Artist Renee Lammers

    I took the day off today from painting.  I did locate 48 ounce copper panels and was able

to order 6 size 18x24!  These panels cost 48$ each.  I was lucky to find a company here that

could cut me panels from their scrapes.  The great news is these 48 ounce copper panels size

18x24 will not have to be cradled.  They are thick panels and do not warp.  I am very excited

about painting larger!  Here is Monet on the left and Poppy on the right.  Poppy looks so big!

    Here is Monet with a new snake toy.  He is very beautiful. 

    My sweet Daisy is doing very well!  Monet is keeping her company.  Looks like

they are enjoying new chicken dog toys.  

Have a wonderful evening!  Tomorrow I will be painting those roses on Park Avenue!

"Sunday Morning Roses" 10x10 oil on copper.  650$ framed in gold wood or black with gold.  Shipped.

     I enjoyed my Mom's Hummingbird Cake for breakfast this morning.  I think this cake made me

paint extra well!  There are 6 bananas, can of pineapple, 3 eggs, flour, cinnamon, and a lot of pecans.

These ingredients make a great breakfast...especially the cream cheese frosting. 

    I mixed up most of the different colors of oil paint before I started to paint.  This is Scott

Christensen's idea from his workshop.  I mixed the paint with the palette knive.  It saved a lot

of time.  I also had more accurate colors and values.  Thanks Scott!

    I decided to paint just the roses first.  They are the most important part of the painting.

I decided to worry about the background afterwards.  Since the leave color was premixed

I didn't have to worry about using the wrong value or color leaves!

    I did use a little bit of Phalo Green with my leaves.  It does liven up a few leaves.

   Here are a few close up shots of the roses.

    My Mom loves this rose in particular.  She was so impressed with the work I did today.

She admired them both.  We laughed about her cake making me painting better.  She said

she would cook more Hummingbird cakes if they were needed. 

    I met a nice group of people today.  One lady, a christian, was so positive and fun.  She loved

the first painting and encouraged me to relocate my easel to paint more roses.  She said,

Girl, You are on fire today!".  I loved that.  I painted more roses!

   I admired this one white rose with pink and red trim.  I sat down right infront of the rose

and painted it!

"Sunday Best" 10x10 oil on copper.  650$ framed in gold wood or black with gold.  Shipped.

     Now I am going to drink a lot of fluids and have more Hummingbird Cake! Let's Paint!

   Robert took Daisy on a private field trip to Lake Alamoosook.  She swam, hiked, and enjoyed

her time with Robert.  Then Robert took Monet and Poppy to Sears Island.  They swam, played,

and ran all over the beach.  Sounds like a good day for them all.  I miss tagging along with them.

The weather here in Florida is perfect for plein air painting roses! 

"Peachy" 10x10 oil on copper.  Not sure if it is finished.  Will take another look tomorrow.

    Today I was sitting next to my Mom having coffee this morning.  We had purchased tickets

to see the movie Noah at 2pm today.  We were excited about this.  She said, "It is sunny out.

I think you should go paint roses for a few hours.  I would like to see how you paint peach

colored roses."   I said, "Ok!  I will do that!  I will be back at 1:00pm and then we will go to

the movies."  

    We tried to convince my Dad to see Noah with us.  He didn't want to go along. 

I drove to Park Avenue to paint the roses in their garden.  I drew out a thumbnail

although changed the lighting some on the ground.   I painted in the big shapes.

    I premixed several values of green leaf color.  This helped alot.  I saw my leaf

highlights were too light.  So I added more dark green to the highlight to darken

this highlight so it wouldn't be too light.  I decided not to use any Thalo Green today. 

    I took a clean brush and softened some edges of the leaves and roses. 

   Because I was painting orange roses I had to have some blue in there!  I looked for

the complement and saw the blue in the shadows of the orange rose.  I decided to make

it more saturated.  I could always tone it down later.  I added some of this color in the

background above too.

    The purple and blue really helped create the form of the peach rose.  Peach is a warm

color so I needed cools for the shadow.

   I painted a few small rose buds and stems carefully.  I also painted negative shapes

to define a few edges and loose more edges.

     I was home by 1pm.  My Mom saw the painting and said "It is great.  I can't believe

you can do that in one morning."   She sure did make me feel great.  I will take another

look at it in the morning.  I might take it back out to paint on more.  She thinks it is

'done'.  She is a great painter.  It is so great to have another opinion.  The movie

Noah was great!  We really had a fun time. 

    Robert told me that Daisy, Poppy, and Monet are doing great.  Poppy sleeps next to his

bed.  Daisy and Poppy have been playing keep away with Monet's toys making Monet

bark and whine.  I miss them very much.  So nice to spend time with my parents.  Have

a great night.

"Park Avenue's Wild White Roses" 10x10 oil on copper.  650$ framed in black and gold or gold wood.

Shipped free.

     I was sitting next to my Mom at her house.  She said, "You should go paint those roses on Park

Avenue."   I said, "I am afraid of those roses after yesterday's failure."   She said, "Yes but the sun is

out today.  You can do it."   I said, "Ok.  I will see you later."   I took off to paint!

    I walked around in circles admiring all the roses on Park Avenue in Winter Park,

Florida.  A lady was watching me.  She knew I was an artist from all my painting equipment

I parked off to the side.  She said, "It is hard to decide which roses to paint isn't it?"  I said, "It

sure is."  She laughed.  I finally decided on the wild white roses.  I sanded down the copper.

Sometimes people come over to investigate my sanding.  It is a strange thing to do in a rose

garden.  I painted in the big shapes. 

    I painted in a background making sure all four sides were different.  I was able to quickly

paint the wild roses in the sun and shadows.  There were so many colors in the shadows of

these roses. 

   It is very difficult to paint anything outside let alone a lot of roses.  The sun

changes so sometimes what was in the sun is now in the shadow.  You look

up and can't find what you were painting because it looks so different.  To make

matters more complicated these wild white roses were closing!  They were also

moving!  One rose bent all the down.  I started to pray.  I kid you not!  I found

myself in the same predictament as yesterday's rose painting.  I was getting so

confused.  I took a deep breath.

    I was overly facinated with the leaves.  I was having too much fun creating different

greens. 

    I decided to go back and do some negative painting around the leaves. 

    I felt panicky at the sight of all the leaves. 

    I was very frustrated at this stage.  I took a clean brush and wiped down on some

leaves.  I know this is what I do before I throw in the towel.  I decided to get busy

cleaning my brush. 

    My Mom surprised me by showing up!  She had her camera.  She was taking photos

of me.  She sat behind me and watched me paint.  She said, "It looks great!  It is done!".

She was right! 

   Here is my Mom sitting on the bench!  It was so great to see her there! 

   Here are a few closeups of the finished painting. This rose is the star of the show.

   It was fun painting these three buds making sure each one looked different.  I spent

a lot of time on them.  I also painted lighter cools in the shadows of the roses.  I have

learned it is equally important to have sunlight lights as it is to have shadow lights.

     My goal was to find all stages of the life of the rose as well as different profiles. 

   I almost always paint flowers from life. 

    I don't paint every leave or petal.  I am more interested in capturing the feeling of

sunlight falling on the flowers.  I want to capture the feeling of them thriving.

    I want to go beyond what a photo can do!  Besides it is sure fun painting flowers

from life.  The challenge may frighten off most people.  Just hang in there.  Be prepared

for disasters and successes! 

    Robert reports back in Maine their 'blizzard' has stopped.  Monet was barking very loudly

at Daisy who had his chicken toy.  They were all playing very hard.  Daisy is doing very well

too.  She has a great appetite.  Robert bakes them boneless chicken thighs for breakfast over

their dried food.  He remembers to give them raw veggies too.  Daisy take Seajerky for her

arthritis.  This Seajerky is a miracle treat containing real sea cucumber.  She eats three of them

a day.  If you have an elderly dog having trouble getting around I would recomment the

Seajerky.  Seajerky is made in Maine.  Seajerky has added many years for elderly dogs.  When

Daisy runs out of Seajerky she can bearly walk.  Good testimony. 

 Have a good night.

    It was more difficult this morning deciding on a rose bush to paint.  All the rose bushes

looked perfect.

    I drew three thumbnail sketches before committing to this composition.  I enlarged

the roses so the space between the roses were minimal.  Otherwise the green leaves would

have taken up most of the space becoming the center of interest.  The roses

 would have appeared like staccatto notes making your eye bounce around terribly. I painted

in the large shapes first.  I didn't cover all of the copper as I normally do.  I started painting

details right away.  I should not have done this. 

    I painted many different darks thickly.  Normally I would have kept my darks thin.

What to do?  What to do!

   I took my palette knife and scratched out some dark paint.  This looked like a mess

but at least the dark paint was thinned out!  I never use the palette knife while working.

    I softened the edges.  This looked a little better than

before.  I added too much cadmium red light to the darks which is very opaque.

Not a good idea. 

    For some reason I decided to add some highlights to the pink roses before I even

had the background or leaves painted!  Not too smart.

    Now I tried to go into each rose to create form.  The sunlight was strong then it would

be gone.  I was so lost trying to draw the rose's petals. 

    I finally discovered the background was still copper!  I painted in the background

finally making sure all four sides were different.  I decided to restate the darks.

    I just didn't like the painting.  I was frustrated.  I decided to soften the background

and then continued to soften the distant roses.  I should have stopped here.  Now

wiping down the painting seemed like a great idea.  I have a cleaned piece of copper

ready to paint tomorrow. 

    What a beautiful complex rose.  I am glad I didn't decide to paint this rose!  What

did I learn?  

                       1.  Have a small breakfast first. 

                      2.  Don't get started on any details.  Make sure the big poster shapes are painted first. 

                      3.  Paint the darks thinnly and transparently.

                      4.  Don't start on the greens too late and keep them simple.

                       5.  Don't get too excited about painting.  You must relax so you can concentrate and

make great decisions. 

                       6.  Don't worry if you don't get a painting.  There is always tomorrow.

    The palette knife can be used to scrape the paint off but it may be best done minimally.

   Remember to paint the shapes before the details!  

   Robert reports Poppy came upstairs to sleep next to him at 2am in the morning.  She

slept all night long on the rug.  They received the box of dog toys last night.  They played very hard.

The chicken dog toy was torn apart the first night!  Have a good night.  

"Feeling Rosey" 10x10 oil on copper.  650$ framed in gold or black with gold.  Shipped free!

    Today was so beautiful on Park Avenue in Winter Park, Florida.  I decided on the pink roses.

There was every colored rose possible there so it was a difficult decision!  I was laughing to

myself how lucky I was to be in Florida painting roses instead of watching the snow fall

in Maine.  The temperature was in the 70's.  These pink roses were huge. 

    Here is a detail photo of the lower left hand side. 

    Here is how I started the painting.  I painted the large shapes first using a tiny

bit of medium with my oils to keep the paint thin. 

    I painted the shadow a cooler shade and painted in warm centers of the roses.  Everyone

paints roses differently.  I try to capture each rose replicating it's shade,

 color, and nuances.  I am doing a portrait of each rose.  I just love to draw

 so this is probably why I like to study each rose.  There are 15 roses

in this painting.  I decided to keep a few simple but elaborate on a few that I found more

interesting than the rest. 

   Here is another detail of the top section of the finished painting.  What fun!  If it is

nice out tomorrow I will be painting in the rose garden on Park Avenue again!  If you

live close by come out and say hello!  Good night.

"Paint Me!" 6x6 oil on copper.  350$ framed in gold wood or black with gold.  Shipped free.

    I am enjoying visiting with my family in Winter Park, Florida.  Today I took my Mom

to the Winter Park Art Show.  We saw many people we knew.  We congratulated painters

who won awards.  Great work there! 

     I decided to paint at my parent's house.  I put plastic sheets on the

 floor, table, and chair.   Then I set up my computer to paint from.

I have not painted in several days.  I find painting much more difficult with a few days

off.  The good news is:  Paint stayed off my Mom's carpet, walls, and ceiling.    

    Here are beautiful roses from Winter Park's rose garden on Park Avenue.  I have never

seen these roses more beautiful.  Tomorrow I am taking my Mom there to paint roses.

    The white roses were so beautiful!

    Robert reported Poppy was caught in the kitchen with the box of milk bones.  She

had already eaten a dinner portion of these treats.  Poppy looked guilty.  Have a good night!

http://faso.com/boldbrush/fav/62149

"Bouquet In Red" 10x10 oil on copper.  650$ Framed in gold or black with gold. 

    I discovered my painting was selected by the judge in the boldbrush painting competition

as her top 15%.  This means my website and painting will be featured in the informed collector.

This was a nice surprise this morning!  Have a great day!

    After watching Scott Christensen paint most of the day we went out to explore the plantation

in Huger, South Carolina.  I have never ever found a four-leafed clover before.  I was walking

by brick ruins when I thought, " I wish I could find a four-leafed clover to give to the plantation

owner to thank her for letting us have the workshop here."  I looked down and there one was!

Then I wished I could find one more clover for a lady whose 84 year old husband just went through

open heart surgery.  I found another!  I also found a third one!  I decided to leave the third clover

behind for someone else to find.  I could not believe this!  I really had not searched for one.  I

just simply looked down and there they were.  The plantation owner was delighted and surprised.

The other lady was happy too.  What an interesting end to the workshop.

 I have discovered more four-leafed clover in this photo!

    The clovers were near these brick ruins.

    When I was driving out of the plantation the sun came out!  Here are the pear trees in

bloom.  They are so beautiful. 

   I am in Winter Park, Florida now visiting my parents!  I am so happy to see them again.  My

brother and his two sons came over.  We all visited in the screenroom.  What a beautiful day.

Now I need to recuperate.   Let's paint!

"Spring Time" 5x7 oil on copper.

    Scott Christensen always shows many artist's work on a large screen tv.  He points

out things the artist did or points out how he would approach painting each one.  He

sort of puedo paints on the tv screen with a clean paint brush.  He says he looks at photos

of painting before he paint everytime.  For example, if he will be painting mountains then he looks

at paintings of mountains by great painters.  Then we headed out to paint.  It was 37 degrees

so I decided to drive around the plantation and paint inside my car.  I was able to get

three paintings done this way.  In my painting "Spring Time" Scott suggested simplifying the sky.  I had

a few lighter violet strokes coming down simulating rain coming.  So I lightened the sky

added a little violet at the horizon and some phalo green above that.  It is fun experimenting.

"Blooming Fruit Trees" 5x7 oil on copper.

    I admired these three fruit trees in bloom.  Scott suggested making them less circular

so I made them more square and irregular. 

"Beyond" 5x7 oil on copper. Sold.  Thanks.

    Next I painted this stand of trees.  I admired the distance trees.  I had the sky area

in the distance very very light.  Scott suggested softening the sky edges then dropping

back in the light but not as light.  He said my work had a nice feeling. 

 "Camilas" 7x5 oil on copper. Sold  Thanks.

  Then Scott did a demo of water with rocks.  Afterwards he said

for us to go out and paint.  It was still 37 degrees so I grabbed my

Cabelas -100 alaskan parka, wool neck thing, and my rabbit leather

boomer.  I was walking, pulling my painting gear,  when a few

artists commented I was prepared for cold weather!  They smiled.

I set up to paint these camillas.  Scott came around and noted my

winter gear. He said I was the only one prepared for such weather.

I told him I was worried about the other painters getting hypothermic.

He said he too had painted this very bush of camillas.  He painted

three yellow green leaves in my painting.  He suggested lightening up the left hand

side and doing some negative shape painting there.  He liked the

abstract quality of a few flowers.  He liked this painting.  It was

nice to have some positive feedback. 

    Robert reports Poppy was very good today at his work.  She sits in

the passenger seat now.  Robert misses Poppy sitting in his lap while

driving to work.  Monet tore up his bed today.  Robert will sew the bed

back up.  He took the puppies for a hike after work.  He gave them each

a Frosty Paws dog ice cream tonight.  They were fired up!  Have a good

night.  I hope you found the details about the workshop useful.  Painting

is very difficult.  Let's Paint!

"The Moon" 10x10 oil on board.  I started this one and Scott finished it!  Private collection.

   It was another rainy and cold day here in Huger, South Carolina.  Lucky for all the workshop

participants the owner of the plantation allowed us to paint inside her home.  I set up down-

stairs.  I looked out the window and painted this oak tree.  I decided to paint on gesso board.

Scott Christensen tried to paint on my copper painting yesterday and it really freaked him

out.  So today I decided to paint on gesso board.  I keyed the painting very dark.  I admired

how dreamy the scene looked but it did need a moon!  Scott agreed.  Later he used this

painting to demonstrate how he paints his moons.  He doesn't like round moons.  He prefers

to just suggest the moon.  He made a few brushstrokes of darker violet in the sky up top.  He

also darked the straw grass to prepare the painting for the moon.  I used phalo green in

this painting.  I am going to add phalo green to my paint box for a grey day.  This color

is great in the sky too.

   Here is a detail of Scott Christensen's moon.  He still thought this board was strange

to paint on.  He prefers a particular type of linen on birch.  If I was to take his workshop

again I would only bring his type of linen on birch to paint on in the workshop.  He does

work on all  student's paintings.   

"Orange Horizon" 5x7 oil on copper. 

     I was working on this painting yesterday before it started to pour.  I decided to try

painting clouds.  I had a few wild convex clouds.  One was coming out of the corner.

He suggested keeping the cloud simple.  He tried to bring the clouds down with my brush.

Apparently he added a lot of medium to my oil paint.  The paint slid all over the copper.

He gave me back my brush and said he didn't think it was such a good idea to paint with

medium on copper.  The experience definely shook him up.  He backed away and took off.

Painting on copper is tricky.  I learned alot about clouds.  Don't paint round clouds.  Try

to paint square or angled clouds but not round potato shaped clouds.  He also said

not to start with the cloud's shadow.  He starts with a warm lighter golden color.  He paints

the sky around the cloud watching the edges.  Then he paints the shadow under the cloud.

He said far up in the sky those clouds take on more ground color in the shadow.  He told

us so many things about how to paint clouds. 

     He told us the biggest pitfall painting rocks is most people paint them too dark.  He said

rocks are the same value as mountains.  He said don't paint every rock you see.  Simplify the

rocks and group them.  Paint their planes.   He said most people paint rocks as dark as trees or the

vertical planes which are the darkest.  He made sure the rocks were not all along the foreground

but either 1/3 or 2/3 along the bottom. 

    I am extra tired during this workshop.  There is so much information.  Have a good night.

I hope you found this interesting and helpful. 

"Still Charming" 5x7 oil on copper  Sold.  Thanks!

    The first day of Scott Christensen workshop we met at a plantation in Huger, South Carolina.

He lectured for two hours.   Afterwards we went to paint along a river on the plantation.

He came around and gave us a few suggestions.  He asked the student for their brush and

sometimes redesigned their painting.  A few times he might change the trees or bring in

a few strokes of greyed phalo green.  He also added a few strokes of greyed lighter phalo

blue to a too grey and dark sky.  He added lighter violet color at the horizon for a beautiful

change in a too grey dark painting. 

"Southern Pine" 7x5 oil on copper. 

    He suggested I not paint just one pine.  He said to add a few more

trees to make them look like a family.  He said to make each tree different

in size and width.  I had painted the pine's trunk as it was.  He suggested

adding more pine foliage to cover the trunk.  Make the tree painting about

the foliage not about the trunk.  I agreed and thought it was such a great

idea.  I added more foliage and more trees. 

"Southern Light" 5x7 oil on copper. 

   Scott came by as I was painting this one and said, "Great feeling."  Then he went to

someone else.  Later he talked about highlights on the water.  Two is a good reminder

 they are there he said.  You can paint 20 highlights if they are each different and

interesting.  He told us to paint reflections warmer and lighter than the tree. 

Paint the water cool.  He told us to drag a few strokes over the reflection but just two.

   There are about 17 students.  Scott does have an assistant who is a student to help.

    He has given us a notebook printed with all his ideas.  I have written 12 pages of notes.

There is so much information on how to paint just about anything. 

    Robert reports Monet's Lymes disease blood test came back negative.  He has no lyme.  He

has a 'puppy sprained foot' from playing too much.  Monet had his nails trimmed at the vet.

Monet climbed into Robert's lap for comfort afterwards. Monet weighs 77 pounds now.  I

can just visualize Monet sitting in Robert's lap at the vet!  What a hoot!  Have a good night.

    I decided to drive to Charleston, South Carolina today to visit galleries but was not able to

find any parking spot after two hours of searching.  I drove back to my hotel on Hwy 41 when

I saw this old farmhouse.  I pulled over to take a few photos.  I have always loved abandoned

homes.  My Uncle Bill in Ocala invited my family at least once to tour an abandoned three

story wood home.  It was so exciting! 

    The smaller building's front door was open.  Open!  Well I just had to see inside.

  I didn't go inside.  I stuck my camera inside and took a couple of photos.

    The building was one room.  It appeared to be the kitchen. 

    Very interesting! 

   I admired the metal roofs, porches, and design!  I am curious as to who once lived here?

What happened to these people?  There are many abandoned homes everywhere.  This home

has so much character. 

    Robert called to tell me how Poppy and Monet did at his work.  They played hard the first

two hours with each other.  They napped the rest of the day.  On the way home Robert put

Monet in van.  Poppy decided she was too big to sit on Robert's lap for the first time.  She stood

in the passenger seat with her front feet on the dashboard.  She had her head pressed

against the windshield.  I imagine Poppy would feel like she is flying in this position!  I hope

to see this in person when I arrive home!  Robert was very happy with how they behaved today.

    I drove by the plantation in Huger so I will know exactly where to go tomorrow morning.  I

am really looking forward to attending this workshop!  I will tell you all about it tomorrow!  Have

a great night.  Let's paint!

"Pretty Ladies" 6x6 oil on copper.  Sold last night off my website!  Yeah. 

The puppies will celebrate the painting sale with a Frosty Paw!  Thank you.

   I have arrived in Monck's Corner, South Carolina 22 miles from Huger where Scott

Christensen's workshop starts on Saturday.  I was suppose to tent camp but temperatures

are dropping below 30 degrees.  I found a clean and inexpensive hotel for the week!  I

am very happy about that.  I was prepared to tent in cold conditions but not freezing! 

I have a whole day tomorrow to recuperate from my drive.  I will be painting! 

"Pretty Feet" 6x6 oil on copper 350$ framed in gold wood. Shipped free.

"Good Morning" 6x6 oil on copper.  350$ framed in gold wood.  Shipped.

"Pretty Boy" 6x6 oil on copper.  Sold last year.  Here is one of my Rooster paintings from

a few years ago. 

"Thirsty Girl" 5x7 oil on copper.  Sold many years ago.  This may have been my first chicken.

"Girl With A Plan" 5x7 oil on copper.  Sold many years ago.  Interesting to see older paintings.

"Dirty Girl" 6x6 oil on copper.  Sold many years ago.  This was a favorite of mine.

"Busy Girl" 6x6 oil on copper.  Sold years ago. 

"Dirty Chicken" 6x6 oil on copper.  Sold so long ago.  What fun to see some of my chicken

paintings together.  I know I will continue to paint chickens because I love them! 

    Have a great night!  Robert is taking both Monet and Poppy to work tomorrow.  I asked

him to take a photo of them at work.  I hope they behave themselves! 

"Red-Crowned Kinglet Nest' 10x10 oil on copper.  sold.  thanks.

Shipped free.

     I worked more on the nest painting I started a few days ago.  The light was changing so fast

that day.  We scooted the nest along the table trying to keep the nest in the sunlight.  I took a

look at a photo on my laptop to finish the painting.  I wanted to make sure I had proper lighting

on the nest.  Here is the painting before:

"March Sunlight and Shadows" 3x5 oil on copper.  sold.  Thanks.

    I fixed the roof line on this painting.  I added chimney smoke.  Finished.  It is very hard

painting this small.  I don't think I will continue to paint more 3x5.  It is easier for me to

paint 5x7's! 

    I am all packed ready to start driving tomorrow!  I should reach Richmond, Virgina, a 14 hour

drive, tomorrow night.  Then I will drive 6 hours to Ridgeville, SC.  The Scott Christensen workshop

starts March 15-19.  The goal is to get out of Maine before a blizzard comes through!  Robert tells me

if I can get past Massachusetts before noon I should be safe!  I hope to find internet reception in

Ridgeville, SC.  I don't know if that will be possible!  I am leaving South Carolina March 20 for

Winter Park, Florida.  I will be visiting my parents.  I know they have internet!  I hope to post a

few interesting things I learned at the workshop.  Have a good night!  Let's Paint!

    I thought I would show you pictures of Daisy's walk today so you might feel like you

came along too.  We parked at the entrance of the park because of this ice.  Daisy leaped

out of the car today.  She even landed on her feet!  We had to walk over this area of ice.

Daisy is so smart she will follow in my footsteps thinking I have the safest path.  Once

she walked in a sketchy area on the ice.  I was so afraid she might fall so I called her over

to a better textured ice area.  She quickly changed her path.  We made it!

    She walked rather quickly down the hill to the frozen Lake Alamosook.  Daisy is

very strong.  I had to keep up with her. 

   I am leaving soon to drive to South Carolina to attend the Scott Christensen workshop.

I am always afraid now when I leave.  I hope Daisy will be healthy when I am gone.  I

hope to see her again.  She has been doing very well.  She appreciates our walks alone.

 She also likes them to come along. 

 Robert will take the pups out on a walk later.

    Daisy remembers climbing down this embankment to the lake to swim.  She knows

she can not get down there and get back up without Robert carrying her back!  So she

stood there trying to figure out what she was going to do.  She decided not to climb down

to the frozen lake but just admire the lake. 

   It was so beautiful today!

   We walked along the lake pausing by my favorite birch tree.  I called out to her so I could

take her photo. 

    Daisy decided to lay down in the snow.  She just loves snow!

    She decided to roll around in the snow.  Back and forth she rocked.  She kicked her legs

up in the air.  She buried her face in the snow watching me.  I think she likes to watch me

smile and laugh with her.

    She made a nice snow dog angel!  We hiked back to the car and headed home for a

raw veggie snack.

   The pups were sharing a broccoli stem.  They each had one but wanted to eat

together.  It more fun way to eat broccoli this way!  Have a good night!

    I have always loved Sundays!  When I was young my Dad would take us all to church.

My Mom would cook a feast.  Many times we would take the boat out on Lake Butler in

Orlando, Florida to fish.  Sometimes we would take a car ride to a Florida spring to swim

and picnic.  The day was always filled with laughter and great food.  Sunday is still my

favorite day of the week.  Robert and I always went to church on Sunday in Florida.  We

loved Northland Church.  In Maine we attended a church service where the paster bear

hugged Robert for a long time.  I am sad to report we have not been back to a church in

Maine.  I sure would like to find another church to visit.  Our Sunday is

 filled with a car ride to a beach or lake with our dogs. 

   We decided to go to Sears island today.  There were so many people and dogs we walked

along the highway with Daisy.  We forgot Daisy's leash!  Then we loaded Daisy into

the car and took the puppies down by the water for a swim. 

    The puppies are getting old enough to appreciate retrieving a stick.

    They also love to retrieve a stick together!

   Poppy weighs 41 pounds.  Monet is too heavy to lift to weigh. 

   All the dogs get a large handful of 'salad' which can consist of raw cabbage, broccoli

stems, carrots, green beans, apples, even celery!  Then I feed them a chicken thigh each

with as much dried dog food as they like. 

    It certainly helps to have 14 year old Daisy chowing down on the

raw veggies infront of the puppies.  They do everything Daisy does

with passion!  Daisy can see great, hear great, and still charges

the TV set if she sees an animal.  She has been trying to teach the

puppies to do this too without any luck.  They just can't seem to

figure out what it is she is doing!  She will bark at the animal

on TV and look to see if the pup is watching her.  Most of the time

a pup will look around twisting their heads to see what she is

seeing.  Soon Daisy lays back down. 

    We have a chicken stuffed with apples in the oven.  The fire is roaring.

The back door is open for a bit of fresh air!  I can feel spring is coming! 

Have a great night!

"Ruby-Crowned Kinglet Nest" 10x10 oil on copper.  Not finished yet. 

   I was invited to the home of a local painter to paint a still life of antique objects.  She

mentioned finding a Ruby-Crowned Kinglet nest.  Immediately I wanted to paint the nest.

She did too!  We put a white piece of paper under the nest.  I want to take another look

at this painting.  It is almost finished. I left a lot of copper expose in the nest.

   Here is a male Ruby-Crowned Kinglet.  It takes the female five days to build the nest.

Every 5 minutes she will fly to find spider webs, mosses, grass, cocoon silk, and fur or feathers

to create this nest.  The nest measures 4 inches wide and is 5-6 inches deep.  The inside of

the nest is only 3x2 inches.  The nest is very elastic to hold a large cluck of eggs...12!

The nest is usually found 100 foot high in the trees.  The male and female pair only stay

together for 2 months until their chicks fledge.  They can be identified by constant flickering

of their wings.  Interesting!  What a special nest to find! 

    We drove around in search of something to paint.  Temperatures were warmer.  I couldn't

get my eyes off of this farmhouse.  The light on the building was so brilliant! I had so much fun!

"March Sunlight and Shadows" 3x5 oil on copper.  Framed in gold.  Shipped.

    It is interesting to compare the photo of the place with my painting.  I didn't like the

dark windows.  I also painted the roofs a bright orange.  On location I thought for sure

that roof was orange.  I am leaving it the way it is. 

   Poppy doesn't like baths!  Robert reports he will never ever give Poppy a bath again.  I

asked what happened.  He said, "Did you hear her scream upstairs?"  I do remember an

unusual sound.  I wonder why Poppy fears the bath so much?  I tried to towel dry Poppy

but she wanted nothing to do with the towel either.  She was thankful to be allowed outside.

Monet is trying to console her. Robert went upstairs with a mop and a bucket!  Must have

been a lot of water and soap flying around in that bath!   Every dog reacts

 differently to different things.  She may have had a bad experience as a pup?

  Maybe she was dropped, water too hot, water too cold,

or something else not pleasant? We will get through this!  Have a good night!   Poppy

is clean for the moment.

"Good Morning" 6x6 oil on copper.  Sold.  Thank you!

    I saw this beautiful rooster coming out of his chicken coop on Monhegan Island.  He

stopped to pose for a photo!  He was not an easy chicken to paint with all those ornamental

feathers!  I had to paint a few feathers and then soften the edges.  I worked all day long on

this rooster!  I love to paint plumb chickens!  They look healthier and tastier. 

    Here is Poppy's first taste of Frosty Paws.  Monet enjoyed his treat too.  They love to

celebrate a painting sale! 

    Daisy really loved her Frosty Paws too.  She chewed up the treat super fast eating the whole

thing!

    Yes!  This is a great way to celebrate!  Poppy says, "More painting sales please!"

    After the Frosty Paws little Poppy climbed up into my chair and fell asleep.  She snored!

    I took Monet on a private walk today on Hatchery Road.  He did very well.  He walked

on my right hand side without pulling.  He found a stick to carry!  Two cars drove by.  They

slowed down to see him.  They were smiling and waving!  I gave Monet a few milk bones

as a reward for walking so well.  In the car Monet barked a lot for more treats.  I managed

to train him to get back in the backseat for a treat.  I think he will know the word, "back"

soon. 

    I am going to take Miss Daisy for a ride now.  Have a great night!

"Pretty Ladies" 6x6 oil on copper.  Sold!  Thanks.

    Chickens are a lot of fun to paint.   Chicken paintings look great in the kitchen

or the dining room!  I am feeling the need to paint green grass and flowers!  I hope

 Spring comes to Maine.

"Petals" 10x10 oil on copper.  Sold off my website today.  I am very appreciative when

this happens.  Thank you very much!  Daisy, Monet, and Poppy will have a Frosty Paws

to celebrate!  Photos tomorrow!

    Last night Robert played the Ukelele for us.  Right

away Monet whined.  I guess we can add to Monet's list

he doesn't like the sound of the Ukelele.  After a while

Monet forgot about the music and started to play.  All

of the dogs went wild!  We are ready for Spring!

   We sunbathed on the back porch today!  It was 30 degrees but this seemed like a heat

wave!

   A Florida artist requested I be invited to a Florida plein air event this

next November, called Tarpon Springs Plein Air Event.   I love to do new events. 

 I know I will enjoy painting shrimp boats in Tarpon Springs.

   Monet sure does love Daisy.  I see them snuggling together!  Have a

great night!  Too see my available paintings look above under the heading

Paintings!  Thanks. 

"Pretty Feet" 6x6 oil on copper  sold.  Thanks.

   I admired the beautiful chickens on Monhegan Island last June.  I took several photos

of the hens.  I decided to paint them today.  I have painted many chicken paintings in

the past few years.  Normally I paint one hen.  I have been eager to push myself this

year finding more complicated compositions and subjects.  So today I decided to paint

five chickens! 

    I decided to have a little fun with the hen's feet! I put a little nail polish color on their nails!

    Painting the heads of each chicken was the most difficult part.  I had a great time

painting the background.  What fun!  Why do I like painting chickens?  I love to eat

them!

    I was happily painting when I looked over to see Poppy sitting in my chair.  She had

her feet crossed.  She wanted her photo taken.  She is a fine looking puppy.

   Monet spotted sweetheart roses hanging to dry.  He barked and barked.  He wanted one!

I know roses are edible.  So I handed him one.  He was so happy!  He showed Daisy and

Poppy who could have cared less.  Then he sat down to investigate the rose.  He ate it.

I wonder what Monet will do once all the white daffodils start to bloom in our yard!

Have a great night!

     This last weekend we drove to Northport, Maine to walk around.

Daisy was first in the backseat.  Monet climbed in next.  He decided

to sit on top of Daisy's back!  I rearranged the dogs in the backseat

so that Daisy would not be sat on.  All I had to do was scoot Monet

over.  Poppy still sits on someone's lap in the front seat!  I laughed

so hard at Monet.  What was he thinking? 

"Party Of The Feathered" 10x10 oil on copper.  sold.  thanks!

    I admired a friend's photo of song birds in the snow.  It is so much fun to watch birds.  I asked

her permission to paint the photo.  I rearranged some of the birds.  I lightened the snow adding

many beautiful colors.  Another friend named this painting!  Thanks!

    What fun!   Have a great night!

"Wintery Day in Bucksport"  3x5 oil on copper.  Sold. Thanks!

    Today I was invited to paint with a local artist in her car!  What a fun thing to do after

so many days of flower painting.  Monet and Poppy hopped all over her and even grabbed

her pony tail!  They could use gallery greeting training!  Daisy behaved herself like

a queen. 

       The artist had admired this old abandoned farmhouse on the recent drive.  I admired it

too.  Here were my concerns:  How could I make a happy painting out of an abandoned

home?  Homes are abandoned because the resident dies or becomes homeless or because

the home is in disrepair.  None of these reasons are happy.  I decided to make the home

lived in still by not showing the broken windows or broken fireplace.  I decided I would

make the house newer again!  I also decided to paint the highway and a few other homes

to give the painting a 'village look'.  I was so happy there was sunlight! 

    We studied the house viewing all the angles.  This was a nice angle but the trees

prevented the viewer from seeing the house. 

    I started to sketch a small thumbnail to plan my painting.  We had a great time

chatting while we worked.  It was a very pleasant day.  I hope we do this again.

    Here are Poppy and Monet examining a plastic dog toy.  Sweet Daisy napping in

the distance.  There is no sign of Spring here in Maine.  This has been one of the most

severe winters yet.  We are still thriving! All painting sales are greatlly appreciated

at this time!   Have a good night.

"Petals" 10x10 oil on copper.  Sold.  Thanks.

   I was inspired to paint many sweetheart roses yesterday!  I saw them at the grocery store.

There was 100 sweetheart roses for 15$.  I rushed home, forgot to put all the grocreys away,

set up the flowers in a large measuring cup, adjusted the doctor's light, and started to

paint! 

   I loved the abundance of sweetheart roses!  I sanded down my 30 ounce copper panel,

wiped off the copper dust, and loosely drew the roses onto the copper with an acid free

felt tip pen.

    I always use a limited palette:  Cadmium Yellow Light, Cadmium Red Light, Cobalt

Blue, Quinacridone Red, and Lefranc's Titanium White.  I sometimes use Winsor Blue

green shade by Winsor Newton.  I like to useNeo Meglip by Gamblin for a medium.  I use

this medium very sparingly.

    I use a size 12 flat kolinsky sable by Old Holland for the entire painting.  How do I make small

lines?  I use the tip of my flat brush.  How do I make dots?  I use the corner of my flat brush.  Why

don't I use small brushes?  I prefer the marks the larger brush makes.  I find these marks more

interesting.  I also like imperfect marks.  I like the texture the larger brush makes.  I have no need

for small brushes.  When I was in Jamaica I gave my artist's friend all of my small brushes.  I kept

one that had a nice point at the end of the handle to scratch in my name.  The most important

reason I don't use small brushes is I want to learn brush control. 

    I painted in the larger shapes unting all the pink and all the orange, yellow, reds into

one large mass.  Then I started to paint the shape on each rose by painting the shadow

and sunlight areas.  I decided to paint the background a nice dark warm blue green.

    It was around this time that my two young golden retriever puppies Monet and Poppy

started to race around the house.  They became tangled up in my doctor's light and down

the light came.  Crash!  I was taken out of my quiet meditation into the crazy world

of young puppies!  By the time I looked down Poppy and Monet were sitting there admiring

the fallen lamp.  Robert came running to help.  The lightbulb was not working anymore. 

Robert produced another lightbulb!  I was back to work.  He took the pups outside

to run around.  I was laughing at this.  Daisy was wide awake for the crash.  She went

outside too. 

    I worked on the inside of each rose first.  Then I started to work on the highlighted

areas.  Then I went back inside the rose to find the warm light shining through some

petals.

    I worked all night long.  The puppies were snoring.  I pushed down the orange and

yellow roses in the shadow of the pink roses.  How did I do this?  I put a small amount

of the blue green paint on my brush and lightly brushed over them.  This softened

their edges and knocked them down.  I went back in to these roses later and

brought out more darks.  I started to paint the stems and leaves last. 

    Finished!  I can always let it dry and add a few more lights.  I am content with the painting

as it looks.  What a challenge!  I know I will never paint 50 roses in one painting again!

 I will allow the painting to dry for several weeks or months.

Then I will coat the painting with a very very thin layer of Gamblin's Galkyd.  This Galkyd

is a nonyellowing polymerized oil.  The Galkyd seals the painting.  I could also use a wax.  I

prefer the shiny quality of Galkyd.   The copper stays pink as it is not in contact with oxygen. 

The oil paint doesn't turn the copper green.  Oil is a neutral PH. 

If you are interested in learning more about copper as a substrate, look above under the

heading "Why Copper?".  I have written all I have discovered about painting on copper

to help you get started. Let's Paint!

    I thought I would share how I paint with oils on copper. 

First I sand down my 30 ounce copper panel.  I wipe the copper panel off very well with

paper towels making sure all the copper dust is off.  I draw with a felt tip pen on the copper.

I have found an old doctor's light works great for illuminating a still life!  Our Maine light

is unpredictable. 

    This drawing is not very detailed.  Later I draw more with my paint brush.  I wipe

off most of this felt tip pen drawing.  The pen is acid free ink. 

    Next I paint the background first.  I am currently using a tiny bit of New Meglip by Gamblin.

I just started to use this medium a few weeks ago.  I like this medium.  I paint the large

area of greens uniting them in one mass. Here are the oil colors I am using:  Cadmium Yellow

Light, Cadmium Red Light, Quinacridone Red, Cobalt Blue (all Gamblin),

Winsor Blue green shade by W.N., and Lefranc's Titanium White.   I add a few darks

 in the greens. I keep my greens simple.  I don't want them to compete with my flowers.

 I take a large clean kolinsky sable brush and carefully and lightly use

large strokes to soften all the edges.  I clean my brush each stroke to keep my

 brush free of paint.  I also squeeze the brush after cleaning in the brush to make

 sure all the turpenoid is gone.  If I don't do this turpenoid

might run down my painting.  I clean my brush often when I am painting and I always

squeeze it to remove excess turpenoid.   I also want to make sure each flower is softened

into the background.  This way the flowers don't look cut out and pasted on the painting.

I want the whole painting to feel like a tapestry.  I don't want compartments in a painting.

    I concentrate on the shapes of the flowers.   I paint the sunlight areas of

each flower and then I paint the shadow areas.   I squint my eyes to understand

the values and color temperature.  I also hold up my paint brush loaded with paint to check

to see if I have the right shade and color.  I soften all the edges again.  I don't want any hard

edges right now.  I also make sure all the flowers are touching.  I enlarge some flowers to do this.

After the shapes of the flowers are painted I paint a few petals. 

   I want one flower to stand out.  How can I do this?  I can keep this one flower isolated

from the others. I can make the edges harder and more detail in one flower. I could

also make the colors more saturated in this one flower.  I soften all the edges again.  I

push some flowers back by adding a cooler shade and less detail.  I pull some flowers

forward by added more darks around the flower, more lights, more color!  In this painting

I wanted the twine bow to stand out more.  I didn't paint all the stems in the mason jar.

I made horizontal brushstrokes over the paint lightly to soften and give the vase a glass feeling. 

I squinted my eyes to see the highlights.  I squinted to see the darks.  I looked for the saturated

colors.  I pumped up those colors a bit for a more happy feeling! 

"Country Feeling" 10x10 oil on copper.  650$ framed in gold or black with gold.  Shipped free.

   If you are a beginner painter feel free to paint along as long as you do not sell your painting.

  If you are a professional artist I hope you are inspired to paint your own paintings on copper. 

 At the top of this page please look under "Why Copper?" for more information regarding

 painting on copper.  Let me know how your copper paintings turn out! 

   Monet decided to climb into Robert's lap last night.  We always laugh a lot when he

does this.  He loves being hugged.  He jumped down then climbed on my lap afterwards.

When he is on my lap he grabs my hair and paws at me.  He bites at me gently. This

is probably because I squeal and laugh so much!  Have a great night!  Let's paint!