Del-FUN-ium Daze

"Del-FUN-ium Daze"
10" x 8"
Acrylic on hardboard
I was in a plein air competition on Saturday up in Door County, Wisconsin.  It was the Saturday "Quick Paint" portion of a week-long benefit for the Peninsula School of Art. After a four and a half hour drive, I found my spot to paint as we rolled through town on the way to our hotel. I photographed it in the dark and dreamed about how I'd handle the composition come morning. 

 I got my panel stamped, set up my gear and spent most of the two-hours painting this scene. I wanted to paint two paintings, but they looked at me like I was nuts. I guess nobody asked that question before.  I was done and tweaking well within the ordered time, before the horn sounded to announce the end.

The forty invited artists' work was auctioned off in the culmination of their weeklong effort.  Sixty-five of us non-invited artists framed and displayed our work for sale in a tent on the grounds of the art school.  Guests were lined up for a block and a half to get in to see the art. This piece was the second one of the evening to sell. The woman who purchased it told me she got there early to make sure she would be the one to buy it.  It was a lovely way to end a week of travel, painting, and making new friends.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
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Near Baileys Harbor

"Near Baileys Harbor"
5" x 5"
Acrylic on hardboard
I've been in Wisconsin at the Door County Plein Air Festival.  I've rubbed elbows with some of this country's and Canada's foremost plein air artists. They will be painting up there for the rest of the week. While zigzagging across and up and down the peninsula I found terrific subject matter to paint.  I'll be using the new material for a while to come. 

I got home tonight and painted this field of winter wheat mixed with a still-green grain.  The colors stopped me in my tracks as we drove to Baileys Harbor to see the artists on that side of the peninsula.

Carol

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

Chicken Cottage

"Chicken Cottage"
8" x 10"
Oil on canvas board
Back to Ginger Blossom's and the little chicken cottage… um, well, not THAT little. The chicken sculpture is taller than I am, so the cottage is not dollhouse size.  This cottage housed a gazillion table cloths, imported from all over the world. They made the inside as colorful as the outside of this former outbuilding at her farm.

Carol

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

At Ginger Blossom's

"At Ginger Blossom's"
6" x 6"
 Oil on canvas panel 
I painted today at Ginger Blossom's farm and artifact establishment. This monolith is a part of the complex of buildings, sculpture, furniture and folk art.  Oh, my, what beauteous things there were.  The day was heavenly, the company terrific and so was the scenery.

Today was my first plein air painting day of the season.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
Carolkeene.com
Dailypaintworks.com
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English Walled Garden

"English Walled Garden"
7" x 10"
Pastel on paper
I painted at the Chicago Botanic Gardens this morning. The light was brilliant, the air was autumnal, and it was a beautiful day to be there.  Plein air doesn't get better than this.  

I'm learning as I go with this wonderful medium.  And I'm so thankful I didn't ignore the opportunity to explore it.  I have to thank my friend Ken Lutgen for inspiring me during a plein air session earlier this summer.  He doesn't even know it's entirely his fault.

Carol

Dailypaintworks.com
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This Morning

"This Morning"
10" x 8"
Oil on hardboard




















I was at the Botanic Gardens this morning while the temperature rose to 98°.  I was in the shade inside a small structure in the English Walled Garden, looking across the pond, toward an island of flowers and trees.  I've been cold for a year, so this was my kind of day.

I believe this is my first willow tree, painted especially for Therese, who asked for one.

Carol

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Peg's Again

"Peg's Again"
10" x 8'
Oil on canvas panel

















It's hot and steamy and the colors are intense in the garden this time of year, if you can get past the humidity and bugs.  

 This was a thirty minute painting, but it would never have gone longer, no matter what, with the bugs and the heat of this summer.  I'll wait until it's cooler to venture into another plein air experience.  I'm not made of the right stuff for this!

Carol

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Mattison Lake

"Mattison Lake"
8" x 10"
Acrylic on wrapped canvas
I was on a pontoon, anchored and painting. The wind kept me pointed toward this view for long enough to do justice to the choppy water.  

Plein air on a pontoon is one of my favorite painting venues. I wish I owned my own pontoon, but then I'd have to live on a lake to make it worth my while.  I'd like that, as well!

Carol

Dailypainters.com
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Turbulent

"Turbulent"
8" x 10"
Oil on panel
Everything was turbulent; the sky, the water, the light flashing between cloudy and clear, everything but me. 

I assessed the essence of what I saw, on my favorite little lake, then set about to record how it felt. Turbulent.  Upon seeing it a while after I painted it, it really speaks of that day.

Thank you for blowing through today.
Carol

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Plein Air Wisconsin

"Plein Air Wisconsin"
16" x 20"
Oil on canvas panel
It was earlier than I'm accustomed to being awake, as we drove north out of Illinois. The light was warm and the sky was hazy on the horizon. Clouds hadn't even decided what shapes they'd be for the day, at that hour.


Painting outdoors is a passion that reveals itself only when I'm doing it. The thought of dew, bugs, heat, humidity and sunburn line up in a pretty impressive list before each outing. I love it once I'm in it, but man, oh, man, I don't delight in adversity of outdoors versus my lovely studio.

Thank you for reading my rant.
Carol

DPW
My DPW Gallery
Brushstrokes@comcast.net

Beck's Pond

"Beck's Pond"
8" x 10"
Oil on wrapped canvas
It was August, the light was white hot. It washed the color out of the treetops, and dried the grasses around the edge of Beck's Pond.  I was there for a plein air picnic.  I found the shade, but it moved as fast as I slathered.


I seldom, okay, never paint in oil with a knife.  I like the way acrylic dries and gets crusty with texture between layers as I work around the panel.  I also seldom paint on a springy wrapped canvas with a knife.  There's way too much bend as I wield my blade.  So this is a rarity.  A seldom-done anomaly, but it does exist.

Dailypaintworks has a gallery of my paintings.  You can buy them there.

Carol