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All paintings are done on 8" by 8" hardboard panels in oil unless otherwise noted

At The Lake

I couldn’t help sensing the cool breeze, breathing the clean air and feeling the warmth of the sunlight dancing across the water as I painted this scene. This is life at the lake ─pure solitude and the touch of nature all around you. If we could bottle it, what an achievement that would be! Although dramatic in the portrayal of these elements, they are very simplistic things we see and interact with every day. Unfortunately they are often taken for granted. They are life giving forces that yield to necessity ─sun ─light ─water ─air. What if only one of them were removed? At the lake there is time for creative reflection on what we are given everyday, what we cannot give or provide for ourselves and the beauty and harmony of all of them in unison. 

Country Morning

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I stood on the edge of a cliff, 100 feet in the air and did a free fall when painting this scene.  I knew what I wanted, the warmth of the morning sun, the misty fog still lingering across the horizon obscuring the trees and warm sepia tones.  I used a very difficult bottle from my own collection.  The ribbed form I wanted to show, but not to the point of breaking up the scene revealed through it.  I began with the center and worked my way out and forward which is artistic suicide.  We are taught and told to block in the background and overall shapes first.  Miraculously, I was happy with the approach and method.  I learned something new.  It is okay to take a risk, sometimes it pays off and sometimes not.  In this case it did.  I miss the old farmhouse on Campbellsburg Road.  The morning sunrises were a different brush stroke of the Creator’s hand and I never got tired of looking at them.  Many photographs later, I still enjoy the look and feel of each scene from the back porch.  Simply breathtaking!

Maine Coast Sunrise 

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My sister Sherry Paul took this photograph off the Maine coast.  She told me she had to get up at 4:30am to see it because it is the earliest place for the sun to rise on the Eastern coast.  The color, water and simple land forms were breathtaking.  There is something so elegant about the sun rising or setting over the horizon.  I chose a bottle that would compliment that theme of elegance yet remain simple for optimal glass peering!  I am happy with the lines and slight distortion that this painting was able to convey.  The original photograph is simply gorgeous!  I am using many of her works as reference.  She has joyfully traveled much of the United States and abroad.  It is a rare privilege and honor to use her images.

The reference landscape photograph used for this painting was taken by Sherry Paul

Kentucky Bourbon

I absolutely love this old antique bourbon bottle, but it breaks away from the norm of what I am trying to accomplish with color.  I was able to add some greens from the background to make it work, but the dark of the bottle diminishes the scene quite a bit.  I still like the overall Kentucky impression, the warmth of the browns and sepias along with the antique feel of the overall scene.  I especially like the horse embossed on the front!

A little bit of Kentucky signature, these pastures and horses are all around me.  All I have to do is venture out beyond the comforts of home to see them.  The horse is one of my favorite subject to paint and more scenes like this are always in my heart and on my mind.

This painting has been done on 8" by 8" wood block panel, 1 1/2" depth brown finished edges

Dreaming of Spring

I would rather be on a farm in the country than in the fanciest place in the world.  I love everything about it!  The heritage, history and simplicity of life found there will never leave me.  I love old antiques that no one knows what they were used for; the animals just going about there daily business and the scenes that just stun our world!  I love jars and I love country landscapes, so the two together are ‘charm’ in the purest sense of the word.  This was the first attempt at trying these painting exercises and I was taken back at how it all came together.  This is a scene from early spring when things are just starting to appear after the dead of winter.  I am sure many country jars will find their way into my future paintings.

Copyright 2014 Darlene Dine, use of or reproduction of any image is prohibited and against the law without consent or permission.