Ode to Summer, Landscapes and Books

Pink Crepe Myrtle with Bee, Oil on 6"x6" Linen Panel
SOLD
Private Collection in Norfolk, MA

Cream Color Snapdragons, Oil on 5"x7" Linen Panel
SOLD
Private Collection in Columbus, OH

Summer has come and gone.
My to-do list was lost early in the summer, so I painted several still lifes and landscapes, instead of painting the picnic tables, adding molding to the columns on the front porch, or upholstering the wing-back chair for the sitting room. However, there are no regrets. This just means it will be a very busy weekend.

Aside from painting, I had the chance to read a bit. My girls and I read The Secret Life of Bees, which made for interesting talks with them. My youngest is 14 years old, like the main character, making it a bit more special. The Crepe Myrtle and Bee painting is in remembrance of our little reading adventure together.
It wasn't until I was writing the title of the painting that it brought to mind some of the first books we read together--the Harry Potter collection. We would stay up late reading and on the days the new books came out, we would stay up even later to wait in line for our copy.
Moaning Myrtle has popped in my head a time or two when discussing crepe myrtles, showing how books stay with you for a long long time.
I am in love with the Kate Spade and Lennox vase. I purchased two different sizes, the one in the first painting and one that is a bit bigger and more of a tear drop shape. They make the most wonderful still life props. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE.

This summer, we also took a little trip to Table Rock Lake, in Missouri of which more landscapes are to come.
The last landscape, was one of those mornings when I stepped outside to drink coffee and noticed the sunrise. I ran inside, gathered all my paints and tools and threw them in the car to head in search for a good spot to paint.

Moon Over Table Rock Lake, Oil on 4"x6" Linen Panel
SOLD
Private Collection in Hackettstown NJ

Landscape No.5 , Oil on 5"x7" Linen Panel
SOLD
Private Collection in Hackettstown NJ

Labor of Love

Sunflowers in Cobalt Blue Vase, Oil on 5 "x7" Linen Panel SOLD Private Collection in San Saba, TX First, I must say that everything I paint is because I absolutely love. I don't like to paint things that I don't find to be attractive to me for one reason or another. Sometimes it's sentimental reasons and other times it's as simple as beautiful colors or the texture. Either way, it's something that I want to capture and stare at for long periods of time. I want to study it and how it affects the environment around it, as in the case of Sunflowers in Cobalt Blue Vase does. In that respect, I feel ALL my paintings are a labor of love. More often than not, I have to create a painting, wipe it all down, and start all over again if something is just not working. Some never get completed and I just end up painting something totally different on that panel. Then there are some, that I just have to paint, no matter how much trouble they are giving

Summer Paintings

Chanel Book with Roses, 6"x8" Oil on linen Panel S OLD Private Collection in Pearland, TX Raspberries in Blue and White Bowl, 6"x6" Oil on linen Panel Click here to bid on available paintings. Seashell with Blue Feather, 5"x7" Oil on linen Panel S OLD Private Collection in College Station, TX

The Apple Tree that Could

Peonies in Glass Vase, Oil on 5 "x7" Linen Panel SOLD Private Collection in Lebanon, IN Green Apple, Oil on 6 "x6" Linen Panel S OLD Private Collection in NewCanaan, CT This little painting is of an apple from an apple tree on our property. I've been babying it for about four years now. To my surprise, last year it finally gave apples. However, after a couple of days of seeing the tree with lots of apples adorning its branches, I took my daughter to see the little miracle, but ALL the apples were gone. She looked at me as though I was trying to pull her leg. This year, the tree was filled with even more apples. I hope they mature well so that I may share with my neighbor that's been admiring it. Still Life with Chanel, Oil on 5 "x7" Linen Panel S OLD Private Collection in Pacifica, CA

Carolina Elizabeth

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