Starfish still life

"Starfish, baskets and lantern " 11x14 oil still life

My obsession with the sea makes nautical still life subjects appealing to me. 

Collecting starfish is a pleasant childhood memory. Those were carefree days spent with family and friends at the seashore. The vintage lantern and baskets, for me, evoke the sense of times passed with a rhythmic and sensual feeling to them. The palette was limited to unify the painting with a warm color harmony of blues and oranges.

Finding Dory

Finding Dory 10x10 oil

Three Dories 12x24 oil

Dories are a staple of New England waters, whether tucked in a little cove or moored in a harbor. They come in all shapes and sizes and make for interesting compositional choices. I feel like they have a story to tell. They are waiting to take someone to their boat, to go out fishing or  awaiting an owners return from an adventure at sea. They bob and drift and capture the imagination. In the small painting, I wanted to portray an intimate scene of a neighborhood of dories. I discovered them floating in a little inlet in Chatham. In the larger painting I was struck by the 3 identical dories moving with the tide as they danced about in the harbor in Kennebunkport, ME. They were out in the open and free to move about practically shouting out "look at me" as they swirled around with the current. The repetition of boat shapes in both scenes provided good subject matter and interesting choices. The 3 identical dories have many more possibilities for future paintings as I play with a variety of placements and lighting. The water's movement varies with every boat move and makes for many good arrangements as well as colors and reflections.

A Perfect Ending to the Day

"Day's End",Aptos, CA 12x16 oil

Visiting my daughter since she moved to California has opened up a new plethora of painting possibilities. Her location is perfect for me, a beach lover. While she is at work during the day I can load up my painting gear on her bike and head to different locations along the beach or high on the cliffs overlooking the beaches. Whether it is early morning or late in the day, the sky and water are always dramatic. During the day the beach visitors provide varied additional subject matter. No two days are ever the same and the beauty is always present. This view from Seacliff Beach looking towards Capitola provided an uncluttered composition to focus on the intensity of the experience as the sun went down. I tried to capture the water's movement and undulating colors while implying to the viewer the sounds and smells that accompanied my experience.

A Cape Cod Ritual

"Cape Cod Pastime"  16x20 oil
Every summer when we are at the Cape we pick different spots to watch nature at it's best. Depending where we are during the day, we have some spots we consider prime for this. Skaket Beach is one. Local people come with families and if the tide is low, the reflections of the sunset along with the silhouettes of watchers and their reflections create a dynamic and colorful scene. The little rivulets between the sandbars form patterns of color and shapes that are quite beautiful. In this painting the blue/orange colors help capture the intensity of the landscape. The silhouetted figures represent the various ways people reacted, some in small groups others strolling along the water's edge and some just alone and taking it all in. I was back from the crowd on a bench watching both the people and the sunset. Occasionally boats or birds would appear, but I decided to leave them out this time and make it more about the relationship between nature's palette and the watchers.

Man's Best Friend

 

 Dogs, dogs dogs!!
Dog lovers are a special group. The requests to paint dogs are more frequent than any other request. Being a dog lover myself, I enjoy doing them and love the expression of joy when people receive them. The hardest part is doing a dog from someone else's photo if the dog isn't accesible to me.  All of these were done from photos that others sent me. The challenge is to try to express something of their personality when I can only use my experience of various breeds to guess at how that might translate to these furry companions.

                                                                        

 

Hollyhocks Galore!

This past summer  hollyhocks lined the walkway to my back door. They greeted me when I went out and welcomed me when I returned. How could I resist painting them? When I was little, my mother always had hollyhocks planted in her summer gardens. These old fashioned flowers are one of my favorites and remind me of  our summers in Marshfield, MA and of our family summer home. I set up my easel and a small stool and quickly started blocking in the flowers. I decided to do a cluster of them, looking up to emphasize their 7 foot plus height. I eliminated the other flora in the scene to keep the focus on the hollyhocks and their rhythmic movement and red/green harmony. The result is fun and spontaneous as I had to work quickly to keep up with the fleeting light.

Painting the Still Life

Margarita Time 11x14 oil

   

Muffin top 11x14 oil

 Working with still life setups hones observational skills and keeps a focus on composition and color harmonies. Although I thought I would never do another after 36 years of teaching, I have come to appreciate how helpful they are in keeping me focused on the elements of design. I also enjoy painting objects that I have a connection to, often because of personal experiences or family connections. Is it hard for others to connect for these same reasons?

 

Still life with Starfish 11x14 oil