Daily Painter Week Sixteen

Here is the finished version of a painting begun last summer.  It's always gratifying to complete a plein aire painting using reference photos taken on the day....

"Cider Mill Gardens, Windsor"

oil - 11" x 14"

And here are three more Boomer Portraits....

Dave Lachapelle

Erin Brocovich

Bill Gates

Contour drawing is a great way to warm up and build eye-hand co-ordination ....

Daily Painter Week Twelve

I've been working on this drawing for awhile now.  It's an experiment with drawing on 2" deep cradled gesso board for hanging without additional framing.  After I do a bit more work on it, I will paint the cradle gold.

"Old Tree on River Road"

soft pencil on gesso board - 12" x 18"

Also this week, I've done a bit of drawing in my little sketchbook--studies for future work.  Below are four watercolor paintings of echinacea developed after their studies....

"Echinacea"

watercolor and collage - 4" x 6"

These four are framed and gracing the dining room now.

Daily Painter Week Nine

I'm loving the flowers of the season.  This week, the lupine and lemon lilies were blossoming.  They volunteer every year to grace the field below our house with a lovely show of yellow, pink and purple.  Here are four little studies of the lilies.  I added some gold painted paper to the paintings for sparkle....

"Lemon Lilies"

4" x 6" -  watercolor and collage

"Rainy Day at Silver Lake"

6" x 8" - soft pencil on gessoed paper

I painted the above view of Silver Lake on a sunny day but this drawing gives a very different view of the same scene on a gray and rainy day.  Below is a drawing of the house that on the other side is the Barnard Post Office....

"Marsh House"

6" x 8" - pencil sketch

AndI enjoy doing simple line drawings like the plant below to keep my eye fresh....

"Aloe Plant"

6" x 10" - Sharpie marker

Daily Painter Week Eight

We just got home last night from our trip to Pinehurst, North Carolina, visiting our friends and checking out Pinehurst Course #2 where the Open was played.  We had a wonderful time and I did this first sketch while sitting in the shade.  It was over 90 degrees on Wednesday and getting out of the sun was most welcome to us Vermonters....

"Pinehurst #2 - the 18th tee"

Our hostess, Anne, has a beautiful garden and these are some of her flowers....

"Anne's Lilies"

5 1/2" x 7 1/2" - marker and colored pencil on watercolored paper

It was good to get back into the studio this morning after a week away.  The sweet little Siberian iris are blooming now.  They are much smaller than their cousins I painted last week.  

"Siberian Iris"

4" x 6" - watercolor and collage

I collages gold paper into the watercolors but it is difficult to appreciate the glow in the photos....

Daily Painter Week Six

We've been traveling--to Virginia and to Connecticut--and it's a challenge to keep up with daily painting and drawing.  Here's one I did before we left....

"Old Tree on River Road"

6" x 8" - soft pencil on gessoed paper

And, below are four little daffodil paintings just finished....

"Little Daffodils"

4" x 6" - watercolor and marker

The flowers are finally starting to bloom here and so I did some little studies....

"Bleeding Heart Study

6" x 8" - watercolor

"Flowering Quince Study"

6" x 8" - watercolor