Category: oil painting

  • Pumpkins

    I have a friend who absolutely loves pumpkins, so for Hanukkah, I painted her a picture of pumpkins piled up on straw, based on a photo I took in Hillsdale, MI last fall. She loved the painting (said I could post it here). But I also feel that these pumpkins symbolize a bit more. Each…

    Read more: Pumpkins
  • Wood Thrush

    Wood thrushes are beautiful birds that like to nest in high trees (therefore, near woodlands). This painting is based on one I saw a few weeks ago at a local aviary. I painted this in oils, using a limited palette (ultramarine blue, burnt sienna, burnt umber, cad yellow, titanium white, sap green0

    Read more: Wood Thrush
  • American Goldfinch: acrylic painting

    I love the bright colors of goldfinches, and when I saw this one in a pine tree a week ago, knew that I wanted to paint him. This painting was done in acrylic, with my usual palette

    Read more: American Goldfinch: acrylic painting
  • Fawn in the Grass

    Last week I was at my friend’s house in a remote area, and a baby fawn came and lay down in a grassy section near some trees. I snuck up on the little fellow, and took a picture; this week, I painted him in acrylics. This took time to do, but I was able to…

    Read more: Fawn in the Grass
  • Pumpkin Patch: acrylic painting

    I have a friend who loves pumpkins, collects all types of pumpkin figurines, plushies, etc. She commissioned me to create a pumpkin patch for her, and this is the result. If you look closely, you will see a tiny ladybug that I put on one of the leaves in front!

    Read more: Pumpkin Patch: acrylic painting
  • Canadian Geese Family

    Each morning, there is a family of wild geese that visits the shoreline near where I am staying. I couldn’t resist painting these beautiful birds. Geese on Lake Huron, oils, 11 X 14″

    Read more: Canadian Geese Family
  • In the Canopy: semi-abstract

    I have been experimenting with going a bit looser and more abstract in some of my paintings. The other day, I saw the sun filtering through the trees in the woods, and decided to try to paint how the light affected me. This is one of my first attempts at abstracting somewhat what I see.…

    Read more: In the Canopy: semi-abstract
  • White Daffodils

    The daffodils have been in bloom for several weeks here in north Michigan. This is a painting I just completed, done in acrylics. I love these harbingers of spring, which I painted in my usual palette.

    Read more: White Daffodils
  • Plein aire sunny day study: Garden Statue

    It is a sunny day in Northern Michigan, so I decided to do a quick acrylic study of my friend’s garden statue. The daffodils are up; but my acrylics dried really too fast (even with a Stay-Wet palette). So, there were a few lumps in the paint in the end. But I love the garden…

    Read more: Plein aire sunny day study: Garden Statue
  • Plein Aire study: Birch Tree

    I decided to paint a beautiful birch tree that is only a few feet from the beach at Lake Huron. This study was done in acrylics. The day was hazy and a bit grey, so the colors are quite different from the previous sunny day study. I used my usual palette for this painting.

    Read more: Plein Aire study: Birch Tree
  • Learning to Paint Impressionism: Lilac blooms

    A few days ago, I set up a still life in my studio with a lilac sprig that I took from the bush outside. I wanted to paint my impressions of light and color, following the Hawthorne method as best as I could. Because of the late afternoon sun, there was a lot of golden…

    Read more: Learning to Paint Impressionism: Lilac blooms
  • Hope

    I decided to paint a friend of mine in a meadow (I love meadows, and am currently on a kick painting them), portraying the emotion Hope, which is what I am calling this painting. It represents the need to take time to look up, and see that there is hope during this time. This was…

    Read more: Hope