Looking for Spring

Hope everyone had a nice Easter....Baked ham, Potato Salad, Pineapple Cheesecake and Coffee Pie were on the menu and now it's back to counting calories.  I did manage to paint early Sunday morning which I will post later in the week.  For now, I thought I'd post this image I did this past week as I try to capture the various flowers that become available as we move along into Spring.  This little porcelain rabbit has been featured in three paintings so far.  In fact one of them now resides in Australia!

6" x 6" Oil on masonite

Daffodil II

Encouraged by the end result of the first painting of daffodils, I started this one and was surprised at how

differently it turned out.  My discovery from the last one had more to do with toning the brilliance of the yellow with grays so that was foremost in my mind.   I do like the brilliance of the first one but this one

seems to show the delicacy of the tissue papery thinness of the petals.  This one still has a bit of brush work to indicate the glass vase.

The following pic is a close up of the lower left hand side.  I wish I could have captured the entire image with the clarity of this photo.  Not quite the broad brushstrokes I was looking for, but I do like the resulting texture.

Daffodils

In case you haven't noticed, I'm terrible with titles, with my blog entries as well as the paintings themselves.   Some people can be so clever with naming their work.  Lyrics from songs are an interesting source, although I can't recall any songs about daffodils??

I knew working with yellows would be a challenge.  A third of the way through I thought ... "Okay, remember to stay away from anything predominantly yellow.  But once I figured out how to subdue this vibrant color to create the contrasts, it started to pull together and I quite liked it.

Working with this small format (6" x 6") though, I actually felt confident enough to do another one.  Only this time I would simplify the group and remove the flower on the right and enlarge the huddled group.  Tomorrow I'll post the newer version.

....."And the Daffodils Look Lovely Today"!!!!  There...I did it.  I looked up lyrics with "daffodils"

in it.  And that is what I found.   I guess this works.   Song by the Cranberries.

And the Daffodils Look Lovely Today
6" x 6" Oil
SOLD

Not the most organized palette but it did look lovely too with the sun streaking across the brilliant yellows.

Pretty in Pink

Pretty in Pink

6" x 6" Oil

SOLD

My favorite from the last series of these 6" x 6" paintings was this one.  The challenge being the multi-faceted creases in the paper, but what a joy to paint.....

Davidson Farm

I don't do landscapes as often as florals but this is a scene I pass by nearly everyday and had to do one as part of my "daily" paintings.  These smaller formats are like "thumbnail" sketches towards larger formats.  This will be at the exhibition this weekend.

Peaches & Jam

My latest painting featuring my favorite bit of cloth that I've used in several paintings now.  This painting is for the exhibition this weekend (april 15th through 17th) at the Stephen Shaar Community Centre along with the 6" x 6" wall blocks that I posted about earlier......Looking forward to it!

Peaches & Jam

Oil 10 x 20

A Collection of spring themed small format paintings.....

Next weekend I will be participating in a group show with the Hudson Artist's Association (April 15 through 17) at the Stephen Shaar Community Center.  I am showing a preview here of a collection of the 6" x 6" x 2" wall blocks that I will be showing.  All are painted in oils and each are completed on a daily basis.

...and back to the small format paintings

A little grouping with two of the vases I purchased at the local Library that holds a rummage sale every Saturday morning.  Similar to one of my recent postings but this time with a pear.  These two paintings were my breakthrough paintings as far as loosening up with the brushstrokes but I have since returned to my tighter style.  Having said that I do like the end results.  I will simply have to focus choosing subject matter that I don't feel compelled to work too much detail into.

5" x 7"

Oil on Masonite

A little Segue....

I have to admit, this is a little guilty pleasure....I've been at the sewing machine again.  The potential for creativity when making fabric bags is endless.  I've started with a few simple ones and plan on making a few more with embellishments in the weeks to come (just to get this out of my system!).  The wool bag is so late in the season that I'm early.  But I had planned on making a bag out of a wool sweater for some time now and it just seemed to come together now.  I particularly enjoyed doing the embroidery.  The other two are just basic bags for going to the market (in style).
Almost forgot to mention they are available at the shop on Main Road, here in Hudson called
Seconde Main.

Almost daily....

This one was done on a 1/4" birch faced panel.  I do like these wood surfaces rather than the stretched canvases when painting this smaller size (6x6).  This one was also done alla prima (wet into wet)  but needs the energy of the juicier brushstrokes.

Green Apple Teal Bowl
6 x 6 Oil

Me and My Shadow

I might do more of these simple paintings using the beautiful papers that are available.  Yes, that's right, the background pattern is collaged onto the wood substrate, sealed and then the painting added.  I prefer not to think of it as cheating as much as being clever.  I think it just adds a bit of complexity to an otherwise simple image.

Me & My Shadow
6" x 6" x 1 1/2" cradled wood
SOLD