Wild Wild Life

A long time friend of ours recently put her home up for sale and will be moving to North Carolina when it sells. She took a photo in her backyard of a heron taking flight.  I used it to work from. This will be her going away/house warming gift. (Shhhh...she doesn't know.)

Oil on panel, 6" x 6", NFS

To Life

This is the last in this particular series with the green egg. Luckily I just got another dozen...with another single green egg! More eggs to come...

Oil on panel, 6" x 6", $100 (with free display easel)+ shipping

 

or contact brenda@brendaferguson.com

To Be or Not To Be

Sometimes less is more. 'Nuf said. :o)

Oil on panel, 6" x 6", $100 (with free display easel) + shipping

 

or contact brenda@brendaferguson.com

The Feather or the Egg

More of the green egg. I'm really pleased with the color scheme in this one, and I particularly like the shadows on the vase and cloth...so I guess those are my 'sweet spots.' Oh...and I like the small sliver of white cloth behind the shadow on the right of the vase. :o)

Oil on panel, 6"x 6", $100 (with free display easel) + shipping

 

or contact brenda@brendaferguson.com

In the Beginning

A while back my husband stopped at a roadside stand with a cooler full of eggs and bought a dozen. When I opened them up I was delighted to find among all the rosy brown ones, this beautiful pale green one. I like all the ovals and circles appearing in this painting, in the subjects and their shadows. Here's the musical inspiration. (To continue looking at the art while you listen, right click on the colored word 'musical' and go to Open Link in New Tab.)

Oil on panel, 6" x 6", $100 (with free display easel) + shipping

 

or contact brenda@brendaferguson.com

Cherry on Top

Just back from a couple weeks of wilderness camping on the beach at Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. Best vacation ever! I did four paintings while I was there, but have many that I did before we left, so will post those first. I love cherries...painting them and eating them. In fact, they're my favorite fruit. Here's some appropriate music for your listening pleasure. (To continue looking at the art while you listen, right click on the colored word 'music' and go to Open Link in New Tab.)

Oil on panel, 6" x 6", $100 (with free display easel) + shipping

 

or contact me at brenda@brendferguson.com

Synergy

This is one of my faves. Couldn't get the colors right on my monitor, but I really like them in the painting. I'll be out of the technological realm for about two weeks. I'll be painting still and will have lots to post when I return to civilization. :o) I'll leave you with this music. EnJOY!

Oil on panel, 6" x 6"
SOLD

Edgy

Love these vivid colors. The 'sweet spot' for me is, again, the reflection of the plate on the pear. I also like the slight shadow cast by the turquoise paper on the white. It just gives it a bit of depth. Here's some of the colorful music I listened to. (To continue looking at the art while you listen, right click on the colored word 'music' and go to Open Link in New Tab.)

Oil on panel, 6" x 6", $100 (with free display easel) + shipping

 

or contact brenda@brendaferguson.com

Green Means Go

I had such a good time with yesterday's painting, I wanted to try a similar one with a color combination I love...green and purple. The reference photo was turquoise, like yesterday's painting, so I used a bit of artistic license with this one. That's a stretch for me because I'm more comfortable painting what I see rather than what I imagine. I was really pleased with the reflections of the purple ground onto the undersides of the pears. Here's some great painting music. (To continue looking at the art while you listen, right click on the colored word 'music' and go to Open Link in New Tab.)

Oil on panel, 6" x 6"

SOLD

Fine Line

I don't know if this is a real 'sweet spot', but I'm having fun with the shadows falling on two different colored objects and making them read that way. You'll be seeing more of that sort of thing in upcoming posts. Thought I'd include a bit of the process for this one since I remembered to take photos along the way. And here's some of the inspiring music I painted to. (To continue looking at the art while you listen, right click on the colored word 'music' and go to Open Link in New Tab.)

 

Oil on panel, 6" x 6", $100 (with free display easel) + shipping

 

or contact brenda@brendaferguson.com

A Daisy a Day

I love the simplicity of daisies and I tried to keep the composition simple. I also really love this color combination. A couple of 'sweet spots' for me...the subtle shadow of the daisy stem on the plate and the glowing inner front edge of the daisy itself. Just had a blast with this one. And here's some of the music that had me going. (To continue looking at the art while you listen, right click on the colored word 'music' and go to Open Link in New Tab.)

Oil on panel, 6" x 6", &100 (with free display easel) + shipping

 

or contact brenda@brendaferguson.com

Making Waves

This is the last in the mini series of three wave paintings. For this one you can see I used a red tinted panel. For yesterday's, the under painting was yellow. I learned that there is a lot going on in water. I tried to keep that in mind and to simplify, but I'm sure I could have simplified even further. The 'sweet spot' for me are the bits of warm red that peek out and the light shining through the far wave. And I love the idea of stopping a moment in time here.

Oil on panel, 6" x 6"

SOLD

Ebb and Flow

This is the second in a series of three wave paintings I did recently. There is so much color in water! The 'sweet spot' in this one for me is the rosy glow near the bottom of the closest wave. Here's some of the inspirational music that had me flowing...smoooooth. (To continue looking at the art while you listen, right click on the colored word 'music' and go to Open Link in New Tab.)

Oil on panel, 6" x 6"
SOLD

Ride the Wave

This is the first wave I've ever painted. It's fun! I enjoyed discovering all the colors within the wave. In yesterday's post I mentioned the joy of finding a 'sweet spot' when creating each painting... the part of the art that makes my soul sing. In this one, it's all that color in the back lit wave, particularly the orange bits of glow.

This was a gift for my dear friend's birthday. She has the ocean in her blood and together we've savored visiting beaches throughout Maine during all four seasons.

Here's some of the musical inspiration. (To continue looking at the art while you listen, right click on the colored word 'musical' and go to Open Link in New Tab.)

Oil on panel, 6" x 6", NFS

Aruba Blues

I'm back...and back to posting!  I've wanted to paint these for a while...and a recent Daily Paintworks Challenge was the impetus to do it now. The Challenge was to paint a gift you received. These Aruba Blue Converse Chucks were a Mother's Day gift this year. Lucky me!

I don't know about you, but I suspect it's true for all who create art... in each painting I do, I have a favorite part or "Sweet Spot." It might be just a single stroke perfectly placed or the perfect colors beside each other or the most fun part of the composition. As a friend once said to me, it's the part of the art that makes my soul sing. So I thought I'd share these sweet spots with you as they occur. In this painting I love the shadow cast by the shoelace and the barely there, pale yellow insides of the tongue and shoe.

Here's some of the musical inspiration. (To continue looking at the art while you listen, right click on the colored word 'musical' and go to Open Link in New Tab.)

Oil on panel, 6" x 6"

SOLD

In Cahoots

Here's the last in this series of pears and I think my favorite of the bunch. I like the way the fabric falls and especially the reflection of both the blue and white stripes on the underside of the pears...and those rotund bottoms...well!! Gotta admit I had to look up how to spell the title.

An aside... I spent last night at the Bangor Waterfront under the stars, hands in the air, singing this...with The Beach Boys. Memorable. (To continue looking at the art while you listen, right click on the colored word 'this' and go to Open Link in New Tab.)

* I'll be without internet access for the next week, so no posting...but I've got lots of paintings lined up to post when I return.
Oil on panel, 6" x 6"

SOLD

Beach Towel

I like the diagonals of this one. 

Oil on panel, 6" x 6", $100 (with free display easel) + shipping

 

or contact brenda@brendaferguson.com

No Jay Walking

More pears and stripes. I like the way the full sunshine provides strong shadows that added another dimension to the composition.
Oil on panel, 6" x 6", $100 (with free display easel) + shipping

 

or contact brenda@brendaferguson.com

Crosswalk

I'm enjoying working with these stripes. They add such an interesting piece to the composition. What I noticed from the beginning of this series (but forgot to mention) is the way the blue and white stripes reflect on the underside of the pears. That's a subtle but fun detail to capture. It's more apparent on some of the paintings than others. Here's some of the music I moved to. (To continue looking at the art while you listen, right click on the colored word 'music' and go to Open Link in New Tab.)

SOLD

Three's a Crowd

This painting is the result of a Daily Paintworks Challenge. It got me started painting stripes...and I liked it so much, I just kept going.  I found these deliciously plump rounded pears and couldn't resist them. Can't get enough of this music, either. (To continue looking at the art while you listen, right click on the colored word 'music' and go to Open Link in New Tab.)

Oil on panel, 6" x 6" SOLD

Stars and Stripes

I  initially did this painting for Carol Marine's Daily Paintworks Challenge. I had such a good time with the stripes, I've done several more since. Will post over the next couple of days.

Oil on panel, 6" x 6"

SOLD

Pairing

I just really love the variety in these last four pear paintings. Same subject, yet all so different. I'm particularly pleased with the colors in this one...the warm light and the cool blue-gray background.

Oil on panel, 6" x 6", $100 (with free display easel) + shipping

 

or contact brenda@brendaferguson.com

Re Posed

I'm always interested in the chiaroscuro effect of objects emerging out of the darkness. A great opportunity to find and lose edges.

Oil on panel, 6" x 6" SOLD

Registered Pair

Here's the first of the pears I mentioned in yesterday's post. I love the shape of them and you'll be seeing more as the days go by. They are sitting on an old wooden ginger ale crate from the Pine Spring Water Company out of Brunswick, Maine. I love its tongue-in-groove top and the stamped lettering. Here's some of the music I painted to. (To continue looking at the art while you listen, right click on the colored word 'music' and go to Open Link in New Tab.)

Oil on panel, 6" x 6"

SOLD

Seeing Spots

This is the last in this polka dot series. I really love the colors in this one. It also begins a mini series of pears. I painted four, each one totally different from the next in terms of color, value and temperature. I'll post them over the next three days.

Oil on panel, 6" x 6"

SOLD

Polka Dots and Blueberry Spots

Another in the polka dot series. I thought the blueberries were a fun addition to this set up. Here's the musical inspiration while I painted. (To continue looking at the art while you listen, right click on the colored word 'musical' and go to Open Link in New Tab.)

Oil on panel, 6" x 6", $100 (with free display easel) + shipping

 

or contact brenda@brendaferguson.com

Escape of the Spermatazoa

I love all the colors in this one. Hope the title doesn't offend...but it's all I could see. And once it was in my mind, nothing else came! My favorite part is the reflection of the turquoise bowl in the red mug. More polka dots for the Daily Paintworks Challenge from last week...and two more to go in this polka dotted series. Here's the painting music. Enjoy! (To continue looking at the art while you listen, right click on the colored word 'music' and go to Open Link in New Tab.)

Oil on panel, 6" x 6", $100 (with free display easel) + shipping

 

or contact brenda@brendaferguson.com

Dots and Spots and Flower Pots

More polka dots as a result of this week's Daily Paintworks Challenge.  I just love all the color in this one! My biggest challenge was trying to get the shadowed flower pot on the left to 'read' as white. Not sure if I succeeded or not. 

Oil on panel, 6" x 6"
SOLD

Peasful Pair

I did this painting in response to Carol Marine's Daily Paintworks Challenge this week... an easy challenge since I love polka dots! I think this is my favorite color combination...purple and green. Here's the music that had me polka-ing. (To continue looking at the art while you listen, right click on the colored word 'music' and go to Open Link in New Tab.)

Oil on panel, 6" x 6"

SOLD

Arc

Here's the last in this series of paint brushes. I enjoyed it...learned more about painting metal, various textures and shadows...always shadows. Here's some of the rockin' music I played. (To continue looking at the art while you listen, right click on the colored word 'music' and go to Open Link in New Tab.)

Oil on panel, 6" x 6", $100 (with free display easel) + shipping

 

or contact brenda@brendaferguson.com

This Way and That

I get a charge from playing with various arrangements of the objects in my compositions.

Oil on panel, 6" x 6", $100 + $10 domestic shipping