Cymbidium Night

"Cymbidium Night"
6" x 6"
Oil on canvas panel

While Cymbidium planned to shed tears that night, she didn't expect them to leave purple stains on her pouty little lips. 

Thank you for being here with me tonight.

Carol

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Cymbidium Kiss

"Cymbidium Kiss"
10" x 8"
Oil on canvas panel

She had the sweetest mouth... if you like fuzzy tonsils, spotted lips and a dappled throat.  Her arms spread wide... all five of them, to welcome me into her embrace...  thankfully she wasn't wearing perfume! 


The cymbidium orchid wears no scent.  She just looks like she could—would—should.

This is my first in a quick series of orchid paintings.  I photographed a white cymbidium orchid in many different light levels a couple of years ago. I found the images of her tucked in with 26,000 of my other reference photos.

Thanks for stopping by for a kiss.
Carol

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If I Had a Muse

"If I Had a Muse"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard

If I had a Muse, he'd check in on me every morning, to see if I needed inspiration. He'd arrive with coffee, dressed in beads, chains and dangly things. He'd bestow kindness upon me, read poetry and make me laugh. And when my pump was primed he'd steal away to allow me to create in peace.  Then he'd pop back in at the end of the day to say nice things about my art.   

Sounds like a fantasy doesn't it, but that's what I'd like. Do you think my Muse would agree to the beads and dangly things?

Thank you for peeking in to see what I'm up to.
Carol

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Continental Divide

"Continental Divide"
6" x 6"
Oil on flat canvas

The Continental Divide slumbered behind the trees along this creek that I passed several times a day near the resort where I stayed in Winter Park.


This is a thirty minute painting. According to Robert Genn of The Painter's Keys, it's good to do them with some regularity... "to focus and pay attention, if only for a short time. It's been identified as a primary key to the development of human effectiveness."

Trying to focus here...
Carol

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Coral Rose

"Coral Rose"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard

"That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet." So saith Romeo to Juliette. But what if it were a chocolate rose? Would it smell as sweet—or sweeter? 

I spent most of the day trying to combine two of my favorite subjects—a rose and chocolate.  Alas, I failed miserably. I wiped off the chalky abomination and made this one instead. Thorns and all! 

I shall try again! 

Carol 

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Bittersweet

"Bittersweet"
12" x 12"
Oil on wrapped canvas 

Have you ever longed for something so thoroughly, dreamed about it, wished and hoped for it to be exactly what you wanted, counted the days, the hours, the minutes ... only to find out that it was not what you thought it would be?  It's Lent.  When I finally get what I've longed for, it almost never lands spot on the target.   


I'm going to paint chocolate for a few days.  I'm going to combine it with another favorite item, suggested by a friend. Let's see how THIS experiment goes!

Thank you for looking in on me today.
Carol

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Sunshine

"Sunshine"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard 

The storm passed, a lingering haze came to clarity and sunshine broke through to light and lighten the gloom.  Spring runs cold and hot, warm and cool—so fickle, yet I love spring. 

This completes my jonquil series.

Carol

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Jonquil

"Jonquil"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard

The recent warm weather blew a kind of reveille for the trumpet-shaped flowers in my neighborhood.  I was amazed at the number of beautiful jonquils, narcissus and daffodils that bloomed and are now nearly finished!  I was also thankful to have had my camera with me.  

This one was the first flower I shot. Her open throat was actually visited by a bumble bee while I stood in awe of her full-blown beauty. 

Thank you for coming to look today.

Carol

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Coral Jonquil

"Coral Jonquil"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard 

Not too many yards from a cluster of white jonquils was this coral trumpeted version.  She stood alone, I mean ALONE in the yard where I found her, like she had been a good thought at the time... 


This is the first in a series of trumpeted flowers from a photo shoot in my neighborhood today.  They will all be singular images like this.

Thanks for spending time with me.
Carol

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Demure

"Demure"
12" x 12"
Oil on wrapped canvas

In the rose garden near my home this little beauty, so demure, cast her countenance toward the dewy blades of morning. Her petals (not my usual whorled favorites) seemed to be reaching for some distant thing in longing.

This is the third in my twelve by twelve inch series of roses. I happen to like the non-traditional arrangement of her petals. 

Your visits are so appreciated!
Carol

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Castlewood Canyon Again

"Castlewood Canyon Again"
6" x 6"
Oil on canvas panel

In the part of the country where my friend lives, even her dead vegetation is so much prettier to look at than where I live in Illinois. Hers turns many shades of copper and gold.  Mine turn the color of tin, galvanized aluminum and lead. 


So be it.  I'm here, my studio is tailor made for me, and the promise of spring is purring from the throats of the sandhill cranes overhead.

Thank you for making the trip.
Carol

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Lieutenant River Fence

"Lieutenant River Fence"
6" x 6"
Oil on canvas panel

On the east bank of the Lieutenant River, just south of Florence Griswold's home in Old Lyme, Connecticut was this split rail fence.  It marked some border before the American Impressionist Museum was erected.  It is gone now, but it was a part of my experience on the hallowed ground of where my beloved Impressionist predecessors painted.  


I took this photo in 1997.  It seemed like a "pretty scene." From that moment on I became educated on the historic significance of that yard.  So many of our country's Impressionists gathered there because the light was similar to what they had seen while painting with Monet in France.  A little piece of heaven...


Thank you for wandering into my world today. I love that you come here to look.
Carol

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Pink Peony Bud

"Pink Peony Bud"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard

My peonies bloom in May. It was just dumb luck to have planted them in a place where spring blows warm kisses over them from the opposite direction of the dryer vent's contribution!  Sunshine and warmth make for an early display. What a gift! 

I used my last clayboard! I coated it with gesso and painted on it with ease. I wish now I hadn't returned a stack of them.  

Thank you for spending a part of your day with me. I'm always grateful.
Carol

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White Magic

"White Magic"
12" x 12"
Oil on wrapped canvas

She was like many of the others in the bed, white and full blown, but this magical beauty was the only one with her head cocked to the right. You can tell, can't you? Well, I could, and it made the difference in how the morning light washed over her petals that August morning.  

This is the companion to "A Single Rose" that I posted on Friday. "White Magic" was as much fun to paint as the pink rose, yet the process was challenging enough to delight me.

Thank you for visiting my blog today.
Carol

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Letter F

"Letter F"
10" x 10"
Acrylic on hardboard

Baby Fiona is soon to arrive, and a gift of art will be on her nursery wall when she gets here. Fiona's flaming F has a fishing pole, five fish, fifteen flowers, a fork, a forest, fence, faucet, flashlight, a frog, and a flamingo in fins, holding an F flag.

Welcome to the world Fiona. We've been waiting for your arrival.  

Thank you for visiting.

Carol

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A Single Rose

"A Single Rose"
12" x 12"
Oil on wrapped canvas

I entered the rose garden late in the day, late in the month of June.  In the humidity, the fragrance draped over petal and bud like a veil.  There she bobbed on her rigid stem, fanning herself with leaves like fans. 


Finally, I made time to paint a larger rose! I sponged on the initial color then brushed on the subtleties with my beloved Rosemary & Co. brushes.  It had been a long time since I've sponged color on a canvas.  The daily paintings are small, and my sponges are larger than many sections that need to be filled.  Now I want to make a big one... like three by three feet!  I love to paint that large.  Whew! But they all look the same size when you see them online... so stop by to see them in real life.

Love to all of you who sent your comments about my dad's death. Thank you so much.
Carol

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Near Devil's Thumb

"Near Devil's Thumb"
6" x 6"
Oil on sheet canvas

Near Devil's Thumb resort is a creek that reflected the sky with passionate resolve. I suppose the fact that the sky cooperated fully in the creek's amusement helped. 


This was done from a compilation of memories—color, edges, texture, shapes and the essence of place. It is different from my photographed pieces in that it was done entirely from the heart, almost like plein air.

I'm happy you stopped by today. Really, I am.
Carol

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Dad

"Dad"
10" x 8"
Oil on canvas panel

My father died tonight.  It was not unexpected, nonetheless, he is now gone.  I decided to, as my friend said, "Give sorrow words..." through paint. 
"The grief that does not speak whispers the o'er-fraught heart and bids it break." 
William Shakespeare


"Death leaves a heartache no one can heal. 
Love leaves a memory no one can steal." 
Anonymous 


Good night Dad. You were loved. 
Carol Lynn  


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Letter L

"Letter L"
12" x 12"
Acrylic on wrapped canvas

When she turned three I painted this as a gift for a little girl whose name begins with L.  I made a list of the things I could put in the painting, drew the letter and filled in the remaining space with her and the L things: lips, lady bugs, lamp, leaf, lollipop, lilies, larkspur, lock, lemons, limes, ladder, laces, lotus position, lizard skin, and many shades of lavender.  


It's just another thing I do with my time, and I also paint house portraits for real estate agents to give as closing gifts.

Thanks for visiting!
Carol

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Castlewood Canyon Rocks

"Castlewood Canyon Rocks"
7" x 5"
Oil on wrapped canvas

Last fall while I was in Colorado, I made a trip with my friends to Castlewood Canyon.  Not far from where we were staying, this place just appears out of nowhere, mystifies its visitors, then turns back into prairie again.  I suppose canyons are like that. 


This small piece, rectangular for a change, is the first in a little series I'll be posting on Colorado memories.  I'm gearing up to paint a few new serious florals and still life pieces, and landscapes of places I adore are my warmup exercises.  And this is my first experience with Paynes Gray in oil.  I mixed it in conjunction with Gray of Gray.  I happen to like it.

Thank you for hiking here today.
Carol

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Spring Ahead

"Spring Ahead"
12" x 12"
Acrylic on wrapped canvas

The promise of spring is so anticipated this time of year, that we accept the advancing of our clocks by an hour to arrive there sooner, and in daylight to boot.  


This is another in my series of succulents painted with a nearly dry bristle brush. The stalk shooting up to the left is new growth... a new beginning.

Carol

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Succulent in the Mist

"Succulent in the Mist"
6" x 12"
Acrylic on wrapped canvas

The fog that particular morning was dense in the area of the succulent gardens. I stayed on the familiar path, face to the ground and happened on this gossamer image. 

Here's another exercise in edge control. This is a dry brush technique done with a bristle brush, swirled in a similar motion I would use to stencil. Paint is applied layer upon layer until the shape of a plant begins to form. 

I'm happy you found my blog today.

Carol

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Afloat

"Afloat"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard

I spent time in a kayak one morning last summer, bobbing on Lake Michigan. I loved being close to water level with the ability to focus where land was not in sight—for a few seconds at a time!  Self-inflicted terror is what it actually was.  I found myself stealing peeks toward shore for comfort. 


This is another of my recent paintings, where sky is the primary player.  I have enjoyed this exercise in dusting wet paint with a mop brush.  I've already begun to use it on other pieces.

Thank you for drifting along with me today.
Carol

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Hoarfrost, Again

"Hoarfrost, Again"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard

There had been snow, but most of it melted. Leafless trees dandled the sky with their finger-like sticks. Cornstalks stabbed the drifts in steadfast rows across the field. But the magic came during the night, when Lady Hoarfrost graced them with a visit. 


This was another experiment. You must know by now that I can't leave well enough alone, so here's how I messed up well enough.  I painted a band of dark across my panel, added to it a band of ochre and let them dry.  I painted white over the whole shebang, then added a sky.  I took my frequently-used signature signing tool, my colour shaper, and scraped trees into the dark band, and cornstalks into the ochre band.  I signed it below the tree line on the right and—called it a day!

Thanks for maundering through,
Carol

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To Have and to Hold

"To Have and to Hold"
10" x 20"
Acrylic on wrapped canvas

Together at last, side by side, to have and to hold, from this day forward... and then what?  The Succulents have committed to a relationship of about twenty-five years... if watered, fed, bathed in sunshine and separated regularly.  Huh?  


This piece was not painted in the past week. It's been waiting in line to be posted though, as are a couple of others in queue.  As I've said before, I paint every day, but they aren't all masterful.

Thank you for stopping in to visit.  I appreciate it.
Carol

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Vintage Famolare Clog

"Vintage Famolare Clog"
6" x 6"
Oil on canvas panel

I heard her approaching long before she walked into the room, clomping like a child in mama's high heels. She was as comfy in her footwear as I was in my Sketchers, even though hers were thirty years old!  She pulled off one of them, showed me how it still didn't hurt her feet, and clomped on through to take Gracie and Edgar for a walk.  


My friend, Fran, brought her Famolare Clogs for me to see.  I hadn't been a part of this particular fashion movement, but appreciated the opportunity to see them and photograph her pristine pair.

Thank you for clomping on in today.
Carol

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Your Left or Mine?

"Your Left or Mine"
6" x 6"
Oil on canvas board

Succulents can be soft and kissable, or spiny and prickly. I prefer the rounder ones, but this one struck such a humorous pose that it stole my heart.


I found this plant in the Desert Environment at the Chicago Botanic Gardens. I swear he waved as I passed.

I have been thoroughly enjoying your comments. There have some witty ones of late!  I can't imagine who these people are, but they are entertaining me.  Thank you one and all for making this process so fun.
Carol

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Blown Into the Next County

"Blown Into the Next County"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard

Not a leaf was left on the trees, or the ground, for that matter, when the storm made its entrance. Who needs a leaf rake, or landscapers when nature tends to the Earth so thoroughly?

This sky was painted at the same time as two others, just darker.  I seem to be in a low key stage, don't I?  Anyway, I waited until the sky was dry and dragged little branches across it.  

Thank you for blowing in today.
Carol

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Say Aaah

"Say Aaah"
8" x 8"
Oil on hardboard

"Scarlet Aria," a cousin of "Say Aaah" was posted on 7/22/11. She is many times larger than "Aaah" here. Although her color is red, the message is the same—these gals can warble!  

I have had my share of sore throats, usually accompanied by fever, but despite my crabbiness, I've always giggled at the request to "Say Aaah." Who originated that?  Mothers or doctors? Why can't we just open our throats without making a sound?

Thank you for opening up to me today.
Carol

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The Other Side

"The Other Side"
6" x 6"
Oil on canvas panel

After the box has been open for a day or so, the delight is more in the sight of the morsels, not so much about the scent. Hey, that may be the sign to open a new box! 


This is actually the opposite side of the first white one I painted.  Um... it no longer exists.  But let me tell you what was inside—a milk chocolate shell under the white, with a luscious caramel filling in the hollow.


Thank you for visiting here today.
Carol

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White Chocolate

"White Chocolate"
6" x 6"
Oil on canvas panel

When the bow is untied and the lid is lifted to release the aroma trapped inside since the factory, it really wants to get out.  A box of chocolates, freshly opened is a delight to the nose and eyes.  But in Studio B, only after they've been painted can the tongue enjoy them, too.  


White Chocolate was an exercise in color-mixing.  The sheer creamy white allows what's inside to show through, and it's usually dark. I mixed sepia, sap, burnt umber, cad red light, cad yellow and white to make white chocolate.  Who knew it would be so involved?

Thank you for lifting the lid today.
Carol

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