Spring in Baxter

This is a neighbor's home that has gorgeous gardens and landscaping. I was looking for a scene to paint and picked this one. I wanted to paint the other side of their house, but it was completely in shadow in the early morning, so I had to quickly pick a new scene. I was happy that I completed most of it in "plein air", got the perspective fairly accurate, and only had to do some minor touch ups at home. Their daughter is sitting on the porch and I hid the names of their two boys in the painting. This one was fun to paint!

Baxter houses

This painting was in the "unfinished" pile. I pulled it out for practice and completed it with Easter colors. It's a bit bright, but it was fun to do. While I was originally painting this, the water sprinklers turned on and I had to quit or get soaked. This is Tuckerton Street in Baxter, Fort Mill, SC.

Newport Beach, California

I visited this area of Southern California about four years ago and took lots of photos. I started this painting in a new art class I'm taking with Greg Barnes, here in Charlotte. Finished this at home- I like it, but that big rock is pretty close to the center, even thought I thought I moved it enough. It felt great to do a very quick, loose painting after doing the house portraits that require much more perfection. I tried, really tried, oils paints for my class, but I quickly went back to acrylics. I just like them much better.

Deborah's Back Porch

It's a little crooked, but I like the light/shadow effect. Deborah, a fellow painter, invited us to her home in the NODA area of Charlotte for a day of painting. It was a lovely location! Thanks Deborah! We also had a delicious lunch at the backyard picnic table.

Cedarhill Farm, North Carolina

Had a great time with my plein air painting buddies- Nancy and Debbie. I'll have to post a photo of them soon.

Cape Cod Beach

This was done partially from a photo of Cape Cod and partially made up.

Different Style

Trying to loosen up my brush strokes. I keep making small changes to this painting, but not sure it is really helping. The scene seems a little too empty... so I'm debating about adding a boat, a small house or maybe some children playin in the sand. I will leave it alone for a few days and then decide.