278. Sweetie Cakes

My family and close friends all know this about me:  I am a Birthday Brat.  I love love love my birthday, which is in the month of February.  What other day of the year do you receive as many phone calls, emails, texts, cards and sentiments from people you love?  My birthday has become quite a production with family members competing for the highest number of birthday communiques.   They make me feel so special and so loved.

February is also the month when we celebrate Valentine's Day.  To celebrate February, the month of "love," I am reducing all of the prices on my paintings for the month.  Please check out my Daily Paintworks Gallery and if you see something you like, think about giving the gift of art, a gift for life.
Happy Valentine's Day to all of you!

P.S.  I have many frames available and am happy to frame at my cost.  Contact me if you are interested.

277. Pines in the Foreground and Background

I never seem to tire of painting these pine trees.  For those of you who have not heard the story of them, I will explain.  In 2008, my daughter and I visited a village in Lebanon called Marjeyoun, the land of my ancestors.  As we maneuvered the winding roads, I noticed a line of pine trees that took my breath away.  It consisted of hundreds of pine trees like I had never seen before.  Fast forward three years to our second visit to the same village.  I commented to our family that I love these trees and have tried to paint them many times, unsuccessfully.  Our cousin then told me that her father planted those trees so they could have pine nuts readily available.  I was so touched to learn that these beautiful trees had been planted by my cousin in the land where my father's family originated and was determined to paint them to my enjoyment and satisfaction. 

In painting these trees, I am focusing on negative space, economy of strokes and am not referring to the photo after the initial sketch, which is challenging.

276. Behind the Row, Revisited

275. Reprieve

It has been miserably cold here in Milwaukee, where all the schools and some businesses have been closed.  I'm cold and crabby, and today needed something cheerful to paint.  The other day,  I snapped a photo of a flower arrangement in the grocery store floral refrigerator, and it was just what I needed to paint today. 

I am focusing on learning to use fewer strokes in my paintings.  It is not as easy as it looks, in fact, it is very difficult.  I have made progress with my tree paintings, but flowers are a real challenge.

274. Cedars

273. After the Storm: Three Pine Trees in Michigan

272. Night Glow

271. Twisted

270. Three

269. Another Interpretation

268. Part of the Picture

As you may have guessed, I have been studying trees, specifically pine trees.  I found a picture in my collection taken in Lebanon of a vast landscape, including fields,  trees, houses, mountains.  As I zoomed in to study the detail, I noticed this clothesline out in the middle of nowhere.  It is quite different from my most recent paintings, and I hope to attempt a more minimal version.

266. Close Together

266. After the Storm

265. Leaning

Leaning pine trees on a mountain ledge in Lebanon.

264. All Alone

263. Longleaf Pines

262. Nine or Ten

261. Entwined

260. A Few, Another

259. A Few

258. Moving In a Little Closer

257. Behind the Row

As much as I hate to admit it, these are closest to the actual colors we saw that day with the expanse of hills and sky.  The ground in southern Lebanon is a rich brick color and very fertile.  The "local color" reminds me of New Mexico or Arizona, but the vegetation is very different. 

256. Aside From The Row

255. Young Ones in the Row

For your convenience, frames like this are offered for sale at my cost, including dust jacket and wire hanger.

254. End of the Row

For your convenience, I have frames available in various colors and will frame any painting complete with dust jacket and wire hanger for my cost.

253. On the Bright Side

252. In a Row on the Warmer Side

251. In a Row 4

This is how the painting might look with a simple floater frame. 

250. In a Row 3