at the edge - 12" square

I am getting the hang of painting for half-days & doing business/packing/exercise for the rest - I feel saner for it. Anyway, the house is becoming emptier and easier to manage. I am flying to Savannah soon and will be exploring the area from there to Charleston so at least I can have some sort of a mental picture of where I am going (maybe an exact place too).........right now it feels as if I am stepping into an abyss - I am getting excited!

backlit girl completed - 11x14"

Finished this one...............I am still packing but there are moments when I simply feel paralyzed and cannot go any further. The times when every single thing you can think of to do requires that something else be done first. I certainly know why people don't move much!

backlit girl - 11x14

Still working on this one (started right before I left for NY) - it was so nice to pick up the brushes when I got back! I was totally exhausted when I got home yesterday and am really, really sick of driving to NY but we are nearly done with everything and the house is on the market. I have three entire weeks before I have to leave again and plan on painting as much as I can.

town landing plein air study - 12x9

This is one of the studies I did while in Cape Cod last week.............when we started painting everything that is dark here was wreathed in mist and lighter in value. I had to change the painting completely but I still like the way this one came out. Back to NY again tomorrow for the millionth time!

house on a hill - 20x16 (not completed)

I cannot believe that this month is nearly over.........I am seeing rubbermaid storage containers every time I close my eyes but I am making true progress with packing for my move. I hope that I will be "home again" around the first of the year. My sisters and I have made progress on my Dad's house as well - it is going on the market October 1. Anyway, I just got back from a painting trip to the Cape with 3 other friends............wow, was it nice to paint plein air again. I feel like I have been inside all summer. I am nearly done with this one so I decided to post. I am using thicker paint these days.

hot sand - 8" square

Using my iphone again........it really is a pretty good camera but can be pretty unsteady. Now that I have done so much packing and have decided to rent a storage unit until I move, I don't feel like the task is quite so impossible. So, I feel that I can allow myself to paint everyday again as long as I achieve certain "moving goals" each day. Of course this might change depending on trips to NY and unexpected snafus in the process but I am feeling less stressed about the packing. I can't wait to find a place in South Carolina!!!!

moving is a real pain!

I finished this some time ago and several other things as well but have been unable to make my camera forward pictures to my computer. I am doing less painting than normal due to the enormous amount of packing I am doing. I quickly realized that I had to make that a priority or I would never get out of here. It is stunning to me just how much stuff there is in this place and how little of it seems worth moving. I am working on a smaller painting at the moment and, when I finish, will use my phone to take a picture. I also realized that I would become a monster if I did not take a few breaks from packing to either get outdoors or paint. Back to work.

progress update - to the waves 24x18"

Just a quick post so you all know that I am still painting! I am getting close to finishing this one.

finishing things - tour bus 20x16"

I have had this painting kicking around for a couple of years and decided to finish it............still a little straightening needs to be done (I just noticed it the photo) but I wanted to get myself in the habit of posting again.

Time flies!!!!

I have sort of missed posting and decided to get a few things up...............I finished the top one a while ago. The lower painting was begun early this week but I had to finish it at home. I don't usually paint things like hay bales but the horizontal nature of the scene needed another element so I decided to put it in. It was a lovely evening in Little Compton and I met three other painters; the light was changing fast. I have been pretty much commuting back and forth to NY but have squeezed in plenty of painting in between. We are making progress on my Dad's house but, boy, is it a sad duty...............the first few days I felt disloyal, like I was dismantling him somehow.

signing off for a bit & a bit of Texas! 11x14

I have been working steadily at my painting but am going to sign off this blog for a bit.......I will be spending a lot of time preparing my father's home for sale and then packing up in New England for a move to S. Carolina before the snow flies here. I feel a strong desire to move closer to the rest of my family who live near Charleston. I wil be posting haphazarly in the next couple of months. Following the South Coast Artist's Open Studio Tour in August, I will be concentrating on packing and relocating down south. I will continue to post but just cannot feel pressured at the moment to post on a regular basis. Until Winter, then.

marina study - 10x8"

The only thing I have been able to do this past week is paint - unfortunately I broke one of my own rules and accepted a portrait commission from a neighbor who gave me a god-awful photo to work from. In addition to despising the photo, the fact that he is wearing a navy uniform in it (my father was in the navy) made me upset. The man was also wearing an expression that made him seem constipated and showed his teeth in a sort of grimace. Needless to say, I detested every minute of the three starts I made on the portrait..........I am glad to say I have now completed the portrait but I will be damned if I will post it! I will eternally remember my rule - never, never accept a portrait commission without taking the photo yourself (or at least liking the one the customer gives you). In between sessions of wipimg the damn thing down and restarting, I did this study.

completed gulls - 12x24

I took this photo in the sun....yes, it is actually sunny for the second day in a row!

three gulls (step 1) - 12x24"

I am having a rough day today..........losing your father the week before Father's Day is painful since you cannot even turn the radio on without hearing incessant commercials for Home Depot & grilling. Work is the thing that is the best medicine right now. I began this painting early today and made pretty good progress.

the herring run - 20x16"

This is an old painting that I never finished. I did a couple of plein air things at this site the other week (none of which I wanted to post) but got inspired to finish this - of course I ended up re-doing the entire thing. I am not fully done yet but wanted to get myself back in the habit of posting again. I forced myself to go grocery shopping as well. Work seems to be the only thing that is keeping the tears and sadness away.

a tribute

I don't really know what to say here beyond a quick explanation of why I have not posted for a bit. I am posting a recent portrait I painted of my father for his 90th birthday just a month ago. I am reposting this picture because my father suffered a fatal fall a week ago and I left immediately for NY. He died a day after I got there and I just got home tonight. I doubt I will feel like posting for a bit even though I can't wait to get back to painting tomorrow. We were very, very close and I am very, very devastated so I will close for now.

spring light completed - 12x9"

Finished - the perspective of this house is quite challenging from this view........I drive by the house all the time since I live at the bottom of a steep hill.

OMG........spring light - 12x9"

I am stunned I was able to get as far as posting! I am having some pretty severe computer problems, my hard drive is nearly full so I went out and bought an external hard drive. I have now backed my kazillion photos up but am still having difficulty in freeing up space despite deleting tons and tons of duplicate photos. I am getting annoying messages from windows and  have not been able to figure out how to keep my photos accessible but off the hard drive! I do have an entire drive free (the D drive) but have no idea how to transfer stuff to it. Damn, I will have to go te Staples again!! Anyway, I have been painting outside and wiping down...........it is always an adjustment getting back outside. This painting is actually farther along than the photo but I didn't dare to do another thing with the photo programs!

up the river - 14x11"

I have a few minor details to complete in this one but it is nearly done and it will have to wait for that since it is so wet.

rhododendron (?) study - 12x9"

Wow, what a wonderful day! I left the house early so I could get a long walk in before painting so I went to Colt State Park in Bristol RI (there are lots of trails there). It was really foggy until 10 or so but it cleared up pretty well after that. Colt State Park is pretty big and one of those places that you could explore for a long time even though it can seem a little boring at mid-day in summer. I knew I would be able to find some flowering trees there and I did..............they were near the outdoor chapel and what I initially thought was a wedding was actually an outdoor church service which got quite loud. I had a great time being around people though and am really glad that summer seems to be here.

marsh en plein air - 10" square

I got to paint outside today!!! Yipee......the fog burned off pretty early. The fog is supposed to come back in tonight again and I have to work at the gallery tomorrow anyway but I think the weather might have finally turned a corner.

heading home - 14x11

This is obviously undone but I was so excited by what I learned today (in the studio) that I had to post it. It is a lesson about value rather than color or drawing. I was all intent on going out to paint today but the fog rolled in and stayed all day so I worked on this. When I layed in the underpainting I did what I have been doing when I can - laying in a pure transparent wash into certain areas (what I love about watercolor). I realized that the water was not disrupting my vision for the scene when I stood back to judge things and realized that I have been painting water way, way too light. I will now be able to add some highlights and darker sky reflections without adding the color blue (unless it is needed) and retain the totality of the painting.

Wow, I love my job!

line dry - 8x10"

Through a parking lot near where I live during a sunny break in the weather a few days ago..........I am waiting for another one of those breaks at the moment!

earth ball - 10" square

Oh my goodness, did I try to paint outside today........it just wasn't going to happen. It was in the forties again, windy and has rained all day. I am really trying to remain cheerful. This girl kicking an earth ball down the beach is from a photo........I will try again tomorrow. 

Fogland Beach study - 10x8"

Still here and still painting........in fact I haven't heard a single report of people disappearing so I guess the rapture didn't go down. This study is done on that neat cardboard I ordered from Guerrilla Painters. I don't like painting on panels for the most part but I really like painting on this stuff. I stood across the road from one of the dunes at the beach and painted beyond it to the far side of the inlet (you can't see the water so I guess I named this poorly).

just in time for the rapture

Thankfully I finished this before the rapture happens tomorrow.............damn, it is hard not to be all snarky with stuff like this. Well, I had better get going on a new one since I only have till six tomorrow!

halfway there - 18" square

Still progressing with this one and it is still raining.  I tried to get decent photo but it is a little off nonetheless. My painting time was interrupted by a dental appointment and will be again tomorrow by my yearly physical (nice to cluster these time consuming appointments) but it will continue to rain so I will be "enstudio" again.

just beginning - 18" square

This is really just the beginning of this picture but I feel very behind so I figured I would post anyway. Winter seems to have returned to coastal New England with temps in the 40's and drizzle........strange, to be fighting seasonal affective disorder in mid-May.

snow fence - 10" square

I started this before I left for NY and just finished it today. I have painted this house several times - it's at Warren's Point in Little Compton. I am hoping the snow fence will come down soon but I probably won't be able to check since this is a VERY private beach and off limits after Memorial Day. Damn, by the time I get back there it will be after Labor Day and nearly time to put the fence up again! Summer is definitely too short.

flowering trees study - 8x10"

I am back from all of my travels! It was impossible to paint for the 2 days I was home between the Maine - NY - Maine and the Austin trips.........way too much to do. My cat is finally getting over her insecurity at being "abandoned" for so long (I did hire a cat sitter). I was able to go out this morning with a friend and paint in her gorgeous yard. I tried a new panel from Guerrilla Painters - it is heavy brownish cardboard and quite different from canvas but I liked it. You can see the clip at the top right corner - the stock is thin enough that I had to clip it to an actual panel. Boy, does one get rusty after not painting much for 10 days!  I have to get back on track now. It was a real shock to come from the near 100 degrees in Austin to Providence; when the pilot announced what the temperature in RI was I nearly cried.

portrait of my dad - 11x14"

This is a portrait of my father who is turning 90 tomorrow...........I don't believe he ever checks this blog since I have to re-give him the address every time I visit. If you do check this Dad, sorry I ruined the surprise! It is really, really hard to think of a present for him since he doesn't ever want anything.......I usually give him a painting unless I see something really neat for his garden. I will be leaving for NY to visit him this week and then maybe go to Austin TX to visit my daughter who just broke her collarbone! I will attempt to keep up with posting but it may be difficult.

humid on the hill - 10" square

A wretched photo but today has been a very interesting and dark weather day here............it is pouring and the wind is really strong again. I was experimenting with putting some structure into a mass of grape leaves/vines and assorted foliage in this picture. I can't wait until we have decent enough weather here to get out in the field again since it is really the way to learn how to actually paint these things...........photos are a poor substitute without the knowledge gained outside!

sunset on the beach house - 10" square

I almost lost this one to the wind while trying to take a photo.........it seems like nearly gale force winds out there.

bristol porch - 12" square

This was quite difficult and I am glad it is done! Our next show at Gallery Eleven Fine Art is: "This is Bristol," so I figured I had better do some actual paintings of Bristol. I have been hoping it would be warm enough to paint outside during my shifts at the gallery but we are certainly not there yet.

just a start - 12" square

I have wiped this down a couple of times but am determined to get it right.....with architecture, it can be difficult to strike a balance between the linear and the shapes. Lots of starightening and merging left to do. The color palette is  nearly completely dependent on warm/cool transitions so it is a bit difficult.

the last snow pile - 20x16"

I finished this one for the most part......I am shocked that I did since I had to go to the dentist and that usually disables me with stress. It is beautiful outside and I think I might go out to paint tomorrow!

500 posts! (and completed painting)

I just realized when I signed in that this is my 500th post on this blog. I have had mixed feelings about why I continue to post until I realized that I was doing it as a visual diary/website rather than as a marketing tool........so, I find it pretty invaluable at the moment. Anyway, I just thought I would mention it.

gull through the waves - 12" square

Obviously, just a start...............I rearranged my studio yesterday and took a long hike at the Middletown RI wildlife preserve. Sometimes you just have to move and absorb and put the brushes down for a day - it was incredibly refreshing. This painting is also a thank you to my camera - I could never, ever get this information without my camera. Not only do things change really fast but I couldn't have seen far enough away to get the gull's foot through the water (I didn't even try to get this information, it was an accident). So, I am just thrilled that I did.

color study of flowers - 12x9

Not my typical thing but I was out painting all morning and totally wiped down two previous efforts. It is always a bit if a challenge to get back into the plein air thing after a long season of studio work.......the changing light and motion of the natural visual world sort of shock one. The scene is of this amazing patch of little blue flowers blooming in Tiverton, RI.

hats - 12" square

I finsihed this yesterday but didn't get a chance to take a photo or post. This morning I went to Warren's Point to paint outside for the first time in ages (it was a wicked long winter)! It was awesome to be out there even though I froze..........at least the wind was minimal and the temperature of 42 and the low clouds didn't bother me a bit. I noticed that my approach is different then it was the last time I was out........much less attached to habits I developed last summer and fall. The beach looked ravaged by the past months as well.

sunflower road - 14x11"

Can you tell I am longing for this kind of weather? Actually, yesterday was quite nice and I went for a long walk at Second Beach. It was quite windy so I knew I wouldn't be able to paint there but soon...........today is pouring rain.

backlit - 16" square

This picture is done for the most part and I am in a little bit better mood today even though it is freezing and we had snow last night. My neighbor even told me that he had heard on the weather report that we may get snow next week too - I guess I had better keep my eyes on my easel rather than out the window. Funny, but I remember learning in middle school that there had been a year without a summer back in the 1800's.........that has always stayed in my mind and tends to pop into it again when winter seems too long.

in the water - 16" square

Not done yet but I wanted to get one last post in before the end of the month. Wow, what a week.......the trial I had to testify in is over (it was as awful and as big a waste of time as I remember) and I broke a tooth the night before! We are expecting a nor'easter tonight and it is very gloomy and cold. I can't stand being cold anymore so I jacked the heat up to 62 and am waiting for it to come on so I can finish this. Where is spring?

crowded beach - 12" square completed

Not fully happy with this but went as far as I could with it - I will really have to try to do multiple figures on site (when it warms up). In the summers, Rhode Island beaches get really crowded and noisy and the parking fees are quite steep so I tend to stay away. From Labor Day to Memorial Day is my time to go for walks and painting. It does have to warm up soon!

crowded beach - 12" square

This is an experiment - I am trying to retain the gestures of tiny figures against a rather complicated landscape while keeping the size relationships, values and colors accurate without getting picky. We shall see. It is a bit frustrating and there has been a lot of scraping and re-doing.....it may reach a point when I decide I have "learned enough."

all done - 14x11"

I actually finished this on the last day I posted it and have moved on to other things. We are expecting a snowstorm tonight and it isn't supposed to get above the forties for the next 10 days.......I can't stand it!

ocean layers - 14x11" (stage 1)

The step-like quality of organized heavy surf really appeals to me and that is what I am trying to do here......March is shaping up to be a really, really disorganized month for me. I found out that I have to go to court again on an old case from my former career......I hope that these cases will eventually disappear (one can dream) and they leave me alone!

girl with pointy shoes - 12" square

I finished this and finished my taxes so I am satisfied to some degree. However, I continue to be horrified by the news from Japan and nearly as horrified by the insane reaction of our government and many of our citizens. How on earth can anyone support the use of any form of nuclear technology? I have always loved the natural world above everything else and it just sickens me that we, as humans beings,  feel that we can toy with that world's very survival. I find this exteremely depressing and don't want to be correct in my assessment that western culture is on a suicide path. I try very hard to keep my political thoughts absent from this blog but sometimes (and way too frequently) events are just so monumental, I cannot help myself.

pointy shoes - 12" square

Bad photo, bad day, bad week......I usually use picasa to upload photos but it wouldn't work at all tonight! (I had to use photoshop) I actually feel fortunate to have gotten to paint at all today since I have been so busy with business stuff this week. I am truly addicted to painting since I feel an enormous amount of tension when I am unable to do so. I shouldn't complain since my life is pretty awesome and the steady background noise on the radio is all disaster. I do not have a tv because I refuse to pay for advertising so I get all of my news and information from either the internet or the radio (probably  better sources anyway). But it was WARM today and I do not have to do anything business related tommorow. Yipee!