Another little landscape painted close to home.
My travels give me so much resource material that it is sometimes hard to choose what to paint next. I'm especially drawn to old street and alley ways. There seems to be a surprise around every corner.
I love fresh local summer vegetables that haven't been shipped for thousands of miles. Thank heavens for neighbors whose gardens overflow!
A few years ago I spent two weeks painting in and around a little town called Dieulefit in northern Provence. Watercolor was my "thing" at that time and my pictures were the old fashion kind - not digital! Shuffling through them recently, I rediscovered this charming street where we often ate. I have been working to inject more color in my paintings and decided to try painting on a tomato red background as I have observed other painters doing. It really seems to make the colors "pop". I painted this quickly in an impressionistic style. I like the results and plan to do more.
This is another little plein air piece that I did recently while sitting along a little creek. It was a warm day, but the shade and cool breeze made the afternoon bearable. I was with a group of artists and we were spread out everywhere. When we get back together in the evenings, it is fun and enlightening to see what other artists decide to paint - the scenery, the animals or just the patterns of light.
This painting is from a recent trip to Philadelphia. While staying downtown, Little Pete's Diner was our favorite breakfast spot. This colorful arrangement caught my eye. Simple things with their variety of shapes, colors and shiny surfaces are my favourite things to paint.
This little fellow just begged to be painted. It is not often I get such a willing model and its fee was reasonable too. It is amazing what you learn by painting plants and animals with close observation to details. Maybe schools should combine illustration and painting with biology classes - especially if done in a natural habitat. Much more interesting that reading (and forgetting) cold facts in a book.
