Daily Painting, "The Sun Kisses the Sea" 8x10 SOLD

This painting is another from my trip to Sanibel Island earlier this summer.

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SOLD

It is very much a nature reserve with stunningly beautiful scenes in every direction.  I am sure the people who reside there become jaded, maybe they long for that haunting beauty of a desert.

Where ever you live, there is beauty, you just have to be able to see it.

Daily Painting "Morning Sail" 6x8 Oil Landscape SOLD

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. 
--Mark Twain 







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SOLD

The thing about sailing, is that it looks like a lot more fun than it actually is.  I know, I know, that's just my opinion, so please don't get upset!  I enjoyed my days on the boat and I still love to spend an afternoon sailing.

Now, when I see a sail boat heading out on a beautiful sunny day, it seems like a little piece of paradise.
The real thing  almost never beats out imagination.  It's easy to forget the day the sail ripped or the day we sailed home in a raging storm with lightening strikes all around us.

Today, I will imagine....and paint about it.

Happy Birthday to my baby girl, Shelly!

Daily Painting "Satisfaction", Cat Portrait, 6x6" SOLD

Retagene, who is a friend of mine from Etsy, sent me an image of her cat, pretending to be asleep in the sun.  I couldn't pass up the chance to do a daily painting.

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SOLD

Kitty's owner, Retagene is such a talented artist herself.  She has many interests  so if you want to visit her Etsy site you can find it here.  I love her cards and re-order time and again.

He (she) looks so satisfied, sitting in the sun.  That is something my paint group, Pieces of Eight is going to be doing lots of in a week or two.  We go on a week's retreat to the mountains every year and that time is fast approaching.  Plenty of painting, sightseeing, photo-shoots, cooking, wine and just all around good times with long time friends.  Thank you Cindy, for volunteering your house.

Daily Farm Painting, "Valley View" 7x5" SOLD

Red barn, green grass, a little fishing pond.....what more could you ask for on a lazy summer day?

SOLD

This farm is down the road from us on Conley's Creek Road.  I must have painted it 30 or more times.  Each time, I think I have said everything I can, but then I find myself drawn to it again.  A different angle, or new time of day.....it pulls me in time after time.

Set in the valley, I pass it each time I leave my house.  It is the most picturesque spot I know.  Surrounded by mountains and with a curvy drive, the light effects are always spectacular.

Daily Landscape Painting, "Off the Parkway" 16x20

If you follow my blog, you know I spend lots of time in the mountains of North Carolina.  We have a little house just outside Smoky Mountains National Park.  We travel  back and forth between the mountains and the beaches of Florida several times a year.

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This is not a new piece, but I realized that I have not posted it before.  I painted it several years ago and it hangs in our mountain house.  I was a less experienced artist at the time and I took some artistic license to achieve, what I thought, was an interesting composition.

Now, when I look at it, all I can see is the inconsistent light patterns.  I could easily "fix" it, and maybe someday I will.  But for the time being, it will stay the same.

I remember going to a museum to see a exhibit of VanGogh and Monet once.  None of the paintings were ones that I recognized.  They were all earlier works that somehow survived the years.  They were also less than perfect.

How do you treat your earlier works?  Do you ever re-work them?

On another note, yesterday the wonderful artist, Julie Ford Oliver ( who ironically was also blogging about reworking a painting) mentioned that she had taken word verification off her blog to make commenting easier.  I loved that idea and implemented it quickly.  Thanks, Julie!

Daily Mixed Media Abstract Painting, "Tiny Bubbles", 10x8"

Time for an abstract!

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I had so much fun working on this one.  I included all my favorite colors, worked hard on a center of interest, did a little stamping and scratching through for movement.  But now, I cannot decide if it is a vertical composition............

or horizontal.  So far, I have not signed it.  Which format do you prefer?

I am honored to say that one of my blogger friends, Marla Laubisch, has chosen to feature me in an interview on her blog today!  How exciting is that?  Marla and I have been communicating through comments for some time.  Marla  is a landscape painter living in North Carolina. She usually paints in oils, both in the studio and plein air. Her favorite subjects involve the intersection of urban and rural life and I might add that she is a talented artist.  Be sure to check out her monochromatic truck as well as her water towers with sunset.  She wrote a very interesting interview which you can read here.

Daily Oil Painting "Manhattan Bridge" 6x12"

Today's daily painting is another view from my recent trip to Manhatten.

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Just like the gecko in the commercial, I was walking the Brooklyn Bridge, dodging cyclist and falling in love with the fabulous scenery, when I saw this viewpoint of the Manhattan Bridge.

There is a whole society on the upper level of the Brooklyn Bridge.....who knew!  I saw a model doing a fashion shoot, a bridal party getting their official photos taken, the real New Yorkers who live and work the city, and fabulous views.

It's not a hard walk, I have done it on three occasions.  I highly recommend it on your next trip to Manhattan.  My fellow travelers have always rated this little journey as the "most enjoyable" activity of all our sightseeing in New York.

Daily Painting, "In A World of Her Own", 8x6", Oil SOLD

During a recent trip to New York City with friends, we spent a few hours at a lovely Manhattan rooftop bar.

SOLD

This young woman was sitting across the roof top.  I was taken by her pose and snapped a quick photo.

When I began painting, I quickly realized that the background, a brick wall, was not what I wanted.  I decided to keep it simple and put the full focus on the woman and her skirt.

I suggested the wall with a few quick strokes of terra cotta.

Daily Painting, "Manhattan Rooftop", 6x8" Oil

When in Manhattan, I cannot think of a better place to spend a few hours of a lazy Saturday afternoon than on a lovely garden rooftop.

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100

This one was a real find, on the roof of the Hudson Hotel, a beautiful garden with comfortable seating.

Add the company of good friends and a glass or two of wine, and you have the perfect summer afternoon.

Daily Painting, "Catching Up" 6x8, Oil SOLD

I was strolling through a Brooklyn park, when I found this lady, someone's grandmother, catching up with the day's events.

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Her eyesight must not have been the best, as she was holding the paper very close to her face.

Her hair was unevenly cut and it reminded me of my childhood days when my mother would sit me in a chair and chop away at my hair with her old scissors.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JEFF!!

Daily Painting, "Smoky Admiration" 8x6", Oil

This is from an image that I have had in my files for many years.

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I was always drawn to this image because of the light striking the hats of this Mennonite couple  The fact that she is bare-footed only added to the quirkiness of the scene.

The couple are viewing the highest point at Smoky Mountain National Park.  I have been there many times and know that it is a long hike up a steep concrete walkway.  Where are her shoes!!!

Daily Painting, "Coastal Wildflower" Landscape, 6x8" SOLD

This little painting is not a real place.  I was thinking about the coast of California, where the mountains  collide with the sea.

SOLD

It's a big stretch for me to paint without an image of some type in front of me.  Abstract artists do it all the time.  I spent months just slapping on paint and always ending up with the same muddy, uninteresting, scraper.  Being a slow learner, I repeated the action time and again before the light bulb came on.

Many successful artists work in that manner, but I need more structure.  I must have a goal, a composition in mind, some kind of plan for movement, values, colors.  Don't get me wrong, I don't think this is a great example, but for me, it is a little step forward.

Daily Painting, "Beach Vollyball", 6x8" Oil SOLD

When you are a teenager, or in your twenties, this is what many would think of as the "perfect day"

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SOLD

These days, I much prefer to paint it, than actually do it!  I do remember those days when there was never too much sun, spending the day encrusted with salt and sand.

When I go to the beach these days, it is early morning or early evening....and hopefully October!  The best kept secret  in Florida is that October and November are the months WITH PERFECT WEATHER!!

Daily Painting, "Oconoluftee Barn" 6x8, Oil SOLD

This is not an old barn.........it's a replica of an old barn!

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This barn can be found at the Oconoluftee Welcome Center of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park at Cherokee NC..  They have a great museum and replica of a farm from the old days, complete with chickens and pigs!  

After walking through the farm, you can follow a path, next to the river and through the woods.  The feeling is that you are in the wilderness, they reality is that cars are whizzing by just a few hundred feet away.  

If you are lucky, you will hear the elk calling in the forest, or maybe even spy one or two in feeding in the meadow.

All together, a great way to spend the morning and absolutely free to anyone who cares to visit!

Daily Painting, "Sanibel Beach Cottage" 6x8, oil SOLD

Still posting paintings from my trip to Sanibel.  How could I pass up this adorable cottage on the beach?

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SOLD

The lucky owner's get to view the sea from every window!  Of course, being the practical gal that I am, I cannot help but think how scary it would be during a hurricane.  In Florida, when a hurricane is threatening your area, if you live on the beach, you must abandon your home and find another place to stay until the storm has passed.

I am sorry to say that this little beauty would probably not survive a direct hit from a bad storm.  Not to mention the incredibly high insurance cost for such a location.  Even paradise has it's drawbacks.

See, I told you I was too practical!

Daily Painting, "Going Coconuts", Landscape, 6x8, Oil

This is another of my daily paintings from my trip to Sanibel Island in May.

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My daughter and I were getting our exercise, taking a little walk before it was too hot one morning, trying to dodge all the people on bicycles without getting hit, when I saw this palm loaded with coconuts.

We live in Florida and see lots of palm trees, but our area is further north and coconut palms are not as common there.  There is a lot going on under those palms, all kinds of fibers hanging, old dried up fronds and other miscellaneous materials and of course, the coconuts.  It almost has an abstract quality.

Enjoy!

Daily Painting, "Bunny", 6x8, Oil sold

My youngest grandson was visiting our home when he spied this rabbit in our yard.  He and his Mom are really big animal lovers.

NFS

So, when we found this rabbit, I grabbed the camera and got out of the way.  Trevor managed to get a very nice shot of it through the window.

He was very excited when I surprised him with this little painting, and today, it hangs in a place of honor in his bedroom.

Carol Schiff

www.CarolSchiffStudio.etsy.com
www.CarolSchiffStudio.blogspot.com