Crown Jewel

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This is the tippy top of my town's municipal building. To my mind, it is the crown jewel of Sag Harbor. It is visible from the bridge when you drive into town, and you can see it from virtually any spot along Main Street if you look up!

Peek-a-Blue

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I took my favorite blue bottle outside today and plunked an orange zinnia in it. Then I scrambled to catch the colors quickly and stay ahead of a swiftly moving sun. Plein aire.... an amazing challenge and so good for this artist's soul.

A Cup of Flower

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I was not in the mood for a cup of coffee this morning. I decided on a cup of flower.

Got Each Other's Backs

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Here's a private commission I just completed. I worked from a photograph given to me by these adult children's father. As I was painting it, I imagined how proud he and his wife must feel about the beautiful family they have raised. I thought about the lifetime of comfort and strength brothers and sisters can give each other if they so choose.  And the dog, their furry mascot, won my heart with his evident loyalty. I feel especially honored to have been asked to do this commission because I knew this little family way back when.....

Yup, here they are back in the day... probably painted about 10 years ago!

Crowded Sill

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I painted this from a black and white photograph as part of this week's Daily Paintworks Challenge. There was great freedom in choosing the color palette completely from my imagination. I must say, the color charts I rely on while painting came in very handy because this challenge was really about values. That is, the darkness or lightness of a color. My color charts run from the darkest value of a color to the lightest. So, if I squinted at the photograph and then squinted at my color chart, I could see what color to mix to get the appropriate value. Just before completeing, I took a photo of my painting and eliminated the color to see how I did with the values. You be the judge!

Garden 'Bud'dies"

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     Here's another plein aire piece that I painted using only three colors - red, yellow and blue. I painted this on an overcast day, and while that made it more comfortable for me physically, it made it a little more difficult for me as an artist. The very definite darks and lights that a sunny day naturally creates with highlights and shadow were missing. So the variations in the greens were subtle and especially challenging. The silver lining of this cloudy day was that it made drawing attention to the focus of the painting, the little zinnia buddies - easier than usual.  This painting outside stuff is teaching me lots. I am going to keep at it with a very new respect for plein aire painters!

Almost Ready

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I went way, way, way out of my comfort zone for this one! I painted OUTDOORS for starters. I only used THREE colors:  cadmium yellow light, cadmium red and ultramarine blue, and I used THREE brushes: large, medium and small. In addition, I finished the painting in ONE HOUR.  Why such strict parameters, you ask? Well, it was another Daily Paintworks Challenge! I must admit, I felt like a beginner today... especially when it took me about an hour just to remember how to unfold my plein aire easel. Tough as this one was, these challenges are great. I have new found respect for plein aire painters and it was nice to teach this old dog a new trick.