Saturday, May 31, 2008

Peony Buds, Oil Painting by Linda McCoy



When I was a kid growing up on the South Side of Chicago, my mother and Grandmother used to bring in Peonies out of the garden. It seemed to me like there were millions of them. They would soak them in the bathtub to make sure the ants met their maker and didn't end up chomping on the Wheaties in the pantry. This seemed like a late spring tradition and following it, I never bring the peonies in the house until they have been soaked in a bucket of water.
We lived on the block of 70th and Sangamon, in a two flat building. My grandparents lived upstairs. What a great place to grow up. There were huge apartments at the end of the block, and the neighborhood was host to more kids than we could ever count. So many neighborhood games, whatever happened to those? On summer mornings you would wake to the click click sound of the jump rope hitting the sidewalk; girls playing Double Dutch. Ten, twenty, thirty, forty.....counted in cadence, till you tripped and gave up your turn.
Root beer floats, Ice cream trucks with aqua colored Popsicles. We hid under porches, ran through gangways, and never seemed to tire. We played hide and seek at dusk, and if you didn't want to be found you could find just the right place.
Little corner stores with candy on a piece of paper. Bull's eyes. Bazooka Bubble Gum with comics on the wrapper. In the evening people sat outside on their porches and drank ice cold beer. If it was really hot and very still you would get a whiff of the Chicago Stockyards, an awful smell. They were a good distance away, but how that smell did travel.
But I digress, back to the peonies! How this painting ended up being not about peonies, but more about the glass is a mystery. Well maybe not. I liked the abstract shapes the stems made in the cut glass so that sort of took over. OK well, more than sort of.




6"X6" Oil on gallery wrapped stretched canvas. $100.00 tcoy1@msn.com   Sold

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Orchids


9'X12" Oil on gallery wrapped stretched canvas.
$125.00 tcoy1@msn.com

Monday, May 26, 2008

New Guinea Impatiens, Oil Painting by Linda McCoy


Just fun with a new Red from Blue Ridge. Azo Red. Just the right color, not too blue, not too orange, but a bright true red. A little on the abstract side, these flowers are large, and come in a variety of colors. I covered the entire canvas in the red, since that was the color of the flower and their veins. I applied the greens and grays, then lifted the vein out with a small brush which held a little turp. I used paper towel to lift some of the greens out along the edge of the canvas so the reds would show through.
I fear the peonies will never open, and that the hard rain which is coming tonight may beat them up before they have a chance to show off. Just have to wait and see.
9"X12" Oil on gallery wrapped stretched canvas. $125.00 tcoy1@msn.com

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Iris Parfait

Iris Parfait indeed! The glass is called a ka-dink. They come in a set of four of different colors. Of course they are made for ice cream and such, but I thought of them as vases. The glass is frosted. A lovely gift from my daughter for mother's day. This is my second Iris painting today, soon they will be gone until next spring. Make hay while the sun shines!
9"X12" Oil on gallery wrapped canvas. $125.00 tcoy1@msn.com

Lavender Duet, Iris Still Life by Linda McCoy

The Iris's are just fun to paint. In the changing sunlight the possibilities are endless. Still waiting for the peony's to open! Maybe later this week.
6"X6" Oil on gallery wrapped stretched canvas. $100.00. tcoy1@msn.com

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Spring Iris Oil Painting by Linda McCoy

I'm back to posting after a brief break. Finally the Iris's opened. Glorious color, drenched in sunlight they are a welcome sight after a very rainy spring. More of these to come, wish those stubborn peony's would open!
A little larger size, 9"X12" gallery wrapped stretched canvas. $125.00. tcoy1@msn.com