Godiva, Bree and Me, Oil Painting by Linda McCoy

One of the many wonderful things about having daughters is shopping together. Seems like a long time since Bree and I shopped together, but we made it to Kenwood Mall in Cincinnati. Who in the world could pass by the Godiva Chocolate store without going in? They were hand dipping these tiny white chocolate treats. The miracle is that the tart lived all the way home and made into my studio alive. Had we hit heavy traffic we would have devoured it in frustration. It's so tiny it fit perfectly on a little plate made for a pat of butter. The tulip is from Bree's garden and she reluctantly allowed it to be cut. "Bree those purple tulips are beautiful, can I have one to paint?" Well "yes" she replied "but do you mean you want to cut it?" I guess so, and here it is!
Wish my daughter Julie could have been here to share the day. She's coming in for a visit soon, shopping is definitely on the agenda.

Oh and about the Godiva? Gone but not forgotten! Chocolate works.

Not available for sale

Ladies in Red, Oil painting by Linda McCoy

The sun on the tulips this afternoon was brilliant. It seemed as if the entire garden was celebrating, so that's the way I painted it. 6"X6" Oil on gallery wrapped stretched canvas.
$100.00 tcoy1@msn.com

Here Comes the Sun, Oil Painting by Linda McCoy

Finally Spring made it to the midwest. Everything is in bloom. The little pink flowers in the vase are off of the plum tree in our back yard. The little white flowers are from a pear tree in the front yard. One of the prettiest things about the Cincinnati area in the spring is the Pear trees. They are to this area what the Cherry Blossom trees are to Washington D C. For a week or so these white blossomed trees really show off.
The delphiniums I painted a few days ago are still ok, but this may be their last day. So here it is, spring, sunshine, and a little warmer weather. So nice.

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

She Sells Seashells, Oil Still Life by Linda McCoy

This old bowl/dish was a find in an antique store. It is covered with patina and remains a mystery metal. The outside is a burnished brown and the screws that hold the handles on are worn. I wonder about it. It's the second time I've painted it, it's history remains a secret. The seashells were just purchased in a bag of mixed shells and I've been meaning to get to them.

It rained today, no bright light. I like chromatic greys of this piece, and mixed them using permanent rose with a little Winsor Green and white. A quiet painting.

6"X6" oil on gallery wrapped stretched canvas. $100.00. If you are interested in purchasing, please email me at tcoy1@msn.com

Magnolia Morning, Oil Painting by Linda McCoy

It's strange, as an artist I usually think I don't miss much when it comes to things to paint. We have lived here for more than nine years, and I must have looked at my neighbor's Magnolia tree a thousand times, not giving it much thought. This year it refused to be ignored. It is spectacular and loaded with blooms. It must be all of the rain we've had this year. This morning the light breeze made it seem as if the light was dancing across the petals.

Thanks to Jerry and Kathy for letting me get a close up peek at these beauties!

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

Delphinium Oil on Canvas by Linda McCoy

This is a larger piece than I usually post, it just refused to fit on a small canvas. These are not blooming yet, so they were purchased in a small bouquet. Placed in a sunny window the blues really are vibrant. I hope I've captured their color.
12"X12" Oil on gallery wrapped stretched canvas. $100.00 tcoy1@msn.com SOLD

Raku and an Old Shoe

The warm weather yesterday prompted a deck clean-up. I was picking up one leaf, twig, vine and seed at a time. Himself reminded me that yes, we did own a broom and didn't I want to sweep? Sweep!? No, that thought never crossed my mind! I placed the crunchy rubble on the table imagining a still life. The other treasures were inside. The raku pumpkin was a purchase from a gallery when we lived in Wisconsin. The little shoe is from an antiques store in Lebanon, Ohio. It was missing it's partner, but it had good patina and why did I need two anyway? It's been around awhile but the opportunity to place it in a painting never seemed to present itself.

So this morning it all came together in a still life. Just everyday stuff really except for the little shoe. How many little ones wore it? The leather is too soft and worn to be used by just one baby. Girl or boy? Where are they now? If they are gone did they have a good life?

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

Perfume and Hydrangea, Oil Painting by Linda McCoy

The Hydrangea plant is lasting longer than I thought. So still not over my glass obsession I decided to add flowers to the mix. Nice lavender color for spring.

6"X6" Oil on gallery wrapped stretched canvas. Tcoy1@msn.com

Hydrangea, Watercolor by Linda McCoy

I needed to take a break from oils. I missed the swishing sound of the brush as it swirled through the water for a rinse. When we lived in Michigan there was a screened in porch where I painted during the summer months. Sometimes it was so quiet I could only hear the sounds of the painting. The sound of the squirt bottle used to wet the paper. The gliding of the brush on a smooth watercolor palette, and the crunchy paper towel used to mop up the runaway water. Hours would pass but I never noticed.

7"X7" Watercolor on Sennelier Paper. $100.00. tcoy1@msn.com SOLD

Glass Bottle Stoppers and Perfume Bottle by Linda McCoy

I had every intention of painting the stoppers in the bottle, but when I laid them in the sunshine I liked the way the reflections and shadows cast on the surface. Lots of color. Perhaps they will land in their intended destination and become a perfume bottle painting another day. I'm not over the glass obsession yet. Can you tell?

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

Garden Fairy in Hydrangea, Oil Painting by Linda McCoy

Stopped at a garden center and they had the bluest Hydrangea's I've ever seen. We tried to grow these several times, but by the end of the hot summers here they are just crispy sticks. I really like them, the flowers are huge, fragrant and delicious to paint. I added the little garden fairy, I liked the way the blue and green were reflected in the crystal ball when I put the set up in sunlight.
Just a bit of whimsy on a rainy day.
6"X6" Oil on gallery wrapped stretched canvas. tcoy1@msn.com

Perfume lV, An Evening Out Oil Painting by Linda McCoy

The history of perfume began in antiquity. The word perfume used today to describe scented mixtures, derives from the Latin "per fume", meaning through smoke. Perfumery, or the art of making perfumes, began in ancient Egypt but was developed and further refined by the Romans and the Arabs. Although perfume and perfumery also existed in East Asia, much of its fragrances are incense based. And so they say. I'm not familiar about the way it's made, but I love the scents. When painting the perfume bottles, even though they are closed you can still smell the fragrance. It just adds to the experience. I'm forever intrigued by the glass.

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

Tequila Sunrise

Just another glass painting. I'm working on larger pieces, but continue to be intrigued by glass. I will get over one day. This time a trip to World Market provided a few neat glass pieces. Why the name Tequila Sunrise? The colors I guess but then who hasn't driven for miles and miles to the Eagles music blasting out of the car speaker?

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

Lavender Blue Iris

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

Red Amarillis, Floral Oil Painting by Linda McCoy

I really do love the color red. Red cars, red "sale" banners, red cherries, red lipstick, every color red nail polish OPI ever made, red hots, red potatoes, Cincinnati Reds, red hair, and of course, red shoes.

Painting the color red can make an artist nuts (at least this one!) I used three colors of red in this painting. Fascinating to observe how the color looks when light passes through the petals and it's interesting to try and capture their transparency.

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

Iris, Still LIfe by Linda McCoy

6" X 6" Oil on gallery wrapped canvas. This is a repost of a painting I did last spring. It is being featured in an ad for The Daily Painters Gallery in American Art Collector, April Issue.

Sold

Perfume lll, Still Life Oil Painting by Linda McCoy

I thought I would post how the painting looks in a Deco style frame. It's sometimes hard to imagine what the paintings would look like framed. Most all of my paintings are gallery wrapped but can be framed if you like.

With all of the computer generated images that we see daily, it's refreshing to just take objects to a sunny window and paint what you see. This painting took nearly all day to finish, but since I placed the light areas in first I didn't lose the light passages. Even though I now paint almost everything in oil, I painted in watercolor for years. In watercolor the light is the white of the paper and I still follow the "map the light areas first" process.

I have bottles and bottles of perfume, left over from department store visits where I couldn't resist the lure of the perfume ladies spraying the latest scent everywhere. "Oh you have to try this one!" Some scents I never bought again, but some like Paloma Picasso's I wore forever, but just got tired of it one day.

Some women I know wear a signature fragrance and would never think of changing it. I like the unexpected, so now I change them often.

Who could forget the movie "Scent of a Woman?" "Perfume?" (If you haven't seen "Perfume" fasten your seatbelt!)

Perfume ll, Still Life Oil Painting by Linda McCoy

Round two on perfume bottles. The blue heart shaped one is from ebay, I really liked the cobalt blue color. The greenish color is my daughter Bree's, the other is from my own collection. Interesting shapes and colors. We are forever in search of just the right fragrance!
$100.00

Halftime Nap

This little one's dad is from Michigan, and although he now lives in Ohio he will always be a Michigan Wolverines fan. So will his little ones!

6" X 6" Oil on gallery wrapped stretched canvas. Not available for purchase.

Perfume, Still Life Oil Painting by Linda McCoy

No telling what effect the bright sun is going to have on these transparent bottles until you set them up. Sunlight bouncing all all over, reflections, shadows, reflected light, light passing through the amber liquid. Warm light, cool light, warm shadows, cool shadows. Sad when the painting was finished, it was fun and challenging.
6"X6" Oil on gallery wrapped stretched canvas. $100.00 tcoy1@msn.com