Red Hollyhock- sold

Oil on panel, 5" x 7"

I have been a member of an artists' co-op for almost 2 years now, located in the town of Warren RI and called "Made in Warren", even though most of the artists don't have studios in Warren. But, we are all residents of nearby towns. This painting is currently part of my display there, framed and ready for hanging. Stop by if you can, there's a lot of really nice work for sale.

(And, we're looking for new members.)

Red Leaves- sold

Oil on canvas, 6" x 6"

A little landscape from the East Bay Bike Path this fall.

Artists for the Bay Show and Sale

It's that time of year again! Save the Bay is having their annual Artists for the Bay Show and Sale, opening on November 30. These four little paintings of mine will all be there, along with paintings, jewelry and other work from over 60 local artists. Half of the proceeds go to support Save the Bay.

 Oil on panel, 5" x 7"- sold

Oil on panel, 6" x 6"

Oil on panel, 5" x 7"

Oil on panel, 6" x 6"

Beachwalkers- sold

Oil, diptych, 2- 6"x 6" panels

I don't usually paint diptychs so this was a fun challenge. The question now is, frame them together or frame them separately? I'm thinking separate, using floater frames to show up to the edge of the panel.

Cows by the ocean-sold

Oil on panel, 5" x 7"

These cows in Little Compton, RI have it pretty good- free range, hay fed, with expansive views of the ocean.
Having visited Puerto Rico two years ago, I'm really stunned at the news of the devastation caused by  the latest hurricane. I will donate the entire price of the painting to relief there.

Sunset- sold

Oil, 9" x12"

The sky was really interesting on this particular evening so I got in my car and hunted for a good spot to observe the sunset. As is often the case, I ended up on Veterans Memorial Parkway in East Providence, not far from home.

I'm celebrating- this is my 1004th blog post! 

Green

Gouache and pencil, approx. 7.5" x 5.75"

 When I parked in front of the library, across the street from this house which I wanted to paint, I thought I'd be inconspicuous. Cars are constantly coming and going from this spot. I was wrong, though, the woman who lived there saw me staring at her house and came out to ask me why. It's too bad that it looks like you're casing the joint when all you want to do is follow your muse! Fortunately she seemed quite happy when I told her I was an artist and showed her my sketch, and no cops were called.

Transparent- Sold

Oil on panel, 6" x 8"
Before the sun goes down these flowers look almost like stained glass.

It's hollyhock time-sold

Ever since I found this garden with hollyhocks by the water in East Providence I've been really intrigued with them. Something about the simplicity of the shape of the flowers(not that they're simple to paint) and the light keeps me coming back for more.

Snow Patch

Oil on board, about 8" x 10"

I did get out once this winter to paint, on a mild day when the snow patches were melting fast, at a wildlife preserve near my house.  It's a little late to be posting this now that the daffodils are blooming, I know, but I like it too much to wait for next winter ( :

Portrait drawing and painting

I have a number of classes in the works for this spring, starting in mid-March. 

Portrait Drawing, 2 Wednesday mornings starting March 15 at the Portsmouth Arts Guild, Portsmouth RI.

Portrait Painting, Wednesday mornings at the Portsmouth Arts Guild, March 29-April 26.

Portrait Workshop, April 7 & 8 at the Westport Art Group, Westport MA..

Portrait Painting, Tuesday mornings at the South County Art Association, Kingston RI, starting April 11.

For members of the Handicraft Club in Providence, portrait classes will start Fridays, April 29 for 4 weeks.

 And, Monday mornings in June I'll have a figure drawing class at the Wickford Art Association, Wickford, RI.

palette knifes and odd shapes

I've really been enjoying the class I'm taking with George Nick. Each week there's a new assignment. We started with a red/green still life, 16 x 20, then a blue/orange cloth, in a square, 20 x 20, a yellow/purple interior in a circle, and a long narrow landscape, 8 x 32. All had to be painted with ONLY six tone-values ( think six pieces of colored paper) and, after the first red/green painting, they all had to be painted with a palette knife.

The boots (or still life) had to be painted on a 14 x 20 oval. (My oval is a little wobbly.) Painting a relatively large painting with a palette knife week after week gets you out of the habit of being too fussy and detail oriented and skimpy with the paint, and the odd shapes force you to think about the design of the canvas. Using only 6 colors makes you combine and simplify shapes and boy, do you spend a lot of time mixing the exact right color. When you're limited to six, each one needs to be right.

Last Saturday, George asked me if I ADORED the background color of the boots. Strong word, adored. All I could say was that I really liked it. Could I have mixed a better color? I don't know, but he made his point. What's painting about, anyhow?