Too much time on my hands!...but never really ever enough!

Ok,
So... I admit that I have too much time on my hands. This Spring, as I mentioned before, I have been spending time online. I have found an artist that I love.
Years ago, just as my mother took ill, I tried my hand at oil painting. My mother took lessons for years from a man named Dale Wilson. He specialized in painting barns and outdoor scenes. It was not until recently that I realized many of the subjects of his works were, in fact, Door County barns and harbors. A place dear to my heart. I digress... My mother was never able to see my work as she was too Ill to travel, but I told her about them during many conversations we had toward the end of her life. I have recently decided that after 4 years of putting down the brushes... I would pick them up again.

I was searching for my inspiration online and found it in Kim Parker ( her painting Lush Garden can be seen above). She is an accomplished musician whose creative outlet turned to painting and designing. Her paintings, mostly of flowers, are bold and bright. I love the whimsey of it all. I would like to learn to paint in the free style that she seems to have. To that end... I have taken several photos of flowers from my garden to use as inspiration. I have tried to blur the photos so that my eye sees them differently ( my art teacher gave me that tip years ago). I tend to paint exacting images and want to be more "loose" in my technique.

Tomorrow I attempt a landscaping class. I am still trying to find a photo I may have taken in the past to paint from. I have several that include different elements, a bright blue sky in one, a row of golden trees in another, a field of wavy grain in yet another... maybe I can blend them together and see what I get.

My ultimate plan is to take an "en plein air" class in August so that I can learn to develop techniques to work quickly and entirely outdoors. I would love to paint subjects, as Dale Wilson did, in Door County...but paint while in the environment...with the ever changing conditions...Shadows, light, wind, Sun, Bugs... and whatever else comes my way.