Tangle

Tangle

20 x 15 Watercolor on 140lb Arches

2013

 

Magnolia time

 

 

 

 

 

From a bike ride around the island during the bloom season.  The blossom was just peeking out of the leaves.

 

 

Magnolia study 8 x 8

Oil on canvas 2013   SOLD

 

 



Blue Iris from Austin

There are a lot of flowers that I used to grow before moving to Florida that I can't seem to get working in the garden here.  Iris are probably one of the flowers I miss having the most, so I tend to photograph and paint them a lot when we travel.  This blue iris was at the botanical garden in Austin Texas.

Blue Iris 

14 x 11 Oil on Canvas  2013

After the Rains

Each spring we get to see a wild show of yellow cactus blossoms on the beach road at Fort Clinch after the rain.  I have a collection of photos taken over the past few years from bike riding out that way but this is the first painting from those images.   Ironically as often as we are in the southwest it is in Florida that the cactus flowers captured my attention.

After the Rains

24 x 18 Oil on archival linen panel

2013

Smoke and Canyons

While we were at the north rim last year smoke from the wildfires in Idaho would tint and blanket the canyon depending on the wind.   I am still experimenting with capturing those canyons, this time in watercolor.

Canyon Study 2013

15 1/2 x 19 1/2 Watercolor

Smoke on the Canyon 2013

24 x 36 Watercolor    Sold



More birds

The white bird of paradise in my back garden has bloomed in two cycles this year with huge flowers.  I have taken photos practically all summer of those plants and now need to get painting....
This is the first of what has come from this year's bloom

 



●Bird Song  2013

30 x 20 oil on canvas

Small Oil Studies

 

Nasturtium Study 2013

8 x 8 Oil on canvas

 

Greenway Study 1  2013

8 x 8 Oil on Canvas

Greenway Study 2  2013

8 x 8 Oil on Canvas

Yellow Flowers for the End of Summer

Summer is hanging on here in NE Florida and the end of our local sunflower crop is in sight.  I have been working in watercolor exploring the different yellows that can come through two hues I have in the paintbox.   These two flowers are on the opposite ends of the spectrum as far as intensity of color so it was challenging to tone down for the hollyhocks after painting the sunflowers. 

August Gold  2013

20 x 16 watercolor on

300 lb Fabriano Artistico

Hollyhocks 2013

19 x 15 Watercolor on

140 lb Arches



Bandolier National Monument

One of my favorite New Mexico hikes, Bandolier National Monument 

Bandolier

20 x 16 Watercolor on 140 lb Arches

2013

Marsh Glow

A while ago I picked up some iridescent watercolors that were donated to the IAA.  I hadn't really played around with them much but yesterday ran across them in the studio and decided to see what I could do with them.  This painting is adapted from a sketch that was in one of my sketchbooks from a couple of years ago.  I was trying to get that golden, late afternoon haze that sometimes appears over the greenway marsh.  The paints give a very faint sparkle to the background and some of the highlight areas.  Unfortunately my point and shoot photography doesn't capture that paint quality.

Marsh Glow

12 x 20 Watercolor on 140lb Arches Paper

2013

 

More Hibiscus

Thanks to everyone who came out to the opening of the Wednesday Oil Painters show last night.  If you haven't seen the show, stop in at First Coast Community bank and go upstairs to their gallery area anytime the bank is open. 

Here is my latest painting for oils.  The hibiscus in the garden stores this year have been particularly varied and beautiful.  These blooms caught my eye last month and even though I didn't have any place to plant them I thought I would just bring them home on canvas.

Untitled

Red Star Hibiscus

30 x 20 Oil on Canvas

2013  SOLD

More Canyons and Desert

 

River Path Zion

24 x 18 Oil on Canvas

2013

 

On the Road From Hell's Backbone

12 x 20 Watercolor on 140 lb Arches

2013



Show Opening Invitation

The Wednesday Oil Painters group that I work with is having a show at the First Coast Community bank and the invitation to the opening is copied below.  Hope to see you there!

More Flowers from the San Antonio Botannical Gardens

Orange Cymbidiums

24 x 18

Oil on Canvas 2013

Zion National Park

Zion 2013

22 x 30 Watercolor on 300lb Arches



Evening Canal

Another new oil landscape of fall shadows on a greenway canal.

●Evening Canal

18 x 24 Oil on Linen Panel

2013



Less Flowers, More Landscapes?

After the show at 7th Street it was brought up to me that there were only 3 landscapes out of 20 paintings and that perhaps "less flowers, more landscapes should be painted..."  So, in that spirit here are two landscapes I have just finished in oil.    The Greenway Reflections painting will be in the Island Art Association Nouveau Show  opening during the Artrageous Artwalk this Saturday.  Hope to see you there.

Greenway Reflections

16 x 20 Oil on Canvas

2013

 

 

The Blowhole

at Sibleys Cove

16 x 12 Oil on Canvas

2013

 

Red Flight

There is an absolutely amazing botanical garden in San Antonio where I spotted these red Anthuriums peeking out of the leaves in the tropical flower conservatory.  They looked like they wanted to fly up into the light like some strange red butterfly getting ready to take off. 

Red Flight

16 x 20 Watercolor on 300lb Fabriano Artistico

2013

7th Street Gallery Opening

The show at the 7th Street Gallery opened last night.  Thanks to everyone who came out to see it and to Margaret and Wayne Howard at the gallery for hosting and making the work look so great in that space.  It can still be seen on the next two Saturdays from 9am to 1pm, or by calling the gallery.

Red Passion on 6th Street

One more painting for the show on Saturday.  Hope to see you there from 5-8 pm at the 7th Street Gallery.

Red Passion on 6th Street

20" x 24"  Oil on Canvas

2013

 

Come to my show!

Enjoy fine art in a classic Victorian home setting. Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. Milli Fiori and Other Journeys by Susan Henderson The month of May is synonymous with Spring and fresh new beauty. What could personify this more than the paintings of Susan Henderson presenting a new suite of work at the Seventh Street Gallery. “Painting is my passion, my compulsion, and my mystery, all in one.  It has been a lifelong journey, never failing to inspire and challenge me.” Henderson works in watercolor, acrylics and oil, moving easily between the mediums, exploring as well as exploiting the differences of each medium’s unique properties. For example, she may use the transparency of watercolor with the buildup of paint layers to achieve a rich fullness; in direct contrast to the plastic nature of oil paint in which a brush or palette stroke is preserved as a distinct movement of the artist’s hand.” Every piece I create presents the opportunity to make a lasting, unique statement of how I perceive my world. My current work includes landscapes inspired by my latest travels and a number of new beautiful botanicals.” The reception is Saturday, May 11, from 5:00 - 8:00 PM at the Seventh Street Gallery, at 14 South 7th Street (across from LuLu’s) in downtown Fernandina. The show can also be viewed the following two Saturdays during the Farmers’ Market hours, 9 AM - 1 PM. As this is a historic property, it is not handicap accessible. For questions, directions, and alternative viewing times, please call (904) 432-8330.     Parrot Dance by Susan Henderson   Seventh Street Gallery 14 South 7th St. Fernandina Beach, FL 32034 (904) 432 - 8330 (904) 491 - 5269 (between Ash and Centre, across from LuLu's Restaurant) in Downtown As this is a historic property, it is not handicap accessible. For questions, directions, or alternative viewing times, call (904) 432-8330. Show Times and Additional Showings: The Artrageous Artwalk is held on the Second Saturday of the month from 5:00 - 8:00 p.m.   Many activities on Saturday evenings make it difficult for everyone to attend the Gallery's reception, therefore we are also open during the downtown Farmer's Market hours (9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.) on the two Saturdays following each show. The artist may or may not be in attendance. If those times are inconvenient, give us a call to make other arrangements.  follow on Twitter | friend on Facebook | forward to a friend  Copyright © 2013 South Seventh Productions, All rights reserved. People have attended earlier shows and want to be on the mailing list. Our mailing address is: South Seventh Productions 14 South 7th Street Fernandina Beach, FL 32034 Add us to your address book  unsubscribe from this list | update subscription preferences

Another for the show...

Well my family has gone back home and the studio is almost back together so I am working on getting the final paintings ready for my show at the Seventh Street gallery on May 11.   Hope to see you all there.

Melony's Birds

20" x 24" Oil on Canvas

2013  SOLD



Stormy beach for a stormy day

North Beach

27" x 29" Oil on Canvas

2013

 

 

 

I thought I would post this painting as we are having rain and strong north wind here today.  



Red Cannas

Red Cannas

20 x 24 Oil on Canvas

 

 



Watercolor Bird of Paradise

 

5th Street Birds

22" x 30" Watercolor on

200lb Waterford paper

 

 



Magenta!

I have been exploring oils with a group on Wednesday afternoons for a while now and may finally be getting a feel for the paint.  Going back and forth between oil and watercolor is challenging but the differences in the medium and how I paint with them is kind of fun in a schizo sort of way..

I painted the flowers below to make myself use a tube of magenta paint that came with a set of oils my husband had given me.  It is a color I had not used before except in tiny quantities to see how it mixed with other hues.  Making it the base for a major part of the painting forced me to explore the color and its possibilities.  Magenta has now been making its way onto the pallette for more paintings as its vibrant hue gives some added punch to mixed reds and oranges. 



Untitled  16 x 20

Oil on Canvas

2013

Fall Aspens

Roadside Color  2013

20 x 30 Acrylic on Canvas

 

Well I have been painting this on and off for over a year so I am finally throwing in the brush and calling it done.  These aspens were alongside the road in northern New Mexico and the yellow leaves fairly glowed in the light. 



Red Hibiscus for the New Year

After fighting two separate head colds, I have only managed one new painting so far this year.  I seem to be stuck on the flower portraits but they just got bigger when I ran out of small panels.  The fun part of painting a flower so large is that it becomes just abstract shape and pattern at some point in the process.  This piece really points to that abstraction as I had a lot of fun just layering and layering color to see how many different reds I could coax from a limited palette.  

Red Hibiscus  22 x 30

watercolor  2013