Kate Knapp Artist Blog

The Circus is Still in Town

2012-02-29T19:42:00.000-05:00

These three studies are the most recent work I have done on the circus...each one tells a story...I love the way this tent is so blue and the stars are so prominent...the great color extravaganza...watercolor and goauche on paper@20x24"

Agapanthus for my Birthday

2012-02-26T15:49:00.002-05:00

Jack and Sam ( my step son and his fiance')were kind enough to bring me these gorgeous flowers on my birthday...They were so inspiring in this blue vase,I brought them to the studio to paint...and then the work began...there were actually @ 10 flowers and stems but I removed (in my mind) the other @ 5 stems, less is more?...the fabric in the background was recently purchased at a french bedding outlet....one eurosham (almost a small table cloth)...all I can afford...but the ochre color with the purple blue was really a turn on....and then there was the old stool apon which it sat....so many considerations when composing the still life....a picture is worth a thousand words?? oil on canvas 24x36"

Oil and Water...Still Life

2012-02-22T19:08:00.000-05:00

The same subject...different mediums...oil paint, watercolor...not so different ....very different feeling when trying to paint the subject...using the water always feels looser , the oil gives you the illusion of more control...and it is easier to use the oils.... the paint stays where you put it...the watercolor moves and changes color ...drying much lighter than when you put it down wet...so one has to paint it over and over sometimes to get what you want...both are @ 20x20"

Circus Rider

2012-02-17T19:32:00.000-05:00

This is an image that I painted over 20 years ago in oil...I had been to the Big Apple circus and seen this lovely horse prancing around the ring....and now I have tried to see what happens in watercolor...16x20

Open Guitar Case

2012-02-12T22:44:00.001-05:00

Another great Monday with Sam on the Guitar...Gotta love that purple, red velvet lining inside the guitar case...keeping it safe and sound? 36x36" oil on canvas

Bob Again

2012-02-03T19:18:00.005-05:00

Here is the second attempt to figure out Bob with paint on canvas...another angle...different light...dark clothes....new size....oil/canvas 36x24"

The Clementine Box

2012-02-01T08:38:00.006-05:00

This box sat on the table of my studio for days, until all of a sudden I saw what really intrigued me about it....the pattern of the netting over the clementines...never know when the miracle is going to happen....I finally got to painting it...not before several clementines had bit the moldy dust....oil on canvas 20x20"

Red Squirrel From the Middle of the Road

2012-01-29T13:50:00.002-05:00

On my way to the studio the other day I stopped to pick this little animal up which was in the middle of the road, dead.....I always try to make the best of this opportunity to really..look at...this now dead creature, which otherwise I would not be holding in my hands....so here is a close up...dreaming of the acorns which are no more...oil on canvas 20x20"

Daisy the Dog

2012-01-22T18:38:00.004-05:00

This is Daisy...Daisy belongs to Lauren Clark...Fine Art, in Housatonic Ma ....she loves her dog so I did this dog portrait for her....it was commisioned...I can paint, or try to paint , any dog, or cat or,horse or bird or house or..... well just about anything you need a painting of...for a small sum...if interested please contact me at frontststudio@aol.com, love to hear from you! oil 16x20"

Portrait of Bob

2012-01-12T22:17:00.002-05:00

Bob came and posed at the studio today...made it through the snow and ice so did I...so did 6 of my students...so we all painted Bob....he was a great model...very fair complextion and wonderful red hair! The clementines were good models too, except while I was painting them they moved in the bowl...no really..I had already painted them and I looked up and they were in a very different position...no one knew what had happened...???? got me, at least Bob didn't move...oil on canvas 30x30"

More Circus and more circus

2012-01-11T22:52:00.001-05:00

So for the past few weeks I am lost in the circus tent again...I will try and stay here until I feel that I have exhausted my inspiration for now...the Whirling Women and the Fire Eater are both watercolor and gouache 22x30" and 16x20"

The Circus is Back in Town

2012-01-05T20:38:00.000-05:00

Here are some outdoor scenes from the summer days of the circus...I am going to try and finish this series which I began last year...wish me luck....watercolor and gouache 16x20"

Merry Christmas Apples

2011-12-24T23:07:00.000-05:00

My son Will picked these apples from our orchard this fall...we were supposed to eat them, since they were wonderful organic fertilized by our horses apples...however I just kept admiring them in this basket beside the back door of our barn...turning all sorts of strange colors...so I did make one or two pies but basically I did what I really wanted to do with them...and now they will last forever in this painting...Merry Christmas!... oil on canvas 36x36" larger than life

Fatal Wound

2011-12-23T10:30:00.000-05:00

We were taking a walk on a dirt road in the woods when we came apon this dead fox...the animal was so beautiful I wanted to take it back to my studio to paint it...however this idea was discouraged....so I picked up the frozen carcas and moved it off the side of the road thinking I will return with my paints...seeing it there, it's little black paws and lovely fur was very moving...as if it had just fallen asleep...when I returned it was not there...fortunately for me my husband had taken a good photo to work from....oil on canvas 24x30"

Me and the Walnuts

2011-12-21T18:01:00.001-05:00

After painting the walnuts and quince many times I thought this was the last horizon...me painting them...oil on canvas 20x20"

Sam at work again

2011-12-13T21:02:00.000-05:00

Always a new angle on the guitar playing Sam...I have to catch him in mid chord...oil on canvas 30x30"

Woman in Winter

2011-12-10T11:04:00.000-05:00

It's fun to see what happens to a sculpture when the snow falls...a different view on things...the garden all frozen around her...4' tall bronze figure

Last weeks Life Class Model...

2011-12-04T22:50:00.000-05:00

These paintings were from last weeks life class...not so inspired by male model with muscles...sleeping pose looks a little bit female? 36x48" watercolor and gouache on paper

Reflections

2011-12-02T23:50:00.001-05:00

Not to change the subject but I really liked this image and I wanted to show it to you...Went to a life drawing class this week but didn't think nude men were such a good subject to blog...I have to take some photos of recent work...Tomorrow is Winter Walk in Hudson NY, wish you were here...we will have an opening at 510 Warren St Gallery...I am exhibiting some of the snow paintings from last winter...this Block Island reflection from Payne's Dock is a watercolor and gouache 22x30"

The Mill and Housatonic River Reflections

2011-11-29T22:44:00.000-05:00

I painted this study from the bridge...a sunny autumn afternoon...I like the composition and colors of the reflections in the moving water...oil on canvas ...24x36"

Self Portrait I In the Studio

2011-11-25T12:07:00.000-05:00

So here I am looking into the mirror and seeing all the things around me, which are many, I could paint self portraits endlessly because I am an easy model....not easy to paint though...found this canvas in the basement...the mice had chewed on the bottom of it so I just filled it in with more paint..oil on canvas (chewed that is) 24x36"

Two Studies of Walnuts and Quince

2011-11-18T18:49:00.000-05:00

I picked these walnuts up along side the road...still in their bright green skin...and then Jean Francois gave me the Quince...so here they are in all their glory...oil on canvas 16x20"

Sam with Guitar and Case Reflections

2011-11-15T17:19:00.000-05:00

I have a great model every Monday morning...Sam comes to the studio to play...so I try to see what I can see....I really love the guitar shapes and the shoes are good too...just realized the reflections in the case were actually the paintings on the gallery wall...gotta love it...Braque did a more thorough job...oil on canvas 30x30"

And yet Another White Urn with Flowers

2011-11-14T19:55:00.002-05:00

Here you can see another view of this most marvelous still life....I could not resist...it was actuallly outside on a table in the sun...I love the little fig that dropped off the vine....oil on canvas 30x30"

Most Amazing Arrangement

2011-11-13T22:19:00.001-05:00

I arrived at the studio the other day to find this urn filled with a glorious arrangement of inspiring food and flowers....figs and garlic and artichokes and peonies, turnips and cabbages and too many other wonders...left by Crocus Hale Florist...oh thank you great one...I felt like I was painting back in the 1700's in Holland...all that was missing was the bee on the blossoms...oil on canvas 24x36"

Dories Cove Looking South and North

2011-11-11T18:01:00.000-05:00

What a difference a few hours makes in the sky on Block Island...Afternoon silver clouds on a dark sky,looking south....then early morning pink clouds on the horizon looking north toward the mainland...put them together and you have a typical day at Dories Cove...see earlier blog entry for the sunset, looking West! watercolor and goauche 22x30"

The Last of the Nasturtiums

2011-11-07T18:58:00.001-05:00

There is something about a Nasturtium that really attracts me...the color? shape? the way they seem to dance? well whatever it is these watercolors were my response to those beautiful annual blooms now gone with the winter freeze...watercolor and gouache 16x20"

Bouquet in grey

2011-10-29T22:41:00.000-04:00

I liked these flowers because they looked so fragile and warm against the cool background...another quiet,moment in the studio mixing colors on the canvas..oil on canvas 36x36"

Front St. Housatonic Mass

2011-10-24T20:02:00.000-04:00

Caught in the act...I started this study on a warm sunny morning...however it was so windy I had to go inside...then I went back out this cold grey afternoon to work on it...ended up back out in the sun this morning with no wind...sometimes I wonder what it's all about...the desire to paint yet another view of Housatonic...more love and beauty I guess...36x36" oil on canvas

The Nasturtiums and Guitar

2011-10-20T22:11:00.000-04:00

I painted this last week after I had done a bunch of watercolors of the Nasturtiums...I wanted to do an oil...it took me quite a while to figure a way to compose the painting so that it would inspire me...Sam was playing in the studio that morning and I had been studying a collage of George Braques which was filled with guitar images...so...this is what came of it...oil on canvas 36x36"

The Depot

2011-10-14T17:42:00.003-04:00

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This is where they stored the freight awaiting the trains...now empty, would make a great studio? wool blankets for WWII were made here in Housatonic...among other things...now mostly art, which does not seem to need a train to move it...yet... old blue station in the distance as well as mills,one used for most popular, Country Curtains,other one mostly abandoned, patiently awaiting an architect and lots of money... the water tower holds its own...I was really trying to find an angle to paint it...so the depot did the job... oil on canvas 30x30"

Housatonic River View

2011-10-13T21:43:00.003-04:00

A beautiful october day and I am standing on the bridge painting the local color, listening to the rushing river around me...I never tire of this old mill town...24x36" oil canvas

The Bluffs and Gull

2011-10-10T22:21:00.000-04:00

Can you see the gull? I was looking down at it...another beautiful day by the sea and the bluffs...eroding more each year...a different perspective...but always so inspiring to try and capture the bliss of just being there 22x30"watercolor and gouache

Going ,Going ,Gone...

2011-10-05T22:39:00.000-04:00

One evening spent down at Dories Cove on BI....just watching and painting as the sun set into the clouds...I put the sun where ever I wanted it which is why it does not seem to move....but it really did move and so did my paint brush....watercolor and gouache 20x24" 16x16" 12x16"

The Spring House

2011-09-30T13:12:00.001-04:00

This is the actual "Spring House" on Block Island....there is also the hotel named after it...I remember coming here to fetch water with Doris Andrews many years ago...no one uses it anymore..the path to the water is over grown with weeds...I love the red roof and shape of the building...watercolor and gouache 22x30"

Two Chairs,Looking out to sea and Looking at the Harbor

2011-09-28T19:23:00.000-04:00

There is something about an empty chair that makes me want to paint it...or perhaps really just sit in it...but if I paint it I can always go and sit in it....want to join me? watercolor and gouache 22x30"

The Sunflowers at my House with the Heirloom Tomatoes

2011-09-25T19:35:00.001-04:00

After enjoying these crazy blossoms for a while I decided I had to paint them....the table seemed bare and so I added the tomatoes and the fork....oil on canvas 36x36"

Two Boats, Two Harbors

2011-09-23T09:47:00.002-04:00

These paintings were done last week on Block Island..I was out there with some students painting for the week....we had glorious weather and a great painting time...These boats caught my eye...The "Gee Willie Make It" the fishing boat in the Old Harbor with all the other fishing boats, is the one we go out on every summer to fish with Captain Bill....always catch something .... I love all the fishing boats and their stories ...The other sail boat in New Harbor, the "Kemmo Sabe" as in "The Lone Ranger and Tonto" is a beautiful sloop? Don't know if you call them that...owned by a nice guy named Bill( Bills and boats must go together?) who was kind enough to not move her for the duration of this paint job and let us come aboard.....not so easy to build a boat with paint..I learned alot... watercolors..22x30"

Sunflowers Black and White

2011-09-20T17:10:00.000-04:00

Always a good idea to see what happens without the color, which is so powerful a factor...have to think outside the box...I like the challenge...also the results that are so different...

The Cow Corn Field

2011-09-08T22:14:00.000-04:00

Not the people corn field...I love the ripe corn with all of its tassels ...so many colors and shapes... oil on canvas 3'x4' a fairly large canvas

Most Recent August Bouquet

2011-09-04T16:24:00.000-04:00

It was a rainy day and we could not paint the landscape so we headed into the studio...why am I drawn to these flowers? Flowers are like good friends to me....they always comfort and inspire me...and on any given day comfort is always welcome...36x36" oil on canvas

Drawing of the Chair

2011-08-31T16:57:00.000-04:00

So I thought a drawing was in order....if you look closely it is just a bunch of scribbles...this is about 24x36" on paper with a black China Marker

Distant View of the Corn Field

2011-08-23T11:57:00.002-04:00

So this canvas is 3'x4' and it catches the wind like a sail.... when the storm hit I had to hold on with all my might...I am still working on this but you get the idea....oil on canvas

The Corn Field

2011-08-15T21:40:00.000-04:00

Went to the corn field with only my black watercolor and tried to capture the complexity of the scene....quite a challenge...next time I am bringing a large canvas and some oil paint....watercolor on paper16x20"

Porch at Balsam Hill Farm

2011-08-11T22:24:00.000-04:00

Well here we are at a beautiful old farm house in Sheffield Ma....Mt Everett in the distance....bucolic scene...Is there a better view than that from a summer porch? oil on canvas 24x36"

Two Chairs Talking

2011-08-07T20:57:00.000-04:00

My show at the Front St Gallery opened up yesterday...well I had the opening....thanks to all for showing up and making it a success for me...this painting of two chairs was a real favorite...watercolor 22x30"

Lotus in the Lily Pond

2011-08-03T21:51:00.000-04:00

There is nothing like a lotus blossom.....well in this case the lotus plant....I watched this water lily open in front of my eyes....the reflections in the pond were particularily beautiful ....oil on canvas 24x24"

Early Morning Deck at the Surf Hotel

2011-07-25T00:11:00.000-04:00

This deck was offlimits since the hotel had closed so I had to paint fast(that was different, not really)the patterns of the railing were fun and I was glad my favorite ferry was still at the dock....not for long...oil on canvas 30x30"

Young Bulls at the Farm

2011-07-22T18:54:00.000-04:00

A bucolic scene it was....distant hills....bull calves eating.....gorgeous summer day.....oil on canvas 36"x36"

Chickens at the Farm

2011-07-16T23:30:00.000-04:00

I spent the morning with the chickens pecking around my feet....they had alot to say for themselves....it was a fine summer day and the light and shadows were lovely....oil on canvas 30x30"

Gulls at the North Light

2011-07-10T20:34:00.000-04:00

an incredible afternoon at the lighthouse...the gulls were going crazy...the sky was blue..the lighthouse was powerful in it's stone presence out there on that spit of sand dunes....the afternoon light was intense...the roses were blooming....I did the best I could.....watercolor 22"x30"

Lupines and Poppies

2011-07-05T21:24:00.000-04:00

It is kind of difficult to make sense of a summer garden sometimes....untangling the lupines from the poppies was a challenge....and then the bumble bee arrived....it was a beautiful day....windy, cloudy summer day.... oil on canvas 16x20"

Iska's Bedroom

2011-06-30T20:20:00.000-04:00

And a beautiful room it is too...Her little dog Gabby sleeps at the foot of the bed...the room is filled with great art and books( couldn't paint them all) this is an inspiring place...the opera plays on...22x30" watercolor

Tulips , Bird's Nest and Studio Chair

2011-06-26T19:43:00.000-04:00

I painted this a couple of weeks ago now...time flies...it is big for me...36x36" ....I just wanted to try to do something a little different....when you paint bigger your brushes move not so tightly....but then again I still see with same eyes... I found the bird's nest while clearing out a tangled mess of undergrowth...I liked the grapevine wound around it....sorry no eggs...I was thinking of addding them? The studio is always the studio,which I do love....especially this chair which I have had forever...oil on canvas 36x36"

The Path Down to Cooneymous

2011-06-22T22:26:00.000-04:00

I really liked the pattern this fence made...and then the waves breaking....and the wild roses....but especially listening to the Bell Bouy ringing out in the surf....some fishermen walked by as I was painting and asked" Do you really see all those colors?" I had to stop and think about it...."Yes, I do see them all....and then some"....30x30" oil on canvas

Andrews Porch Morning Light

2011-06-19T23:44:00.000-04:00

I spent my last morning on the island at the Andrews house....actually late morning...had to close our house up first....It was so peaceful and the light was great....Vlada was there painting with me...and Joan was leaving on the midday ferry....seen leaving the island in the distance....I always loved this view of the Buchanan house....wish there had been something hanging on his clothes line...oil on canvas 36x24"

Windrows in the Sunset BI

2011-06-15T23:22:00.000-04:00

The sun is setting and I have just painted another picture of this scene...but then I see this new view...so I have to try it....I have been watching the tractor drive around and around the field baling the hay...I hope he leaves some in the field because I love the way it looks...oil on canvas 24x24"

Bell Buoy off Coonemous Beach

2011-06-14T18:37:00.001-04:00

A brilliant afternoon spent painting on the beach....the bell buoy that we hear all night and day....I love this sound....and so I painted the culprit....oil on canvas 24x24"

Tractor,Wagon, Windrows and Sea

2011-06-13T18:56:00.001-04:00

Please forgive long silence but much work has been done....I guess it is hard for me to focus while emersed in Block Island painting....here is an example of what captured me there....the hay was being made ....while the sun shone....first it is cut, then it is tedded into windrows before it is baled....and I painted like the wind.....oil on canvas 24x24"

The Class

2011-05-31T21:24:00.002-04:00

We went to Iska's house to paint... worked and then all sat down for lunch...here they are...all the great arist's of the world....well some of them.....I'm sorry I do not have pictures of all their good work ....thank you Iska!

Pigasso Farm, Really

2011-05-27T19:41:00.000-04:00

Heading south on Rt 22 from Hillsdale NY, after you have passed the turn off for Copake there is a wonderful pig farm....I have had my eye on it for the past three years...always wanted to stop and paint (never give up) so I finally found the time this week to go down and have a try at it...the farmer warned me they wouldn't stand still....I told him it wasn't my first time out with a pig....So this is what I saw, well I did alot of editing....or rather composing...oil on canvas 24x36"

The Little Chipmunk that didn't make it across the road....

2011-05-26T21:44:00.000-04:00

But it did make it into my studio....I feel so badly for these little creatures that get run down...yesterday I found two next to each other in the road....Mother and child? We will never know...I bury them in the tall grass....watercolor on paper 16x20"

Iska's House with Spring Bouquet

2011-05-25T21:28:00.000-04:00

The class went over to Iska's house last week to paint...I love her house and have done quite a few interior studies there in the past....so I tried this view ....her house is a museum of great art, relics from her home in Poland, and the opera is always playing as I paint...I am transported to another era another world...watercolor 22x30"

Block Island Farm

2011-05-22T19:07:00.000-04:00

Springtime on the farm with all the greens and grass and horses grazing ....I painted this on the island a couple of Springs ago and I really like it....especially the big Purple Martin bird house on the pole....watercolor 22x30"

Spring Flowers and Old Blue Chair

2011-05-19T00:04:00.001-04:00

In the studio today....I was working on about five things at once...framed and signed the portrait of the headmaster...will deliver tomorrow...watercolor of lilacs....oil study of lily of the valley....oil study I did a year ago of wild cherry blossoms I revamped...much better now...and finished the new circus painting of the elephants..... on to the next??? will it rain tomorrow? painting inside or out? oil on canvas 24x36"

Studies of Some of my Favorite Artists

2011-05-15T22:24:00.001-04:00

Lautrec....Bonnard...Van Gogh

I do these watercolors when I am at work teaching at the retirement community Kimball Farms....while everyone is painting so am I.....I think it helps to really try and follow how these artists created what they did ....I have done dozens of them...freehand.....and always learn something....like painting with someone else's brush....actually just finished a big Kandinsky this week....show you sometime....this is not easy for me to do....but a wonderful way to spend time painting

Our Block Island Porch

2011-05-13T18:25:00.001-04:00

I painted this picture last summer...someone just came in the gallery the other day and bought it....sorry to see it go...strange need to earn a living and then have to let the thing you love go....I will have to do another....watercolor 22x30"

Horses under the Big Top

2011-05-11T22:25:00.000-04:00

It is hard to believe how great the circus is....What a show....this was the Big Apple several years ago...What drama! I just love the colors and composition and feeling.....well I guess that just about covers it all.....watercolor 22x30"

Green Peppers , Tomatoes and Eggplant

2011-05-05T17:34:00.000-04:00

So here I am again....In love with some random vegitables....well actually the colors and shapes of the vegitables....more love....but so what? Is it enough that I love them? I paint to get through the long days which are very tricky without something that fills me with love.....as opposed to the alternative...So please bear with me as I fill canvas after canvas with more paint and .....more love.

Paris Landscape

2011-05-03T23:55:00.000-04:00

Last week Jack and Sam were in Paris....so I thought I would join them....at the Louvre...This is one of my favorite Mailliol sculptures so here is my interpretation of it.... watercolor 22x30"

The Tigers

2011-04-24T21:27:00.000-04:00

More circus...more fun...these cats were particularily wonderful..there were actually 6 in the cage with him...can I train my cats to do these things? watercolor 22x30"

Portrait of Walter

2011-04-21T17:26:00.000-04:00

Walter showed up at the studio to pose....I thought he was coming the following week...I was about to paint a bouquet of glorious yellow roses...so here we have the combo study....Walter was a great model...he didn't move an inch for about three hours....wow! oil on canvas 30x30"

Still Life of J. Alden Wier's Old Turpentine Bottles

2011-04-17T22:51:00.001-04:00

I love the color of these bottles in the light and the shadows that they cast....a linseed oil bottle also... Left overs from an artist's studio....from another life time....J. Alden Wier's lifetime to be exact....that would be the American Impressionist whose home and studio, now Wier Farm in Ridgefield Ct., was once the home of my dearest friend and her father the great painter, Sperry Andrews. When the family moved out and left the property to the National Trust they took with them the contents of the studios( toxic substances not wanted)...which they kindly offered to me to use....and paint....18x24" oil on canvas

Headmaster at Hoosac School

2011-04-14T21:11:00.000-04:00

I went up to my son Will's old Alma Mater and painted this portrait the other day....Richard Lamuscio is retiring after many years as Headmaster and English professor....We had a good morning talking about his new future and my son's past life at the school....What a story he could tell about the life of a boarding school...This will hang in the dining hall along with all the other Headmasters...I like it very much.... oil on canvas 30x40"

Geraniums in the Sun

2011-04-04T17:12:00.000-04:00

This plant has been growing in the studio for the past year....It was a gift at a gallery opening...one thing about a geranium is that they just keep blooming, for the most part, they do need water....so when I came into the studio the other morning it's presence and cast shadow struck me as inspiring....oil on canvas 30x24"

Portrait of Sam

2011-03-29T14:27:00.000-04:00

Yesterday Sam came to the studio to play his guitar for us as the class painted...well I decided that there was nothing more wonderful to paint than Sam... he posed, and played very beautifully....I had just watched a great documentary on the artist Alice Neel....available at Net Flix....it inspired me to do a large portrait... she said that while she was painting she got "to be " the person that she painted....thus there is a way out of the self for a short while....I agree .....oil on canvas 3x4'

St Croix Bananas

2011-03-27T00:15:00.000-04:00

I have spent the past two weeks with my ass in the north and my heart in the south...well ,west, Indies that is...I love a good banana tree ....and the blossom is amazing... found this one in the ruins of an old plantation oil on canvas 24x24"

Two Drawings of Rosie

2011-03-24T00:23:00.000-04:00

Just so you can see how different one interpretation is from the next...these two studies were done only a few minutes apart...I never know what is coming next ....hopefully something worth while...itis always a surprise to stand back and look at what one has accomplished.....China Marker on Bristol Paper 16x20"

Conch on the Beach at Cramer Park USVI

2011-03-19T23:18:00.000-04:00

I got this conch to pose for me with Buck Island in the distance.... As the waves were gently breaking I was desperately painting...trying very hard to capture what I was experiencing...tricky subject...good model watercolor 12x16"

Red Sails in the Storm

2011-03-17T16:12:00.000-04:00

Just so you don't think there were blue skies at all times..here was the view from the beach one afternoon...actually lots of storms out at sea....passing very quickly..I must paint like the wind in order to not miss the shapes of the clouds which change every minute...have you ever seen the ocean stand still?watercolor...12x16"

Pink Sky in the Morning

2011-03-15T21:33:00.000-04:00

Sailors take warning...except in St croix where the water is always turquoise and the clouds are pink like the boats....watercolor 11x14"

Buck Island View

2011-03-07T13:25:00.000-05:00

Looking back at St Croix from Buck Island, a beautiful sail over and snorkle around the reef...I feel like I am flying floating in 40' of water surrounded by turquoise water and many fish watercolor 9x12"

GrapetreeBay Late Afternoon

2011-03-01T12:08:00.000-05:00

A beautiful day in paradise...that would be St Croix USVI....a great swim and then a watercolor study on the beach...what could be better? 83o

The girl who had a taste of drowning

2011-02-24T21:01:00.001-05:00

Here she is again...sweet Rosie....we were lucky to get her to pose today...she is very busy trying to move to NYC....looking for an apartment....know of any? she has a job writing for a Green online magazine...I love to paint Rosie....can you tell? oil on canvas 24x24"

Back to Winter

2011-02-22T20:27:00.000-05:00

This is East Rd Alford Ma....almost every day Mike and I walk down or up this road ....this particular afternoon I was struck by the color of the snow with the late afternoon light on it...and the funny cast shadows on the road from the snow bank....I did this painting from memory in the studio the next morning...hard for me to do considering my ability to remember things....but it does remind me of what I saw and why I liked it..oil on canvas 18x18"

Summer on the Block Island Beach

2011-02-20T00:40:00.000-05:00

These are all sketches done while I relax on the warm sand .....watching the day go by... you have to work very fast as people do not stand still for long....an impression can't wait ...11x14" china marker,pen paper

Girl on the Beach

2011-02-16T21:46:00.001-05:00

Now here are some quick sketches from the summer months on the beach on Block Island....an old friend.....how far off is the summer? we are on the way to the West Indies next week...ink pen on paper 8x10"

Iris and French Cloth

2011-02-14T21:04:00.000-05:00

Todays efforts ...as I started painting I said to myself...why am I painting this flower? and I answered ,because it is so beautiful....and I love the colors....this was one Iris stem left over from a bouquet I brought to a friend at the hospital.... which he loved....the other flowers were orange African Daisys so that is why I picked the orange fabric....oil on canvas 12x12"

The Snow Storm

2011-02-09T15:50:00.001-05:00

I went out crosscountry skiing the other day in the middle of a snow storm....when I got to this spot in our neighbors field I stopped and marveled at the silence of the falling snow....it was so beautiful,peaceful, inspiring....I made mental notes and then skied the next day to check my notes...this is what I saw...trying to paint the snow falling really challenged me, but after all I think this works in a way....oil on canvas 30x30"

Bird Feeder in Snow

2011-02-08T17:00:00.001-05:00

It was a snow day.... which meant I was not jumping in the car to go anywhere...so I set up my easel by the back door ( looking out at the pool) and painted what I saw...the snow had stopped....but it was all still there as well as the hungry birds....there is nothing like the brilliant red of a Cardinal in winter oil on canvas 24x24"

Barrett's Present

2011-02-07T18:30:00.001-05:00

It was so beautifully wrapped that I just had to paint it....someone said the shadow seemed ominous ...It is what it is....It is real life....still haven't opened it...oil on canvas 11x14"

And in this ring...The flying Bambinos

2011-02-02T22:34:00.000-05:00

How could I resist the girls in the skin tight suits about to fly up into the Big Top? Amazing bodies and skills to match....watercolor 22x30"

The Trapeze

2011-01-30T23:19:00.001-05:00

As you can see there is alot going on at the circus...which is what interests me... it is like a giant puzzel...see the shadow on the side of the tent? watercolor 22x30"

Portrait of Rosie

2011-01-27T21:34:00.000-05:00

Rosie posed today...last time I painted her was a couple of summers ago and she was nude....it was warm....great to have her back...she is writing a book now ....about how she almost drowned when she was young....which she talked about as she posed...very interesting....a very beautiful girl...oil on canvas 20x20"

Ode to my Goldfish

2011-01-24T21:34:00.002-05:00

To my sweet goldfish who has been with us for years, you will no longer be swimming, this brings me to tears, what happened to you we will never know, but after today you will swim in the snow..... oil on canvas 16x16"

Up on a High Wire

2011-01-22T22:28:00.000-05:00

More of the circus....the high wire act...I love the up and down of this composition....two different focuses...connected by the ropes and ladders and surrounded by the dark...watercolor 22x30 " Arches Hot Pressed paper

Circus Entrance Summer Evening

2011-01-17T23:06:00.001-05:00

I really like this view with the long shadows and the feeling of just entering the Big Top.....watercolor 22x30" on paper

Tropical Still Life

2011-01-15T20:16:00.000-05:00

One of my students brought these clementines into the studio ...... found this wonderful fabric.....and voila' another amazing still life subject.... it was fun to be painting all these hot colors when it was so unbelievably cold outside.... 24x24" oil on canvas

Cole Bros Circus ...Elephant Ride

2011-01-11T15:06:00.002-05:00

I've been taking photos of the circus for many years....I would like to spend the winter working on the paintings from these photos, a project I began earlier this year.... watercolor 22x30" Arches Hot pressed paper

Self Portrait December

2011-01-06T22:48:00.000-05:00

First I did the drawing and then I tried the portrait in oils.....more colorful for sure...sort of the same feeling..still look awfully grim...however when one is painting a self portrait it is difficult work and one has to concentrate..so that is the expression of concentration....oil on canvas 20x16"