Lily and Marble

"Lily and Marble"
10" x 10"
Acrylic on wrapped canvas
I grow red day lilies for the pleasure of having them as subject matter. The day this one snapped off in a storm I brought her in and set her on a dinner napkin while I looked for a vase.  She looked so cozy on the napkin that I brought a marble to add to the composition and photographed it.  

The background lace pattern is textured with joint compound, then painted on when dry.  I love to make up new techniques.  

Antique Hydrangea

"Antique Hydrangea"
20" x 20"
Oil on wrapped canvas
I walked into the produce department of Whole Foods to buy cherries and watermelon, but walked out with three stems of hydrangeas instead. I tried not to fall in love, but I tumbled at the colorful petals, the texture, the massive heads.  I'll be painting these bad boys again! 

Each head is a different color and every cluster of four petals is unique, too. I will have a lot of fun making art from my "fruit substitute."

Carol

Dailypaintworks.com
Dailypainters.com
My Gallery
Brushstrokes@comcast.net


Blue Moon

"Blue Moon"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard
A blue moon is the appearance of the third full moon in a season that has four full moons, instead of the usual three. It is never blue, though. The term "blue moon" is used to mean a very rare event, as in the phrase, "once in a blue moon," because it occurs only once every two to three years.  

 She was a white spot on a lacy, dark sky.

Carol

Dailypaintworks.com
Dailypainters.com
My Gallery
Brushstrokes@comcast.net

The Maroon Bells

"The Maroon Bells"
16" x 20"
Acrylic on stretched canvas
It was September, the aspens had changed their green coinage for gold.  The sun zapped orange at the tips of The Maroon Bells and the shadows responded appropriately in an array of violets and purple.  

This is a knife painting I cobbled from a stack of autumn photos of The Maroon Bells peaks in Colorado.  It was a larger painting than I'm used to doing with a knife, but enjoyable.

Carol

Dailypainers.com
Dailypaintworks.com
My Gallery
Brushstrokes@comcast.net

Beck's Other Field

"Beck's Other Field"
9" x 12"
Acrylic on canvas panel
The thing I face when I paint summer in the Midwest is handling all the green and blue.  There are lots of shades and values of each in this painting, but it still reads as a green and blue painting.  

 Fall is around the corner!  In fact, the large painting I'm working on today is autumn in Colorado.  I hope to finish it this afternoon so I can post it on Friday.

Carol

Dailypaintworks.com
Dailypainters.com
My Gallery
Brushstrokes@comcast.net

Beck's Farmland

"Beck's Farmland"
8" x 8"
Acrylic on canvas panel 
I painted en plein air early this morning at Beck's farm while there was still pink on the horizon. The soybeans grew in various shades of green, depending on when they were planted, with a healthy crop of weeds separating them like fences.  

 This is a palette knife piece, one of two that I painted in the presence of hummingbirds, crows and hawks.  It was an idyllic meditative day in Hebron, Illinois.

Carol

Dailypaintworks.com
Dailypainters.com
My Gallery
Brushstrokes@comcast.net

Rising On the Chanticleer Bay

"Rising On the Chanticleer Bay"
6" x6"
Oil on hardboard 
The red-orange of the rising sun took on a rooster-red glow the morning I wakened to see it for myself.  The Chanticleer Bay was named for its glorious sunrises, but they didn't bode well for the residents. Red sky come morning... take it as warning. 

Another sky while I sort out my... paints.

Carol

Dailypainters.com
Dailypaintworks.com
My Gallery
Brushstrokes@comcast.net


Bleeding Heart

"Bleeding Heart"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard
The sun rose that morning with more fanfare than the day warranted.  It bled all over the horizon, leaking onto the coastal waters and even tinting a rock or two.  Nobody even saw the orb responsible for this much drama.  

Another sky while my life gets sorted. Or is it sordid?  Either way, you get sky.  :-)  

Carol

Dailypainters.com
Dailypaintworks.com
My Gallery
Brushstrokes@comcast.net

Rising From the Depths

"Rising From the Depths"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard
Morning is so worth witnessing when there's a place to watch the sun rise from the depths of her nighttime hiding place. She brings with her such dandy colors and patterns and tosses them into the air with reckless abandon.

Sky, sky sky.  Does she know how to paint anything else?   Yes, and she's doing it behind your back.  Wait a few more days and you'll see.  Yikes, I hope so, anyway.

Carol

Dailypaintworks.com
Dailypainters.com
My Gallery  405 paintings!
Brushstrokes@comcast.net

Botanic Gardens Icons

"Botanic Gardens Icons"
25" x 13.5" 
Oil on four canvases
The Chicago Botanic Gardens, like many public places, has iconic spots that people designate as meeting areas. The English Walled Garden has many, including the three pictured here: the garden gate, the lily pond, and the Renaissance sculpture.

This piece was hanging in a corporate setting until it was removed to make room for team-building posters.  Fine art went out the door for propaganda. Sheesh. The three canvases are mounted on one large canvas that I marbleized. It's about an inch and a half thick.

Carol

Dailypaintworks.com
Dailypainters.com
My Gallery
Brushstrokes@comcast.net



Sunrise Waves

"Sunrise Waves"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard
Long, tongue-like waves licked their way toward shore, some donning morning's light, others determined to drag night along as long as possible.

A sunrise is my warm up this time.  I bought more of these panels over the weekend so I can continue this little passion for a while longer. I'm figuring out how to paint that blue stuff that changes color and shape over my head.

Carol

Dailypaintworks.com
Dailypainters.com
My Gallery  
Brushstrokes@comcast.net

Tumbling Turmoil

"Tumbling Turmoil"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard

Sunsets are often yellow, orange, and red. And because red has the longest wavelength of any visible light, when it’s on the horizon, where its extremely long path through the atmosphere, it blocks all other colors.
It's another sky painting for while I'm working on a large rose painting— that's going slowly. 
Carol

Puzzled

"Puzzling"
10" x 10"
Acrylic on wrapped canvas
The shape of puzzle pieces has entertained me for most of my life. I like the knob and the bite on every side; each one unique in its shape and size. Each one locking perfectly into only one other piece. 

This is not brand new, but my new pieces are taking longer on account of life getting in the way.  I'll post when I can until this bumpy road gets smoother.  Thank you for your inquiries and concerns on the days I didn't post.  I'm well, just engulfed.

Carol

Dailypaintworks.com
Dailypainters.com
My Gallery
Brushstrokes@comcast.net

Majesty

"Majesty"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard
The sun nestled into a bank of clouds, upstaging the mountains, and snuggled in the downy fluff like a kitten in a basket of tangerine yarn. 

Here's another in my series of skies. I cobbled this one from several photos in my files.  While I still have paint on my tiny Styrofoam plate, I'll probably make one other one to post tomorrow night. I love making them.  Can you tell?  

Carol

At Joanie's

"At Joanie's"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard
We were outside at sunset when Joan noticed the color of the treetops, that they were viridian, despite the drought.  "The sun's playing tricks," I said.  Joan was happy it wasn't the wine she had with dinner, instead.  

 Another twenty minute painting, done with Joan in my studio with me!  No wine was consumed while painting this sky... well, almost none.

Carol

Dailypaintworks.com
Dailypainters.com
My Gallery
Brushstrokes@comcast.net

Nipped in the Bud

"Nipped in the Bud"
6" x 6"
Oil on canvas panel
She was one of the last ones standing when I happened by.  Not particularly attractive, but a rose, nonetheless.  I hoped she'd survive the frost, but knew her sister probably would not.  I didn't go back to check. 

This format is just too small for the large, swirling motions I enjoy when I paint with my sponges.  It must be the mural painter in me.

Carol

Dailypainters.com
Dailypaintworks.com
My DPW Gallery
Brushstrokes@comcast.net

Peg's Again

"Peg's Again"
10" x 8'
Oil on canvas panel

















It's hot and steamy and the colors are intense in the garden this time of year, if you can get past the humidity and bugs.  

 This was a thirty minute painting, but it would never have gone longer, no matter what, with the bugs and the heat of this summer.  I'll wait until it's cooler to venture into another plein air experience.  I'm not made of the right stuff for this!

Carol

Dailypaintworks.com
Dailypainters.com
My Gallery
Brushstrokes@comcast.net