Crackers and a sandwich

Oil on canvas, 20" x 16"
I had to fool around with this one, eliminating a lot of clutter in the background- chairs, blankets, towels, people. I decided to just keep the towel on the ground, the little cooler and the seagull in the top left. Together they make kind of a "Z" that brings your eye down and then back up.

A still life

Oil on board, 8" x 10"
I got together with some friends recently- plein air painters chomping at the bit to get outside- and we painted a still life. It was nice having someone else set it up, as that's always the hardest part. Composition, composition...

Tables in the sun-sold

Oil on canvas, 16" x 20"

The Church doors

Oil on canvas, 18" x 18"
This church is in Boston, near Copley Square.

The red coat- sold

Oil on panel, 8" x 8"
This is a quick sketch for a larger piece. I loved all the bits of red that popped up here and there. If you've ever been to New York in the winter, you know that almost everyone wears black. Those who don't are wearing gray or navy blue. So, my thanks to that one renegade woman who decided to wear red.

Hangin' at Rick's

Oil on canvas, 11" x 14"
Lots of paintings started, not so many finished. I think this one is done; the hardest part when using photos is not overworking it. That's not so hard when painting a landscape, but when you're painting figures it can be hard to know how much rendering to do, and how much to leave to the viewer's imagination.

The Pink Lamp-sold

Oil on canvas, 11" x 14"

The Farmer's Market

Oil on linen, 8" x 10"

And the winner is...

Oil on panel, 8" x 10"
Good bartenders are good conversationalists. We had a great conversation with this guy about the Academy Awards, which were going to happen that night. Then he let me take his picture. What a guy.

Dinner and drinks- sold

Oil on canvas, 14" x 18"
Time sure does fly when you're under the gun. On days when I'm not teaching, I start painting by around 7:30AM and before I know it, it's lunchtime, and then it's dinnertime. I probably won't be blogging as much because I'm working on larger pieces, but I'll still be posting at least once a week.

Signs of spring

Oil on panel, 8" x 10"

Title needed-sold

Oil on linen, 8" x 10"
I've been offered a one person show at the FAN Gallery in Philadelphia in September, so for the past week I've been stretching canvases and organizing my subject matter to facilitate things. I'll need 30-40 paintings for this show- yikes!- so I'm going to be a very busy girl for months to come.
I'm not very good at coming up with titles for paintings- your suggestions for the one above are welcome!