In Conversation - Small Still Life Painting Kitchen Art

In Conversation

6 x 4 inches

acrylic on watercolor paper

Yes, I haven't added to this series in a while......I hope to get around to it soon before show season starts. This painting is for a client who is making a grouping of these for her kitchen and wanted another pepper painting.

I got a sweet email today from the person who purchased my contribution to the #twitterartexhibit in Orlando this weekend. So glad that my little painting was able to help raise money for such a worthy cause!

Day 22 - Small Fruit Still Life

A Little Competition

6 x 4 inches

acrylic on watercolor paper

Day 22 of the 30 Day Painting Challenge! Hard to believe there is just over  a week left.
It has been a great exercise - not only in motivating me to get the work finished, but also in disciplining me to post each painting. I do intend on getting back to my "Inspiration Mondays" and "Work in Progress Wednesdays" once the challenge is over.

It has been a super crazy couple of weeks...lots of shows and deadlines all while the kids were trying to get back into the school routine and all of their activities. Yesterday was my last outdoor show for the season. I keep getting tempted to pick up one more, but I think I need to take a few weeks to catch up - and paint like crazy before the holidays are here. My local shops are all asking for new stock for next month, too - so I will still be pretty busy!

I did get to end my summer show schedule with a really great one. The Boxford Apple Festival yesterday was a lot of fun. It was a beautiful day, and wonderful to see so many familiar faces. Thank you to everyone who made it out.

A Little Competition is available here.

Day 20 and 21 - Two New Little Paintings

Autumn Leaf 2

2-1/2 x 3-1/2 inches

acrylic on watercolor paper

Salsa Dance

6 x 4 inches

acrylic on watercolor paper

Is it cheating to post  both days at once?

I actually had the paintings done yesterday, but I had stayed up waaaaaaayyyyy too late getting ready for today's show. Now I am so exhausted that I can hardly string two sentences together. Hence the short post. I have to admit that I am so glad that this crazy week is now over!

Day 18 - Sauced - Small Apple Still Life Painting

Sauced

6 x 4 inches

acrylic on watercolor paper

Hard to believe it is Day 18 of the 30 Day Challenge! This month sure is flying by.....

I thought some apples would be appropriate for the upcoming Boxford Apple Festival. I've been absolutely addicted to our local apples the last few weeks. It's starting to feel like Fall around here!

Chit Chat - Small Acrylic Painting of Red & Yellow Peppers - Kitchen Art

Chit Chat

6 x 4 inches

acrylic on watercolor paper

Another one for the Relationships Series. These two peppers just seem like they are sharing a little gossip, don't they? I'm having so much fun with my fruits and vegetables, I may have to do some more when I finish the commission I am currently working on.

Summer craziness has set in - way too busy a schedule for summer lately! Isn't this when we are supposed to slow down a little and take it easy? Oh well, maybe next week.

This piece is currently available at West Village Provisions in West Boxford, Massachusetts.

Whispers - Still Life Acrylic Painting Kitchen Art

Whispers

6 x 4 inches

acrylic on watercolor paper

It's Farmer's Market time again!

By the way, look at my haul from today:

I love, love buying fresh from the farmer!
(And I think there may be more vegetable paintings in the future......)

I actually painted this one while in Ohio. It is part of my "Relationship Series" - fruits and vegetables that make great kitchen art. This series has been especially popular at my shows, and at the last show I had a request for "MORE VEGETABLES"! I am only too happy to oblige  ;-)

This piece will be available at West Village Provisions in West Boxford, Massachusetts later this week.

Making Plans - $30 (unframed) + $2.50 shipping in the US

(please contact me for international shipping)

Day 6/30 - The Adventure - Small Still Life Painting of Strawberries

#6 - The Adventure

6 x 4 inches

acrylic on watercolor paper

After I finished the apples from yesterday, my mind just screamed at me "STRAWBERRIES"! So  here they are....another one in the Relationships Series. With the spot varnish the berries really "pop"!

I'm always glad to add a few paintings to this series...they are fun to do, and the series has been really popular with my collectors. At some point I need to look back and see how many I have done, I know I have sold at least 10-12 pieces in this series, and I rarely have more than 3 or 4 available for very long. This pair (the apples and the strawberries) will be going to West Village Provisions in West Boxford, MA this week.

Thanks for stopping by my blog - I really appreciate all the people keeping up with me and this 30 Day Challenge!

Stacked - Small Still Life Painting on Paper, Kitchen Art

#5 - Stacked

6 x 4 inches

acrylic on watercolor paper

Yep - a bit of a break from the flowers. And a break from the other pieces I was going to do as well. I have one or two of these in my head, so I thought I'd go ahead and get them on paper. This  is part of My "Relationships" series - they are all fruits and/or vegetables in acrylic on watercolor paper with just their shadows and a plain unpainted background. I then varnish the painted areas only, and they really "pop" off the paper.

I like the way that acrylic works on the cold pressed watercolor paper. I work it in kind of a watercolor style - lots of thin layers. And when I do these pieces where I leave the background white, there are no do-overs - if I get a stray mark on the white, there is  no way to lift it off. I had one night when I was working on a few of these that I needed to finish and I was really tired - I kept nodding off and my brush would  make a stray mark on the page and I would have to start all over again! I do like how acrylic looks on the paper though, and I always say I have to experiment with it a little more - maybe it will happen this year  ;-)

This piece will be going to West Village Provisions in West Boxford, MA early next week.

Making Plans - Kitchen Art Still Life Painting on Paper

Making Plans

6x4 inches

acrylic on watercolor paper

Just a  little side trip back to my Relationships Series....I wanted to send a few of these to the Creative Haverhill holiday shop, and I realized that I only had one left in this series! So I decided to do one more to make a pair (but I think I will probably be doing more of these for one of the upcoming holiday shows!)

Anyways, today I took this and about a dozen other paintings and some notecard packets to TheShops@90Wash - a great holiday pop-up shop set up by Creative Haverhill in a downtown storefront. It's a great space - I'm really excited to be a part of it! I hope you will check it out if you are local - opening November 1, 2012 at 90 Washington Street in Haverhill, Massachusetts.

Sneak Attack - Small Still Life Painting, Kitchen Art

Sneak Attack

Relationships Series

6 x 4 inches

acrylic on watercolor paper

The pear in back looks like he is sneaking up on the other one, don't you think?!
I finished this before the weekend, but have had a busy weekend full of family things, so no posting until now. We had (exhausting!) fun at the Topsfield Fair on Saturday. Paid a quick visit to the art exhibit, where it looks like a number of my paintings have sold (yay!) and took lots of pictures so I can work on  my carnival series this winter when I can't work outside.

I'm going to take this week to finish up some new little pieces for West Village Provisions and then a few larger pieces for upcoming juried exhibitions. The I'm sure the holiday season will be coming fast and furious at that point! I'm doing at least two holiday shows, and participating in at least two holiday shops, so I expect I will be pretty busy. I will share the details on all the exciting stuff soon.

This piece is available unframed through me now, or will be at West Village Provisions in Boxford, MA next week.

Sneak Attack - $30 + $2.50 shipping in the US

(please contact me for international shipping)

Tentative - Painting of Apple and Pear

Tentative

Relationships Series

6 x 4 inches

acrylic on watercolor paper

I haven't added to this series in a few months and recent sales at the Topsfield Fair and West Village Provisions made me realize I only have maybe two remaining, so I had better do something about that! I always enjoy these little fruit and vegetable "portraits". Sometimes I start out with an idea, and try to set up the fruit accordingly. Other times I just like the composition - and the title pops into my head once the "personality" of the fruit has emerged. On these, the white of the paper is left untouched. I spot varnish only the painted areas and it seems almost as it the image is printed or somehow appliqued to the surface of the paper.

This piece is available unframed now through me and later in the month it will be at West Village Provisions in West Boxford, MA.

Tentative - $30 + $2.50 shipping in the US

(please contact me for international shipping)

"Quiet Conversation" - Kitchen Art Still Life with Fruit - SOLD

Quiet Conversation

6x4 inches

acrylic on watercolor paper
SOLD

Back to the pears once again!
I find pears to be a wonderful subject - their shapes are irregular, and they come in so many colors. Each color takes on so many different hues - they are always interesting to paint!

Congenial - SOLD

Congenial

Relationships Series

6x4 inches

acrylic on watercolor paper
SOLD

One last one for the show this weekend - and probably the last one for this week as well! I hope to get a little painting done in the evenings, but I can not believe all the framing and labeling, etc. I have to do before setup on Thursday. The show is at the Wenham Museum in Wenham, Massachusetts. It runs Friday and Saturday, November 18th and 19th 10-4 and Sunday, November 20th 12-4. There is also a big fancy party for museum members and donors on Friday night. I've got a big pile of work to take...so come visit if you are local!!

Nervous Introduction SOLD

Nervous Introduction

Relationships Series

6x4 inches

acrylic on watercolor paper
SOLD

A new one for my Relationships Series. I got a special request to make sure I had some new ones from this series for the show next weekend. I'm going to try to get a few done over the next few days while in the middle of all of this matting, framing, labeling, and general getting things together for the show....I'm getting very nervous about getting it all done!

Pulling Together

Lean on Me

6x4 inches

acrylic on watercolor paper

SOLD

It is amazing what a little bad weather will do....I live in a tiny New England town - we didn't get as much snow this past weekend that some areas did, however it was enough to knock out power to 3/4 of the town. The town center had power, so the schools were open, people generously carpooling where the buses couldn't run or people couldn't get their cars out.

The line for hot coffee at the general store went out the door, yet everyone was friendly - sharing storm stories, rumors of where you might be able to take a shower and sitings of the power company workers.

I went to the library to check my email. Our town library is very small - in an old house - and usually quite quiet. It does have wi-fi and therefore every available surface, chair and even floor space was covered by people working on their laptops. People who generally work in the solitude of their homes were now working elbow to elbow with their neighbors - and people seemed genuinely happy about it. I was amazed by all the kindness and consideration I saw, despite the cold and tiredness and frustration we all felt.

We had three neighbors help us take the tree off our garage - neighbors we knew, however they didn't all know each other. New friendships were formed among them as they moved on to help someone else once our tree was cleared.

Amazing how a freak snowstorm can renew your faith in the kindness of others.......

Pleased to Meet You - SOLD

Pleased to Meet You

6x4 inches

acrylic on watercolor paper

SOLD

Yes, this is one from late last fall. I was in a fall mood and decided to repost it since I didn't have anything new to post!

It's been a busy family weekend. We spent a day at York Wild Kingdom - a smallish zoo and old amusement park. This trip was by special request of my oldest son (his "birthday trip") and I figured the kids would be bored to death because the place is really geared more toward the preschooler set. The zoo is small and the rides are old and fewer in number than you find at most county fairs. Happily, we had a great time and the kids declared it "one of the best trips ever"!

these guys always crack me up!

Today we spent time exploring two of the old stonework forts along the seacoast of New Hampshire. My three little boys seem to be obsessed with these mostly abandoned military forts - we have visited many! But they are lots of fun to explore, steeped in history, in beautiful coastal areas - and are usually free. I snapped TONS of pictures today and have a few compositions for some additions to my Abandoned Series.

The kids start school tomorrow with a half day. Part of me is happy to have more painting time. But part of me is really, really sad to see the summer end. Back to the grind of the kids' schedules, activities, sports and homework.....

Encounter

Encounter

6x4 inches

acrylic on watercolor paper

This one is part of my popular Relationships Series. It is back from exhibit and ready for sale!

Encounter - $30 + $3 shipping & handling in the US

(please contact me for international shipping)

Catching Up - Fruit Still Life Painting SOLD

Catching Up

6x4 inches

acrylic on watercolor paper
SOLD

One more for my Relationships Series  -  a series of different fruits and vegetables on a stark white background, showing the relationships between the shapes, their shadows and the space around them. These berries are larger than life! One of the best parts for summer is having all of the wonderful fruit to choose from (both to paint and to eat!).

Intertwined - New Painting SOLD

Intertwined

Relationships Series

6x4 inches

acrylic on watercolor paper
SOLD

One more pepper painting!
I am really enjoying the shapes, colors and shine of these peppers. I will be taking a break from them now - I have some paintings I need to get done before the next local show. But don't be surprised if the peppers show up again.....

Piquant - (or The Peppers Have a Name!)

Piquant

Relationships Series
6x4 inches

acrylic on watercolor paper

Yes, it is the same painting as in the last post (and I am actually working on another painting of these peppers!) - but I finally have a name and a price, so I decided to create a new post because I needed a clean link for DailyPaintworks.com

I didn't get much painting done in the last two days - definitely a family weekend. Between soccer games, a little town fair in the town where my husband grew up and a long rail trail bike ride, the brushed remain untouched...all the more incentive for a productive week coming up! And I did get a few ideas from the fair for a few more paintings to add to my Carnival Series, so look for those soon.....

"Piquant" - $33 includes shipping and handling in the US

(please contact me for international shipping)