Original oil painting Tuscany Sunshine palette knife fine art by Karen Tarlton

Spring is officially here!

Flowers are blooming, and birds are singing.

Enjoying the sunshine and fresh breeze today!

18x18

Tuscany Sunshine

Oil

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Original oil paintings by Karen Tarlton - Italy Sunshine

 Two 18x18 favorite Sunshine landscapes

"When you feel a peaceful joy, that is when you are near truth". -Rumi
Hope you all have a peaceful joy kind of day.
"Garden Sunshine"

Palette knife and oil is all I use for my 

paintings. This is the best way to get clean, bright, rich color.

The secret to real vibrant paintings I believe.

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Original oil painting Poppies and Lavender by Karen Tarlton

So many beautiful places in the world to paint,

and this is a larger version of a favorite past work of mine.

Hope you enjoy!

24x30

Provence Poppies and Lavender

Oil

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Original oil painting Tuscany Field of Dreams by Karen Tarlton

Field of Dreams

24x24

Oil on canvas

Doesn't need a frame since it's painted on stretched canvas, but it does look lovely in this black and silver floater frame!

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Original oil painting Poppy Fields by Karen Tarlton

24x24

Poppy Paradise

Oil

This Veterans day, I can't help but think about how

fortunate we are in this country. 

We owe everything to our military, we really do need to thank them

and honor their spirit and dedication.

Look at my husband and I back in the day.....has to be 20 years ago.

He's still a hero.

Original oil painting Provence Sunshine by Karen Tarlton

16x20

oil

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A sneak preview of what's to come!

"The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes."

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Finalist in art competition - Poppy Field original oil painting by Karen Tarlton

  Vote for me on facebook Artiste wine label competition

I'm a finalist which is exciting but need lots more votes to win.

https://www.facebook.com/ArtisteWine/app_343236642414878

This new painting is just about dry

24x30

Poppy Field Radiance

in oil

I think it would look mighty fine on a wine label too!

Provence Poppies by Karen Tarlton

18x24

Oil 

Provence Poppy Story

I admit to putting a bit of brush to this one. 

Sometimes I'm just feeling painterly and bring out a large flat,

but always finish up with my knife. :)

Today was like Spring time!

I am enjoying my dog walking me - it's a good thing she only weighs 20 lbs.

I painted all morning and then worked in the yard all afternoon.

We are not taking this lovely weather in southern California for granted.

Poppies in the Wind by Karen Tarlton

Poppies in the Wind

24x36

Oil

This is a large and vibrant painting with many layers of rich oil applied with knife. I don't use a brush anymore with most of my paintings. The knife is much more forgiving and the one little knife can accomplish more than a dozen brushes. I love to apply the paint thick in spots so it sometimes takes a bit of time to dry, but the great texture is worth the wait!

Beach time and Poppy Fields by Karen

12x16

Poppy Fields

Oil

Whether it's the glow of  the sun on the field

or the vines growing in the old stone building, ...

it's all good.  

It's all Italy!!!

After painting today we took a little break!

 Sitting on the beach chairs
watching the setting sun
holding hands and reminiscing
how it all begun 

Our lives are so crazy busy,

We actually forgot that it was our 23rd wedding anniversary last week!

It's ok we'll celebrate today instead.

 

 Being a bit of a workaholic

Sometimes I have to be reminded by my husband seated in the above photo.....

Pause to go out for a breath of fresh air.

Remember to stop and smell the roses

Take time to walk Barefoot in the Sand...

 

 We took a break from the hectic business of moving into a new place.

The pace of everything we do is sometimes overwhelming and there's nothing like a bit of 

BEACH TIME  to put life in perspective!

(Ok just an hour or two but we needed it)

Painting this guy tomorrow I think...

Tuscany Poppy Field by Karen Tarlton

24x30

Oil

Tuscany Poppy Field

Every time I paint Tuscany Italy, my heart experiences an intense feeling of calmness and peace. I know exactly that this feeling comes from the relaxed atmosphere of this serene part of Italy and it's beauty is intensified because of this sense of calm.

This painting is still wet but available for purchase!

Rebecca's Commissions!

16x20

Oil

Pond Water Lillies

This commission is recently finished and I love the contrast of blues and greens, pops of pink and creamy white petals and even the little dragonfly! Thick impasto paint!

I love this little commission! 6x6....oil

I'll be painting some more little Spring scenes they are just so pretty!!!

Love the pinks and lavenders together.

One more commission finished! 12x36

Whimsical and bright and sunny!

I promise to post some of my other works in progress.

I have several other new commissions that are almost finished and ready to show soon!

I've had such a busy week! Lots of paintings and lots of tennis! Love both so I'm not complaining! It's a gorgeous 70 degrees and sunny in Vegas today so I'm going out to enjoy some rays!!!! Have a great weekend!

California Poppy Fields

Title: California Poppy Fields in the Wind

12x36

Oil

My husband has been stationed at Edwards AFB in the Mojave three times now. Each time we live there I wait for the brief yet spectacular display of the poppies in the Spring. They explode from the earth with golden light and it is truly beautiful and calls to be painted.

Available for purchase and almost dry!

Ethereal Poppies

Title: Ethereal Poppies

Size: 20 X 24

Medium: oil on stretched canvas

available for purchase...check out my Etsy store!

" I will prepare and someday my chance will come." --Abraham Lincoln

I love this painting! I had a great week painting and have to say that these are some of my favorites lately. I am a big believer in hard work and dedication pays off and always preach this to our kids. I think when kids have parents that work hard and love well they grow up to be alright. No matter what the task, if a person is committed to doing it well, with proper drive and determination, I believe success is inevitable.

A little luck never hurts either.....

Thanks for checking in and have a great weekend!

Tuscany Poppyfield Tapestry of Color

SOLD

Title: Tuscany Poppy Field Tapestry of Color
Size: 20 x 24
Medium: Oil on stretched canvas

"A good artist has less time than ideas."

I certainly feel this quote! I have so many ideas in my head which I want to paint, that the only real calm I feel is while painting one of them!

This painting is currently available on Etsy and is stunning in person. I hope you have a chance to take a look at the close ups and amazingly thick textures. Many layers of paint and drying time imbetween are carefully applied here to generate this impressionistic, painterly piece! I am loving painting these sunny Italian landscapes and I hope you enjoy it too!

The Dance of the Poppies

THIS PAINTING IS SOLD

Title: The Dance of the Poppies
Size: 18 x 24
Medium: oil on stretched canvas

THE PAINTING:
I love this expressive, textured floral because if seems to move and gives a real sense of wind and outdoor air and light. Thick paint with lots of cad reds and bits of teal blue.
Today:
Settling into my new space in Vegas. I do like the desert but this 110 degrees is bit much. I have a nice cool studio with fantastic light so I can't complain. I'm thinking I need to paint some of these beautiful desert skies too....real soon!

Dancing Red Poppies

Title: Dancing Red Poppies

Size: 18 x 24

Medium: oil on stretched canvas

THE PAINTING:

This lovely painting is a classic. Painted super textural and with lots of expressive movement, the poppies seem to dance and sway in the wind. I applied several layers of paint for layers of broken color which you will see if you click to enlarge or check out my eBay auction for more close up zooms!

It's hot and humid today and I've been trying to run a bit the past few weeks, but I feel like I'm under water with all this summer humidity. The flowers love it though....everything is so green and all the flowers in my yard are blooming...lavender, daylillies. hostas and hydrangeas, rose and butterfly bushes. Beautiful.

Poppies in the Wind

A 24x30 commission that I recently finished
I was pleased to have another happy collector!


SOLD
Title: Poppies in the Wind
Size: 24 x 30
Medium: oil on stretched canvas

THIS PAINTING:
Photo does not at all do justice to this one, it is so much more in person. I shipped one of my favorite poppy paintings, "Poppy Dance" off to the Galerie Severn today so of course I needed a replacement! It is larger and I used a bit more cadmium red and less bright red. Like my other poppy paintings, it has lots of texture and many layers of broken color. I used some teal colors toward the back which helps set off the reds. Rich, red poppies make a great focal point piece of art in a room, and this one is large enough to really impress! Thanks for checking in!

Romantic Wild Poppies

Title: Romantic Wild Poppies

Size: 20 x 24

Medium: oil on stretched canvas

See eBay auction tonight for purchase

ABOUT THE PAINTING:

This painting is just amazing in person. It has incredible and very thick textures and luminous colors from the many layer upon layer of oils, many which have dried for weeks imbetween and so it has taken forever to complete and is finally finished. I again used the play of warm reds against cool blues and other cool colors and I just love the way it glows.

Art tip of the day:

When collecting art, it is always great to purchase a piece that moves you in some way. It might just melt your heart, grab you with the color, or seem to tell your story, but if your first instinct is, "I love it", then it will work in your home.

Red Pods and Poppies

Title: Red Pods and Poppies

Size: 16 x 20

Medium: Oil on stretched canvas

See auction or contact me for purchase

ABOUT THIS PAINTING:

I can't seem to control myself when I paint sometimes. I just love painting these crazy poppies. They seem to take on a life of their own and sometimes I like to add some extra texture with fancy, textured bits of wonderful papers that are shredded into appropriate shapes and adhered with medium and sealed with varnish. They make the pods seem to explode! Lots of wonderful winsor newton artists oils are thickly painted onto the canvas with a palette knife and I also used a brush just a bit. Hope you enjoy!