Serenity Pond II

"Serenity Pond II"
12" x 12"
Oil on wrapped canvas
I revisited this pond today—in paint only. It's quite frozen and gloomy in reality. Every feature that made it worth painting in the first place has died. Replaced by grey sticks, grey sky and grey ice.  No, it's no longer a place of serenity, but dread.  So I cheered myself by deceiving myself into a late summer mindset.  What harm is that?

The first time I painted this, besides using a smaller square format, I used a different palette of colors. It's not better or worse, just different.  I'm tempted now to enlarge it one more time to a 24" x 24" piece and do it in great detail.  I just may do that.

Carol

Dailypaintworks.com
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My Gallery 
Brushstrokes@comcast.net 

At the Divide

"At the Divide"
6" x 14"
Oil on hardboard
I'm sitting in front of one of my most favorite places to paint and to be — the Continental Divide in Winter Park, Colorado.  It's a source of comfort—like macaroni and cheese is to some people.  If I need shoring up, all I have to do is scroll through my photos of this little pond and I can reflect on great memories and loving thoughts.  I hope you have such an image, or a place of your own.  

I gessoed 41 new hardboard panels today. Busy work. Tomorrow—REAL work—back to The Maroon Bells!

Carol 


Walk Around the Pond

"Walk Around the Pond"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard 
The leaves are turning and tumbling in Chicago's Morton Arboretum, near where I live. They are bright in the sunlight, and washed clean from the rain we had earlier in the week. A nippy breeze made the pond sparkle as I walked around the perimeter with lots of other people. 

Carol

Dailypainters.com
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My Gallery
Brushstrokes@comcast.net

Beck's Other Field

"Beck's Other Field"
9" x 12"
Acrylic on canvas panel
The thing I face when I paint summer in the Midwest is handling all the green and blue.  There are lots of shades and values of each in this painting, but it still reads as a green and blue painting.  

 Fall is around the corner!  In fact, the large painting I'm working on today is autumn in Colorado.  I hope to finish it this afternoon so I can post it on Friday.

Carol

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

"Pond at the Divide"
12" x 12"
Acrylic on canvas panel
The Continental Divide fascinated me. Or maybe it was this small body of water that reflected the vivid sky in that part of the country.   I've painted it many times, and still come back to do it again every so often.  

I knifed the true local colors contained in the photo onto a black canvas. Then I added subtleties to define the mountains, flats and the grasses.

Carol

Dailypainters.com
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My Gallery
Brushstrokes@comcast.net

Tone Poem II

"Tone Poem II"
8" x 10"
Oil on canvas panel

I've found a reward in waking early. It's no longer difficult to roll out of bed knowing the visual delights that await me in the rural settings near my village. 

Tonalist landscapes are typically luscious and luminous with evocative atmospheric effects featuring hazy backgrounds. The palette is minimal, characterized by warm hues of brown, soft greens gauzy yellows and muted greys.  

Tonalist painters seem to prefer a state of implicit cognition and psychological experiences over reality.  
Your presence is appreciated.
Carol 

Tone Poem

"Tone Poem" 
8" x 10" 
Oil on canvas panel   
In the Midwest, where I live, mornings in May are often hazy. I was eager to capture this effect on canvas. While I painted I felt connected... to what, I wasn't sure.  In the discussion group where my early oil landscapes were critiqued, I was referred to as a Tonalist.

The Tonalist style emphasizes atmosphere by using a color's middle values instead of high contrast, resulting in an understated effect.  Subject matter is never entirely apparent but rather an intriguing visual poem cloaked in a vaporous veil of emotionalism.  


The definition will be continued tomorrow. 


Welcome to my world today. 
Carol

Breaking the Silence

"Breaking the Silence"
8" x  8"
Oil on gessoed hardboard
Late in the summer, when the chlorophyll-makers peter out, it's nice to observe the subtleties in nature's quiet places.  Morning whispers her sweet words to break the silence of night.


This is my third small reflective water piece.  I'm not sure if it's out of my system yet, or not.  We'll see when I waken tomorrow!

Thank you for joining me here today.
Carol

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

Serenity Pond

"Serenity Pond"
6" x 6"
Oil on gessoed hardboard
I needed to come to clarity this morning, so I allowed my mind to travel to a place where I had found it easily before.  This little pond knows many of my secrets.   


I painted this with three brushes I've never used before, plus my Colour Shaper.  It seems to have worked.  I'm going to do another while I'm inspired!

Thank you for walking with me today.
Carol

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

The Colors of Winter

"The Colors of Winter"
6" x 6"
Oil on canvas panel

Winter in my neighborhood tends to become a blend of grays, so when I saw this frozen pond with willows and a pine tree with gray as a minor player, I stopped to photograph it. The cardinal did not land there, but I did see geese coming in to roost under the willows as I left.  

This isn't as tight as some of my pieces, but it captures the essence of the late afternoon.  And the pond is actually on the grounds of the former site of Ducks Unlimited in Long Grove, Illinois. 

Thanks for looking. 
Carol 


Daniel Wright Pond

"Daniel Wright Pond"
20" x 16"
Oil on wrapped canvas






















It was early autumn. I had been chasing blue pond reflections all summer and waiting for less green in my landscapes.  The lily blooms were fading, but my paintbrush knew how to freshen and revive them with a flick.  


I love being in this space where water, trees, vegetation and sky can be seen without special permissions.  It's a public place.  It's safe and available—within a reasonable proximity to my home.

This pond painting can be seen on my gallery page on Dailypaintworks, where it's also for sale.

Thank you for dipping your toes here today.
Carol