Dino Train

Toys are so challenging to paint, but I usually smile through it all! At open studio, we encourage each other and help when we are having trouble somewhere. I really struggled with the background on this piece, but I'm happy with how this turned out. 9 x 12" oil on linen canvas. $75 Auction DPW

A Daisy A Day

Hmmm, another daisy painting. I just had to try this subject again with a twist. I really like this landscape shape! We don't often see it in a still life but changing shapes helps to keep ideas fresh and when you are trying to paint often, that can be a challenge! 6 x 12" Oil on stretched linen canvas.

The Flutist

I have two beautiful models and this is one of them. Alyssa posed for this painting and it took a while to finish it. It's rather large, 24 x 36".  I can't help myself, I know there is a lot of modern work out there but I love, love, love romantic settings! I really long for a time of unhurried, peaceful days where we can really contemplate the beauty around us.

Shucking Corn Study

I was inspired to paint this from one of our Bible based publications' photograph on families working together. I'm hoping to do a large version of this with a big sky.  This is a little 6 x 12" oil on stretched linen. NFS

Alla Prima Daisies

It's rather challenging to paint white daisies against such a dark background wet onto wet. There was more paint on me than the canvas! A little 10 x 8" oil on stretched cotton canvas. $100 Auction.
To see more paintings, check me out at Lydia LaChance.com and Daily Paintworks!

Potted Pansies

The weather is cooler now in Florida and we can plant pansies! Before this was put in a basket I wanted to work at painting it right in it's store bought pot. It's very difficult to get a rich color like purple to be bright in the light and believable as purple and not lavender. 10 x 8" Oil on cotton stretched canvas.

Guanja Study

A little 6 x 4" canvas postcard inspired by a friend of mine doing missionary work in a little Island of Honduras.

"Gather Round"

Having grandchildren has brought new inspiration in the toys they play with. This is Pokoyo calling out to the farmers, "gather round"! We've got work to do! 9 x 12 Oil on linen canvas

Mini Peonies

This little painting is a 4 x 6" postcard. I've always wanted to do some original paintings that people could send to someone special through the mail.  It still takes a little time, though, to paint. These are $19.95 plus shipping.

Prescramble

This was painted in natural light and was quite challenging! Ellipses are very difficult to paint! I think I would really like to experiment more with this subject matter, so...to be continued....

Going Out For A Sail

While Oliver (my 3 year old grandson) and I were walking the beach on Lake Champlain, we watched our neighbor prepare his boat and put it out in the water. And so, the inspiration for this painting. 10 x 8" oil on wood panel. I love that about landscape painting especially. You relive the moment as you paint the piece!

Apple Delight

I've been traveling and haven't had the opportunity to paint for a week or so. This is a little study to get my paintbrush wet again. 9 x 12" Oil on linen panel.

Calililies and Onions

Sissy and I set up this still life at her house and we painted together. It was nice yo share thoughts and ideas about process. I don't usually have flowers go off the page but I thought I would try this as part of my composition design. 12 x 9" Linen Panel

Radish Family

I'm trying to focus on composition. What makes a painting interesting to look at? I tried to make this painting so the viewer looks around a little pathway that brings you to the beautiful alstromeria in the middle! 7 x 5" Oil on Linen

Morning Glory in the Dark

I'm reposting this painting. I got up early last summer and picked these morning glories from my garden in the back. I really liked the curling leaves and the "pop" of color! 10 x 8" Oil on canvas

Three Apples

After reading about overcoming blocks and just relaxing in painting, I grabbed these three apples with no expectations of grandeur! Painting with that mindset was relaxing, freeing and thoroughly enjoyable...now if I could just keep that thought in my brain!

8 x 8” on stretched canvas

Two Pitchers

Sissy Blakslee and I painted together today. She brought the two antique pitchers and I robbed the outside flower bed of flowers and added the cool cloth. Painting pink flowers are always a bit of a challenge and the fact that flowers move and wilt very fast also make us try to paint at break neck speed to capture them before they are gone!

White Pitcher Study

My sweet friend Alicia gave me a couple of bags of discontinued fabric samples. What a gift that was for a still life painter! My head is spinning with ideas and this is the first one. 9 x 12" Oil on Stretched Canvas $75

Baby Orchids

I'm back!  I never posted this little painting on my blog.  I painted it last summer while at our summer camp in Vermont. As always, I'm trying to push that contrast and loved the white against a dark background. 8 x 10. Oil on Wood Panel

Rosetti Park

I painted this last summer near Dan's brother's house. If you follow the path, you'll get to the lake after a little walk through the woods. When Dan's Dad was alive, we used to bring him and Mom down for look see at the water. I love that about plein air painting. It creates a living memory. I can't sell this one. 8 x 16" oil

Rocky Point

This is a little watercolor study of a view from the beach near our summer cottage. At sunset, the rocks making up the point reflect pinks, reds and violets.  5 x 7"

Peaches and Milkweed in Natural Light

We use all of our senses to inspire us in life! That was true of this painting. Dan got a box of peaches that were

absolutely delicious and I had to paint them because they tasted so good, haha!  The Vermont landscape near our summer cottage is filled with milkweed and natural grape vine leaves and together they formed the basis for this painting. 8 x 16" Oil Painting

Baseball Commission

A friend of mine asked me to do a still life with a baseball theme. The person she is gifting it to loves Nolan Ryan. I don't know baseball very well and I was researching Google for baseball payer "Ryan O'Neal and of course kept coming up with the Actor. As I was explaining to my fellow artist friend, Sissy (who apparently knows all players from all sports) said, do you mean Nolan Ryan? Haha! Yes, and she even sent me a couple of Nolan Ryan baseball cards!! Thank goodness for Sissy!

Oliver

This is my 3 1/2 year old grandson, Oliver, whom we wrapped up in a towel after swimming. He is a little boy of expressions and I like this one! 12 x 9" Oil on linen canvas

Black and Red

I've been wanting to paint this black horse since I found it a couple of years ago. At first

the still life didn't have cloth in it, but I really like the way the soft edges of the cloth contrasted the very specifically placed red pomegranate and cherries. An added benefit was the way the cloth could be manipulated to lead the viewers eye around and back in again.

"I want to eat your plane!

Ok....more silliness.  I painted this with my 12 year old art student, Brycen and she is responsible for the name! Toys are not that easy to paint!! It's always good to paint outside our comfort zone, though.
11 x 14" Oil on stretched canvas

Having a Beer at Lillies

This little bar/restaurant in New York City was so intriguing. I decided to do a little sepia sketch to capture the atmosphere. It was a little dark except for the little lamps on the wall and a nice traveling light from the open door to the street.  12 x 9" Oil on Linen Canvas

Lofty Peonies

Reposting again...I was so happy that this painting was purchased by someone who saw it on Facebook. I took a flower painting class by a wonderful artist, James Sulkowski! I hope to take more classes with him in the future. I learned so much and was able to "connect the dots" of painting principles.
 16 x 12" Oil

Cabbage Study

So I'm reposting this painting of a cabbage I painted last summer.  I just fell in love with the rootstock part of it and it was excited to paint such a lovely subject.

Sweet Magnolia and Shallots

I plucked this branch off my magnolia tree in my front yard. These flowers die at the end of the day, so I had to paint the flower right away. The beautiful leaves stay good for a long time. 14 x 11" Oil on Canvas

Warm Gardenia's

One of the biggest treats I have in Florida in April is my gorgeous Gardenia bush. I probably get a couple hundred blooms within a three week period as long as I control little pests! The fragrance is unbelievably sweet and luscious! It's an easy inspiration for a still life.

Queen's Anne Lace and Ribbon

This painting was inspired by the beautiful Queen's Anne Lace abundant in Vermont's roadsides. The gorgeous Mexican pitcher was a gift from on of my dearest friends. I would really like to try working with natural plants more often. I may never be able to represent them nearly as beautiful as they are created though! 9 x 12" Oil on Wooden Panel

Karen's Nasturtiums

So, sometimes you find an art teacher that you learn and grow from and you are so grateful for the addition to your work. This painting was done when I was studying with Karen Winslow, a superb artist. She really helped me learn the prismatic palette and it is what I paint exclusively with now. Thank you Karen. 9x 12" Oil on Canvas.

Red Rose Study

This loose study allowed me freedom to focus on edges and values and not so much "the item I'm looking at". It was refreshing to paint more spontaneously. My natural inclination is not to paint that way but I feel painting with left AND right brain, or analytical AND creative gives the better result. What do you think? 9  x 12" Oil on linen panel.

Shape Study

I painted this as a demo while teaching a class about different shapes. Oil. 9 x 12"

Wooded Morning

Isn't the north country of New York and Vermont gorgeous?! The lakes and mountains are a painters' paradise. This is another painting from the day my brother Joe and I spent together. 9 x 12" Oil on linen panel.

Sunflowers and Ducky Alla Prima

Ok, so I'm getting hooked on toys. Can't help it! I wanted to paint sunflowers for the Daily Paint Works March challenge and Ducky caught my eye. It makes my serious still life not so serious. Kinda like ourselves. We shouldn't take ourselves too seriously!  12 x 9" Oil on Linen Panel.

One-Eyed Reading Time

I absolutely LOVE setting up toys to paint! Brycen (my 11 year old student) and I set this up and had so much fun painting it. I laugh the whole time I paint. It's great therapy! 11 x 14" Oil. Sold

Fishing in New York

So, a while ago, I went to this fabulous park in upstate New York with my brother Joe and nephew, Jacob. They went for a swim in the cool water and the shadows were long as it was quite early in the morning. It was a wonderful time with my brother and I am so happy to do a couple of paintings from that day. 12 x 9" Oil.

Tomatoes in Denim

Little square canvases are so much fun to figure out creative compositions! I plan on exploring with this shape more. Hope you like it. Oil on cotton stretched canvas. 8 x 8"

Romance

I really tried to work on rhythm in this painting.  The color scheme is entirely different from what I normally gravitate to...we just have to shake things up sometimes! This oil is 16 x 12".

"Heidi Hey Lit'l Cowgirl!"

Toys are so much fun to paint. I just laugh the whole time! These are some of my grandson, Oliver's favorites. You should have seen him looking at the set up and then looking at the painting! Priceless!
12 x 16" Oil on Linen Panel.

"Sunflowers and Green Grapes"

I'm always on the look out for cool objects and found this little silver gravy boat at a thrift store. Thrift stores are the coolest place to look for beautiful and quality objects for still lifes!

Draped Hydrangea Study

Hydrangeas are so complicated yet so simple. I tried to relate the simplicity part of this flower in this painting.

The Piano Man

This is a painting that I've wanted to do for many years. It's from Shelburne Farms, in Shelburne, Vermont. Dan and I celebrated many anniversaries there. I love the library/music room and I asked Dan to pose for me. Oil 18 x 24"

Triple Roses

I'm trying my hand at daily painting and working a little smaller. This oil is an  8 x 10" study of roses. The goal is to paint the light and establish a mood.

Tulips and Stawberries

Painting tulips is always interesting. As the lamp warms them up, they actually move towards it and get larger so you have to paint rather quickly or your still life is not really "still". Oil 14 x 11

Sticking Together

I really had fun with the square format of these paintings. I hope to do more bird and ocean paintings. The patterns in the water were really interesting and kind of "abstract" in nature. Oil 20 x20"

Threesome

I love the groups that these birds form when they are foraging for whatever it is they are eating, haha. Oil 20 x20"

Searching

I wanted to do some paintings that had a real feel for the awesome ocean in Southwest Florida. The next few posts are from Bonita Beach when the sun is lower in the sky and the colors are gorgeous! This painting is 20 x 10".