Across the Lake, Union County, NC

6x8, oil on canvas panel, damar varnish

I painted this yesterday, but we had such a storm last night that I thought it prudent to shut down the computer.  I feel like I'm living in the tropics.  We have a thunder storm almost every afternoon or night.

By the Tracks, Macon, MS

8x10, oil on canvas panel, damar varnish

We artists love to experiment, as in "I wonder what would happen if I did........"

This was one of those times.  I usually paint on a toned panel, often using the leftover paint from the

day before.  I let it dry before I paint.  On this painting I toned with a bright rosy red, and began

painting immediately on the wet paint.  Fun!!!  I plan to try it again today.

North Carolina is having a cooler day with less humidity today.   What a relief.  I rushed out early

to mow the lawn, pick up branches, and put out pine straw.

I plan to work again when it cools off again.

Mahony's Po Boy Shop, New Orleans

8x10, oil on canvas panel, damar varnish

Backyard, June 2011

8x10, oil on canvas panel, damar varnish

In a few days I shall be removing all my paintings from ebay.  Except for the first

two years, ebay does has not done well for me.

and

I am pleased to find another site to show my work.

As soon as I get all the details worked out, I'll post a clickable icon on the

right column of this site.

Many, many thanks to all of you who bought my

work off of ebay!

Best Friends

8x10, oil on canvas panel, damar varnish

I thought of many titles for this painting, but settled on

Best Friends because these boats

have been in the same place for quite a while.

Whenever I visit my sister in Bay St. Louis I walk around and take pics.

These boats are always there and have been in the

exact. same. spot. for. years.  So surely they are best

friends after all this time, or perhaps they are

not speaking to each other.

The Farm in June, Mint Hill, NC

8x10, oil on canvas panel, damar varnish

Mint Hill is a small town close to Charlotte with many charming places to paint.  I discovered

it last year when I took some paintings there for a show.

Twisted Tree, Garden Tour, New Orleans (sold)

8x10, oil on canvas panel

Just returned from a weekend in Charleston, SC, a painter's paradise!  Love the architecture and the gardens, streets, and people watching.  It's the best place I know of in the southeast for galleries.

The galleries are numerous and have both local and nationally known painters.  I

could have stayed there for much longer, taking it all in.

This painting is from another favorite city of mine--New Orleans.

The Far Wheat Field

5x7, oil on canvas panel, damar varnish

I've been out of town, and even though I took my paints I had no time to use them.  Back home and ready to start "slaving over a hot easel"  again.  I really miss painting when more than a few days go by.

Does anyone use Pandora on the computer for music?  I really like to paint to music because it energizes me--especially rock and roll or blues.  You will love the site for selecting you own favorite music and vocalists.

One Fine Day

8x10, oil on canvas panel

Bougainvillia

8x10. oil on canvas panel

Unless you live where bougainvillea is grown, you may not know much about it.  I find it one of the more glorious plants, but I live in a zone where it will not grow.

A 'stick' of pink bougainvillea.Bougainvilleas are popular ornamental plants in most areas with warm climates, including Ethiopia, Indonesia, Aruba, the Philippines, Thailand, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Australia, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, Singapore, the Mediterranean region, the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, South Africa, Kuwait,the United Arab Emirates and the United States in Arizona, California, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, South Carolina, and southern Texas. Locarno in Switzerland, with its mild Mediterranean climate, is famous for its bougainvilleas.






Although it is frost-sensitive and hardy in U.S. Hardiness Zones 9b and 10, bougainvillea can be used as a houseplant or hanging basket in cooler climates. In the landscape, it makes an excellent hot season plant, and its drought tolerance makes bougainvillea ideal for warm climates year-round. Bougainvillea has a high salt tolerance, which makes it a natural choice for color on coastal regions. As a woody clambering vine, bougainvillea will stand alone and can be pruned into a standard, but it is perfect along fence lines, on walls, in containers and hanging baskets, and as a hedge or an accent plant. Its long arching branches are thorny, and bear heart-shaped leaves and masses of papery bracts in white, pink, orange, purple, and burgundy. Many cultivars, including double flowered and variegated, are available. Also it needs 60 degrees in the winter for its growing condition






Twenty years after Commerçon's discovery, it was first published as 'Buginvillea' in Genera Plantarum by A.L. de Jusseau in 1789. The genus was subsequently split in several ways until it was finally corrected to 'Bougainvillea' in the Index Kewensis in the 1930s. Originally, B. spectabilis and B. glabra were hardly differentiated until the mid 1980s when botanists recognized them to be totally distinct species. In early 19th century, these two species were the first to be introduced into Europe, and soon, nurseries in France and England did a thriving trade providing specimens to Australia and other faraway countries. Meanwhile, Kew Gardens distributed plants it had propagated to British colonies throughout the world. Soon thereafter, an important event in the history of bougainvillea took place with the discovery of a crimson bougainvillea in Cartagena, a Spanish port in the Mediterranean, by Mrs. R.V. Butt. Originally thought to be a distinct species, it was named B. buttiana in her honour. However, it was later discovered to be a natural hybrid of a variety of B. glabra and possibly B. peruviana - a "local pink bougainvillea" from Peru. Natural hybrids were soon found to be common occurrences all over the world. For instance, around the 1930s, when the three species were grown together, many hybrid crosses were created almost spontaneously in East Africa, India, the Canary Islands, Australia, North America, and the Philippines.






Many of today's bougainvillea are the result of interbreeding among only three out of the eighteen South American species recognized by botanists. Currently, there are over 300 varieties of bougainvillea around the world. Because many of the hybrids have been crossed over several generations, it's difficult to identify their respective origins. Natural mutations seem to occur spontaneously throughout the world; wherever large numbers of plants are being produced, bud-sports will occur. This had led to multiple names for the same cultivar (or variety) and has added to the confusion over the names of bougainvillea cultivars.





The growth rate of Bougainvillea vary from slow-growing to rapid, depending on the particular variety. Bougainvillea tend to flower all year round in equatorial regions. Elsewhere, they are seasonal bloomers. They grow best in somewhat dry, fertile soil. Bloom cycles are typically four to six weeks. Bougainvillea grow best in very bright full sun and with frequent fertilization, but the plant requires little water once established. As indoor houseplants in temperate regions, they can be kept small by bonsai techniques. If overwatered, Bougainvillea will not flower and may lose leaves or wilt, or even die from root decay. Bougainvillea can be easily propagated via tip cuttings.[3]

From Wikipedia

What's Behind the Green Door?

8x10, oil on canvas panel

Nothing better than dappled light!  This house is next door to my sister's house in Bay St. Louis.

A Day at the Farm

Another poor photo (sigh)  We've had rain all week.  This is a small 4x6 study for a larger painting.

Blue Porch Ceiling

12x12, oil on canvas panel

Since I am a house and garden aficionado,  I rarely miss a chance to go on a tour.  It happened that I was visiting my sister, a docent at the New Orleans Museum of Art, when she was slated to be one of the hostesses at a house on the tour.  We all (sister, cousin, brother-in-law) trouped over to N. O. for a wonderful day of looking at gorgeous houses and gardens.  I even saw my first Lamborghini!  This painting is from a quick reference photo taken while we were in line.

I'm thinking this photo looks washed out.  I'll either take a better photo or paint in a bit more contrast.

Garden Paintings, Revisited (sold)

I posted these 8x8's about a week ago.  They were painted in the garden during a museum garden tour on a Sunday afternoon.  I love painting with people around--it's always interesting and a wonderful chance for showing what an painter does.  On the other hand, it's harder to concentrate and paint deliberatly.  Although the paintings sold that day, I brought them home with me to  work on a bit more and to varnish them.  I didn't do too much, just heightened the contrast and put in a little more detail.  In the pool painting there were 4 koi.  I murdered one (with paint!) because an odd number always looks more interesting than an even number.  In  addition  I  darkened part of the koi so they would look under water.

Daybreak (sold)

8x10, oil on canvas panel

Painting in Mary Lou's Garden (sold)

Our Charlotte museum,The Mint Museum, has a garden club which sponsors a yearly garden tour of about 7 gardens...always lovely.  Last year they added artists painting in the gardens as an extra enticement.  I painted last year and again this year, actually yesterday.  It was lovely weather, not too hot, but somewhat overcast which makes it difficult to show form with value.  The sun did come out at times and I quickly incorporated what I saw.  The garden's owner had only lived in the house 3 years, which was impressive enought, but she also did all the work. 


Here are a few photos from her garden which will be using as reference for future paintings.

I painted two small 8x8.  Both were sold.  Not sure why the photos are so small--I suspect my camera is possessed!  I'll touch up some spots, varnish, and then deliver to the new owners.

Blue House with Roses

8x10, oil on canvas panel

This painting is from Bay St. Louis,MS which is a charming small town on the Gulf Coast.  Katrina did wipe out many of the beautiful homes, but quite a few have been rebuilt.  Houses like this small blue house are also prominent and mixed in with the less modest ones.

The Pink House

8x10, oil on canvas panel

Mountain Stream

9x11,  oil on canvas panel
I really loved how the reflections were confined to one area.  In keeping with my desire to always improve the composition, I added most of the rocks.

North Carolina Mountain Road

9x12, oil on canvas panel

I was particularly drawn to this scene because of the "elbow" limb on the tree on the left.

I'm now in Atlanta (actually Marietta) after taking a jillion photos in Bay St. Louis, MS  for painting reference.  On Thursday I have planned a day trip to Tallulah Gorge in north Georgia for more photos.

In the Shade and in the Sun

8x10, oil on canvas panel

I'm presently out of town having a reunion with family.  We're having a great time, but I won't be back to painting until later next week.  It's beautiful, and I've taken lots of photos for painting reference.

The Two Cedars

8x10, oil on canvas panel

Steve's Pond

8x8, oil on canvas panel

I love square paintings.  I just ordered a box of 10x10's and plan to have a party painting on a square format.

This painting, done last night in the studio, leans toward the abstract.  I had planned to scrape it down lightly and work on it this morning--I didn't like how some of the white got in the transparent dark areas--a common problem when painting all prima.  A friend, whose opinion I value, liked the abstractness of it and strongly suggested I leave it as it.  I decided to follow his advice as he is quite a good painter.

Going Home

5x7, oil on canvas panel

This is a small I painted in between working on larger paintings.  

Work in Progress

9x12

Well, it's great to be painting and posting once again.

This one needs to dry for a day, then worked on, then dry for a day, then painted on again.  That's how I usually work on anything larger than 8x10's which are painted alla prima.  There are many branches on the large tree that should be painted over a slightly dry sky and the shadows on the road are not complete.