Carrots

This time when we were shopping, nothing looked good enough to paint. I made a comment to that effect, but my husband wouldn't let me get off that easy. He picked up a bunch of carrots and said "here". At home I wandered around the house looking for a basket or something to put the carrots on or in, but nothing was looking right. I had a couple of things in my hands, and set them down for a second, then thought, oh that's perfect. The basket and the way the carrots laid in front of it. But it was right on top of my paint box, with everything I needed inside.

On Plaid

12,5 cm If the plaid isn't precise (which it isn't), don't blame me. My daughter won't let me paint precise plaid. She says it's not me.

Muggy

8,5 x 12,5 cm Because it's so hot today.

Summer Bouquet

22,5 x 36 cm Summer vacation! The young daughter of one of the secretaries wanted to buy the bouquet, and picked every piece specially. Her mother had remembered the colors and shapes of bouquets I like.
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Mugged

10 x 15 cm

Meeting Point

12,5 x 8,5 cm *

Persimmon

7,5 x 9 cm I was looking around in the produce section, and the persimmons looked good enough to paint. And so I did paint them.

Rosy

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Funky Flower

6,5 x 16,5 cm It just wasn't going the way I wanted, and I was about to toss it and start over because it was so funky. Then I thought, funky. I thought if I called it funky I could finish it as funky. A rose by any other name......?

Red Rose



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Cropped Pepper

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Cropped, not chopped. Except that now it's been chopped.

Pepper

12,5 cm I guess I've had a sheltered life. I had never seen a striped pansy; my husband had. I had never seen an orange pepper; my husband had. Or maybe I just didn't remember seeing them.

Towering

10 x 15 cm The other people there "got painted in", but you'd never know it.

Violet

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That's not it's description, but it's name.

Loose End

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When the basic work is finished, it's sometimes difficult to take care of the loose ends. It can be a bit tedious, especially since it we're so anxious to see the effect of the completed project. But whether there are loose ends or not makes a difference between tacky and classy.

A Sour Friend

aceo Nature's gifts don't always come in sweet packages.

Independence Blossoms

20,5 x 36 cm It starts in the heart.

Pine Cone

6,5 x 8 cm

The simple and powerful beauties of life.

Yellow Flowers

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Closeup

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I thought I'd get a closeup look to get to know it better.

Hydrangea

8 x 14 cm

Pansy

8 x 8 cm Today was plein air. Even if just to the backyard. It's kind of like kids starting out with the tent in the backyard before going camping in the wilds with the bears and mosquitos. And there are wonderful things even in our backyard, like this pansy. Neither one of us planted it, so we figure the birds did. The first thing I did was spill my turpentine. No, that was the second thing. The first thing is that I forgot my paintbox. Duh. I had my brushes, boards, and turp to spill, but no paint. And no rags to clean it up. Good thing we started in the backyard.

Black Bird

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He was in an earlier painting, but you probably wouldn't recognize him. Even though it was even named after him, it only shows his feet.

Bouquet

17,5 x 23,5 cm Unexpected pleasures of life.

Two Pairs

24 x 17,5 cm These pears just aren't pears until they have those tiny little dots.

The Three Pears

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Daisy

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Dancing Daisies

17,5 x 24 cm When I pick flowers from the garden, I like to make loose, carefree arrangements.

Sugar And Spice

aceo Sugar and spice, and everything nice. Cinnamon toast, apple pie, cherry pie. My grandmother.

Spotlight

17 x 14 cm

Sometimes I think I know the truth about something and later find out differently. I know I don't know which mushrooms outside are safe, so I just leave them alone. They are sure interesting to look at though.

In The Pink

30 x 70 cm *

Recycling

30 x 40 cm A friend gave me an old honey jar she found.

Peanuts

aceo This guy works for peanuts.

Das Rotkehlchen

aceo I heard something and looked up. This guy was sitting on a branch talking to me. He had a bit to say.

Secrets In The Sauce

11,5 x 11 cm When my husband and I are cooking together, I make the Hollandaise Sauce. It's not because I'm the expert, but because there's a lot of stirring at the stove involved. He gets everything ready in a pan and says: "Here. Stir." Or I put everything in the pan that he tells me to, then stir, while he's working his magic on something else. He comes over once in awhile to see if the yolks are just the right color to say it's done. Only because I ask him to. While we're eating, he thanks me for making the sauce. Well ... I sort of did.

Carnation

9 x 14,5 cm

Truckin'

15 x 9 cm

On my list of things to buy.

Undercover

aceo I went to the store to get some things I needed, and felt like shopping for doodads. Sometimes there isn't really anything that hits the spot, but this time I wasn't disappointed. This candle, for example.

Uncovered

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The Blue One

aceo He's not Kohlmeise. He's Blaumeise. Related, but he's the blue one.

West

aceo I was experimenting with painting surfaces, so instead of painting the entire bouquet in one painting, I painted The Four Corners of the bouquet.

South

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East

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North

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Salt Of The Earth

12,5 x 12,5 cm

This morning my husband said we need to do something with these tomatoes. Then I thought, hmm. I can use them in this story.

A few years ago we made a trip to Lüneburger Heide, and spent the day painting and drawing. Later I painted two more paintings from there, and have more in mind. It's beautiful with the heather in bloom, the trees, beehives.

Last weekend we went to the city of Lüneburg and visited the old salt factory which is now a museum. The people there in the middle ages became rich from mining and processing the salt from the earth. They protected it with two moats and some guard towers. The salt was used as money, and was as valuable as gold.

Part of the processing required very hot ovens. We learned that they used wood from the surrounding trees until the land became quite bare. Then came the heather.

Ladybug, Ladybug

11 x 11 cm

My husband likes to spoil me with chocolates and tins, and that's fine with me. I like this brand of chocolates. I like this tin. I like ladybugs. And I really like my husband.

Blossoms

17,5 x 17,5 cm This is technically not plein air because I'm on the wrong side of the door. For me, it's still a bit cold outside for painting. I'll attempt that kind of thing later. I do like looking outside to this beautiful spring view, though, and painting in the comfort of my studio.

Show Time

12,5 x 12,5 cm The mind of an artist. At least this one. I kept the M&M carton from the movie so that I could paint it with M&M's at home. Then I didn't want to. Later, I started to toss the carton, and memories flooded forward. The three of us sitting there, wearing 3-D glasses (Avatar), eating M&M's, and enjoying each other's company. I decided to keep the carton, bought more M&M's, and painted it.