381 Occupied

We have nests in our gutters where they meet a corner of the house.  In many past Springs, we found baby birds by the back door, kicked out of the nest by mother.  So sad.  Mother Nature can be so cruel.

click here to visit Daily Paintworks, or to purchase this painting:
http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/381-occupied/236330

370 Feathers

Watercolor was my first love, artistically.  It has been a very long time--decades,  since I broke out the water colors.  It felt pretty good to revisit this old friend.  I have always loved birds and have collected feathers for many years.  These are a few from my stash.

304. Shy

I was a little hesitant about painting the spider mums.  This is the third attempt.  In one other painting, they ended up as hydrangeas (ah, the freedom we have),  the other was gessod over.  I'm fairly happy with the way these turned out

302. Flip

This is another little arrangement I made from Trader Joe's flowers.  I love the snapdragons and the little flip they create. 

301. Free Spirited

My sweet husband came home with two bundles of mixed flowers this week.  I decided to paint from my own little arrangements rather than the fussy arrangements from the floral department of the grocery store.  I enjoy that so much more.  This is a simple arrangement of white mums and pink alstroemera. 

299. Encouraged

My trips to the grocery store floral department have been productive.  Every time I visit, there are new arrangements to photograph.  Lately the designers have been getting a little tight and fussy with the flowers, and it's throwing me off as my goal is to loosen up.  I am making every effort to avoid translating their fussiness into my paintings.

297. Free Spirited

296. Anniversary

291. Two Tulips

289 Needing Spring

288. Almost Noon

287. AHA Moment

286. Deeper In

Another view of Peninsula State Park in Door County, Wisconsin.  Have you seen the bumper sticker that says:  "I brake for garage sales" ?  I brake for shadows (in the snow) and I'm sure people think I'm a little crazy.

283. Straight On

Another Door County scene from Peninsula State Park on a sunny January day.

281. Shadows in the Forest

This is a scene from Door County, a beautiful place all year round.  We visited there last January, and this is the view of the woods at the Peninsula State Park we saw out our door. 

279. Middle of Another Row

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.

152 View of the Harbor

This is a view of Eagle Harbor in Ephraim, Door County, Wisconsin right near The Hardy Gallery, a historic gallery located on a peninsula.  What's unique about this gallery is that it has graffiti covering the outside of the building.  It's difficult to see that it was January, but it was so cold and icy and the (Green)  Bay was just beautiful.

I am relieved to have made the decision to move on from skies/clouds.  I admire the Daily Paintworks artists who make their skyscapes look so natural and believably beautiful.  I've diligently studied these paintings on line,  and have come to the conclusion that oils would probably be the preferred medium.  With acrylics, everything just looks like a big mess on my canvas. 

150 Sunset Over Village

Still working on these darn clouds.  I'm losing patience, and patience is my strong suit.

147 Big Top Under Blue

For many years, families camped out days in advance in downtown Milwaukee to reserve seats for the Great Circus Parade.  Antique circus wagons, animals, a ferris wheel, merry-go-round, and clowns--Ernest Borgnine being the most notable, all traveled from Circus World in Baraboo, Wisconsin to entertain children and adults at our lakefront's Veteran's Park for days leading up to the parade.    On a beautiful July day, I visited the park, and felt 12 years old again.

Unfortunately, funding for the Great Circus Parade has dwindled, so what was an every-year occurrence, is much less frequent.