Rainy New Orleans French Quarter

Title: New Orleans French Quarter
Size: 20 x 24
Medium: Oil on gallery wrapped canvas

Will post on eBay auction tonight for purchase.

PAINTING:
After painting an abstract and brightly colored underpainting with knife in acrylics, I began to see old New Orleans emerge with pure oils. I used some cad red and cad yellow in this one for added punch. I decided all palette knife and no brush as a knife seems to better suit New Orleans. Good Jazz music and lots of vibrant color.

INSPIRATION:
I have had many requests for more New Orleans French Quarter paintings and promise to try to keep painting more. This city is like the Paris of our country. Everyone who has ever been there loves it and some of the best people are from New Orleans. I love its antiquity and architecture, soul and charm. It is a joy to paint....hope you enjoy.

Poppies and Wildflowers

This is a photo of me and out girls in front of the oldest part of the estate. It used to be stables about 500 years ago, but is now the wine tasting room. Look at that old olive tree to my right. Beautiful. They have a big olive grove here to and make fantastic olive oils and spreads. We were talking about how we wished we could stay longer. What fun.

Title: Poppies and Wildflowers

Size: 20 x 24

Medium: Oil on gallery wrapped canvas

PAINTING:

I stepped up the color using bright greens and complimentary cad reds with palette knife in this Italy inspired oil. The color of this painting is remarkable in person. With my traditionally heavy oils, the textural feel of the landscape makes the place come to life.

INSPIRATION:

The vineyard Musella was absolutely stunning...as was the wine. The landscape was directly out of a Monet painting and I couldn't wait to paint this piece.

Trees of Gold

Title: Trees of Gold

Size: 20 x 24

Medium: Oil on gallery wrapped canvas

check out eBay auction tonight for purchase

PAINTING:

This painting has a pthalo blue underpainting and many layers of oils with palette knife were dragged and delicately layered for trunks and leaves. The trunks have several layers of colors: purples and greys followed by golden and white highlights. Even though cadmium red is very expensive, I couldn't resist using it in the canopy of fall leaves because it is the perfect shade for fall.

INSPIRATION:

Today was the first day of school and Fall is just around the corner. I LOVE the turning of the trees. Virginia is especially beautiful in the Fall because of all the trees.

Sea of Lavender

Title: Sea of Lavender
Size: 20 x 24
Medium: Oil on gallery wrapped canvas

Check out my eBay auction tonight for purchase

PAINTING:
I layed on a dark acrylic underpainting in palette knife as I usually do. Then with knife applied various shades of lavender with gold rows imbetween. Many shades of greens were added to the mountains and details on the little houses on the hillside. I used a bit of brush on these clouds to make them light and fluffy.

INSPIRATION:
I recently returned from Italy and the vineyard I stayed at for some of the time had olive groves, vineyards, sunflowers and lavender everywhere! It was so inspiring and beautiful. I love the scent of lavender so much I had to plant some in my yard as soon as I got home!

Sunflowers on the Patio

Title: Sunflowers on the Patio
Size: 20 x 24
Medium: Oil on gallery wrapped canvas

Check out my eBay auction tonight for purchase.

PAINTING:
It was a day for Sunflowers and I immersed myself in values of yellow highlighting with rich oranges and soft reds. A complimentary background blue and lots of detailed knifework brings these beauties to life.

INSPIRATION:
Sunflowers were abundant at the vineyard Musella that we stayed at in Italy, outside of Verona. These beauties were sitting on our patio and called to be painted. One of my many snapshots.

Italy

This is a photo of the house we rented in Venice. It was lovely 400 year old house off a quiet canal in the Jewish getto. I took this photo to show you our clothes line! There are no air conditioners or dryers in Venice, so everyone has a clothes line. It is so much fun to use and I think lovely to see towels drying in the sun, so we had to use ours too!

Title: Italy Flowers

Size: 16 x 20

Medium: Oil on gallery wrapped canvas

PAINTING:

This painting has multiple layers of paint and I let it dry imbetween a few. I used palette knife on most of it and added oil color to foundation white for lots of thickly textured and aged looking walls which is lots of fun...I feel like a mason when I paint these scenes. And of course I added the clothes line, the charming flowers, and a cat.

INSPIRATION:

My Italy trip is and will inspire many many paintings. I think I took over 700 photos and my mind is still whirling with images I want to paint so many more to come.

This painting will be on eBay auction for purchase soon!

Here is our oldest daughter and my husband on our first night here in Venice. Right next door to our house was a little Trattoria with some great pizza that we frequented. I highly recommend!

Venice Twilight

Title: Venice Twilight

Size: 20 x 24

Medium: Oil on gallery wrapped canvas

Check out eBay auction for purchase.

PAINTING:

This painting really glows because of the bright colored underpainting and many layers of oils applied with brush and then heavier with horizontal strokes of knife. Details are also added with palette knife and I had to add bits of gold paint heavier with a knife because there is so much actual gold in the ancient and beautiful mosaics here in St. Mark's Basilica of Venice.

INSPIRATION:

My recent visit to Piazza San Marco and the Doge's Palace. I am a bit jet lagged still! What a place this Piazza is and so many millions of pieces of gold line the Doge's Palace in beautiful guilded mosaic form. They tell ancient stories that you must see to believe. The view of this painting is looking across the grand canal at the Square where all the lovely Gondolas are docked. This light was golden and breathtaking at the end of this day. I will post some photos soon.