#122 "Spring! and Little Sandwiches", oil on board, 24" x 18"

Well, I said I was going to paint flowers. Actually, I started this painting several months ago. I took a long time to get the drawing just right, and I laid in the underpainting, getting some idea about values. The original inspiration came from a photo of a garden party birthday I attended last year. For some reason I didn't get back to it until this weekend. I took it to Studio 106 in Langley, invited my friend Faye to paint with me and we had a super delicious day painting and listening to wonderful music. This painting makes me smile. The Ray for the Day is "Spring! and Little Sandwiches".

#121 "Mexico Sketches"

Well, I promised I would try to make a slide show of the sketches I did in Mexico. I did it! How fun to learn something new on the computer. This is a sampling of the sketches I did during Feb/March in Manzanillo. The Ray for the Day is "Mexico Sketches".

#120 "Looking Down Second Street", oil on cradled board, 16"x20"

This is a different view of Langley. On an early morning walk I was struck by the fabulous long shadows and the wonderful shapes of the buildings. Not to mention the water and the mountains and the sky. This was a complicated painting to draw and to paint, and I love it. I tried to just make shapes, alternating cools and warms, different textures and sizes and still have them read as the buildings that are there. It was interesting to make the street appear to dip down and then up again. All on a flat little board. I do so love this little town! Hey! All the Spring flowers that are popping out are making my heart glad. And making me want to paint flowers. Which I will probably do! I hope you know you can click on the painting and see it larger. The Ray for the Day is "Looking Down Second Street". SOLD

#119 "In Her Easter Bonnet..." oil on board, 31"x11"

So for all you whiners out there who feel I haven't fulfilled my promise of A Ray a Day.....well....dang...I haven't. My excuse is this: I was in Mexico for nearly a month and I didn't paint while I was there. I did, however, do a sketch a day and I posted them on www.whidbeyislandsketchers.blogspot.com. We sketch all Wednesday afternoons and well into the evening, complete with food and wine. It is a blast. If you want to see my Mexico sketches you can go to that site, where you will see tons of other really fabulous sketches. I may try to figure out how to put a slide show of them on this site as well. In the meantime, I've decided to do an Easter Bonnet thing for my Langley Open Studio event on April 2, and this is the painting I made to advertise that event. I wanted to paint something playful and I really had fun making this painting. And I'm back. There's another painting on the easel that is nearly finished so look for that later. Meanwhile, the Ray for the Day is "In Her Easter Bonnet...."