Late Summer Painting at the Oval

This is a little painting: 6x6.  I want to drag a BIG (30x30??) canvas out there and try this again.

New Artist's Statement

  "For me, the act of painting celebrates life. When I slow down enough to really experience what surrounds me, I become aware of myself as part of the 'whole'. My ultimate goal is to have the viewer experience this also."  

I have done art all my life. My grandmother was a watercolorist and fairly good. She got a degree from the Art Institute of Chicago sometime around 1914. The fact that she painted made the pursuit of art a real alternative for me.

I majored in fine art in college because that is what I was best at. I also took many classes in English and Philosophy.

I am primarily a plein air painter because I love being outside and painting connects me to the outdoors. I want to capture the feel of the wind, the sound of beach grass rustling and the smell of the sun that has been absorbed by the sand.

I can't paint from photos, even if I was the person to take them, because they take away the immediate experience that I am trying to capture when I paint. 

I consider myself lucky to have the passion that I have about painting. The act itself is rewarding. If someone feels that passion while looking at my work, then I have succeeded.

Painting at the Oval, Saugatuck, Michigan

http://www.tourwrist.com/tours/20313

Check out this link.  My best painter friend, Angela Saxon, and I were plein air painting when this gentleman photographed us.  There is an app for your phone!

And the River Reminds Us

This is my newest plein air piece, done from my dock as the sun slid behind me to the West. These trees are dark during the day and light right up after 6pm. I was happy to be recording their splendor.

Last Week's Plein Air

                                                       The river continues to inspire me.

Plein Air in Sutton's Bay

These are from my time painting outside in the Leelanau Peninsula.   I am in the process of painting bigger paintings from these small ones.  The top one is 4x12 and the bottom 5x5.

Painting in Leland

My good friend, Angela Saxon, and I spent from 10am till 8 pm painting in the Leelanua Peninsula.  The weather went from a windy, wintry cold of a 50 degrees to sunny and 65.  We were on this beach late in the afternoon and the sun brought a welcome promise of summer as well as a sunburn.  I loved painting with her and am still working on the pieces though oil painting presents major challenges to my pastel-comfortable brain! This was my first official oil plein air experience outside my own deck.