Flowering Quince

"Flowering Quince"

10 x 10 inches, oil on canvas on panel

$400

Click to buy

February is one of my favorite months to be in Oregon - which I still marvel at, since it was the WORST month of winter where I grew up in the midwest. Things are beginning to bloom everywhere - including this Quince, or Chaenomeles, if you want to get technical about it. ;)

August Hydrangeas

"August Hydrangeas"

16 x 16 inches, oil on canvas

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The colors in these "white" hydrangeas are so subtle and varied - I saw a lot of greens reflecting from the ground and the leaves. And where there's green, there's usually purple! Lucky me, my favorite color combo. 

I've got a few more workshops in 2019 - the next one is portrait painting in Eugene, Oregon. It's going to be a small, intimate group (8 max) at one of my favorite local studios, Whiteaker Printmakers. We'll be using the Zorn palette. What is it and how does it work? Come find out! Three spots still open. Click here to view and share.

Thanks!  

Seeking Sunlight

"Seeking Sunlight"

12 x 12 inches, oil on canvas

$400

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This is the season for Black-Eyed-Susans - they are everywhere! So, it's no surprise that a dive into my painting archive turns up several paintings of this lovely flower, from this week in history.

Here is my first one, from August 2008:

 "Black-Eyed-Susan" 5x7" oil on canvas panel, 2008

I am still fond of this painting! I lost the vase in a wax-spilling accident a couple of years ago. It's quite remarkable, the relationships I develop with my still life objects, living with them and painting them over and over for years. I could show you half a dozen paintings of that vase, and now there won't be any more.

This green beauty is a recent gift from a friend. I wonder how many times I'll paint it in years to come?

Opening to the Light

"Opening to the Light"

10 x 10 inches, oil on canvas

$350

On Hold

When I walked into the studio yesterday morning, I was immediately captivated by these daffodils - the way the blooms move from almost closed to completely open. I knew that was not going to last long once I turned the spotlight on them! So I painted the flowers first, and by the time I'd finished the rest of the painting, quite a bit later in the day, they were all wide open.

On A Pedestal

 "On A Pedestal"

16 x 20 inches, oil on canvas

$700

Available here

Instead of taking a photograph, I painted these blossoms in first - and quickly. They opened fast! Once I got those down, I had plenty of time to work on the rest of the painting. The white blocks weren't going anywhere. Though the sphere did manage to roll off the table overnight....I blame a mischievous kitty.

 

Here's an on-the-wall shot:

Tulips through time

"Tulips in Silver"

12 x 9 inches, oil on canvas

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Tulips, as every flower painter knows, need to be painted fast. Under strong light, they move and open! It's like a slow dance. I've been painting these red and white beauties for years - they grow in my mom's yard (along with almost everything else I paint during the warmer months). Here are the same tulips from two years ago, from four years ago, and even from six years ago. 

 Do any of those look familiar? How long have you been with me, dear reader?

Pretty Larceny

 "Early Camellias"

approx. 12 x 9 inches, oil on Arches oil paper

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The scissors in my glove compartment strike again! This beautiful Camellia bush lives on the front lawn of a real estate office downtown - conveniently located along my morning drop-off-the-people route. I'm sure the friendly realtors would be happy to know they'd donated some excess bloomage to the cause of Art. Not that I'm telling them or anything. 

Mellow Yellow

 "Yellow Tea Party"

8 x 8 inches, oil on canvas

$200

Available here

We are busily working on my new studio - also known as our useless third garage bay - and all the studio (wall) painting has been getting in the way of my studio (canvas) painting. It's for a good cause, though, and I should be moving in very soon!

Meanwhile, here's a dose of yellow to get you ready for fall colors, also coming soon...

Party Pictures

"Grand Opening Flowers"

12 x 9 inches, oil on canvas

NFS

Last Saturday was the Grand Opening party for The Gallery at the Watershed. As part of the invitation, Amy asked everyone to bring a flower from their garden, and this (after some editing of wilted foliage) was the result:

Obviously, I was not going to tackle this beautiful bunch of blooms with a limited palette. I think it got a little out of control, though....

 Party pictures, please! I can hear you all the way from here.

 (Left to right, top to bottom: my painting peeking out from behind a very cool sculpture by Randy Ortiz, Amy and Robert welcoming their guests, yours truly posing with Amy the gallery owner, and my wall. Really, they call it "Sarah's Wall." Love!)

By the way, if you couldn't make it out last weekend, we're on the artwalk this Friday night - that's tomorrow, for those of us wondering where this week went - and I'll be there! So come say hi. 5:30-8 pm.

Good News Comes Early

 "Calla Lilies on Black"

8 x 6 inches, oil on canvas
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I was lying in bed this morning - before 7 am - just texting with my Gallerist (because that's totally normal), when she dropped the extremely excellent bomb that my scheduled show-slot this year had just become a SOLO show.

This news is especially excellent because the opening is December 13th. 

But just because I have six months to prepare doesn't mean the work doesn't begin today. And it also means that you all need to be opening Orbitz in a new tab and seeing about getting some plane tickets! Oregon in December. Pack your raincoats.

Dark and Snowy

"Snowballs on Black"

approx. 5.5 x 4 inches, oil on Arches oil paper

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I love these Snowball bushes. Too bad the deer that (over)populate my neighborhood love them, too. My husband put a little fence up around the baby I planted last year, but it's been too munched on already to provide any blooms this year. Luckily, my neighbors have a lovely, lush specimen that leans oh-so-conveniently over their deer fence right into my back yard. Another piece of luck - they last forever in a vase! Who knew?

Here's an example of how this painting-on-paper might look matted and framed: 

Love these snowballs as much as I do? My first painting of them - another one-dollar auction - ends this evening! Check it out here.

Getting it on Paper

 

"Calla Lilies with Green Apples"

8.5 x 11.5" oil on paper

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I have been enjoying the new oil painting paper by Arches, especially because every time I turn around these days, I'm out of canvases. I'm going to do some experimenting soon with mounting these onto panels, but they'd be great framed under glass, like a watercolor.

And now I'm off to scrounge up something to paint on and head out to the Alpaca farm for another rainy, cold (in fact downright wintry) afternoon of plein air.

The Lilac Thief, an Autobiography

 

"Lilacs and Tea"

6 x 8 inches, oil on canvas

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Lilacs don't last long as cut flowers, I'm finding. Not to worry, Lilac lovers, I'm out stealing more as you read this!

Excuse me, but could you please hold still?

 

"The Green Pushpin"

8 x 10 inches, oil on canvas

$200

click to buy

If you've ever tried to paint tulips, you know that they are big movers. It's almost eerie - like they're alive or something! Especially if you've got a light on them, they open, swivel on their stems, make faces, do improv comedy sketches, etc...

It's actually pretty fun to try to capture them. I like models who shift around slightly during a pose for similar reasons. I know artists who are driven insane by models who don't "hold still," but I truly feel their small movements help me capture a more naturalistic vision of them.

Speaking of figure painting, I will be back at it tonight, and couldn't be happier!

Here's my mess of a palette for this one - as you can see it's not limited in any way. I recently came by some new (to me) paint, and I'm trying out some of the colors.

And here's the preparatory sketch:

"Sketch for 'The Green Pushpin'" 

approx. 8 x 5 inches. oil on Arches oil paper.
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I Get Romantic

 

"Springtime Romance" 

9 x 12 inches, oil on canvas

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We've all heard of spring fever - and it's not just for Turkeys! I see this still life as a simple bouquet picked on a walk to the beloved's house - the pink paper a love note scrawled on an index card, read avidly by its intended, pressed quickly to their lips and put face down on the table, to be picked up and read again and again, while gazing abstractedly at the yellow flowers....

Are you feeling spring-like today?

"Suzanne's Daisies" A top-secret Christmas commission!

16 x 20"

oil on canvas

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Merry Christmas! I am blogging to you from the warmth and sunshine of my in-laws' place in Florida. Our orgy of giving is complete, and since a certain lucky friend of mine also received her gifts today, I can now share this painting with you. Back in July, when these daisies were blooming in their garden, her husband commissioned this piece - and then, somehow, he had the willpower to wait five months before giving it to her! Now, they will have daisies all year long, and you can, too, since my preparatory sketch is up for auction:

"(sketch for) Suzanne's Daisies"

5 x 7"

oil on canvas

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I'm already excited for all that's to come in 2013 - but hey, it's still Christmas Day, so, from my family to yours - Happy Holidays! 

"Still Life with Cut Lemon and Houseplant" floral fruit food botanical art painting original oil on canvas

 

6 x 6"

oil on canvas

$100

purchase from my Etsy shop

I wanted to call this one "Cut Flowers Hate Houseplants (root envy)," but I restrained myself. What famous artist said it takes two to make a painting - one to paint it and another to kill her before she names it something stupid? I think I've got that quote wrong, anyway...

This little plant, for those who may be curious, is a Peperomia Jayde. It's taking a vacation from its normal abode on my kitchen windowsill to spend some time in the studio. Jayde isn't the only one on vacation - I'm off for a week of visiting family and friends in the Motherland Midwest. See you when I get back!

"Sunflower Spotlights" daily painting floral flowers fruit lemons yellow purple

 

6 x 6"

oil on canvas

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Here's the third and final piece in this week's sunflower series. Here are the first and second. I think this one is my favorite. I'm just such a sucker for lemons! Hope you're all having excellent long weekends. I know I'm not alone in saying I can't believe it's already September!

"Midsummer Bouquet" flower vase lily sunflower still life daily painting original

 

8 x 10"

oil on canvas

click to bid  

A new-to-me vase, proving once again that when I need inspiration, I should always head to the thrift store. Click here for a closer look at the portrait in the background.

My latest $1 auction ends tonight - a chance to pick up a Sedwick original for pennies!

"A Quiet Summer Afternoon" interior scene still life original oil painting daily painting

 

11 x 14"

oil on canvas

click to bid  

I've started noticing "Grab my Button" graphics on several other blogs I read, and I thought it might be cool to try making my own. So, last night, for several hours - and with the patient assistance of my web developer husband - I made a few. If you'd like to add one to your blog, copy and paste the code under any of the three design options. You'll find them on the right------------>

(And if anyone is interested in making their own blog button, I'll be glad to share the code with you. Just email me!)