Tree Overlooking Meadow

5x7 acrylic on canvas panel - Available for purchase on Etsy


Looks like this is my last post for 2013. I think I've done more paintings this past year than any year in the past, and I hope to do even more in 2014!

Happy New Year!!

Meditative Flower

5x7 acrylic on canvas panel - Available for purchase on Etsy

I'm just staying in watching the snow melt today,  and trying to keep my little stressors in perspective.

Tea With Lemon

5x7 acrylic on canvas panel

I couldn't sleep last night, so I painted and had some tea...but not this cup. :)

Golden Delicious

4x4 acrylic on canvas panel

Homestead

8x10 acrylic on canvas panel

The Green Phone

8x8 acrylic on canvas panel

I bought an old rotary phone a few years back when I lived in Cincinnati thinking that it would be pretty cool if we could it in our house.  But it never actually happened and eventually we did away with the landline. Now it's basically a toy for my son.  But I do miss these old phones...

Clouds Over Indiana

8x8 acrylic on canvas panel

Evening Light

4x6 acrylic on canvas panel

Huddle

6x6 acrylic on canvas panel


This is a reworked piece from a couple months ago.  If a painting sits around for awhile sometimes it starts nagging me that it needs to be changed.  This was one of those paintings.  I am happy with the changes. Hopefully it won't hound me again :)

A Cozy Pair

8x8 acrylic on canvas panel

Two Strawberries

4"x4"acrylic on canvas


Just one tiny painting today because I felt a little rushed.  I prefer to paint in natural light, but this time of year the natural light starts to seem limited.  Also, I need to paint before my son wakes up from his nap.  Speaking of naptime, here is a random picture from today of my cat curled up with my son. The cat takes a bit of abuse from this 3-year-old, but he just loves him anyway.

Still Life with Teapot

9x12 acrylic on canvas panel

How I Imagine It

6x8 acrylic on canvas panel

Old Hull House

8x8 acrylic on canvas panel


I haven't figured out how to paint buildings loosely yet because I haven't painted many of them. But I still like how this one turned out.  I snapped a photo of this house in Hull as the sun was going down and I loved the light and shadows, so I just had to give it a shot.

Tiny Canvases

4x4 acrylic paintings on canvas


It seems like it's been an ongoing battle for to keep my paintings loose.  Today I tried a quick series of 4x4 inch paintings and limited my time for each one. It seems a little easier for me to do this with these tiny canvases, but I often psyche myself out when I attempt this on a larger size canvas.  Maybe I need to buy some enormous brushes?

White Flowers No. 2

8x8 acrylic on canvas panel

Puddling

11x14 acrylic on canvas panel

Sunset Clouds No. 1 and 2

4x5 acrylic on canvas panel

Just Tea for me

6x8 acrylic on canvas panel

Daydreaming and My First Abstract Painting

Okay, I said I would stop filtering my work, so here again are two very different paintings I did yesterday.  I actually did the abstract one first.  (It's my first abstract painting!) It was fun, but I think I used quite a bit more paint on the little 6x6 than the larger 9x12  landscape...

Sunday Mist and The Other Side of the Field

Yesterday was weird.  I did these two paintings and both of them seemed much different than anything I'd painted before.  Sometimes it frustrates me because I want to think I have a "style", but honestly I don't think I can say I do.  There are just so many different styles and techniques that I want to explore right now.  In the past I've painted pieces that I didn't want to post (even though I liked them) because I didn't think they looked like I painted them. I'm going to try to stop filtering my paintings.  I admit that I have no clue what I'm doing, and so I'm just trying everything I feel drawn to. Maybe someday my work will evolve into some sort of consistent style, but maybe not... I mainly just want to continue to grow and enjoy myself as much as possible throughout the process.

Three Apples

6x6 acrylic on canvas panel

The End of Ship Street

8x10 acrylic on canvas panel

Olive on the Couch

8x8 acrylic on canvas panel

This is my cat Olive.  I avoided painting her in the past because the idea of painting all that black seemed like I was just setting myself up for failure.  But I decided I would just try to keep it sketchy and simple, and it was a lot more fun than I expected. I might even try to do another one soon... :)

Rushing

8x10 acrylic on canvas board

A few times a year we make the 16-hour drive to Michigan and Ohio to see our family. Obviously I get extremely bored after hours in the car, so sometimes I get out my phone and start snapping pictures of the landscape as it passes. A lot of the pictures are awful, but occasionally there's one that speaks to me. This painting came from one of those photos.

In the Thick of It

8x8 acrylic on canvas board

Single Sunflower

6x6 acrylic on hardboard


Finally, a still life!

On the Path

6x6 acrylic on hardboard

Ok, yes it's another landscape.  Still no still life inspiration.  But I am still enjoying myself! This landscape came from a photo I took while my parents were visiting us. We went for a walk in a park and it was just a really nice evening. I'm glad I snapped some photos to help me remember it.

Autumn Fog

6x8 acrylic on canvas panel

September Breeze

12x12 acrylic on canvas

My goal today was to not overwork my painting.  I tried to keep this one loose, and I had to make myself stop when I started feeling fussy. It's not an easy thing for me, but it does seem to help when I give myself a time limit.

I felt a bit rushed tonight taking my dog Sydney for her evening walk. I like the month of September and the changing seasons, but I'm already missing longer hours of daylight.  I think Sydney is too!

Passage of Time

6x8 acrylic on canvas panel

Today my son turns three years old.  I was looking through photos from the last three years, and I know it's a cliche, but sometimes it's hard to believe how quickly time passes.

This is the Place

6x8 acrylic on canvas panel

Poppies at Sunset

5x7 acrylic on canvas panel

Pears Paired

6x6 acrylic on hardboard - Available on Etsy

Quiet Autumn

8x10 acrylic on canvas panel - Available for purchase on Etsy

I know I'm a little early for autumn, and I really don't mean to rush summer...  I just felt like I've been using a lot of green in my landscapes and I just wanted to change things up a little.

Passing Landscape

6x6 acrylic on hardboard - Available for purchase on Etsy

Breezy Nantasket

5x7 acrylic on canvas - Available on Etsy.  Click here to purchase

Peaches

6x6 acrylic on hardboard - Available on etsy

It felt like it had been awhile since I'd tried a still life.  My husband bought these peaches, and since we rarely have them in the house they seemed like a good option.  I'm not a huge peach fan, but I found that I like painting them.  Or at least I did today... Let's not jinx it, right?

Stage Fright

6x6 acrylic on canvas panel

Sometimes the hardest part of the painting (if I'm lucky) is coming up with a title. But the longer I looked at this one it seemed like the background trees were an audience to the tree in the foreground, and I empathized with it :P

Fast Approaching

6x6 acrylic on canvas panel

Hummingbird and Petunias

6x6 acrylic on canvas panel

Looking Up

5x7 acrylic on canvas panel

Summer Storm

6x6 acrylic on canvas panel