30 Day Painting Challenge - Day 17 - "Quiet Harbor" - 6 x 8 inches - oil on linen - SOLD

"Quiet Harbor" - 6 x 8 inches - oil on linen

I started off by painting my canvas a soft pink color.  Pink and orange are my preferred background colors for landscapes.  I wasn't feeling particularly bold which is why I only gave the canvas a light wash of pink.

I'm always amazed that I can paint the same view many times and it still feels fresh because the weather and time of day give it a completely different look.

30 Day Painting Challenge - Day 16 - "Overlook" - 11 x 14 inches - oil on canvas -SOLD

"Overlook" - 11 x 14 inches - oil on canvas

I stood on the boardwalk leading down to the beach and painted this view on a glorious, sunny afternoon.  It was quite breezy so I had to weight down my tripod so that it wouldn't blow over.

A passerby asked me why I only included a small piece of the ocean.  My answer was that I wanted to paint the dunes and the beach grasses which were way more interesting and colorful.

Below is a selfie of a very happy artist  :)  If you look at the painting, I hadn't put the sky in yet which is why it is orange. 

30 Day Painting Challenge - Day 15 - "River View" - 11 x 14 inches - oil on canvas

"River View" - 11 x 14 inches - oil on canvas

I stood on the edge of the Merrimack River and happily painted the afternoon away.  I was primarily interested in doing a cloudscape so kept everything else fairly simple so as not to detract from the lovely sky.

"River View" is an 11 x 14 inch oil on canvas painting with the sides painted black.  $195  Click the Buy Now button below to purchase by credit card or click here for other ways to buy a painting.

30 Day Painting Challenge - Day 14 - "Church Steeple" - 8 x 8 inches - oil on canvas - SOLD

"Church Steeple" - 8 x 8 inches - oil on canvas - SOLD

I don't have much experience painting architecture "en plein air" and wanted to challenge myself to see how I could do.  

When working from photos, it is very easy to translate a two dimensional image onto canvas but much harder in person.  I decided that I needed to keep things simple and just concentrate on the angles, shapes and values.

I stood on the sidewalk and painted during an overcast morning.  It was fairly chilly so I relished a hot shower and cup of tea when I got home.

30 Day Painting Challenge - Day 13 - "For the Birds" - 5 x 7 inches - oil on paper -SOLD

"For the Birds" - 5 x 7 inches - oil on paper

What a delightful morning on the Merrimack river in Newburyport, MA.  I'm not sure what kind of birds were feeding in the foreground because by the time I finished the painting, they had moved on.

"For the Birds" is a 5 x 7 inch oil on paper painting.  

30 Day Painting Challenge - Day 12 - "Marsh" - 6 x 8 inches - oil on paper

"Marsh" - 6 x 8 inches - oil on paper

As I mentioned earlier in the month, I've decided to try out a few different painting surfaces.  This painting is done on Arches oil paper which is specifically designed for oil paints.  In the past, I've created my own oil paper but wanted to try this out for comparison.  The surface is very smooth which takes a bit of getting used to.

"Marshes" is an 6 x 8 inch oil on paper painting.  $75  Click the Buy Now button below to purchase by credit card or click here for other ways to buy a painting.

30 Day Painting Challenge - Day 11 - "Road to Plum Island" - 8 x 8 inches - oil on canvas

"Road to Plum Island" - 8 x 8 inches - oil on canvas

I've always loved the road that approaches Plum Island with the line of telephone poles and the soft hills in the distance.

I painted this in my car which is pretty much my usual plein air painting technique.  I've gotten pretty good at balancing my palette/easel on my lap and keeping my brushes and other tools accessible.  I can't think of a better way to spend a morning and was quite happy with the final result!

"Road to Plum Island" is an 8 x 8 inch oil on canvas painting with the sides painted black so framing is optional. $95 Click the Buy Now button below to purchase by credit card or click here for other ways to buy a painting.

30 Day Painting Challenge - Day 10 - "Morning Marina" - 6 x 8 inches - oil on linen - SOLD

"Morning Marina" - 6 x 8 inches - oil on linen - SOLD

Today is day 10 which means I'm exactly 1/3 of the way done with the 30 day painting challenge.  I'm still feeling very inspired so hopefully that will continue and I won't get burned out by the end of the month.

I once again tackled a cluster of boats.  This is my third attempt and I'm getting more confident in my approach.  I started with a solid white band in the shape of the boats as an entire group.  I then carefully added shading to carve out the individual boat shapes. 

30 Day Painting Challenge - Day 9 - "Still Life with Bananas" - 8 x 8 inches - oil on canvas

"Still Life with Bananas" - 8 x 8 inches  - oil on canvas

Ironically, the reason I wanted to paint these bananas was because I thought they looked really cool in a shiny orange bowl.  When all was said and done, I didn't like the orange color and decided to paint it blue instead!  Oh well, so much for my original inspiration for this painting.

"Still Life with Bananas" is an 8 x 8 inch oil on canvas painting with the sides painted black so framing is optional. $95  Click the Buy Now button below to purchase by credit card or click here for other ways to buy a painting.

30 Day Painting Challenge - Day 8 - "Dunes in Pink" - 8 x 8 inches - oil on canvas - SOLD

"Dunes in Pink" - 8 x 8 inches - oil on canvas - SOLD

I started this painting by giving my canvas a wash of pink acrylic paint.  The bright pink bits that you see are areas that I didn't cover and I love how they create a lot of "bling" on this painting.

I've always been enamored with sand dunes and I'm not exactly sure why.  I sat in my car and painted these dunes in the early morning.  I didn't fuss over this painting and was really happy with the end result.

"Dunes in Pink" is an 8 x 8 inch oil on canvas with the sides painted black so framing is optional.SOLD

30 Day Painting Challenge - Day 7 - "Evening Marsh" - 6 x 8 inches - oil on linen

"Evening Marsh" - 6 x 8 inches - oil on linen

I drove out to Plum Island to paint marshes in the early evening.  I stood on the side of the road with my easel set up as the sun was setting.  There was a gentle breeze and it was the perfect evening to be outside.

"Evening Marsh" is a 6 x 8 inch oil on linen with the sides painted black so framing is optional. $75  Click the Buy Now button below to purchase by credit card or click here for other ways to buy a painting.

30 Day Painting Challenge - Day 6 - "Cloud Dance" - 6 x 6 inches - oil on canvas

"Cloud Dance" - 6 x 6 inches - oil on canvas

This is a really happy painting.  I love the bright colors and the puffy clouds.  

I painted this in my car.  I'm getting pretty good at setting up so that everything I need is within easy reach as I balance my palette/easel on my lap.  

The painting flowed pretty quickly until it came time to add in the boats.  They are quite small and I was very particular about making sure the shapes looked accurate so it took a long time until I was satisfied.

"Cloud Dance" is a 6 x 6 inch oil on gallery wrapped canvas with the sides painted black so framing is optional.  Click the Buy Now button below to purchase by credit card or click here for other ways to buy a painting.

30 Day Painting Challenge - Day 5 - "Merrimack Sunrise" - SOLD

"Merrimack Sunrise" - 6 x 6 inches - oil on canvas

I got up early and headed down to the harbor to paint.  The morning sun was so bright I could only look up occasionally to catch glimpses of this scene as I tried to capture it on my canvas.  

To make the yellow sun appear even stronger, I added bits of purple to the sky and made sure the water was a shade of purple. These complementary colors vibrate when placed next to each other in a painting.

30 Day Painting Challenge - Day 4 - "Misty Harbor" - 6 x 6 inches - oil on canvas

"Misty Harbor" - 6 x 6 inches  - oil on canvas

A summer squall passed through during the afternoon and dropped torrential rain in Newburyport.  I drove down to the harbor after dinner and tried to capture the gray, overcast mist that was left behind.  I grayed down all the colors and kept my brushstrokes loose and impressionistic.

"Misty Harbor" is a 6 x 6 inch painting on gallery wrapped canvas.  The sides are painted black so framing is optional.  $60.  Click the Buy Now button below to purchase by credit card or click here for other ways to purchase a painting.

30 Day Painting Challenge - Day 3 - "Lake Winni in Style" - 6 x 8 inches - oil on linen

"Lake Winni in Style" - 6 x 8 inches - oil on linen

I decided to buy a few different surfaces to paint on this month.  This painting surface is linen whereas I normally paint on cotton canvas.  I really liked the smooth surface as the paint seemed to flow really nicely.

Once again, I painted Lake Winnipesaukee but this time did a much more stylized version.  To me, this painting is a very happy piece with strong, bright colors.  :)

"Lake Winni in Style" is a 6 x 8 inch painting on gallery wrapped linen.  The sides are painted black so framing is optional.  $75.  Click the Buy Now button below to purchase by credit card or click here for other ways to purchase a painting.

30 Day Painting Challenge - Day 2 - "Lake Winni Morning" - 6 x 6 inches - oil on canvas

"Lake Winnin Morning" - 6 x 6 inches - oil on canvas

 once again set up my easel on the porch and painted the same basic view as I did yesterday afternoon.  There wasn't much wind so the water was quite still.  A patchy fog covered the Ossipee Mountains which are visible in the background of yesterday's painting.  I really like the soft feel of this one.

"Lake Winni Morning" is a 6 x 6 inch painting on gallery wrapped canvas.  The sides are painted black so framing is optional.  $60.  Click the Buy Now button below to purchase by credit card or click here for other ways to purchase a painting.

30 Day Painting Challenge - Day 1 - "Lake Winni Afternoon" - 6 x 6 inches - oil on canvas

"Lake Winnin Afternoon" - 6 x 6 inches - oil on canvas

It has been over a month since I last painted.  Sometimes life just gets in the way and I had to put everything aside to concentrate on some personal things.  I was really itching to get back to my easel so squeezing out those first bits of paint and picking up my brushes felt really, really gratifying.

Ironically, the end of my painting hiatus is the start of yet another 30 day painting challenge created by Leslie Saeta.  There are over 800 artists participating from around the country and around the world.  This will be my third challenge.  I'm not sure I'll be able to create 30 paintings in the next 30 days but I'll give it my best shot.  So hold on to your hat as you can expect an email in your inbox from me very frequently this month. 

I was fortunate enough to be invited to a friends new "summer cottage" on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire.  It was more like the Kennedy compound with 5 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms, 2 great rooms, a gourmet kitchen, boat dock, etc, etc.  I felt like I was living in a palace!  For me, however, the best part was being right on the lake with beautiful vistas in every direction.  When I arrived, I set up my easel on the wrap around porch and painted to my hearts content!  

"Lake Winni Afternoon" is a 6 x 6 inch painting on gallery wrapped canvas.  The sides are painted black so framing is optional.  $60.  Click the Buy Now button below to purchase by credit card or click here for other ways to purchase a painting.

More kisses...

I recently gave a painting lesson to a group of 4 girls.  Since I've had Hershey Kisses on my mind, it seemed like the perfect subject.  We talked about how to make a shape three dimensional by adding shading to one side.  If you study their paintings, they all did a good job with this concept.  We also talked about how to make something appear shiny by having a strong contrast of very light passages next to very dark.  We had a really fun afternoon painting together and the girls were thrilled with how cute their paintings turned out!

I'm going to be relatively quiet for the next month or so with some travel and other projects that will keep me away from my easel.  Happy Summer, everyone!

"Kiss x 3" - 6 x 6 inches - oil on canvas - SOLD

"Kiss x 3" - 6 x 6 inches - oil on canvas - SOLD

I've wanted to paint Hershey's kisses for quite a while.  Just something rumbling around in the back of my mind.  Recently, a friend was an auctioneer at a charity fundraiser and as part of her "gig", she had a few guys dressed up as fairies and they handed out Hershey kisses to those who bid on items.  After the event, she had a lot of kisses leftover.  I have nick-named her "the woman of excess" as she had bought bags and bags of kisses as this is her typical mode of operation.  If one is good, twenty two is better.  Much better.  I am the complete opposite and calculate carefully how much of something I need.  I rarely have leftovers of anything.  I've come to appreciate the "woman of excess" as I often reap the benefits of these scraps.  

Periodically, I took a handful of kisses with every intention of painting them but couldn't resist for too long and I'd eat them before even squeezing any paint onto my palette. 

Well, this past weekend, as Hurricane Arthur dumped buckets of rain outside, I finally painted those kisses.  I managed to save the last three from consumption and set them up to create my latest painting.  I hope the "woman of excess" approves as she is solely responsible for this painting.
I took pictures as I painted and then created a 1 minute video on how it progressed.  You can view the video and learn more about my painting process by clicking here.

Coming and Going II - 12 x 12 inches - oil on canvas - SOLD

"Coming and Going II" - 12 x 12 inches - oil on canvas

Back to painting a Westford landmark...one of my favorite things to do.  I started with a bright orange-yellow canvas and really pushed the colors for dramatic effect.  Purchase information is below.

I've been remiss with my monthly give-aways so here are the winners for May and June: Jean S. and Tressa M.  You should have received an email in your inbox by now with the news as well.

Finally, I've decided to leave the Art on Main gallery.  The timing just felt right as I was looking for a new adventure and a new challenge.  A new gallery, Gallery529, is forming and I'm excited to be a part of it.  Much more news on that in future messages.  

Also, some of my smaller paintings are now available at Periwinkle Glassworksin Acton, MA.  I was honored when the owner asked me if I'd like to display my work there.

To thank everyone who has supported me at Art on Main, I've decided to offer a 20% off on all my paintings for the month of July 2014.  If you don't live in the area, just email me if there is a particular painting that you are interested in.  A link to my available paintings is here.