"Pink Parade"

 This past summer as I was walking in Reynolda Gardens I came upon this stunning display of pink gladiolus.  They were standing high above the white dahlias and yellow rudbekia.  Such a cheerful, lovely sight!

                                             16" x 22"

                                             watercolor

                                             SOLD

"Reynolda Color"

When the gardens are in full bloom, the colors are so bright and beautiful.  A stroll down the paths certainly lifts the spirits and quite a vision to behold.

                                              16" x 22"

                                              watercolor

                                               SOLD

"Paul J. Ceiner Botanical Garden"

 Remembering an early spring, tulip-time tour through the garden.  Bright colors and clear atmosphere on this sunny day.

                                              18" x 14"

                                              watercolor

"At Asheville Botanical Gardens"

 The town of Asheville, NC has a wonderful botanical garden.  In the past I've enjoyed meandering through basking in the beautiful sights, sounds and scents of nature.  Here's a painting of one of my favorite vistas there:

                                                      8" x 10" 

                                                      watercolor

"At Reynolda Village"

 Each season brings new plants blooming at Reynolda Village.  It's always a treat to walk around the gardens and see what's new.

                    8" x 10"

                    watercolor

"At Bianca Artum Garden"

I enjoyed a lovely spring afternoon last week painting in this quiet little garden near my home.

                                          8" x 10"
                                          watercolor

"Spring Morning in Hanes Park"

Another plein air painting.  Still "social distancing" while continuing to enjoy the pleasures of being outside painting close to home. Along the side of a curve in the walk in the park are lilacs, viburnum, and spirea all blooming at the same time.

                                                    12' x 16"
                                                    oil

"White Fence Garden"

A painting that I did last summer.

                                                    20" x 16"
                                                    oil
                                                    SOLD

"Our Patio Garden"

                                        
 This summer our garden has been a great source of inspiration for me.  It is ever changing with each new day bringing new plants blooming and others fading away.  Also, because of changes in the weather and time of day, the light seems to showcase differing aspects.  My joy is in interpreting these differences.

                                           30" x 24"
                                           oil on canvas
                                           SOLD
                                           bright sunlit blossoms
                                           basking in the morning light
                                           welcoming the day

"When the Rose Campion Blooms"

This one from our garden earlier this summer.

                                          15" x 9"
                                          watercolor

                                          SOLD 

"Our Mid-Summer Garden"

Lately, watercolor has been the medium of choice for my creating.  Here's our garden in mid-summer at the peak of bloom.   

                                          15" x 9"
                                          watercolor
                                          SOLD    

"Hydrangeas by the Fence"

The hydrangeas have been lovely this year.  It's always interesting to watch them change colors from blues to lavenders to pinks and finally to wonderful green tones as they mature through the season.

                                                 16" x 20"
                                                 oil on canvas panel
                                                 SOLD

"Poppies at Reynolda Gardens"

Poppies are always a delight to see!  I painted these using a palette knife.

                                          12" x 12"
                                          oil on canvas panel
                                          SOLD

"Late May Garden"

An abundance of rose campion and butterfly weed in my garden late in the month of May inspired me to create this very impressionist interpretation.  All painted with a palette knife.

                                          20" x 16"
                                          oil on canvas panel

"Ceiner Garden Spring" (Kernersville, NC)

In this painting I was using a more controlled palette knife application.  I think I gained a bit more skill as I experimented with technique.

                                          24" x 18"
                                          oil on canvas

"Flowers by the Fence" (Reynolda Gardens)

With my renewed intrigue by the affects of painting with the palette knife I've continued in the same vein.  I did a bold under painting with a large brush laying in the major areas of the composition in acrylics.  After letting that dry, I created the visible layer of the finished painting using oils applied with my palette knife.

                                          20" x 16"
                                          oil on canvas panel
                                          SOLD

"Golden Day" (on the Blue Ridge Parkway)

Something new and different!
I was so unhappy with this painting that I was working on of golden rods that were growing in Julian Price Park on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  It seemed so blah.  Never being afraid to experiment, I decided to do something that I hadn't done in a very long time.  I started using my pallet knife and things begin to happen that pleased me.  I piled on the paint, I scratched into wet paint, and I enjoyed seeing what was being created.  The color is rich, the surface textures draw the viewer to look closer and the scratches lend an interesting hieroglyphic to the image  Now I am finished and happy with the results.

                                          34" x 24"
                                          oil on gessoed masonite panel

"Garden at Strickland Place"

                                          8" x 8"
                                          oil on canvas
                                          SOLD

                                          A friend of mine designed this lovely little garden. 
                                          There's such a wonderful variety of plants with many
                                          different colors and textures.
                                          This was fun to paint.             

"Old Salem Streetside Garden"

I was fascinated by this purple bean vine growing on a fence that enclosed a garden in Old Salem.  In the background is a lovely vitex with lavender blooms and at the base of the fence is globe amaranth and phlox along with other plants. The light showing through the fence and leaves along with the ambient reflected light was a challenge to captivate.

                                          30" X 30"
                                          oil on canvas

"Garden by a Fence in Old Salem" (in four stages)

This time I forgot to take a picture of my sketch on the canvas.  However, I'm posting the next four stages of creating this painting.  I begin again by posting the completed painting first.  I really got caught-up in the details of the fence and garden plants. (Quite opposite from my sometimes very impressionistic renderings!)

                                          32" X 18"
                                          oil on canvas
                                          SOLD

At this stage I'm pretty well along with having everything layed-in with local color and have started detailing the most distant trees:

Here I'm beginning to paint-in local color in the darkest areas:

I've covered the whole canvas with a value study/under painting (in acrylic) and established the composition: