Destined to be Gray

"Destined to be Gray"
5" x 5"
Oil on hardboard
The days had been clear and the sky had been blue for a week straight. There was bound to be a day like this, and it appeared as the sun rose. Who needs weather.com when you can look out the window and see it for sure?

I liked making a sky without so much color in it. Although the next one off the easel was brilliant.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
CarolKeene.com
Dailypaintworks.com
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Rising Above the Crest

"Rising Above the Crest"
5" x 5"
Oil on hardboard
The moon rose above the crest of a little hill. Dotted it like an "i."  It was one of those peaceful evenings when the comings and goings of the stellar orbs was about I wanted to watch.  

My sky paintings are getting smaller.  No reason for it, I just enjoy the five inch panels, too.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
CarolKeene.com
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Main Street, LaCrosse

"Main Street, LaCrosse"
6" x 6"
Pastel on canvas panel
I made a quick study of Main Street with pastels. I'm using photos from the internet, so I don't know which direction I'm facing. What I do know is that these are very old buildings and I'm looking forward to painting them in person… now that I'm a little familiar. 

I haven't painted with pastels in months. I forgot how fun they can be. The next painting, tomorrow, is my favorite.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
CarolKeene.com
Dailypaintworks.com
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Dawn's Early Light

"Dawn's Early Light"
12" x 12"
Oil on canvas panel 
As a respite from the LaCrosse paintings… I offer a larger sky than I normally paint. I felt passionate about making this one and a six by six just wouldn't cut it. 

I had to handle the yellows and blues very carefully to not make green, and the purples and yellows so as to not make brown where I didn't want it. This one is quite nice in person.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
CarolKeene.com
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Main Street

"Main Street"
6" x 6"
Acrylic on canvas panel
I'm revving up for the plein air event I'll be attending next weekend. I'm not fond of, nor practiced in urban scenes. I've avoided them from the beginning of my art experience. Yet, the promoters of the event are looking for — hoping that someone will paint the downtown area of the city.  So I'm willing to give it a try. 

 This is the first of four paintings I did today. It's acrylic and I used a scraper to keep my lines straight. I'll post the others to let you see how I'm improving.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
CarolKeene.com
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Season of Change

"Season of Change"
8" x 6"
Oil on canvas panel
The light that day allowed the local color of my subject matter to shine in its own unique way. It's a season of change — evidenced by the leaves, berries and the water. 

Not only do the physical elements change color, the light seems to in the fall, as well. I'll be painting in this park in a couple of weeks, so I used an old photo I took of it to "test" the waters, as it were.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
Carolkeene.com
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Rural Quilt

"Rural Quilt"
4" x 12"
Oil on wrapped canvas
As I drove across Wisconsin last week I saw what the change of season offers to those of us who observe — rural quilts. No, not actual quilts, not even barn quilts, but the patchwork that the farmers create when they plant a variety of crops on the rolling hills. Hedges, fences and tree lines "stitch" the seams between alfalfa, oats, wheat, corn and rye. 

 I'll be going back to LaCrosse in a couple of weeks to paint in another plein air competition. The colors will continue to change between now and then… much to my liking.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
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Little Bit Wild

"Little Bit Wild"
8" x 8"
Oil on canvas panel
During my visit to the western part of Wisconsin last week I came across these little roses. They were coral and had only about ten petals each. They were nestled in among some small violet flowers that looked pretty decent with the coral. The gardener did a nice job of planning. 

This is not my usual kind of rose, but neither was the night I began painting her.  I will paint more "civilized" roses in the near future, unless I find another cutie pie wild rose.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
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Last Light

"Last Light"
5" x 7"
Oil on hardboard
I was in Wisconsin farm country for the past five days, painting murals. When I had a few extra minutes, I went outside to see some of the beautiful countryside. This is a section of a corn field that is terraced with alfalfa. There's no alfalfa in my painting, but the corn here is part of what feeds five hundred dairy cows to make one of Wisconsin's many cheeses.  

I painted for eight to twelve hours a day during my stay, but when I got home I just HAD to come down to my studio and paint a small piece to post.  Fortunately, I had made several pieces to post while I was gone.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
CarolKeene.com
Dailypaintworks.com
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Autumn-ish

"Autumn-ish"
5" x 7"
Acrylic on canvas panel
I scraped and scrubbed at this piece when Tuscan flower fields didn't materialize as I had hoped. It turned into a pine and aspen forest after a couple of swipes. So here it is, a first glimpse of autumn.  

That's my reward for being flexible and forgiving of misguided exuberance, AND having a wonderful scraping tool like my Princeton Catalyst wedge W-01 and W-06.  I've saved a few efforts with these scrapers.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
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Nothing Like A Sky

"Nothing Like A Sky"
5" x 7"
Acrylic on canvas panel
I began painting a pale blue sky with my palette knife. It progressed down the panel nicely, until I added some pink. The pale pink necessitated a hint of yellow to join the mix, then naples yellow leaped on my knife and wanted a watermelon pink to be next to her. The sky was no longer blue, nor did it look like a sky, so various hues of blue hopped on board to bring it full circle — as IF that would make it look more sky-like.  

 Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
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Phlox in the Garden

"Phlox in the Garden"
5" x 7"
Acrylic on canvas panel
The perimeter of one section of the English Walled Garden had shoulder high mounds of phlox – purple, lavender and white ones against the backdrop of various species of trees. I would have had to stand in the sun to paint them, so I photographed them instead, and planned to honor them at a later date… like today. 

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
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LIME!

"LIME!"
6" x 6"
Acrylic on hardboard
After painting the mango, I looked for something else to paint from life. It's easy to paint an ellipse on a table but a lot more fun to paint its juice bursting through the skin and onto the background. It yells "LIME!" instead of "lime." 

I'm having fun with my knife. It gives me the opportunity to explore subjects I've painted before with new eyes and spirit. 

Carol

Mango

"Mango"
5" x 7"
Acrylic on canvas panel
I had a mango in my studio — to paint, then eat. I had eaten its companion and knew the delights that awaited my tongue. I kept thinking of this mango's insides while I painted her smooth exterior and got to the point where her insides became more important than her outsides. I abandoned my initial "perfect mango" concept and let you have a peek at what was going on inside my head.  

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
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Hedged Wall

"Hedged Wall"
5" x 7"
Acrylic on hardboard
 


One of the walls in the English Walled Garden is a ten foot hedge. It's one wall of a section that has brick walls on its other sides.  The dark hedge makes a lovely background for small fruit trees and mounds of blooming shrubs and perennials like bee balm and day lilies. 

This was my second painting of the morning on Sunday when I was at the Botanic Gardens with my Sunday morning painting buddies.  We paint so differently, it's always a kick to see how we handle the same subject matter.  

Carol

English Walled Garden

"English Walled Garden"
8" x 10"
Acrylic on canvas panel
The storms that raged through the suburbs during the past few days skipped over the 385 acres that is the Chicago Botanic Gardens. No trees were downed or damaged. Visitors who stopped to chat while I painted there this morning agreed we were lucky to have only a few leaves on the walkways. 

 We are fortunate, indeed, to have such a glorious place to visit, and have it spared when Mother Nature goes berserk.  

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
Carolkeene.com
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