I have always enjoyed picnics and these girls are following the time honored trek to the beach.

.

.

Did I ever struggle with this painting. There must be 3 or 4 versions of it underneath all the paint. It was not until I had given up and threw all caution to the winds that I feel the real me emerged. I am a drawer- I love the line and the feel of drawing and when I finally yielded to it, this evolved -and I love it.

.

.

.

One of a series of bicyclists, this painting is based on nothing more than my interpretation of three racers. There is very little detail.  Hopefully the feeling of cyclists racing has been successfully captured.

Several members of my family are serious cyclists.   I am happy to paint a little abstractly. Those who enjoy activities, even on a hobby level,  can get very uptight about details and accuracy.

30x40, Acrylic on Canvas, Coker 2004

This painting was one of a series of female musicians. Although I use reference material to position instruments and fingers and body language, inevitably I wind up “making it up.”

Jazz Quartet II was used on a wine label for Wilson Creek, a vineyard in Caifornia.

.

.

If I take the time to sketch out an idea using India ink and mutilated brushes I often solve my design and value problems with less angst than when I start with just an idea. Ink flows; it reacts differently to wet and dry canvas or paper. By using brushes that I either create by cutting old brushes with scissors and exacto blades  I feel more freedom than when I work with color. I am more spontaneous and when I goof I use acrylic or gouche white. The color work here is nothing like the black and white but I like both of them.

Are You Kidding? was the painting that could have had “wings” (see Garden Angel)   The title suggests a bit of gossip being bantered by these two ladies.  Which leaves the viewer wondering (hopefully the viewer will even care to wonder) what they are saying- most certainly it involves a relationship- women they know? men?  someone in trouble?  What do you thing they’re discussing?

Garden angel -  well angels are not really my thing.   But Scott London, from London Square Gallery, Norfolk, on one occasion suggested I incorporate wings into one of my paintings- not this one. The one he saw eventually became two women conversing with wine glasses in their hands. Hardly an angelic scene.  This one started as a lone figure but she was bored and boring so she wound up in a garden- the wings seemed to be an interesting design feature.

These carnival dancers are loosely based on dancers I saw a long time ago at the Winnipeg Canada Folk Festival’s Caribbean pavilion. There they had long dresses with more yellow and were inside a school gym. Artistic license.

Ladies Dance is a totally made up painting. These ladies do not exist in a photo. They are conjured up as a result of my painting so many women. I can’t tell you how many complete paintings lie under this one. But none of them suited me. (of course what usually happens is that i photo them and go back after a while and realize the original painting was actually the best one.Oh well .But this one continues to make me smile. It is not perfect but I like the color and movement. The viewer can decide whether they are dancing or just having a heated conversation.

My husband’s family has a farm in South Carolina and being an urban Connecticut Yankee I have enjoyed photographing and painting the rural South with its character and characters.  This man is a compilation of all the older guys I have seen.

I used a different technique here- actually smudging the wet paint with my latex gloved covered fingers.  There would most likely not have been any red in his background but I seem to have red as a signature so there it is.