ITALIAN HANDBAG

Just before sundown, the chefs go out to get a little fresh air.  A scene like this took place in Termezzo on Lake Como.

GUS

Introducing Gus, Strong and Mighty.  I have two grand-dogs.  Gus is the one I see most often.  He is gentle and playful at nearly 10 years of age.  So huggable!

Brown Egg

Another still life featuring the same three 'objets.'  As it turns out, my birthday on Wednesday was on the same day as my birth.  By that, I mean to say, I am 'Wednesday's Child.'  Yes!  I was born on a Wednesday.  Thank Goodness.

This title is a little misleading, n'est-ce pas?  Due to my camera setting, the brown egg is a little orange.  Easter egg, maybe.

One Fresh Egg

I have celebrated another trip around the sun with candles and cakes.  What a wonderful time to be alive.  Still life painting today with three of my faves, subjects, that is.

Carmel Valley

We painted in the beautiful Carmel Valley at the produce market which grows all my favorite greens. What a delight to escape this heat to enjoy temperatures in the 70's.  The purple here is a little more vibrant than in my painting but I had a hard time adjusting it.  Everybody is Texas should go to California for August.  We could trade with the California residents.  Then the outdoor painters of California would see why we are so challenged by the heat of summer.

'Little Lezzeno'

There is this sweetest of villages on Lake Como.  This is another of my 6 x 6 studies completed after we returned home which was scraped away.  The burning of the memory is enduring.

'Stuck on Rozzo'

Guess you might think I am stuck on this subject matter.  In a sense, it is so true.  My time spent in this beautiful little alleyway made quite an impression.  What I find interesting is that there is enough significance for this neighborhood of maybe 14 homes to have its own sign from the highway.  I'm not certain of the special designation but it clearly is special.

I gave myself a limited amount of time to paint this 6 x 6 then forced myself to scrape the entire thing off the canvas.  What do you think of that?  Gone.  But not forgotten.

Rozzo in Black and White

This is the neighborhood scene I painted earlier.  I mixed my own greys and tried again to capture the tiny spot on the map.

Lakeside

This is the little jumble of apartments and inns around Lake Como.  We were there the first week of summer. At our Albergo Aurora was a wake boarding camp for girls from all over the world.  The owners' daughter has recently won the World Championship in Wakeboarding in her classification.  In addition to painters all over town, there were wake boarders taking off from the dock each day.  Interesting combination!

The Kindness of Strangers

Do you know how to paint a feeling?  I surely do not know what this means, but this study will forever evoke a memory of the kindness of strangers.  Susan and I were painting in the shadows on a little street in Rozzo, a small neighborhood of the village, Lezzano.  It was a very warm June day and the neighbors were all about, going in to church, sweeping the balcony, walking or driving!!! down this tiny street.

From the apartment on the right a lady came down with a beautifully arranged plate of fresh fruit, raspberries, cherries, nectarines.  What a lovely gesture.  We were later invited up into her apartment to see a drawing she had of her very corner of the world where there exists a 16th century fresco still intact on the building next door.  Let us remember to always share with those in our midst.

Lake Como in the Afternoon

There are many little villages around Lake Como, all connected by a winding road running the entire circumference.  This particular afternoon we painted in a spot where families also gathered to bathe in the icy cold water of the lake.  The far mountains are Switzerland...still snow-covered on top.

Termezzo on Lake Como, Italy

This beautiful little spot on Lake Como was the site of our painting trip with the wonderful Kenn Backhaus.

Lezzano Afternoon

This is the little village in Italy on beautiful Lake Como where I had the good fortune to paint with Open Air Italy and the inimitable Kenn Backhaus.  What a wonderful time we had at Albergo Aurora Lezzano.  The air was thick with atmosphere!

'4 Across'

In addition to growing beautiful roses, my daddy is a crossword genius.  Here he is in his usual afternoon pose, right before 'Jeopardy.'

my nubian neighbor

This is another of the neighbors out here in the country.  There is a population explosion going on out there.

Saint Harry Potter

There is so much to say about this pup.  He pulled up beside me in a pickup and posed for me.  Completely relaxed and drooling.  What a doll!  I left off the drool, but concentrated on his fabulous coat.  He is one hairy beast.  I tried to convey how very regal and saintly and ready to assist he seemed.

Repose

Repose has a dreamlike quality often felt when a young mother finally has a chance to put up her feet, which was the case here.  Lovely Heather...

No Time Like the Present

This just might be my favorite from Carol's class.  We were always so excited to receive a golden gift from Navarra's.  It meant something special was inside that little box.

The Rose

This is from Day 3: the rose.  In Carol's class, she says the third day is the hardest for everyone.  I believe it has to do with the close values and hues.  Sally in our class whined and gnashed her teeth but completed a very nice rose.  Another Carol painted a rose which looked just like the teacher's.  She said she just followed instructions!

Egg and I

This is the Day 2: still life from the workshop with  inimitable Carol Marine last week.  She paints like no other and speaks to the simple set up for still life painting. I think this one works.  (The original is not quite so purple.)

Mother's Day Party

This silver set is ready to party.  I love the handles, sturdy and simple.  Happy Mother's Day to all my friends.

Jr. Cowpoke

These are the cowboy boots my little cowboys each wore when he was about 2 years old.  All three are now completely grown and fathers of little cowpokes.  I painted with the excellent Carol Marine this past week.  This was painted on Day 1: shoes.  What a great teacher and fabulous workshop.

This painting "Jr. Cowpoke" is available for purchase in DailyPaintWorks Gallery.

Shadows

Snow Day in Alabama

These two little Southern boys rarely get to sled.  What a great day when it snows and is icy and school is out.  Ice, ice, baby.

Hee-Haw

Here is another neighbor who lives on the other side.  He is very happy just to enjoy the warm sunshine of a Central Texas February.  Bluebonnets can't be far behind.

Patterns

There are patterns of dark and light in composition.  In this particular painting, I'm trying to create this pattern and to show the heaviest texture in the light.  The shadows are thin, transparent paint.

My Daddy's Roses

My father has been a rose-grower since I was a small child.  All our pictures were taken in our rose garden located along the side of the house where I grew up.  These past few years, Daddy has gardened the neutral ground across the street from his home.  There is a long stretch where he has installed crape myrtles, zinnias in the hot summertime, impatiens and other low-growing seasonal blossoms all beneath his gorgeous roses.  I picked this bouquet of antique roses, the old-fashioned fragrant varieties.  We just celebrated his 87th birthday.  Gardening and his volunteering and bridge group have kept a spring in his step.  He is an inspiration to us all.

LUCY

For Christmas, I received a new camera which color corrects.  I decided to repost 'LUCY' because she shows off so much better with the right coat.

Hereford

This is a neighbor of mine out last week for a stroll.  Quite the beautiful cow, the hereford.

Spoon Knife Fork

OK---not so much texture.

Fork Knife Spoon

I'm trying very thick application of paint here to get an effect of texture.  The basis is drawing, as usual. What fun to paint with great piles of paint and to aim for design in the process.

Out of Bounds

These happy two pups are the loves of my friend, Carol.  They are actually both black, but the fellow on the top has turned a little brown, I notice.  They were frolicking in Cypress Creek.  Love the pooches!

SILVER SPOON

My hydrangea and reflected-light exercise gave all the beauty and much distress.  I believe it was worth it!

TRIO

The little teaspoons danced right into my painting.  I like the way the shadows worked out with the overall design.

BLOSSOMS

This is part of my orchid series.  The structure and shape of the orchid petal is my latest obsession.  This one is part of a glorious couple of stalks of very prolific orchids.  Grocery store, of course!

TECOMA BELLS OF FIRE

We are enjoying the last blossoms of the Tecoma Bells of Fire, a heat and drought-hardy plant which flourishes here in Austin landscapes.  Because of a little recent rainfall, we are blessed with many beautiful wildflowers out here in the country.  Lots of purple and gold, my two favorite fall football colors.  Geaux Tigers!

I DO LOVE LUCY

I love her so well that I painted her again this week with a high-key palette.  These eyes seem not only more accurate but more soulful.  Sweet puppy!  Getting to know her has been fun.  I'm not a whole-hog dog person, but I do love a dog who will hold a pose like Lucy does.

Very Near

These last four paintings done in California were all painted on Arches Huile, a paper made especially for oil painting.  I loved trying this paper, most of all because the paintings were so portable.  This is painted in Carmel at the end of one of the streets.

I LOVE LUCY

This pretty girl belongs to friends.  I've painted her as a surprise for Christmas...Shhhh!

Red Fishing