"Tropical Leaf"

7 x 10 watercolor on Arches paper $55

I love all the shades of green and tans and purples in the tropical foliage growing everywhere here in Florida. The tips of the leaf has some heat damage. What hot, tropical weather we are having! However, I will be soon be near the Irish Sea where nice sea breezes will be blowing and the temperature is about 65 this time of year.

I hope to have a few nice watercolor paintings to post when I return.

"Two Palms"

5 x 7 watercolor framed, $35

This little painting is a study of palm trees against a colorful sky. What appears to be the moon ( and actually looks pretty cool) is the flash, as this painting is framed with glass over it! A nice little painting to begin a collection.

"Tree Arch"

9 x 12 acrylic on stretched canvas, framed, $200

I painted this using photos and sketches from Northern Ireland. The trees were so fascinating----the way they framed the arch of the house and the play of shadows on the greenest grass you would want to see!

In the middle of next week I will be in Northern Ireland on a painting holiday. I will be painting with my family, instructed by Grahame Booth. Looking forward to a wonderful time and alot of painting there!

"I'm Patiently Waiting" SOLD

6 x 6 acrylic on hardboard $45

You decide what this kitty is waiting for---maybe to be fed or to be played with. She also looks slightly quilty of something--you decide!

What a rainy day we are having today, off and on with blowing rain. I got drenched earlier at the gas station! Maybe that is what happened to this kitty, too!

"Textures of Nature"

16 1/2 x 22 1/2 watercolor, matted and framed $500 SOLD

The contrast of the delicate flowers in front of the rough textured bark make this painting interesting. The texture was rendered using the dry brush technique. A color is washed on, then using very little water, but some paint on the brush, the brush is gently stroked over the uneven paper. It is slow work, but completely worth the effort to obtain the rough texture of the bark in this way. One of my favorite paintings, I hope you like it too. Click on it for a larger view.

"Study in Green and Yellow" SOLD

12 x 16 watercolor on Arches paper $250

I finished the still life with all the greens and yellows. Some parts of it, I am pleased with and other parts not so much. It was fun to do, but a little challenging and hard, too. Watercolor is a hard medium, but it can be stunning and that what what I was hoping for, so I didn't quite make it! The grey looking spot on the left is something in my camera. I tried cleaning the lens and that didn't work. I have dropped this poor camera a number of times and have had it out in the brush and every where, so it must have something inside the lens where I can not get to it. I may have to invest in another. Well, I hope you like this painting. Your input is always appreciated.

Still life watercolor painting in progress.

This is the larger still life I am working on right now. It is challenging--so many patterns as well as reflections in the shiny colander. So far, it is looking pretty good--I have tons of work to do yet. Check my blog out later this week to see how it turns out. Click on it for a larger view and you can get an idea of where I am heading with this.

"Painted Lady"

6 x 8 watercolor $40

I have always loved Victorian houses and always have wanted to restore one, but it requires knowledge and money! Plus you have to find the Victorian house first. So, I sort of restore them in my mind by painting them. "Painted Ladies" usually have many colors on them, thus the name. It is fun to just day dream about this one, who might have lived there, etc. Enjoy!!

I am painting a large watercolor---a still life I sat up and it is taking some time. My grandson, Austin, is visiting again, too, before school starts, so if I get behind on my posts, you will know why!

"Chores Finished"

6 x 8 1/2 watercolor $45

The old rake is leaning up against the house, chores are finished and twilight is coming! I used my favorite purple in this painting, which is so interesting with the green and orange of the tropical leaves. Hope you like it!

"Fruit and Fiesta"

8 1/2 x 11 watercolor $55

Another piece of Fiestaware was used to set up this still life, plus fruit and lacy doily. I think I enjoy doing still life paintings as much as anything---I like setting up the objects which takes much thought actually. And watercolor is so challenging and takes practice to be able to control it instead of it controlling you! I used a minimum of tube colors for this, and I like the way the colors turned out. Click to see details.

"Spatterware and Strawberries"

6 x 6 acrylic on hardboard panel $45

Another little still life I sat up using some delicious strawberries and a little spatterware pitcher. An embroidered piece is in the background. This is painted around the edges, so you can display on a shelf or easel.

"House at Heathcote"

17 x 23 watercolor, matted and framed $500

This painting was done plein air at Heathcote Gardens. The house belonged to the lady who gave the community the land for a public garden. The house is used as an office now, but it is very attractive nestled in the tropical foliage. I painted this mostly wet into wet, that is letting colors run together and blend while wet.

Here is a weather update in South Florida::::HOT with capital letters. On the back porch, the temperature is 102 in the shade!! The baby Carolina Wrens on the backporch who were in a hanging basket finally left the nest yesterday. There were four of them and as cute as anything! The mother and daddy wrens certainly had a time keeping up with them and getting them into the woods for safety. It was fun to watch.

"Sew-Sew"

6 x 6 acrylic on hardboard panel $45

My mother made this little yellow embroidered pin cushion for me a long time ago and so I added some sewing notions to it for this little still life painting. It brings back many pleasant memories of mother sewing for me when I was growing up. She made most of her and my clothes and also numerous quilts. Sometimes you just long for simpler times!

"Irish Entrance"

6 x 8 watercolor framed in a white "Shabby Chic" frame $55

I painted this from photos and sketches done in Northern Ireland. The hydrangeas were in full bloom and just gorgeous. I will be going there again soon for a painting holiday and can't wait! It will be wonderful to get out of the heat for awhile, for one thing!

"Cherries Fiesta" SOLD

6 x 6 acrylic on hardboard panel $45

I sat up this little still life painting and could hardly paint it for wanting to eat the delicious Rainier Cherries! I called it "Cherries Fiesta" because I used the little Fiestaware bowl to hold the cherries. I bought it a couple of weeks ago at Red Wing Potteries in Minnesota. Fiestaware was first produced way back in the 20's and is still popular. I remember my girl friend's mother setting a beautiful table with it back when I was a girl in the 50's. Back to the painting, I enjoyed doing this... the shadows were fun and the red and yellows in the cherries contrasting with the turquoise bowl are very striking.

"Summer Daisies"

6 x 6 acrylic on hardboard panel $45

In this painting, I was trying to paint more "painterly", looser and less structured. I like realism but want a painterly look as well. I don't want it to look like a photograph. I find this harder to do, unless I consciously make an effort, which I did in this painting. Hope you like it. The edges are painted, as well, so you could display on a little easel . Click on it to see details. SOLD

"Okeechobee Brahma Bull"

17 x 13 watercolor, framed $400

More Florida scenery with a Brahma bull and part of a cattle ramp in the painting. The colors are soft in this one and typical of a dry hot summer day. This one is framed in a nice wood frame with a green insert and is matted in a light taupe mat, so altogether it measures 26 x 33. It won a ribbon in a local show. SOLD

"Night Delight"

6 x 6 acrylic on hardboard panel $45

Have you heard it said, "Red sky at night...sailor's delight". That is what this painting makes me think of. It is very typical of Florida and our beautiful sunsets and palms. Hope you like it?Have you considering collecting these small paintings---a great way to start an art collection.

"Path and Palms"

6 x 6 acrylic on hardboard panel $45

Florida scenery is so unique and pretty...seems like I never get tired of palm trees! This could be the beginning of a Florida painting collection. I'm working on a sunset with palms for tomorrow. Keep looking, and think about collecting.

I hope it isn't scorching hot in your part of the country. This has been such a hot summer all over.

"Antique Mustache Mug and Shaving Brush"

6 x 6 acrylic on hardboard panel $50

These little 6 x6 paintings are so much fun to do, even though you would be surprised at how much time they take! I gathered up the antiques from my collection and added the crocheted doiley. The shaving brush was well used in its time! If you are not an art collector, now is a good time to start thinking about it, with all the small pieces at reasonable prices. And the good thing is that they can be displayed on shelves, on little easels, leaning up again book shelves , etc. so you don't even have to have extra wall space. Click on painting to see details.  Also, how about signing up with Google as a follower of my blog? SOLD

"Fat Cat Attitude"

6 x 6 acrylic on hardboard panel $45

Maybe she is saying "I double-dare you to take away this ball of yarn"! At any rate, this cat has attitude! I delivered a painting to a lady and was met at the door by the cutest, fattest cat you can imagine and it was so lovable. It just collapsed on it's back for me to pet it! Maybe all you cat people can identify! Click on it to see detail. SOLD

"House at Bok Gardens"

12 x 16 acrylic on stretched canvas $250

The Spanish style seems to just fit well into the tropical gardens at Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales, Florida. This beautiful and serene garden is filled with interesting scenery and structures to paint. I took the photo of the painting outside and it is a cloudy day, so the colors are not quite right. There is really more gold color in the whole composition, but it still looks pretty and you can get an idea as to how the foliage relates to the structure.

I hope you had a Happy Independence Day!

"The Shepherd"

16 x 20 acrylic on stretched canvas $450

Finally, I have finished this! It was a challange. I wanted the shepherd to be the center of interest and not until I added the red scarf did this happen. The scarf creates movement and draws your eye from the shepherd to the angora goats, so it is an integral part of the composition. Hope you like it!

"Still life with Violet"

18x22 watercolor, matted and framed $500

This was an ambitious painting to do with the quilt, lace, clear glass bottles and texture of the leaves, plus shadows! It took me a very long time, but was enjoyable, too. It is matted in a pale greenish-grey mat and framed in a narrow gold frame. Email me if you need a picture of the framed piece.