Chloe

Oil on 8x8 Gallery canvas

NFS

I painted this for my sister whose cat passed away a few weeks ago. She was part of our family for 19 years and will be missed.  Chloe was a little ball of fire, she had spunk and she loved her mommy like no other cat I've ever seen!

The Harbor

Oil on 8x10 Gallery wrap canvas

SOLD

I went to a plein air workshop on Friday in Milwaukee with painting instructor James Hempel and a group of artists.  It was the second time I painted in plein air which was nerve racking and exciting at the same time.  I spoke to a lot of very nice, supportive, and interesting people who would stop by to look at what I was painting.  It was truly an experience I will never forget and reinforces the idea that it's important to step out of your comfort zone to grow as an artist.
We were at the McKinley Marina and Lagoon in Milwaukee, a very beautiful area which reminded me of growing up in the south of France and spending summers on the sailboat.
The title of this painting was the name of the sailboat and also very fitting for painting a complicated scene.  I was thinking I would get a couple of paintings done during the day but ended up only working on this one.

Riverside Park

Oil on 8x8 Gallery wrap canvas

We walked in Neenah, Wisconsin this past weekend and they had this beautiful park overlooking the river with boats and a dock.  It was really beautiful and it made me want to take my painting stuff and set it up right there!  I had to settle for taking pictures and doing it later as we were with family and we opted for ice cream instead.

Tree Lined

Oil on 8x10 Gallery wrap canvas

SOLD

The row of trees on either side of the road were beautiful with their cast shadows on the road. This is from one of my pictures of the Chateau des Alpilles in St. Remy last summer.

Annecy on the Water

Oil on 12x16 Gallery wrap canvas

SOLD

My parents are from this town in France called Annecy.  It's in the Alps about 1 hour from Geneva and is a great place in the winter for skiing and also in the summer because of hiking and swimming in the large lake.  The downtown is very quaint as it has canals that run through the town and little bridges all over.  Very beautiful town, I would highly recommend a visit if you have the opportunity.  This picture was taken by my sister, Audrey, during one of her visits.

Topsail Sunset and new easel!

Oil on 11x14 Gallery wrap canvas
$85

Click here to purchase this painting 

This is a sunset we had on our vacation at the beach in Topsail Island, NC.  The house was on the sound side and we saw some beautiful sunsets!

Below is a picture of my new studio easel!  I've been wanting one for years and finally got it, needless to say, it's been a pleasure painting.

Poppies

Oil on 8x10 Gallery wrap canvas
$50

Click here to purchase this painting 

My sister-in-law took this picture of poppies, she actually took a few pictures of them and I felt so inspired to paint them, I just love these flowers. I may use this to do a larger painting.

Morrisville

Oil on 8x10 Gallery wrap canvas

$50

Click here to purchase this painting 

I painted this landscape a couple months ago and since I haven't been home to paint lately, decided to post it again! I love doing reflections in the water, it gives such a peaceful feeling.

Sketches from the Beach

Sketches on paper with watercolor pencils 

 I did some sketching during our vacation at the beach. I really liked working with the watercolor pencils, color just brings life to a sketch! We're still on vacation but I can't wait to get home and start painting again!

Hope everyone is having a great 4th of July!

Shady Spot

 

 Oil on 10x8 Gallery wrap canvas

I'm still working through my pictures of the grounds of the Chateau des Alpilles in St. Remy in Provence.  The grounds had these gorgeous huge trees that must have been hundreds of years old, they were just very impressive and very beautiful.

On another note, it's summer time and we're going on vacation!  I won't be blogging for a few weeks and when I get back, I know I will be excited and ready to get back to painting!  Hope you're all having a great summer!

Grand Hotel

 

 Oil on 8x10 Gallery wrap canvas 

SOLD

This is another painting from St. Remy in Provence.  The hotel which is called Chateau des Alpilles is beautiful and I loved the sun coming through the gigantic trees and making all these shadows on the ground and on the front of the hotel.  It's a very old grand house with tall doors and beautiful interiors.  In the evening, they set up tables and chairs right in the front courtyard and serve dinner.

Sunset on the Water

 

 Oil on 10x8 Gallery wrap canvas
SOLD

This is a commission I did for a friend of mine for Father's day.  This was from a picture taken on one of their trips.  I think the colors of the sunset reflecting in the water are just beautiful!

On another note, the kids are on vacation now and I'm wondering when I'm going to have time to paint...it'll be so easy to get busy with all the other stuff going on...I'm going to have to set a schedule and I haven't done that in years!!!!  Anyone have any suggestions?

Juried show at the Richeson Gallery

House in Lavender Fields
Oil on 12x16 Gallery wrap canvas - Framed
$175 Click here to purchase from my Gallery

 

Village in Provence II
Oil on 12x16 Gallery wrap canvas - Framed
$175

I'm so excited that these two paintings have been juried into the first annual "Women's Art Liberation" show at the Richeson School of Art and Gallery in Kimberly, WI.  Proceeds will benefit the Harbor House a Domestic Abuse Program.  The exhibit will be open to the public July 10th, 2012 to August 24, 2012.  If you're in the area, make sure to check it out!  Also, if you're a woman artist over the age of 18, there's still time to enter!  Deadline is June 20th.

Canal du Midi II - Step by Step

Oil on 8x10 Gallery wrap canvas

SOLD

This is from another picture of the boat vacation through the canals in Provence. I thought it would be fun to post the step by step process of the painting.

Beaufort

Oil on 11x14 Gallery wrap canvas

SOLD

A friend of mine's parents live in Beaufort, SC and have this beautiful view from their backyard. I loved painting the huge tree and imagining sitting in those Adirondack chairs relaxing!

Champs de Coquelicots

Oil on 8x8 Gallery wrap canvas

SOLD

I associate certain things with growing up in Provence and fields of Poppies is one of them. I love looking at these flowers, so simple and so beautiful.

Canal du Midi

Oil on 8x10 Gallery wrap canvas

SOLD

My father and step-mother took a vacation on a boat going through the canals of Provence and took this picture. It seems so quiet and relaxing, I would love to do that one day and bring my painting supplies and paint in plein air!

French Balcony

Oil on 12x9 Gallery wrap canvas
$50

Click here to purchase this painting

This was my other submission to the DailyPaintworks challenge.

French Balcony II

Oil on 10x8 Gallery wrap canvas

SOLD

This is one of my submissions to the DailyPaintworks challenge of the week entitled "Seeing Double". The challenge was to paint from the same scene two different compositions on two different size canvases. I chose to do a cropping of the first one and this is the cropped painting. The scene is from a picture my sister took this past summer when we were in Provence.

Eiffel Tower commission

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Oil on 48x36 Gallery Wrap Canvas 

NFS - Commission

I finished the Eiffel Tower commission last week and I'm so happy with the results. The Eiffel Tower itself was an exercise in patience, it had so many details. I loved working on such a large scale, intimidating at first but really fulfilling!

Yellow Sunflowers

Oil on 8x8 Gallery wrap canvas

SOLD

Nothing says yellow to me like a field of sunflowers.  This is my submission to the DailyPaintworks challenge to paint something yellow.  Since I love that color, it was a fun one!

Spring Meadow

Oil on 8x8 Gallery wrap canvas
$25
Click here to purchase this painting

I never get tired of looking at the trees when spring is in bloom. I just love this season!

A Spring Afternoon

Oil on 8x8 Gallery wrap canvas 

SOLD

I love spring with the color of the sky and the newly green leaves on the trees.

Yellow Field

Oil on 8x8 Gallery wrap canvas 

SOLD

A friend of mine lives in Germany and took this picture. The red roofs are so typical of Europe. I thought the spring yellow flowers in the field looked so striking next to the grass field!

Eiffel Tower commission

Oil on 12x9 Gallery wrap Canvas 

NFS 

 This is the proof for the large commission I'm working on. Friends of mine want a large painting (48x36) of their family in front of the Eiffel Tower.

Lone Tree and sketches

Oil on 8x8 Gallery wrap canvas

$50
Click here to purchase this painting

I've been working on a large commission this past week which is very exciting and haven't had the time to paint so I painted this lone tree this afternoon...it felt good to get away from the Eiffel Tower for a little bit! Below are some sketches I did of the Eiffel Tower in preparation for the large painting.

Mountain Reflection

Oil on 8x8 Gallery wrap canvas 

$50
Click here to purchase this painting

 I tried something new last week using the palette knife for some of the painting. It was fun to use yet I tried a few other paintings with the palette knife and it was very hard to keep the painting in control and ended up with a ton of paint on the canvas!

This particular mountain is in Annecy, France which is where my extended family is from and where my mother and father grew up. My sister took this picture. It's a beautiful place with gigantic mountains and a very pretty town with a lake and canals from the lake that wind through the town.

Chateau des Alpilles II

Oil on 8x8 Gallery wrap canvas 

SOLD

This painting is from the actual hotel Chateau des Alpilles in St. Remy, France. An old house with beautiful mature trees that line the driveway.

La Tour Eiffel

Oil on 10x8 Gallery Wrap Canvas
$50

To purchase this painting, please visit my DailyPaintworks Gallery

I saw a picture of the Eiffel Tower from a friend of mine and I thought it looked so striking all lit up at night.

Village in Provence II

Oil on 12x16 Gallery wrap canvas 

NFS

I painted a larger one of the village in Provence. My husband liked the first one so I painted it to keep in our house.

The kids are on Spring Break for the next week so I'm not sure how much painting I'll get to do. Happy Easter everyone!

Morrisville II

Oil on 8x10 Gallery wrap canvas
$50

To purchase this painting, please visit my DailyPaintworks.com Gallery 

I love the calmness of the water and the reflections of the trees and hay stacks.

Morrisville

Oil on 8x10 Gallery wrap Canvas
$50

 To purchase this painting, please visit my DailyPaintworks.com Gallery 

I find that I alternate between landscapes and then a portrait. Portraits are so draining that I like alternating a few landscapes in between. This is from a picture taken a couple years ago when we still lived in North Carolina. I loved the calm water on the pond and the reflection of the trees. A storm was coming so the colors just popped out.

Chateau des Alpilles

Oil on 8x8 Gallery wrap canvas 

SOLD

If you're interested in purchasing this painting, please visit my DailyPaintworks.com gallery 

This is a second one from the grounds of the Chateau des Alpilles in Provence from this summer. The trees and long stretches of grass were beautiful. The hotel is in St. Remy, a very quaint and artistic town, I wish I could have stayed longer and gone to all the galleries!

Dashing Gabriel

Oil on 12x9 Gallery Wrap Canvas 

NFS

 Didn't get to paint a lot this week but I did go to my class in Milwaukee on Wednesday and enjoyed it so much! This is Gabriel, my nephew, I had promised my mom that I would do a portrait of him for her.  He has this cute little mischievous smile in this picture and that is so him!

River Boat

Oil on 8x8 Gallery Wrap Canvas

SOLD

We went to see the river boats this past summer. It was interesting to see them going up or down the canal, and to think that they had this system for years and years. It would be such a treat to be on one of those boats painting!  My sister who's great at taking pictures took this one.

Village in Provence

Oil on 8x8 Gallery wrap canvas
SOLD

This is another picture from this past summer. We did a lot of driving around in Provence and this is a village we drove by close to Barjols.

Sarah II

Oil on 12x9 Gallery Wrap Canvas

This is the portrait I did yesterday at the "Live model" drawing/painting sitting. I was a little worried about doing my first portrait in oils as opposed to acrylics but I found that it's easier to do a "softer" portrait with oils because you can make the edges fuzzy later, had I tried that with acrylics I would have found that the edges were already dry. Still learning but really enjoying it!

Path

Oil on 8x8 Gallery Wrap Canvas
$25
If you're interested in purchasing this painting, please visit my DailyPaintworks.com Gallery

 I just love the broken fence and this winding path. Where does this path go I wonder?

I'm getting more used to oil paints and I'm actually starting to like the fact that it doesn't dry so quickly.  You can actually move the paint with your paintbrush if you need to, I think that's just great!!!!  I went to my "Live Model" session today and am pretty happy with the results, I will post it tomorrow (it's already on DailyPaintworks if you're interested in checking it out).

Peaceful Meadow

Oil on 8x10 Gallery wrap canvas

SOLD

If you would like to bid on this painting, please visit my DailyPaintworks.com Gallery

This was my submission to this week's DailyPaintworks challenge.

Sunflower

Oil on paper 

I've been practicing with oil again today and worked from a sketch I did a week or so ago.  I figured I would save the canvas and practice on paper.