Bedford Farmland

8 x 8 Oil on Gessobord

SOLD

This is a quick study for a larger painting.  It was fast and furious and my brush never stopped moving.  I tried to convey the scene with a minimal amount of strokes.  Again, I worked from a very limited palette. I feel like I'm in the middle of a growth spurt, and I wonder where it will lead me.... 

Landscape Through the Glass

8 x 8 Oil on Gessobord

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OK...This was a really big challenge, but a complete joy to paint.  Glass is difficult, but I handled it abstractly and again with a very limited palette.  The joy for me is the day to day learning and experimenting.  I'm always fascinated with how or if things turn out and even if the painting doesn't, there is the possibility of another one to follow.  Right now, this is one of my favorites...Until tomorrow, hopefully :-)

End of the Day Light Show

8 x 8 Oil on Gessobord

SOLD

After spending fortunes on all different tubes of oil paint, I have recently narrowed down my paintings to the three primaries and white as an experiment.  I'm not saying that I will never use all those luscious colors sitting next to my easel, but I am really enjoying the process of mixing and blending.  As I've said before, going from pastels to oils is a big transition.  I was totally used to just scanning my options and picking the color I wanted.  I now have to really consider and experiment, and besides learning so much about color, I'm also totally enjoying the process.  I never thought I'd say that :-)  Thank you Josh and Brent for allowing me to use your wonderful scenes of the farm.

Bedford Fall

8 x 8 Oil on Gessobord

SOLD

Can you smell those leaves?  How can anyone resist the Fall season?!  This is a road less traveled on the way to Bedford, VA.  The photo colors came out a little vivid and purple for some reason.  I still don't have the process for taking pictures of my artwork down.  Some days the colors match the painting perfectly, other days they don't...as here, and it doesn't seem to have anything to do with the sun or shade.  It appears to happen with landscapes most of the time.  My painting is a lot more subtle.  But it is Fall..and vivid colors are a good thing.  Just picture this a little more hazy and not as pink :-)

Look What's in the New Dick Blick Catalog

If you happen to get the new Dick Blick catalog and look at pages 80 and 81, you will see seven of my paintings displayed in Blick's frames.  How exciting for my artwork to be chosen to appear in their Christmas catalog!  I'm really blown away by the honor :-)  Thank you, Dick Blick!!

The Game

8 x 10 Oil on Gessobord

My niece, Holly, is a wonderful photographer and she kindly let me paint her son's football game.  It's Fall, after all...RAH!

2015 Art Calendar

It's Here!  My 2015 Sights and Scenes of Smith Mountain Lake calendar.  Get them fast because they have sold out quickly in previous years.  You can order from me directly by emailing me at shelleykoop@gmail.com or buy one at Goose Creek Studio in Bedford, VA, The General Store at Smith Mountain Lake, or Gifts Ahoy at Bridgewater Plaza, Smith Mountain Lake. 

Three Cute Butts

8 x 8 Oil on Gessobord

SOLD

I suppose this is the fourth in my butt series.  They are sporadic which is probably a good thing.  Otherwise, this might be an obsession :-)  Our friends brought their dog, Molly, over to swim.  We thought it would be a good way to get our Sproodle, Lula, into the water.  Well, it didn't work.  Lula stayed away from the edge and Molly refused to jump in.  She would swim, but only from the shore.  Lula wouldn't even do that.  So, here is our friend, Dick, trying to coax Molly in.  As you see, Molly turned her back on him and I do believe Lula was thinking about pushing him in.

Revolving

8 x 8 Oil on Gessobord

These are people heading out of Grand Central in NYC.  I've been thinking about painting this for a long time (since my trip last year), but the scope of it always frightened me a little.  So, I decided to paint shapes instead of actual "things."  I painted it upside down, sideways, right side up....every which way.  Very impressionistic and very free.  About the subject matter, I'm not a big fan of revolving doors.  I use them, of course, when there is no alternative but I never know whether to join in with someone in front of me or to hold everyone up behind me and wait until the next opening passes by.  Some of them have really wide openings.  Is this for multiple people?  Also, if you do go with someone else, there is always that problem of stepping on their heels...Life can be very complicated :-)