Summer Trio - Small ACEO Painting, Still Life Painting of Tomatoes

Summer Trio

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

acrylic on watercolor paper

A little ACEO - perfect for the season! Been getting wonderfully field-ripe tomatoes from a nearby farm in the last week. Yum! And this is Day 4 of the 30 Day Painting Challenge.

This little guy will be matted and up for sale in the Art Room In Coolidge Hall at the Topsfield Fair in October.

Meeting Shadows - ACEO Painting Haverhill Building Cityscape Landscape

Meeting Shadows

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

acrylic on watercolor paper

Another little painting of a Haverhill building. I have painted this building a few times....I love the simplicity of the shapes and colors and how the light falls on it to make wonderful shadows.

I am busy getting ready for the River Ruckus in Haverhill this weekend. I am planning to hold an Open Studio at my studio at the Sage Art Gallery during the Juried Exhibition this Saturday, September 6th. Hope to see you there!

On the Corner - Small ACEO Painting Cityscape, Old Woolworths Building in Haverhill, Massachusetts

On The Corner

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

acrylic on watercolor paper

Day 2 of the 30 Day Painting Challenge. We are supposed to pick a theme....I considered going back to the "Things from my Kitchen" that I did for the Fun-A-Day Project in January since I had such a good time with that. Then I considered doing smaller versions of some of my "Roadside Retro" paintings as warmups for the shows I have coming up for that series. And then I considered doing a month of my mini ornament paintings to get ready for the holidays. But you know what?  September is such an incredibly crazy month for me, I didn't want to add to the stress. So basically my theme is just to "Get It Done". In whatever form it takes.

This is a familiar corner to people who live near Haverhill. It was once a Woolworths, but has been closed and empty for many decades. It is scheduled to be demolished this month as part of a new downtown development. I took a number of pictures around the back of the building, which I can see possibly becoming a series of its own at one point. I wish I had a chance to see the inside of the building before it goes.....

This piece is going to Positive Images Gallery on Wingate Street in Haverhill, Massachusetts later this week.

Side Entrance - Small ACEO Painting, Original Art Painting of Old New England House

Side Entrance

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

acrylic on watercolor paper

A  little view of the side entrance of an old house that makes up part of the Boxford Town Library. I did a similar painting last year and was asked for one from a local friend. The older one had a few perspective issues that I wanted to address, so I decided to do a re-do instead of giving her the older one.

I enjoy painting old homes and buildings - especially the doorways which seem to lend so much of the character to a building. Sometimes just a little piece of the house - a doorway, an architectural detail - can make for a more interesting painting than including the entire building.

This is Day 1  of a new 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge from Leslie Saeta. I am going to try to keep up this month (this will be my third time entering the challenge!) but it will be a super busy month, so we will see how many paintings I actually complete.

Cherry Rounds - Small Still Life Painting - Kitchen Art

Cherry Rounds

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

acrylic on various wood/MDF surfaces

A little experiment......
I want to create some really small paintings for some shops and maybe upcoming shows. I really  liked working on the 3x3 size that I used for my Fun-A-Day Project, but I would like a better surface.

I purchased a few samples on Etsy: one is a pine block, one is canvas mounted on pine and one is MDF board (they all have hanging slots on the back). When the samples came, I thought I would definitely prefer the pine blocks. I coated them with 2 thin coats of GAC, then three thin coats of gesso, sanding in between. At that point, I was starting to lean a little more towards the block with the mounted canvas. Then I painted. They each took paint in a different way -  no clear winner at this stage.  But then when I varnished them....wow! I was very surprised to find how much I liked the MDF panel. So the first batch of these little guys with be on MDF - stay tuned to see more.....

(the winner!)

Owl Cigar - Acrylic Painting Modern Retro Sign Fowles Newburyport

Owl Cigar

14 x 11 inches

acrylic on 1-1/2 inch canvas

Another vintage sign. This one is in Newburyport, Massachusetts. I painted this sign before in a smaller size, and recently decided to paint it larger and in a rectangular format for the Newburyport Art Association's Fall Exhibition, "In &Around Newburyport".

"In &Around Newburyport" will be on display at the Newburyport Art Association from September 12 -27, 2014 with a public reception on September 13 from 7-9pm. Hope to see you there!

Benson's - Small Acrylic Painting, Boxford, Massachusetts

Benson's

6 x 8 inches

acrylic on 3/4" cradled panel

Yes, you've seen this scene many times in my work. A favorite local haunt, this ice cream shop has been run by the same family for generations. They make all their own ice cream including special seasonal fruit flavors as the local fruit comes available. Their ice cream is amazing! And I felt I couldn't do a local exhibit without including a scene from Benson's.

This painting, along with 13 others from my "Along the Way" series are now hanging at the Boxford Town Library though September 17, 2014. There will be an artist reception on August 26 from 6-7;30 pm for those of you who are local to Massachusetts. It seems like this series will be going "on tour" over the next year, so stay tuned for details for more venues where it can be seen!