What is the Meaning of Life

I painted this work some years ago when I had had particularly spectacular elephant ears in my yard.  Every year since I've tried to duplicate these plant giants to no avail, until this year.   Now, finally, I have equally large and gorgeous elephant ears in my "Secret Garden".  I also have four wonderful banana trees.  So I will be doing some paintings that will express what I really mean about my utter joy and wonder  at these bountiful botanical specimens in my Secret Garden. (Almost a year later:  I just discovered this in my draft section of the blog, never published.  Update, sadly, I never got around to expressing my utter joy and wonder last summer, but my elephant ears and banana trees are already up and growing so I expect to have another chance this year)

Red Deer Caught in a Frame

It's been a while since I posted, but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy painting.  I made this painting especially for an auction benefit raising money to help my nephew pay huge medical bills.  My husband got involved with his unique creative genius by making the frame.

Lemoille River at Hogback Road

This is an experiment that I did yesterday, the last painting day here in Vermont. I did not draw the scene first, but started at the lower right hand corner and worked my way up and to the left. My paper buckled because I didn't tape it down so there were added surprises to the finished painting. This is what I mean: this whole month has been one intense experiment with my art and I'm a little sad to see it end (you can see the tears dripping down in the water).

Doghead Pond, Vermont

Believe it or not I drew this exactly as I saw it in the afternoon. This rock is about 12 or 15 feet high and I was perched on a rock opposite. The river flows past and fills a lovely pond that must look like Walden Pond. A very playful otter lives here and he comes out in the evening as the sun is setting and swims around. Honestly, with no hyperbole, as my poet friends would say.

Splash!

This is the larger painting I've been working on when it's raining. It's not finished but I wanted to post it since this morning I packed up my oil paints in preparation for shipping supplies back to Dallas. All four critiques from visiting artists gave a thumbs up for this painting. Splash!

Woods off Plot Rd.

Just a short drive from the Studio Center on a country road. No matter where I go here, there is a beautiful scene.

By the light of the silvery moon

We found an open spot near the river here in Johnson to paint the magnificent full moon. The idea is that we paint in the dark so we can only see values, not color. The results are always a surprise and very free and gestural. The gesture was made even more vigorous by the Texas size mosquitos that were not deterred by Off!

Deer siting at the covered bridge

I turned around while painting this scene and saw a herd of red deer grazing on the slopes of the hills. There were about fifty of them.

Gihon River in Johnson, Vermont

I am captivated by the patterns of the waves and ripples as the water skirts around the rocks. I sat on some rocks in the shade of a tree while painting. Very relaxing.

Gihon River in Johnson, Vermont

I've been painting a lot of running water because there are so many beautiful places along this river: waterfalls, swimming holes, and old fashioned covered bridges. I feel like I'm on a large movie set. Paint, eat, sleep.

Intimidated by Space

This is my studio at the Wolf Kahn Studio Building at the Vermont Studio Center where I will attempt to fill the walls with brilliant paintings in the ensuing month (August). Stay tuned for further developments!

Abundant Thistles

Last year I was enthralled by the abundant and large thistles that grew along country lanes near my mother's home and I gathered (with gloves) a large bouquet. I put them in a vase and set it on the floor in my studio and drew the bouquet. Such a prickly and wild flower -- but so beautiful.

Ghost Ranch Still Life

These rocks made me think of a Morandi still life and so I had that in mind when when a painted a water color of them on a very windy day at Ghost Ranch near Abiquiu. This is an oil painting I made in my studio from that water color. Sometimes something in the landscape really resonates, but so far, I don't know why (or what I really mean).

Reflections on a Pond

Yes, it's been a long time since I posted a painting, but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy. This is an experiment with acrylics that turned out to be a lot of fun and very freeing to paint layers of colors without waiting a long time for the previous layer to dry.

Wall of Nudes

This is my wall of nudes that I hung for the North Dallas Studio Tour going on this weekend. So far, no comments. I think Dallasites are afraid of nudes!

It's that time of year again

What I really mean is my aura is throbbing! So many ideas to realize and so many beautiful concepts to paint, where does a girl begin?