Winter Scene

Running at the Sugar Shack 8"x10" original oil on canvas

This little oil sketch is based on an old photo (1997) of children running at a Sugar Shack.  It was my eldest daughter's 12th birthday and off we went with some friends and neighbours and their children for some fun in the snow and a real sweet meal.  What attracted me in the photo was the movement of the figures through the trees and snow.    

Vast sky on a small canvas

Cloud and Bay Landscape 9"x12" original oil on canvas board

I was reading that it wasn't until the late 1800's that the different kinds of clouds were named. In this scene there is a combination of cloud types. Whatever their names, clouds are a beautiful challenge for the painter.  I wonder what this one would look like on a huge canvas...

Neither Here Nor There

Where the Field Leaves Off and the Trees Begin  8"x10" original oil painting on canvas board

The space between things, a gap, a shift, an in between....

Rocky Landscape

Rocks and Trees 8"x10" original oil on canvas

There is something powerful about these rocks piled on top of each other, jumbled together by some ancient upheaval.  All the shifting planes are intriguing and the scrubby pines are almost like a crown on this craggy rock face.

Into the Woods

Tree Study 8"x10" oil on canvas

The effects of our very long autumn linger on.  Painting trees is always a challenge for me...how to give them individual character and to convey that they are really rooted in the ground.  I enjoy the play of shadows and light on the ground and on the trees. 

Philodendron Inspiration

Plant in Studio 2

8" x 10" oil on canvas

I was inspired by a photo of Roberto Burle Marx's 1943 painting Still Life with Philodendron I. (See below) I didn't realize that there are over 900 species of philodendrons!  The plant has inspired many an artist and designer and is receiving a full-scale retrospective at Miami Beach's Wolfsonian-Florida International University museum.  "Philodendron: From Pan-Latin Exotic to American Modern" (till February 28th, 2016 - http://www.1stdibs.com/introspective-magazine/philodendron-at-the-wolfsonian/  I love the funky interpretation of this plant by Mr. Marx. 

Still Life with Philodendron, Roberto Burle Max, 1943

January 2016 Explorations

 January 1, 2016

Studio Plant, 8" x 10" oil on canvas