Archives: Projects
Four Minis
As it turned out, they were not accepted this time. You can’t win ’em all, can you? I’m actually kind of glad. I wouldn’t have made any money considering the time and materials that went into them, and I decided that I really like them. I have them on little tiny easels in various rooms of my house, and I gave one of them (the colorful leaf , top right) to a friend who was quite taken with it. I’ve decided to do more of them to give as Christmas gifts, and I would encourage you to take me up on the 20% off discount I am offering to the first 25 people who take me up on it. These little paintings are 5 x 5 inches, and are so easy to ship, wrap and transport. Surprise someone with a tiny painting of his or her favorite landscape, tree or flower, but hurry, so that I have time to do your custom painting in time for Christmas. This offer is good from now until December 11, or until the first 25 people have made their requests.
Louisiana Cypress at night
I am thrilled to be able to say that this painting has been accepted for the Indiana Interchurch Center Gallery’s upcoming exhibit of women artists, the theme of which is “Home.” Although I have lived in Indianapolis for nine years now, Louisiana will always represent home to me. This painting, in particular, touches my deepest feelings about Louisiana. The cypress trees found in our bayous and swamps are ancient beauties, with all of the mystery, loneliness and magnificence they portray. The Bald Cypress is so named because although it is a conifer, it drops its leaves early in the fall. There is a photographer in New Orleans named Frank Relle who camps out at night in the swamp in order to take his haunting photographs of Louisiana’s marshlands, which are disappearing rapidly every day. If you are ever in New Orleans, you should definitely stop by his gallery on Royal Street. You will be awed. It was a lovely surprise to receive an email today from Frank saying that he loves my painting.
Girasol
This is the first in a series of mini paintings I’m working on for a submission to a gallery here in Indianapolis. They are 5″ x 5″! They will make nice Christmas gifts, and are easy and inexpensive to ship. Mini paintings are a great way to have some original art that is very affordable. This is a photo I took of it on the palette paper I used to mix the paint.
Sunrise through Sea Oats
This is from a photo I took of the sun coming up from behind a stand of sea oats in Pensacola Florida. I found myself waking up every morning just as the sun was starting to peek out from the horizon. I have a series of paintings of the sunrise from Pensacola beach that I will be working on during the cold winter ahead.
Western Lake at sunset
Hey! I sold the first painting I did of Western Lake almost as soon as I posted it, and I enjoyed doing it so much, I’m working on another one, from a slightly different angle and at a different time of day. Hope you like it, and please feel free to comment!
Edited 10-13-2016 : Sold
Louisiana Cypress Tree at night
This is a huge challenge, getting the light and colors right and trying to do justice to one of the most beautiful photographs of a Louisiana swamp you will ever see. Thanks to Frank Relle Photography for the inspiration. This is what I’ve got so far!
Western Lake near Grayton Beach FL, just before sunset
This is a view I’ve seen so many times, I almost took it for granted until my sister suggested that I might want to paint it. She sent me a photo and I did, and now all I want to paint are images of the lakes around the panhandle of Florida. I love the beach, but frankly, it’s not as interesting to paint. This just sold (YAY!!!), and may be one of my all-time favorites. I’ve found several other photographs of Western Lake at different times of the day, from different angles, etc., so I will probably do a series of these
Preliminary work on Lake near Grayton Beach, Florida
I love the Florida panhandle, and especially the area from Pensacola to Rosemary Beach. It’s my happy place, and there is nothing more soothing and soul satisfying to me than walking along those pristine white beaches and taking breaks to float or swim in the clear green salty water. The colors there are my favorite color combinations on the planet: the white of the dry sand, the light beige of the wet sand, and the cool pale green of the shallow water. I never tire of those colors, as you would know if you ever walked into my house! This painting is of a lake between Grayton Beach and the Watercolor Resort, which is just lovely in spite of the fact that I generally don’t like residential developments in which the houses all look alike. In Watercolor, they resemble one another, but the use of the natural beauty in the area is striking,
and each house has a unique personality. The lakes in the area are lovely, though not my preferred places to swim. I like to look at them and even though this painting will be for sale when it’s done, I’ll always get to look at it here.
Old Oak Tree Reflected in Water – finally finished and signed
This took much longer than I anticipated, but it’s signed and available for sale. 22 x 28 acrylic on canvas
Bare Trees, daylight
This was actually inspired by photographs I saw of cypress stumps when I was looking for reference photos for my Cypress Grove painting. I loved the stark, haunting look of them, but I wanted to paint something to cover an electrical panel in my bathroom, so I changed the colors to go with the color of my bathroom walls. Hey. Artistic license and all that..
Fantasy Lake
This painting started off one way and then I turned it upside down and it became clear to me what it wanted to be. I love fireworks and I love water. This is a fantasy that includes both.
Islands in the Stream
Title inspired by a novel by Ernest Hemingway, who was my very favorite author when I was in high school. I like his no-fuss style of writing that still portrays a sense of romance and joie de vivre, although now I find his female characters far less complex than women usually are. I was playing around with colors for the sky for this painting and it just made me happy.
Cypress Grove
If you are interested in a commissioned piece, please use the contact form. I’ll get back to you with alacrity!
This was my very first commissioned painting that I did for a friend’s mother’s birthday. 10 x 20 acrylic on canvas. So much fun to do!
Aspen Trees for Tina
I painted this for my fellow artist friend, Tina, who has been instrumental in nudging me toward becoming a painter. It started out as a completely abstract painting, but started to look like trees. I had polka dots on the brain, so I researched what kind of trees have whitish bark with spots, and this is what happened.
Pamela O'Brien Art 