Land and Sea

an impressionist moment - not likely to be repeated soon but fun

second painting I did - very rough

This one and the next are heavily influenced by the work of Michel Keck.  If you check her work - make sure it is through her own website as she is having trouble with some copyists at the moment

Another Day

 Rather an interesting one for me - we went to my home town and one of the stores there, that caters to local artists (to sell their stuff) and to the tourist trade (to sell to) took nine of my paintings to sell!  Of course I won't know how well it has gone for some time - but if they sell it is a start!

The nine paintings are three different sizes, ranging from six by six to ten by ten.

 Wish me luck!

The Influence of Michel Keck

Michel would likely have a fit to see this - but her work makes me want to learn how to let go entirely and do paintings that are primal, full of emotion, not following rules.

My efforts have not worked out the way I want - likely because I give myself rules as I go - but it is interesting and very difficult for me to do as it goes against everything I am.  I like order, control, value, no waste..... and as I paint I am learning to let go of this, to embrace chaos at times, to enjoy not controlling everything, to *waste* paint - it is very good for me to learn to let go but very hard.  I love Michel's work because it is full of freedom, full of emotion, full of life.  Maybe one day I will be more at home with all this.

Flowers and trees

I love these tones and enjoyed creating texture in this

Greens will always remain my favourite colours.

Two paintings - one was the first I did and the other was done for a friend who liked the first one a lot (the first one looks nice here but is really very rough close up).

Second painting I did, then one for my daughter and one with a flower pot just to try and see if I can do that.

This is an experiment in colour and texture.  I am not sure yet if I like it or not but it feels cool!

Trying a couple of different styles here

Ellen's Art

  Ellen Norton - wonderful artist but even better friend - these are some of her paintings that she has shared with me and with our friends at Polyvore

 

  This picture is by Ellen's daughter Hilary and the one below by her grandmother Freda Franz who is an inspiration to me as she also started painting in her fifties! A talented family!

Josephine Wall

Josephine Wall's art - some of my all time favourite fantasy paintings!

Check her website for more gorgeous paintings - her use of colour is incredible!  http://www.josephinewall.co.uk/

Internet Artist Friends

 

 this hangs in my breakfast room and is by my friend Ellen Norton.  Ellen has a lot of beautiful paintings - I have admired many but this remains my favourite and when she visited here about a year and a half ago she presented me with this.

   

Here we have a portrait of Colin drawn from a photograph.  The drawing is by Thea Maia who has become a friend on Polyvore and Facebook.  Thea is another talented artist I have met at Polyvore.

Another of Ette Dove's wonderful miniature paintings.  I met Ette at Polyvore too - great place for artists!

 

This painting hangs in my dining room and is by Debbie Cusick.  I met Deb on a book list for mystery novels.  We met in person years ago at the festival in Stratford (to see Christopher Plummer play King Lear) and we chat frequently online.  Debbie has been taking classes in art for as long as I have known her and it was been great fun to watch her style grow and evolve.  I fell in love with the soft colours of this pastel.

 

This is by a Polyvore friend I only know as Clara Bow - her painting is lovely!

 

This final one is by Colleen - also a Polyvore friend who has gone back to art school and is doing some pretty incredible stuff!