Carol Keene: 2012

Sunday, December 23

Reflecting

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

There were bushes at the edge of the lake on the distant shore that had turned yellow and red before any on my side of the lake. I saw them that morning and decided to document them with only a few strokes.

Quick, thick and juicy brush studies are fun to paint in thirty minutes or less. They loosen my hand, my heart and my mind for whatever I'm about to paint. It's an exercise that happens to become something tangible.

Carol

Dailypaintworks.com
Dailypainters.com
My Gallery 490 images
Brushstrokes@comcast.net

Saturday, December 22

Soft Pansy

"Soft Pansy"
10" x 10"
Oil on Hardboard

In my state they plant pansies as fall flowers in corporate gardens because of their hardiness in cool weather. On account of our extended fall, the pansies flourished in my zip code this year. It was nice to see purple and pink in the fall instead of just oranges and golds.

Even after yesterday's snow, there were still little monkey faces smiling through the pine boughs and bayberry branches in front of the UPS Store this evening.

Carol

Dailypainters.com
Dailypaintworks.com
My Gallery
Brushstrokes@comcast.net

Friday, December 21

Ear Ya Go

"Ear Ya Go"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard

What delighted me about this ear and the first one was the similar fold or crease they each have in the lobe. Two random ears, with a similar fold. I Googled earlobes to see if this is common. Nope. The universe is up to its tricks.

Carol

Dailypaintworks.com
Dailypainters.com
My Gallery
Brushstrokes@comcast.net

Thursday, December 20

Ear Ye, Ear Ye!

"Ear Ye, Ear Ye"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard

It may have seemed like an idle threat when I wrote last night that I'd like to paint ears for my next series, but I followed up on it. I really enjoyed painting this one, and I have a rooster to thank for it.

If I'm going to call it a series, I get to find another ear or two to paint. Not a problem, right? Well, let's see how many willing volunteers I find. It's a little out of the norm, I'd say. Friends, Followers, Countrymen, send me your ears... left ones if possible.

Carol

Wednesday, December 19

Chanticleer III

"Chanticleer III
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard

I enjoyed painting this rooster's portrait. He's in nearly the same pose as the one from last night, but he wears different coloured plumage, beak and ear. I think it's an ear. It's where I'd put an ear if I were designing a rooster. I'm fond of ears. Maybe I'll paint ears for my next series.

I painted the background on yesterday's rooster first, then the bird. Today's bird was painted first, on a toned background, then I brushed in the background colour around the bird. Either way works.

Carol

Tuesday, December 18

Chanticleer II

"Chanticleer II"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard

Portraits of people are not my strong suit, but I happen to enjoy painting roosters now. Here's one a friend sent, and another will follow. In the process, I'm feeling a lot better about my own face in the mirror. Yikes! To look at this every day would take some getting used to.

Carol

Dailypaintworks.com
Dailypainters.com
My Gallery
Brushstrokes@comcast.net

Sunday, December 16

Shoreline

"Shoreline"
8"x 16"
Oil on panel

The water that morning was Jell-o-still and about as festive. I stood with my camera posed at the magenta puffs and clicked as they squandered their colour. There's always room for ... colour.

Carol

Saturday, December 15

Paused

"Paused"
5" x 7"
Oil on hardboard

Atmosphere like this is as fleeting and ephemeral as most pleasurable moments. The joy in painting a scene like this is a lot like pausing a video at a favourite scene and partaking of its essence for as long as it ... takes.

I paused a few times today to capture the beauty of this place. The season and the time of day were both instrumental in creating a likeness I could almost turn an ear to and hear.

Carol

Dailypaintworks.com
Dailypainters.com
My Gallery
Brushstrokes@comcast.net

Friday, December 14

Daylight Come

"Daylight Come"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard

Yup, Harry Belafonte's Day-O, or the Banana Boat song. It's a work song that the dock workers would sing while working the night shift loading bananas onto ships. Daylight has come, the shift is over and they want their work to be tallied so that they can go home.

With so many skies under my, um, belt, titling them gets tricky. Pardon my goofiness.

Carol

Tuesday, December 11

My Lady Love

"My Lady Love"
20" x 16"
Oil on Hardboard

Like a mistress awaiting her lover, she languished quietly until the bristles of my brush began stroking her dark crevices, her milky highlights. That's when this beauty came to life.

I hankered, yearned, longed to paint this rose while I was busy with other projects. White roses are my favourite subject matter because of all the colour in the shadows.

Carol

Dailypainters.com
Dailypaintworks.com
My Gallery
Brushstrokes@comcast.net

Monday, December 10

The Maroon Bells

"The Maroon Bells"
30" x 38"
Oil on Hardboard

Unless there are changes from my clients, this will be the final posting of The Maroon Bells, two of the "fourteeners" in Colorado. It's been fun to show you the progress as I've painted this piece for them. Thank you for your comments throughout the process.

Carol

Dailypainters.com
Dailypaintworks.com
My Gallery (480 paintings)
Brushstrokes@comcast.net

Sunday, December 9

Spring Rain

"Spring Rain"
6" x 6"
Oil on Hardboard

A morning rain trickled over the verdant field across the way. It would be the only moisture for a month. We wished it would have been more when we looked back at the drought-stricken summer. We were lucky to have received that sprinkle that day.

As I dread the first snow in my area, I remember how dry our summer was, and realize the selfishness of my wishes. Bring it on, Old Man. Give it your best shot. Make it a good one while the novelty of white stuff will be received with a freshness and zeal we won't have in February.

Carol

Saturday, December 8

Nestled

"Nestled"
6" x 8"
Oil on Hardboard

I visited a home a few days ago that had a nest like this displayed under a bell-shaped dome. I became so infatuated with the nest, cut from branches in her own yard that I had someone photograph it for me. This is something like her nest, but as we know, each one is a work of art that can't really be duplicated.

I adore these tidy, woody vessels where some of nature's most fragile elements get to tenant safely.

Carol

Dailypaintworks.com
Dailypainters.com
My Gallery
Brushstrokes@comcast.net

Friday, December 7

Come Springtime

"Come Springtime"
10" x 10"
Oil on Hardboard

Wishful thinking keeps me smiling. It's just too bleh outside for my liking. Too chilly, too damp, too all the same shade of grey. I could even go for some midwestern, field-greens. Like this springtime fantasy.

It's another sky, but this one is larger than my standard six inch beauties.

Carol

Dailypainters.com
Dailypaintworks.com
My Gallery
Brushstrokes@comcast.net

Thursday, December 6

Split Complement

"Split Complement"
6" x 14"
Oil on Hardboard

A box of pears arrived at my door this week. Not only was I excited to eat them, my friend sent me models! I painted a lot of them last December when friends blessed me with the season's finest. 'Tis the season!

What goes with yellow green? I consulted my colour wheel and found the split complement to be red and violet. Yum. Two of my favorite colours. I even made the board a combination of the two.

Carol

Wednesday, December 5

More Progress

"More Progress"
30" x 38"
Oil on Hardboard

The Maroon Bells painting is STILL not finished. I have a few more days of adding trees, mountain details, reflections and tweaking to do before I sign my name to it.

Carol

Dailypainters.com
Dailypaintworks.com
My Gallery
Brushstrokes@comcast.net

Tuesday, December 4

See the Light!

"See the Light!"
5" x 12"
Oil on Hardboard

Mama Cass Elliot sang "...the darkest hour is just before dawn." What she implied is it gets a lot brighter after all that darkness. Come on now, let's get out of the winter funk. Soon it'll be white instead of sepia, and our eyes will be filled with light again. These grey days are just -- so -- hard.

I'm talking to myself. I needed a pep talk, and who better to deliver it than the person who knows exactly what it's about. The person who can get to the heart of the matter. Moi.

Carol

Monday, December 3

Sepia Winter

"Sepia Winter"
6" x 8"
Oil on Hardboard

I'm coming to grips with grey sticks poking into the sepia sky. Not really. My hands ache at the thought of serious cold. My body shivers and my eyes aren't adapting to so much darkness. Soon enough, on my birthday, in fact, we'll reach the pinnacle of darkness and begin the descent down the light side of the slope.

I was compelled to get this one out of my system. It happened almost like a dare. Do it. Just paint the trees and the lake and the dismal sky in sepia and burnt sienna. Do you ever listen to your inner voice?

Carol

Dailypainters.com
Dailypaintworks.com
My Gallery
Brushstrokes@comcast.net

Sunday, December 2

Work in progress

Work in progress
30" x 38"
oil on hardboard

The Maroon Bells commission piece is progressing nicely. It's useful to photograph it and look at it in miniature, like this, from time to time, too. I see things when it's down small that would otherwise be missed. I also drop the colour, too, so it's shades of grey—useful in checking the values—lights and darks.

Carol

Dailypaintworks.com
Dailypainters.com
My Gallery
Brushstrokes@comcast.net

Saturday, December 1

Sentinel

"Sentinel"
10" x 10"
Oil on hardboard

The house was gone, a small barn stood next to the helmeted-sentinel that guarded the edge of the property. It was cold, too cold to paint on site, so I photographed the shivering duo, and wandered back to the comfort of my warm vehicle.

December is here. I'm bracing for a long winter.

Carol

Dailypaintworks.com
Dailypainters.com
My Gallery
Brushstrokes@comcast.net

Friday, November 30

Softly Foggy

"Softly Foggy"
10" x 10"
Oil on hardboard

The thing about fog that sometimes delights me is the way it renders everyone who looks into it "in need of glasses." I don't suppose that's an accurate description, but it sure seats us all in the same boat. Nobody is better at it than anyone else.

It will be foggy by the time this posts. Dumb luck, not by design. I painted this in the bright light of this wintry day, that looked not a thing like what you see here.

Carol

Dailypainters.com
Dailypaintworks.com
My Gallery
Brushstrokes@comcast.net

Thursday, November 29

Tulip Time

"Tulip Time"
5" x 5"
Oil on wrapped canvas

I'm thinking of spring tonight, what with a luscious full moon overhead. Foolish of me to do it, I know, as I've not even seen the first flake of winter. Yet my eyes are ready for color again. I'm already weary of grey sticks poking into grey sky.

Painting my fantasy has helped. It's a sweet little fantasy, filled with color and life from a spring day at the Chicago Botanic Gardens.

Carol

Dailypaintworks.com
Dailypainters.com
My Gallery
Brushstrokes@comcast.net

Wednesday, November 28

Progress

"Progress"
30" x 38"
Oil on hardboard

Here's a section of The Maroon Bells that I'm working on. The mountain is in strong light, the shadows are dark and the snow is bluish. It's a process of applying paint and glazing color upon color. It's taking time because of the size of this piece... but F U N!

Carol

Dailypainters.com
Dailypaintworks.com
My Gallery
Brushstrokes@comcast.net

Tuesday, November 27

Ballerina Blossoms

"Ballerina Blooms"
5" x 7"
Oil on wrapped canvas

They were simple in their beauty, fragile like ballerinas on point, curtsying to the audience as applause fluttered their delicate petals.

This small piece is my offering tonight while my big painting looks ... horrid! I can't post the progress when it looks this bad. It's entirely normal for this stage of the game, but it might make my clients faint dead away. Nope, I'll photograph it when it looks a wee bit more composed.

Carol

Dailypaintworks.com
Dailypainters.com
My Gallery
Brushstrokes@comcast.net

Monday, November 26

At the Divide

"At the Divide"
6" x 14"
Oil on hardboard

I'm sitting in front of one of my most favorite places to paint and to be — the Continental Divide in Winter Park, Colorado. It's a source of comfort—like macaroni and cheese is to some people. If I need shoring up, all I have to do is scroll through my photos of this little pond and I can reflect on great memories and loving thoughts. I hope you have such an image, or a place of your own.

I gessoed 41 new hardboard panels today. Busy work. Tomorrow—REAL work—back to The Maroon Bells!

Carol

Sunday, November 25

Dawn Over the Lake

"Dawn Over the Lake"
8" x 10"
Oil on canvas panel

Morning crept in as usual; colourful, radiant and mystical, with no apparent sign of turmoil. Yet some had been brewing off shore, so very far away. How strange to hear of it, when it was so beautiful here.

Lake Michigan is such a lovely place to see dawn. I'm glad I live near enough to her shores to enjoy the show on occasion.

Carol

Dailypainters.com
Dailypaintworks.com
My Gallery
Brushstrokes@comcast.net

Saturday, November 24

Good Morning, Sun

"Good Morning, Sun"
5" x 12"
Oil on hardboard panel

The morning sky was showing off the day that I saw her looking like this. So many colours with which to greet the rising orb. Applause never looked so good.

Here's tonight's offering of sky while I paint mountains. Thank you for looking.

Carol

Friday, November 23

Detail, work in progress

"Detail, work in progress"
30" x 38"
Oil on hardboard

Here's the waterline with the beginnings of trees for The Maroon Bells painting. I'll continue to paint and alternate skies and mountains during the process.

Carol

Dailypaintworks.com
Dailypainters.com
My Gallery
Brushstrokes@comcast.net

Thursday, November 22

Sandy's Red Warning

"Sandy's Red Warning"
5" x 12"
Oil on hardboard

My daughter sent me a photo of the sky over western New Hampshire the morning Sandy hit. Someone she knows took the photo and sent it to her. This testifies to the first line of the poem I quoted the other day... "Red sky in morning, Sailors take warning." It's graphic enough for me!

While I work on my commission piece here's something different to look at. I'll post more of The Maroon Bells tomorrow.

Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who celebrate it today. I'm thankful for all of you who come to this place to see my art.

Carol

Dailypaintworks.com
Dailypainters.com
My Gallery
Brushstrokes@comcast.net

Wednesday, November 21

IN PROGRESS

IN PROGRESS
30" x 38"
Oil on hardboard

The mountains were not prominent enough for my clients, so I brought them a little closer. Would that I could move mountains in my day to day life!

I've applied a base coat of color to the whole panel with my little snippets of sponge. Tomorrow I'll employ my Rosemary & Company brushes to chisel out some of the details that will begin to bring The Maroon Bells to life—stroke by stroke.

Carol

Dailypainters.com
Dailypaintworks.com
My Gallery
Brushstrokes@comcast.net

Tuesday, November 20

Watery Dawn

"Watery Dawn"
5" x 12"
Oil on hardboard

Dawn lifts her silky veil to reveal the blush of a new day. Doze a few moments too long and you'll miss her show altogether. Best begin sipping your coffee in the darkest hour... and wait. It'll be worth your while.

When I had the panel cut for my commission piece, I asked that the rest of the board be cut into some different shapes and sizes. I've gessoed dozens of new panels to explore some familiar subjects in new formats.

Carol