The Hours

"Princeton Barn"
9" x 12"
(watercolor on aquabord)

Oh the hours I've spent on this little ditty.  I'm throwing my hands up in the air and calling "uncle."  I don't know what to think.  I'm happy with some parts, but disappointed with others.  It was a good learning experience but I'm just going to sit on it for a while . . . at least for the weekend. 

Perhaps I'll crop it into a square: 

"Princeton Barn" - cropped into an 8" x 8"

Or crop it even so that only my favorite part shows -- that tree on the side - ha! 

"Princeton Barn" - detail

Any thoughts?

The Drama Continues

"Princeton Barn" - work in progress
9" x 12"
(watercolor on aquabord)

Oh boy . . . so after hours of painstakingly working on branches and such I decided I was getting way to detailed and nitpicky and just washed the tops of the trees right off!

"Princeton Barn" - work in progress
9" x 12"
(watercolor on aquabord)

So this is where I'm at.  The second image scanned a little lighter than the first one, which I messed around with in Photoshop at night - Yikes.  So the real colors and contrast are somewhere in between these two images.  However I think I like the drama in the first image.  Maybe I'll try recreate that in my painting.  What a wild ride this is turning out to be!

Have a lovely day.

Another Small Painting

"Red Barn"
3" x 3"
watercolor on paper
$40

Click here to bid.

I love squares, don't you?  I'm having fun with these little paintings.  Thanks for stopping by!

what this painting could look like when framed

Small Painting Auction

"Wheeler Farm"
3.5" x 5"
watercolor on paper
$40

Click here to bid.

I've decided to auction off some of the little paintings I've been doing.  I think they would look sweet all matted and framed up.  This is the first one.

what this painting could look like when framed

Sketching

I've always found landscape painting to be quite challenging.  All that extraneous information that needs to be edited has always confused me.  Joyce Hicks (whose work & process I find VERY inspiring) emphasizes creating shapes - so I've been doing some pencil sketching and working on values & temperature through little thumbnail studies.  It's been fun.  I'll be sharing some more over the next few posts.  Thanks for visiting!

"Red Barn"
3" x 3"
(watercolor on paper)

Thanks for stopping by!

Gold Nugget Afternoon

"Gold Nugget Afternoon"
7" x 5"
(watercolor on aquabord)

(what this painting could look like framed)

Click here to bid.

Last summer I spent a lovely day with my friend kayaking and touring her beautiful property, Gold Nugget Farm, where she boards horses (and the occasional snake -- yeow!). I ended up snapping lots of photos, but until now hadn't painted any.  So if you see this blog post, Lee-Lee -- thank you!  :)

Thank you for viewing my work and have a great weekend!!

Barn Window

"Barn Window"
5" x 7"
(watercolor on aquabord)

Click here to bid.

Last November while I was out and about snapping pictures in Petersham with my friend, I took this photo. I was taken by the weathered wood and simple yet strong design of the composition. Weathered barns have such personality and history and this one is no exception. In some way, this painting will always remind me of home.  I hope you like it.  Thank you for viewing my work.

McReavey's and Student Work

McReavey's Barn
6" x 8"
(watercolor on cradled aquabord)
starting bid:  $95

stained sides -- ready to hang or display

Click here to bid.

I did a little bit of tweaking today and put McReavey's up for auction on DPW.  I also did some more work on the basket, but far too little to photograph and post.  I'll be sure to do that tomorrow.

But in other news, we just finished week 3 of my 5 week watercolor workshop here at my studio and my students are well on their way to finishing up some wonderful paintings (as you can see below).  I'm already planning my next workshop . . . it will be something on aquabord.  So stay tuned and if you're interested in attending, keep checking my workshop link at the top of the page for when I post more information or please email me and I will send you out a notice when I firm up my plans.

Aren't these wonderful?  I'm so proud of my students!  Thank you for stopping by.

McReavey's Barn

"McReavey's Barn"
6" x 8"
(watercolor on cradled aquabord)

I took a break from the basket painting today and did this little painting instead.  I'll post progress on the basket painting soon.  I need to finish it by the end of the week because I just committed it for jury at a local show.  Ha!  I hope it comes out well.  :)  But it is also on cradled aquabord so I don't have to frame it as it's all ready to hang . . . definitely a good thing when you're in a pinch.  

Anyway -- this little ditty is of a barn up my street.  I had fun with it.  I'll check it out in the daylight, see if there's anything amiss and then put it up for auction on DPW.  I'll be sure to take another picture of the whole thing so you can see how it's like a little box, all ready to hang.  Thanks for stopping by.  Happy Painting!

A Mild Winter

"A Mild Winter"
6" x 8"

Just finished. I think I may have put the wrong size down on the previous post of this painting. I ordered a frame for it yesterday when I put in an order for a couple other pieces that I'll be putting into shows. I just really wanted to see this framed. So when I get that done, I'll re-post and that's when I'll put it up for sale. Hope you like it.

ADD Artist

"A Mild Winter" (in progress)
(approximately) 8" x 10"

Ok . . . is anyone else completely all over the place, attention-wise, that is? I mean, I paint a few quiet still lifes, then an interior maybe, a floral next of course . . . then follow that up with an off-the-wall "Fisher Price" painting, then how about a landscape?! What's up with that? At least I guess, I'm sticking with the watercolor; I used to jump around from medium to medium! Although after that last art demonstration I attended (which I still need to blog about; I promise you I haven't forgotten) I left thinking "hmmmm . . . huge, slightly abstracted floral still lifes in acrylic . . . now that would be very exciting!" What kind of crazy artist am I? Is there a clinical name to what I have? Can you find it in the DSM IV?

Anyway . . . here's my latest WIP . . . it's moving along but definitely needs more work. I'm not very good at landscapes -- I have a really hard time editing. My neurotic nature lends itself well to the close up still life, especially when patterns or patinas are involved. Not that they always work out, but I'm just crazy enough to get all excited trying! So when there are individual blades of grass to tackle and millions of branches to deal with, my mind gets all nutty -- like it's having a fight with itself -- how much do I actually attempt to paint? I like detail, but COME ON . . . I know I'm crazy, but not THAT crazy. What techniques and colors should I use just to create the illusion of woods in the distance? So many decisions to make. I like landscapes, so hopefully I will get better at editing and will learn how to use the watercolor to my advantage. That way, I won't have to spend 700 hours painting every blade of grass . . . and will have plenty of time to move onto the next genre.  :)

Happy Painting!

Trying Something New

"The White Barn"
(approximately) 6" x 6"

(what this painting could look like framed)

I've decided to try something different.  I feel like I've been getting all bogged down with obsessive detail and not letting the watercolor really do what it can do.  In fact, I know I don't always use the watercolor to its highest potential; i.e. letting it get all wild and beautiful like it can.  So I've decided to set the timer to an hour and paint.  Get back to  . . . well get to (I can't in good conscience really say "back," because I don't know that I've ever just let the water and pigment play on the paper really) a little more spontaneity. So this is my first attempt. Ha! It's not really "loose" -- I don't know that I'll ever be loose, but it's a good start (for me). I think I will put this in a little exhibit/sale that is coming up in Jaffrey, NH soon. If it doesn't sell, then I will auction it off over at DPW.  I'll keep you posted.  In the meantime . . . I'm off to obsess over details . . . but don't worry, I like obsessing over detail.  It's fun for me.  :)  But I swear, I'm going to try to maintain this little hour-long daily exercise, so be forewarned, there may be some real messes coming down the pike. Hopefully more hits than misses though. Happy painting to you all!