Thursday, April 29, 2021

Pen and Ink with Water Color

 After coming across the couple of pen and ink and water color pieces from the old days I decided to see if I could rescue some of the pieces I have been doing lately that just don't seem to make the grade.  I think the pen and ink does make a big difference and it is also fun to do.

They all try to capture some of spritely feeling of Forsythia and the sweet freshness of spring.


FORSYTHIA #1
10' x 14"


FORSYTHIA #2
10" x 14"


FORSYTHIA #3
10" x 14"

And the last one of the Forsythia at St. Joe's that used to be untrimmed in the fall.


FORSYTHIA #4
10" x 14"
Let me know which one you prefer and if you want it, it is yours.










Tuesday, April 27, 2021

ALLIUM

While going through the pile of work I am to sort through and possibly move to the basement, I found water colors with pen and ink.  I had forgotten about them and that particular way of adding a bit of form to water colors.  Here they are one of Allium, which is just beginning to shoot up in our garden and one of yellow tulips now fading away.



ALLIUM
10" x 14"
pen and ink and water color


YELLOW TULIPS
8.5" x 11"
pen and ink and water color









SHOES

 This is a water color from many years ago when we took a trip to visit our son and daughter in law in Venice Beach California.  We had a wonderful time and for some reason these shoes in the sun say it all.


SHOES 
water color
9" x 12"


Wednesday, April 21, 2021

Friday, April 16, 2021

WEEPING CHERRY #6, FADING AWAY

 The Katsura (in the foreground) is coming into its own now and the cherry is fading away and will be weeping green for the rest of the season.

WEEPING CHERRY #6, Fading Away, oil on canvas board 6" x 8"

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Thursday, April 15, 2021

WEEPING CHERRY #5. EARLY MORNING IN APRIL

 Today is my Mom's Birthday. I miss her and my Weeping Cherry planted in her memory. There are other Weeping Cherries but only one Mom.



EARLY MORNING IN APRIL, WEEPING CHERRY #5, 
6" x 9" oil on canvas board.




Wednesday, April 14, 2021

WEEPING CHERRY #4

 Right now the blue veronica is blooming in the lawn and the cherry trees in the neighborhood are in full bloom so this painting was probably painted on my Mom's birthday April 15th.


WEEPING CHERRY #4
        12" x 12"
oil on canvas

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Tuesday, April 13, 2021

WEEPING CHERRY #3

 Get our your hankies again, although this Weeping Cherry looks pretty sprightly, before long it will be dropping its petals and reverting to green, still down but not shedding tears.



WEEPING CHERRY #3
oil on stretched canvas
12"" x 12"






inset WEEPING CHERRY

Monday, April 12, 2021

Weeping Cherry #1 and #2

 This week is Weeping Cherry week so get out your hankies.

Here is the first and second in a very long series.  There are more but this is all I could find so far. I tried to post them in the order that they were created but they are not all dated.  The size tells me something but not necessarily as I adjust to fit the composition.  The Cherry blooms just as the Katsura is beginning to leaf out and is a butterscotch color.  The combination is thrilling after winter's gray.


WEEPING CHERRY #1
8.5" x 11" framed oil on canvas board




WEEPING CHERRY #2
12" x 12"
oil on stretched canvas

Monday, April 5, 2021

 This week I am going to spend time with an old friend the Weeping Cherry that used to be in the center of my yard. I planted it in memory of my mother because it bloomed around the time of her birthday. This is my Mom and me at Easter. Looks like I am around 10? I painted many versions of the tree over the years. I am posting the ones I have left. Later in the week I will post a video of some of the paintings.


Here is the first one.  Just planted.


WEEPING CHERRY #1
    7.5" X 10"



Friday, April 2, 2021

FORSYTHIA FREEDOM

 I love Forsythia as it burst out of corners and the middle of fields with the abandon of new life.  One of my pet peeves is the way some gardeners insist on creating balls of yellow instead of letting Forsythia do its thing in the Spring.  There is plenty of time to trim it after it blooms and let it grow naturally all summer so it can really "spring" at the end of winter.  Here is an oil painting from a few years back when St. Joe's did not trim their Forsythia at the wrong time.  Since then they have consistently created tame hedges of thwarted life instead.

I tried to no avail, at least so far, to create a water color of Forsythia.  Four paintings in the trash so far but I will try again.  This serendipitous approach is fun but hazardous.


FORSYTHIA FREEDOM
12" x 12"



Umbers and Ochres on the Road

A lot of what you see from the train window is other people going places in trucks and cars. Sometimes their color combinations are a joy to...