Snow on the Peak

"Snow on the Peak"
16" x 20"
Oil on hardboard

I was in Colorado in September a year ago when we wakened to snow on the Peak.  Pikes Peak acts as an indicator, a harbinger of sorts, to announce the arrival of autumn. 

I was also there in October when I took the photo that inspired this painting. I love the colors of Colorado in the fall. Green is kept to a minimum and I get to squeeze colors from tubes I seldom use in Illinois landscapes, or roses.

Carol

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Sandy

"Sandy"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard

I heard that a storm was walloping  the east coast of my country, so I decided to turn on the TV to see what was going on. I do not watch television, yet, I began to list all the people I know on that coast, and thought I should be cognizant of their peril. I offer my prayers for your safety in Connecticut, Maryland, New York, Massachusetts, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. You know who you are.

Love to you,
Carol

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Serenity

"Serenity"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard

There are days when peace envelops me, despite what's brewing, or stewing around me and it shows in my work.  I had wonderful conversations with my online friends today that made me joyful as I began to paint.  I got to the bottom of this painting and decided to opt for a minimalist approach, instead of mucking it up with clouds or birds or trees. The horizon of still water and a signature completed this little piece of peace. 

Love to you,
Carol

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Scoops of Sherbet

"Scoops of Sherbet"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard

Sometimes a sky takes on the look of squirted shaving cream, or cotton balls, or in this case, food. As I painted and assigned color and texture to the small, smooth surface I paint these skies on, I kept thinking sherbet... or maybe even sorbet. I like those cold confecitons like sorbet, sherbet and even gelato... okay, ice cream, too.  Yum. 

Carol

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About To...

"About To..."
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard 

I begin these sky paintings with every intention of making a sunrise or a sunset, but when I get to the end there are nights that I don't know whether I've made the end of one day or the beginning of another.  It's like what's going on with my friend who is on an adventure in Madrid for a couple of weeks.  He is about to wake up while I type this, and I'm about to go to sleep.

Goodnight and good morning.
Carol

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Surrender

"Surrender"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard 

After the sun tumbled below the safety of the tree line it sent up its colorful flag of surrender.  Surrender to the dark of night, the end of a day, its position of power in the sky, just the end.  When endings come, there's not much more to be said, but goodnight.  

My son's wedding has come and gone. I will be posting regularly again. It feels good to be back in the studio tonight, although it's been difficult to make my hands do what my head thinks they should do.  Sometimes we just have to surrender, and do what makes the brush happy.

Carol

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Adam and Jessie's Ketubah

"Adam and Jessie's Ketubah"
16" x 20"
Giclee of an Oil painting

My son, Adam, is going to marry Jessie on Saturday afternoon.  For this event I was asked to paint the Ketubah, the art that supports their vows, written in Hebrew and in English. She wanted champagne grapes in the colors of her bridesmaids dresses.  I honored that request, and then had the text printed in bridal white on a giclee of the original.  They will fill in the blanks with a pen I had to special order from Amazon. Even though I live in a metropolitan area with art supply stores in every town, I could not locate a supplier for a pen that wouldn't soak into the dark paper and fade away to nothing. I didn't think it would be a good omen for their names to fade before their first dance.  

I've not been painting every day. I have however, attached a gazillion rhinestones to a letter K for the cake topper, white flip-flops for the brides tootsies to dance in, wine glasses for their toast, the centerpieces and the decorative pieces that will line the aisle, as well.

Thank you for being patient while I tend to the things a mother of the groom must do during wedding week.  I will be back soon.

Carol

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Sunset Ridge

"Sunset Ridge"
20" x 16"
Oil on hardboard

The splendor in the sky that evening filled my window from top to bottom instead of puddling only around the sill.  I decided to present it as I had experienced it—vertically.  Fortunately. There were so many changes as I worked my way down the panel that I was happy to have the extra space to move from one color and texture to the next.  

I hope you enjoy this larger size and format from what I've been painting recently.  I found a stack of these panels under my drawing board, so I'll be making more of them in the weeks to come.

Carol

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Walk Around the Pond

"Walk Around the Pond"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard 

The leaves are turning and tumbling in Chicago's Morton Arboretum, near where I live. They are bright in the sunlight, and washed clean from the rain we had earlier in the week. A nippy breeze made the pond sparkle as I walked around the perimeter with lots of other people. 

Carol

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Last Rose of Summer

"Last Rose of Summer"
24" x 24"
Oil on wrapped canvas

As the last of the white roses bloomed along the picket fence, I waited two days for this one to reach the perfect stage of burgeoning.  Then the sun cooperated by gracing the tips of her petals.  She's a large and lovely addition to my gallery of roses. 

I started this painting several weeks ago, but just couldn't figure out how to finish her. I forced myself to do it tonight, though. And I'm pretty happy with the results.

Carol

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Tree Line

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A slit of light shone between the leafy tips and the land out at the tree line bordering the two fields. Deer kept the trees pruned to a consistent level, so light could blast through the space between the trunks. Good tree lines make good neighbours.  Robert Frost would have agreed. 

Carol

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Beach Sky

"Beach Sky"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard

The residual palette of morning's splendour was about to be washed from the yawning clouds hovering over this sandy shore. A few blinks later they were cleansed to a pristine white. 

Carol

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Still Hanging

"Still Hanging"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard

The sun dangled over the farm in those final moments before day faded to night. It posed between silo and pine like a bowling ball about to roll between a bedpost split. 

I'm not a bowler, but I do like the picturesque terminology presented above.  The 7-10 split is also called a goalpost split, which may appeal to some more than others.

Carol

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Flat Bottoms

"Flat Bottoms"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard

The clouds in my zip code are trying on the garments of the next season. They are darker and heavier than the billowy summer frocks of the last quarter.  Soon that dark will be too heavy to carry and it'll be tumbling toward the ground in six-pointed crystals. I can't even type the word. Not on the first of October. Nope. I can't do it. 

Carol

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Flower Fields

"Flower Fields"
12" x 16"
Acrylic on canvas panel

My heart is back at the flower fields again tonight. I didn't put away my acrylics, and I had a panel gessoed, ready to go, so here's a sunnier take on what I posted on Friday.  I think I'd like to visit a place where something other than soybeans and grain grow in the fields.  Care to join me?  Let's...  

Some friends have asked why I paint this style in acrylic. It's a knife painting, so I smear color pretty thick to begin with. Then when it's dry the next layer, usually a variation of the first layer, is applied over the texture, like buttering a toasted English muffin.  I like to paint the crusty ridges.  Oil paint takes too long to dry. I would end up blending the colors instead of applying them one on top of the other. I'm also still trying to use up my acrylic paints from when I was a mural painter. It may take a while.  A long while. I was well-stocked.  

Carol 

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