Fruit Still Life

"One Pear", 5"x7", Oil on Board
I've really enjoy painting fruit so I thought this pear would make a nice still life when I found a whole bin of them at the grocery store. I kept the brush strokes a lot looser than I normally would and really enjoyed the simplistic, organic quality of the pear. With the new year coming, I'd like to paint some larger pieces as well as continue with my small paintings. It will be difficult to work on more than one piece at a time. If I don't post another painting before New Year's, than Happy New Year's to everyone. I've appreciated all of your comments and support since I started this blog back in September.

I Finally Finished This

"Cherries and Plate" 5"x7", Oil on Board
I finally finished this the other day but I didn't get it photographed until today. I took too long on this painting but I think a lot of it is just the time of year and the fact that a week ago I didn't have any heat in my studio so that certainly put me behind. I'm hoping I can get more work done after the new year. We shall see because it really depends on how much pain and swelling I have in my hands. As for the cherry painting I just finished, I'm happy with how the cherries turned out but that's about it. Hopefully, my work will continue to improve the longer I stick with it. If I don't post again before Christmas, then Merry Christmas to all of you.

Tomatoes Still Life

"Two Tomatoes", 6"x6", Oil on Canvas
I finished this last night but decided to wait for natural light this morning to photograph the painting. I used a few different reds, cad. yellow light, thalo green, white and some greys to create this small painting. The biggest challenge for me was getting that dull shine on the tomatoes. I think I'll continue with more still life paintings.

Small Paintings

"Maine Marsh", 4"x 6", Oil on Canvas
I've painted a few miniatures over the past couple of weeks and decided to paint another marsh painting because it's such an incredible area.

Schoodic Point Pastel

"Schoodic Point in Fog", 5"x8", Pastel
I finished this pastel landscape of Schoodic Point last night. For those of you who are not from Maine, Schoodic Point is downeast on the coast in the town of Winter Harbor. That whole region is one of my favorite places in the state. The day I visited was foggy but I thought it was beautiful. I'll be working on a landscape in oil today and will get that posted as soon as it's finished.

It's Snowing!

Well, we are getting our first snowfall of the season here in Maine. We're supposed to get 3 to 5 inches with sleet and freezing rain but I don't think it's going to amount to much. This is only the beginning of a very long and cold winter here. I'll try to keep you all posted with wintery pics. Most of us here in the northeast heat our homes with heating oil and at $310.00 for 100 gallons of oil (and rising), I'm afraid it's going to be a very expensive winter. Ok, enough about the cold...I've been working on some pastels, one of which I've already thrown away because I wasn't happy with it. I do have a pastel landscape of Schoodic Point that is almost finished and an oil painting ready to go on the easel. I'll post pics as soon as it's finished.

Pastel Finished

"Fall Drive", 8"x10", Pastel
I was happy to have finished this pastel landscape of rural Maine. Am I happy with it? No! I'm usually never happy with my work because I'm so critical. There is always something in a painting that I could have done differently but there is always next time. If I decide to frame this, I will not spray the pastel with fixative. I don't like fixative on the final layer because it really does alter the final colors. Usually a good tap is all that is needed to get any loose pastel dust off of the surface. When framing a pastel, I also use spacers and a mat with a reverse bevel so if any pastel dust falls it will not end up in the corners of the mat.

Olive Series

"Three Olives", 5x7, Oil on Board
Sorry I haven't posted in a week but I've been taking care of some art related items. Friday I went to the Westbrook gallery to drop off new pastels and an oil landscape. They seemed to like the work. I've also been preparing my entry for a juried show which is always fun. I finished this quick olive painting to go with the series. After I finish posting, I plan on working on my pastel that I had started and working on a new artist statement. There is always so much to do and very little time.

Pastel Continues

The photo of the my pastel came out a little dark but I wanted to give you an idea of how far I've gotten on the piece. I decided to work the piece from top to bottom to eliminate smudging. On some pastels, I'll work on the piece all over. A taped edge is left around the perimeter for ease of handling at the frame shop later. I'll hopefully have this completed soon!

Pastels Again

It's a miracle that I was able to upload these photos because I've been getting error messages every time I try to load a photo. Apparently there is a known issue regarding uploading of photos within Blogger. I hope they get this bug worked out soon. I haven't worked on any pastels within three months so I thought it was about time. I'm using Reeves BFK paper with a pumice ground that I created myself. I usually pick out the pastels I need from my cases and put them in a try etc... so they don't roll off onto the floor. At $3.00 - $4.00 a stick I can't afford to break them on the floor. We'll see how this goes because I've never made my own pastel surface before. I typically use Sennlier La Carte sanded paper. I also have another olive painting started in oils for my olives series.

Windy Day

"Accidents Happen", 5"x7", Oil on Board
Yes, I'm finally finished but not without problems. Yesterday when I took the painting outside to photograph, a huge gust of wind blew the painting down on my garage floor while I was setting up my tripod. HOT TIP: Never photograph wet paintings outside on windy days. I actually cried when I picked the painting up because the background had dirt, debris, etc...stuck to the wet paint. It took me about three and a half hours to clean off the ruined paint and then repaint the background and the upper part of the glass. Yes, I know I'm an idiot. Since Halloween is pretty serious around here, I'm not sure how much I'll get done tomorrow.

Glass Painting Finished

I finally finished my glass and spoon demo oil painting. I'll post a better photo as soon as I can get outside. I feel like the whole past week and a half has really messed up my painting schedule. In addition to last week's car repair weekend, I finally went to the doctor's on Friday for some help with a sinus infection. They gave me these huge horse pills (antibiotics) of 1000 mg. 2x a day. Whatever happened to taking 500 mg. a couple times a day? I'm sure these pills will kill off any friendly bacteria I have also. Anyways, I had this terrible sinus headache all week right between my eyes and really didn't accomplish much. I just want to feel better so I can start doing some more oil paintings and pastels.

Painting the Spoon

I didn't reach my goal today but I'm happy with the way my spoon is turning out. I spent hours on the little section that I worked on because I wasn't satisfied with it. I'm missing a highlight on the spoon as well as a few others. I'll also need to glaze over the swirls that are behind the spoon to tone them done. I was a little intimidated at the thought of painting glass, reflections etc...but I've been trying to simplify the piece by concentrating on the shapes and painting the color notes that I see. It seems to work better than thinking about the difficulty of painting glass. I can't wait to see how much I finish tomorrow.

Plugging Away

I've gotten a little more finished on my demo painting although this painting should have been finished by now. The bottom of the glass is missing some reflections and those will be added towards the end when surrounding paint has dried a little. Tomorrow I hope I will have the spoon finished and maybe the top portion of the glass. The background should go quite quickly.

Car Repair Weekend

I didn't get much done on my demo painting because my Jeep ended up breaking down and needed repairs over the weekend. Whenever my computer goes on the blink or my car breaks down it seems like life comes to a complete stop. To top it all off I think I'm coming down with a cold...like I have time for this! I ended up going to Riteaid to try and find some miracle cure for the common cold. I came home with a product called Zicam which is supposed to help me get over my cold quicker and with less severity. At this point, I'll try anything! I'll check back in here tomorrow night.

Demo Continued

I didn't get as far as I would have liked on the painting but it's a start. I'm not sure how much I'll get done tomorrow because I have to go to an artist reception at the gallery in Westbrook tomorrow. I look forward to attending gallery events but at the same time feel frustrated when I can't spend enough time in the studio painting.

Painting Glass and Water

I've decided to post my process of completing an oil painting. This painting will probably take more than a few days to complete because it's a little more detailed so I'm posting it as a demo. I'm obviously not an authority on oil painting but this is my process. If I'm painting a detailed subject I start out with a light pencil drawing. I'll have to keep my pencil lines light because they could show through my paint layers. When I have some areas blocked in, I'll post another photo. I hope viewers will let my know if painting demos are of any interest. I've also provided viewers with the opportunity to subscribe to my blog via email and I'm hoping that's something folks will be interested in as well.

Another Marsh Painting

"Scarborough Marsh II", 6"x6", Oil on Canvas
I actually painted and finished this yesterday but didn't have time to get it posted because it was late when I finished. I have a mixed opinion on this one because there are some areas that I like in the painting and other areas that I'm not happy with. It does go great with my other marsh painting. I'm not sure what I'll attempt next, maybe another still life.

Cloud Study

"Clouds", 6"x8",Oil Primed Linen Panel
I wanted to paint something a little different and ended up doing this cloud study. I really just loved the colors when I looked up in the sky.

Final Olives

"Manzanilla Buddies", 5"x7", Oil on Board
I'm happy with how my new olive painting turned out! I'm seriously thinking about doing a series of these because they are just so fun to paint. I'm also grateful that it wasn't raining here this morning so I was able to photograph the painting. I get frustrated if I'm not able to list a new painting as often as I would like but I'm realizing that painting and keeping up on a blog is a lot of work. I really commend all of the daily painters out there who are successful at keeping up their pace.

I Finished the Olives

I finished the olives today and I'm satisfied with how the painting turned out. Unfortunately, we had a rainy day here in Maine today and I wasn't able to get outside to photograph the end product. One of the items on my to do list is working on indoor lighting for photographing artwork because with the weather we have here in the winter there are going to be a lot of days where I won't be able to photograph outside. I've also been busy reading a book called "Art Marketing 101" by Constance Smith. The book had some valuable information for fine artists with info on everything from shipping and displaying artwork to grant writing and artist residencies. I thought it was a good read! I'm not sure what my next painting will be...and actually the pressure is on to create some new pastel work. I don't know how I'm going to get it all done.

A Break From the Studio

I haven't posted in a few days because I decided to get outside and do some plein air painting. Needless to say, I feel like I'm horrible at it. I think it's good to get out of the studio once in awhile and paint outside because it energizes my work. Unfortunately, I don't feel like I'm much of a plein air painter so I won't bother to show you my results; however, I do plan to keep painting outside once in awhile. This was the small still life of olives that I had started on Saturday. I was able to get back at it tonight and get it moving along. Hopefully, I'll have this completed tomorrow sometime.

Gallery Trip

I made my trip to the Westbrook gallery yesterday to drop off some more of my work and to do an on-site painting demo. It was really worth the trip because when I arrived, internationally renowned watercolorist, Tony Van Hasselt, was also dropping off his work for a show that starts on the 19th of October and I had never met him before. He and his wife were both very nice, really genuine people. His work consisted of plein air landscapes that were rendered in watercolor. Watercolor has never been a strong medium for me but Mr. Van Hasselt honestly makes it look effortless. He didn't talk about his work at all but was rather interested in mine. When he left, apparently he was on his way to teach a workshop in New Hampshire. He and his wife travel all over the world to paint and teach...what a life! I started a small still life today...more olives. I like the idea of taking a simple subject and doing something with it. I'll check back in tomorrow to share my progress.

"Morning Coffee"

"Morning Coffee", 8" x 8", Oil on Canvas
Here's a better photo of the coffee painting. Today will be a busy day as most of the day will be spent getting ready for my trip to the gallery in Westbrook tomorrow. I need to get some of my pieces framed...this is usually put off until right before I need to drop them off at the gallery or a show as I hate framing.

Coffee Cup Painting Finished

I finished the coffee cup and spoon painting about fifteen minutes ago. Some of the reflections were a bit of a challenge, but I hung in there. For the most part, I'm satisfied with it because I've improved tremendously over the past two and a half months. If it's not raining in the morning, I will take a decent photo of the painting outside and select a title. Good night!

Still Painting

I haven't posted anything over the past three days but I have worked a little on this 8 x 8 oil painting. It's obviously not finished but I think it's OK to show the painting process. Sometimes I work the whole piece all over or I wait to put the background in last because I don't want to smear the background as I maneuver the painting from side to side for better painting angles. I had a flu shot on Saturday and ever since then I haven't felt well...maybe the shot was a mistake. At any rate, I hope to get back to painting in the morning. I'll post my progress on this tomorrow

The Beauty of Fall

"Gourd", 5" x 7", Oil on Board
Fall is my favorite season here in Maine. I found this simple, small gourd at a roadside farm stand the other day. Gourds, pumpkins, squash, etc... make great subjects to paint. I actually finished this yesterday but I was too exhausted to get it posted. Hopefully, I can get outside to paint some of the changing colors of the trees because this time of year is just unbelievable. Hot tip: To help you judge the colors in nature you can create your own color isolator by punching a hole in a white, grey or a black piece of cardstock. You look through the hole to evaluate a particular color.

Stonington Landscape

"Stonington Boats", 5" x 7", Oil Primed Linen Panel

It stopped raining long enough to get a photo of this outside today. I tried photographing this last night but the artificial lighting made too much of a glare on the painting. I'm not sure what I'm going to paint next but it will probably be a still life. Well, it's time to get into the studio and I'm hoping my next painting will be better.

Finished Late

It's kind of late but I wanted to check in to say hello! I finished a small landscape of Stonington harbor about a half hour ago. I photographed it but have decided to take new photos in the morning in natural lighting. As soon as I do that, the photo will be posted. I've tried different kinds of lighting inside but I'm never happy with the results. I'll post the new painting tomorrow. It's not one of my favorites but I'm putting it on here anyway.

I'm still at it!

"Cherries", 6" x 6", Oil on Canvas
I hope everyone likes this one even though it's kind of simple. I've also been busy working on a small landscape; however, it may end up in the garbage...I'm not crazy about it! I've also been preparing my own pastel paper with Reaves BFK and a pumice ground...I'd like to keep up my pastel work. I would like to take the time to thank all of the visitors and other artists who have left comments here on my blog. You've all been so supportive of me and my work. I would like to say that oil painting has been a wonderful experience; however, I have arthritis and I'm having a difficult time gripping paint brushes. Some of them feel so long and heavy. Does anyone out there know of a brand of paint brushes that are more lightweight/shorter? I plan on continuing with oils but the pain and stiffness is slowing me down. I've found over the past few years that some of the best advice I've received has come from other artists.

"Maine Fishing Boat"

"Maine Fishing Boat", 8" x 10", Oil on Canvas

This is a painting I did over the summer. I spend a lot of time on the coast and one of my favorite places is Stonington. It's a beautiful spot and I have an uncle who is a lobster fisherman there. My family have lived and fished off the island for about 150 years or so. This is one of the boats I saw in the harbor.

My Favorite Candy

"M & M's", 5" x 7", Oil on Board
Here's my recent painting...obviously I love M & M's. Capturing the look of the package was difficult but I hope I pulled it off convincingly. For my daily paintings, I will probably attempt subjects that are less detailed because I end up spending way too much time on it or I can work on changing my style and trying to paint looser. At this point, I'm not sure which way I will go. I'm open for comments or suggestions from viewers. I will be adding a link to this painting to Ebay.

Finished the Paintings

"Scarborough Marsh", 8" x 10", Oil on Canvas

This is the landscape painting I finished two days ago of the Scarborough Marsh here in Maine. As you can see from the photo below, even the folks in the canoe were enjoying the beautiful day It's a scenic state to live in until you hit January then you feel like you're going to freeze to death every time you go outside and the only thing you're going to see are snow flurries. The marsh painting will actually go to the gallery in Westbrook in a couple of weeks. I also finished my still life for the painting a day today. I will list that painting tomorrow. I would like to list it on Ebay only I'm not sure of how to link it to my blog. Maybe there is a blogging for idiots article somewhere on the Internet that I could research.

Started a New Painting

Scarborough Marsh in The Fall

I started a new still life painting today and no it's not finished. That's my problem...I'm slow. I realize that I'm going to need to pick up the pace if I'm ever going to paint a painting a day. That's my goal! It was beautiful here today and yet I spent half the day dealing with issues and errands instead I wish I could have gone over to the coast to paint. A missed opportunity!! Last night I finished a landscape of the Scarborough Marsh in oil, maybe I'll post a photo of that when I get the chance. Above is a photo of the Scarborough Marsh this time of year.

Vintage Water Pitcher

"Vintage Water Pitcher", 8" x 10", Oil on Canvas

I found this vintage water pitcher at an antique store here in Maine and fell in love with its simplicity. I hope to paint more still lifes with reflective surfaces. Let me know what you think!

Two Months Painting With Oils

"Three Amigos", 5" x 7", Oil on Board

I just started painting with oils about two months ago and the paintings that I will be listing are some of my first in oil. The strong sunlight of a window was really my source of inspiration for "Three Amigos" and the title just seemed to fit! Eventually, when I learn how to create a blog a little better, I will be creating a painting a day or nearly every day. I will be creating most work on a small format anywhere from 6" x 6" to 6" x 8". I may on occasion post images of larger works. I may even throw in some of my Maine pastel landscapes. As I am so new to oils, I welcome all feedback!