Carmen Beecher: SALE 20% off and Free Shipping, Oil Painting

Carmen Beecher: SALE 20% off and Free Shipping, Oil Painting on Canvas

 

Sale Ends Dec 20: Click Here to Purchase 

I love the play of light and shadow on this scene. This is a wonderful memory from our artists' retreat in North Carolina.

Windmill, 6x9 Mixed Media on paper by Carmen Beecher

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I painted good-quality watercolor paper with bronze acrylic paint, then used liquid medium to transfer the windmill from a magazine print. I added the tulips to make it more interesting. It's too bad that the metallic effect of the bronze can't be fully appreciated when looking at it online.

Carmen

LILY, 6X8, OIL, SOLD

I don't paint a lot of flowers so I thought I would give one a try.  This is from a photo I took a couple of years ago in North Carolina.  I found this beautiful plant full of blooms in a neighbor's yard.  The plant had a least 10 blooms on it and stood waist high. 

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BUDDIES, 6X8, OIL SOLD

There is nothing like the company of your dog.  They are fun, and faithful and when you are a young girl, they can add so much to your life.  I was raised as an only child and some of my best childhood memories involve my pet dogs.  This girl was sitting on a rock high over the Nantahala River at  NOC, watching the kayaks run the rapids.

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SOLD

BRANDY, 6X8, OIL, SOLD

Brandy is a sweetheart of a dog.  She lives with a friend of mine.  Carla and Brandy spend time visiting nursing homes and bringing a little joy into the lives of the residents they meet.  I know how important this is because my mother lived in a nursing home.  She always tells me when someone brings a dog in.  She is a dog lover from way back and it is amazing how a minute or two with a dog will brighten her day.  Thanks, Carla!

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BRANDY, 6X8, OIL, SOLD

Brandy is a sweetheart of a dog.  She lives with a friend of mine.  Carla and Brandy spend time visiting nursing homes and bringing a little joy into the lives of the residents they meet.  I know how important this is because my mother lived in a nursing home.  She always tells me when someone brings a dog in.  She is a dog lover from way back and it is amazing how a minute or two with a dog will brighten her day.  Thanks, Carla!

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OCEAN SUNRISE, 6X8, OIL

Some days it is really hard to find something to paint.  It is always fast or famine with me and today was a famine day.  I decided to do a little seascape as I have not painted one for months.  In fact, I painted two of them today, so tomorrow I will post the second piece.

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Everglades Bird, 10x8 Landscape Oil Painting by Carmen Beecher

$125, Click to Purchase

Painting the Everglades brings back such a happy memory of a fun camping trip with my friends Cindy and Kathy. We learned that the yellow stuff the bird is standing on is called Periphyton, and it is an important part of the food chain. It forms when many algae plants grow together, and provides a habitat for insects, snails, and other aquatic creatures. Phosphorus is damaging to the health of the Everglades, and Periphyton mats remove phosphorus from the water. If humans don't interfere with Nature, things work out pretty well.

That concludes my science lesson for today.

Carmen

Yellow Roses, 8x6 Oil Painting on Canvas by Carmen Beecher

$95, Click to Purchase

Wouldn't this be a romantic Valentine's Day gift? Flowers and candy are nice, but they don't last. Diamonds and oil paintings are forever.

I painted this twice. I was not satisfied with it the first time, but I learned a few things from my mistakes. The second time I was able to get what I wanted, and did it much faster.

You Lookin' At Me? Oil on Canvas by Carmen Beecher

$89, Click to Purchase

Pelicans are pretty cute when they are floating in the water, and quite beautiful when flying, but waddling around strips them of their dignity. This guy was at Port Canaveral having a relaxing day, just as my painting group was. 

I just renewed my passport and I must say, the new one is beautiful, with illustrations of America from sea to shining sea. It has wonderful quotations too, like this one:

The cause of freedom is not the cause of a race or a sect, a party or a class--it is the cause of humankind, the very birthright of humanity. - Anna Julia Cooper

Someone call Congress. They are apparently unaware of this. 

I admit I was not familiar with Anna Julia Cooper, so I Googled her (of course) and learned she was born into slavery, but became a prominent African-American author, educator and speaker.

And that's my lesson for today.

Radish Bouquet, 6x8 Oil on Canvas by Carmen Beecher

$89.00, Click to Purchase

Don't you think radishes have a personality? They are striking in color and nice little calligraphic roots at the bottoms to enhance a painting. It is a pleasure to paint radishes.

I was reading the latest post from Robert Genn's website, this one written by his daughter Sara. Robert is a talented and successful artist who is suffering from cancer. Many of us artists have followed his writings for many years. His daughter Sara is writing quite a bit in his place, and this week she wrote about 11 Steps for an artist, which struck a chord with me. Here is the link: http://clicks.robertgenn.com/eleven-steps.php

White Hydrangeas, 6x8 Oil Painting by Carmen Beecher

$89, Click to Purchase

These flowers always remind me of my grandmother, who could grow anything. She was completely in sync with nature, unbothered by the snake in the garden. She was surrounded by flowers, birds and butterflies. She was like a heroine in a Disney movie, with beautiful things fluttering around her. I really miss being able to get her advice about how to grow a certain plant. I quoted her so often that when I lived in Bermuda, one of my neighbors asked me, "What does your grandmother say about planting this tree?" I replied, "Don't put a ten-dollar plant in a five-dollar hole."

My friend Qiang Huang had a quotable line on his blog the other day: "There is no shortcut in art. You just have to paint more." To all you Daily Painters: Rock On!

Hydrangea, 6x6 Oil on Canvas by Carmen Beecher

Hydrangeas are very hard to paint. Each one is like a bouquet. They grow in lush profusion in Washington State, in colors I never knew possible.

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Flowers are the alphabets of angels, whereby they write on the fields and hills mysterious truths. ---

-Benjamin Franklin