"Blue Heron"

21x39 watercolor, framed $400

One of Florida's most gorgeous birds, the blue heron painted in a tall format with a minimum background---just a few leaves at the bottom of the composition. There is plenty of detail in the bird, so click on the painting to see a larger view. It is framed under glass with a dusty blue metal frame that is very contemporary. It was hard to photograph because of reflections in the glass and also, not all the foliage is shown at the bottom.

"Hidden Cafe"

6x6 acrylic on hardboard $60

Here is a little hidden cafe in a tropical setting, maybe the Keys! It is just a figment of my imagination, but it is the kind of little place I like to visit and try something special. I painted this very loosely and "painterly", but I like the look and the bright colors. Hope you like it!

"Red Hibiscus"

8x10 oil on canvas panel, framed $150

The Hibiscus are blooming profusely in my yard, especially the red ones. I have some pink, yellow and coral, but the red are the showest. This painting is framed nicely in a wide 4" frame with both a tan linen insert and a green painted insert.

"Key West House"
5 1/2x8 watercolor on Arches paper
$45

This small watercolor was inspired by a trip to the Keys, which is very colorful .There are many little cottages painted bright colors with picket fences and tropical foliage. It is a very quaint place.
I'm reminded of the Keys today because the sky here is cerulean blue without a cloud. It's a lovely day in South Florida! SOLD

"Flower Pot Man"

16x20 watercolor on archival watercolor canvas, framed

$300

I painted this plein air in Heathcote Botanical Gardens, my first watercolor on archival watercolor canvas and I loved the difference between it and watercolor paper. It has the same texture almost as any canvas, but the watercolor paint doesn't just "sit there"; it does seem to absorb the color, but not as much as paper, so I got a very light and airy look, which for this subject was perfect! A very fun alternative to watercolor paper. I was really pleased with the soft colors.

"Adirondack Chairs"
9x12 acrylic on stretched canvas $175 SOLD

It has gone from Spring to hot weather here in Florida; today it is 88 degrees! At the pool where I go to exercise every day, they have added bright yellow Adirondack chairs this year, so I just had to paint some! But this is the lake shore and my chairs are white, but it still gives the flavor of trying to cool down in hot weather. The colors also are very peaceful in this painting and I added a good amount of shadows to give that coolness. Look at this for a few minutes and feel the peacefulness!

"The Old Barn"

11x14 acrylic on stretched canvas, edges painted, too. $225

More memories! Old barns are fascinating everywhere we see them. The tin roofs show rust and the colors are beautiful! The wood sometimes is oak or chestnut, always weathered. A friend gave me a piece of weathered barn wood made into a shelf for my studio and it is so interesting and has lots of character. When I travel, I'm always photographing barns for painting reference.

"Please Open the Gate"

6x6 acrylic on hardboard $60

I thought I'd paint something a little different! When I moved to Florida, I had no idea that the cattle industry is so large here. We have lots of dairies and beef ranches, and just driving to town I see lots of beautiful cattle! In the fields, they are accompanied by Egrets and I always say to myself,"a bird for every cow". Sometimes an Egret can be seen standing on a cow's back. I think as the cow eats, the birds hope for little insects that are disrupted and fly up. Anyway, in this painting, I think these cows would like the gate opened! SOLD

"Watermelon on the Porch"

18x24 acrylic on stretched canvas $300

This painting is very decorative and detailed. It is of the kind of summer porch we all dream of, complete with watermelon and lemonade. Click on it to see a bigger size and all the details.

"Day's End"

18x24 egg tempera on hardboard, framed beautifully $500

This painting clearly tells the story of a hardworking farmer who has been digging potatoes as his last chore of the day. Now is the time to "porch sit" awhile and think of many things. Darkness is settling and there is light in the window. The colors, the texture and the shadows all contribute to the mood of this painting. SOLD

"Porch Broom"

6x6 egg tempera on hardboard $85

I really love painting with egg tempera. You layer thin layers and go from light to dark. I like the purplish shadows here and the texture. It is hard to get the 6x6 format in the photo, so the painting actually has another step and is a little brighter than it shows here. Click on it to see more detail. Happy Porch Sitting to you!

"Sunny Porch"
8x10 acrylic on stretched canvas, unframed $95

Here is another painting in my porch sitting series. It was fun to paint the sun streaming into the porch. I love old wicker on a porch, don't you?I hope where you live, it is porch-sitting weather!

"Red Rockingchair"

6x6 acrylic on hardboard $60

Another of my porch sitting series! An old lady quilter has just left the porch for some reason and there sits her scrap basket and on the bannisters hangs a quilt--could it be it needs some patching? Anyway, it is a cozy little painting and I love the purplish shadows. Click once for a detailed view.

SOLD

"Porch Sittin' Time"

8x10 acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas$150

In the South, we say it is porch sittin' time. That means it is Spring and time to enjoy spending time on the porch, in the yard, visiting with neighbors and other good things pertaining to Spring! We have had a nice Spring so far in Florida and hopefully it won't get really hot for a while! I am painting a little series of porch paintings. I am going to resolve to spend more time on my porch, just sitting with a good book and a cool drink enjoying nature, or if I must be busy, then I will move my easel outside to paint there. Sounds like a plan! Click once on it for a bigger view and twice for mega view!

"A Granny House"

9x12 acrylic on stretched canvas, unframed $100

One of my favorite places in Florida is McIntosh, an 1800's town. It is lovely and everything there is old, with plenty of stories and memories. I painted this from photos I took (keep in mind that an artist takes artistic liscense with photograghs and edits a bit--in this case, I added the purple flowers and played up the shadows).And I call it "A Granny House" because it reminds me of my own grandmother's clapboard house with that old chimney.

"Reflextions and Crazy Quilt"

11x15 watercolor $250.

I finally got this one finished. What alot of intricate work! The whites are where the paper is left showing, so you can see how much work that is, not to mention the reflections in the glass and the crazy quilt with all the briar stitching painted in. It was challanging and fun, though, and I hope you like it! Double click to see a bigger version.

"Ardess House with Flower Box"

8x10 acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas $95

I painted this from sketches and photos from Northern Ireland. It is a windowbox of flowers and the window reflects another part of the property. The houses there are really, really old and part of the plaster has fallen off revealing the old brick and mortar. The colors in the wall next to the flowers really caught my eye, and my imagination. Wonder who all had lived in this house?

I am working on a very hard watercolor with alot of lace and reflections in glass. It is time consuming...already about 6 hours and I'm wondering when it will ever be finished! But it is fun and I hope to post it in a day or two. I may have to do a small one to post before I get this watercolor finished. Keep watching! By the way, the black along the edge of this painting of the windowbox is not part of the painting. I take the photos outside and it was so windy, I couldn't see what I was doing and could hardly even hold the camera!!

"Still Life with Churn and Yo-Yo's"

11x14 acrylic on canvas panel, framed in 2 1/2" wide wood frame $150

The yo-yo quilts are so much fun to paint, so here is another painting using the yo-yo quilt. And do you remember grandmaw's churn? This one is a mini version of the old wooden churn. My own grandmother used a crock churn to make fresh butter, and I remember waiting to get a bite of butter off the dasher.

"Zucchini Family and Yo-Yo's"

6x6 oil on hardboard $75

I went to the flea market Saturday to buy vegetables and saw this little family of round zucchini. I thought they were so cute and I had never seen the round ones! So I immediately thought about painting them, Momma Zucchini and Poppa Zucchini with all the little kiddos. So here they are with a yo-yo quilt around them. I'm sure you are familiar with yo-yo's, but if not they are circles with a thread run around them and gathered up to make a cute little "yo-yo". Old-timers would use up their fabric scraps thus, sew the yo-yo's together to make quilts and table runners, pillows, etc. I thought the roundness of them would compliment the round zucchini in this painting.

"The Gazebo"

6x6 acrylic on hardboard $60

My photography on this was not very good and the actual painting is brighter and appears a lot sunnier. But, I suppose I will learn to be a better photographer of the paintings as I go along! This was done quickly in the studio, but it does make one wish to be outside relaxing! It makes me think of the azaleas blooming in Kentucky where I grew up. My mother always had a beautiful yard full of azaleas and pink dogwood. There are no dogwood trees this far South and the azalea blooms are around for a very short time. SOLD

"Cabin in the Woods"

6x6 acrylic on hardboard $60

This painting is of a replica of an old Florida cabin and is in Heathcote Botanical Garden in Ft. Pierce. I have painted it twice before at different angles and sold both. There is something endearing about a little cabin. I don't think we would actually like to live in a one room cabin, especially a large family, but it seems kind of romantic to imagine the children playing in the yard, Dad out hunting and Momma cooking at an open hearth. Maybe we can imagine the warmth and love there inspite of the hardships. As you look at it, what do you imagine?

"Red Blooms"

7x10 watercolor, unframed $50

This is a plein air painting done at Heathcote Botanical Gardens, one of my favorite places to paint. I love the Spanish Moss in the tree behind the flowers. I tried to keep this one simple; sometimes less is really more. Double click the painting for a larger view.

"Carolina Wrens Building a Nest"

16x20 acrylic on canvas, framed nicely $500

I sat my Dad's old garden boots on the porch, hoping the wrens would build a nest in them. Instead, they selected the same flower pot they had used the year before! This painting is just a bit of my imagination! As you can see, Poppa is having a struggle trying to get the leather lace into the nest, while Momma patiently waits. I am still in the boot/bird mode! One of my favorite things about this painting is that the shape and way the boots are placed are exactly like my Dad used to stand. I can just picture him standing looking at his garden. The best thing about a painting is that it can bring back memories everytime you look at it. Truly " a picture is worth a thousand words"!

"Mockingbird Nest"

6x6 oil on hardboard $60

The Mockingbird is the state bird of Florida. Every year I have a pair nesting near the house and they don't seem to mind me in "their" territory. Their eggs are among the most beautiful in the bird world, being a delicate blue complimented with soft brown spots. Their songs are beautiful, as well. My Dad used to say that they get so happy singing that they jump straight up in the air. This is true because I have seen one on a post singing and all at once he would jump straight up about three feet in the air and land back on the post, still singing. SOLD.

A word about hardboard: this is "Masonite" that I prime 3 coats with Gesso and then sand lightly. It is thin, but sturdy. I paint the edges, too, so that way these little paintings can be sat on a wall shelf or on a tabletop easel without being framed. Because so many people lack alot of wall space, many collect these small works of art rather than large, framed pieces. If you do want to hang them, they are light enough that a hanger can be glued to the back. Also, they are reasonably priced so starting a collection of small paintings won't break the bank!

"Nesting Egrets"

16x20 acrylic on stretched canvas, framed in 3"wide white frame $500

I just can't resist the egrets, especially when they are nesting. Their feathers are lovely then. I did a lot of detail in this painting, yet made the background very subdued, so the details of the nest and plumage would show well. This is one of those paintings that takes several days. Often I have two or three things going at once, not to mention a head full of ideas for the future! I finished a small oil painting yesterday, too, and will post it tomorrow. This is just too much fun! Hope you like this one. Double click on it to see a bigger view.

"Springtime Mallards"

11x14 acrylic on canvas $300

There are three mallards always together in the canal---a female and two males. Usually the males swim on either side of her, protecting I suppose. They were together last Spring and here they are again! I wonder if there will be baby mallards later! And if she lays eggs, will the males both stay around? Interesting.

This one is framed in a chestnut-colored brown wooden frame. It would look great in a den or office.

"Yellow Hibiscus"

8 1/2x11 1/2 watercolor, unframed $50

This little painting is of a yellow Hibiscus, one of Florida's outstanding shrubs, and is the official flower of Hawaii. They come is many colors and probably the most common is scarlet. All are lovely and I often pick one for a vase inside, but the bloom will only last one day, with or without water!

"Bougainvillea"

21x28 watercolor, unframed $300

This watercolor painting is of the beautiful bougainvillea growing by my studio. I'm so glad it withstood the coldest winter in Florida in many years. It is a riot of blooms now and reaching for the sky!

Happy Easter to all. In the midst of all our family gatherings and children's egg hunts, let us remember the real meaning of Easter. Christ died on the cross, was buried, and arose again so that we might have life everlasting! That is something to celebrate!

"Boy's Antique Boots" #4

6x6 oil on hardboard

Here is the last painting of the series of four of the little boy's boots. I couldn't get the whole painting into the photo for some reason, so there is more background around the boots. I love the touch of red and purple in the background. I hope you've enjoyed seeing the same subject in different mediums. I think the most challenging one is watercolor. For one thing, mistakes are harder to correct and also you use no white paint---white is the paper showing through. So which of the four is your favorite?

"Boy's Antique Boots"

6x6 watercolor $60.00

Here is the third painting in the little boy's boot series. As you can see, I faced them in a different direction and will do so on the fourth painting, too. I did some dry brush work in this painting, which shows up better when you enlarge the photo. I used 140 lb. cold pressed paper, so the dry brush gives some good texture.

I hope you enjoy this one. So far, which one is your favorite? Tomorrow, hopefully, the last one of the four will be finished---an oil. I've been thinking how charming they would be all together on the wall of a little boy's room! I'll try to photograph them all together as a grouping later and post that.

It is another gorgeous day in Florida. I have my studio windows open and the air is fresh with almost no humidity.