Boat on the Beach

I love the water, and boats, so I decided to do this painting of a boat at sunset. I went back to oils for this one; it is still wet, so the glare prevents the colors from being fully true (too much yellow in the highlights, etc.) As usual, I went with a fairly limitedContinue reading “Boat on the Beach”

Peaceful Afternoon by the Baldwin River

I love the fact that spring is really in full swing here after a long and cold winter; it’s sunny and the moss is growing on the front lawn; irises and tulips are putting up leaves. So, I decided to do an outdoor painting, based on a photo I took of my side lawn andContinue reading “Peaceful Afternoon by the Baldwin River”

Birds of Michigan: Mallard Ducks

I’m back to painting my first love, birds. Here is a pair of mallards. I loved working on the detail for the female. The background has some glare; I’ll upload the scan of this painting once I get a chance to. Palette used: water: ultramarine blue, cobalt blue, cerulean blue, titanium white, burnt sienna inContinue reading “Birds of Michigan: Mallard Ducks”

Back to the Basics: Still Life

I am spending some time going back to the basics (still life), working on technique more, with still life paintings. Don’t worry, I’ll still be painting birds and landscapes, too, but want to work on my overall mixing, brush strokes, etc. Below, I’ll share how I did it for those who would like to know:Continue reading “Back to the Basics: Still Life”

Dog Portrait

A few months ago, I painted a portrait of a friend’s dog. She is a beautiful golden retriever, who sticks her tongue out to the side as a habit. Here’s the portrait, based upon a photo she provided. Because this dog swims constantly in the summer, I put the lake behind her: I had aContinue reading “Dog Portrait”

Pink Bouquet

A week ago, a friend sent me a lovely bouquet of flowers, to cheer me up during the…LONG….Michigan winter. I decided to paint it, so here it is: The deep background is a mix of ultramarine blue, olive green, burnt sienna, and lamp black, in several glazes. I  created the basket with mixes of burntContinue reading “Pink Bouquet”

Moose: Another Christmas Painting

In my last post, I mentioned that my other good friend wanted a painting of a moose. Why? Because her house is literally FILLED with moose things: moose towels, cups, figurines, coasters, etc., she is just nuts about them. So, when I gave her a gift certificate for a painting, she said, “A moose! That’sContinue reading “Moose: Another Christmas Painting”

Birds of Michigan: Blue Jay

It’s snowing a lot today, and the Blue Jays are feeding on corn that gets scattered on the ground, as well as seeds the other birds drop from the three seed feeders on our front porch. I enjoy their color and curiosity, in spite of how aggressive they are.  So, this inspired a painting: TheContinue reading “Birds of Michigan: Blue Jay”

Birds of Michigan: Mourning Dove

I’m back to painting birds again, this is a mourning dove in golden light, sitting in the grass. I wish I could my photo here to look like the original painting; it’s a lot more washed out looking than the original on my easel (probably because of glare, etc.). I enjoyed painting this one; I loveContinue reading “Birds of Michigan: Mourning Dove”