Thursday, December 20, 2012

Sealight, 20x10 Oil on Canvas

I originally thought I'd get two paintings out of one wave, because I was using square canvases. I painted the one on the right at home, then did the one on the left at our Pieces of 8 Holiday Sale. When I got home I saw that the two were perfect for a diptych, so I matched them up by adjusting the crest of the wave and the color.

This will be exhibited at the Art & Antique Studio in January, when I will be the featured artist for the month. The opening of the show will be on First Friday, January 4th. The theme is "Highland to Island," with my paintings from the Smoky Mountains as well as my Florida scenes. Hope to see you there!

 - Carmen Beecher

Friday, December 14, 2012

A year of bugs

I love bugs. (If you hate bugs, do NOT look further.) And just this week I found the most amazing bug in my yard. After deciding to post him, I took a look at the wonderful bugs I've had to work with (in Photoshop and Illustrator) this past year and decided to post a few of them here because they are so cool. But the last, the most recent is the coolest ever!

A lady bug...

Two lubber grass hoppers - making love on the porch of the Loop Road Education Center...
A red box elder nymph on the wall of my house was very inspiring...
A monarch newly hatched at Brookgreen Garden's Butterfly Garden in South Carolina...

White peacock butterflies from the Everglades...

A gulf fritillary caterpillar eating my passion vines...

A lady bug in the fall in La Plata, Maryland...


And the coolest of all - those are really his own designs - (is it a leaf hopper?) found on an orchid tree in my yard just this week. Click to see the beautiful patterns nature gifted him with.
Can't wait to find what he is and photograph more of them!

Monday, December 10, 2012

Thank you, thank you!

We had a wonderfully fun and successful day on Saturday, December 8th for our third annual Holiday Sale thanks to all of our friends and family and blog followers who were able to attend. We all enjoyed meeting everyone and will soon announce the name of the person who won the beautiful basket - as soon as they return our message!

Our painting time today was mostly spent discussing what things we can do to make it more fun, more comfortable and more inviting next year. Input is truly welcome!

Our hand made black and white mix and match earrings were a big success. We still have a few pairs left and they'll be relocating over to the beautiful Alla Prima Styling Group at 1540 Highland Ave, Melbourne, Florida for anyone who needs more.



Just a snapshot of some of the wonderful works that were on sale on Saturday. Many have now taken up residency in private homes.

Our own Carmen Beecher demonstrated oil painting during the day. This fabulous sea scape will be part of her upcoming opening exhibit at the Art and Antique Studio Gallery on Highland Avenue in January. (It's just down the street from Alla Prima, and across the street from Ralph's Art Supply!)

A few Saturday visitors to our show.
And now that all the work is over, we need to get back to some serious painting! Hope I'll be able to post some works in progress from everyone after Christmas!

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Just 2 days until Pieces of Eight Sale!

White Peaches in oil, and Pineapple in watercolor are 2 small paintings of mine that will be available for sale on Saturday.  Both are framed and ready for hanging.  There will also be some larger paintings and unframed, matted watercolors in various standard sizes.    I am also offering some used art supplies and art books at bargain prices.  Come join our group for a fun day!

Monday, December 3, 2012

Keep the Date, December Eight


We are all busy getting ready and setting up this week for our sale and hoping the weather is gorgeous and the visitors are numerous. Here's a peak at what will be at my table. Hope to meet our blog followers at 3532 Samuel Place in Melbourne. Show time is 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Click on the image for a larger view.)

Ballard Park, Original Oil on Canvas

  I had not painted outside in two years, so this was quite a challenge. It was one of those paintings I had to improve upon in the studio. ...