Behind the Easel
“I’ve been watching you, dad ain’t that cool?
I’m your buckaroo, I wanna be like you.
And eat all my food and grow as tall as you are.
We got cowboy boots and camo pants
Yeah, we’re just alike, hey, ain’t we dad?
I want to do everything you do.
So I’ve been watching you.”
This song by Rodney Atkins speaks to the imperfect parent, that wants to do it all right. No matter the age your child might be… We all want to get it right. This song sang a loop in my head while painting these boots.
This work and several other “Cowboy boots” will be showing at
The Antiques and Garden Show of Nashville February 10 – 12 2012
Feb 09, 2012 | Categories:Wet off the Easel | Tags: Cowboy Boots, Western Art, Western Decor | Leave A Comment »
I strive for a composition that works, balance of color, movement, edges, and value relationships. Editing is one of the more difficult qualities of an artist craft. It is far more challenging to know what to leave out than to paint it all. Singer Sargent was a master at editing. Next time you enjoy his work, think about all of the detail in the dress or fore ground that was left out . Your eye enters the painting and is swept up and drawn to the subject.
I am certainly not a master… but I am the consummate student, curious, engaged, always digging deeper for a better understanding of what makes a painting work.
In “Rugged Charm” your eye is drawn to the warm hues and lose sketchy lines in the boat. Except for a dabble of gold on shore, the painting envelopes the subject with movement and cool hues.
This painting currently hangs at Stellers Gallery in Ponte Vedra, Florida
Feb 09, 2012 | Categories:Wet off the Easel | Tags: Beach Art, Beach Decor, Boat, Coast, Coast Art, Coastal Painting, Low country Art, Marine, Nautical Decor, Painting, Sea Art, Seascape, Seascape Paintings | Leave A Comment »
I recently enjoyed a trip to Colorado with my dear friend Beth, a childhood “forever” friend. A snowy cold adventure including skiing cowboys, yummy eats, and art.
The boots I have painted belong to an Artist friend Erica Van Wyk http://www.ericavanwyk.com/index.html. When you walk into Erica and Mark’s lovely home it is hard to decide where to gaze first. The long vistas from every window or the gallery of fine art, placed here and there. Erica’s sculpture is magnificent it incorporates qualities I am drawn to, texture, color, and unexpected materials. My favorite are her bowls that look more like a beloved southern quilt.
I enjoyed painting a pair of her very cool boots! Thanks for having us, Mark and Erica!
Feb 08, 2012 | Categories:Wet off the Easel | Tags: Cowboy Boots, Painting, Western Art, Western Decor | Leave A Comment »
I love painting one main center of interest. The surrounding foreground and background were painted with fewer details, less intense colors, and soft edges. The primary subject, “Orange Peel” is the story. A fun name for a happy subject, a bicycle on the beach.
Where the orange stops the rust takes over. The Subject was a vehicle to explore nuances of colors and shapes. This painting is whimsical and happy, my pallet was full of color and the brushstrokes show movement. The bicycle is still, but the day is clear with a perfect breeze.
Nov 17, 2011 | Categories:Wet off the Easel | Tags: Beach Art, Beach Decor, Bicycle Painting, Bike Painting, Coast, Coast Art, Coastal Painting, Low country Art, Marine, Nautical Decor, Painting, Sea Art, Seascape Paintings | Leave A Comment »
A figure or an inanimate object like a boat or a bike I am drawn to the rhythm and harmony of the composition. I wanted this boat to say “Hello look at me”
Similar shapes and colors repeat to unify the composition. The texture of smooth water contrasts with the strong value and lines in the old boat. The whites are bright and reflective… I wanted the viewer to feel the warmth of the summer sun and how that contrasts with the cool hues of the sky and water.
Sketchy lines, a pop of red, I am strong and old. My name is “Drifter”.
Nov 17, 2011 | Categories:Wet off the Easel | Tags: Beach Art, Beach Decor, Boat, Coast, Coast Art, Coastal Painting, Crimson Red, Low country Art, Marine, Marsh, Nautical Decor, Painting, Sea Art, Seascape, Seascape Paintings | Leave A Comment »
A ranch in Arizona commissioned this painting. The boots were hand painted years ago. The composition was chosen as if the couple were standing next to each other holding hands. That small intimate expression of your toes touching, reserved only for your mate. A gesture of love.
I painted the patterns and bright color with great joy. The light in the foreground helps to balance some of the crisp white in the boots. The cool blue in the background calm the vibrant and active warm hues in the larger pair of boots.
Sadly this was a posthumous commission. The larger set of boots are now empty. I hope in time this painting will bring a smile, a memory, comfort.
Oct 19, 2011 | Categories:Wet off the Easel | Tags: Bike Painting, Cowboy Boots, Western Art, Western Decor | Leave A Comment »
A day dream. You can do anything, go anywhere…
It has been a while since I have painted a figurative study and this painting was a joy. One of those rare days the brush seem to dance and I followed. A lose figurative painted in a classical style, alla prima. This painting exhibits a wide variety of paint quality, from thick to thin from opaque to transparent. I happy with the outcome and look forward to painting more.
Look at the horizon, look at the sky, Day dream.
Jun 20, 2011 | Categories:Wet off the Easel | Tags: Beach Art, Beach Decor, Coast, Coast Art, Coastal Painting, Girl on Beach, Nautical Decor, Painting, Sea Art, Seascape, Seascape Paintings | 1 Comment »
I grew up in Clearwater Florida. The view from the boardwalk to the water was long, the sand white, and as a girl I remember my sisters and I tossing our sandals and feeling the hot sand under our feet. I could not wait to get to the water’s edge.
To me the most dramatic paintings have a full range of values and visual contrast. I always make sure that the lighter values visually “link together” to create a pathway of light to the subject. The eye enters the painting with the energy of cool shapes in the upper left corner and then pushes the eye toward the focal point .
I try to make my paintings a story. The excitement and interest in this piece is not just the cruiser. The story is the moist salty air, the sound of a seagull. The painting is the beach memory to be made.
May 19, 2011 | Categories:Wet off the Easel | Tags: Beach Art, Beach Decor, Bicycle Painting, Bike Painting, Coast, Coast Art, Coastal Painting, Low country Art, Marine, Nautical Decor, Painting, Sea Art, Seascape, Seascape Paintings | Leave A Comment »
A bird on a boat serenely floats at the end of it’s tether.
To give the water interest I have let each layer of glaze drip slightly and then lay the canvas flat to dry for several days. This pattern is repeated over many weeks. The high contrast reflection is a focal point, as a splash of color demands attention.
This tranquil little boat is safe with it’s own sea captain perched as if on guard.
May 17, 2011 | Categories:Wet off the Easel | Tags: Beach Art, Beach Decor, Bird, Boat, Coast, Coast Art, Coastal Painting, Low country Art, Marine, Nautical Decor, Painting, Sea Art, Seascape, Seascape Paintings, Skiff | Leave A Comment »
36X36 Oil
Every minute of the day the sky is an ever changing gift. The sun is masked in the early morning light and comes from the whole sky, more or less straight down.
Layers of glazing, sketching and reworking this painting took longer than most. It has been on and off my easel over many months. I wanted to portray the feeling of a gentle breeze.
A classic cruiser on a day when the sky envelopes everything. Soft muted blue, green, gold and a whisper of wind.
May 12, 2011 | Categories:Wet off the Easel | Tags: Beach Art, Beach Decor, Bicycle Painting, Bike Painting, Coast, Coast Art, Coastal Painting, Low country Art, Marine, Nautical Decor, Painting, Sea Art, Seascape, Seascape Paintings | Leave A Comment »
