Zowie

"Zowie"
6" x 6"
Watercolor on paper
This piece is made almost entirely of watercolor sticks and watercolor markers. The pines are markers. I held the sticks like my hard pastels and allowed my hand to do the squiggle like I do with pastels. Then I took a brush of clear water and wet the highly pigmented squiggles to drag color over the entire page. I may do more of these, but I need to control the intensity — just a bit!  Ya think?

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net 
CarolKeene.com
Dailypaintworks.com
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Welcome

"Welcome"
6" x 12"
Watercolor on Yupo
The wide, red pathway maundered between an opening in a fence… not quite a gate, but welcoming, nonetheless. Come see what's beyond, it beckoned.  

I shall, once I get there to see it with my own eyes. This is from a photo I found. I'm trying to match colors to see if I'm taking the right palette with me. Space is limited! I will be responsible to carry everything myself… no man will be with me to help. Alas, I'll manage. Giggle.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
CarolKeene.com
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Hopes and Dreams

"Hopes and Dreams"
6" x 9"
Watercolor on Yupo
In preparation for my visit to Ghost Ranch in New Mexico, I'll be doing a series of landscape sketches to capture the essence of the sky, rocks and vegetation. I'm unaccustomed to the shapes and colors of the subject matter, so I need to figure it all out. 

Put it down, let it puddle or play with it. It doesn't seem to matter. I can move paint around for the day if I want to with this "paper." It's fun to play, but I need to think about the economy of strokes and time spent on a … sketch.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
CarolKeene.com
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Impression-Scape

"Impression-Scape"
5" x 12"
Watercolor on Yupo 
The simple landscape was appealing yet intimidating as I taped the "paper" to my drawing board.  No easel here… gravity has her way with this material, more than ever before. 

The purpose of this painting was to see if I could do the natural progression; to paint something else I've done before, just not on this ground. I like the Impressionistic strokes that occur easily. I'll be doing more of these.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net 
CarolKeene.com
Dailypaintworks.com
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PlayTime

"PlayTime"
7" x 8.5"
Watercolor on Yupo 
I'm returning to my roots — my artistic roots. I taught myself to paint watercolors while I was in college to become a chemist. When THAT didn't work out, I became a wife and mother and continued to dabble in watercolor. My dabbles looked like the image at the bottom of today's post, back in the day. And now I'm playing with new products and they make me paint like… this!  

I spent some time this afternoon puddling, stamping, stenciling and playing with traditional transparent watercolors, a brush and a Winsor and Newton watercolor sticks. They look like the hard pastels I use, but these are pure pigment watercolors. They can be drawn on dry paper or wet, squiggled into a puddle on a palette and made into a brush-able mixture.  The pure pigments of the sticks impressed me. The yupo paper (actually plastic) is a lot like painting on a gessoed surface. The paint stays and dries on the impenetrable surface.  If it isn't to your liking, just wipe it with a tissue, Q-Tip or put the entire thing under the faucet and bid it adieu.




























More tomorrow.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
CarolKeene.com
Dailypaintworks.com
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In Praise of Sunlight

"In Praise of Sunlight"
24" x 36"
Oil on wrapped canvas
On June fifth of last year the sun performed her duties brilliantly by lighting this peony so that I could document her for this large painting in the middle of January. This large painting took me several days to paint, unlike the small pieces I normally do to post. 

 I bet you thought I was on holiday in some balmy paradise.  Nope. That's next month.  And in preparation for that trip, I've been experimenting with some new watercolor products. I hope I have something interesting enough to post in the next day or so.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
CarolKeene.com
Dailypaintworks.com
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Morning Prayers

"Morning Prayers"
22" x 28"
Oil on wrapped canvas
Color basted morning like butter over a turkey. 

I've been painting, in spite of the appearance of my blog. I painted fifteen skies on one large canvas over the past several days. I used a limited palette of two reds, two blues, two yellows and white to make up this prayerful piece.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
CarolKeene.com
Dailypaintworks.com
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Painted Lady

"Painted Lady"
20" x 16"
Oil on wrapped canvas
Her nails were painted in all the warm colors of that evening's sunset. She was resplendent as she opened her petals to the New Year, exuding a sensual warmth from her core. 

This is my first large painting in a while. I photographed her a year ago in a greenhouse at the Botanic Gardens, but wasn't up to painting all those different colored points with an eyelash brush… until now. The greens were painted yesterday and all the reds and yellows were painted today.  She was as enjoyable as I anticipated. I'm especially fond of the prickly pears in the top background. They are exactly how I wanted them to be… succulent.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
Carolkeene.com
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Gold in Them Thar Hills

"Gold in Them Thar Hills"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard
The setting sun plated the distant hills with the look of gold leaf, like the capitol domes in many cities. The gold was a fleeting illusion, but probably what prospectors dreamed of back in the day. 

My first post of this New Year is not quite what I had planned, but my next one will be worth the wait.  I'm working on a cactus that is not quite a one-day painting. I needed some drying time to place the prickly spines and background flowers. Hopefully it will dry enough overnight to finish it.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
CarolKeene.com
Dailypaintworks.com
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Reaching Shadows

"Reaching Shadows"
6" x 6"
Oil on canvas panel
The sun had risen above the horizon as I walked into the woods that morning. It cast spidery shadows down the hillside where tobogganers would soon be making their own paths.  

I painted the sky and snow over a black canvas panel, then used my rubber-tipped "Colour Shaper" to sculpt the tree trunks and branches in the wet paint. This is my last post for this year. 2014 was a year of exploration, realization and clarity. Thank you for each part you contributed to.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
CarolKeene.com
Dailypaintworks.com
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Morning Layers

"Morning Layers"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard 
I looked out over the distant hills as the sun began to burn off a dense haze. The prismatic clouds dissipated as daylight claimed the sky.  

I love to paint skies as a warmup exercise when I come down to my studio after an absence. I make several using the same palette —whatever I squeezed out for the first one.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
CarolKeene.com
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Winter Creek

"Winter Creek"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard
The water hadn't frozen… yet. It reflected the sky dutifully in its liquid mirror, while the hills in the background poked through a frozen mist.  

Here's a snowy one for this Christmas Eve.  I'm not sure if I'm staying in town, or will get out before the snow. If I post, yippee.  If not, I'm… elsewhere.

Merry Christmas,
Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
CarolKeene.com
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Conifer Sunset

"Conifer Sunset"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard 
The sun had sunk into a few of the low-hanging clouds, or maybe it was already behind the pines when I noticed. It lit up the distance like those trees were the prizes on the "Price is Right."

I'm getting the hang of using my hands again after my long illness. They were mostly good for holding cups of herbal tea and petting my little dog as I convalesced. It's good to be a woman on the brink again.

Thank you all for your birthday wishes. It was a great Winter Solstice.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
CarolKeene.com
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Another Parrish

"Another Parrish"
6" x 8"
Oil on canvas panel
The sky and mountains intrigued me, as did the palm-like, yet deciduous tree. It was fun to think about painting this in Buffalo Grove, Illinois at Christmas time 2014, when the original was painted around a hundred years ago. This may be my last Parrish piece for a while, but I certainly enjoyed it.

Oh, and today's my birthday :-)

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
CarolKeene.com
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Winter Sunrise

"Winter Sunrise"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard
This piece is a lot like a Maxfield Parrish painting of the same name. I purposely tried to make a sky and mountains like his. The brushwork shows better in person, but you get the idea. 

 Every now and then I like to slip into the shoes of an artist I admire by trying to paint one of his pieces. This one appealed to me because of the sky, mountains and the simple trees. It was fun to do and somewhat successful.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
Carolkeene.com
Dailypaintworks.com
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Maxfield Clouds

"Maxfield Clouds"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard
The sky bore a striking resemblance in shape and color to a Maxfield Parrish painting. I sculpted them in colors unlike my normal palette and liked the way they turned out.  

 I searched my library for my Maxfield Parrish book and, feeling bold, decided to try to replicate one or two of his paintings.  I painted two landscapes that closely resemble two of his paintings. I wanted to see if I could nail any part of the paintings… so look in tomorrow to see for yourself.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
Carolkeene.com
Dailypaintworks.com
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Across the Sand

"Across the Sand"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard

The sun had dipped below the horizon, yet left a sumptuous display for my eyes. It would be fleeting, I knew that, but I'd remember it as it dissipated into the night.  

I'm working at re-establishing my skills from my weakened state after the flu. The heart is willing, but the hand is not as confident. It'll come back, I just need to keep painting.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
CarolKeene.com
Dailypaintworks.com
Dailypainters.com

Evening's Promise

"Evening's Promise"
6"x6"
Oil on hardboard
The sky glowed the promise of something better, and I believed it as evening closed in around me. I could use some… better in my life. 

I've been sick for a few weeks. Pretty darn sick. I've never gone for three weeks without painting, until now. Influenza and its companion complications had flattened me since Thanksgiving. But I'm back in my studio for the first time, today and happy to be able to lift a brush, squeeze paint and smear it around in the shape of something recognizable.

Thank you to those of you who have noticed my absence, for the emails and the prayers for my complete recovery.  I appreciate all of your good thoughts.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
Carolkeene.com
Dailypaintworks.com
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Pine Morning

"Pine Morning"
6" x 6"
Oil on hardboard
I wakened and found what had been a sheath of black the night before, was now a multi-layered wonderland. Even the grasses varied in color and texture.  

 Here's a sky painting with a little more foreground than I normally provide.

I will be traveling for a few days. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. I'm thankful for your attention, your love and comments.

Carol

Brushstrokes@comcast.net
CarolKeene.com
Dailypaintworks.com
Dailypainters.com