"Grand-dogs" 5x7 oil on panel

I don't have grandchildren, but I have 2 grand-dogs. Ojib and Kitty. And they are both grand dogs. I finally got a chance to paint in my studio in VT over the Thanksgiving holiday. Yes, these are gifts, and I'm counting on the fact that I don't think the kids check my blog, so I'm not linking these to Facebook. Very fun to paint the dogs. I'll do more. . .

Very fun to have time to paint. It was a wonderful Thanksgiving! Much to be thankful for.

(Sorry for the bad photos. Lots of glare obliterates detail. And I even forgot to crop them. Oh, well, out of time for now.)

"Kendall Kayaking" 5x7 oil on panel

Another summer reverie, my niece Kendall kayaking this summer. Yes, there's a theme here. Hanging inside on a winter-like October day. Make the most of it by painting!!! Sweet memories, and feeling very productive. Nice!

"Toes in the Water 2" 5x7 oil on panel

Revisiting a favorite image from the summer. I guess this snowy (yikes!) October day has me longing for other times. Aahh, Summer in VT. You are a long way off. A fun little photo to paint. More accurate drawing makes her look more her age - amazing the difference small changes make, especially when painting children. Also, different painting size, different cropping.

"Golden Delicious Blushing" 6x6 oil on canvas

Apples are a sign of Fall. So is rain, and wind and a very dark day. How do you get a good photo of your painting when you're stuck inside with lights? Any help is much appreciated. But I'm having fun with my apples. And learning a lot about turning the form. Sharon is right. Sharon is always right.

"Honeycrisp" 6x6 oil on canvas

Apple season. My favorite -- Honeycrisp, fresh from the orchard. But that's not why I painted this. Sharon gave me an assignment, "paint fruit". Yes, class at the Academy is back in session. I spent one week, painted a portrait of a beautiful model, Leslie. And promptly forgot to photograph it. (It wasn't as beautiful as the model, unfortunately.)

Now, I'm back in VT for the month of October. Can't pull myself away from Fall in VT. Hence, my assignment. . . but, so appropriate. Apple season. One of those signs of Fall in VT.

"Waiting" 12x12 oil on panel

Revisiting an image I painted once before. This one is larger (12x12) but it still worked. We pass the moorings at Point Bay Marina when we sail. But this was a particularly lovely evening. Not sure I'm finished with this. Maybe a few more tweaks, but I wanted to get a post up today. It feels like summer is coming to a close. Lovely Fall-ish weather, but I'm not ready to say good bye to summer.

"Tubing, Lake Champlain" 6x6 oil on panel

A perfect day for tubing, boating, anything outside. Aahh, Summer in VT. . . way too short!

"Cousins, Mt. Philo" 6x6 oil on panel

My niece and great-nephew visiting from Georgia. Dappled sunshine, a picnic in a great location, then a walk to see the view. Summer in VT!

"California Girl" 6x6 oil on panel

I happened across an old image, but I liked the light and the memory of a crisp Santa Ana light day in California when I talked my step daughter into sitting as a model for future potential paintings. It was a sweet day many years ago.

"Reflection" 6x6 oil on panel

Our kayaks waiting on the beach. Reflections. Reflection. Reverie. Aaahh, summer in VT.

"Toes in the Water" 6x6 oil on panel

There's nothing quite as much fun as a kid going swimming in the summer. Pure joy. Brings back memories of all the summers past. This is my "great" niece. Yikes!

"Almost Caught Him" 6x6 oil on panel

Photo troubles. The reference photo wasn't great as it was a dull gray day, but the joy of the little boy made it hard to resist. The photo of the painting is bad, doesn't capture the subtleties. Oh well, no more excuses. At least I got to paint!

"Happy Cows" 5x7 oil on panel

Another good day in the studio. These guys just wanted to be painted. The photo doesn't capture a lot of the color. I'm never quite sure why. But I'm grateful to be back to my little daily paintings.

"Poppies" 6x6 oil on panel

So happy to be back to painting! I tried another subject (our sail boat), but ended up wiping it out. This one worked a little better. It's all about the light.

Oh, I'm loving my new studio. It is far from organized, but I'm continuing the mantra "No excuses. . .just paint." There will be plenty of time to organize, do laundry, etc. etc. This week is found time. Time between guests. Chunks of time without obligations. So I'm taking the opportunity to paint.

"Chasing Seagulls" 5x7 oil on panel

Yesterday was "No excuses. . .just paint" day.
The laundry wasn't done.
The new studio wasn't organized.
The morning dishes were in the sink.
No excuses. . . just paint.
A few years ago when I was delving into the oh-so-much-more-difficult world of writing, a teacher said to me, "Writers write." And, painters paint. Show up. No excuses. . . just paint.
I re-visited an image I've painted before. It felt great to paint!

Mug Shots 4x4 oil on board

Also from Karin Jurick's workshop, these two are mug shots from Karin. She did a series of 100 mug shots, which are brilliant. It's a really fun exercise to keep it loose and colorful. Some very intense and exciting things seem to happen. The mug shots are available on the internet, and I intend to do more this summer.

Karin Jurick Workshop Paintings 6x6 oil on board

Last week I had the privilege of attending a workshop with Karin Jurick, who in my opinion is one of the best "daily painters" out there. She is also a fantastic teacher, and a delight of a person to spend the best part of a week with. These are the first two paintings I did at the workshop. It's kind of hard to get back into this fast, painterly approach working from photos after about 9 months of working realistically from life/models. But I love the loose, quick method, and working from photos is very helpful for summer in VT.

The real thrill of the workshop was watching Karin's demos. I learned so much. The "Boy in Green Crocs" was from a photo Karin gave us all. The "Man in Disguise" was from one of my bench-sitter photos. I can't wait to get back to "daily painting" this summer. (A couple of weeks of travel is coming up, and then hopefully I will be back to it.)

Painting at the Met, "After Repin" 24x30 Oil on Linen

The Academy offered a class this semester in which we painted at the Metropolitan Museum of Art one afternoon a week. I chose the Repin to copy. It was an amazing experience.

"With Hat in Hand" 24 x 36 oil on canvas

Here's my latest from Sharon Sprung's class. A three week pose, but cut short by a few days of absence, both mine and the model's. All in all I was pleased. Sharon says I am moving to a new level, but need to focus on textures as well as giving more depth to the shadows, more contrast. I am really loving working on this larger size -- 24 x36.

"Stephanie - Nude with Pearls" 24x36 oil on canvas

Finally, something new to post! Although the photos aren't so great, I'm really pleased with this new painting. Done in two weeks in Sharon's class. It's big, for me. I really struggled with the skin tone and and natural light this time of year is a challenge. I plan to glaze it later to make it a little warmer, but all in all it was a good experience. The second photo is a detail shot.

"Clif" 12x12 oil on canvas

I have been working on another large painting in my class and am making good progress, however, got to class today and once again the model didn't show. Initially I was really bummed. I wanted to work on the one I had planned on working on. Boo!

Clif, one of our monitors, offered to sit for us. What a great time I had! A very fun, loose little daily painting. Surprises are always the best! As often happens when I photograph at the Academy, the picture doesn't do it justice. But I wanted to share it anyway.

"Rios in Bandanna" 16x20 oil on panel

I'm working on a large painting (24x36) in my class, but the model was out sick on Friday so there was an opportunity to do a "daily painting" from life/the other model in the room. Unfortunately this is a really bad photo, but it was fun to just paint quickly, loosely, on panel with no pressure or expectations. I think that's the magic of daily paintings. This one is a little bigger than usual, but 16x20 was the only panel I had in my locker. It was a fun day. Sorry the picture is so bad...

"Rios, Boxer" 30x30 oil on canvas

Here is the painting I did in Sharon's class in December. Unfortunately, holidays intervened and I was unable to post until today. I have sorely neglected my blog and totally understand if no one is checking in. I do plan to post as often as possible, and in fact will have some drawings from my drawing class in the next few days. I'm learning so much in my classes. Really enjoying working larger. This one is 30x30, and I'm currently working on one that is 24x36. The work in the classes is very different than the daily painting I was doing when I created the blog, and doesn't lend itself to frequent postings. So, please bear with me. Daily painting will return in the summer, I hope. For now, I will post when these larger paintings are completed, and look forward to comments and input.