zinnias-SOLD

This past week was my birthday. I was in the mood to paint these cheerful zinnias that I picked from my yard because they remind me of birthday cupcakes. They are so easy to grow, and great colors. This year I planted my usual zinnias and then this type that I haven't seen before. They are gorgeous deep pastel colors and shaped kind of frizzy-ish, like fireworks. I love them so much that i bought another pack of seeds the other day and planted them on a Saturday morning and they were all already up on the following Monday morning. That is fast!!!!

These are oil on gessoed panels, both 8"x8", unframed $125 each or framed for $150. Plus $10 for shipping

Garden Stairs, Falls Park, Greenville, SC

I braved the oppressive heat to paint outdoors today in Greenville's beautiful Falls Park. These stone stairs with the tree arching above it always attracts me. It's especially beautiful in the humid morning light. Sweat was pouring down my back and off my face as I painted. I did it rather quickly knowing the light was changing fast and I was miserable!!!
10"x8" oil painting on panel.
$150 unframed
$175 framed
plus $10 shipping

Nebraska-like sky in SC

The bonus of painting in a beautiful place like Jones Gap State Park,is when I'm done, I can eat my pb & j sandwich in a gorgeous spot and then take a nice hike on one of the trails. I didn't get much of a hike though, because although it was sunny on my side of the mountain, I could hear some pretty serious sounding thunder behind it. So, I quickly got back to my car and made it home just before it reached my house. Good timing so I could bring in the cushions from the deck and roll down the umbrella before the high winds hit. I took pictures of the approaching storm from my garage. It looked alot like a Nebraska sky.

Jones Gap State Park-Middle Saluda River

I took a little drive up to one of my favorite spots today- Jones Gap State Park. Rather than using my pochade box and small panels, I wanted to attempt to paint the river on a large canvas, so I used my french easel. It was fun, but the sun was constantly in and out, so I spent the entire time just drawing the scene and plan to go back, hopefully, this week to finish it. I'm hoping that when i go back, it will either be a cloudy day or sunny the whole time. This is a photo of the underpainting. I really enjoyed painting larger, and plan to do more of it, now that I have finally learned how to stretch my own canvas.
The bonus of painting there, is when I'm done, I can eat my pb & j sandwich in a gorgeous spot and then take a nice hike on the trail. I didn't get much of a hike though, because although it was sunny on my side of the mountain, I could hear some pretty serious sounding thunder behind it. So, I quickly got back to my car and made it home just before it reached my house. Good timing so I could bring in the cushions from the deck and roll down the umbrella before the high winds hit. I took pictures of the approaching storm from my garage. It looked alot like a Nebraska sky.

Rose Garden at Furman Univ.

A couple of weeks ago,I had the joy of spending a morning in the most incredible rose garden I have ever seen. The gardener told me that I had picked the perfect time to be there, while the roses where in full bloom. I wish my painting could do the vivid colors of the roses justice. I painted this on location there, under a shady spot in the corner of the garden. I could live there, I love it so much. I must say, I was quite overwhelmed by the sights and had such a hard time deciding what to paint. Once I found my location, what a challenge it was to try to keep everything organized. The light was changing, so I had to stop after an hour and a half, leaving out the gazebo. Today, I worked from photos that I took that morning, and painted the gazebo into the scene.
Furman Rose Garden
9x12 oil
$200 unframed
$225 framed
plus $10 shipping

I'm back to blogging.

Wow, I knew it's been a while since I've posted anything on my blog, but I didn't realize my last one was in February!!! I have been painting, but, pretty sporadically. Life just gets busy sometimes, but I'm definitely looking forward to being more consistent in the very near future. I did this painting of the little pony back in March, but I was having photo editor problems on my computer and wasn't able to crop it, etc until just recently. It's working now, so I don't have that to stop me.

Some good things have happened lately, such as winning second place in the Artisphere Artists of the Upstate Art Competition. That was a great surprise. Last year, my entry wasn't even accepted and then to win 2nd place was more than I had hoped for. In late April I drove to Buford, GA to compete in a plein air competition there. What a dream come true to be able to walk in the backyards and gardens of some of the beautiful old homes there, and set up my easel to paint. I will post one of the paintings from there soon. I didn't win anything, but it was a great experience and I met alot of really nice artists. Thanks for reading my blog. I will be posting more paintings soon.

11x14 oil painting on Raymar Panel

$275 unframed

$375 framed

$10 shipping

Acceptance!!

Woo Hoo!! This painting was accepted in the Richeson 75 International Show! My first attempt at a national show, I'm very pleased!