First Rose of Summer

"First Rose of Summer"
20" x16"
Oil on wrapped canvas 

The white roses are blooming, but they've been beaten and bruised by the heavy rains at the Botanic Gardens.  When I was there on Thursday, I found this one under shelter. She was sensual and beautifully fragrant next to a building. There were plenty of buds, so there will be more to photograph as the summer progresses. And it finally seems to be here!  

I hadn't painted a rose in a long time. I was hankering to tackle one when I realized how beautiful my photo was, so I started her last night and finished her today. Painting her was as comfortable as being with an old friend. I just knew intuitively where to begin.

This rose, if she doesn't sell first, will be in a solo exhibit I have scheduled for the month of September. It will feature roses and chocolates, so you'll be seeing more of these and several new chocolate paintings.

Carol

Wildly Wild

"Wildly Wild"
12" x 12"
Oil on wrapped canvas

The wild roses at the Botanic Gardens intrigue me. They're so unstructured and haphazard, compered to the well-bred cousins blossoming properly in the beds around them. When a wild one dazzles me in morning light, I like to capture her, but seldom paint her in season. There are so many other options, for my lovers of roses. 

This feels like a study to me, but I know I'll never take it any further.  I hope she appeals to you as she is… wildly wild.

We are in the midst of a blizzard here in my zip code. I went out and measured 22" of snow on my patio table. While I've been housebound I've updated my website.  If you go to CarolKeene.com there are over 200 new images in the category "Recent Works."  If you've never been to my website before, please go browse. It's clean, orderly and fun to look at. Thank you for looking.  

Carol

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Across the Sand

"Across the Sand"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard

The sun had dipped below the horizon, yet left a sumptuous display for my eyes. It would be fleeting, I knew that, but I'd remember it as it dissipated into the night.  

I'm working at re-establishing my skills from my weakened state after the flu. The heart is willing, but the hand is not as confident. It'll come back, I just need to keep painting.

Carol

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Little Bit Wild

"Little Bit Wild"
8" x 8"
Oil on canvas panel

During my visit to the western part of Wisconsin last week I came across these little roses. They were coral and had only about ten petals each. They were nestled in among some small violet flowers that looked pretty decent with the coral. The gardener did a nice job of planning. 

This is not my usual kind of rose, but neither was the night I began painting her.  I will paint more "civilized" roses in the near future, unless I find another cutie pie wild rose.

Carol

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Out of the Fog

"Out of the Fog"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard 

Days went by without even thinking of smearing paint. I thought I was mending, but lingered in a hazy place that just didn't loosen its grip. That fog may have burned off now and I'll have clear sailing from this point on.

Here's a simple offering from an unsteady hand. I'm happy to be back to work.

Carol

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Red Lily

"Red Lily"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard 

Mary had lilies blooming when I was her guest. I photographed a few of them, but alas, not the ones she dearly loved. They had finished their season a week before I got there.  

I hadn't painted a flower portrait in a while, so this one felt really good. But they all do, no matter what I paint or the medium or technique. I just love to … paint.

Carol

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Dividing

"Dividing"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard

While my photos of the "Divide" were in front of me, I decided to make another small painting of that area. 

I'm enjoying making these little landscapes.

Carol

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Dendrobium

"Dendrobium"
14" x 11"
Oil on wrapped canvas

A friend send me a photo of these orchids about a month ago. They've been waiting in queue to be painted, and now that I have, I want to paint more!  This was a wonderful exercise in value and limited color. I loved it. Thank you dear friend for thinking of me. 

I toned the canvas in Cadet Grey acrylic just before I began painting. It made a nice neutral ground for the white. I liked using it as a toning color. I'll use it again.

Carol

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Fragrant As She Looks

"Fragrant As She Looks"
24" x 24"
Oil on wrapped canvas 

I painted on this large painting with my friends on Thursday. In my haste to get home and finish her, I left ALL of my paints and my favorite brushes at the painting site… an hour away from home. Of course, I didn't realize it until I was ready to unload my car.  So I repeated my trek to Woodstock to fetch my precious materials. I got home at ten o'clock at night.  Oh, I did paint, but only for an hour. Then I finished her today. 

On my way home, the first time, I photographed 77 new peonies. I have subject matter for some pretty strong paintings.

Carol

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Niagara Falls

"Niagara Falls"
10" x 8"
Oil on hardboard

A friend took a trip to Niagara Falls over the weekend and sent photos to me.  It was fun to paint the cascading water in the colors that appeared on his photos. I remember seeing the falls as a teen, back when the falls had nearly dried up. The water source seemed to be mightily replenished this year.  

I enjoyed painting something completely different from anything I've ever done.  What fun!

Carol

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Moonlit

"Moonlit"
24" x 24"
Oil on wrapped canvas

Two years ago, to the day, I photographed this peony on my way to work. She was in the yard where all the white roses would eventually bloom along the white picket fence. She appears to be moonlit, therefore, the title. And if you know me at all, I adore the moon. 

This year the peonies are still in the "marble" stage. Mine won't be blooming for a while yet. I'm glad I had a photo to satisfy my longings for today's effort.

Carol

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Autumn Dahlia

 "Autumn Dahlia"
12" x 12"
Oil on wrapped canvas

This rusty kind of yellow dahlia was prevalent on an autumn visit to the Botanic Gardens. The shadows were deep, some cool, some warm and the highlights glanced off the tips and edges beautifully. 

Carol

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Sunshine and Shadow

"Sunshine and Shadow"
12" x 12"
Oil on wrapped canvas

Something cast a shadow across the petals of the yellow rose the morning I went to the Botanic Gardens to shoot subject matter. I didn't realize it until I got home and imported the images from my camera. I would have found the culprit and moved it, had I noticed while I was there. As it stands, the shadow gives this pretty little bloom somewhat of a tattoo. 

Carol 

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Come Home

"Come Home"
5" x 7"
Oil on hardboard

There are places without houses that feel like home. Where comfort comes easily, thoughts never roil or distort. This place is one of them, and tonight I found comfort in painting this place that beckons … come home. 

Here's my favorite Colorado pond again. It brings me such comfort and joy.

Love,
Carol

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Spring at the Divide

"Spring at the Divide"
7" x 5"
Oil on hardboard

The Continental Divide near Winter Park, Colorado  is one of my favorite places to paint. Here it is in a spring green version of my normal late-summer take on it. 

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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Stacked

"Stacked"
12" x 12"
Oil on wrapped canvas

I hobbled barefooted across the smooth limestone rocks on the Lake Michigan beach, up on the northern shore of Door County, Wisconsin. For the most part, the rounded stones washed ashore and scattered randomly along a specific stretch of beach. But I found a cluster of them that had been stacked — by hands. Chubby, cherubic hands.  

The stones are so sensual. You can hear them before you see them as they rattle up to and away from the shore. They are a pale dove gray and feel like something you'd purchase in a spa shoppe to fondle away your woes.  They're so unique that they'r protected by law. You can't remove them from the beaches. None.  Just photos…

Carol

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Rosebud

"Rosebud"
12" x 12"
Oil on wrapped canvas

She nodded toward the sunlight and puckered her sweet lips as I lifted my camera and clicked.  

I bought this rose, about the size of a quarter, four years ago and photographed her. I don't believe I've painted her before, in this pose.  Enjoy her.

Carol

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Blue For You

"Blue For You"
!0" x 8"
Oil on wrapped canvas

Spring pansies are on racks at the entrance to my grocery store. This one was among the beauties being jostled by the wind as I walked in to pick up a roasted chicken the other day. I'm so desperate to see growing, living things I'll settle for hot house pansies as subject matter.  

I haven't painted a yellow and blue pansy before. It was fun to determine the shadow colors in the folds. The other thing that was fun to observe and paint was the veining, not just the bold purple ones, but the subtle veins that created shadows.  They're easy to see in the actual painting.

Carol

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Cool, Dry and High

"Cool, Dry and High"
5" x 7"
Oil on hardboard 

I stood on the side of a road to shoot in the general direction of Pikes Peak near Garden of the Gods that mid-October day. I had the good fortune to be in the State while a few colorful trees still adorned the foreground, and of course, the red spires of the Garden repeated some of the warm tree colors. 

This is a cute small painting of one of my favorite places to photograph and to paint.

Carol

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