L Diane Johnson

WITH THE HEAT OF SUMMER STILL upon us, I thought I'd post something to visually cool us all off. I started this piece last year en plein air and have just completed it in the studio. I see this tree at least three times a year when I visit family. But come autumn, it changes dramatically displaying a striking yellow glow. Along with the old white house as a backdrop, the morning sun really made this scene shimmer.

AS PART OF MY GROWING COLLECTION of paintings of a local lavender field, this one is different. I saw this outdoor still life on the porch of the owner's home. What a welcoming scene! I nearly missed seeing it for all of the flowers and people milling around. As with the last painting of the field and owner's house, this one combines the yellow of lemonade with the lavenders and blues of the plants quietly sitting - visual refreshment. A more in-depth description can be found on the details page...

A BRAND NEW PIECE created during the First Annual Havre de Grace Plein-Air Painting Competition, Maryland. With the extensive architecture and boats I worked on this over a couple of days. It was enjoyable painting this as I don't have many opportunities to work up-close on dry docked vessels. A pleasant challenge was capturing the stands of multi-colored reds (except for one in robin's egg blue) some brand new while others had been dramatically faded by the sun. I purposely painted this piece a bit tighter than usual to explore boat reflections, shadows and, well - I just loved this scene.

I HAVE JUST RETURNED from the First Annual Havre de Grace Plein-Air Painting Competition, in Maryland. It was a great event and a choice place to paint - an array of old boats, new boats and historic streets were packed into this small city. This particular piece took the Award of Merit which I am honored to have received. The painting practically created itself: early morning light illuminating a historic lockhouse. I painted in oils for the most part during the 3-day event, but I elected to use acrylic for this piece. I will post a larger painting from the same event with dry-docked boats tomorrow!

YET ANOTHER, BUT LARGER painting of the lavender garden I spent time in in June. This time it's an image of the complete farm. In a future piece I'll include the dozens of adults and children, festive tents and activities. But for this painting I simply wanted folks to enjoy the garden itself.

An additional photo of the location along with my easel and painting. I sat to do paint so I could be at eye-level with the house - looking across the lavender field, rather than stand with a downward vantage point. Also, you can see that I elected to edit-out the black tarp and shells in lieu of the clay soil.