Cayenne

Cayenne 10 x 20 soft pastel on pastelboard  SOLD

This was a fun small work where I used simple strokes to suggest form rather than fiddle with details. I also wanted to push the values, to evoke a warm, languid feel. Somehow the title, "Cayenne" seemed to fit. This is an unframed soft pastel on pastelbord, with an image size that extends a bit beyond this photo to approximately 10" x 20".

Daisy Days

Daisy Days  16 x 12 oil on stretched canvas  SOLD

Gotta love daisies. In summer daisies can be found all over Muskoka, and our backyard is a virtual carpet of them.  Even in the front garden, cheerful bunches of daisies spring up in the lawn and my husband dutifully mows around them. Appropriately, they are the official flower of the town of Gravenhurst, where we now live. This is one of several paintings I've based on candid photos of my friend's daughter.

Summer Berries

Summer Berries  8 x 10 acrylic on stretched canvas  SOLD

Just some reflections of summer -- shiny, juicy and delicious.

Re-enactor

Re-enactor  20 x 16 oil on stretched canvas  SOLD

This is a portrait of a local history buff and U.S.Civil War re-enactor, who would actually ride his horse daily through town, dressed in either Union blue or Confederate grey. Definitely one of our town's more colorful characters, he often surprised townsfolk and tourists alike when he rode through the McDonalds "drive thru."

Apples and Jug

Apples and Jug  16 x 20 acrylic on stretched canvas SOLD

At 16" x 20" this is one of my larger still life paintings. The brown pottery jug is a favorite. It has a simple, satisfyingly-balanced form. It also brings a warm earthy touch that contrasts with the jewel-tones of the apples and grapes.

Luscious

Luscious 5 x 7 acrylic on stretched canvas  SOLD

Nothing tastes more like summer than fresh strawberries. Their aroma alone can make my mouth water.  Problem is, it seems to take me longer to wash and husk them than it does to eat them!  Frankly, this pair were spared only long enough to pose.  They were delicious.

Hello

Hello 12 x 12 acrylic on gessoboard  SOLD

How can you go wrong painting a face like this? Deer are plentiful where we live, and occasionally they wander through our backyard. They aren't very timid, at least at a distance. They just raise their lovely heads, as if to say hello, then carry on munching. Actually they can decimate a garden -- it's just a salad bar to them.  Fortunately for me and my flowers, so far the deer seem to prefer the wilder areas of our yard.

Black Lace

Black Lace 24 x 18 oil on stretched canvas  SOLD

This is one of several figurative paintings I've done that feature this model. I liked the quiet serenity in her expression, and I enjoyed painting both the lace and the sheen on the satin gown.

Last One In!

Last One In!  16 x 20 acrylic on stretched canvas  SOLD

There's lots of snow outside my window, so I thought a reminder of summer was called for.  What's more fun than leaping off a dock with your friends?  Come on, spring!
Due to variation in settings, actual colors may be a bit cooler than they appear on your monitor.

Bountiful

Bountiful 9 x 12 acrylic on stretched canvas  SOLD

Another classical still life, this time with a dark background. Crisp apples, purple grapes, and a brass bowl comprise a bounty of color and texture. This 9x12 acrylic on canvas is already framed in a contemporary natural wood floater frame. 

Wine and Grapes

Wine and Grapes 16 x 12 oil on gessoboard  SOLD

A traditional still life in rich greens and golds, ideal for living or dining room. Grapes are always a favorite subject, and the light that pierced through these deep purple gems was especially fun to capture.  This 16x12 oil on gessobord is a standard size for ready-made framing.

Heirloom Humidor with Fruit

Heirloom Humidor with Fruit 10 x 8 acrylic on stretched canvas  SOLD

I loved painting this acrylic still life.  It was all about celebrating the varied textures and jewel-like colors. The turquoise and gold humidor is a family heirloom. It was hand-painted in the 1930's by a family ancestor, Anna Patterson Hatfield-Adamson, who apparently was quite renowned. She often painted on pieces of classic porcelain including Limoges, and some of her pieces have been auctioned at Christie's and even appeared on the Antiques Roadshow.

Arabella

Arabella 12 x 9 acrylic on stretched canvas  SOLD

This painting is a commissioned piece.  Arabella is a sweet little Italian Greyhound that belongs to a very good friend.  She was a rescue dog, as are so many greyhounds that later become beloved pets.  I find her grey and white face simply captivating -- a mixture of vulnerability and imperious elegance.  What a little "lady" she is!

Crescendo

Crescendo 14 x 11 soft pastel on Canson Paper

There was a period of time when I worked in pastels.  I loved their immediacy. It's very freeing to simply pick up a stick of color and go -- no mixing, no medium -- everything you need is literally at your fingertips. Even though I now use mostly oils or acrylics, I still will occasionally reach into that lovely box of pastels.  As is evident in this piece, pastels are marvelous for capturing fleshtones.

This piece would ship with mat and protective backing ready for framing.

A. P. Cockburn

A. P. Cockburn 20 x 16 oil on stretched canvas  SOLD

This blog is primarily a chronical of my daily paintings, but I thought I'd occasionally include a larger work.

Alexander Peter Cockburn (1837-1905) is one of a group of eight portraits that I painted from small, grainy, black and white archival photos. The paintings depict individuals who shaped the early history of Gravenhurst -- the Muskoka town my husband and I moved to several years ago -- and I'm very proud to have these portraits permanently installed in the town hall.

A.P. Cockburn founded the Muskoka Lakes Navigation Company. His steamships opened the entire region to the settlers, lumbermen, sportsmen -- and ultimately to the tourists who remain vital to its present-day economy.

Why Not A Dandelion Bouquet?

Why Not A Dandelion Bouquet?  8 x 8 acrylic on gessoboard  SOLD

Another painting featuring my young neighbor, who thinks dandelions are fine candidates for a bouquet. Frankly, I find their jaunty yellow heads kind of cheerful in the spring -- I like to think of them as merely a VERY hardy perennial. 

As always, due to the variation in viewing screen settings, actual colors may differ slightly.

All Ears

All Ears  8 x 8 oil on stretched canvas  SOLD

I came across this photo of a fawn on MorqueFile and couldn't resist painting it -- those eyes, those ears, that little spotted bottom!  This is an 8" x 8" oil painting on gallery wrap canvas that is 1.5" deep.  It's also painted around the sides so it can be displayed with or without a frame.

As always, due to the variation in viewing screen settings, actual colors may differ slightly.

Juicy and Crisp

Juicy and Crisp 11 x 14 acrylic on stretched canvas  SOLD

Crisp apples, sweet grapes, and a shiny brass pot make up this traditional arrangement. This 11" x 14" acrylic painting is on 1.5" gallery-wrap canvas, painted on the sides.  It may be hung with or without a frame.

As always, due to the variation in viewing screen settings, actual colors may differ slightly.

Wild Strawberries

Wild Strawberries  8 x 8 acrylic on gessoboard

It's snowing here, so a memory of summertime seems welcome.  This is my young neighbor, who is a delight to paint, but too shy to pose for me.  Means I have to catch her unawares, such as when she's picking the wild strawberries that grow all over my backyard in the summer.  They're the tiniest berries, but they're perfect miniatures of their farm-grown counterparts.

As always, due to the variation in viewing screen settings, actual colors may differ slightly.

Crisp & Juicy

Crisp and Juicy 8 x 8 acrylic on gessoboard  SOLD

Yesterday I became a member of the Daily Paintworks online gallery of artists.  It not only offers me a great way to showcase my paintings to a whole new audience, but also links me to a community of wonderfully diverse and accomplished artists. It's a site that I've been monitoring and enjoying for many months.  I've made use of some of the mini-tutorials called "artbytes," and followed the blogs of some of the artists whose paintings delight and inspire me.  Finally, I've taken the leap and joined.

Crisp & Juicy is my second entry.  It's 8 x 8 acrylic on gessobord and is for sale on Daily Paintworks.

As always, due to the variation in viewing screen settings, actual colors may differ slightly.