Painting in Trees

A Squid

2012-01-26T08:48:00.007-05:00

"A Squid" is finished! I decided to add a very subtle background of white oil paint. I think it adds a pretty texture to the piece, while not overwhelming it. You can hardly notice the white oil when looking strait on as in the first picture. However as you go to the side:

It becomes much more obvious.

I'm so excited to add this to the "Oil and Water" series.

Title: A Squid

Medium: Watercolor and Oil

Size: 20"x24"

Small sections of a Painting

2012-01-25T12:30:00.002-05:00

I love looking at small sections of my paintings and seeing what I have done, or in this case what is left to do. The above is an oil painting of the fall woods at Ridley Creek state park (one of my favorite places to hike). It still needs a bit more work but never the less I love how the colors are coming together. They are vibrant and full of deep blues and oranges. I think it really captures the breathless excitement of fall.

With this particular painting I took the advice of Mitchell Albala and played with the reference photo's colors to make it more evocative of the place, rather than just dully copying the photo which I always try to avoid. I enjoyed his "Gallery Talk" series very much, and found it very educational.

Color Play

2012-01-24T11:04:00.004-05:00

I recently found a great blog called Color Collective, it a great place to get inspired and to help train your eyes to pull color from landscapes, paintings, fabric or really anything. Its good practice, I have found it helpful when trying to think of new color combinations that are perhaps outside of my comfort zone.

.....

This is my attempt at it!

Getting Ready

2012-01-23T12:28:00.003-05:00

After lots of testing and playing around, I have decided on a background color. It took a lot of little paint swatches to finally find the perfect one. How do you decide on the next color to use, either with painting or anything else really?

(Don't worry this is just a picture of my messy pallet, not the background)

I'll hold off telling you which color I chose so that it can be a surprise!

Sleepy

2012-01-20T16:56:00.002-05:00

My cat, the princess of pillows.

On my desk

2012-01-19T13:33:00.002-05:00

1) My new Favorite lamp 2) My little cloud of geranium leaves

Background

2012-01-18T16:16:00.001-05:00

Testing a few different options for the Squid background color, of course I may just leave it white.

Squid: An Update

2012-01-17T12:26:00.004-05:00

Now to finish up the details and decide on a background.

Journal Making: 1st Attempt

2012-01-16T15:18:00.002-05:00

I made my first hardback book yesterday. This is really just a trial run, but I am really happy with it and I learned a lot from the process. The book is cloth bound and the pages are sewn in.

I even put in a bookplate! Check out this amazing resource for vintage images.

I really like the texture of the cloth, and it was so simple to put together. My reference was this tutorial. If anyone has any questions I would be happy to give my input.

In Bloom

2012-01-14T05:30:00.000-05:00

Its a lovely Saturday morning and I am puttering around my studio. My lovely Lady Slipper is in bloom again, which may inspire more paintings; for now it has the effect of making me feel as though I live in victorian greenhouse.

The "Oil and Water" series is coming along and I cannot wait to share more of it with all of you.

Wishing all of you a nice weekend!

New Prints!

2012-01-13T14:09:00.002-05:00

The new prints of my "Green Cabbage in Oil" painting have arrived. I just picked them up from the printer yesterday, and they are stunning! The sizing is as follows:

22"x28"

16"x 20"

11"x14"

All are available through my Etsy shop. As always my prints are all numbered and signed. If you would like a larger or smaller custom version please feel free to contact me.

Squid: Progress

2012-01-11T12:58:00.003-05:00

Lots of progress made, still a lot to do.

Squid - Work in Progress

2012-01-10T14:42:00.002-05:00

I thought I would take a moment and post a quick update on the "Oil and Water" series. The next painting is going to be of a squid and much larger than "A Shrimp". As you can see its still a work in progress but I'm really excited about how its turning out!

A Shrimp

2012-01-09T05:30:00.000-05:00

I'm so excited to show you the first part in my new series called "Oil and Water". The piece above is done with both watercolor and oil paints, hence the name of the series. This idea comes from people asking me what medium I use and when I reply that I use watercolor and oil, they usually (jokingly) ask if I do it at the same time. Well now I can say yes.

The rich texture of the oil alongside the smoothness of the watercolor is a stunning as well as an unusual combination. Along with this strange pairing of mediums, I've also been recently fascinated with sea creatures; so you can expect to see more of them within this particular series. I'm very excited to play with this concept and will be showing you more work as the pieces are developed and finished. Of course I should be careful with taking up suggestions from playful comments that people make in passing or you may find me painting houses and who knows where that would lead.

Title: A Shrimp

Series: Oil and Water

Size: 8.5"x9.5"

Medium: Watercolor and Oil

Sunny Winter

2012-01-07T11:00:00.002-05:00

This winter has been so mild, no real snow has fallen here in Pennsylvania. So these pretty little snow flakes decorating a school are even more welcome. I'm told that there are close to 200 of them in total, scattered throughout the building. Now I want to try my hand at them!

I love how the light streams in and plays with the patterns.

Sketches and Succulents

2012-01-05T12:12:00.004-05:00

Today is a nice overcast day perfect for drinking tea and sketching. I was admiring the collection of succulents on the window sills which has grown steadily through the years (they are so easy to root). So I decided to share one particularly unusual one (you may remember it from this painting).

It was sort of languishing in my north facing apartment so it had to be moved, look how happy it is now! I just love the pretty pink flowers.

I was playing around last night with my sketch book and for some reason became enamored with the idea of drawing shrimp. Above are my first few goes at it. I like them so far and am excited to add some color.

Happy Twelfth Night !

Quiet

2012-01-04T05:30:00.001-05:00

Enjoying some quiet moments in the studio before I begin work for the day.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2012-01-03T16:14:00.003-05:00

I hope everyone is having a great start to 2012! My Christmas was great and New Years was also wonderful, I'm eager to begin a new year with lots of painting and new ideas.

Above is a piece I have been working on intermittently of the Pennsylvania woods in the fall. It is an oil on canvas and I hope to have it done fairly soon.

Paperwhite Leaning

2011-12-12T11:40:00.000-05:00

Title: Paperwhite Leaning
Size: 11.5"x 11.5" (without the frame)
20" x20" (matted and framed)
Medium: Watercolor and color pencil on paper

Apple Study in Oil

2011-11-14T12:39:00.002-05:00

A simple still life study, featuring three apples. I love all of the subtle reflections that appear on the the apples' skins.

Fall Apples

2011-10-27T16:32:00.002-04:00

"Tilting Apple"

Original Watercolor

5.5"x6.5"

Its been awhile since I last posted, sorry about that. Here is what I have been up to: hiking about a beautiful state park, apple picking, drinking lots of coffee, organizing my studio, painting, organizing new shows, teaching, and going on knitting road trips (yes, I knit). Lets also add that I have been guiltily avoiding my blog.

Fall is here and all of the leaves are changing, I have to remember not to be taken in by their hypnotic color while driving. Some of the leaves are so intensely orange/ yellow that they seem to glow.

Country Driving

2011-09-29T09:17:00.002-04:00

Beautiful old house on the property.

One of my many hobbies is to go on long country drives every once in a while. The one I took a few weeks ago was out to see Yellow Springs Farm in Chester Springs, PA. They grow native plants and make award winning goat cheese.

Raku provided a warm welcome.

After falling in love with their Red Leaf cheese (they wrap it in sycamore leaves to age it) I knew I had to go and see the place for myself. The drive out was long and stunning. When we pulled up the farm seemed like something out of a story book. The place was in full bloom, filled with yellow flowers and happy bees. Of course then we saw the goats.

Twinkle has not yet mastered climbing up on the fence.

All of the goats were very friendly vying with one another for our attention and clambering up the fence for us to scratch their ears.

Almost Twinkle!

They also had a beautiful pond filled with giant Koi and surrounded with black walnut trees. We sat in the dappled shade for a long time admiring the view and tasting some more cheese and honey. It was a great afternoon.

The beehives

Elkton Senior Apartments

2011-09-26T14:59:00.003-04:00

An original cabbage watercolor of mine. Located in the lobby.

I recently attended the opening of the Elkton Senior Apartments. I have to say it is one of the most artfully done apartment complexes that I have ever seen. Almost all of the artworks are originals and they range from paintings to quilts, stain glass, and even door- knockers (no two are alike and each apartment has one).

Open sitting area with windows surrounding and lovely stain glass.

The apartments themselves are lovely but I think what makes this place very special is the community rooms. I saw the following: a computer lounge (where you can check out an ipad!), a billiard table, gym, a gardening room filled with orchids, violets and lots of other pretty plants, and I counted three large porches each on different floors.

Rooftop succulent garden.

I love the rooftop succulent garden, such a pretty way to decorate this space! Every corner both inside and outside is filled with beautiful detail.

One of my favorite paintings there by Abigail Mcbride.

The ribbon cutting!

I am very happy to have been a part of this project. Thank you again Mosi for making it all come together so beautifully!

Longwood Meadow in Late Summer

2011-09-20T11:49:00.002-04:00

Size: 12"x48"

Medium: Oil on Canvas

Landscape in Progress

2011-09-09T13:20:00.002-04:00

A corner of my studio.

Last Breaths of Summer

2011-09-08T04:30:00.000-04:00

Taken at Longwood Gardens.

Orchids

2011-09-06T04:30:00.000-04:00

A pretty Phalaenopsis from my little orchid collection. I think I know what I'm going to paint next.

Blooming Succulent

2011-09-02T16:48:00.002-04:00

Finished my succulent painting, I'm happy with how it turned out. I had a lot of fun playing with colors on all the unusual leaves. I think my favorite section is one of the blooming stems to the left with the shadows falling on it.

Title: Blooming Succulent

Medium: Watercolor on paper

Size: 11"x15"

Lady Slipper

2011-08-30T19:21:00.000-04:00

Cactus, Work in Progress

2011-08-25T10:52:00.001-04:00

I've been working on this watercolor for a couple of days now and can't wait to have it done so I can share it with you all.

Collecting Photos

2011-08-15T13:59:00.002-04:00

No matter my good intentions at the beginning of summer I'm always hopelessly distracted by the beauty outside and get barley any "real" painting in. Of course my new found love of gardening doesn't help matters. One of my solutions to this is the gather reference images for the winter. I've been better about it recently, planning out paintings that I know I will want to start when the first frost hits.

I am also re-designing my studio, and will soon be making one of these beauties which now that I think about it should have been included initially. It will bring a fresh breath of organization and inspiration to the place.

Leafy Inspiration

2011-07-25T12:44:00.002-04:00

One of my brussels sprout plants.

Stunning Summer

2011-07-20T22:08:00.002-04:00

The flowers this summer are simply overwhelming. And this my friends along with many projects and a smattering of more fine weather is why I haven't been painting as much as I promised myself I would. But I think this break has left me with a lot of ideas and a fresh enthusiasm.

Squash

2011-07-18T12:51:00.003-04:00

A work in progress with the plethora of squash coming out of my garden.

Where has June gone?

2011-06-26T14:48:00.002-04:00

Its certainly been a while since I posted last. June was a very busy and wonderful month. It seems as though I've been living outside, which would explain my absence online. Gardening is in full swing. The picture above is of my tame little spring garden, which now looks like a jungle. my plans are to do a lot more outdoor painting in July so hopefully I'll have more to share with all of you.

The peonies were wonderful this year!

Some bumble bees are back, I love seeing them among the flowers!

Blue Afternoon - Plein Air Landscape Study

2011-06-02T11:07:00.002-04:00

Recently I visited Longwood Garden's meadow to do a landscape study. It was a lovely afternoon filled with painting.

Size: 11"x16"

Medium: Watercolor on paper

Available

Snowy Sunset

2011-05-30T15:33:00.001-04:00

Title: Snowy Sunset

Medium: oil on canvas

Size: 11"x 14"

Available

Second Skin

2011-05-11T05:30:00.000-04:00

Title: Second Skin

Medium: Oil on Canvas

Size: 9"x12"

Available

By the River

2011-05-09T11:40:00.001-04:00

Title: By the River - a plein air painting

Size: 12"x16"

Medium: Oil on canvas

Painting Outside

2011-05-04T13:32:00.002-04:00

I picked a pretty spot by the river to do some plein air painting.

The painting is drying right now, I hope to share it with you later in the week.

Cabbages, Cabbages

2011-04-25T05:30:00.000-04:00

Six cabbages and counting! This is turning into a large series.

Green Cabbage in Oil

2011-04-22T05:30:00.000-04:00

Just completed my latest cabbage painting, my first in oil. This one really turned out to be striking, it turns my head every time I walk by it and let me tell you after staring at it for weeks, that is a feat.

I think this painting also expresses how excited I am about gardening this year, I can't wait to see if my (real) cabbages will be half as lush. Lets hope so!

Title: Green Cabbage in Oil

Size: 28"x32"

Medium: oil on canvas

Contact me for pricing.

Orange Flowers Tutorial Part 2: Stems and Leaves

2011-04-18T14:08:00.004-04:00

As you can see I have added five more flowers to my painting since last time. Now, as promised, I will show you how to do very basic stems and leaves.

1. First arrange all of the materials that were outlined in Part 1 but this time include some nice shades of green instead of (in my case) the yellows, oranges and reds. I keep everything on my palette so that I can play with unusual color combinations.

2. Then with a pencil draw in your stems, I like to do this first because it gives me good foundation upon which to place the leaves. I recommend doing this step with a very light touch so that you can move anything that is not to your liking.

3. Add in leaves with your pencil, you can barely see mine but they should be attached to the stems in some way or coming in from outside of the frame.

4. I start painting the leaves first, unlike the petals I do not wet them with water first but rather pick up the paint with a wet brush and apply it directly to the paper. I used the lightest green first and then layer with darker greens in succession. This should remind you of working on the petals and it is similar. Remember that as you layer you want to take account of shadows and the shape of the leaf.

*I added a touch of deep yellow to the center of the leaves, just so that they do not look alien next to the flowers.

5. Repeat for all of your leaves.

6. Now on to the stems, for this I want to wet my brush but only slightly. If the brush is too wet you will not be able to keep the fine line of the stem. Again like the leaves I'm not going to wet my paper beforehand. For my colors I chose a deep yellow and the green I used for the leaves.

7. Add shadow to the stems, leaves and even the petals as you see fit. Try to think of what these flowers would look like sitting next to each other and where their shadows would fall. But also keep in mind that this is a very loose and playful painting, we are not actually doing a still life but rather a sort of imaginary flower.

8. Sign your name and there you have it, a very cheerful and bright painting!

Please send me any photos of your Orange Flowers and I will be sure to post them. Thanks and I hope this has been helpful!

Almost

2011-04-15T05:30:00.000-04:00

Just a few more details left to do! I'm so excited to share the final result with all of you.

Orange Flowers Tutorial Part 1: Petals

2011-04-13T05:30:00.001-04:00

I have always enjoyed painting these little flowers. They are very basic and yet create a very lively painting. For those that have never done a watercolor painting before this is an excellent beginning point and for those who have it is a time to play with new techniques.

1. Gather all the materials that you will need.

-A sheet of quality cold press watercolor paper.

-A pencil and a good eraser.

-Quality watercolors (I am using Windsor and Newton

in the following colors: Alizarin Crimson,

Cadmium Red, Cadmium Orange,

Lemon Yellow, Cadmium Yellow Pale,

and Ultramarine)

-A palette (if you don't have one use an old plate)

-Quality watercolor paint brushes

(make sure the bristles of the brush are nice and soft)

-A cup of clean water

-Paper towel

*Make sure that if you are using a single leaf of watercolor paper that you have something on which to tape it while painting, so that it does not buckle (wrinkle) as you apply the layers of color.

*It is best to prop the paper at an angle as you work, so that the watercolors can flow freely.

2. Begin by lightly sketching out your flower in pencil, try to be very relaxed. I like to begin with the petals. For now I am leaving out the stem and the foliage.

3. Once you have your flower drawn. Take a smaller paint brush and saturate it with the clean water, do not pick up any paint. Then wet the outline of one petal. We are going to work one petal at a time.

4. Before you apply any paint remember to tilt your paper so that it is at a constant angle (about 45 degrees) while you work. Begin with you lightest shade, in my case it would be a yellow. This is the lightest layer but I am still taking account of the form of the petal and where the light would hit it.

*Remember that the more water you use as you paint the lighter the color will be. Also that because we have wet our paper before applying paint we can move the color around, so if I paint in a spot that I really didn't want to I can wipe my brush, then wet it and shift the color.

5. Next apply the darker hue, in my case an bright orange. Do not wait for the yellow to dry. In this step I am even more careful to define the shape of the petal and its shadows.

6. Wait a few minutes for the two washes to dry slightly ( there will still be a shine to the paper when held to the light). Then using the even darker color add in small details and sharper shadows.

I am only going to use the darkest color around the center of the flower so as to give depth and give the illusion that the petal is coming out of the center.

7. Repeat steps 4-6 for all petals. Then allow for them to dry completely.

8. Taking a contrasting color, in my case an Ultramarine blue. Fill in the center of the flower, without wetting the area first. Make sure to leave a few spots without any pigment.

I added a bit of my darkest red to the mix so that the center would be tied in with the petals.

I hope this has been helpful! Remember that Mother's Day is coming up and this would make a lovely surprise.

If you decide to try your hand at painting these flowers please send me any questions or comments that you may have and if you include a picture I will post it on the blog!

And tune in next week for part 2: Stems and Leaves!

Still Growing

2011-04-08T05:30:00.000-04:00

An update on the cabbage painting, its really coming along. I'm pretty happy with it at the moment. When I walk into the studio I get a shock from the lush greens. Oils really have a pleasant thickness to them, they almost produce a tactile experience.

Although, like I said before, I miss the stain glass look of the watercolors as I paint the leaves. I still really enjoy working with oil and its a completely different medium. Perhaps this is a good example of why I can't choose between the two.

Private Collection

2011-04-06T05:30:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I have a lot of trouble letting go of my work. The painting becomes either sentimentally important or the amount of time invested makes it too dear to sell. While part of me wants very much for others to enjoy my work there is also the desire to hold on tight to these particular paintings.

So as a solution, I have earmarked a few paintings for my own collection. This has had the surprising effect of giving me more energy to create, I know a lot of people will say that getting rid of everything is refreshing (I'm not that way and I don't strive to be). Perhaps its taking out the business side of creating or just knowing that painting is still, in some ways, a relaxing activity. Besides thats what prints are for right?

Circular Landscape

2011-04-04T05:30:00.000-04:00

While playing with different shapes of canvas, I decided to do a circular landscape. I ended up with this bright but haunting one of a field with the wood line in the distance.

Title: Circular Landscape

Medium: Watercolor on paper

Size: 10" Diameter

Spring Tulips

2011-04-01T05:30:00.000-04:00

The tulips are not up around these parts, the ones pictured were a gift from a friendly neighbor. They prompted me to do a little painting of them.

I think this little one is going to turn into a study for a larger painting. Who can resist those lush petals?

New Crop

2011-03-30T05:30:00.000-04:00

A corner of my studio.

It looks like a new crop of cabbage paintings ( and seedlings ) are bursting forth. I hope to be done with a few paintings soon so as to share them with you.

For now here are the beginnings of a large cabbage in oil ( my first in oil). I like the texture that oil produces in the leaves, though I miss the stain glass effect that watercolor has.

*For all my fellow gardening junkies here is a link to my favorite radio show, I love listening to it while I paint.

Studio Days

2011-03-28T05:30:00.001-04:00

Me walking through the garden.

I sometimes feel odd when I write about my studio, and I believe this stems from the fact that the studio is hardly the only place I work. The couch, dinner table, floor, and lawn are not out of bounds for me. The studio is usually reserved for unwieldy large pieces which cannot be moved or are in oil.

Seeing other artist's studios which are depicted as a large room or a single desk hold both great interest and confusion for me because it is simply not the only place where they work. Strangely enough the first place I think to photograph when asked to depict my studio is the garden or a small corner that holds particular interest for me at the moment. At most the work in progress is the way I depict my work space and then it seems almost alien to my eyes. Perhaps because it is the last step in the process and gives the illusion that I simply plopped down and looked at a list of what there was to paint that day. Rather than being surrounded by beauty and being inspired by it.

A few tulips in a corner of our living room.

I wish we could see the usual walks that artists took during a lull or the garden they sat in. It is lovely to see a room in which the artist works but it also plays to a mechanical notion of art and a factory like efficiency that I think are just not there ( at least not in me).

Botanical Illustration

2011-03-25T13:14:00.002-04:00

When I went to the Philadelphia Flower Show I was really impressed by the Philadelphia Society of Botanical Illustrators . They had such lovely work on display, lots of intricate and unusual drawings. So when I came home I decided to try my hand at it. Here is a little chestnut hull that I found on a recent walk through a park.

I think I may do more of these drawings and perhaps take one of the classes offered through the PSBI. The work really combines my love of painting and nature in a nice way because I get to observe and create.

I used watercolors and color pencils in this little painting.

A Small Cabbage

2011-03-15T13:05:00.003-04:00

This piece started as a study, for a large commission and then became a small painting. As I get ready to plant my spring cabbages I'm all the more excited with my cabbage series and have even begun another, this time in oil.

Title: A Small Cabbage

Medium: Watercolor on paper

Size: 8"x10.5" (with mat and frame)

Isle of Sheep

2011-03-10T12:31:00.003-05:00

Title: Isle of Sheep

Size: 11"x15"

Medium: Watercolor on paper

There is something so serene about a flock of sheep. I always enjoy painting them at different times of the day, seeing what sort of color their wool has turned with the changing light.

I painted this piece using multiple layers of washes and finished it with adding touches of color pencil.

Ring of Poppies

2011-03-09T11:57:00.002-05:00

I decided to play a bit with the shape of the paper on this one. I have to say it was a lot of fun to put together. The poppies look so vibrant and the odd shaping catches your eye in a new way.

Size: 10" diameter

Medium: Watercolor on paper

Vertical Landscape

2011-02-25T14:16:00.001-05:00

Title: Vertical Landscape

Size: 4"x15"

Medium: watercolor on paper

Snowscape

2011-02-21T18:07:00.002-05:00

Medium: watercolor on paper

Size: 4"x15"

A corn field covered in snow, with the woods in the distance.

In the Studio: On my windowsill

2011-02-15T15:58:00.004-05:00

Cross sections from this years Christmas tree, small clay bird from pottery barn, and of course my favorite acrylic ink.

The art of keeping small objects is well practiced in my house. I think everyone has them to some extent, those things that serve no "practical purpose" but are used to inspire and motivate or just to please. As much as I love these little objects (and alas for my husband the not so little ones, I think the "very useful door" is the stuff of legends ) they do seem to multiply at a frightening pace. I try to incorporate them in the rest of the house, you know spread them out so as to hide their true numbers. They do, however, work wonders for sitting down and thinking about my next project.

So what's on your windowsill?

Honeymoon

2011-02-10T09:39:00.002-05:00

There is something about an oddly shaped painting that just melts my heart with delight. Either strangely narrow or terribly wide, even the evasive oval makes me feel inspired. So when I go to buy my hoard of canvas these little strange ones creep into my card along with the sensible sizes.

The above scene was one that we saw everyday during our honeymoon in Vermont. A pretty tree, on top of a hill. The painting is of the tree at sunset. I love it when the tips of the branches are just lit by the sun.

Title: Honeymoon

Size: 3"x9"

Medium: oil on canvas

Onion Peeled

2011-02-07T13:36:00.004-05:00

Title: Onion Peeled

Size: 9.5"x11"

Medium: watercolor and color pencil

I remember cutting a bit of this onion and then saving the rest for later. Before I knew it I was looking at my next still life.

Sheep in Winter - Give Away!

2011-01-26T08:42:00.003-05:00

I recently read about Pete Johnson, a organic farmer from Vermont who lost his entire barn to a fire. Through Juniper Moon Farm a fund raiser is being held, with some lovely prizes to be had. I've decided to include this little painting to the list. So if you would like to help out, or just a chance to enter, you can find the details on the Juniper Moon blog.

The painting is a small watercolor, that I recently completed. It was inspired by my drives through the Pennsylvania back roads, specifically one that goes by a beautiful farm (which I constantly fantasize about owning ) which has a large flock of beautiful sheep.

Title: Sheep in Winter

Size: 5"x5"

Medium: Watercolor on paper

*Enter to win*

Zacchaeus' Ladder

2011-01-20T15:16:00.005-05:00

For once I have a painting that is very appropriate to my blog title. I've been working on this sycamore for a few weeks now and am pleased with how it turned out. I have to say that this painting is one of those that always calls one back, so I'm hard pressed to say that its done.

I've already played with hanging it all through the house and I am quite happy, its a very social painting and really lights up any room its in. My theory is that trees in general seem to do so.

I found this sycamore on one of my walks on a street which is lined with very old sycamores and they are just beautiful, especially at sunset when the upper branches are lit with a golden light. This one caught my eye because it is so twisted and oddly shaped, also it looks as if someone could just climb right up. Hence the title of the work.

Title: Zacchaeus' Ladder

Size: 24"x36"

Medium: oil on canvas

Lady Slipper Orchids

2011-01-18T14:26:00.001-05:00

Title: Lady Slippers

Size: 11"x15"

Medium: Watercolor and color pencil

Orchid Work

2011-01-14T16:34:00.002-05:00

Preview of a project I've been working on. I was inspired by the orchid room in Longwood Gardens, I overheard a guide telling her group that it takes 9,000 plants to keep the room looking as it does year round. That my friends is a lot of orchids.

A Dash of Red

2011-01-13T12:59:00.002-05:00

My Amaryllis has bloomed and decided to lean on my "Purple Cabbage" painting (fortunately the painting is framed under glass) giving it a dash of red, which I found very pretty.

Tangled

2011-01-08T14:37:00.002-05:00

A whimsical addition to the bulb series. I've had this painting in my head for a while now and I finally got a chance to put it down on paper.

I think this one was inspired in part by all my ogling of bulbs this winter. Especially the displays at Longwood Gardens and the giant barrels full at Terrain.

Size: 9.5"x11"

Medium: watercolor and color pencil on paper

Available

Amaryllis Bulb

2011-01-02T17:19:00.003-05:00

New painting in my series of bulbs. This one is an amaryllis bulb just beginning to come out.

Medium: watercolor and color pencil

Size: 11"x15"

Available

A Beginning

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

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2010-12-31T16:11:00.001-05:00

Sneak Peak

2010-12-21T13:13:00.002-05:00

New series of paintings are getting ready to appear for the new year. Can you guess the theme?

Main Street

2010-12-20T00:02:00.003-05:00

Thanks again Main Street Art Bizarre for having me!

The show was a dream to hang, all the pieces really worked with one another. It was nice seeing everyone that came out to the opening. Cookies, hot chocolate, art and good friends, it was a great night.

Things are pleasantly hectic around here. New paintings are coming soon.

Main Street Art

2010-11-30T12:14:00.002-05:00

You are invited!

December 10th

Come see some of my paintings

and check out the work of other artists

120 East Main St, Elkton, Maryland, 21921

Onion

2010-11-17T10:11:00.003-05:00

The Onion painting is finished. I'm happy with how it turned out. In fact I think I may do a few more bulbs.

Title: Onion

Size: 10"x11"

Medium: Watercolor on paper

Sold

Onion in Progress

2010-11-14T10:40:00.002-05:00

Quick "in progress" update from the studio. My fascination with bulbs seems to return every autumn. They are so lovely. This little onion started to grow as it sat on my kitchen window sill, in a bid no doubt to be saved from the frying pan.

Va La Gallery

2010-10-23T15:03:00.007-04:00

Let me just start off by saying that Va La Vineyard is a wonderful place. The atmosphere is both vibrant and friendly, its family run which I love. The upstairs gallery is beautiful, and looks out onto the vineyard.

Having my first solo show there went very well, the opening was filled with good friends and good wine. I stayed throughout the opening, which I usually do, but the thing that stuck out was that most everyone that arrived also stayed, making themselves at home. I was especially impressed when it was closing time and everyone and slowly moved onto the porch, to admire the grapes, that the staff told us we were welcome to stay as long as we like in the backyard. I truly loved having my paintings in such a warm environment.

Prints!

2010-10-21T22:17:00.003-04:00

New prints arriving daily in the store!

Row of Mushrooms

2010-10-18T20:59:00.002-04:00

Sorry for the long silence I came down with a bad cold recently and have been slowly recovering. Lots of stuff planned but not very much to show you picture wise just yet.

Row of Mushrooms

5"x24"

Watercolor on paper

Available

Limited Edition

2010-10-07T21:32:00.005-04:00

I'm finally going to offer limited edition prints of my cabbage paintings. They should start popping up in my etsy store next week. I wanted to let my blog followers know first. I will only make 100 of each, all will be numbered and signed. If you are interested, you can contact me via email at kristina.closs@gmail.com so that I can place one aside for you. I will be doing them in batches of ten from the printer. Please allow for two weeks for the order to ship.

Each is an exact copy of the original in color and size (20"x24").

All prints are professionally done and archival.

Price: $150

Still Life with Peaches

2010-10-06T13:45:00.001-04:00

Title: Still Life with Peaches

Size: 13"x24"

Medium: Watercolor

Available

Fall Field #2

2010-10-04T09:56:00.002-04:00

Fall Field #2

4.5"x15"

Watercolor on paper

Fall Field

2010-10-01T10:26:00.002-04:00

Title: Fall Field

Size: 4.5"x15"

Medium: watercolor on paper

Available

One of those beautiful Pennsylvania farmer's fields as fall begins and all that was green turns golden.

Flock

2010-09-29T12:59:00.002-04:00

Title: Flock

Size: 5"x5" with 1-3/8" profile

Medium: oil on canvas

Available

Little Winged Things

2010-09-26T11:42:00.001-04:00

Just for fun a few little winged seed paintings, available in my etsy store.

More Sheep!

2010-09-24T12:28:00.002-04:00

Working away in the studio, I love the on coming fall through my window. The leaves are just starting to turn. I've started a second sheep painting. There seems to be a passion for series making around here recently. Right now I think the count is 3 on going series of cabbages, sheep and winged seeds. There is a fourth in the works but I can't talk about it yet!

Cold Morning

2010-09-16T09:39:00.003-04:00

Title: Cold Morning

Medium: Oil on Canvas

Size: 16"x20"

Available

The Lilacs

2010-09-15T09:39:00.001-04:00

Medium: Watercolor on paper

Size: 9"x12"

Available

Midnight Cabbage

2010-09-14T09:49:00.001-04:00

Title: Midnight Cabbage

Size: 11"x15"

Medium: Watercolor on paper

Available

Bashful Apple

2010-09-13T10:47:00.002-04:00

Just about to start my painting for the day, I thought I would drop in here first to say hello. I have some exciting news, I was accepted into a gallery that is within King of Prussia mall called Nestology. If you know of the mall you also know how many people go there, so the foot traffic is amazing. I'm really happy about this. I will keep you posted about it.

Also I wanted to let you all know that I am slowly trying to transition between names, since I was married this summer I am now Kristina Closs. Much shorter and easier than Dimitrijevic!

Title: Bashful Apple

Medium: watercolor on paper

sold

The Sketchbook Project

2010-09-11T12:37:00.003-04:00

I recently heard about the Sketchbook Project (thanks geninne for writing about it on your beautiful blog) and in my usual excitement about these sorts of things, signed up immediately. The way that it works is each person who signs up gets a little notebook, which they illustrate keeping to a certain theme, I chose "in flight". There is a deadline to send them back, all of these sketchbooks then go on tour to galleries and museums and finally become part of The Brooklyn Art Library.

The day I received my little book I was very eager to begin, then the blank pages (as I flipped through them) began to stare out at me, as blank pages sometimes do. At that point I had to put it away. Its only now that I'm starting to sketch in it. I hope to take pictures as I go so that all of my readers can be a part of it as well.

Fall

2010-09-10T11:29:00.003-04:00

I can't believe that it is the beginning of fall already! Summer seems to have gone by so quickly. Of course my summer was insanely busy, hence the not posting a lot. Lets see I got married, moved, and had a solo show.

The show that I mentioned in a previous post (at Va La Winery) went really well and is still up, it will go until October 10th so if you didn't get a chance to go see it you still have time. I also highly recommend their wine, I think it may be the best I have ever tasted. Also their website is amazingly quirky and well worth a look. Speaking of shows I recently was accepted into a gallery. I'm really excited about this. The gallery is called Nestology, located within King of Prussia Mall. Lots of foot traffic and surrounded by amazing stores.

Title: Winged Seed Falling

Size: 9"x12"

Medium: Watercolor on paper

Price: $80

A Cabbage

2010-09-09T14:15:00.002-04:00

Third in my series of large cabbage paintings. It was painted for a commission to mach the last two.

Title: A Cabbage

Size: 18" x 24"

Medium: Watercolor on paper

Show Update

2010-08-07T16:40:00.002-04:00

You are cordially invited to my solo show "Into the Garden" at Va La Vineyards in Avondale, PA. The opening is 2:30 pm - 5:00 pm. Hope to see you there.

Upcoming

2010-07-27T10:26:00.002-04:00

Dear readers, sorry about the long absence. I've been working to finish up a few pieces and frame everything for the Va La Winery show in Avondale, PA which opens August 14th. I'm very excited for this opening! Hope to see some of you there.

I've also decided to do a limited edition printing of the cabbages, I'm going to be selling a few at the show but I wanted to give everyone online a heads up. For the full size (the size of the original) the price is $250. Each will be signed and numbered. If interested, feel free to contact me through email (kristina.dimitrijevic@yahoo.com).

Second Cabbage

2010-05-25T12:54:00.004-04:00

Here at long last is the second large cabbage painting. Sorry for the delay, my computer and camera weren't exactly speaking to each other for a while. Also I'm getting ready for a show on June 4th in Elkton, Maryland at the Main Street Art Bizarre. So if you are around come and see me!

Title: untitled (still working on one)

Size: 18"x 24"

Medium: Watercolor on paper

Into A Cabbage

2010-04-16T11:58:00.002-04:00

Title: Into a Cabbage

Size: 5.3"x 11"

Medium: Watercolor on paper

Available through Etsy

A smaller cabbage painting that I did recently, just for fun. The larger cabbage is done and will be posted soon.

Two small paintings

2010-04-12T13:27:00.002-04:00

Did a couple of smaller paintings to take a break from the larger cabbage pieces. These two are available through my Etsy store. I'm hoping to finish the second cabbage painting very soon. The cabbage paintings will be available for sale at my art show at Va La this August.

A Work in Progress

2010-04-03T14:47:00.002-04:00

Here is a preview of the second cabbage painting in the series, on its way to being completed.

I hope everyone is having an enjoyable Easter weekend!

A Series

2010-04-02T14:05:00.002-04:00

If you follow me on twitter (I'm woodpigeon28) you already know that here and there I've been mentioning my cabbage series. The next cabbage painting is well underway, in fact it is nearly complete. The plan is to have three by the time my show opens in August. I think they will really look fantastic next to each other. The one above is the first in the series and the one that got me excited about doing more. Each will be rather large, hence why they take a while to complete. If memory serves me right each is about 22"x28".

I've always been drawn by the idea of doing a series or a theme, there is something really energizing about it. Also I can't deny day dreaming about a whole gallery space filled with different variations of cabbage paintings, I know, I'm strange.

Winter Countryside

2010-03-18T19:35:00.005-04:00

Based on a scene that I came upon after the last blizzard of the year, while I was driving around the back roads of Pennsylvania.

Title: Winter Countryside

Size: 9"x12"

Medium: Oil on Canvas

Available

Poppies

2010-02-24T16:33:00.002-05:00

Title: Poppies

Medium: oil on canvas

Size: 22"x 28"

Available