Bluebonnet Pansy

"Bluebonnet Pansy"
12" x 12"
Oil on wrapped canvas 

It's her season. She's in full bloom, receptive and open to the possibilities of Spring.  The bluebonnet pansy was one of the beauties I dropped my hat to at the conservatory the other day. Imagine a field of them… I have. 

The veins on this beauty reminded me so much of my celestial/synapse paintings. I had to exercise restraint as I dragged color across the petals, and not make them into little works of art in and of themselves.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
Carolkeene.com
Dailypaintworks.com
Dailypainters.com

Over the Dark Water

"Over the Dark Water"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard 

The sun was setting over the cold, dark water of one of the large lakes near me. It went down in a flourish becoming a summer night. But it's not summer. Not even close. In fact, it feels like summer will just slide by with a passing wave this year. 

I seem to be grousing about the temperatures in my zip code again, don't I? I'm just so ready for warmer weather, brighter skies and for color. I miss color.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
Carolkeene.com
Dailypaintworks.com
Dailypainters.com

Camellia

"Camellia"
12" x 12"

                                              Oil on wrapped canvas

I had the good fortune to attend three different flower shows in Chicago yesterday. I lunched at Macy's on State Street, stood on one of those perspective-distorted chalk drawings, saw the Tiffany domed ceiling, photographed a man proposing to a woman, ate fine chocolates and met charming people on the train. 

This camellia painting is from one of over two hundred photos I took in the course of one magical day. 

Carol 

Brushstrokes@comcast.net

Carolkeene.com

Dailypaintworks.com

Dailypainters.com

Oranges

"Oranges"
12" x 12"
Oil on wrapped canvas

Shades of orange fill this loosely-painted square image. A poppy, some tulips, a few oranges and a couple of clusters of roses are tucked around some boxwood and pine greenery. 

I felt like making a bright and loose painting today, and this is what happened.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
Carolkeene.com
Dailypainters.com
Dailypaintworks.com

Ribbon Ripples

"Ribbon Ripples"
12" x 12"
Oil on wrapped canvas

Here is another of revelation of what's going on in my brain. I just paint these. They emerge. Develop. Evolve as my brush drags across the canvas. I have no explanation for them. I just do them. 

Once again, however, what appears to be blue here would be categorized more as purple in my mind. If you are considering buying it, it's not a BLUE painting.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
Carolkeene.com
Dailypaintworks.com
Dailypainters.com

Magenta Stocks

"Magenta Stocks"
12" x 12"
Oil on wrapped canvas

I happened on several plantings of stocks in the Lincoln Park Conservatory last spring and delighted in their generic "posy-ness."  They are the epitome of what the word flower means to me. I wish I had a garden full of them in all their various colors.

I hope I get to see stocks in bloom again this year. While they are beautiful in their own way, they appear to be early prototypes for roses.

Carol 

Brushstrokes@comcast.net

Carolkeene.com

Dailypainters.com

Dailypaintworks.com

Still Winter

"Still Winter"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard

Across the flat prairie, the land is still barren and dusted with winter's most recent effort. It's now April, but it still feels and looks like February.

I trust there will be signs of spring emerging through the matted leaves pretty soon. Do I sound desperate, or whiny?  I'm so sorry if I come off that way. April has to be better, doesn't it?

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
Carolkeene.com
Dailypaintworks.com
Dailypainters.com