Kale Bouquet

"Kale Bouquet"
12" x 12"
Oil on wrapped canvas 

I walked into an office where this bouquet was on the counter.  It had miniature heads of kale where one would expect to see roses. The light shone on this little beauty so I pulled my camera from my purse and documented her.  


The background supporting this little kale is stroked with all the colors I saw in the bouquet, from bright to subdued and back again.  It was a fun piece to paint.

Kale Bouquet can be seen on Dailypaintworks in the membership gallery under my name.  It is for sale there.  You may also email me with any inquiries.

Thank you.
Carol

Wayside Garden

"Wayside Garden"
8" x 8"
Oil on canvas panel

There are places in my line of travel where gardeners have taken the time to delight the eyes of those of us who must get from one place to another.  This is one such cluster of color.


This one could have been painted with a palette knife, but I used a brush to make these marks.  It's as sunny and fresh as this family's plantings.

Wayside Garden can be seen on Dailypaintworks in my gallery.  It's also for sale there.

Thank you for meandering through today.

Carol

Succulence #2

"Succulence # 2"
20" x  24"
Acrylic on wrapped canvas

I looked straight down into her face like a lover reinventing courtship.  She stared back at me with capricious intent, yet nary a move did she make. 


This large succulent was painted with a stencil brush, a 1/8" little round one; about the size of a Q-tip. It was a dry brush technique I perfected during this series.

Succulence #2 is listed with and for sale through a Dailypaintworks Auction.

Thank you for stopping by today.
Carol

Zinnia Simplica "

"Zinnia Simplica"
8" x 10"
Oil on wrapped canvas 

She was simply the only zinnia left; colorful complementary colors, whorled petals.  She was hidden under a leaf, the last of her kind in the garden next to the building where I meet for painting critiques. 

I tend, as I'm finding out, to paint complementary color schemes more often than not.  They seem to please me. I don't think I seek them, or plan them in advance, but when it comes time to smear paint on something, I'm pretty consistently ending up with two colors across the traditional color wheel from each other.

Simple Zinnia, here is for sale through dailypaintworks.com.  If you click the web address it'll take you to my gallery on that site.  It's kind of fun to see all the paintings from my blog in one neat, tidy spot—with no words!

Thanks for stopping by.
Carol

Snow in the Valley

"Snow in the Valley"
6" x 6"
Oil on panel

This is a break in the tree line along the road I travel with some regularity and one of the places I photograph on a weekly basis.  The light hits it differently as the seasons change.  There's also enough distance to be able to catch some haze on occasion.

I was given a tool that intrigued me.  A Colour Shaper, I'm told.  It's a pointed rubber nib on a stick.  I painted the panel black.  Let it dry, then painted it white.  While the paint was wet, I drew on it hard enough to see the black underneath.  When it was dry, I glazed a bit of blue onto the top two thirds.  Isn't experimentation fun?  

This painting can be seen in my Gallery on Dailypaintworks.com.  It's also for sale through that web site.  

Thank you for visiting today. 

Carol 

Devil's Thumb Ranch Pond

"Devil's Thumb Ranch Pond"
8" x 10"
Oil on wrapped canvas

Probably it had a practical use, this little body of water, but to me, it was a little gem with nothing between it and me but air.  Everything in Colorado is on a grand scale, so this meandering pond, or brook, or creek was approachable, and much to my liking. 


This is one of several pieces from a memorable trip.  It can be seen and for purchase on Dailypaintworks.com.


Thank you for stopping by.
Carol

Meadow

"Meadow"
9" x 12"
Acrylic on canvas panel

It was the end of summer, the trees along this fenceline had grown weary of wearing green. The thought of gold, or orange seemed nice, but so did red, for that matter.

I like the cool blue in the shadows under the trees. The lawn-like meadow with its weedy middle added interest, too. 

This painting will be listed with, and for purchase through a Dailypaintworks Auction. 

Thank you for stopping by today.
Carol

Garden Flowers

"Garden Flowers"
9" x 12"
Acrylic on canvas panel

It had been sunny when I found this cluster of flowers. I sculpted merrily, oblivious to what was coming in from the west. The air became still, and a canopy of dark hastened my final scrapings.

Knife painting has taught me a lot about happenstance.  I'm thinking of it as an "indication" medium. No details, just indications. 

This painting can be seen on, and for purchase through a Dailypaintworks
Auction.

English Walled Garden

"English Walled Garden"
9" x 12"
Acrylic on canvas panel

Inside the English Walled Garden there's beauty in every direction. The light on the concrete surfaces seemed right for my intended use.

I had painted this view before, but was so wrapped up in the minutia of each pillar and blossom, that I may have lost the essence of the walled garden room. I'm happy with this rendition. 

English Walled Garden can be seen along with the rest of my blog entries by clicking here. My daily posts (of which today is number 100) funnel into Dailypaintworks.com where they can be seen and purchased.  You may also email me at Brushstrokes@comcast.net for information, or just to visit. 
Carol

Veteran's Park Pond

"Veteran's Park Pond"
9" x 12"
Acrylic on canvas panel

There's a pond up north of where I live that has a fenced-in, square dock; like a porch, for fishermen to stand on so they won't sink into the muck and mire. Someone was fishing across from where I was standing, and if his whoops and hollars were interpreted correctly, the fish were biting that day.

By the various colors of green, you might be able to tell that this piece was painted in mid-summer. It's as green as green can be. With a speck of red across the way.

You can find this and the rest of my posts on my gallery page on Dailypaintworks.  Most things are for sale through this site, too.  But if you see somthing without a price or not currently on an auction, please write to me at Brushstrokes@comcast.net. 

Carol

Brookside Garden #2

"Brookside Garden #2"
9" x 12"
Acrylic on canvas panel

I stood on a peninsula with water rushing by me, still in the sun, still hot.  The daisies were still nicely lit, so I began a second painting of them. 

As fast as I put down paint it dried. Like watercolor.  It left a texture. Like plaster. I felt like I was sculpting a painting rather than painting it. This was new to me. I loved it.

This painting will be listed with, and for purchase through a Dailypaintworks Auction. 

Thank you for visiting today.
Carol

Brookside Garden

"Brookside Garden"
9" x 12"
Acrylic on canvas panel

It was hot, bright and and I was wilting, but the flowers beside the brook in this garden were getting what they needed. 

This series was all done en plein air with a palette knife and acrylic paint. For me the combination of sunlight, plastic paint, and the crustiness that builds on a rigid surface like canvas board, was exactly how I wanted my outdoor paintings to look.

This painting is listed with, and for sale through a Dailypaintworks Auction. 

Thanks for stopping by.

Carol

Bird Movie

"Bird Movie"
40" x 30"
Acrylic on wrapped canvas

When the small children in my life want time alone with me, we go up and sit on my bed and talk about this painting at the foot of my bed. We make up stories about the birds that live in this house... whose lives, amazingly, seem to run parallel with ours. They named this painting"Bird Movie."

My friend, Peg, has a lovely garden.  One year she placed a chair like this next to her white picket fence covered in morning glories.  She had a plain birdhouse on her chair, but I owned this one, so I adorned her chair with mine. 

Bird Movie is listed with but not for sale through Dailypaintworks.com.  You can see it on my gallery page by clicking here.

Thank you for stopping by today.
Carol

Birdhouse

"Birdhouse"
12" x 12"
Oil on wrapped canvas 

There was straw and grass from some other yard, but never eggs in this little house. It sat on a table in my courtyard, inviting and safe, but this house never became a home. 

The actual background was gray siding, so I lowered the overall key of the piece by assigning a darker value to surround the sweet little house. At least the birdhouse looks like some birdie's home.

Birdhouse is listed with, and for sale through a Dailypaintworks Auction. 

Thank you for landing here today.

Carol

Wild White Rose

"Wild White Rose"
12" x 12"
Oil on wrapped canvas

In the midst of the ruffled-sunset colors of the rose garden at the Chicago Botanic Gardens stands a cluster of basic Wild White Roses.

I photographed this rose while thinking, I'll never paint this plain ol' rose... but her shadows are nice. Yet, here she is. The stamens and their shadows were quite an exercise for a new oil painter.

This painting is listed with, and for purchase on a Dailypaintworks.com auction.  Please see it in my gallery there, too.

Thank you for visiting today,
Carol

Fountain Head

"Fountain Head"
20" x 10"
Oil on panel

I had walked past him a couple dozen times the first year we were members of the Chicago Botanic Gardens.  He spewed, nonstop into a bowl in the English Walled Garden.  But don't go looking for him in these colors, or any others, for that matter.  He's as neutral as any public fountain and colorful in form only, being cast in concrete.  

I had no idea how to go about painting the spitting head that I had photographed on numerous occasions.   So I did it sideways—spitting to the right. I assigned color to the shadows and painted him simply as shapes.  I was surprised to see how accurate he appeared when I turned him the correct direction when I considered him finished. 

Fountain Head is listed with, and for purchase through a Dailypaintworks Auction.  He can be seen in my gallery on that site by clicking the link in this paragraph.  And today marks 100 paintings listed in my gallery on this site!

Thank you for stopping by.

Carol

Morning Light

"Morning Light"
12" x 12"
Oil on wrapped canvas

 There's a path near where I live that winds through a woods.  It's cool on the hottest day and always peaceful, despite its proximity to motorized civilization. 


Morning Light is painted on a peachy ground with reds to dull the greens, except where springtime is meant to show.

This painting is listed with, and for purchase on a Dailypaintworks Auction.

Thank you for checking in.
Carol

Pitcher Playground

"Pitcher Playground"
12" x 12"
Oil on wrapped canvas

The cherry kids enjoyed playing on the empty vinegar pitcher after school that autumn.  The vessel was so much easier to climb than when it was full. 
 This is a possible work in progress. I am living with it and listening to comments as people see it in my studio.  I may glaze color over the draped fabric surrounding the pitcher. The values are in place, but I don't know what color I'd use.  Any ideas?

This painting may be listed with Dailypaintworks.com if I decide it is finished.

Peering Inside

"Peering Inside"
10" x 8"
Oil on wrapped canvas

"What do you suppose is down there?" twittered the hollow blue bird wearing cement shoes while balancing on an apple.

This was a value study in sepia of things I have in my studio.  I did it to see if I could.  Being self-taught, I haven't  done things in the same order as the classically trained.  I painted, taught painting for ten years, and thirty years later I found out some of the things they do in art school.  It seemed like a good exercise.  

You can also see this on Dailypaintworks.com, but I probably won't list it for purchase on the auction.  But if you are interested, email me and we'll discuss it. 

Thank you for visiting,

Carol 

Music in the Night

"Music in the Night" 
20" x 16" 
Acrylic on wrapped canvas

They played music with a palpable passion that curled into the night air like it had been slathered there with a spreader.  Each note connected to the next as tightly as puzzle pieces marching toward infinity.  

This is a variation on my primary-colored puzzle paintings.  It is also a variation on what is normally digitally created from math equations "run amok."

Well, not exactly, but it's a computer generated art form.  Jock Cooper is the foremost fractal artist on the planet, and this is my interpretation of a segment of one of his images.  As his friend and agent, I have been given permission to add my own twist to his design.  

This painting will be posted on Dailypaintworks.com in my gallery, and for purchase.    

Thank you for visiting today.

Carol 

Fruits of My Spirit

"Fruits of My Spirit"
6" x 6"
Oil on panel

It was March, I had looked forward to it since the night it was announced—a Carol Marine workshop in a town near mine!  I signed up, paid up and showed up.  She was here in Illinois, across the room, arranging her demo items.  Even though I don't normally paint like Carol, I wanted to be in her presence, and in front of her wisdom.  I somehow managed to paint, and more importantly, to learn.

This is a piece I painted in one of her many timed exercises.  It was as important to learn how to do this as it was to hear her critique the others in the room.  Carol lived above every expectation.  Attend if you can.  

This piece is not for sale, but will be exhibited in my gallery on Dailypaintworks.com.  

Thank you for peeking in today.  

Carol

Egg Shell

"Egg Shell"
8" x 8"
Oil on canvas panel

The egg purveyor at the farmer's market this morning went through about three dozen eggs to find a dozen different colored eggs for me.  This one is similar in color to the ones from the past couple days, but it is adorned—with speckles!  

This piece will be listed with and for sale through Dailypaintworks.  Check out my gallery by clicking here to see 94 of my paintings all in one easy to access place.  This won't get you to the auction site, but it's just a click away once you're in my gallery.

Thank you for visiting today.
Carol

Egg Cups

"Egg Cups"
10" x 8"
Oil on canvas panel

We have tea parties at my dining room table. I have tea cups in all shapes, sizes, colors and costs.  My toddler guests begin sipping herbal tea from tiny cups, such as these.  Cups, retired on account of size, reside under a glass dome on my buffet. 

I'm enjoying a new freedom.  I recently convinced my eye doctor to let me try contacts.  Old dog/new tricks came to mind as we smiled at one another and weighed the pros and cons of my request.  Well, old dog here is seeing still life setups a lot more easily.  I'm gonna do more painting from life instead of photographs, at least for my small pieces.

This piece will become a part of my gallery on Dailypaintworks , and will be for purchase in a four week auction there, as well.

Thank you for visiting today.
Carol

Egg Cup

"Egg Cup"
8" x 8"
Oil on canvas panel 

My daughter buys eggs that look like they might come from a leather bird.  She likes the way they taste, but when they are hard boiled, no matter how quickly they are dunked in cold water, these eggs are difficult to peel.  Leather, I say!

I'm painting more small paintings.  I like doing them quickly so they stay fresh.  I enjoy challenging myself to new subject matter, too.  And if it's a small piece that goes awry, it isn't as painful.

This painting will be listed with, and for purchase through a Dailypaintworks. com Auction.

Thank you for visiting today.
Carol

Grape-n-Twine

"Grape-n-Twine"
10" x 8"
Acrylic on canvas panel

The classical station here in the Chicago area has a morning host with the last name of Grapentine.  He's been a part of my morning routine since 1986 when he joined WFMT.  As I conjured the title to this piece I giggled at the opportunity to honor him.  Carl Grapentine, this one's for you.  

In my many years as a mural painter I never had the chance to paint grapes that weren't stenciled.  I painted every other kind of fruit and vegetable, but not grapes.  I challenged myself to do it today, and it was a blast!  Expect to see more.

This painting can be seen on Dailypaintworks.com  in my gallery.  It is also for purchase through this web site.

Thank you for visiting again today.
Carol

Miss Bartlett

"Miss Bartlett"
10" x 8"
Oil on canvas panel

"You young gals can wear anything with shapes like that," said Granny Smith to Miss Bartlett.  "I'd look positively round," she sighed as she buffed a new highlight onto her cheek with a dishcloth.  "And to be able to stand there next to that shade of violet... well, I do declare, it complements your skin tones perfectly."

Here's another in my series of single items against a decorative background.  Being a dyed-in-the-wool faux finisher and muralist, I know a lot about visual texture and the techniques used to create it—leaving the surface smooth to the touch.  I'm enjoying making this series.  I hope you are, too. 

This pear painting can be seen and purchased through Dailypaintworks.com.  I have a gallery of paintings there that can be accessed by clicking the link in this paragraph.  

Thank you for checking in to see my work today.

Carol 

Onion

"Onion"
  9" x 12"
Oil on canvas panel

I played the memory of my parents singing the song, "Lonely Little Petunia in the Onion Patch" as I painted this onion.  They sang in the car—nowhere else.  It was like a safe haven from the daily noise of a family, as we traveled from our home to our cousins' on Sundays.  


I painted the background without purple, but added it after the golden onion begged for the complement to make it pop.

This painting can be seen in my gallery on Dailypaintworks.com where it is also for purchase.

Thank you for stopping by today,
Carol

Wolf River Apple

"Wolf River Apple"
8" x 10"
Oil on canvas panel 

"It's enough for a strudel," said my host as I chose a Wolf River Apple from the basket sitting on his veranda.  "I sniffed the dimple where the stem would be.  "It's a cooking apple," he said, "don't bite into it.  Indigenous to here," he added, meaning Wisconsin. "Take another and you can make a pie."  I did. 


I knew I'd be in Wisconsin over the weekend, and would bring back something to paint. This apple was it. I painted the background on Friday afternoon and the apple last night.  Amazingly, it's 16" in circumference, like a slow pitch softball.

This painting will be listed with, and for purchase through my gallery on a Dailypaintworks Auction.

Thank you for visiting today.
Carol


  

Stoic Oak

"Stoic Oak"
8" x 8"
Acrylic on canvas panel

Because I pushed my "publish" button on Friday before leaving for a couple days, my post for today doubled up and snuck in ahead of time.  Well, this one will have to do for the REAL October third.


This stoic oak is in the middle of a field in Bull Valley, Illinois.  He's an ornament in a place where crops grow for profit.  Someone made the decision to leave him there—to plow, seed, combine around him.  I've watched the seasons change around this oak—nodding his only acknowledgement of inclement or otherwise, with his leaves. 


Last week's Daily Paintworks Challenge was to paint autumn where I live. But the kicker is to tone the canvas with an unlikely color first. I painted on a blue/green and set about the business of knifing on some autumn colors to honor Mr. Oak, here, in a wheat field that has just been harvested.

This painting is part of a Challenge on DailyPaintworks.com, but will be auctioned as usual, and can be seen in my gallery on that site.

Thank you for visiting.
Carol

Clementine

"Clementine"
6" x 6"
Oil on panel

Standing on stage alone in the spotlight with the audience below her in the dark, made Clementine self-conscious of her roundness.  She had put on a little weight since she blossomed a few months back. 

It seemed like a good idea to paint a single, simple shape on this slightly patterned background, so I did.  I am making more backgrounds of a similar design, and will post as I finish them.

This painting is listed with, and for purchase through a Dailypaintworks.com Auction.  See it in my gallery here.

Thank you for visiting today.
Carol

Little Lily Lake

"Little Lily Lake"
12" x 12"
Oil on wrapped canvas

A breeze tickled the far shore around the point where lilies did not grow.  I confirmed my suspicions with a fisheman who was standing beside me. "That part over there, is it the deepest part of the lake?" 

I appreciate the accessibility of this little lake.  I stop to photograph its ice, ripples, lilies and reflections once a week all year round.

This painting is listed with, and for purchase on a Dailypaintworks.com Auction. This link will take you to my gallery there.

Thank you for visiting my blog today.
Carol

A Safe Place Fund Raiser

"Picket Fence Rose"
24" x 24"
Oil on wrapped canvas

"Picket Fence Rose" was painted from a rose hanging on an actual picket fence. The fence surrounded a home that I perceived as idyllic, peaceful and calm. Domestic violence has a way of hiding behind pristine picket fences.  So when I was asked to donate a painting to support the programs of A Safe Place, I knew this would be the perfect offering. 

A Safe Place Crisis Center offers programs, services, housing and shelter to victims of domestic violence in McHenry, Lake and northern Cook Counties in Illinois. The painting can be seen in the Coldwell Banker office lobby in Deerfield, Illinois during the month of October.

This piece will be listed with, and for sale through a Dailypaintworks.com Auction.  The proceeds from this painting will go to the winning bid on October 29th. 

Thank you for stopping by today.
Carol