South Carolina

We spent much of October in South Carolina, house and dog sitting for our dear friends, Don and Annie, a great pleasure on all counts!
And now we are home and the first snow has fallen and it's almost Thanksgiving and it is 27 degrees tonight and our 85 degree afternoons on the beach and the salt marsh are a distant memory - but not all lost!
I've spent many hours remembering our times there on the salt marshes and painting those memories...

"Salt Marsh #1"

watercolor 

"Salt Marsh #2"

watercolor

The salt marshes were only rivaled by the beaches, hot and sunny, dark and stormy and always amazing...

"Stormy Skies"

watercolor

The three paintings above will be part of the "Small Works 2018" exhibit at Artistree Gallery in South Pomfret, VT, opening November 30th from 5 pm to 7 pm. 

And below... 

"Seabrook Isalnd Twilight"

7' x 7" - watercolor

...this last painting is part of that 50 x 50 exhibit at "Small Works 2018"- 50 paintings by 50 artists for $50 each all going to the artist!  There is always a great crowd gathered at the wall where they are displayed, everyone trying to get there early to get their favorite artist's work - a prize for $50 on the 50 x 50 wall!

The gathering is spirited and delicious and so much fun - come and join us!     

August Daylilies

This is the beginning of my daylily watercolor - playing with colors and blowing them around with a straw before getting down to the detailed darkest parts of the flowers.  This time, I'm working from photographs because daylilies, true to their name, only last a day.  So, a daylily bouquet would change dramatically every day.

The second stage of the painting involves filling in the mid and light reds in the flowers and testing out some background colors and values.

Now, things are getting more interesting.  It looks a bit like an explosion at this stage, but I like it!

Finally, the details of the flowers and buds, the leaves and stems and the simplification of the values in the background with a suggestion of the reds of the daylilies thrown in for good measure.

"August Daylilies"

watercolor - 9" x 12"

The finished painting brings me joy.  I look forward to enjoying it when the snow flies - a wonderful memory of summer....

A Rainy Day

My friend, Sandy, came to visit this week and our plan was to go out and paint plein aire but the weather didn't co-operate.  Yesterday, we were watching an inch and a half of rain falling as we set up to paint on the kitchen island.
My husband had given me a bouquet of sunflowers the day before and so it became our focus.  We painted a bit, chatted a bit, went out for lunch and by afternoon this is what showed up on my paper...

"August Sunflowers"

watercolor - 9" x 12"

I am so happy with my little sunflower watercolor and it has motivated me to get back to prioritizing time in the studio, out painting plein aire and even, occasionally, painting in the kitchen!  Thank you so much, Sandy, for jump starting my work!

Two Barns

          Awhile ago, I did watercolor and pen and ink paintings of two antique Vermont barns.  They hung in our living room for quite a while where the colors faded dramatically from exposure to the light. When Jon and Sharon requested one of them for their new family room, I decided to see if I could restore it to its former state, took it out of the frame and started working.
          Well, it was a comedy of errors.  I think that the paper I used was some kind of bristol board.  It certainly was not watercolor paper because as soon as the watercolors hit the paper it started to buckle and the paint started to pond.  I struggled to control that and was successful but when I went to remove the masking tape from the roof, it started pulling off the old ink!  To say nothing of what the watercolors did to the grass lines which started to dissolve.  I walked away and the next day went back in with india ink marker and redrew the roof and grasses.  I decided that art restoration was not my forte but still and all, I am pleased with the results.

"Old Barn, Randolph, Vermont"

14" x 19" - watercolor and pen and ink

          I was so encouraged, I decided to take on the challenge of the second painting and found it went considerably more smoothly, mostly because this had been painted on watercolor paper....

"Liberty Hill Farm, Rochester, Vermont"

15" x 19" - watercolor and pen and ink

          The upshot of this experience is that I have basically fallen in love with old barns again!  I took myself out last week to shoot some photos and came home with several possibilities....

Sold!

       I showed this drawing in the "Small Works Holiday Exhibit" show in the mezzanine Gallery at Norman Williams Public Library last month and it was purchased just before Christmas.

 It is based on a photo of Hillside Barn on route 12 in Woodstock, just north of the village.

"Hillside"

soft pencil on gessoed paper - 8" x 12" 

       I'm currently touching up an old barn watercolor for Jon and Sharon.  It was done many years ago and I wonder if the barn still stands in Randolph....