geometry - 18x18"

I started this painting the last week and have been making some progress when I'm not working outside. I have my right eye (the second one) operated on on Tuesday and I'll be glad to get it all over with. I'm hopeful that I won't need to wear glasses at all but even if I do I will get some that will actually work! You should see the poor set that I am wearing now..........2 different side pieces and some band aids on one side. I thought about getting a new pair but it seemed like a waste of money since my prescription would be changing so dramatically.

I am also exploring instagram so I have a new page on it - would tell you how to get there if I could figure it out myself. I'm still learning how to even get photos onto the site......more to follow when I'm farther along!

holding hands - 12x16"

Every time I spend a week or so only painting outside I get excited about painting back in the studio so I started this one a couple of days ago. It was a little strange to go back to my usual palette after using only three colors while painting outside. I also broke down and ordered some new brushes from Rosemary and Company of England - I hadn't bought any new brushes for a couple of years (I have a million of them in the studio) and my favorites were getting a bit rough. Wow, are these new brushed AWESOME and I plan on getting a bunch more since they are absolutely wonderful. I ordered an assortment and haven't tried them all yet but the  "Ivory" short flats are great. 

website building@?##!

I am in the process of building a website on GoDaddy.........needless to say (and you can tell by the title of this post), I am not terribly adept at it. Blogger has kind of spoiled me with its ease and I have been putting this task off for several years now but I absolutely HAVE to do it. Of course one thing leads to another and I discovered that I have to get some semblance of order in the way I file my photos. While doing that I realized I have not taken photos of many paintings I have finished - so, I had to do some of that. Hopefully, the process will become clearer to me as I become more experienced with the "web Builder" or whatever they call it! The painting of the little girl below is 12" square and was done several years ago - my son just traded it in for newer ones - I have always liked it and since I have spent 2 days fooling around with the infant website and it has been a million degrees here, I thought I would post it again.

This is one I have been working on in the last week or so and it's almost complete - the paint is drying so fast due to the heat that I feel like I am working with acrylics. It's 20x16." We are getting a big thunderstorm at the moment and the temperature is down to 89 degrees! I'm about to go put a sweater on.

guarding the floats - 20x16"

Not done yet but I thought I would do a "progress report" thingy. It is so hot here that I'm not likely to go painting outside for a while.......It reached 110 degrees on my patio shortly after noon. The official temp is 97 with a heat index of 114 degrees. Even the mornings are so hot and humid that I'm not tempted - I really hate it when sweat pours into my eyes. The extended forecast calls for pretty much the same for the next ten days or so which means I'll be in the studio. I really love heat and humidity but I am totally appreciating my air conditioning at the moment!

hazy, hot and humid - 11x14"

Still going through some adjusting with my new bifocals but was able to begin this painting today and get pretty far with it. It's been really gloomy and cold here (I'm not whining, really) and I was missing those hot and steamy days we get down here. Usually, the gray, humid days don't inspire me all that much but what can I say? 

oldie but nearly newie - 20x20"

This painting has been on the drying wall in the studio for at least a year and a half.........I kept thinking about finishing it but somehow didn't, not knowing exactly what I needed to do next.  Last week I glanced over at it and knew exactly how to finish it! I am nearly there but couldn't paint today - picked up my new glasses & am "adjusting" to my new, stronger prescription (with its slight headache). 

cotton and home!

A couple of things..........the above plein air is 16x12" and was done on site in St. Matthews SC at my neighbor's family's cotton farm. It was a little gloomy and I didn't finish but I got lots of photos, spent hours looking and have a real concept for how I want to paint the cotton portion of the painting. I am hoping to works out!

This is the 10x20" painting I began before I left......I made pretty good progress today after having to spend much of yesterday doing boring things like going to the Toyota dealership (for hours) and getting my hair cut. I leave for Texas in a week and am planning on traveling through northern Alabama and Mississippi and painting on the way. Since I have no idea of what I will see, I don't know if this is practical or not but that's my plan.

a bit of a series in 2x1 format

Just a couple of things..........I am (honestly) nearly done with this one. It turns out I did a lot more work on it than I had anticipated. I got involved in the structure of the wave and wanting to get the highlights to my satisfaction. It is now so incredibly wet that I had to put it aside.

This is the same little girl with the same pink tube (a different wave) and I wanted to do a vertical this time. I just began this one today so I haven't gotten very far yet and I lost the light quite early today. I am going to have to get some blinds for the windows in my studio because the angle of the sun comes in and distorts everything no matter how I arrange things. 

I will be traveling this month so my posting might be somewhat erratic. The first trip is quite local........to an area in western SC to my next door neighbor's family farm. I am going to paint & take photos of rural SC as well as gather some cotton stalks (a long story unrelated to painting) and he will be a good guide & it was nice of him to offer). About mid-month I will be leaving for Texas to help my daughter prepare for her wedding. I am also planning on taking my time and painting along the way but I really don't know what to expect! I'll be home before Thanksgiving but am excited about seeing different parts of the country and painting along the way.

light on the tracks - 20x16"

Just a bit of an update.........the two kids are nearly done and I began the top one yesterday when the "kids" were wet enough that I had to put them aside. I have four or so paintings that I need to finish that are in this drying/setting process and am going to attempt to finish them in the next couple of weeks. In addition to that, it is plain air weather in SC again! One thing that is great about down here is that you get the same angled, side-ish (not a word?) light that you get in New England without the wind and freezing temperatures......it was 75 today. Anyway, even if I don't show them, I do plenty of "studies" outside and really think of them that way - studies for me to learn and use.

meeting the wave - 20x16"

I started this one when the "dragon float" painting was simply so wet I was lifting paint off when I tried to apply it. Since I really like working wet into wet and prefer working larger than I am able to finish in one sitting, I have had to find strategies for this situation. When things get too sticky, I have to put them aside and then get myself re-motivated to complete them after moving on......often I end up totally re-doing areas that bother me and sometimes, it can be difficult to get back into them. 

taming the dragon - step 2 - 20" square

I have been working on this for the past few days.......finally got it to pull together. The more I work with grays, the more astounded I am by their power and subtlety. Ir's finally cool enough to paint outside so I plan on doing some in the near future. We are having our fall Art Walk in Beaufort on Saturday, October 26th and, since I am in  charge of it, I have been bugging every artist and gallery in town! So, if you are around, please drop in from 5-7:30 pm.

taming the dragon - 20x20"

I realized with a certain sense of shock that is already the 9th and I had totally forgotten to post on this blog! I have been working on a few things at once and lost track of the time completely. When you work on larger things, the days sort of merge together. I've done a lot of thinking and scraping and paint applying so far with this painting but it's moving along. 

blue tubes - 20x16

I am almost done with this painting - I pretty much hate plastic but find myself fascinated with it in this type of situation. I wanted to get the feel of it as a transparent filter for the bright sunshine - the way bodies look when they are seen through it as well as the way the sunlight/shadows change as a result of the light passing through the plastic. Just a note: my new computer has arrived!!!! I am hoping for a smooth transition but know enough after having done it several times that it may be "time consuming." So, I hope to be back online by tomorrow afternoon (at least my fingers are crossed)..........we shall see.