"Too Foggy" - 5 x 7 inches - oil on paper - SOLD

"Too Foggy" - 5 x 7 inches - oil on paper

I sat in my car at the marina in Newburyport just as it started to rain.  Really rain.  I had to keep turning on the windshield wipers to see what I was painting.  

This little boat which was moored nearby made a nice painting subject.  The water was glassy smooth but visibility was poor so I simply faded out the background to create the foggy effect.  I spent a long time trying to get the shape of the boat right.  Boats are hard - especially when they move around!

In case you haven't noticed, I've been painting a lot this month.  I've been participating in another 30 day painting challenge.  There are 300+ artists around the internet who took up this challenge to paint 30 paintings in 30 days.  Frankly, I didn't make a big announcement since I didn't want to commit to something that I might not finish.  I did the challenge in January and got pretty burned out by the end of the month.  I definitely favor quality over quantity but have been so inspired by my time in Newburyport that is has been easy to paint every day.  So, by the end of September, I will complete about 25 paintings and that is good enough for me :)

Marina - 5 x 7 inches - oil on paper - SOLD

"Marina" - 5 x 7 inches - oil on paper

I'm pretty proud of this painting.  I sat in my car looking at this jumble of boats and was thinking that this is impossible to paint.  I certainly didn't want to paint each individual boat and was kind of overwhelmed by the subject in front of me.  One painting trick is to squint at a scene.  When you squint, you lose the details and can see large masses of shapes and color more easily.

For the boats, I started with an area of white dabs that was the approximate shape of the entire mass.  I then when back with various shades of color and tried to carve out the suggestion of boat shapes.  When I added the vertical lines for the masts, it all came together.  Overall, a very successful painting of a daunting subject! 

"Marina" is a 5 x 7 inch oil on paper painting and comes in a white, 8 x 10 mat.  SOLD

Merrimack River - 5 x 7 inches oil on canvas - SOLD

"Merrimack River" - 5 x 7 inches - oil on canvas

There is an Audubon Nature center in Newburyport called "Joppa Flats" so I guess technically I should have named this painting "Joppa Flats" since I stood in their parking lot to paint this scene.  
 

Plum Island Marshes III - 5 x 7 inches - oil on paper - SOLD

"Plum Island Marshes III" - 5 x 7 inches - oil on paper

Back to the marshes for more inspiration.  The great thing about painting outside is that you can paint the same scene many times, but each day brings something new.  The light can be very different depending on when you choose to paint, seasonal changes impact the color palette and of course, changes in weather can dramatically affect the scene.

I painted these marshes in the afternoon.  Not a cloud in the sky.  In fact, the marshes were very quiet and I didn't see much wildlife at all.  I guess everyone was taking an afternoon nap.


 

"Plum Island Dunes III" - 5 x 7 inches - oil on paper - SOLD

"Plum Island Dunes III" - 5 x 7 inches - oil on canvas

I don't know what it is about sand dunes but I love their soft curves and all the grasses and brush that surrounds them.  This scene was painted in the afternoon on a perfect warm sunny day.

"At Rest" - 5 x 7 inches - oil on paper - SOLD

"At Rest" - 5 x 7 inches - oil on paper

I'm really pleased with this painting and I don't say that very often!  Boats can be a very tricky subject.  This boat stayed relatively still but occasionally shifted a bit which made my job more difficult.  I spent a long time trying to get the shape just right as well as the reflection in the water.

For those who live near Westford, MA, I'll be giving an oil painting demonstration at the Parish Center for the Arts on Thursday October 17 at 7 p.m.  The demo is free but if you make a $10 donation, your name is entered into a raffle to win an original oil painting at the end of the demo.  All proceeds benefit the PCA. 

"Carter Street" - 5 x 7 inches - oil on paper

"Carter Street" - 5 x 7 inches - oil on paper

Painting is such a meditative "sport."  I stood on the street painting this for about 2 1/2 hours and couldn't believe how quickly the time went by.  One problem with painting plein air is that the light changes very quickly so everything is a moving target!  The most obvious change is the length of the shadows as the sun moves across the sky.

I should mention that Gayle Kenyon won my August give away.  Since Gayle lives in Westford, I have her a copy of my book, Paint the Town which is a collection of my Westford paintings and includes my personal observations and historical tidbits about the town.

"Carter Street" is a 5 x 7 inch oil on paper painting and comes in a white, 8 x 10 mat.  Click the Buy Now button below to purchase by credit card, or, click here for other ways to purchase a painting.

"Plum Island Beach I" - 5 x 7 inches - oil on paper

"Plum Island Beach I" - 5 x 7 inches - oil on paper

I just can't get enough of the beach at Plum Island.  The weather has been fantastic so I'm trying to get there every day to paint, walk and collect shells. 

Someone asked me about painting oil on paper.  Paper is a perfectly acceptable surface to paint on as long as you prepare it properly.  I'm using artist quality watercolor paper which I treated with several coats of gesso.  The gesso creates a seal on the paper to prevent the oil from soaking into it.  In fact, canvas is also treated with gesso for the same purpose.

"Plum Island Beach I" is a 5 x 7 inch oil on paper painting and comes in a white, 8 x 10 mat.  Click the Buy Now button below to purchase using a credit card, or, click here for other payment options.

Plum Island Dunes II - 5 x 7 inches - oil on paper

"Plum Island Dunes II" - 5 x 7 inches - oil on paper

Back to the Dunes.  One of the hazards of plein air painting is bugs.  I'm not sure what bit me but deodorant does a good job of taking away the itch! 

"Plum Island Dunes II" is a 5 x 7 inch oil on paper painting and comes in a white, 8 x 10 mat.  Click the Buy Now button below to purchase by credit card or click here for other payment options.

Moored - 5 x 7 inches - oil on paper

"Moored" - 5 x 7 inches - oil on paper

These boats were moored on the Merrimack River in Newburyport, MA.  I didn't realize that this is the same river that flows through Lowell, MA.  In doing a little research, I found out that it originates in Franklin New Hampshire and ends in Newburyport where it flows into the Atlantic ocean -- a total of 117 miles long!   

"Moored" is a 5 x 7 inch oil on paper painting and comes in a white, 8 x 10 mat.  Click the Buy Now button below to purchase using a credit card, or, click here for other payment options.

Plum Island Dunes I - 5 x 7 inches - oil on paper

Plum Island Dunes I - 5 x 7 inches - oil on paper

I painted these dunes under duress.  It was extremely windy and I feared that my entire plein air set up would topple over.  I weighted down my easel and painted this as quickly as I could to avoid a messy spill.  Fortunately, there are no injuries to report :).

"Plum Island Dunes I" is a 5 x 7 inch oil on paper painting and comes in a white, 8 x 10 mat.  Click the Buy Now button below to purchase by credit card, or, click here for other ways to purchase.

"Plum Island Marsh II" - 5 x 7 inches - oil on paper - SOLD

"Plum Island Marsh II" - 5 x 7 inches - oil on paper

In this marsh painting, I decided to punch things up and use bright, saturated colors.  In this case, I painted what I wanted to see, not really what I was seeing.  
 

"Plum Island Marsh I" - 5 x 7 inches - oil on paper

"Plum Island Marsh I" - 5 x 7 inches - oil on paper

I've always loved marshes and have painted them many times.  On this particular day, the weather was overcast so the colors are relatively subdued.  To make the distant slivers of water stand out, the color of the surrounding grasses must be relatively dark.  

"Plum Island Marsh I" is a 5 x 7 inch oil on paper painting and comes in a white, 8 x 10 mat.  To purchase by credit card, click the Buy Now button below or click here for other ways to purchase a painting.

"Sunflowers II" - 5 x 7 inches - oil on paper - SOLD

"Sunflowers II" - 5 x 7 inches - oil on paper

Here is my 2nd attempt at painting the sunflowers.  My first attempt is below for comparison.  I'm curious -- which is your favorite?

Sunflowers I - 5 x 7 inches - oil on paper

Sunflowers I - 5 x 7 inches - oil on paper

I haven't posted recently - - not because of a lack of painting but because of a technical glitch.  All is well now so you'll be hearing from me A LOT over coming weeks as I catch up with posting my new work.  

I'm not much of a flower painter but was inspired when I saw these sunflowers in the grocery store.  There is something warm and comforting about sunflowers.  I can remember my kids bringing home sunflower seeds that we'd plant in a Styrofoam cup for science class.  Each day, we'd nurture them with a bit of water and sunlight making observations and taking measurements along the way as they sprouted and grew.

"Sunflowers Il" is a 5 x 7 inch oil on paper painting.  It is presented in an 8 x 10 mat which is a standard frame size. It can be purchased by clicking the "Buy Now" button below, or, click here for other ways to purchase a painting.

2014 Desk Calendar is here!

I'm pleased to announce that my 2014 desk calendars are now available! 

Each month features a different painting and the calendar comes packaged in a CD-like case that opens to display each month:

The 2014 Desk Calendar is $18 and it can be purchased in a couple of different ways. 

1. Art on Main:  For those who live in the Westford, MA area, visit Art on Main, 40 Main St, Westford, MA 01886.  We accept credit cards, checks and cash.

2. PayPal: For those who don't live near Westford, MA, click the "Buy Now" button below to pay by Paypal/credit card. I will ship the calendar directly to your door.

3. Personal check or money order: If you're not a fan of paying online, I accept personal checks and money orders. Just send me an email (LaurieGMiller@gmail.com) and we'll get the process started.

"40 Main with Blue Subaru" commission

"40 Main with Blue Subaru" - 8 x 8 inches - oil on canvas

We've all heard the saying which goes something like "If you give something away as an act of kindness, you will be repaid many times over."  The first time I painted this scene, I gave the painting to Marie who is the proprietor of this retail shop.  I gave it to Marie as a thank you since she has been kind to me over the years and I really thought she'd appreciate it. 

Marie kindly hung the painting in her shop (which I didn't expect), and since that time, several people have noticed it and have commissioned me to recreate the painting.  With this latest request, the client asked me to add her car in the scene instead of Marie's car.

I normally don't like recreating a painting, but in this case, it is such a charming building that I enjoyed the challenge of painting it once again.

Lamborghini commission - finished!

"Lambo" - 12 x 12 inches - oil on canvas

I'm pleased to report that I finished the commission of the Lamborghini and it shipped off earlier this week.

There were a number of challenges with this painting.  First off, my reference photo (see far below) was decent but the car was fairly dark so I had trouble seeing the details.  Some things you just can't fake, and it is very hard to paint something if you don't understand what it looks like.  I was fortunate to find 2 reference photos that helped me understand what the car actually looked like:

car detail reference photos

Regarding the background, with discussions and approval from my collector, I eliminated the sign on the left side, modified the distant hills a bit to give a more balanced composition, and added a bit of interest to the sky.  I purposely faded the yellow and white traffic lines as I wanted the car to be the most prominent item on the canvas. 

original reference photo

Sketching......

I always carry my sketchbook with me and love to pull it out to help pass the time.

When my kids were younger, I did a lot of waiting.  There were the weekly activities like piano lessons and soccer practices so I'd find myself with time to kill.

Now that my kids are grown, I don't sketch nearly as much.  This past weekend, I was traveling and, once again, found some quiet time to pull out my sketchbook and happily passed the time waiting for my plane to depart.

Lamborghini commission progress

I'm making progress on my Lamborghini commission and I hope to finish it later this week.  The bright blue areas are blank canvas and still need to be filled in.  I also have to make some adjustments on the shape of the car as well as some of the values.

In other news, Art on Main is hosting their monthly "Wine & Nibbles" open house on Saturday August 10 from 2 - 5 p.m.  For those who don't know, this is a tax-free weekend which gives everyone an automatic 6.25% savings.  To sweeten the deal, I'm also offering an additional 10% off on all my paintings this weekend.  If you can't make it to the open house and still want to take advantage of these savings, contact me at LaurieGMiller@gmail.com.  To see my available paintings, click here.