Relax! Happy Independance Day!

Last weekend's painting.  I spent two different days "chasing the shadows" as the sun moved up and around.  It was strong light and I began about 9 a.m. facing almost due east.  This is an acrylic on canvas board (9.5 x 14) titled "Dad's Perfect Yard".

OMG - Painting again!

No excuses...but life got in the way...Recently, I have been able to push the other thing aside and paint.  This painting happened as I went out on Father's Day morning to check on the haybales across the lane, but turned - uninspired - and walked down the driveway.  That's where I saw the scene that called to be painted.  I loved the strong light and shadow.  I grabbed a canvas and some paints and plopped them on the hood of a car as a make-shift work area.  This is an 8 x 10 acrylic on canvas entitled "Summer Fields".

Spring is "artficially" here!

Spring "plein air" painting season started early for the members of Susquehanna Valley Plein Air Painters when we were invited to the York Garden Show to paint "plein air" in the exibit hall!  Oh, the smell of damp soil and tan bark, of flowering bulbs...it was quite a treat.

I painted on Sunday, and after touring all the booths and constructed landscapes, I was drawn to a darker corner where some nursery pots were just "waiting backstage".  There was a mass of heliotrope, a few ferns and one bright red tulip pot at the front.  The colors were irresistible to me and I spent the entire day there!  The puddle on the floor from watering dried up and the tulips opened quite a bit during the 4 hours I spent there.  I tried to capture the best of both.


This is an 8 x 10 acrylic on canvas titled "Ladies in Waiting".  It will be for sale at The Artist Market of Pomfret Street, Carlisle PA.  Check out the Market on Facebook.

And check out the other SVPAP posts on their blog: susquehannavalleypleinairpainters.blogspot.com

I have hung a few works at The Artist Market, 16 W. Pomfret Street, Carlisle, that had not been shown there before.  This is 24 x 24 gallery wrapped canvas; acrylic painting with some collage work.  The rock and the feather were first collaged with tissue paper chosen from my boxes of stash.  The tissue paper is painted with a variety of colors and textures.  Once dry, it becomes part of my "pallette", to be chosen for just the right spot...then over painted to add shadows or more texture and color.  The imagery was chosen as a reminder of our stewardship to our earth and natural resources. 

6 PM October Apple Tree

As I was leaving the studio a few weeks ago, I glanced across the yards to see the late-day light just spilling across the ground and slipping right under the neighbor's apple tree and illuminating the fruit on the ground.  The effect lasted only minutes...I ran back to get paints and a canvas; I waited a few days later for the effect to happen again in order to capture what I had missed. 

I was pleased with the painting but more so with the "serendipity" in which the moment was gifted to me.

Acrylic on canvas, 8 x 10, available.  Contact me or stop by the Holiday Artist Market, 16 W. Pomfret Street, Carlisle, to see this and 20 other paintings by the Susquehanna Valley Plein Air Painters on display and for sale through the end on December.

Fall at Fuller Lake

What a glorious day!  Bright sun, fast moving clouds and just enough wind to throw leaves  about like confetti!  Deep shade and bright light through the leaves like stained glass...our outdoor cathedral!

"God has cared for the trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand tempests and floods.  But he cannot save them from fools."  -John Muir

8 x 16 canvasboard, acrylic.  Available,  contact me.

7 AM Haystacks by Catherine Stone

We are lucky to have fields in a semi-wild state just across the lane from our home.  The ownwer mows and bales twice a year and in between, it is a wild meadow of chicory, clover, Queen Anne's Lace, and goldenrod.  This year's butterfly population was particularly noticeable.  I am always inspired by the changing colors light and shadows.  I don't think I will need to go anywhere else to paint.  As I have just started plein air painting, this piece, from August, is the first I have to post.  I finished it in the studio with some collaged found papers and hand-painted tissue to enhance the texture and add interest.