Succulently

Succulently   24" x 12"  Oil on museum wrapped canvas  $350 

Succulently   24" x 12"  Oil on museum wrapped canvas  $350 

I've indulged in three succulent paintings over the last few days and am as happy as if I were painting roses.  For some reason I get the same enjoyment from these supple petals as rose petals.  

I will be traveling again for the next week. I'm not sure if I'll get a painting done to post before I get back. Don't worry about me, I'm fine, just enjoying myself... A LOT! 

Carol  

Wildly Wild

"Wildly Wild"
12" x 12"
Oil on wrapped canvas
The wild roses at the Botanic Gardens intrigue me. They're so unstructured and haphazard, compered to the well-bred cousins blossoming properly in the beds around them. When a wild one dazzles me in morning light, I like to capture her, but seldom paint her in season. There are so many other options, for my lovers of roses. 

 This feels like a study to me, but I know I'll never take it any further.  I hope she appeals to you as she is… wildly wild.

We are in the midst of a blizzard here in my zip code. I went out and measured 22" of snow on my patio table. While I've been housebound I've updated my website.  If you go to CarolKeene.com there are over 200 new images in the category "Recent Works."  If you've never been to my website before, please go browse. It's clean, orderly and fun to look at. Thank you for looking.  

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
Carolkeene.com
Dailypaintworks.com
Dailypainters.com

Across the Sand

"Across the Sand"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard

The sun had dipped below the horizon, yet left a sumptuous display for my eyes. It would be fleeting, I knew that, but I'd remember it as it dissipated into the night.  

I'm working at re-establishing my skills from my weakened state after the flu. The heart is willing, but the hand is not as confident. It'll come back, I just need to keep painting.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
CarolKeene.com
Dailypaintworks.com
Dailypainters.com

Little Bit Wild

"Little Bit Wild"
8" x 8"
Oil on canvas panel
During my visit to the western part of Wisconsin last week I came across these little roses. They were coral and had only about ten petals each. They were nestled in among some small violet flowers that looked pretty decent with the coral. The gardener did a nice job of planning. 

This is not my usual kind of rose, but neither was the night I began painting her.  I will paint more "civilized" roses in the near future, unless I find another cutie pie wild rose.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
CarolKeene.com
Dailypaintoworks.com
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Out of the Fog

"Out of the Fog"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard 
Days went by without even thinking of smearing paint. I thought I was mending, but lingered in a hazy place that just didn't loosen its grip. That fog may have burned off now and I'll have clear sailing from this point on.

Here's a simple offering from an unsteady hand. I'm happy to be back to work.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
Carolkeene.com
Dailypaintworks.com
Dailypainters.com

Red Lily

"Red Lily"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard 
Mary had lilies blooming when I was her guest. I photographed a few of them, but alas, not the ones she dearly loved. They had finished their season a week before I got there.  

I hadn't painted a flower portrait in a while, so this one felt really good. But they all do, no matter what I paint or the medium or technique. I just love to … paint.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
Carolkeene.com
Dailypaintworks.com
Dailypainters.com


Dendrobium

"Dendrobium"
14" x 11"
Oil on wrapped canvas
A friend send me a photo of these orchids about a month ago. They've been waiting in queue to be painted, and now that I have, I want to paint more!  This was a wonderful exercise in value and limited color. I loved it. Thank you dear friend for thinking of me. 

I toned the canvas in Cadet Grey acrylic just before I began painting. It made a nice neutral ground for the white. I liked using it as a toning color. I'll use it again.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
Carolkeene.com
Dailypainters.com
Dailypaintworks.com

Fragrant As She Looks

"Fragrant As She Looks"
24" x 24"
Oil on wrapped canvas 
I painted on this large painting with my friends on Thursday. In my haste to get home and finish her, I left ALL of my paints and my favorite brushes at the painting site… an hour away from home. Of course, I didn't realize it until I was ready to unload my car.  So I repeated my trek to Woodstock to fetch my precious materials. I got home at ten o'clock at night.  Oh, I did paint, but only for an hour. Then I finished her today. 

On my way home, the first time, I photographed 77 new peonies. I have subject matter for some pretty strong paintings.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
Carolkeene.com
Dailypainters.com
Dailypaintworks.com

Niagara Falls

"Niagara Falls"
10" x 8"
Oil on hardboard
A friend took a trip to Niagara Falls over the weekend and sent photos to me.  It was fun to paint the cascading water in the colors that appeared on his photos. I remember seeing the falls as a teen, back when the falls had nearly dried up. The water source seemed to be mightily replenished this year.  

I enjoyed painting something completely different from anything I've ever done.  What fun!

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
CarolKeene.com
Dailypainters.com
Dailypaintworks.com

Moonlit

"Moonlit"
24" x 24"
Oil on wrapped canvas
Two years ago, to the day, I photographed this peony on my way to work. She was in the yard where all the white roses would eventually bloom along the white picket fence. She appears to be moonlit, therefore, the title. And if you know me at all, I adore the moon. 

This year the peonies are still in the "marble" stage. Mine won't be blooming for a while yet. I'm glad I had a photo to satisfy my longings for today's effort.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
Carolkeene.com
Dailypaintworks.com
Dailypainters.com

Sunshine and Shadow

"Sunshine and Shadow"
12" x 12"
Oil on wrapped canvas
Something cast a shadow across the petals of the yellow rose the morning I went to the Botanic Gardens to shoot subject matter. I didn't realize it until I got home and imported the images from my camera. I would have found the culprit and moved it, had I noticed while I was there. As it stands, the shadow gives this pretty little bloom somewhat of a tattoo. 

Carol 

Come Home

"Come Home"
5" x 7"
Oil on hardboard
There are places without houses that feel like home. Where comfort comes easily, thoughts never roil or distort. This place is one of them, and tonight I found comfort in painting this place that beckons … come home. 

Here's my favorite Colorado pond again. It brings me such comfort and joy.

Love,
Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
CarolKeene.com
Dailypaintworks.com
Dailypainters.com

Adrift in Passion

"Adrift in Passion"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard
The color wouldn't last but a few heartbeats longer, so we stopped what we were doing and watched.  We absorbed the warmth and light of the moment then continued on, tending to the mundane aspects of our lives with renewed energy. 

 I fabricated this sky tonight, to have something to post while I finish a larger piece that is taking longer than planned. It was painted purely from passion and remembering a sky that looked like this.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
CarolKeene.com
Dailypaintworks.com
Dailypainters.com

Stacked

"Stacked"
12" x 12"
Oil on wrapped canvas
I hobbled barefooted across the smooth limestone rocks on the Lake Michigan beach, up on the northern shore of Door County, Wisconsin. For the most part, the rounded stones washed ashore and scattered randomly along a specific stretch of beach. But I found a cluster of them that had been stacked — by hands. Chubby, cherubic hands.  

The stones are so sensual. You can hear them before you see them as they rattle up to and away from the shore. They are a pale dove gray and feel like something you'd purchase in a spa shoppe to fondle away your woes.  They're so unique that they'r protected by law. You can't remove them from the beaches. None.  Just photos…

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
CarolKeene.com
Dailypainters.com
Dailypaintworks.com

Blue For You

"Blue For You"
!0" x 8"
Oil on wrapped canvas
Spring pansies are on racks at the entrance to my grocery store. This one was among the beauties being jostled by the wind as I walked in to pick up a roasted chicken the other day. I'm so desperate to see growing, living things I'll settle for hot house pansies as subject matter.  

I haven't painted a yellow and blue pansy before. It was fun to determine the shadow colors in the folds. The other thing that was fun to observe and paint was the veining, not just the bold purple ones, but the subtle veins that created shadows.  They're easy to see in the actual painting.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
CarolKeene.com
Dailypainters.com
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Cool, Dry and High

"Cool, Dry and High"
5" x 7"
Oil on hardboard 
I stood on the side of a road to shoot in the general direction of Pikes Peak near Garden of the Gods that mid-October day. I had the good fortune to be in the State while a few colorful trees still adorned the foreground, and of course, the red spires of the Garden repeated some of the warm tree colors. 

 This is a cute small painting of one of my favorite places to photograph and to paint.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
CarolKeene.com
Dailypaintworks.com
Dailypainters.com