Complimentary Rose

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At first I thought maybe the photos of roses in subdued light were better, but now that I've painted both I think they each have their own, particular merits. This one was in shade, so the lighting is subtle. I love the soft edges and slowly shifting colors.

In Your Face Rose

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A lot of the roses I've painted so far are fairly flat, but I loved this one for it's three-dimensionality. Woah - my spelling corrector didn't like that word (or "woah")! And is it "corrector" ... or "correcter"? Google seems to accept both of them. What is this world coming to that we rely on programs to the point we don't know how to spell anymore!

Bad Day at the Office

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This one was a total experiment. I was feeling sorry for myself because I had a bad day (before I ever started painting) and so I decided to just do whatever I felt like, screw the outcome. I really liked this rose because it was back-lit and had that cool orange glow-y thing going on, but I couldn't decide on a composition. I landed on a kind of weird crop with a "white" rose to the left. I felt like the little bits of purple in the "white" added a kind a of balance to the yellow...

Daily Paintworks launched the monthly DPW Contest last night! More details...

Green Tomato Shot

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My favorite part about this one ... is the reflection of the spoon. Because I made it with just one brush stroke, and that's all it took to make it look right. That doesn't happen every time. That's what I shoot for, but ...

Hiding in the Stacks

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While I was going to college I had a job at the biggest library on campus (the PCL at UT in Austin, in case you know it). I loved that the bookcases were called "the stacks." When I wasn't "on duty" I would sometimes get lost in the stacks with a good book. Ahhhh, memories.

"Plum Shy" & a contest!

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These are more plums, but ripe this time, and way yummy. I'm particularly fond of the way this one turned out.

And here's a little teaser for ya'll. Daily Paintworks is about to announce a monthly contest! Not only are we offering cash to the top 3 winners, the top 15 will be featured artists for a month! If you're interested, I'll post a link with more info and a way to enter on August 1st.

Little Red

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I've had the need recently (for a couple of reasons) to take a picture of me in my studio. Actually, I had to take a few of them and then patch them all together to get the whole scene. I always get a kick out of seeing other people in their studios so I thought I'd share it with ya'll.

All Off

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Thank you all so much for all the great info about tshirt companies!! I've got an order coming from cafepress, but if that isn't up to par I've now got several other options up my sleeve.

On another note, I thought it might be interesting for ya'll to see some very early tomatoes of mine, for kicks.

Orderly Apples

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I've gotten quite a few questions/comments/suggestions on the tshirt deal so I thought I'd fill you guys in on what I'm looking for in case you have some ideas. I am REALLY busy this summer and so I'm looking for a company that I can send a design (or two) to and they will handle everything from there. I want them to take orders and ship out shirts for me. I don't want to have a bunch of tshirts on hand. The only two companies like that I've found are zazzle and cafepress. I've tried zazzle and now I'm giving cafepress a go. If you know of another place that will do what I need, please let me know. Thanks!!

Curious Spoon

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These are some more of those early plums from yest...I mean, these are whatever you want them to be...yeah, cherries? That will be fine.

Just wanted to tell you guys that although I've been slow with it, I am making progress on the t-shirt thing. I ordered my first batch from zazzle and they were quite a bit...less than I expected. So I'm on to my second company now, with high hopes.

Early Plums

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This is another painting from before our vacation. So what are these little things, you ask? They can be anything you want them to be! Cherries. Tiny apples. Really early plums. You decide. Ok, they're actually really early plums (so cute!) but I get that they're kind of ambiguous. I decided to paint them anyway.

Peaching on the Corner

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I didn't take many, but here is a collage of pictures from our recent vacation on Lopez Island, created using PicMonkey. It's always a good vacation when you loved it but are happy to be home! And that is definitely the case this time. I painted these peaches before we left but didn't have time to post them. I thought of the title all by myself and am quite proud of it.

Bad Art Destruction Party & Our Vacation

Last Saturday I hosted the first annual Bad Art Destruction Party! What the heck is that? Well, artists often have piles of art sitting around that never made the cut, but we feel like crap every time we look at them. Sound familiar? So a few of my art buddies from Oregon came over and together we destroyed all our bad art. We used knives, sharpies and sometimes even our own heads to break, slash and mutilate. It was incredibly cathartic, and you can bet we'll do it again next year. In attendance: Sarah, me, Joseph, Celeste, Annie and Ellen ... and of course our husbands and wives and kiddos who have to put up with all our crap.

The morning after the party my family and I headed off to Lopez Island, where we are staying for a week, at the house of a recent, very generous student of mine, while they are away. It is an amazing house with a spectacular view! I will post photos soon.

Peach Intervention

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Once in a while I feel the need to revert to old Carol, with simple objects and simple compositions and well, no faces! Just peach faces. With complicated social dynamics. Because you know the peach closest to  us has a drug problem. And the others are concerned and they've decided to talk some sense into him. Will it work? I don't know. Because he likes the wild and crazy colors he sees. And he thinks maybe the others just don't want to see.

First Date at the Food Stand

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When I spotted this couple at the food stand at the Saturday Market in Eugene last year, they seemed so awkward together, I figured they were on a first date. Apparently she got her food first, which definitely means points for him!

Tourists in the Alley

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I dug through my files for this one. The reference is from Freiburg, Germany, and I swear they were posing just for me. That or they were staring at me because they were very unsure what I was doing taking pictures of random people in an alley. Whichever. It works for me.

Dusty Rose

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I found the inspiration for this rose in the big Portland garden last summer. The color is not what you'd call "spectacular," but I like its subtlety.

One Drop Rose

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I was worried I might ruin this painting with fussy-ness (my word) if I included the little drop of water. But it turned out to be simpler than I imagined. Here it is again, close-up. -->
I'm almost embarrassed to show you how simple it is. But it looks like a drop, hey?

Yellow Rose

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My favorite part of the photo for this painting was ... that tiny little curly thing at the bottom (left). So of course I had to include it.

On another note, summer has gotten off to a busy start, and I don't expect it to slow down anytime soon. Between visitors and trips, I've barely had a moment to think. I certainly won't be posting every day, but I'll post (and paint) as often as I can!

Table with a View

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What this view actually consisted of was Alcatraz up on that distant hill/island. I decided to simplify it. These guys deserve a break.

Hope everyone had a lovely Fourth!