Cymbidium Repose

"Cymbidium Repose"
6" x 12"
Oil on hardboard panel 
While Miss Cymbidium claimed to be an upstanding kind of gal; quite unaccustomed to lolling, I caught her in a moment of luxurious repose -- about to nibble a bon bon.  

This is the last in my short series of orchid paintings.  I may revisit this subject again, but only after taking more photos.  Enough with the cymbidium, already! Sheesh.

Thank you for checking in today.
Carol

Dailypaintworks.com
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My DPW Gallery
Brushstrokes@comcast.net

Cymbidium Kiss

"Cymbidium Kiss"
10" x 8"
Oil on canvas panel






















She had the sweetest mouth... if you like fuzzy tonsils, spotted lips and a dappled throat.  Her arms spread wide... all five of them, to welcome me into her embrace...  thankfully she wasn't wearing perfume! 


The cymbidium orchid wears no scent.  She just looks like she could—would—should.

This is my first in a quick series of orchid paintings.  I photographed a white cymbidium orchid in many different light levels a couple of years ago. I found the images of her tucked in with 26,000 of my other reference photos.

Thanks for stopping by for a kiss.
Carol

Dailypaintworks.com
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My DPW Gallery   265 paintings
Brushstrokes@comcast.net

If I Had a Muse

"If I Had a Muse"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard
If I had a Muse, he'd check in on me every morning, to see if I needed inspiration. He'd arrive with coffee, dressed in beads, chains and dangly things. He'd bestow kindness upon me, read poetry and make me laugh. And when my pump was primed he'd steal away to allow me to create in peace.  Then he'd pop back in at the end of the day to say nice things about my art.   

Sounds like a fantasy doesn't it, but that's what I'd like. Do you think my Muse would agree to the beads and dangly things?

Thank you for peeking in to see what I'm up to.
Carol

Dailypainters.com
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My DPW Gallery
Brushstrokes@comcast.net

Continental Divide

"Continental Divide"
6" x 6"
Oil on flat canvas
The Continental Divide slumbered behind the trees along this creek that I passed several times a day near the resort where I stayed in Winter Park.


This is a thirty minute painting. According to Robert Genn of The Painter's Keys, it's good to do them with some regularity... "to focus and pay attention, if only for a short time. It's been identified as a primary key to the development of human effectiveness."

Trying to focus here...
Carol

Dailypainters.com
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My DPW Gallery
Brushstrokes@comcast.net

Coral Rose

"Coral Rose"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard
"That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet." So saith Romeo to Juliette. But what if it were a chocolate rose? Would it smell as sweet—or sweeter? 

I spent most of the day trying to combine two of my favorite subjects—a rose and chocolate.  Alas, I failed miserably. I wiped off the chalky abomination and made this one instead. Thorns and all! 

I shall try again! 
Carol 

Bittersweet

"Bittersweet"
12" x 12"
Oil on wrapped canvas 
Have you ever longed for something so thoroughly, dreamed about it, wished and hoped for it to be exactly what you wanted, counted the days, the hours, the minutes ... only to find out that it was not what you thought it would be?  It's Lent.  When I finally get what I've longed for, it almost never lands spot on the target.   


I'm going to paint chocolate for a few days.  I'm going to combine it with another favorite item, suggested by a friend. Let's see how THIS experiment goes!

Thank you for looking in on me today.
Carol

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

Jonquil

"Jonquil"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard
The recent warm weather blew a kind of reveille for the trumpet-shaped flowers in my neighborhood.  I was amazed at the number of beautiful jonquils, narcissus and daffodils that bloomed and are now nearly finished!  I was also thankful to have had my camera with me.  

This one was the first flower I shot. Her open throat was actually visited by a bumble bee while I stood in awe of her full-blown beauty. 

Thank you for coming to look today.
Carol

Coral Jonquil

"Coral Jonquil"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard 
Not too many yards from a cluster of white jonquils was this coral trumpeted version.  She stood alone, I mean ALONE in the yard where I found her, like she had been a good thought at the time... 


This is the first in a series of trumpeted flowers from a photo shoot in my neighborhood today.  They will all be singular images like this.

Thanks for spending time with me.
Carol

Dailypainters.com
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My DPW Gallery
Brushstrokes@comcast.net

Demure

"Demure"
12" x 12"
Oil on wrapped canvas

In the rose garden near my home this little beauty, so demure, cast her countenance toward the dewy blades of morning. Her petals (not my usual whorled favorites) seemed to be reaching for some distant thing in longing.


This is the third in my twelve by twelve inch series of roses. I happen to like the non-traditional arrangement of her petals. 

Castlewood Canyon Again

"Castlewood Canyon Again"
6" x 6"
Oil on canvas panel
In the part of the country where my friend lives, even her dead vegetation is so much prettier to look at than where I live in Illinois. Hers turns many shades of copper and gold.  Mine turn the color of tin, galvanized aluminum and lead. 


So be it.  I'm here, my studio is tailor made for me, and the promise of spring is purring from the throats of the sandhill cranes overhead.

Thank you for making the trip.
Carol

Dailypaintworks.com
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My DPW Gallery
Brushstrokes@comcast.net

Lieutenant River Fence

"Lieutenant River Fence"
6" x 6"
Oil on canvas panel
On the east bank of the Lieutenant River, just south of Florence Griswold's home in Old Lyme, Connecticut was this split rail fence.  It marked some border before the American Impressionist Museum was erected.  It is gone now, but it was a part of my experience on the hallowed ground of where my beloved Impressionist predecessors painted.  


I took this photo in 1997.  It seemed like a "pretty scene." From that moment on I became educated on the historic significance of that yard.  So many of our country's Impressionists gathered there because the light was similar to what they had seen while painting with Monet in France.  A little piece of heaven...


Thank you for wandering into my world today. I love that you come here to look.
Carol

Dailypaintworks.com
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My DPW Gallery
Brushstrokes@comcast.net

Pink Peony Bud


"Pink Peony Bud"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard
My peonies bloom in May. It was just dumb luck to have planted them in a place where spring blows warm kisses over them from the opposite direction of the dryer vent's contribution!  Sunshine and warmth make for an early display. What a gift! 

I used my last clayboard! I coated it with gesso and painted on it with ease. I wish now I hadn't returned a stack of them.  

Thank you for spending a part of your day with me. I'm always grateful.
Carol

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

White Magic

"White Magic"
12" x 12"
Oil on wrapped canvas
She was like many of the others in the bed, white and full blown, but this magical beauty was the only one with her head cocked to the right. You can tell, can't you? Well, I could, and it made the difference in how the morning light washed over her petals that August morning.  


This is the companion to "A Single Rose" that I posted on Friday. "White Magic" was as much fun to paint as the pink rose, yet the process was challenging enough to delight me.

Thank you for visiting my blog today.
Carol

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

Letter F

"Letter F"
10" x 10"
Acrylic on hardboard
Baby Fiona is soon to arrive, and a gift of art will be on her nursery wall when she gets here. Fiona's flaming F has a fishing pole, five fish, fifteen flowers, a fork, a forest, fence, faucet, flashlight, a frog, and a flamingo in fins, holding an F flag.

Welcome to the world Fiona. We've been waiting for your arrival.  

Thank you for visiting.
Carol

My DPW Gallery  (250 paintings)

A Single Rose

"A Single Rose"
12" x 12"
Oil on wrapped canvas
I entered the rose garden late in the day, late in the month of June.  In the humidity, the fragrance draped over petal and bud like a veil.  There she bobbed on her rigid stem, fanning herself with leaves like fans. 


Finally, I made time to paint a larger rose! I sponged on the initial color then brushed on the subtleties with my beloved Rosemary & Co. brushes.  It had been a long time since I've sponged color on a canvas.  The daily paintings are small, and my sponges are larger than many sections that need to be filled.  Now I want to make a big one... like three by three feet!  I love to paint that large.  Whew! But they all look the same size when you see them online... so stop by to see them in real life.

Love to all of you who sent your comments about my dad's death. Thank you so much.
Carol

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

Near Devil's Thumb

"Near Devil's Thumb"
6" x 6"
Oil on sheet canvas
Near Devil's Thumb resort is a creek that reflected the sky with passionate resolve. I suppose the fact that the sky cooperated fully in the creek's amusement helped. 


This was done from a compilation of memories—color, edges, texture, shapes and the essence of place. It is different from my photographed pieces in that it was done entirely from the heart, almost like plein air.

I'm happy you stopped by today. Really, I am.
Carol

Dailypainter.com
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My DPW Gallery
Brushstrokes@comcast.net

Dad


"Dad"
10" x 8"
Oil on canvas panel





















My father died tonight.  It was not unexpected, nonetheless, he is now gone.  I decided to, as my friend said, "Give sorrow words..." through paint. 
"The grief that does not speak whispers the o'er-fraught heart and bids it break." 
William Shakespeare


"Death leaves a heartache no one can heal. 
Love leaves a memory no one can steal." 
Anonymous 


Good night Dad. You were loved. 
Carol Lynn  


Dailypaintworks.com
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Brushstrokes@comcast.net

Letter L

"Letter L"
12" x 12"
Acrylic on wrapped canvas
When she turned three I painted this as a gift for a little girl whose name begins with L.  I made a list of the things I could put in the painting, drew the letter and filled in the remaining space with her and the L things: lips, lady bugs, lamp, leaf, lollipop, lilies, larkspur, lock, lemons, limes, ladder, laces, lotus position, lizard skin, and many shades of lavender.  


It's just another thing I do with my time, and I also paint house portraits for real estate agents to give as closing gifts.

Thanks for visiting!
Carol

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