Copper Paintings by Renee Lammers

 

"Golden Hightlights on the Peonies" 6x6 oil on copper and 22kt gold.  Sold today!

 

 

"Colors of Spring" 6x6 oil on copper.  Sold today!

 

 

"View of Waterville, Vermont" 10x10 oil on copper.  Sold also!

 

   Gee I never dreamed I would be so busy marking off sold paintings, writing down shipping

addresses, tranferring money from Paypal into my bank account, framing, packaging, and 

then driving to the post office to ship off boxes and boxes of paintings!  I have been too busy to

paint!  But that may change tomorrow as I have all paintings ready to be shipped.  All I need

to do is carry the giant box into the post office.  I am so thankful for my sales lately.  

 

 

   I always try to find a great frame for each of my paintings.  I thought this painting

really looked nice in this frame.  

 

 

   Here is how I package my paintings.  I have extra cardboard to prevent damage to

my paintings.  I bubble wrap each painting.  Then I stick a whole lot of paper inside the

box so the paintings don't shift around.  

 

 

   Daisy and Duke had their Frosty Paws doggy ice cream to celebrate a painting sale outdoors

yesterday.  It was just too beautiful to have their treat inside.  Daisy had her eyes closed the

entire time.  She was so pleased and content.

 

 

   This may have been the best part of Daisies day.

 

 

   I took Daisy and Duke to their favorite lake yesterday.  Here Daisy was being very smart to 

use her big front paw to brace herself while riding in the van!  

 

 

   Daisy used the doggy ramp to exit the van yesterday for the first time!  She was very

comfortable using the ramp.  I am so glad.  Getting back up the ramp was more difficult

but she did it!  

 

 

   Have a wonderful night!  Let's paint!

 

"Goosebump House" 6x6 oil on copper.  Sold off my website yesterday evening!

 

   Many painters have emailed me the last few days asking for help.  They want to sell paintings.

A few of them asked me to write a blog about how they can sell more paintings.  I don't feel qualified

to do this.  I have been a painter since I was four.  I have only been a professional painter for the

last five years.  The first two years I lived in a campground so my development was slow initially.

I really feel as if I have only been in business for three years.  There are marketing specialists

for painters.  I have just chosen a unique entreprenuer path as a painter.  I do things differently. 

It works for me.  Would it work for someone else?  I just don't know.  The only advice I would give

anyone trying to be successful is work hard and have a good attitude.  Be honest.  Be fair.  I love

to paint.  

 

 

"Wicker Chair With Lupines and Daisies" 8x10 oil on copper.  Sold too!  Thank you!

 

    I have had much good fortune to sell many paintings this week.  I have been busy selling

paintings off my website.  When I discover a painting has sold, I find it, and set it on a table.  I

have had to keep better records so I know which painting is going where.  I wrap a painting

up with bubble wrap and also put wrapping paper and extra cardboard in the box to secure

each painting.  I have been insuring paintings just to make sure they arrive safely.  So far so good!

 

 

 

 

"Monhegan Main Street" 8x10 oil on copper.  Sold!  Thanks!

 

 

"Wild Roses and Queen Anne's Lace" 8x10 oil on copper.  Sold!  

 

 

"Busy Bees" 6x6 oil on copper.  Sold!  

 

   I have purchased a year supply of oil paint and toilet paper.  These are two things a painter just

can't live without.  Some months I sell many paintings.  Then some months I sell nothing.  I 

know I won't get rich off of painting.  I would have become a doctor if this was so important to me.
I am content with a painter's salary.  I am just happy someone loves my work enough to purchase the

paintings.  

 

 

"Golden Highlights on Peonies" 6x6 oil on copper with 22kt gold. Sold!

 

 

"Among Wild Roses" 6x6 oil on copper.  SOld!  Thanks!

 

 

"Bunny In The Garden" 6x6 oil on copper. Big Thanks!

 

 

"Prickley Flowers" 7x5 oil on copper.  Thank You!

 

  Here are all of the paintings I sold last night!  I am excited about getting them to their new home.

Have a great night!  Here is Duke enjoying his Frosty Paws doggy icecream in celebration

of my painting success!  Daisy had one too but decided she wanted not to have her photo taken.

 Understandable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Here is Catapillar Hill on the way to Stonington!  I took my Dutch guests on a car ride today.

Tomorrow Robert is taking them to Canada for a week.  So I will be painting at home!  It has been

nice to visit and take a break from painting.

 

 

   A large cloud front came in just when we arrived in Stonington.  Here is the famous

yellow house many artists paint.  The garden has been tilled ready to plant.  

 

 

 

    Sandy Beach at low tide where I painted a few weeks ago.  No sun!  

 

 

 

   The clouds went away!  There were blue skies!

 

 

   Lobsters anyone?  6.65$ a pound today.  

 

 

   Edith plays the Ukuele well!  It is fun listening to them sing together!  They are great company.

 

 

   Sometimes it is difficult to take a photo of Daisy and Duke about ready to enjoy a Frosty

Paws!  They howl and hop.  They are happy!  Have a great night!  Tomorrow I will be painting!

 

"Lavender Irises" 12x12 oil on copper.  Sold.  Thanks!

 

 

"Spring at Asticou Gardens" 8x10 oil on copper.  Sold.  Thank you!

 

 

"The Rooster Named Ghost" 6x6 oil on copper.  Thank you!

 

 

"The Golden Rooster" 6x6 oil on copper.  Sold!  Thanks.

 

 

   Robert has his sister's husband in a beekeeping suit!  He is smoking the hive today!

 

 

Notice Daisy in the background.  She has no fear of the beehives.  Bees do not bother 

the beekeeper's dogs!

 

 

  Daisy was rolling around in the dandelions!  Not a single bee was near her.  The bees

were mostly around the new person.  

 

 

The beehives are doing well except for one.  We need to purchase a new queen for this hive.

Sometimes queens don't take or they die or they fly off.  Then a regular female worker

bee takes over and become a psuedo queen.  She doesn't do a good job.  The hive starts to 

fail. 

 

 

Our Dutch guest really enjoyed helping with the beekeeping duties.  Great photos to paint from!

 

 

   Here is Daisy leading the way back to the house!  She loves to hang out with Robert.  Daisy and 

Duke will start to celebrate the painting sales tomorrow.  We ran out of Frosty Paws!  Yes

there was a lot of howling going on for a few minutes.  They just don't understand!  I gave

them each a small piece of fresh baked salmon as a substitute!  Have a wonderful weekend!  I am

enjoying my guests, sales, and Spring!

 

"My Beehives" 5x7 pen and ink and gouache.  Sold thank you!

These paintings today will only be available for two days.  Then if they aren't sold I will

send them as thank you notes to art clients.

 

    Here is something very new to me!  I ordered Winsor and Newton Designer Gouache to try.

I sat in my new yellow rocking chair, in my yard, and did this painting today.  I like gouache.

This is my first attempt at using gouache.  

 

 

"My Yellow Tulip" 5x7 pen and ink, watercolor, and tiny touch of gouache.

Gifted to a good art client!

 

    Here is my first painting today.  I was brave and added a few touches of orange inside the

tulip.  Most is watercolor.  I picked the only yellow tulip growing in my yard presently!  I love

to paint flowers from life.  

 

 

"Bleeding Hearts" 5x7 pen and ink with watercolor.  Gifted to a great art client!

 

    These Bleeding Hearts were from my neighbor's yard.  They still haven't come to stay for the

summer yet.  I don't think they will mind me taking a few stems of their flowers.  The mason jar

was giving to me by a friend a few years ago.  I love to put new flowers in this jar to paint.  Bleeding

Heart flowers are quite intricate to draw.  I like the results of my efforts today.  I hope you do too!

 

 

   Daisy and Duke relaxed today while I did my painting.

 

 

   Yesterday Duke was hopping up and down by the birdhouse on the tree.  He was

trying to get into the box with his front feet.  So Edith looked into the birdhouse.  Robert'came

over to help.  They found a skeleton of a fish head.  No one could believe it.  We were all

trying to figure out how it got into the box.  Duke has a good fishing techniques.  Have

a great night.

 

    I took my Dutch visitors to the Cottontail Cottage Rabbit Rescue in Lamoine, Maine for a visit

today.  This is a nonprofit organization set up to help take care of abandoned or abused or unwanted

bunnies.  We really enjoyed ourselves.  Who doesn't like bunnies.  Bunnies live for 10 years.  Here is a video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZT7EnM2MjRo

Cottontail Cottage Rabbit Rescue is located at 21 Cottontail Lane, Lamoine, Maine.  Their telephone number

is (207) 664-0344.  They do accept donations.  They accept guests.  They write a blog telling about their bunnies.

 

http://www.ccrabbitrescue.org/bunny-blog.html

 

 

    The gray bunny is the mother of these baby bunnies.  They rescued the mother bunny.

Soon she had a whole bunch of babies. We held one of the babies.  Very cute.

 

 

   Any of these bunnies can be adopted if you qualify.  There are many to choose from.

 

 

  The bunnies enjoyed our visit.  They like to be petted.

 

 

  There were all different types of bunnies to see.

 

 

   

 

   There's a fenced area for a few bunnies to take turns being outside. Bunnies could run free.

  There was a few small goats!

 

 

 

   Here is Duke kicking up his heels in my neighbor's backyard.

 

 

   Here is Daisy inspecting our beehives.  The beehives are doing well!

 

 

   Daisy and Duke are checking out my new yellow chair given to me by my Dutch visitors.  

I will be painting this chair in many fields of lupines and daisies this Summer!  Have a great night.

 

 

 

    I have always wanted to visit Moxie Falls two and a half hours away from my house.  

What a beautiful place.  Worth the drive.  My house guests really enjoyed themselves today too.

There was a short hike about a mile to the falls.  It was quite an adventure.  I knew the waterfall

was 30 yard drop.  It is a best waterfall I have ever seen.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Daisy and Duke say "Life Is Good".

 

 

Duke enjoying his Frosty Paws Doggy Ice cream.  They love Frosty Paws!  Have a great night! 

 

"Dancing By The Sea" doesn't exist any more.  I painted it today.  

I wiped it off.  This doesn't happen too often.

 

 

   I was very tired today because Daisy woke us up at 5:00am.  She had decided to climb over

the barricade to the staircase.  We found her stuck on the bottom step sideways.  She was

having a senior moment.  Duke was worried about her.  Robert helped her off

the stairs but she wanted to come up the stairs.  We let her climb the stairs.  Both

Duke and Daisy slept in our rooms until later in the morning.  She is fine.  She might

have had a bad dream.  Or maybe she just wanted to wake up Robert as she did each

morning.  I just need to remember if I am tired to not paint!  I just can't seem to think or

concentrate when I am tired.  Here are a few photos of the creation of this painting.  I decided

to paint in the sky first because red is very hard to paint around.

 

 

 

    I painted in the poppies using restraint with the color red.  I lighten

the red and added the complement green to desaturate the red.  

 

 

   Next I painted in the dark greens.  I painted in a few lighter areas of the greens.

I made sure there was gradation or different values from right to left.

 

 

   I think this was a difficult painting.  But there were moments I thought things were going

well.  I liked the poppy flowers here.  The greens were giving me trouble!

 

 

   Here is my palette.  I use a grey palette paper by Richeson.  I like this paper because

I can remove it and have a fresh paper without much mess or effort.  I mix a lot of colors using

a limited palette of four. 

 

 

   I took a break and looked at a Monet painting.  I decided I needed a sky like one of his paintings.

The extra work in the clouds and sky really pulled the painting together.  I think I was dissatistfied with

this photo.  It wasn't like the painting.  I kept thinking about using a palette knife to smooth things

out or destroy it some.  I was probably too tired to continue and frustrated with the photo.  I can be

impatient sometimes.  I know I need a professional camera with high pixels set up with special lighting.

Clients tell me my paintings look so much better than the photos.  

 

 

   Yikes.  Well I am finished with the idea of the palette knife.  Nothing good comes of this idea.

 

 

    I wiped off the oil paint with a turpenoid soaked paper towel!  The copper can be

painted on again.  Will I try the same painting?  I am not sure.  I think I will move on.

Here are some of my favorite spots of this painting.

 

 

 

   Daisy and Duke are howling for ice cream!  Oh boy!  Got to go!  Have a great night!

 

 

   Any day of painting is a good day.

 

 

 

"Just Being Daisies" 10x10 oil on copper.  Might be finished now!  Yes it is!  Sold!  Thank you.

 

   I have purchased two clip on easel Ottilites.  These Ottilites fake sunlight so I can

paint at night or on dark days.  I was really amazed how great they work.  There

is a cover so you don't have the light shining up in your eyes.  I worked more on this

painting late into the evening.  I may let it dry and take another look at it.  It is good. 

 

 

   I took my sister in law and her husband to Acadia National Park today.  Here they are

at Seal Harbor, one of my favorite places to paint!

 

 

   Here they are at the beautiful Sand Beach.

 

 

 

    Spring has sprung here at Otter Cliffs on Park Loop Road.  

 

 

View of Seal Harbor from Cadillac Mountain.

 

 

 

   Here are a few of the Porcupine Island seen from Cadillac Mountain.  On the left side

you can faintly see a sandbar that creates a small path to this island at low tide.

 

 

   When I returned home Daisy and Duke were howling to be taken to the beach.  So

I took them to Lake Alamoosook.  They didn't want to stay long because it was cold and

windy!  Look at those waves.  Daisy could bearly stand in the water.  It was a lovely

day!   Daisy and Duke enjoyed a frosty paws doggy ice cream!

 

 

   Daisy was a real lady today waiting her turn!  Have a wonderful night!  Let's Paint!

 

 

 

 

"Just Being Daisies" 10x10 oil on copper 650$ Framed in gold wood.  Shipped free.

 

    Happy Mother's Day!  I sent my Mom a painting by a single woman parent from Russia.  

She loved it.  She was curious as to why I didn't send her one of my own paintings.  I told her

I wanted to help support another artist.  My Mom only has two grandchildren from my brother.

My brother married a Russian lady.  Eventually the paintings will be handed down to her grandchilden

who are half Russian.  I thought they might think it was neat we collected Russian painter's work who

live in American not unlike their Mom.  Paintings make the best presents.

 

 

   Here is a detail of one of the daisies.  I thought the bright blue ocean would be an

excellent background for the beautiful daisies.  

 

 

   Another detail.

 

 

   I started off painting the daisies with light blues and lavenders...all cools first.  Then

I painted in their centers thinking about the shape.

 

 

   I made sure all the daisies were touching..if some weren't...I added another daisy.

I painted in cool darks around the daisies.  I started to use a large flat and soften all the

edges.

 

 

   Daisies blow around in the wind.  So there are blurry edges.  This creates movement.

Then I painted more and soften or destroyed.  Last I added the light warm whites to the

sunlit areas of the daisies.  I went back into the dark greens and defined some.  I put some cool

highlights on the leaves.  I used almost pure Cadmium Yellow Light to create a few backlit

leaves...they are the purest of color.  The rest of the greens are not very bright colors but

subdued.  I wanted my daisies to be the most important part of the painting, not the greens.

 

   Daisy and Duke just went to the ocean for a swim and run!  They chased a few birds.  They will

have more frosty paws later.  Have a wonderful Mother's Day!

 

"Lilies Of Thuya Garden" 8x10 oil on copper.  Sold last night off my website.  Thank you.

 

   I have been wishing for a Ukulele for five years now.  So today I found a beautiful concert

Ukulele for 69$ at a music store.    My husband's

sister knows how to play the Ukelele very well.  She gave us a concert.  Then she taught me

how to do a few chords.  Robert learned how to play.  We had a lot of fun!  I play classical

piano and trombone.  So the Ukulele will be a fun challenge.  

 

 

  Here is Robert serenading Daisy!  She liked it.  

 

 

   For thirteen years I have been playing the "popcorn game" with Daisy and Duke.

I toss a piece of popcorn into the air to each dog who tries to catch it in the air.  It took

Duke a year and a half to figure out to catch the popcorn in his mouth.  I would toss the

popcorn, it would hit him in the nose or forehead, and then it would fall, and he would eat it.

One day I told Duke, "Watch Daisy".  Daisy caught the popcorn.

I could see Duke got the idea.  From then on Duke caught the popcorn!  He is very proud

to be able to do this.   In the background you can 

see Robert brought out his guitar.  Edith, his sister, played the guitar too!  

I took the day off from painting.  Tomorrow I will work very hard.

 

 

   The tulips are blooming everywhere.  We still have daffodils!  I will paint more flowers tomorrow!

Have a wonderful night!  It is good to just have fun sometimes.  Duke and Daisy really

enjoyed their ice cream.

 

 

   Here is Duke having his Frosty Paws doggy ice cream celebrating the painting sale.  Daisy

disappeared under the table.  She likes her privacy.  

 

 

 

"Paper Whites" 7x5 oil on copper.  350$ framed in gold wood.  Shipped free.  Sold!  Thank you!

 

    I painted daffodils near the seaside at Fort Point State Park.  Here are a few

photos of the long process!  

 

 

 

   Already I can feel sunlight on my daffodils.  From experience I know flowers without sunlight

do not go over well in a painting.  You can't always paint what color you think you see.  Our eyes

seem to amplify warm reflective light within a shadow.  So instead I ignore the warmth

in the shadow and make it really cool. If I have a contrasting cool shadow with a warm sunlit areas

within my painting I will have created sunlight!  If I paint a warm sunlit area and then blow up my warm 

reflective light in the shadow with some cool there, I will have no contrast.  A warm and a warm is

the same.  I could do the opposite mistake and paint pure white in the sunlit area which is a cool temperature. 

Then paint a cool shadow.  So I would have a cool and a cool which is the same!  No sunlight.  I will 

have a strange painting.  The values might have been right but there would be a very strange feeling.

 

 

   I don't normally paint one object at a time.  This way of painting is what some would

call piece meal painting like a paint by number set.  I normally would paint all the shadow

areas together and then paint all of the sunlit areas.  I develop the painting all over and

not one piece at a time.   I know when I finish I will have to start to destroy and then

create again, destroy more and create again until the painting is finished.  At least I have

all my daffodils connected.  If you paint flowers disconnected your eye has a tendency to

bounce from one to the next and back again.  I don't like to do this to the viewer of my

painting.  I want one dominate daffodil to capture you attention.  The other daffodils are

subordinate.  

 

 

   I painted in the background.  I dragged a large flat kolinsky sable over the whole painting

very lightly to soften off the edges.  Then I drove home.  There I set up my computer monitor

and worked for several more hours.  I must have repainted the whole painting three more

times.  I destroyed and created, destroyed and created until I was finished!  

 

 

   Finished!  Have a great night!  Daisy and Duke are celebrating! Let's Paint!

 

 

 

 

   Here is the my art studio in my family room.  You can see my large easel in the corner.

I have purchased unprimed wood cabinets on either side to store art equipment.  I can

use the top of the shorter cabinet on the left to hold a large palette.  There is a drawer to

hold this palette when I am finished painting for the day.  This will prevent any flying dog

hair from getting into my oil palette!  I have a nice leather recliner I purchased with Jackson

Lab's 2010 use of my painting image!  Before this I had a short beach chair with a 

broken arm.  We are starting all over again after living in an airstream for years.  The book-

case contains my latest painting books so I can read them.  In front of my chair is a painting

cabinet.  I use it for holding my laptop.  I can sit in my chair and paint using a small

little thumbox.  Most of the time if I paint inside, I work up at a table.   Robert has the other

half of the family room which has his things!  No painting stuff.

 

 

 

 

    Daisy had to be in the photo!  Here in the background is a chest of drawers with a copper top.  

I put all my paints, brushes, and mediums in the second drawer.  The copper top looks great when

I show people my copper paintings!  I put my small paintings in boxes stored here.  I have pieces

of craft felt (material) in between each painting to protect them.  This is where I show people most

of my small paintings.  I can show them over a hundred small paintings in just a few minutes.

 

 

   Here is a closer look at this important area of my art gallery.  

 

 

   My art gallery is a large room.  I need to work on gallery lighting.  Hopefully this

year I can afford this.  Duke sleeps on the brown leather couch on the left.  Sometimes

clients will pull out a dog stuffed animal they have sat on!  I did have a beautiful red wool

rug here.  But Duke was sprayed by a skunk and found the rug helpful in removing the 

odor.  

 

 

   Here is a painting drying rack I purchased this year.  When you paint small paintings

almost everyday, you need a drying rack!  It looks like I am still not utilizing the drying rack the

chair is being used.

 

 

     Last year I purchased this rack I use to hold most of my frames.  I normally carry at least

75 frames custom ordered in the sizes I prefer to paint. The benefit is free shipping, lower

price on frames, and my clients don't have to wait.  But sometimes I still need to order new

frames.  This way most of the time my clients can have things framed on the spot.  They just

wait 10 minutes and browse more paintings!  All frames are organized by size.  I carry two or three 

styles of frames so there is a little variety.

 

 

   I frame a lot of paintings each year.  When you paint small you need to sell a lot to

survive.   Here in the basement is the framing area.  I have a lot of unuseable

frames right now.  I will sell them at a tag sale or toss them.  A lot of frames

get destroyed at art shows or in the process of framing!  Sometimes I purchase the

wrong style of frame.  I think I am over this stage. All my frames right now come

from North Carolina.  I use ecofriendly frames made of recycled wood products made in

the USA.  That is important to me.  

 

 

Upstairs is this large rack containing my first large birchwood plein air work.  I need to 

burn all of these!  

 

 

   Robert's sister and husband from Holland arrived late last night!  We have been 

really enjoying them.  Here we are all squished into my car on the way to the lake!  No

fish today.  

 

 

   Here is the scene in Sandy Point I painted during the winter time.  I thought you might

like to see the Spring day view.

 

 

   Daisy and Duke enjoyed more Frosty Paws today!  It is a beautiful thing to sell paintings.

Thank you!  Have a great night!  Hopefully this may inspire you to either come to Lammers

Gallery or organize your own studio and gallery!  Let's Paint!

 

 

"Gems Of Thuya Garden" 5x7 oil on copper.  Sold!  Thank you!

 

    Today I purchased several pieces of wood furniture for my art studio.  I bought a large

hutch to store all of my painting odds and ends.  I bought a microwave stand.  This will

be perfect to hold a large glass palette on top.  There is plenty of room for my wet boxes and

plein air easels.  I bought a small double bookcase.  I need to have my newest painting books

near me and not stacked up high.  Basically I have become super organized.  The most

successful people are highly organized and respectful of people.  I want to have my art

possessions stored so Robert doesn't have to look at it.  

 

 

"Asticou Garden's Cherry Tree" 7x5 oil on copper.  Sold today!  Thank you.

 

    I have visited many painter's homes.  Most of the successful painters have

studios outside of their home.  They work long hours.  They have accummulated

much painting equipment, frames, canvases, and painting books.  Then there are a few 

painter's homes I have visited where their poor spouse is sleeping in a room 4/5

full of frames and paintings.  Their bed is pushed into a corner.  They are sleeping

without any real room. You know this has to negatively affect their spouse.  Their

whole house has something to do with painting.  Their home is consumed with

art.  Some spouses don't mind as they are supportive.  Others mind a whole lot

but never complain and just live mad.  

 

 

"The Escape Artist" 6x6 oil on copper.  Sold today!  Thank you!  

 

   My house is the art gallery and studio.  The lower half of the

house is the gallery and studio.  Upstairs Robert has a room without any painting

supplies.  There is a spare room with a lot of finished paintings stacked high on a rack.

There is a desk easel.  Two beds for guests are also in this room.  My bedroom has

no painting equipment.  In the basement are scrapped frames and a huge framing

station.  There are many easels in the basement as well.  Today's furniture

will be on the first level in our family area.  I prefer to paint there in the family

room so I can pet my dog and be around Robert while I paint.  Now things

are more organized.  He is enormously proud of my painting ability.  Daisy and

Duke are celebrating.  Tomorrow I will take the dogs fishing!  Let's Paint!

 

    Many people ask me what my dog is doing when we are at Lake Alamoosook.  I tell them

Duke is fishing.  Then they ask, "Has he ever caught a fish?"  I always explain, "Duke has been

fishing for four years most days but has not ever caught a fish."  Today I can say, "Yes, Duke

caught a pretty good sized fish!  And he ate it in the car!"  

 

 

   Today was different at Lake Alamoosook.  There were many fish swimming in the water.

Duke dove several times.  Daisy was in deeper water having no luck.  But then Duke caught a

fish!  He kept it in his mouth for an hour!  He walked around the creek.  He tried to catch

more fish but he didn't have any room in his mouth.  He didn't know to stash his fish.  Instincts

told him to hang on to the fish.  He showed Daisy a few times standing there with his big fish 

in his mouth.  She didn't seem to care.  She wanted one of her own!

 

 

   I think it was a brook trout although it could have been a salmon.  

 

 

   Today must have been the highlight of Duke's life!  I can not imagine what he must

have felt.  I let him have his fish.  

 

 

   He jumped into the car with his fish.  Then he proceeded to lay down and

eat his fish!  Daisy and I just watched.  He ate the tail first.

 

 

   Delicious!

 

 

   I am very glad Duke caught and ate his fish.  Now he is a fisherman!

I am having company coming from Holland tomorrow!  So I quickly used

windex to clean the interior of my car.  The quilt is in the laundry.  Duke

is a very happy tired dog.  I can hear him snoring.  Have a great night!  Let's paint!  

Here is a video of Duke and his fish with Daisy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHgCc7uVaXM&feature=youtu.be

 

 

 

 

 

"Sand Beach View" 10x10 oil on copper.  650$ Framed in medium gold wood.  Shipped.

 

   I prayed, framed paintings, wrapped up and shipped paintings, took Daisy and Duke to the

lake for a few hours, chased Daisy through the woods, sealed several copper paintings, finished

painting this painting which took four hours!  The day is still young.  

 

 

   Here is this painting as it was yesterday for your visual comparison!  I felt there

needed to be a better design.  So I used a foreground shadow to fix that problem.  I

moved the beach line so it would be in a more suitable place.  I made the distant

mountain be in the distance so it wouldn't compete with my Spruce tree.  I made

sure my Spruce tree was lighter at the base than it was at the top.  I toned down

the lime green.  I think lime green is beautiful but it is better in small quantities.  Here

in Spring there are many pretty colors from little leaves growing.  I think I did

a good job on a difficult scene to capture.  It is an iconic Acadia National Park view.

Everyone stops and admires Sand Beach from Park Loop Road.  

 

 

"Cadillac Mountain View of Seal Harbor" 8x10 oil on copper.  550$ Framed in gold and shipped.

 

   I have been working on this painting it seems like for months off and on.  Today I added

a few more highlights.  The clouds were an addition lately to break up the diagonal 

mountain and to add some warmth to the painting.  I think they look pretty real.

 

 

 

 

   Here is Thuya Garden on Mount Desert Island.  They are getting ready to plant!  The

apple tree looks like it survived the Winter!  Have a wonderful night!  Let's paint!

 

 

 

 

 

"Sand Beach View" 10x10 oil on copper.  650$ Framed in gold wood.  Shipped free.

 

   I always admire this view of Sand Beach in Acadia National Park.  Today I decided

to paint this view.  It was challenging to get a design that worked.  I decided on a

cross  design. The colors of Spring were just beautiful here.  I met many nice people

walking the trail.  Most were serious hikers passing without looking.  They had their

heads down and bearly said hello.  A park ranger drove by and complemented the

painting.  Another nice couple stopped to take my photo and talk about painting.  When

I was done sitting in my car driving away I realized how cold I was.  Along the ocean

with the wind coming off the ice cold water temperatures are very cold!  I had on

a couple of layers.  I should have worn a jacket too.  

 

 

 

 

   Here are the bubbles at Jordon's Pond in Acadia.  It is much cooler here than in Bucksport.

The leaves are hardly growing yet here on Mount Desert Island.  

 

 

  Here I am painting today on Park Loop Road.  The granite rocks are

called "Rockefeller's Teeth".  He commissioned many men to cut and line

these rocks during the depression.  I guess his teeth were like these rocks.

 

 

   Here is Otter Cliff in the distance.  There are no otters there.  Acadia has pretty pink granite.

 

 

Another photo of Park Loop Drive.  The mountain is called the Beehive.  

 

 

Here is my favorite place to paint, Seal Harbor.  

 

 

I woke up this morning checking my email to find two paintings sold!  Then later another one sold!

I feel very fortunate.  I will be buying more copper this week.  Daisy and Duke celebrated

in their normal way!

 

 

  Daisy snatched up her Frosty Paws dog ice cream fast!  Duke had more manners today!

 

 

   Duke enjoys having his treat in his double bed.  

 

 

"Red Hollyhocks" 6x6 sold!  Thank you so much!

 

 

"Happy Alligator" 8x10 oil on copper.  Thank you!  This should be a great conversation piece.  

 

 

"Meredith The Scarecrow" 6x6 oil on copper.  Thank you!  I feel so lucky to sell paintings.  Have a great night!

 

 

 

 

"Poppy Field" 12x18 oil on copper  Sold!

 

 

"Spring Poppies" 12x18 oil on copper.  Sold!  Thank you!

 

    While I was dreaming about painting on copper I was selling copper

paintings off my website last night!  I woke up and discovered my paypal

account was working overtime in the middle of the night!  I am very thankful

for midnight shoppers!  Big thank you.  Daisy and Duke celebrated today!

 

 

   After a few hours spent swimming at Lake Alamoosook, Daisy and Duke enjoyed

a Frosty Paw ice cream treat in honor of painting sales!  Tomorrow they will have

another Frosty Paw treat.  They were soooo happy about this.  Duke howled a little!

 

 

   Selling paintings is really exciting.  I rank selling paintings up there with my wedding day!

Seriously, it never gets old!  I am incredibly thankful for a supportive audience.  All this

excitement motivated me to discover a better way to prepare a larger copper panel.  After

a 10x10 there is need to provide a backing for the 16 ounce copper panel.  I have tried

recently to use brass screws to secure the copper to a cradled ampersand board.  I really

didn't like the screws sticking out above the copper where the oil paint would be.  No matter

how many layers of Gamblin's oil primer I used, the screws were still very visible.  I will

still be able to use this 200$ worth of copper cradled with screws to the board (36x48), but

I will need to have a frame with a depth of 1 inch made to cover the screws.  

 

   Above are the steps I used to create a supported 24x24 copper panel.  This is how I will do

all my larger copper panels.  I achieve this by myself in a half an hour of hard labor!  

 

1.  Purchased a 24x24 MDF board (1/4 inch)  at hardware store.  They cut it for me. 

 

2.  Cut the 16 ounce copper 25x25 with tin snips.  One inch difference was plenty of room to cradle the MFD.

 

3.  Placed a thick plastic sheet over the MDF board.  (It was cut from a thick shopping bag)

 

4.  Placed the copper panel over the plastic covered MDF board.  Plastic keeps the wood and copper 

separate so there is no interaction.

 

5.  Bend down one side of the copper over the MDF board.  

 

6.  Used a hammer to bend down the copper.  Very loud hammering!

 

7.  After one side was bent down completely, I started to bend down the opposite side over the MDF board.

 

8.  Next I used a tool to crimp the copper corner.

 

9.  I bend the copper corner inward.

 

10.  I used the hammer to further bend all the copper around the panel.  I never used the hammer on the front of the

panel.  I didn't want any hammer marks on the area I would paint.  I didn't need to use any screws.  The copper stayed

in place!  

 

11.  I put on protective glasses and facemask.  I sanded down the copper in circular motions with my orbital sander.

 

12.  I used a wet paper towel to wipe excess copper dust from the panel.  The copper panel is ready to paint on!

 

 

 

Daisy and Duke were wildly excited about this!  I hope to paint a large floral on my

new copper panel!  Exciting!  Finally figured out a way to cradle larger copper!  Let's paint!

 

 

 

"Stonington's Sandy Beach" 10x10 oil on copper 650$ framed in gold wood.  Shipped free.

 

    Today I worked just a little while in the studio using the computer monitor for a guide.  Duke

was sighing loudly.  So I couldn't spend too much time painting.  Yesterday Duke and Daisy

didn't go to the lake.  Duke wanted to go!  

 

 

   Duke decided he was going to stay in the lake.  He was not coming back to the house.

We normally stay an hour at the lake.  Today we stayed for three hours.  Daisy came up

to me twice with her teeth chattering.  The Alamoosook Lake's water temperature is probably

in the high 40's.  I called many times for Duke to come.  He ignored me.  This time it was

different.  He was swimming behind a stand of trees.  He knew I couldn't get him unless

I waded into the icy water.  

 

 

   Here is Duke fishing behind a bunch of trees.  He was marching in the water searching

for small fish.  He never has caught any fish.  But he loves to look for them.  Daisy and I

went off hiking.  I was trying to warm Daisy up.  Running around helped some.  Duke ignored us.

Even when we went behind a building he didn't come.  I did see him raise his head to look for us.  

But when he saw we were still there he continued his search for fish.

 

 

   Daisy wanted to sit in the car to warm up.  So I sat with her in the car.  We even drove away.

Duke still didn't come.  He was watching though.  I drove  back.  Daisy and I got

out and we sat in the sun waiting.  Another hour went by.  Duke patroled the water's edge.

Daisy even went back into the water.

 

 

   After three hours I remembered there was turkey jerky in the car.  I went to the lake's edge with the turkey

jerky bag.  I asked Duke if he was hungry.  He stopped in his tracks.  He looked at me.  He was 

hungry!  Out of the water he came running.  I gave him a slice of turkey jerky.  He ran to the

car.  Daisy had a piece too.  Success!  Have a wonderful night!

 

S

 

"Stonington's Sandy Beach" 10x10 oil on copper.  Almost done!  

 

   Today I drove to Castine and Stonington.  It was very beautiful in Stonington.  The light

there is very incredible.  I think it is because the island is surrounded by the ocean making the

sunlight bounce all over.  I drove all over taking photos but settled down to paint at Sandy Beach.

I worked all day till the sunset.  

 

 

   There was a golden lab inside of the smaller boat tied to the blue lobster boat.  The dog's 

owner and friend were working on the lobster boat.  

 

 

 

   Love this white skiff!  I took pictures of it as it spun around!

 

 

 

   I always admire this tall thin spruce tree at Sandy Beach.  

 

 

I decided to stay as late as the sun was out today so I could take photos of the sunsetting!  Normally

I make a mad dash for home to feed Daisy and Duke!  But I knew Robert was going to feed them.

 

 

   

 

  What a beautiful sunset!

 

 

 

 

    I had Sandy Beach all to myself today!  Hope you enjoyed the photos!  Have a great night!