Lazy Susans

Lazy Susans
Oil on panel, 6x6

Today has been a day of unwinding and relaxing.  After all of our recent festivities, it is so nice to have a day off!  After a little clean-up around the house, I got to my easel early - knocking out this little impressionist painting of the lazy susans.  The meadows are filled with them - and they have been begging me to paint them!  I am laying on some thick and juicy paint here - most with my brush, but a little with the knife.  I have been using my prussian blue lately, I like the warmth it adds to the painting.  Also new - I started using sap green lately - only because I am low on my favs!  I have shunned that color for 20 years, only to pick it up now and wonder why.  For many years, I have used a limited palette.  With plein air painting and the frequency of painting everyday, it is good to have some short-cut colors to speed up the painting process.  I never use colors out of the tube, always adding in other paints to achieve the hue I want.  It is simply faster to not mix all of my greens, and since time is always of the essence for me, these little short cuts really help.  Another favorite short-cut - the Gamblin grays.  I always have the dark and the light gray on my palette, again adding to them as I paint.  After a few days of painting in oils, I think I am again ready to play in the watercolors.  This painting makes 552 in 552 days, and now, it is time for laying on a raft in the pool.  Oh, how I love summer :)