Pond at the Divide

"Pond at the Divide"
6'" x 6"
Pastel on  gessoed canvas panel
I revisited my photos from a trip to the Continental Divide, near Winter Park, Colorado in 2010 and felt the need to paint this familiar little pond again. I liked it as much in this medium as when I've painted it in oil. 

 I was a guest of Winter Park artist, Karen Vance, at Devil's Thumb Resort on that trip. I worked for Karen's father in his art studio back when Karen and I were each looking for new careers. She moved to Colorado, I stayed in Illinois.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
Dailypainters.com
Dailypaintworks.com


Pink Pansy

"Pink Pansy"
8" x 8"
Oil on wrapped canvas 

The light was magnificent on the furls and folds of this hot pink pansy the day I stopped to catch my breath at the top of the mountain in Winter Park.  Oil painter, Karen Vance had loaned me her ski lift medallion, so I went as high as I could without fainting, for lack of oxygen. Who knew that pansies grow where humans dare to breathe? 

It was August, the light really was great for capturing what I did on this beauty.  When I paint pansies, I always want to pant, I mean paint more.

Thanks for hiking by here today.
Carol

Cow Moose

"Cow Moose"
12" x 12"
Oil on stretched canvas
It was August, the calf was playing on the other side of this stream while the cow ate.  We were south of Winter Park by about an hour.  I had been looking for a moose in the wild, and when two of them appeared, there was also parking that didn't endanger our own species! 


I had visited with Karen Vance on this trip, and was awestruck by her handling of subject matter in her part of the country.  Inspired by seeing many originals, and also intimidated, I cropped this photo, but waited a year and a half to paint it.

Thank you for wading by today.
Carol

Dailypaintworks.com
Dailypainters.com
My DPW Gallery
Brushstrokes@comcast.net

Pansy

"Pansy"
Oil on wrapped canvas
36" x 36"
I shot the reference photo for "Pansy" in Winter Park, Colorado last summer when I visited artist, Karen Vance.  There was nothing different between Illinois pansies and Colorado pansies, BUT this one reminded me of Marilyn Monroe's skirt in "The Seven Year Itch."

All of "Pansy" and many of my large, single bloom images have been painted with—a sponge.  Yes, even the tiny, hard-edged veins.  Probably your mind has conjured at least three different kinds of sponge by this time, but I'm not here to tease.  The magical tool is a masonry sponge.  Looks like an orange brick.

To reiterate, I paint with water miscible oils that dry faster than traditional oils, especially when applied thin.  I swirl on color with a snippet of sponge the size of a pack of chewing gum, wait for each layer to dry, and then swirl sheer glazes of color over each dry area.  The darker values of purple and yellow, above, were done in layers, not ala prima. Being a recovering watercolorist and a muralist/faux finisher, the use of non-traditional materials just comes naturally.  And over the next few days, I'll explain even more as you view additional pieces.

Thank you for visiting,
Carol