even crammed anymore. This picture was a commissioned work so it is sold.

sea wall - 10x8

I am now starting to feel the Christmas spirit a little and my son is due in tomorrow - it might be time to start wrapping something. I had a bit of a camera crisis but it us resolved now (I think). I lost a bunch of stuff I took today when I went out to the dreaded Ocean State Job Lot. It remains quite cold but it is sunny.

sea wall (start) - 10x8

Wow, what a storm we had this weekend..........it has to be 2' deep here. I did manage to get out this morning but the roads in Fall River were awful, school was cancelled and everyone was pretty much digging out. I had to pick up my camera from my daughter who had borrowed it for a few days so I got a late start painting this morning and am posting a "beginning" since the light it is going fast. Today is the shortest day of the year so there will be more and more each day (yippee). This picture is taken from the Island Park beach, a sort of run down beach community that is a part of Portsmouth, RI. - it has real character rather than being all polished and renovated.

tree on antique quilt - 10x8

I love my little tree on the table and it was so easy! I was sick of looking at my photos and it was too cold to paint outside so I decided to paint my tree..........a crummy photo (again, I do apologize) but I simply couldn't get rid of the glare. One of these days I must take a photography course so I learn what I am doing.

roller coaster - 10x8

This roller coaster is obviously abandoned and is located in the town of Dartmouth, MA. I have wanted to paint it for sometime and finally found a way to sort of sneak in (it wasn't hard). They have the grounds of this old amusement park fenced off with a sign stating that it is to be developed; the sign has faded and I don't see much development going on so I believe the project has been shelved for years. I doubt the current economic climate will allow further consideration and I must say that pleases me - I hate to see these old structures go. I am becoming more and more enamored with the angled winter light. I will probably sharpen this up some more and get a better photo tomorrow. I tried something new with this one; painted the sky and let it dry completely before attempting to establish the structure of this since it was so complicated.

beach walk - 5" square

My tree is up, I went to Macy's and got a few presents, my cold is gone and my days are free to paint again for a bit. I even went for a long walk at the beach at Island Park this afternoon (where I nearly got stuck in what seemed like quicksand aside a drainage area). I am posting another small beach study today.

weird metal tank? - 10x8

I have no idea what this thing is but I liked it - especially in late afternoon light. It is raining again and this is the best photo I could get but I felt guilty for not posting anything the last few days. Just a combination of beating my cold and being exceptionally busy. I finally got a Christmas tree! I decided I would get a little one this year instead of the monster-sized ones that take me days to decorate and boy, do I feel relieved. The next couple of weeks are going to be busy as well since I have not begun to shop.

westport fishing boats - 10" square

I feel much, much better today; not even a trace of a headache! This is not the best photo but the best I can do for now - I was able to finish and begin a new picture so I am definitely on the mend............onward and upward.

still recovering (or just in bed?)

I tried to work today; went to figure drawing in a snowstorm this morning but had to leave early because the headache came back with a vengeance. I thought I would post a painting I have started and am now letting dry so I can apply color - this portrait is from a tiny, blurry black and white photo of my mother taken in 1952. It took me three days of reworking to get her likeness and realize that no one ever paints portraits with teeth! I hope I won't lose the likeness after the under painting has set up but if anyone has ever done a project like this and had success, let me know. Now it is back to bed with a book.

recovering

I had to leave work at the gallery in Westport early yesterday - I had the worst headache! I am working today on a commission and I began the daily I am posting but I'm moving slow and about to head back to bed with a book to continue recovering from what I am now not sure is a sinus infection.. This picture is 10" square. When I was getting irritable about how fast the light was fading I checked the sunrise/sunset times for Alaska - wow, did that make me feel better. Sunrise was at 10am with sunset quickly following at 3:45pm. So, I did what I could to feel better, went to vote in the special primary election (to replace Ted Kennedy) and worked as much as I could.

Arctic Isle - 8x10

It snowed here last night and my cold has moved into a sinus infection as of this morning - so much for my cockiness that I had beaten my cold! This picture has a different kind of chill. I am also posting a better photo of the marina picture; one that was actually taken on a sunny day.

commission #1 completed - yipee!

I am going to post day 2 of the picture I posted the other day since I have been quite busy on commissions. I did complete one of them today so I only have one more to finish in the next week. Normally this 8" square painting would not be a "posting in stages painting" but I could only scrounge an hour or so today before I totally lost the light. I dropped off six paintings for the Westport Art Group Holiday Show yesterday so.................everyone in this area should definitely stop by this weekend for some good deals and a chance to win a painting by Dora Atwater Milikin in a raffle. Also I want to give a plug for Kris Donovan's Holiday sale at her studio in Little Compton. My cold is better but I did run out of the Zicam swabs which I swear by and are no longer available at all.

standish docks - 8x8

I still feel kind of terrible and so achy I couldn't stay in bed. What is better than painting for that? I decided to treat myself and not work on the commission so I began something new and have nearly finished - have to wait til the paint sets up overnight to finish. I took a photo of these boats at Standish boatyard when I was painting outside there this past summer - this is exactly the kind of subject that photos come in handy for, those natural patterns that do not hold still and I have been having fun with this.

boat study - pastel

I am still working on commissions and woke up in the middle of the night with a cold! Well, at least it will be over before Christmas. This is a pastel study of a boat docked at the pier in New Bedford.