Sunday, April 22, 2012

Arendell Room



This is a painting I've been working on for awhile.  Its from a photo Michael took in the Arendell Room in downtown Morehead City.  We stopped in there the night the SeaFair exhibit closed.  We were trapped on that side of the street because of a long train going to the Port, and our vehicle was on the other side.  Ended up having a great time and really enjoyed meeting folks and people watching...

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Greens are nice too...

Our garden is going full tilt boogie.  When I first started painting, I often painted vegetables.  I love the colors in greens, peppers, tomatoes...  These greens are inspiring me to paint them.
Nice light...

...on my palette this morning.  

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Neusiok woods


I run or walk a section of the lovely Neusiok trail in the Croatan National Forest almost every day with my dog Theo. Michael goes too, but he runs a lot faster so he is soon way ahead... Theo stays with me and we enjoy our slower pace. Or I should say mine, since Theo runs back and forth at much higher bursts of speed!

Right now the Oyster Point section of the trail is especially beautiful. They did a controlled burn there earlier this year and everything was black. Now spring is taking over and beautiful green ferns are growing up out the dark black ground. Very striking. And now the marsh grasses are appearing purple! Just breathtakingly beautiful... Here's a photo which doesn't do it justice. (If you click on the photo it makes it a bit bigger, which helps). I'm trying to capture a glimpse of it in a few paintings I'm working on. I hope I can convey some part of the beauty that's there...

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Minimalist


In my move to the river, I really worked to downsize, both my living space and my "stuff." My family has been teasing me that I've become Minimalist.

Perhaps. But I call it "un-encumbering" and it feels good to me.

So today, after struggling with a landscape painting, I decided to take a break and do a painting of Emily Carr. I just read a fictionalized account of her life as an independent artist in Canada at the turn of the century. Its called The Forest Lover by Susan Vreeland. That prompted me to research some of the facts about her, and inspired this little 12" x 12" painting. It too is pretty minimalist, but I like it.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Plein Aire


The Neusiok trail near my home is a continual source of inspiration. In this section near Oyster Point, they completed a controlled burn a few months ago. Now the colors are returning - just beautiful. I got started on a painting there the other day. Not completed yet, but here's the work in progress.