Morning On the Lake

"Morning On the Lake"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard 
The light was crisp that morning; not too many soft edges. on the clouds or the water. It was bound to be a fabulous day, no matter what. 

I used a heavier hand on this piece. Didn't blend my strokes as much as I normally do on sky paintings, and I like it. It's very painterly. Love the little bit of crisp water down in front, too.

Carol

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Another Lovely Evening

"Another Lovely Evening"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard 
The commuters are on their trains, in their regular seats, snuggled against the window with their iPods lulling them into a lovely state of being.  It's evening again, another lovely one, at that.  

I spent a few hours making sky paintings to day. I enjoy the process and am always rewarded with a little gem amongst them.

Carol

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Auroral Ribbons

"Auroral Ribbons"
12" x 12"
Oil on wrapped canvas
Ribbons circled the celestial orb in a galactic attempt at gift wrapping her. Moments later something burst — spewing particles into the atmosphere like so much confetti.

This was painted on the same day as the other Auroral piece, using the same palette of colors, but what a different outcome!

Carol

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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

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Auroral Zone

"Auroral Zone"
12" x 12"
Oil on wrapped canvas
This is how my brain functioned today as I applied paint to a black canvas. Oh, my, I didn't know this is how those thoughts would look! But now you do, too.  

The color is finally pretty true. I used Prussian blue and cadmium lemon to make the green. I like that the blue photographs as blue and not various shades of purple.

Carol

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Red Sky Warning

"Red Sky Warning"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard 
The red sky was a warning of things to come. The storm was a day away, but definitely brewing. The coastal waters roiled, the birds darted and dove, keening a primal forewarning. 

No real storm or foreboding took place to produce this painting.  I had a LOT of cad red light on my brush and made the best of it. Prussian was the complement and then a little lemon yellow.  So dramatic.  

Carol

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

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Warm, Wet and Wild

"Warm, Wet and Wild"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard
Okay, it may be a bit suggestive, but what would you have titled the painting, if you had painted a couple dozen warm-weather water lilies in the wild?  Uh-huh.  I thought so. 

This is from a lake up in Wisconsin where my daughter's family has a summer cabin. It's the place where I get to kayak down close to the source.  It's about time to go there again… once the lake thaws.

Carol

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Many Iterations of Fence

"Many Iterations of Fence"
5" x 5"
Oil on hardboard 
Fences that meander like quilt stitching across the topography of hills and valleys intrigue me, but so do the ones that have been crafted at various times, from different materials. This one in particular, in all its iterations on fenced-ness, makes me smile.  

This little fence painting brought me such comfort tonight. Must be tugging at my landscape roots.  

Carol 

Evening Blankets the Hills

"Evening Blankets the Hills"
5" x 7"
Oil on canvas panel
I saw a painting similar to this and tried to capture the essence of it in miniature. It's a lot like my regular sky paintings with a little more detail to the ground.  I'd love to live where this view is common place.  

It's not my habit to copy art, but it is a learning experience, just like the masters used to instruct their students. Simple strokes of color defined the topography of this hilly place.

Carol

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Still Waters

"Still Waters"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard 
The season was nearly over for the waterlilies, but I liked that their color was the complement of the dark water in which they floated. 

This is a similar painting to one I painted a few days ago.  It's not even the same location, but very close to the same composition. This one is from a nearly black and white photograph, so I juiced it up to the colors I wanted to use.

Carol

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Good Morning Rose

"Good Morning Rose"
8" x 8"
Oil on wrapped canvas
On this snowy spring morning I imagined what it would be like to wake up in a climate where when you opened the door to get your morning paper there was a red rose blooming in your front yard. What a glorious sight it would be to see it first thing. What a greeting it would be on any morning. 

I'm not accustomed to painting red roses, but this one had my name on it. I love… roses.

Carol

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Rust Never Sleeps

"Rust Never Sleeps"
12" x 12"
Oil on wrapped canvas
I'm listening to Neil Young tonight again while I paint. His voice is casting a melodic spell in the sanctuary of my studio.  MOG is in its final days of existence, so I won't be able to access him whenever I want… for free. 

This painting of rust is from a photograph I took of a painted blue "space capsule" kind of device.  And once again, the painting shows the detail and colors a lot truer than the camera can reproduce. 

Carol 

Surf

"Surf"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard
I've been yearning for my skin to be warm, moist and sunbaked. I've thought about the various beaches I've sunbathed on, and have willed my spirit to revisit them, if only for a moment. 

 Oh, to be forty degrees warmer than it is here today. Our weather is so blasted fickle.  If I painted this painting en plein air today, the white you see on this painting wouldn't be foam, but the ice breaking up on Lake Michigan and pounding into the sand.

Carol

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White Rose

"White Rose"
5" x 5"
Oil on wrapped canvas
This day turned into such a joyful and productive day that late in the evening I decided to paint a small white rose as a token of my love. Spring is in the air. Gardening is being done, muscles are sore and plans are being made for beautiful things to blossom. 

 Friends everywhere have written to tell me that it's spring where they are. They've tilled the earth or planted or seeded.  I have to believe it will happen… Spring is here!

Carol

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Fleeting Flames

"Fleeting Flames"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard
The sky that evening dispersed its color with such abandon that I had to check to make sure that it was only the setting sun and not a raging fire giving off that kind of light.  

I love to paint skies with this much color and motion. Of course, as I've said before, it shows better in person — has more depth and variety.

Carol

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Roadside Splendor

"Roadside Splendor"
12" x 12"
Oil on wrapped canvas 
I drove through some pretty textured areas of Iowa last summer when I visited friends there. It was the peak season for many of the weeds and some of the crops. I'm glad I shot as many photos as I did. Days like today seem to beg for lots of plant matter. 

Nibs of spring greens are bursting through the soil and bringing me great joy. As I look at my Iowa photos, I think about how I took all that green for granted.

Carol

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