Winter Sunflowers

Painted with Mary today, looking out of her kitchen window. The landscape was full of information, but I wanted the full focus on the beauty of the inert sunflowers. It was a very foggy afternoon. The cool background worked well with the warm tones of the plant.

Val des Monts

I have passed this spot so many times, and have seen it in all seasons, but on this day it seemed especially magical. The hills were so blue and the solid shapes of the masses gave it a dignified simplicity.

The House on the Island

This was painted quickly and loosely from a photo I saw on Facebook (thanks Mary Beth) - I loved the angle and the bluish cast of light with the intense sunspot.

Enchantment

After finishing a painting, I turned around and the sun was shining through the grey spanish moss hanging from the oak trees. It was so luminous and enchanted, that I had to paint quickly paint it. The colours were intense, there was a vertical and horizontal in the design, strong lights and darks, and most important - I loved it!

Secret Garden

I am back from South Carolina, from a workshop with Ian Roberts and my dear friends on a beautiful property on Kiawah Island. We spend days on difficult exercises to train the eye, and to slow us down in the painting process, to see and see properly. And when we did get to paint, all of that knowledge had to be tested. I feel like I am going through layers and layers of the same information and same process, until it will someday finally gel.

The Umbrella Tree

The gardens on the grounds are designed, and we tried to use that to our advantage in designing a composition. For a while I felt that the umbrella shaped tree looked like a hot air balloon that had landed, but then Ian came and added a "shape" resembling a tree in the distance behind it. I think in the future I will think also of artist license to move the little green meatball bush....

Rivercourse

It was windy, cool temps, and we were in the shade...brrr...but the process took over and we were painting shapes, distilling it down to pieces of shapes keeping in mind design, hues etc. It was exhiliratingly exhausting.

Sweetgrass

Evening on Kiawah Island ....

Duo

What interested me about this duo were the differences in the shadows.
I am off to South Carolina to paint with Ian Roberts and a group of friends. More shapes and values concepts to be integrated into my brain pathways. Will be back posting in two weeks.