"Winter Glow" 4x4 Pastel

Here's a quick little pastel I did. I figure if I keep painting snow scenes, eventually flakes will fall.

This is another painting of the Goldthwaite trial. I have enough material to create 50 paintings from the same location. I actually painted this because I have a really nice frame I wanted to put it in. I have recently started organizing my studio to make it a more conducive painting environment. I've added lighting and organized my material so I can reach my materials a bit easier. This was sort of a test, I guess.

As for the painting, this was challenging. I always find it hard to work on such a small board. I love the warm glow on the snow and the depth and variety of the trees. I'm really falling in love with painting trees. I love being able to show the form and texture of the bark....add a little touch of snow and it adds to their beauty. Enjoy.

The Importance of Art and Marketing...

Recently I sold a painting and I'd like to share the story with you that is proof marketing works. Especially in the world of fine art.

For the 15th Annual Open studio tour, Robin allowed me to show my work during the weekend. I created an ecard advertising myself and the other students' work for the weekend. I sent the card to someone I work with who attended the show. She loved the work, had a great time and raved about the evening. She commented about my work to another person I work with who requested to see my blog ( I'm almost done designing my own web site) . I gave her the address and she purchased a recent painting I completed and posted on my blog.

Here we have the distribution of the ecard, word of mouth and the updated web site. Without marketing I would NEVER have sold the painting. Taking the extra time to create and distribute the card, forwarding my blog address and even the importance of updating it with recent paintings. Again, I created the card and the blog is free...these things are VERY important for a starving artist!!!

I owe it all to Robin. I've sold two paintings in my short career, both thanks her for allowing me to show at the Open Studio Tour.

"Ol' Red" 6x8 Oil

Fish Pier Chatham, MA on Cape Cod



This is the first and only completed painting I have at this time from Robin's AMAZING Cape Cod workshop back in October! It was an incredible experience which I'll get to in a bit...

It's a 6x8 oil that was painted on the Fish Pier in Chatham. The wind was unbelievable! My brushes were caked in sand, my canvas has sand mixed in the paint (jokingly I call it mixed media!), my easel blew over a few times...by far the most difficult session of the trip. If you could paint that afternoon, you could paint in any condition! Plein air is incredibly challenging without these obstacles. Personally, I'm not crazy about it...I think the values are off (again) but there's something about it...I like the little red boat...I like the grass...AND I LOVE THE TEXTURE!!! LOL

I have about five other paintings I worked on during the trip. I will finish them up shortly and get them posted. I'll post some images from the trip and get into my thoughts about my incredible trip to Cape Cod!

"Warm Winter Sun 2" 6x8 Pastel

Here is the second part to my winter creek series. It's actually the third painting I've done from this area...I just love it. This little painting was actually quite challenging...I'm still having trouble with my values. I had trouble with my shapes, colors...LOL. I think this one is quite a mess technically. Funny thing is the one thing I really concentrated on is the perspective. I do feel I I've been really struggling with perspective lately, but this painting I feel came together. You really get the feel of the creek going off in the distance, so I'm very happy about that. I also like my quick strokes...another thing I tried to accomplish. Someday I'll get it all together.

Holiday Open House

I will displaying my art at the Muse on Friday, December 9th from 6-8pm during the Holiday Open House. Hope you can make it! Special thanks again to Robin for giving me the opportunity to share my work again. Thank you!

Amazing Sunrise...

As you can see from the photo, my home is surrounded by trees...occasionally I'm welcomed by a beautiful sunrise and this time I was lucky enough to grab my camera. This was about a week ago at around 7am. The horizon literally looked like flames...the amazing pinks and purples in the clouds...breathtaking moment. Glad to catch it on film! Enjoy