Hollyhocks

"Hollyhocks"
6" x 6"
Acrylic on hardboard

Hollyhocks were prevalent in Door County. I love their spiky stalks of color and the shape they afford in a composition.  I grew up with hollyhocks in the yard, but haven't seen many in recent decades.  I photographed several, so you'll see them popping up over the next few weeks.  

As promised, this is a new way of handling my knife painting. I "squeegeed" the paint as I applied it to the black background. It took courage, but I did it… to some extent. The next time won't be as terrifying.  Or if it is, I know I won't die trying.

Carol

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Delphiniums

"Delphiniums"
6" x 6"
Acrylic on hardboard

After painting delphiniums for the competition, I decided to give it another try, close up this time.  It was fun, but in my next painting, you'll see that I'm trying a new style with my knife paintings.  

I bought Julie Ford Oliver's video on how SHE uses her knife. I tried it today and think with a bit of practice, I'll be wielding my knife with a little more finesse.  She's the master (mistress) in my book.  Thanks for making your video, Julie. It was fab!

Carol

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Maritime

"Maritime"
5" x 5"
Oil on hardboard

A swath of rain dashed against the water across the bay. The small storm was heading away from where I planned to be, so it didn't much matter to me, except that it was subject matter. 

I've spent most of a week living near large bodies of water — Green Bay and Lake Michigan. I've loved the carefree absence from my normal life and the visuals that I seldom really see. I've asked to stop and back up many times during this week so that I could document subject matter along the way.

Carol

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Del-FUN-ium Daze

"Del-FUN-ium Daze"
10" x 8"
Acrylic on hardboard

I was in a plein air competition on Saturday up in Door County, Wisconsin.  It was the Saturday "Quick Paint" portion of a week-long benefit for the Peninsula School of Art. After a four and a half hour drive, I found my spot to paint as we rolled through town on the way to our hotel. I photographed it in the dark and dreamed about how I'd handle the composition come morning. 

I got my panel stamped, set up my gear and spent most of the two-hours painting this scene. I wanted to paint two paintings, but they looked at me like I was nuts. I guess nobody asked that question before.  I was done and tweaking well within the ordered time, before the horn sounded to announce the end.

The forty invited artists' work was auctioned off in the culmination of their weeklong effort.  Sixty-five of us non-invited artists framed and displayed our work for sale in a tent on the grounds of the art school.  Guests were lined up for a block and a half to get in to see the art. This piece was the second one of the evening to sell. The woman who purchased it told me she got there early to make sure she would be the one to buy it.  It was a lovely way to end a week of travel, painting, and making new friends.

Carol

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Sherbet Fluff

"Sherbet Fluff"
5" x 5"
Oil on hardboard 

It was the morning of our trip.  We got up early, loaded the car and drove into a sunrise that looked like something one would eat at a baby shower.    

I hadn't painted fluffy clouds in a while so it seemed like something I should do.

Carol

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Evening Warmth

"Evening Warmth"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard

It was if someone had stained a part of the sky with crushed raspberries. 

I'm back up in Door County at the Plein Air Festival. Today anyone is invited to paint with the "big boys."  Gallery owners will be looking at the art as we make it, so I'm where I want to be.  Wish me well!

Carol

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Lazy Evening Flames

"Lazy Evening Flames"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard

The colors waggled overhead like a fire too lazy to lick the underside of a log. They would peter out before igniting even the driest kindling. And you know, they did just that — flickered and extinguished themselves into night.  

I hadn't painted a sky in a while, so this colorful one was my choice.

Carol

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Hollyhock Path

"Hollyhock Path"
10" x 8"
Acrylic on canvas panel 

One of the gardens in Baileys Harbor had a stand of hollyhocks at the top of some limestone steps. There were purple and pink flowers lining the stairs and geraniums in the shade. 

I'll paint this one again. I've learned a lot by doing it once.

Carol

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Near Baileys Harbor

"Near Baileys Harbor"
5" x 5"
Acrylic on hardboard

I've been in Wisconsin at the Door County Plein Air Festival.  I've rubbed elbows with some of this country's and Canada's foremost plein air artists. They will be painting up there for the rest of the week. While zigzagging across and up and down the peninsula I found terrific subject matter to paint.  I'll be using the new material for a while to come. 

I got home tonight and painted this field of winter wheat mixed with a still-green grain.  The colors stopped me in my tracks as we drove to Baileys Harbor to see the artists on that side of the peninsula.

Carol

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Passionate Crotons

"Passionate Crotons"
6" x 6"
Acrylic on canvas panel

I found a place in the garden where sunlight pierced through the leaves and made for a fiery display. I loved the colors, the flaming appearance of the leaves.  It was SO passionate!  

This is the thickest paint I've ever applied and … left on a canvas.  It felt pretty darn good, too!

Carol

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Potted Plants

"Potted Plants"
6" x 6"
Acrylic on canvas panel

Across the patio from where I sat was an ice cream stand surrounded by potted plants that were flaming in the sunlight. I'm delighted to have shot a few photos of them to bring to my studio to paint.  

I shopped today for paint and bought fifteen new tubes. I didn't think I'd ever paint in acrylic after my mural painting days were over, but with knife painting, I did more than use up the remaining paint from those days. I found that I love the process and needed the right colors to continue to make art.

Carol

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Quickie

"Quickie"
6" x 6"
Acrylic on hardboard

I had paint left on my palette from the first two paintings I made, so I decided to use it on a third panel.  I had cropped sky out of the other two, but decided to indicate the clouds that had drifted in from the west. I like the large strokes and the shapes that emerged from the residual paint. 

Carol

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Three Pots.

"Three Pots"
6" x 6"
Acrylic on hardboard

Three pots nestled at the lip of a concrete pond in a section of the English Walled Garden. It was one of those dark ponds, the kind if a frog swam up to the edge and offered a kiss, you just might accept it.

I worked entirely with a knife again — a tiny one that fooled me into thinking I had a modicum of control.

Carol

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Red Bee Balm

"Red Bee Balm"
6" x 6"
Acrylic on hardboard

I grew up where bee balm grew wild, but it was purple. The first time I saw the red variety I thought it had been dyed like the orange and blue mums for a football game.  Um… nope. Red is the most common color of the domesticated border flower, which is also used to make tea. 

This is the first of three small paintings I made at the Garden today. The others will post over the next couple of days.

Carol

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Across the Way

"Across the Way"
6" x 6"
Acrylic on canvas panel

The top of a garden shed poked its tile roof through the vines and ivy on the other side of the hedge where I was painting.  It made for an interesting background detail, being the same terra-cotta as the middle ground pots and the pathway, too.

A knife painting from the Chicago Botanic Gardens' English Walled Garden.

Carol

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Garden Variety Color

"Garden Variety Color"
6" x 6"
Acrylic on canvas panel

I was at the Chicago Botanic Gardens on Sunday with my Sunday morning guys. We found color everywhere!  And I'm going back to paint there again on Thursday with another group of friends. I'm thrilled to live so close to beauty.

I started this acrylic and palette knife painting the way I would normally begin a traditional oil painting… blue sky… and when I got to the color, I realized I should have come with black panels.  On Thursday I will!

Carol

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Babbling

"Babbling"
4" x 4"
Oil on hardboard

There were late summer colors and aromas already titillating my senses when I heard the sound of water splashing against rocks.  I rounded the bend on a walk through my friend's property and saw this sight.  I'd love to be invited back.  

Most of this was painted with a fan brush.  I'd love to find one with the fan size about the size of a dime. Anyone know of such a brush?

Carol

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Chicken Cottage

"Chicken Cottage"
8" x 10"
Oil on canvas board

Back to Ginger Blossom's and the little chicken cottage… um, well, not THAT little. The chicken sculpture is taller than I am, so the cottage is not dollhouse size.  This cottage housed a gazillion table cloths, imported from all over the world. They made the inside as colorful as the outside of this former outbuilding at her farm.

Carol

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Road To Nowhere

"Road To Nowhere"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard

Dust rose before the sun that morning as I drove across the plains. To my right was the suggestion of a road that may have ended at a destination, or connected to civilization, but I was not about to explore it, despite my serendipitous route across the country.  

Some days are like this.

Carol

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Last Light

"Last Light"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard

Night is upon us, there's no turning back, hope you have something to do for the next nine hours or so.  This last bit of color is all there'll be until morning. 

It isn't easy to paint yellow in a blue sky without turning it green. Careful planning and specific pigments of yellow can insure success, if you know what to use.

Carol

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At Ginger Blossom's

"At Ginger Blossom's"
6" x 6"
 Oil on canvas panel 

I painted today at Ginger Blossom's farm and artifact establishment. This monolith is a part of the complex of buildings, sculpture, furniture and folk art.  Oh, my, what beauteous things there were.  The day was heavenly, the company terrific and so was the scenery.

Today was my first plein air painting day of the season.

Carol

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Marbleous

"Marbleous"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard

I thoroughly loved the process of making this painting. I knew the essence of how I wanted it to look, but I wasn't sure how I'd arrive at the finished piece.  I nearly wiped it off twice, then changed my tack. I stopped thinking about it, and allowed my hands and heart to make it. I love when I can let go and let my body do what it does best.  Mm-mm-mm. 

Carol 

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Zero Edge

"Zero Edge"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard

Tonight as I paint, I'm listening to Schubert's 9th and thinking of being in a zero edge pools while the sun sets.  I'd love to add the colors of the sunset to all the other sensations I imagine I'd be feeling at a time and place like that. 

Carol

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Capital

"Capital"
12" x 12"
Oil on wrapped canvas

I photographed the facade of a building in San Diego seven years ago.  This was a small part of the facade, a capital to one of the columns.  

It's a study. I wanted to see if I could decipher the monochromatic piece, in order to paint a large painting of more of the facade. I'm not so sure I want to.  I'll see how I feel in a couple of days.  I'm not a fan of architectural rendering.

Carol

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Garden Gate

"Garden Gate"
8" x 10"
Oil on canvas panel 

I found a photo of this fence and gate, and embellished it.  It's a quick study of a place I'd like to visit. I can almost smell the roses on the other side.

Carol

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Had A Nice Day

"Had A Nice Day"
4" x 4"
Oil on hardboard

If this was the sky I saw at the end of my day, I would probably be able to declare that I had had a nice day. If I had been in the hammock, or fishing, or at the beach or painting under the shade of a tree it would have been lovely. 

Carol

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Last Act

"Last Act"
4" x 4"
Oil on hardboard 

Miss Moon was in the last act of that day's performance, ready to curtsey and leave them wanting more.  The fire announcing the new day was about to be extinguished by the gush of pure, unadulterated blue.  

Another small piece of sky for you.

Carol

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Sundown

"Sundown" 
4" x 4"
Oil on hardboard

Sundown over the lake is a little slice of time when the sky is colorful and the trees are not, no matter the time of year.  

It's a tiny little thing, this one. And so will the next two be.

Carol

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Atherton Tablelands

"Atherton Tablelands"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard

Somewhere in Australia is this scene. A friend sent the photo and even though it's very green, it fits with my fence and gate theme.  I'm happy to try about anything in the way of subject matter. 

Carol

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As Our Spirits Dance

"As Our Spirits Dance"
5" x 5"
Oil on hardboard 

As the sun went down, our spirits began their night dance to bring the day to an end. "Let go and feel it," you said. "All is well, my love. All is well."

I read these words tonight and made this sky to match.  I listen to recorded books or music while I paint, and they both influence what I feel as I smear color.

Carol

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Sweetest Smell There Is

"Sweetest Smell There Is"
10" x 10"
Oil on wrapped canvas

I've painted her before, but she beckoned to me to paint her again.  I love the shadows, the veins, the color changes from petal to petal, and her fragrance — frankly, there's nothing like it.  I wish you could have buried your nose in her… 

Carol

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