My Oil Painting Process: Creating Cattails

This was foremost an intention and fascination for leading the eye with composition. I was mesmerized by the interplay of height, placement, and variation—it was vital to me that the cattails guided the viewer's eye to what was most important. It was a quiet choreography.

Garlic is my favorite and reliable staple in my garden. Onions? I am still trying to figure out. Thank goodness for a canvas and some paint.

My love affair with the vibrant colors of vegetables didn’t start in my own garden—it all began at a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) near Walden Pond in Massachusetts. Then, came the blueberries. Lowbush, highbush, and the inspiration to have my own.

My love affair with the vibrant colors of vegetables didn’t start in my own garden—it all began at a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) near Walden Pond in Massachusetts. Here, in a cellar built into the barn, baskets of all sizes displayed the day’s harvest. Including these green and purple cabbage.

Painting a white Pekin duck in the sun with oil paints is tricky - ANYTHING white is a challenge - but so rewarding! White isn’t just “white” to me—it’s full of soft blues, warm yellows, and even nuances of purple, depending on how the sunlight hits those shapes. The hardest part is capturing those delicate shadows and glimmers of light without making the duck look flat or too gray. I have to be so careful not to overwork the paint and lose that fluffy, sunlit feel. And with oils taking their sweet time to dry, blending is both a blessing and a challenge. But when I finally get that warm sensation of a summer day and a little spark of life in its eye, it feels like magic!

My Oil Painting Process

My admiration of the nuances of vibrant reds was only surpassed by my fascination with the spaces nestled between the berries. In these delicate interstices, one berry met another, casting gentle shadows, that of the composition revealed itself. Crafted around 2005, this painting continues to evoke joy within me even today, hanging in my kitchen.

My love affair with the vibrant colors of vegetables didn’t start in my own garden—it all began at a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) near Walden Pond in Massachusetts.

Blissful captures more than just a picturesque moment in a pasture; it encapsulates the spirit of Wolfe's Neck Center.

Cornered, from the In Their World series.

I used a palette of delicate playful tones, layering on shades of muted browns and grays to capture the natural patina of the shell. The variation in mark-making, from bold, textured strokes to fine, delicate lines, conveys the complexity of its form. My deep saturation of colors plays with a hint of glimmering, floating -almost mystical quality- with a bit of playfulness.

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This oil painting explores the mesmerizing beauty of oysters. Through vibrant color and thoughtful composition, contrasting oyster shells float against a fluid, water-like background, deliberately set outside their traditional context. The piece invites viewers to explore the oyster’s natural beauty, highlighting its delicate textures and hard shell forms in an unexpected, abstract yet pleasing setting.

The key to this large format painting was using a panel board as a canvas, and starting with a burnt sienna ground before starting. This contributed to the depth in the sea and the hard polyethylene plastic. One of my favorite moments in this painting is the sensation of setting a bearing on one of the far-off Sister Island, Williams Island, and Upper Goose Island.

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What comes to mind when you say Spring in Maine? The challenge lies in the word Spring. The reality is mud. Or, begrudgingly, the late winter blizzard. But, by June, in the understory of dry woods and boggy areas, you can come across a Pink Lady Slipper with a 1 to 3-inch long pouch-like flower that grows singly on a stalk emerging from 2 broad, fuzzy leaves at the base of the plant. (Please don’t pick them.) My Lady Slipper was created during one of those late March blizzards while my wood stove kept the house warm. It’s a tiny oil on acrylic, on a 5x5 birch board panel.

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How I LOVE painting on large canvases! The bigger the better. So creating a little beauty on a ‘itsy-bitsy’ of a 5x5 was a wonderful exercise on just capturing the essence with brushstrokes. Color is key to capturing the vibrancy, without overwhelming with detail. I look forward to an entire series of flowers, farm veggies, and birds in these ‘itsy-bitsy’ sizes that are perfect for kitchens, bathrooms, and hallways.

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One of the painting's challenges lies in capturing the intricacies of the fishing nets without overwhelming the composition with excessive detail. I chose to navigate this delicate balance with suggestive brushstrokes rather than define, allowing the viewer's imagination to fill in the gaps and weave their narrative within the tapestry of the painting.

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Inspired by the timeless elegance of John Singer Sargent's "The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit,” and perhaps a bit of Normal Rockwell narrative, I wanted to capture timelessness. I opted to prioritize capturing the essence of the moment over exacting portraiture. I embraced the challenges inherent in the scene: from the impressions in the sand to the nuances of deeply familiar faces and the ephemeral qualities of the summer air.

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