"Safe"

 

Here's another "One Word" painting. I thought about the word and it made me think of the safe or vault at a bank. I decided to use cool colors, mainly blues and greens to represent stacks of money. It definitely has a Mondrian feel to it. I'm thinking of doing a series of these--they're just so much fun to paint! 

"No, duh!"

 

I've lived on this street for many years, and yet I've never noticed the absurdity of this sign at the and of the block. There's a berm, several towering pine trees, and a metal guardrail there.  You couldn't get a car past here if you really tried! 

"Lionize"

 

A "One Word" painting. I thought I'd capture the word by making wispy lines on one side of the painting representing the lion's tail. Then I added a fuzzy pained head on the right side, and a loose couple lines representing his face. A fun little project!

"The Lavender Hill Mob"

 

I've painted these tchotchkes before, but when I put a small glass with lavender in it on the sill, I thought it was worth another go at it. 

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"Tree.Door.Ladder"

 

We had some work done to our home and the workers put our front door against the elm tree in our backyard. Then they rested a step ladder against it. One afternoon I looked out the window and saw this unusual composition. I love the way our neighbor's chimney is  reflected in the door, especially with the afternoon sun shining on it. It definitely had a surreal look to it. 

"Bluegrass"

 

Another "One Word" painting. When I think of bluegrass, I think of fiddle and guitar. I listened to Darrell Anger and Mike Marshall while painting this. Their album "Chiaroscurro" is absolutely fantastic. Just the right mix of country and bluegrass. This painting has a couple of musicians playing waves of gorgeous notes. 

"Lavender"

 

A few sprigs of lavender from my daughter's garden. Looks like I'm running out of herbs to paint. What's next? 

"ShadowGate"

 

Saw this interesting scene out on an afternoon walk. Loved the long shadows from the intricate wrought-iron gate. Thought it would make a cool painting. 

"Variegated Sage"

 

An interesting looking variation of the sage plant. Here's another in the series of sketch-paintings I'm working on of plants from our herb garden. 

"Pipe Wrench Patty"

We have this old doll we hang from a tree every year for Halloween. I thought I'd do a painting of it and wanted to make it look even creepier than it already is. So a pipe wrench seemed to add just the right touch. 

 

"We've Got the Funk"

 

I thought I'd assemble some different kind of things for a still life. The tennis shoe was pretty beat up and funky, especially after going through a flood. So I decided to name the painting after a favorite P-Funk tune. 

"Purple Basil"

 

What an interesting variety of basil. I haven't tried it yet, so I'm not sure what it tastes like. But it is pretty cool looking. And it's fresh from our herb garden! Gotta love it! 

"Epic Dump"

 

I was driving around the near west side of Detroit looking for old bank buildings,a few weeks ago, when I found this old hulk. This is about 2 or 3 miles from the heart of downtown! What a town, is all I can say! 

"Super"

 

Another "One Word" painting. The word Super made me think of Supernova. So I decided to do something that resembled an exploding star. It actually looks better in the flesh. 

"A Conference of Coneflowers"

 

I recently stumbled upon this flower bed with red, yellow, and purple coneflowers. What an intense combination of colors. I had no idea there were yellow ones. Apparently, horticulturalists have been working on them from years, and they're now widely available. Definitely have to look into adding them to my garden. 

"Rosemary"

 

And then there's Rosemary. Such a great herb hat adds so much flavor to soups, sauces, and anything else you add it to! Every fall we bring it indoors, and by the end of winter, it's managed to die. Don't know how other people do it, but I definitely have a black thumb when it comes to Rosemary. 

"Greek Oregano"

 

we had Mexican Oregano in our herb garden for years. It was so abundant that I used to throw it on the grille when I was barbecuing to add extra flavor. Then, mysteriously, last year it all but disappeared. So I replanted the bed with Greek Oregano and it's definitely not quite as bushy as the Mexican variety. Hopefully it'll do just fine once it takes hold. 

"Thyme"

 

Another in my series of herb sketch/paintings. Lot's more to come!