Still Winter

"Still Winter"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard
Across the flat prairie, the land is still barren and dusted with winter's most recent effort. It's now April, but it still feels and looks like February.

I trust there will be signs of spring emerging through the matted leaves pretty soon. Do I sound desperate, or whiny?  I'm so sorry if I come off that way. April has to be better, doesn't it?

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
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Ambrosial

"Ambrosial"
12" x 12"
Oil on wrapped canvas
I caught a whiff of her fragrance before I saw her beautiful petals that evening in my friend's garden. The air was still, and her heady scent wafted with nearly-visible wiggly lines toward me. 

It's been about seven weeks since I've painted a rose. Winter has stepped in between me and my passion for whorled petals. But I saw some in the store this morning and decided to venture into the land of fragrant pinkness, no matter what was falling from the sky.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
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In Full Regalia

"In Full Regalia"
12" x 12"
Oil on wrapped canvas 
I went to the Lincoln Park Conservatory to photograph the spring flowers nearly a year ago. This festive beauty was warbling her regal song as I passed, so I captured her likeness and brought it to my studio. 

I wish I hadn't waited so long to paint her. She was a delightful subject, what with all her colors and completely new shapes to articulate.  I plan to paint more orchids.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
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Simply Stated

"Simply Stated"
12" x 12"
Oil on wrapped canvas
Here's the simpler painting I mentioned yesterday. It's dioxazine violet and cobalt blue intertwining with one another, using white to pull the colors into the foreground and black to push them back.  It's really very much more interesting to look at in person, as are all of the pieces in this series.  

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
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Split Synapses

"Split Synapses"
12" x 12"
Oil on wrapped canvas 
I revisited the synapse theme today, but in a different palette of colors. I'm using a split complement of blue violet, yellow green and yellow orange. The mixing of the colors as my brush flowed from one place to another gave me what appears to be a russet.  

It's not my favorite palette, but I tried working outside my comfort zone. I would have preferred reds and oranges with my violet, but as I said, it was a challenge.  I limited my palette for tomorrow's post. Very limited!

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
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Creek View

"Creek View"
5" x 7"
Oil on hardboard
The sun had snuggled behind the pines for the night. She left a nightlight on the creek for the last few stragglers to find their way to shelter.

It has snowed again in my zip code, but it was fast and furious and melted before noon, the way it should be in a State that is not dependent on the white stuff for its economy… like Colorado.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
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Snake River

"Snake River"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard
The Snake River is the western border of Idaho at the Oregon border. I suspect this is the Oregon side, if memory serves.  I liked it here because of the colors. The sky and the weeds were opposites on the color wheel and appealed to me. 

 I have a unique way of getting these images, but that's another story. I like that there was no snow in the photo or in the painting. It's spring and I need to begin painting like it!

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
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Creek Bed

"Creek Bed"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard
As I typed "creek bed," I thought "creaky bed" and that, of course led to all kinds of other visuals —the kind I don't very often paint. But wouldn't it be fun to see what would come of a challenge to paint either of the two?  I may suggest it to Carol Marine for her DPW Challenge… and be booted right off her delightful website! 

Your naughty artist,
Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
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Harvest Moon

"Harvest Moon"
5" x 5"
Oil on hardboard
She had spun her way across the night sky and was wending her way toward the voluminous bosom of the west when I broke into song. 

 "Come a little bit closer
Hear what I have to say.
Just like children sleepin'
We could dream this night away.

But there's a full moon risin'
Let's go dancin' in the light.
We know where the music's playin'
Let's go out and feel the night.

Because I'm still in love with you
I want to see you dance again.
Because I'm still in love with you
On this harvest moon.

When we were strangers
I watched you from afar.
When we were lovers
I loved you with all my heart.

But now it's gettin' late
And the moon is climbin' high.
I want to celebrate
See it shinin' in your eye.

Because I'm still in love with you
I want to see you dance again.
Because I'm still in love with you
On this harvest moon."
--Neil Young

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
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Passion Overhead

"Passion Overhead"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard
There are times when I'm able to conjure up a painting that represents the passion I actually feel. A passion that my camera can't portray accurately. Yet my paint and brush, in this particular piece, have placed the beauty of these colors exactly where I wanted them.  Let's go to this place.

The upper layer of yellow is more orange than it appears here. Just perfect with the purples.  And the blue is not quite as intense.

 Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
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A Select Assortment

"A Select Assortment"
12" x 16"
Pastel on canvas panel 
There was no occasion to put them out, but I did it anyway; a dozen or so select pieces of chocolate placed randomly on a plate. 

I'm learning to paint with my little chunks of pastel with gloves on. I plan to use up at least one box of a hundred blue gloves before I decide if it's for me or not. 

Carol

Chocolate Covered Cherries

"Chocolate Covered Cherries"
5" x 5"
Pastel on hardboard
A friend send a photo of chocolate covered cherries in a heart-shaped silver bowl.  My son sent three cases of Nitrile gloves to me so I can continue to paint with pastels without my skin cracking and absorbing the toxins in the pigments. I feel loved at a time when I'm more than a little insecure. 

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
Carolkeene.com
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Another Snowy Day

"Another Snowy Day"
4" x 4"
Oil on hardboard 
The mountains of snow nearly dwindled by half after two days above freezing. But the forecast is dismal for tonight and tomorrow. It'll round out the jagged edges and whiten the mounds for a few days.

I ordered and received 72 new gessoed hardboard panels that were on sale with free shipping over the weekend. I'm tickled to have miniature grounds to support my daily habit.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
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