On My Easel

Roses and Perfume

12" Square

Oil on Canvas

I had to try this subject in oil as I had enjoyed painting it in gouache.  This time though, I thought I'd challenge myself and include an orange paisley patterned pashmina as the background.  So far so good....

Perfume

Acrylic on Paper

12" x 19"

Our local garden club has a flower exhibition every July and this year invited local artists to
exhibit along with them.  The theme was Fashion so I created this one using whatever was blooming in my garden (not my strong point) and some perfume bottles I had always wanted to paint.  I should really call this one "L'Air du Temps" after the perfume.

There is a slight haze in the lower left corner as I photographed this already in it's frame with glass.

I had forgotten how much I enjoy using gouache and or/acrylics on paper and plan on using this more often.

Interestingly, when I previewed this post, I realized the rose is from the same yellow rose bush and that I had painted a few years ago and which is in my banner at the top of this blog.

Lucy

Lucy

6" x 8' Oil on wood cradled panel

A recently completed portrait of Lucy.  A soon to be delivered gift to her master whom she adores.

Two Blue Teacups

Two Blue Teacups

10" square

Oil on Wood Cradled Panel

This is a 10" square oil painting I finished for our local Spring Art Show.   It was one of several teacup paintings I painted and is now on its' way to a gallery to find a new home.  

Spring Art Show

Black and Silver brought Gold

10 x 12 Oil on wood cradled panel

I am pleased to say that one of my entries into this year's Sprint exhibition won Best in Show!

I have been enjoying painting reflective surfaces lately so my collection of metallic tea cups became

the centre of interest.  Painted in oils on a collaged background, I am most happy with the results.

Never Enough Daffodils

Well April started with a snowstorm and ended with Daffodils.  Those flouncy, brilliant flowers that bring such a ray of sunshine into our homes are wonderful to paint.  They have such a distinctive
profile.  I chose to paint this version in oils on a papered background on a wood panel.  

Daffodils in April

March can be such a blustery cruel month and such a contrast to the month of April bringing

tulips and daffodils.  Always eager to paint flowers, daffodils are the first on my list.



                

Daffodils

12" x 18" on stretched canvas

Always Learning Something New

Petunias on Green Gingham

Acrylic

12" square

Sold

Although I've used acrylic paint longer than I can remember, it was rarely for fine art and usually for decorative purposes.  I decided to paint this image from photos I had taken at the end of summer 2016 using acrylics instead of oils.   The lighting was adding quite a bit of interest to this arrangement.  I enjoy painting white flowers in particular and petunias have such a flare and flounce that make them fun to paint.

Playing Catchup

16" square

Oil

Sold

Since I had not been posting regularly toward the end of 2016, I thought I would post some of the paintings done towards the end of the year now.

I painted this teacup twice.  Once as a profile (not a very dynamic image) and from this angle which turned out to be much more interesting.  Painting the golden highlights in this shadowy lighting was a bit of a challenge but I quite like how this turned out.

A Busy Year Ahead

I had painted Missy's companion, Jessie, a year or two ago and now her owner has asked me to paint Missy too.  A bittersweet memory of a loved pet.

These are actually two separate paintings and not a closeup of the first one.

Getting Back Into My Comfort Zone

Here is a little recap of the latter part of the year as captured from Instagram (#pinestreetstudios).

I even managed to squeeze in a little paper maché in the form of Christmas decorations.

Well Hello Again

I can't believe I skipped over the entire Christmas season 2016 and am well into 2017.  It didn't feel right not being here so here I am jumping back in again.  Probably the main reason I haven't been here is that I've been using Instagram a lot more and October through to the end of the year is always so busy preparing for shows and exhibits and finally family time.

January of any year means to me a time to indulge in new pursuits and do tutorials and experiments with new media.  I'd have to say needlework was probably what I spent time with this year and I want to get comfortable with some of these new approaches so I can easily transition between textile work and painting.

So here is what I did a little bit of last month....some wet felting and wool embroidery.

Color, no matter what format, is so enticing whether it comes out of a tube or from a spool....I love it.