Algid and Aloft

"Algid and Aloft"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard
I think this is how it would look from the cockpit of a Cessna 172 around 5:13 in the morning as I approach my favorite airport in Colorado. It's a dream, of course, I would never fly a Cessna — at that time of day!  

 I found a little number 2 shader brush in my stash of about 600 brushes that just loves to paint mountains. You may see more of them underneath my skies in the future.

Carol

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Wake Up!

"Wake Up!"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard
We had taken turns slipping in and  out of the insanity required to drive through the night. Dawn broke part-way into my shift, and there it was in the distance—the front range. It was no longer dark. No longer the plains. No longer time to be quiet. This had to be shared. "Wake up and get a load of this!" I said to my companion. 

 I love to paint skies. I've done enough of them now to not dread whipping one out on a night when what I'm working on isn't ready to post. Tonight was such a night.

Carol

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Smitten

"Smitten"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard
It has become my habit to paint skies when I'm pondering other subject matter.  The tighter a series, the looser the skies get. The more limited the color palette, the juicier the skies get. The styles balance one another. Can you tell that I'm painting seven pieces of brown chocolate by looking at this sky?  

 Carol 

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Close Shave

"Close Shave"
12" x 12"
Oil on wrapped canvas
We had been walking through the woods when we realized the light levels were changing—rapidly. We made our way into the clearing to find the sun two fingers from the horizon, or about thirty minutes before dark. Nothing looked familiar, until I spotted a deer, or possibly a moose trail that I knew would lead me to the river where we left the canoe. Close shave.  

I was chosen today to have my art featured in the Dick Blick Art Materials catalog for Spring.  Two pieces of my art will be used as spot art in their publication. I'm tickled to have been chosen.

Carol

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Rye, Wispy

"Rye, Wispy"
6" x 8"
Oil on hardboard
I tickled my own fancy with the title of today's painting. It was just going to be "Wispy," but when I looked at the field of ... rye, I couldn't help myself.  I'm being silly, of course, but I'm allowed. It's my blog! 

I worked on two knife paintings this morning and made messes of both of them. So I decided to write a short story instead. Once it was under way, another painting, this one, came easily.

Carol

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Spring Rain

"Spring Rain"
6" x 6"
Oil on Hardboard 
A morning rain trickled over the verdant field across the way.  It would be the only moisture for a month.  We wished it would have been more when we looked back at the drought-stricken summer. We were lucky to have received that sprinkle that day.

As I dread the first snow in my area, I remember how dry our summer was, and realize the selfishness of my wishes.  Bring it on, Old Man. Give it your best shot. Make it a good one while the novelty of white stuff will be received with a freshness and zeal we won't have in February.  

Carol

Sailor's Delight

"Sailor's Delight"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard
My first mother-in-law spoke in rhyme all the time. She learned her lessons as a child and repeated them throughout her life. Hers was a time of memorization, not of Googling. I learned weather warnings, vowel placement and what to ride to Banbury Cross from her. 

My offering this evening is a sky while I work on my commission piece. You'll see more of it tomorrow.

Carol

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Serene

"Serene"
12" x 12" 
Oil on wrapped canvas
Across the lake, way on the other side is where I think morning originates.  How small of me to limit my thoughts to only as far away as my thoughts wander and linger.  But I think it's human nature to keep enormous concepts like orbits and the cosmos in human scale. Well, it's my nature, anyway.

I painted this sky and yesterday's on canvas to see if I could. All the skyscapes I've made have been on panels. I think my technique worked well enough to take sky to the next level.  I'm going to try to expand my soft skies to include soft solid forms, too. I'll ease into it, but know it's coming.

Carol

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Quiet

"Quiet"
12" x 12"
Oil on wrapped canvas 
There had been so much going on; planning, laughter, cooking, conversation, entertaining, frivolity, feasting, then nothing but quiet. The quiet of a household after a five-day party is often as unnerving as the commotion of a full to overflowing house. This painting depicts what it felt like when they all left. Quiet. 

My family celebrated a fifteen-year tradition of Faux Thanksgiving over the weekend. Friends and family came to eat turkey and play for five days.  It happens two weeks before real Thanksgiving every year.  And every year it gets louder while they're here and quieter when they leave.  For all of this, I am thankful.

Love,
Carol

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Sandy

"Sandy"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard
I heard that a storm was walloping  the east coast of my country, so I decided to turn on the TV to see what was going on. I do not watch television, yet, I began to list all the people I know on that coast, and thought I should be cognizant of their peril. I offer my prayers for your safety in Connecticut, Maryland, New York, Massachusetts, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. You know who you are.

Love to you,
Carol

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Scoops of Sherbet

"Scoops of Sherbet"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard
Sometimes a sky takes on the look of squirted shaving cream, or cotton balls, or in this case, food. As I painted and assigned color and texture to the small, smooth surface I paint these skies on, I kept thinking sherbet... or maybe even sorbet. I like those cold confecitons like sorbet, sherbet and even gelato... okay, ice cream, too.  Yum. 

Carol

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About To...

"About To..."
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard 
I begin these sky paintings with every intention of making a sunrise or a sunset, but when I get to the end there are nights that I don't know whether I've made the end of one day or the beginning of another.  It's like what's going on with my friend who is on an adventure in Madrid for a couple of weeks.  He is about to wake up while I type this, and I'm about to go to sleep.

Goodnight and good morning.
Carol

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Surrender

"Surrender"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard 
After the sun tumbled below the safety of the tree line it sent up its colorful flag of surrender.  Surrender to the dark of night, the end of a day, its position of power in the sky, just the end.  When endings come, there's not much more to be said, but goodnight.  

My son's wedding has come and gone. I will be posting regularly again. It feels good to be back in the studio tonight, although it's been difficult to make my hands do what my head thinks they should do.  Sometimes we just have to surrender, and do what makes the brush happy.

Carol

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