Retreat

Retreat  oil on panel  5in x 7in
Another beautiful setting at Mt. Carmel overlooking Lake Carlos. These chairs are  located all around the hillside and grounds near the lake, a place for resting, reading, or a quiet conversation, how inviting is that.
The dappled light is always fun to work with and the odd shadows created by overhead branches.

Kay's Geraniums

Kay's Geraniums   oil on panel 5in X 7in
A beautiful morning and out my window at Mt. Carmel was this pot of geraniums lit by the morning sun. What a way to start the day. It just seemed to say, "paint me, paint me" so I did. This little garden is located between the lodge and the lake and always has light filtered through the trees that surround it.  Check out more about Mt. Carmel at the site on the side of my blog.

Eternity Cross

Eternity Cross 5 x 7 inches oil on panel
This beautiful cross without beginning and without end sits in the Eternity Garden of Mt. Carmel Ministries where I am the artist in residence many weeks of the summer. I paint daily the different areas of the campus which are then framed and placed in silent auction with part of the price given to a scholarship fund for families to attend the camp.
Each year I teach over a hundred people from 12-90 yrs of age and get to enjoy their experience with oil paint and pastels. Truly a joy!

The Power of Three

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The Power of Three-6x6  oil on panel

The Power of Three refers to three colors plus white.  Believe it or not these were all painted with cadmium yellow lt, cadmium red light, ultramarine blue plus white. This is a terrific exercise I frequently choose odd colors but one of each in the yellow family, red family and blue family.
Interesting what a different feel you get and mood with each one. I could go on for many more and come up with different colors again.
What helps me is to make a copy of my photo in black and white, then I only am influenced by value not color. It is hard not to be influenced by the colors in front of you so I just take them away with black and white to work from.
      This freedom of no color to look at helps me focus on composition and paint application, knowing that those colors will always be harmonious. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Apple Twins II

Apple Twins II 10 x 8 oil on panel
A few dreary days and the deer completely stripping our new strawberry patch led me want to see something juicy and red and so here are the Apple Twins. Strong clean colors to show this beautiful fruit and some juicy paint. Two things I have trying to improve in my paintings. I hope these look delicious enough to eat because we won't be eating stawberries this summer.

Jewel in the Woods

Jewel in the Woods   6 x 8 oil on panel
Back to our paint-away last fall. Outside our window among the heavy foliage and trees the sun caught the side of the rock like a mountain among the green. A surprise as much of our weather was over-cast and cloudy but when the sun came out it was like a jewel on the forest floor.
A personal challenge for me to paint. I love trees and overwhelmed the rock on the first try. Then tried a larger version and it lost everything I wanted in my translation.  Back to the easel with a goal of making this what I wanted to show. You just never know what shows up when the sunlight is your spotlight.

Ablaze oil on panel 6x8 in
Ever have one of those paintings that keeps calling you back because it isn't quite done or quite the way you want it. This painting was begun on my annual paintaway last Oct. Plein air but missed the mark. I reworked it once and that is just what it looked like,'reworked'. so I put it away again and today was able to capture what the scene looked like. Most of the color in the area where we were was gone but this one tree stood alone, ablaze in color. Wonderful memories of starting this outdoors on a soft ,fall day.
I haven't posted for awhile. I have been preparing for my One woman show at the Bismarck Art and Gallery Assoc. in Bismarck, ND. . A real joy, it is where I began showing my work many years ago when I was just getting out of my own little area.