Celebration

Celebration  14 x 11 Original Watercolor  $450

I painted this yesterday on my birthday.  I was celebrating me!  This was the first time I'd given myself time to paint since summer, and it was great.  I used  aureolin yellow,  peacock blue and winsor purple for almost all of the painting, with just a touch of winsor red at the top.  

I am now offering Celebration paintings.  Choose a size and some colors and tell me who the painting is for. It can be for yourself or a loved one, or in memory of someone.  I will go quietly within, ask for guidance and create a special painting to celebrate the chosen person.  I will be doing the first ones for special low prices, especially for small paintings.  I'm sure they'll make fabulous gifts!

Historic House Commission

16 x 23 Commission

I just completed this.  The home is in Canton Center, Connecticut, and looks much like in the painting.  The General Store and school house are historic representations with creative sizing and placement. The church behind the house is actually still there.

Another House Portrait

New Hartford Home

11 x 15

I just finished this commission of a New Hartford, Connecticut home. I'm planning on going back to my underwater series, possibly starting with a Parrot Fish and coral.

Another Rooster

Rooster II
8 x 10 Commission

Reference photo by Zhang Yuan. Another commission for my friend. Pond in background.

Gregory the Corn Snake

Gregory

5 x 7

Leif will be eight tomorrow and this is his birthday present. He requested it but will be surprised because he didn't think I was going to do it. Gregory is his sweet, 4 1/2 foot corn snake. We got her on Freecycle a year and a half ago.

Montauk Lighthouse at Turtle Cove

Montauk Lighthouse at Turtle Cove

11.5 x 16 Signed Giclee print:  $99
7 x 10 Signed Giclee print:  $49
Note Card: $2.50

I painted this commission for a friend. He took the photo at Turtle Cove in N.Y.

House Portrait

14 x 22

Sold

I finished this commission yesterday. The house is in Simsbury, CT. It took about 45 hours of painting over almost a month. Sorry for the lack of posts!

House and garden portrait

I finished this house portrait on Friday for a woman who is giving it as a gift to her parents. Next, she will give them note cards of the painting for a Christmas gift. The house is in Vernon, Connecticut. Nice garden!

Barred Owl

Barred Owl 8 x 10 Commission 2009

Limited edition signed giclee print: $65

Note cards available

This Barred Owl lives in Vermont.

Cat Portrait

Midget My First Cat Portrait

8 x 10

I finished this commission yesterday. It was a nice change from painting dogs. I took some video of the painting process. It will be my first watercolor demonstration video, once I succeed in editing it.

Cocker Spaniels

Jake and Lucy

14 x 11

2009

I finished this commission last week. Now I am starting my first cat portrait featuring a long haired beauty and a potted plant.

New England home in Autumn

New England home in Autumn

11 x 15

Commission completed Dec. 20, 2008

I finished painting this Canton, Connecticut home on Friday after many long hours. If you recognize the house, please don't rush out and call the owners because it is a surprise for one of them! The person who commissioned it hasn't even seen it yet. Jeff just taught me how to take a photo of the painting with indoor lighting, and here it is. I thought I was going to have to wait for the snow to stop to shoot outside like I have done in the past. Thanks Jeff!

Sorry for the lack of posts this month. Thanksgiving, lots of no school for the kids and a zillion other things have limited my painting time. Now I'm ready to paint more and the kids have 12 days off of school in a row starting 1:10 on Tuesday! I WILL paint anyway! Now that this painting is done I am going back to the birds. I am almost done with a Yellow Warbler. :)

Bald Eagle

This is a PHOTO, not a painting. (Yet.)

I took this photo while paddling on Lake Wentworth, in Wolfeboro, N.H., over the weekend. It will make a great reference photo for a painting, when I get a chance to do it.

I apologize for the lack of posts. I do have another Loon Lake painting, complete with loons, that I will post as soon as it is done. Meanwhile, I have been commissioned to paint two 16 x 20 German Shepherd dog portraits which will keep me busy for a while, and possibly a third dog. I went to New Hampshire this past weekend to take photos for a painting my friend wants me to do. We are deciding on a view of her camp from the lake and/or a panoramic view of the mountains as seen on the far side of the lake. It is great to have commissions! I just don't know when I will get back to the Neuschwanstein Castle, or my bird series. Life is good.

Loon Lake Camp Painting is done

Loon Lake Camp II

16 x 20

2008

I finished this commissioned painting today after about 40 hours of painting over 3 1/2 weeks. The reference is shown in the July 6 post. I sure am glad it is done! Now I need to get it to the Adirondacks, possibly after having Giclee prints made first.

Kayaking to another commission

We are back from a week in the Adirondacks. Had a nice time with the loons and ducks. I got some beautiful photos out on Loon Lake. My favorite is Mommy Mallard duck and her ducklings. I look forward to painting it. I'll crop it and make the water more interesting and it should make a sweet painting.

I won't be getting to it very soon though...








This photo is a Loon Lake "camp". The tennis courts are behind and to the right. I went kayaking around the lake and found myself another commission! (See post dated April 1, 2008 for the first one.) I love the stone chimney. This is going to be a 16 x 20 and is going to keep me busy for a while! The Neuschwanstein Castle and the duckies will have to wait.

I'll post other paintings now and then so you will have paintings to see while I am busy with this commission. Maybe I'll post the work in progress.

Jeff took a video of Loon Lake. I think it is one of his nicest! It even shows a loon. Soon Jeff will be buying a real video camera! View his video at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ppbwg6M6Vnw

Kayaking to a Commission

Loon Lake Camp

2006 Commission

18 x 24

My family and I took a vacation in the Adirondacks in July of 2006. Our friend let us use his camp on Loon Lake for a week. This is not a painting of his camp.

We spent many hours wandering around the lake in both kayaks and a borrowed Adirondack Guide boat. I usually had my trusty digital camera with me. Luckily my children were in the guide boat with Jeff when I stumbled upon this "camp".

There was a man sitting on the porch enjoying the lovely day. I thought his camp was beautiful and Jeff suggested I take a picture of it. Because I am obsessed with painting and therefore photos are only to be used as references and not entities in themselves, I wasn't going to take the picture. Then I got a great idea!

I kayaked up to the man and asked, "Would you like an original watercolor painting of your camp?" He said, "Yes". I just happened to have images of my paintings on my camera, so I clambered out of the boat and on to their deck and showed the man and his wife what my art work was like. About this time Jeff and the kids paddled away to another part of the lake.

Next, I got back in to my kayak and took about a half zillion photos of their camp from different angles and distances. The couple chose a photo and picked a size. I kayaked away with a check for half the painting. Pretty cool, huh? We are going back again this summer. I'll have to remember always to keep my camera and business cards in my boat!

I also took lots of photos of the Adirondacks when I wasn't in my boat. The painting below was originally called Adirondack Serenity but I shortened it to Serenity. The price includes the mat and frame.

Serenity

2007

16 x 20

$875