at play with color

we wrap up this lovely month of july with paintings i did just for fun!  my assignment to myself?  use up four old canvases by working as quickly and joyfully as possible from memory about some of my favorite summer sights.  and this is the result.  a little about each piece...

"lavande" is french for lavender, which we have both here in oregon and in provence.  and--since there's nothing like my vineyard view here at home, round hay bales, and the sunflower fields in france--i combined them all.  (the texture is created using an icescraper!)

i love these bistro chairs; they come in everything from bright green to pink.  i wanted this painting to be in red, white and blue--the colors of the french flag.  in honor of their country's pride and solidarity, i titled this one "tricouleur".  it is my message of nationality for their bastille day.  nice, je t'aime!

there is an oil painting of bonfires in a gallery at the beach that i really love and can't afford.  so, while mine is not meant for a gallery, i decided to paint my own.  this sight makes me so happy, particularly from this vantage point in cannon beach, just south of haystack rock.  it's called "glow".

i wanted this painting to have a childlike matisse feel to it, with bright primary colors and chunky shapes.  it's entitled "encore" for the name on the kayaks we use to navigate local rivers and lakes.  this is an image of what it was like to float among yellow lily pad blossoms at trillium lake by mount hood recently.