Collage of My May Paintings

Collage of My May 2014 Paintings

Here is the collage of my May paintings.  A lot of dots!  If you have a super sharp memory, you may notice three paintings you haven't seen in any of the blog posts this month: the dogwood one, the deer one, and the cupcake one.  It's because I didn't torment you with all my reworked paintings.

There is a story behind the pink cupcake painting.  I have given it away to my Facebook fan last year.  But a collector in Spain bought it out of my website despite the red dot!  What to do? Well, a sale is a sale, so I painted another that looks very much like the original.  This is the first time I sold the same painting twice.  Business must be good!

Before and After, Then and Now, or Never Say Never Again!

"Camellia Love" (oil, 8" x 10")
sold

As I said in the previous post, I was busy working on old paintings this month.  I am sharing a bunch here.  A couple of paintings became a lot worse after "improvements", so they ended up in a trash basket.  You cannot rise higher without taking risks and making sacrifices, right?

So, what do you think of my efforts?  Am I getting better?

"Ducks and Geese" (oil, 8" x 12")
sold

"Lavender Heaven" (oil, 11" x 14")
click here to buy

"Lincoln Memorial Reflections" (oil, 8" x 10")
sold

"Primrose Season" (oil, 10" x 10")
sold

"Rockefeller Center Spring" (oil, 10" x 8")
sold

"Sacred Ground, Chichester Cathedral" (oil, 8" x 10")
 click here to buy

"San Francisco's Painted Ladies" (oil, 11" x 14")
sold

"Strawberry Pickers" (oil, 16" x 20")

"Strawberry Pickers" (oil on stretched canvas; 16" x 20" x 1 1/2")

In case you are thinking that I haven't painted much in May, here is what I have been up to.  I have been busy taking care of my family and garden.  I have been also working on old paintings to see if I can improve them.  As an oil painter knows, an oil painting is not finished until the artist cannot take it anymore!

For instance, look at the old "Strawberry Pickers" below.  I was no longer happy with the painting I did in 2011.  Although I liked the gestures of the figures, the rest of the painting lacked oomph.  In the "after" version above, the colors are more saturated and brushstrokes are more confident.  These days I paint as if I mean it.  The painting is filled with the joie de vivre.  I am bursting with energy so much that the painting doesn't stop at the edges and continues into the sides!

The painting is about the celebration of joyous spring, luscious strawberries and, above all, carefree youth.  The updated version conveys the message more clearly, don't you think?

"Strawberry Pickers" in the original state; what's up with all the busy strawberry leaf details in the foreground!

"Strawberry Pickers" viewed from the left side

"Strawberry Pickers" viewed from the right side

"Lavender Fields of Provence" (oil on stretched canvas; 20" x 16" x 3")

click here to buy

What a busy week it has been!  I was painting inside one day, and gardening outside on the following day.  On Friday, I painted in the morning, then gardened in the afternoon.  I was so exhausted that I slept like a log for 10 hours that night!

Here is the "masterpiece" of the week.  It is lavender fields of Provence in the summer afternoon.  The blinding light and heat, the ever-present sound of cicadas and, of course, the lavender-perfumed air.  Do you feel all that?

For fun, I painted "Provencal Afternoon" in 3 D.  What do I mean?  I continued the painting into the 3-inch wide edges so that the viewer can enjoy it from all directions.  You will feel as if you are standing right in front of the lavender fields in Provence!

"Provencal Afternoon" viewed from the left side

"Provencal Afternoon" viewed from the right side

"Azalea Heaven" (pen and wash; 10" x 8")

"Azalea Heaven"

My family had a health scare recently.  My husband has been sick for a while and was hospitalized for three days.  He is now on the mend and recuperating at home while trying to catch up with his work.  My quiet life was turned upside down briefly, leaving me with little time or energy to make art.

But who am I without art?  I draw/paint, therefore I am.  I sketched in the hospital room, during my daughter's flute lesson, and at night at home, which calmed my nerves.  I believe in the healing power of art!

"Red Sailboat" (pen and wash; 8" x 5")

"Peter's Sickbed" (pen; 5 1/2" x 7")

"Two Sabrinas" (pen; 5 1/2" x 7")

"Lavender Fields of Provence" (pen and wash; 10" x 8")

"Azalea Garden" (oil on linen; 12" x 12") sold

sold

I saw a young mother and her daughter going down the steps in the azalea garden at the Norfolk Botanical Garden in Norfolk, VA.  It was a delightful spring day and there were many other beautiful areas in the garden park.  But the above scene is what I cherish the most of the memories of that enchanted day.

Of course, this painting would have been a perfect offering to my readers on Mother's Day. Better late than never.

Happy Belated Mother's Day!

"Enchanted Iris Garden" (oil on linen; 12" x 12") sold

sold

Imagine coming upon a field of irises during a walk in the meadow.  The air is thick with the fragrance of the flowers.  It is an enchanted garden.  Time has stopped.  Let's linger forever.

"Ocean Mist" (oil on linen; 10" x 10")

click here to buy

Aquamarine ocean waves crash against a multi-colored dark rock.  Sprays of seafoam cool and calm our senses.  Ah, I love ocean!

"Sunrise Beach" (oil on linen; 10" x 10") sold

sold

The blinding light of a sunrise envelops a beach in Kauai.  Everything shimmers.  A fleeting moment of an utter bliss.

Collage of My April Paintings

Collage of my April 2014 paintings

How do you like the collage of my April paintings?  I am afraid I didn't paint as often or as many as I usually do.  But there has been a huge development during the month.  While painting "Bluebells Heaven", I rediscovered the joy of pointillism, the technique that I used to play with at the very beginning of my artistic development.

"Evening Walk in Dublin" (mixed media, 14" x 10"; 1996)

"Maine Event" (mixed media, 14" x 20"; 2000)

A new way of expressing my vision has unleashed my artistic enthusiasm.  Every morning, I can't wait to start painting.  You will see many shimmering, "dotted" paintings in the coming months!

A new series of "Dotted Landscape"!