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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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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Adrift in Passion

"Adrift in Passion"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard

The color wouldn't last but a few heartbeats longer, so we stopped what we were doing and watched.  We absorbed the warmth and light of the moment then continued on, tending to the mundane aspects of our lives with renewed energy. 

I fabricated this sky tonight, to have something to post while I finish a larger piece that is taking longer than planned. It was painted purely from passion and remembering a sky that looked like this.

Carol

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Weeds, Wind and Wheat

"Weeds, Wind and Wheat"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard

The wheat field wore the burnt sienna color of its prime, and under the veil of last light, it was a spectacular view to behold.  

I'm trying to put more ground in my  sky paintings. Nobody has asked me to, but it's a challenge I'm imposing on myself.

Carol

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Color Shifting

"Color Shifting"
5" x 5"
Oil on hardboard

The colors shifted so rapidly that evening, it must have been windy at higher elevations.  The aqua sky remained the base color, but the purple gave way to pinks and the orange that had mingled so beautifully with purple only seconds before.  

It was fun to paint consecutive sunsets based on the same sky within moments of one another. It certainly looks like a birthday girl's choice of sky, doesn't it?

Carol

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Sunset Rushing By

"Sunset Rushing By"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard

The clouds fuzzed in the evening air as the sun dipped behind the tree line on the distant island.  The lake took on some of sky's colors, but was faster to concede to pending noir than the luminous air. 

It has been a while since I've painted a sky. My little pastels have taken the place of daily sky paintings. Either way, I'm making art.

Carol

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Another Day

"Another Day"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard

I've wakened early enough lately, to see the transitory colors of dawn handing over the wand to another beautiful day, a clean slate. 

Here is a sky painting for your enjoyment as I finish up a series of house portraits.

Carol

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Diagonal Sherbet

"Diagonal Sherbet"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard

I wasn't particularly hungry when I first glanced at the sky looking like the punchbowl at a child's birthday party, but I got that way after staring at it for a while. I love what morning does to the colours she has to work with in the early hours when she thinks nobody is looking.  

Another sky for my collection. I may have figured out how to display the numerous panels!  I'm excited at the prospect.  

Carol

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Wake Up!

"Wake Up!"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard

We had taken turns slipping in and  out of the insanity required to drive through the night. Dawn broke part-way into my shift, and there it was in the distance—the front range. It was no longer dark. No longer the plains. No longer time to be quiet. This had to be shared. "Wake up and get a load of this!" I said to my companion. 

I love to paint skies. I've done enough of them now to not dread whipping one out on a night when what I'm working on isn't ready to post. Tonight was such a night.

Carol

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Smitten

"Smitten"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard

It has become my habit to paint skies when I'm pondering other subject matter.  The tighter a series, the looser the skies get. The more limited the color palette, the juicier the skies get. The styles balance one another. Can you tell that I'm painting seven pieces of brown chocolate by looking at this sky?  

Carol 

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Heavenly

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

There were clouds, and colour and light and things were changing, happening so quickly I could hardly keep up!  It was heavenly to paint quickly, with reckless abandon — loving every minute!  

A sky! I've been working on a big rose painting, but wanted to let you know I'm still here.  

Carol

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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 

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Morning Fluff

"Morning Fluff""
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard 

The sun rose in the usual way that morning, but I slept right through it. Someone described it to me, so I used that information to paint what I imagined it looked like.  No matter, it pleases me anyway. 

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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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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Pre-Sun

"Pre-Sun"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard

Moments before she made her flamboyant entrance over Lake County that morning, a company of clouds in tangerine, pirouetted across the treetops. A crescent moon rocked in the pre-dawn glory of Sun's theatrical display. 

Carol

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Canadian Sunset

"Canadian Sunset"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard

Where I live the sunrise and sunset are blocked by buildings and trees. My memory serves me in the area of these daily occurrences, and when I can, I photograph particularly stunning sunsets for reference.  This one is a recollection of one summer when I was in Canada at sunset. I loved how the primary colors reflected on the water, and how the trees, in the absence of light turned black.  I remember saying, "Good night Canada, I loved today." 


I painted this in twenty minutes.  I love these little sky studies.

Carol

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There Are No Minor Miracles

"There Are No Minor Miracles"

detail of original

8" x 12"

Oil on canvas panel

When for whatever reason success seems unlikely, we occasionally witness a miracle nevertheless. I referred to my most recent one as a minor miracle, but was corrected. "There is no such thing as a minor miracle. A miracle is a ... miracle."  I have to agree. To assign degrees to miracles is wrong.  I'm thankful and thrilled to have been a part of a lovely ... miracle! 

You are seeing only part of today's painting. The photo, when scaled to the same size I've used for nearly three hundred posts had such a moire pattern across it, that it looked like I pained on burlap. The original is horizontal and there is more image to the right.  I'll scan it instead, when the paint is dry, and post it again.  

Thank you for contributing to my joy by looking at my art. 

Carol 

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