"Sadie" (oil on linen; 8" x 10") sold

sold

"Sadie" was commissioned by Molly for her boyfriend. Sadie, a 14-year-old mutt, loves boating. I think I captured her happiness!

"Enchanted Harbor" (oil on stretched canvas; 18" x 18") sold

sold

As my husband is from Minnesota and has lots of relatives there, we often visit Minnesota.  We spent a pleasant day in Grand Marais on Lake Superior in northern Minnesota during one of our visits a few years ago.  It is a picturesque artist community with two harbors and lighthouses.  The reference photo for the painting was backlit and pretty much black and white.  But I loved the composition and wanted to make a painting out of it.

I transformed a bleached-out, afternoon scene into a romantic twilight moment.  I went wild with dots in the water, sky and everywhere.  I hope you like my pointillist style as much as I do!

"Harbor in Late Afternoon Light" (oil on stretched canvas; 18" x 24")

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I started showing my art on ugallery.com, the online gallery founded in 2006 and based in San Francisco.  It's a new era in my art career with larger, better paintings, as the gallery curates the artwork submitted by the artists.  I have already got four of my paintings turned down.  I'd better work harder!

"Harbor in Late Afternoon Light" is an old painting that I spiffed up with dots.  The late afternoon sun was striking Noyo Harbor, a small, working harbor in northern California at a perfect angle, making everything glow.  How do you like it?

"Golden Gate Bridge on Sunny Day" (oil on linen; 9" x 12") sold

sold

The famous Golden Gate Bridge on a sunny day.  Fluffy clouds float by in the sky.  A red ship in the distance is about to glide under the bridge.  The red bridge casts colorful reflections in the choppy water.  I thought of Claude Monet's "The Bridge at Argenteuil" when I was working on the above painting.  I wrote about how much I admire Monet's painting three months ago.  Something about a bridge, boat, clouds in a blue sky, and reflections in the water makes a happy painting.  Don't you agree?

"Turquoise Time" (oil on linen, 12" x 9") sold

sold

On Sunday morning, Bobbi Pratte had her plein-air workshop students do a black-and-white value study prior to a full-fledged color painting.  I thought I would take it easy and paint just one boat after Saturday's challenge.  I sat down on my stool to do a study of the boat with a turquoise cover.  If you click the photo above, you can see my attempt better.  It didn't take a whole lot of time and actually looked nice, although I later ruined it by accidentally putting a plastic bag for soiled paper towels on top.

By the time I got to colors, the boat on the far right had left.  Bobbie thought I would be better off without it anyway.  She asked me what I was going to do with the top portion of the painting, which was not like what you see in my painting (there was a lot going on in that area).  I said I was going to simplify and treat it as one big shape of dark-toned reflections; she was fine with that.

One very important thing I learned from Bobbi is this: a boat sits in water, not on water.  The line created where it meets water is crucial.  Painting a simple boat was a good idea.  What I like about "Turquoise Time" is that it has a clear, strong message.  I often try to put too many things into a painting and end up with a fussy picture.  As the popular saying goes, less is often more.

"Day at the Dock" (oil on linen; 8" x 10") sold

sold

Water is hard to paint.  Winds, currents, and clouds keep changing the shapes of reflections.  As I have been watching my self-confidence erode lately--no sales in the two group shows in which I participated and rejections in the Art League shows month after month although I have worked so hard all summer--it was perhaps unwise to paint water.  But I did anyway because I am always drawn to the fluidity of water.  Besides, I am an Aquarius.

I struggled through the first attempt.  My mentor and teacher, Sara Linda Poly, who was there busily helping other students during a workshop in Easton, MD, basically left me alone to figure things out on my own.  I tried the second time--the same scene zoomed in on a slightly larger canvas.  Colors got more intense, shapes were simplified, and water reflections less belabored.  There is something to be said for persistence and painting the same subject twice.  I am going to keep painting water.