Climbing Roses

Climbing Roses 5 x 7  oil on museum board

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Roses climbing to the light on a rambling shed

striking a charming pose,

brightly colored laundry flapping in a soft breeze,

warm sunshine hugging my shoulders as I'm painting,

this is where smiles are born:)

 

 

Red Geraniums

Red Geraniums  6x6  oil on museum board

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I loved painting outdoors in this beautiful French courtyard,

filled with wonderful flowers

warm memories,

and occasionally some sunshine:)

 

 

Inner Courtyard

Inner Courtyard 6x6 oil on museum board

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Doesn't this look like a cozy spot where we can sit

and share our secret hopes and dreams?

That's just what happened here in the inner courtyard to

Le Vieux Couvent in France,

a truly magical place!

This is one of the paintings I completed during my stay there while

attending the workshop given by Dreama Tolle Perry.

This wasn't the only treasure I brought home, I am

fully stocked with wonderful memories shared with other fellow artists.

On Top of That:

I was lucky enough to buy one of Dreama's demos she did for us.

I spoke up to buy the demo and a second later another lady said she

wanted it as well. Personally I wanted to arm wrestle for it as I felt I would

have a distinct advantage, but for the sake of fair play and sportsmanship

I offered a coin toss.

Ron, Dreama's hubby, oversaw the toss and guess what?

I WON- YIPPEE- YIPPEE!!!

Photo of Dreama and Me with Treasure:

P.S.- I learned that it's easy to be nice when you win;)

JOY!

Secret Garden

Secret Garden  9 x 7  watercolor

You'd never guess from the street that my house has a beautiful, secret garden.  It's my own private paradise with lemon, orange, and olive trees. There are palms, bougainvillea, cactus and a fish pond! Surprise!

I wanted to take things outside today in this beautiful Maltese sunshine.  It was

quite pleasant in a sheltered area away from the wind off the sea.

This watercolor adventure is turning into lots of fun!

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The Park

The Park  4x6 watercolor

This is the park I walk through with my buddy Robi

everyday.  It's one of the few places with trees

in Malta. It's also a place that's loaded with cats

and Robi finds that very exciting!

When the lights went out in Malta my set up in my

still life stage went dark, my monitor

was off too, so no more photo reference.

It was too late to pack up my stuff and go outside,

so I decided to pull out some photos and

my dusty watercolor set and play around.

I got cozy in the fading light by my studio window.

Then I had to start pulling out the candles.

I felt like a pilgrim.

It was quite pleasant with no distractions but the problem

is that you can't see any thing very well either.

I figured out early on that watercolor is very easy to over work.

Not easy for an oil painter who likes to pile on the paint to

cover whatever is underneath that I don't like. 

I think I peaked in my watercolor stage at about eleven, but

I can see how it would be easy to get hooked again.

This one of the park turned out OK.

In case you don't know who Robi is:

photo of me and Robi

we go to the same hair stylist!

Angel and Deamons

Angel and Demons 9" x 12"

This courtyard in Beaune could be 500 years old and seemed to be filled with mysterious spirits.

Sorolla's Courtyard

Sorolla's Courtyard  12 x 8 Oil on Board 

I had the pleasure of visiting Sorolla's house in Madrid.  His studio was wonderful and his house is filled with his paintings and beautiful loose studies he did for the Visions of Spain series. Like alot of other artists he spent alot of time designing his garden.  This is my study of his entry with a refreshing shady courtyard that was a delightful contrast to the blazing Spanish sun.