Rear Reflections

Rear Reflections

4x4 inches

acrylic on gessobord panel

Finishing some last details on this....hoping to finish it up so I can finish packing for our camping trip!
The reflections were fun to play with - lots of crazy stuff going on with them. But all I kept seeing was how the tail lights and the chrome bumper made me think of a robot's face  ;-)

This may be the last new one for a while.....I will be without internet access for the most part except for an occasional trip in to the nearest campground - and unless I find a way to download photos, any painting I do will have to wait for when I get home to be posted. Expect to see a few posts "from the archives" in the meanwhile......

Rear Reflections - $45 + $3 shipping & handling in the US

(please contact me for international shipping)

Kohlrabi - New Still Life Vegetable Painting SOLD

Kohlrabi

6x4 inches

acrylic on canvas
SOLD

I am still touching up the edges of this canvas, but I wanted to get this posted tonight. This is the first of my Farmers' Market Series. Farmers' Market season is in full swing here in New England. I find the markets so inspiring - for cooking, for socializing, and for painting! I can't resist all the brightly colored fruits and vegetables!

I went to the Farmers' Market last week and bought this lovely kohlrabi. Being a good midwestern girl, I always had some of these growing in the garden when I was growing up, yet I hardly ever see them here in New England for some reason. I love the hint of purple and blue in the bulb, and all the leafy stems. I hope to continue this series of things from the Farmers' Market after our camping trip to Maine.....


Just a note - for those of you who told me that you had problems with my blog showing up in your blog feed - I hope it is fixed now. I have been trying to syndicate to NetworkedBlogs and have had just one issue after another. Please let me know if you have any more problems with it!

available at MiXtMedia Gallery

Parker River - New England Landscape Painting SOLD

Parker River

6x4 inches

acrylic on linen panel
SOLD

I am so in love with the marshy areas around the Parker River. Hope I will be able to get the family out there to wander again soon....I find the landscape there very inspiring!

The Red Pear - New Still Life Painting SOLD

The Red Pear

3.5 x 2.5 inches

acrylic on watercolor paper
SOLD

It felt good to do a quick little one after spending so much time on the last painting! I love the color of these red pears - I keep buying them at the grocery store. I don't care too much about eating them, I just love painting them! Such a lovely color.

Went to the farmers' market yesterday.....love, love wandering around there...I'm guessing there may be more produce paintings in the near future!

Fruitful - New Still Life Painting by Debbie Shirley SOLD

Fruitful

5x5 inches

acrylic on gessobord panel
SOLD

It's been a couple of days since I posted last....painting went way too slowly on this one - I seem to have the concentration of a flea! I guess having three screaming little boys constantly running around me probably doesn't help much either.....but at any rate, I've been trying to do some stuff with the kids - summer always seems to go by way too fast!

This is for the DailyPaintworks.com Reflections Challenge from Abbey Ryan. If you haven't checked out the DPW site yet, you really should! Some amazing artists on there, lots of interesting challenges (it's always fun to see how different people interpret the various themes) and art auctions, too. I hope to give the auctions a try some time in the near future.

The next few weeks are looking awfully busy, and my posting may remain pretty sporatic, especially when we go camping in Maine (no internet access!), so I hope you will stick with me.......

Haynes Field - Plein Air Sketch SOLD

Haynes Field,
Boxford, MA

6x4 inches

acrylic on canvas panel
SOLD

This is what I did with my morning yesterday, a beautiful morning that was not nearly as hot or humid as it has been lately.....my kids were in a playground program and I had an hour and a half of free time (a true luxury in the summer!). So I went across the street to a beautiful field that is part of our town's conservation land and adjacent to many hiking trails. I found a shady spot in the back corner and spent my hour and a half on this little painting. It once again shows me things I need to work on (like clouds!) but at least I didn't feel like throwing my easel over a cliff this time! The plein air practice continues....

Early Morning Water Lilies - SOLD

Early Morning Waterlilies

Lowe Pond, Boxford, Massachusetts
4x6 inches

acrylic on canvas panel
SOLD

This is the plein air piece from the other morning after I re-worked it a bit. I still would like to go back and try again another day! I read that the water lily blossoms open each morning and close by early afternoon and only bloom for a few days then they sink down in the water for the "fruit" to grow under the surface. I was at the pond just after sunrise, so that explains why not many flowers were open. I'd like to go back and study these further.

I spent and hour and a half painting in a field this morning while the kids were at a morning playground program across the street. A better expedition that my last plein air experience! I hope to post my painting from today later. I know I need to push myself out of my comfort zone a little and keep practicing the plein air work - hopefully I will start to see some improvement........

Work in Progress - New Still Life Painting

Work in Progress

4x4 inches

acrylic on gessobord panel

Okay - I'm gonna call this one done!
This was for the DailyPaintworks challenge "Paint What You Paint With".
Lots of great entries for the challenge if you want to check it out.

Next I hope to re-work the piece I attempted yesterday en plein air, just to make myself feel better  ;-)

Work in Progress - $45 + $3 shipping & handling in the US

(please contact me for international shipping)

Still Here......

Sorry, no new work to post in the last few days....
I've been wrestling with a few things, and that has included my painting! I have started a few, but haven't been able to bring any of them to a point at which I am ready to call them done.

I actually made it out very early this morning to try to get an hour or so of painting outside before my husband left for work, but it was  - as my kids like to say - an epic fail. Very discouraging! My days are pretty full with trying to keep my boys busy - I['m still trying to find the rhythm of these summer days.

Hope to have a painting to share tomorrow....keep your fingers crossed for me......

The Old Mill - Landscape Painting SOLD

The Old Mill

4x6 inches

acrylic on linen panel
SOLD

Another DailyPaintworks challenge - "The Old Mill Challenge"
In general, I'm not fond of painting from other people's photographs, but this looked like such a challenge - and it reminded of some of the old mill sites around New England that I am so intrigued by, so I decided to give it a go.

The Gift - Part 2

The Gift

4x4 inches

acrylic on canvas

Reworked this one a little. Okay, it is never going to be one of my favorite paintings, but I hope this is a small improvement. I think I need to move on.......

Inner Lily - New Floral Painting

Inner Lily

3.5 x 2.5 inches

acrylic on watercolor paper

Home again!
After a loooooonnnnnggg drive, I am happy to be back home. I had a very nice week visiting family, my kids got to spend time with their cousins (not to mention in their pool!), much sangria was consumed - a good time for all!

This painting is another one from my parents' anniversary bouquet - a close up of one of the lovely lilies. Now that I am home I will have to see what is blooming in my yard for inspiration or if everything has wilted in the heat. It is about 30 degrees hotter here than it was when we left town a week ago!

Inner Lily - $15.00 + $1.95 shipping in the US

(please contact me for international shipping)

Fourth of July

Happy Independence Day

to all my American friends!

I will be back in Massachusetts in two days and hopefully back to my normal schedule.......a happy and safe Fourth to you all........

Apples and a Crock - Still Life Painting with Fruit

Apples and a Crock

6x4 inches

acrylic on canvas

One more painting back from a show and ready for a new home......

Apples and a Crock - $55 + $4.95 shipping and handling in the US

(please contact me for international shipping)

Golden Flower - New Floral Painting SOLD

Golden Flower

2.5 x 3.5 inches

acrylic on watercolor paper
SOLD

My parents received a beautiful bouquet of flowers for their 50th wedding anniversary. So now if the only time I get to paint here is at night, at least I know I have some willing models to work with!

I've painted many sunflowers in the past two years, but I see I still need a lot of practice.....