Meka - The Sweet Petite Persian

Meka
14x14 Acrylic on 1.5" Gallery Wrap
SOLD - Commission

Meka is a sweet, petite Persian that I recently painted for the lovely lady who is the Director of The Greenbrier Spa at The Greenbrier Hotel & Resort in White Sulphur Springs, WV. The soft greys in Meka's fur are a mix of Prussian blue, a touch of Rose Madder, a little Naples Yellow and varying amounts of titanium white. Her pinks are Rose Madder and white, and her eyes are a combination of three different yellows. The dark green background and edges of the canvas are very blue-green and a mixture of Prussian Blue, cadmium yellow deep and a slight touch of Rose Madder. I really enjoyed painting Meka - her fur was a delight to layer and shade. Her owner loved the painting and I think Meka probably liked it too. Second and third photos show detail of right and left edges of Meka's sweet face and fluffy chest. Your comments are always welcome.

Hollyhocks High & Low

Hollyhocks High & Low
16x20 Acrylic on Canvas
$475.00 plus shipping

Hollyhocks High & Low is one of my all time favorite paintings. Bet you can guess one of the major reasons I like it so much - could be the 20 shades of pink and red found herein! Hollyhocks come in so many different colors - but I am always drawn to the shrimpy colored pink ones. My friend, Jeanne Brenneman, emailed me a picture of her garden's hollyhocks last year and they were tall and gorgeous, and peachy pink. Although she would probably not recognize them, I used her photo as my reference. I used my extended palette on this painting, and had a pink party, as you can see. Second and third photos show detail of the upper left and right of my big hollyhock flowers. Your comments are always welcome.

Garden Cosmos

Garden Cosmos
10x10 Acrylic on 1.5" Gallery Wrap Canvas
$95.00 plus shipping

Garden Cosmos was a fun painting for a Sunday afternoon. Only one true pink used here - Rose Madder and in some places a touch of cadmium red medium for warmth. I like the way the blue-green in the sage colored background sets off the pink blooms. This light sage color is a mixture of cobalt blue, Naples yellow and a slight touch of cadmium yellow deep, and of course, titanium white. My medium and dark green foliage is a mixture of Prussian blue and cad yellow, sometimes some Naples and sometimes cobalt. I finished the painting off with a nice coat of satin varnish for a subtle sheen. Second and third photos show detail of my blushing blooms. Your comments are always welcome.

Greenbrier Rhodies

Greenbrier Rhodies
16x16 Acrylic on 1.5" Gallery Wrap Canvas
$275.00 plus shipping

Back to my pink palette with Greenbrier Rhodies, a painting I intend to bring with me to The Greenbrier to show during my Easter painting demo and trunk show at The Colony Gallery. The Greenbrier is a beautiful place to show and sell floral paintings - the whole hotel just screams flowers year round! And the Rhododendron is the official flower of this magnificent hotel, as well as the state flower of West Virginia. Second, third and fourth photo show petal detail of this popular flower. Your comments are always welcome.

Little White Orchid

Little White Orchid
8x10 Acrylic on Canvas
$95.00 plus shipping

Little White Orchid is a small floral done with a slightly different limited palette than the previous couple of days. This time I used manganese blue and Prussian Blue, Naples and cad yellow deep, cad red medium and rose madder. I really like the periwinkle blue that can be made from manganese blue and rose madder. Some juicy blue-greens are also possible with manganese. And, of course, the lovely peachy pinks from the cads with a touch of rose madder and Naples yellow. Second and third photos show detail shots of the perky moth orchids. Your comments are always welcome.

Dafodillia

Dafodillia
8x10 Acrylic on Canvas
$95.00 plus shipping

My daffodils are coming up all over the backyard and riverbank already this year. It really put me in the mood to paint some, so out came the cad yellow and cad red together with my usual blues and pinks. I love painting jumbles of flowers like this - so humor me! Sometimes they make sense, even if only to me. I'm always working on a good pattern in my paintings - that seems to be all the fun of it. Second and third photos show details from the right side of this jumble of spring petals. Your comments are always welcome.

Iris Inspiration

Iris Inspiration
8x10 Acrylic on Canvas
$95.00 plus shipping

Iris Inspiration is another 8x10 acrylic painted with leftovers from yesterday's palette that I used for White Poppy Field below. The Rose Madder really makes a beautiful pink and when mixed with the Prussian blue, white and a bit of yellow, makes an equally pretty periwinkle. On and on, mixing lovely greys and sage greens with a very limited palette! Second and third photos show brushwork on this latest painting. Your comments are always welcome.

White Poppy Field

White Poppy Field
8x10 Acrylic on Canvas
$95.00 plus shipping

White Poppy Field is a small acrylic done with a limited palette consisting of: Naples yellow, cadmium yellow deep, Prussian Blue, cobalt blue, quin deep rose, rose madder deep and titanium white, along with a bit of burnt sienna. I really like the soft sage greens that result from mixing Prussian blue with Naples yellow, and occasionally with a bit of cad yellow or burnt sienna thrown in. I used the cobalt blue for my brighter greens and for the deep, deep darks I used Prussian blue, burnt sienna and the rose madder deep. The luminous blues and lavenders in the petals are, of course, cobalt blue alone with white added or with quin rose and white added. Photos two and three show details of these bright petals. Your comments are always welcome.

Flapper's Friend

Flapper's Friend
16x20 Acrylic on 1.5" Gallery Wrap Canvas
SOLD / DONATED

Flapper's Friend was donated last week for the upcoming "Bootlegger's Ball" put on as a fundraiser by Carnegie Hall in Lewisburg, WV. The event is tomorrow night, the 25th, where this painting will be auctioned off along with several others. Several artists from our group, Greenbrier Artists, who meet at Carnegie Hall every Thursday, painted for the cause to help with the fundraiser. It was our pleasure to do so - Carnegie is very good to us - we have been meeting there for many years. It is the best facility in Lewisburg and our group has flourished there over the years. Thank you, Carnegie Hall! Second and third photos show detail from this painting of Flapper's Friend. Your comments are always welcome.

Poppy Spray

Poppy Spray
16x20 Acrylic on Canvas
ready to frame
$375.00 plus shipping

Poppy Spray is an impressionistic floral painting done with a limited palette which included: Prussian blue, quin red, cadmium yellow, Naples yellow and white, along with yellow ochre. It is a very dramatic painting and looks great in a frame. And, the colors are somewhat restrained, so it would look good in most any room of the house. Prussian blue is one of my favorite blues - and to me, is a cross between Winsor Blue and ultramarine blue - it does not have the bite of Thalo blue, but still has a lot of tinting strength. And, it makes a beautiful, subtle mauve when mixed with alizarin crimson or quin red and white. Second and third photos show detail of these bright blooms. Your comments are always welcome.

Three Tree

Three Tree
8x10 Acrylic on Canvas
$95.00 plus shipping

Three Tree is a landscape portrait of a tree that started off as a singular and grew as a triplet. It is amazing how all you need for a nice landscape is one tree - or in this case a single-triplet! A limited palette here - two blues, two reds, two yellows and white. I massed in the trunks with ultramarine blue before starting the sky and leaves. I like the way they are so strongly backlit, with just a reflected light on their fronts. So many trees, so little time. Second and third photos show trunk detail of this lovely wood. Your comments are always welcome.

Meow's New Muffler

Meow's New Muffler
8x10 Acrylic on Canvas
$115.00 plus shipping

Meow's New Muffler was inspired by the big snow we had yesterday - the biggest this winter! It is nearly all melted now - all except for the nooks and crannies in the surrounding hills. Meow's portrait was done with a limited palette consisting of two blues: cobalt and ultramarine; two yellows: Naples and cadmium deep; two reds: quin rose and cadmium red medium; and titanium white. The ultramarine blue and cad red made a nice grey-purple that I used to underpaint Meow's fur. While the cobalt and quin rose made a lighter lavender for his highlights. This painting will make beautiful cards and prints, I think. Second photo shows detail of this wintery kitty's pretty face. Your comments are always welcome.

Deep Forest

Deep Forest
12x24 Acrylic on 1.5" Gallery Wrap Canvas
$280.00 plus shipping

Deep Forest is a wonderfully shaped canvas - perfect for long, tall trees. The canvas was underpainted with cadmium orange - you can see it peeking out between the tree trunks and the foreground patch of wildflowers. This painting was a demo piece I brought with me last Thursday to our watercolor group, Greenbrier Artists, at Carnegie Hall in Lewisburg. Rose Dobbins did a demo rooster in this style and I did a another landscape. My palette colors included: cobalt blue, ultramarine blue, cad yellow deep, Naples yellow, burnt sienna, quin red, cad red, brilliant purple (Liquitex) and sky blue, along with Hooker's Green Deep - also from Liquitex. This is the kind of loose style I really enjoy doing. Second and third photos show detail of foreground and tree tops. Your comments are always welcome.

Sunflowers in Red Vase

Sunflowers in Red Vase

16x20 Acrylic on Canvas
$325.00 plus shipping

Sunflowers in Red Vase is the first in a series of several paintings using a very limited palette. Included in my sunflower palette are cadmium yellow deep, quin red, ultramarine blue, indigo blue and titanium white. I really enjoyed the brain exercise of mixing just the right colors that the painting called for, especially mixing my own earth tones - the burnt sienna for the flower centers and the yellow ochre for the petals. The color harmony in this painting makes me happy I restrained my palette! Second, third and fourth photos show up-close details of the petals and leaves of my yellow suns. Your comments are alway welcome.

Pink Peonies

Pink Peonies
11x14 Acrylic on Canvas
$125.00 plus shipping

Pink Peonies is the result of paint left over on my palette from painting on Saturday and Sunday of this past week. Only one pink (permanent rose) and two reds were used in this painting, but plenty of blues: cobalt, manganese, ultramarine and indigo. Also present are cobalt violet, cad yellow, cobalt green and a bit of Naples yellow. Later this week I will be posting a couple of larger paintings that sport limited palettes - yes, you heard right - LIMITED. It wasn't so bad - I can do it. Second and third photos show detail of my pink blooms. Your comments are always welcome.

Calico Abstract

Calico Abstract
16x20 Acrylic on Canvas
$425.00 plus shipping

Calico Abstract was truly a fun painting to do. I lined up all my juiciest colors and painted my favorite subject. I am planning to paint a very large cat or cats in this same style very soon - love the way all the cobalt blues, greens and violets work against the warm reds and oranges. Will definitely make prints and large cards out of this one. The second and third photos show detail of this colorful cat's face and chunky calico tail. Your comments are always welcome.