Tousled Sunshine

12"x16"
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I can't believe it's going to be December tomorrow.... how on earth did that happen? So here is something that I painted because I needed to work on something warm and sunny. Hopefully it brings that feeling to you too :)

The Night has a Thousand Eyes

20"x20"
I suddenly realized I hadn't shared this one from Whimsical Women! It sold already, but I love it so much I wanted to share it here on the blog anyways :) My daughter was playing with a little lantern I bought ages ago to use as a still life subject, just hanging out and being cute, and somehow this painting evolved from that...

Yellow Iris Bud

4"x12"
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This is the first time I've painted something hung up by masking tape like this, and also the first time I've painted an iris like this, just the architecture of the bud... it's so totally different from when it blooms and gets all curvaceous! Love it.... this painting is going to lead to some more fun ones, once springtime comes :)
#1421

First Star I See Tonight

6"x8"
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I think this is the happiest I've ever been with an evening sky! They're just so stinking hard, getting the values right, not to mention how do you have the golden part of the sky run into the blue part of the sky without it going too green.... anyways. Happy with this one :)
#1420

Dandelion Clock and Harlequin

9"x12"
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I honestly can't remeber if I've shared this one on the blog already- I realized that right after I uploaded the image. But I know it wasn't available through etsy until today, so I'm posting it anyways, and if I have before I do apologize. Something shiny and new tomorrow, I promise :)

Lone Tree

12"x12"
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Something peaceful tonight.... though things are still crazy around here! Why did I think everything would calm all the way back down after Whimsical Women? Silly me, forgetting about Thanksgiving and everything else that comes along with the holidays. Ah, well...

White Orchids on Red

18"x24"
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If white orchids seem like an odd painting to post on thanksgiving... well, they are. But I do like orchids, and I don't think I've ever even painted a turkey before. And sometimes I get squeamish about celebrating the beginning of the invasion of this part of the world by colonists, far too many of whom were lust looking to rape and pillage and enslave.... oh, well. At the same time, having a holiday to focus on gratitude is a beautiful thing. So I've got some mixed feelings there, but that's just me- everything is a shade of grey, you know?
#1417

Bumblebee

12"x12"
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Phooey. I wanted to post something nice and thoughtful tonight, I've been bad about not writing much lately.... but I've got a two year old who is letting me know she needs some love and cuddles like NOW. So, till tomorrow everyone! Lots of love!

Tea

8"x10"
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Feeling better today... and isn't it beautiful out? Mid seventies in November, this is my kind of autumn! Not the ideal weather for sipping hot tea, but hey, I'm sure we'll have plenty of time for that during the winter :)

Cup and Spoon

9"x12"
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Landscape with Three Stars

12"x12"
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Hi there! Still recovering from yesterday, but I thought I'd let you know I'm putting up a few of the paintings that didn't sell here and on etsy... you know, for those who couldn't make it all the way out to Winston Salem!

Little Fox

8"x10"
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Today was the Whimsical Women Show! It was absolutely wonderful, but I am exhausted now... goodnight :)

B is for Boat

8"x8"
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This is one I did a while ago, and pulled down off of Naomi's wall to rework a little bit and send back out into the world. It's one of those paintings that just makes you smile, you know?

Vinyard

18"x24"
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As you can imagine, this one just about drove me insane. Painting is the only way for me to really get to know something- I remember I was painting my cousin and while painting her ear suddenly realized that she has attached earlobes. I mean, I've known her for 14 years and I'm supposed to be fairly observant, but somehow I'd missed that.... actually painting something is a whole new way of looking. Like that, I mean, I know there was an amazing amount of intricacy in something like a grapevine, but until I actually painted a small part of one.... wow, you know?

Grapes and Raindrops

8"x8"
sold
I took some reference photos on a beautifully soft, rainy day out at Benjamin's Vinyard in Saxapahaw NC specifically to do a couple of vinyard-ey paintings for the show.... this is one of them :) I'll show you the big one tomorrow!

Green Glass

8"x10"
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You might remeber this one from last year- it never sold, and I just couldn't understand it! It's funny how sometimes the artist's favorite paintings just take their time finding a home :) At any rate, I pulled it down off the wall and reworked it a bit, and sent it off to Benjamin's Vinyard along with like all the other post from this week- in case you're wondering, I am terribly busy and painting lots and lots, just not on dailies- on special paintings for the Whimsical Women Show that is coming up on Saturday. I am so looking forward to it!

Pear Halves

9"x12"
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This is another one of the paintings that is up at Benjamin's Vinyard right now- it had been a while since I'd painted any pears, and this just fell into place somehow. Am I the only one who sees the pear halves kind of forming a yin-yang symbol?

Wine Bottle

8"x10"
$100
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And the other end of the wine equation... like to go with the wine glass from Friday night :) That shadow just about drove me crazy, but on the fifth attempt or so something clicked and it came out perfect. I love those moments.
#1406

Dandelion Clock and Harlequin

This is a piece I've done for the Whimsical Women Art Festival in Winton Salem next Saturday- I am so excited about it! I'm also super excited that it seems that my 'whimsical' style and my super-realistic style are starting to think about converging. Yay!

If you would like to come to Whimsicals, here's a link that should help with directions. It's a totally awesome time every year- I always love it :)

White Wine

8"x10"
$100
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Something nice for Friday night :)

A Sense of Peace

12"x16"
$280
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And for this one my cousin Anna posed.... painting the waterdrops was so cool, and then the play of light right there at the edge of the water, and honestly I think the thing I enjoyed most was her eyelashes :D

#1403

Floating

18"x36"
$650
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Or if that's not in the budget, I am still leasing paintings. Or doing payment plans on them. Any non-dailies, you know :)
My cousin Erin posed for this, because back in the summer I got obsessed with doing some paintings of people in water.... still obsessed with the idea, actually, and I'm definitely going to continue to play with it. It's a shame that paintings take so long to do, getting this beautiful summery piece completed in November, but that's the way it goes... it still makes me super happy, seeing it :)

#1402

Blown Away

6"x8"
sold
And I really, really went in for the particular with this one. It makes me happy :)
#1401

Dandelion Puff III

6"x8"
sold
Wow, how did I get to post number 1,400 already? Dude.
I tried a different approach with this one than I have the last two times I've tried to paint a dandelion seed head thingy- this one is more about the particular- you know, like this exact one and not just the idea of a dandelion puff- and less about the overall impression, like I was trying to capture. I think I like this approach better :)
#1400

Golden Evening

6"x8"
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Ok, I am absurdly proud of this one. Especially the pole with the little transformerey things, and the power line... and the little yellow diamond of a sign that tells you that the other road is a dead end. And the way that the light, for whatever reason, brightens right there in the middle of the painting... *happies*
#1399

opening at Benjamins Vinyard in Saxapahaw, NC

trying again :D

Trying the landscape thing again- and I think I'll like this one even better. I was near a crossroads, but not too near, and I was trying to make that apparent without actually showing any road, you know? And of course it's the really cool long shadows from the nearby trees catching my eye again :)

Long Shadows

6"x8"
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I like this system! You know me, I have to have multipls layers of paint on a piece before I feel good about it, but getting the idea one day and polishing it in the studio the next is a lot of fun. Don't worry, it's still just $20 like all my 'dailies' :)
#1396

plein air attempt

This is my first ever attempt at painting a landscape while sitting out in the landscape... lately I've started realizing that landscape are something I ought to learn to do. If nothing else it'll improve my eye for color! I snapped a photo too, though, and I expect I'll finish this little guy up tomorrow. It was the idea of those long shadows cast across the cut-down cornfield, kind of disappearing beside the soft curve of a, um, mini-hill....
#1395

Two Golden Leaves

12"x16"

And it will be available shortly. How on earth did it get to be November already? Really?

Tomorrow I'll be driving out to Benjamin's Vinyard in Saxapahaw, NC to set up my paintings there as a solo show for all of November and December! I'm super excited about it- this is one of my brand-new paintings that will be included in that show. The opening is on Saturday from 2-5 if you're in the area- I'll be there with all my beautiful new paintings, and would love to meet you!