Posted in daily painter, Serendipity, tagged daily painter, daily painting, impressionism, Landscape, oil painting, Old Truck, Virginia Artist, West Virginia on October 2, 2009| Leave a Comment »
I am working hard on the Old Truck. I don’t know why I love it so much but I do. It has so much character!!! The longer I look at the reference photo the more I see.
Here is the beginning of my painting with the photo. I hope to finish it in the next few days but I keep looking at it and seeing more I want to add. Yikes!
Posted in daily painter, Serendipity, tagged daily painter, daily painting, impressionism, Landscape, oil painting, Old Truck, Virginia Artist, West Virginia on October 1, 2009| Leave a Comment »
Several months ago I posted the photos I took while driving around the farm in West Virginia where our cabin is located. I ran upon this old truck and just loved how it looked.
Finally, I am making an attempt at painting it. Doing something like this requires much more drawing than I am accustomed to doing. Most of my paintings are impressionistic where the drawing is very loose. But this one required more…
Posted in Recipes, Small Town Life, tagged daily painter, jelly, plums, Recipes, West Virginia on September 14, 2009| Leave a Comment »
Loaded with Plums
The trees out at the cabin were loaded with plums this year. There is a long row of trees along a road where we walked in the mornings there. I’ve watched them grow all summer. And finally…..
I picked them.
And washed them.
And cooked the pitted plums with a cup of water to get all that good juice going.
And once the cooked plums cooled a little, I squeezed the wonderful plum juice.
And then back into the pot the juice goes with sugar and Sure Jell. I’ve used Sure Jell for years and it always makes great jelly. Just follow their directions.
Ladle the cooked jelly into the prepared jars…
The jars go into the pot of hot water for several minutes to finish off the cooking process.
And then you have the finished product ready to share with friends. (Notice Truman, always in the background, giving instructions.)
Posted in Art Class, daily painter, tagged daily painter, Paint Out, Small Town Life, Virginia Artist, West Virginia on September 3, 2009| Leave a Comment »
And yes, I did paint while I was at the Paint-out. There were so many wonderful feature to photograph that I did take some time to walk around the yard and by the river and creek and get some reference photos for my file.
But finally I settled in and set up my easel on the porch, where other artist had gathered to sketch, draw, and one was even knitting. And I decided to paint the trunk of this magestic old tree by Robin’s house.
This is the start of the painting, the part that I got done that morning at the Paint-out. The painting shown in the photo is stored in the canvas carrier of the easel. I am waiting for the oil paint to dry a little more so I can go in and put some of the details in the tree trunk. As soon as it is done I’ll post the results.
Many thanks again to Robin for opening her lovely home and grounds to us for the Hampshire County Paint-out. It was a perfect day for artists, creativity and fellowship.
Posted in daily painter, Small Town Life, tagged daily painter, Paint Out, Small Town Life, Virginia Artist, West Virginia on September 2, 2009| Leave a Comment »
This is the little creek that feeds into the river (See Monday’s postings) at Robin’s house. There was so much beauty – everywhere you looked, especially along this little creek.
And terrific features to paint like this little bridge that leads to the main house.
As beautiful as the place is, there are always draw backs to living in paradise. Robin told us that a few times the river and creek have flooded and they have had water in their home….one time even as high as the second floor. YIKES!
As I walked along the river and the creek to take these photos, I saw tons and tons of smooth river rocks. But I was fascinated by the way the creek had etched out this slate and made it into long flat pieces. And the moss growing on it was just a bonus.
Posted in daily painter, Small Town Life, tagged daily painter, Landscape, Paint Out, Small Town Life, West Virginia on September 1, 2009| 1 Comment »
Robin’s beautiful home near Romney was the site of the Paint-out on Saturday. How wonderful that she shared her wonderful location with us.
She explained that the original part of the house dates back to the late 1700’s and it has been added on to many times over the last 300 years.
There was several buildings on the property that are unique. I love the boards on this one.
And lovely settings like this that would make a great painting.
And this one too! Where to start???!!!! That is always the problem when you go to a new location that is rich with subject matter. It’s hard to know what to paint first. That is why digital cameras have been such a useful tool for painters. All those pictures…so little time to paint.
Posted in daily painter, Small Town Life, tagged daily painter, Paint Out, River, Virginia Artist, West Virginia on August 31, 2009| Leave a Comment »
One thing I love to do is gather with other artist to paint. This weekend there was a Paint-Out in Hampshire County, West Virginia where my cabin is located. I joined their Arts Council last year and when I got an invitation to attend the Paint-out I jumped at the chance.
We met at Robin Pancake’s beautiful home right outside of Romney. What a great place!!!
Her 18th Century home sits right where the river and creek come together. Beautiful views everywhere. I could paint there for weeks and not capture it all. I will share with you this week some of the terrific views. And later in the week, when I finish the painting that I started, I’ll share that too.
Every direction you looked at the river was a beautiful shot.
And my favorite was the convergence of the creek with the river.
Many thanks to Robin for inviting us and I can’t wait till we gather again.
Posted in daily painter, Small Town Life, tagged daily painter, Landscape, plums, Small Town Life, Virginia Artist, West Virginia on August 24, 2009| 3 Comments »
Up on Twin Mountain in West Virginia yesterday we walked along the orchard road. Along with the apple trees there is a long row of plum trees.
The plums are dark purple but they show up blue on the trees. Really beautiful! And the trees are loaded.
Aren’t they great??? Just waiting to be ready to make into jelly!
Posted in Serendipity, Small Town Life, tagged antiques, metal chair, relatives, West Virginia on July 18, 2009| Leave a Comment »
Do you ever see something, an object that is fairly common, but it reminds you of earlier times? That is what I think every time I see one of these old metal chairs. My grandmother, we called her Big Mama, had chairs like this in her yard. When we were small kids we would go visit at least once a week, and Big Mama, Papa and Mama would sit and rock while the three of us kids ran and played in the yard. I can still see them sitting there each time I see one of these chairs.
I just found this great old metal chair at a yard sale in West Virginia a few weeks ago. I snapped it up for a mere ten bucks and promptly painted it red. Big Mama, Papa, and Mama are all gone now but every time I walk past this chair or sit in it to rock I think of them. I think it was a small price to pay for memories that special.
Posted in Dogs, Small Town Life, tagged Dogs, West Virginia on July 8, 2009| Leave a Comment »
One of the things I love about going over to the cabin in West Virginia is the beautiful views that we have on that gorgeous old apple orchard. This weekend I took the “boys” up to the top of the mountain and we walked each morning by the apple trees. On the first morning though, this was the view….a blanket of fog hanging in the valley with a bright sun ready to burn it off.
There wasn’t one bad vista…everywhere I looked there was beauty. The mountains peeking up on the far mountain range; the heavy fog like marshmellow creme; and the green, lush trees heavy with apples were all there for us to take in.
But this is mostly what I see when I walk. Jed leading the way out in front….
And Truman not too very far behind not wanting to miss any of the scents of rabbits, groundhogs, and deer and who knows what all else.
And watching the “boys” running and having such fun is just as beautiful as the views to me.
The Studio 