A CAT LIKE NO OTHER

ACE DIZZLE

All cats are unique. They come into our lives and weasel their way into our hearts, even the strange-and-not-so-friendly-ones.  Ace is our daughter Erin's cat.  She got him when she was still in high school.  He arrived one day in the engine of a friend's car who was at our house visiting.  He was covered in oil and grease and was a tiny little thing. I think that ride in the car's engine had an affect on his brain and his personality. I have been around lots of cats, but not one as unusual as ACE.

He now resides full time with our daughter, who lives in Utah.  Whenever she visits,  I always see scratch marks and teeth marks where the little "devil child" has attacked, always just playing. So here is a painting showing Ace's kitten days, when he was such a cutie, and not so badie.

Another Day at the Beach

SANDY PLAY

This painting is from the same trip to Hilton Head.  As I said before, I love to people watch, and these three boys were having a blast digging in the sand. I loved the bright colors of their trunks, as well as the waves crashing on the shore, quite a challenge to capture. You can see this painting and others on my web-site, www.carolgranger.com, and on my Facebook page, www.facebook.com/cfgrangerstudios.

WELCOMING WARMTH

SUN WORSHIP

I recently got to go to Hilton Head Island with my husband.  He was there on business so I had most of the mornings to myself.  The weather was good, slightly cool in the mornings but sunny and warm the rest of the day.  I enjoyed people watching, sketching and taking photos.  Here is a painting of someone enjoying the sun from one of my sketches. You can view this on my web-site, www.carolgranger.com, and check it out on my Facebook page,

  www.facebook.com/cfgrangerstudios.

Memories of Springs Past

MOM'S VIOLETS

I was raised in a very rural part of Indiana, only a few miles from the Ohio river. Our farmhouse sat 1/4 of a mile down a long gravel driveway. To get to school, we had to either walk to the end of the driveway, or many times, in bad weather, our mother would drive us to the end of the driveway to catch the bus. Every spring, when the weather was beautiful and I couldn't wait for school to be over, the walk home down that driveway was pure pleasure. If the field's had been plowed, the smell of newly turned earth and wild onions was overpowering. I remember birdsong and cattle munching. Most of all, I remember the violets that grew along the side of that gravel driveway. And every year, I brought home a fistful of violets for my mom, just because I knew she would like them. She always put them in a small glass vase and sat them on the kitchen table.  So here is my latest little painting of some violets to go along with my memories of childhood.

Plein Air, Sort Of

MORE OF SPRING

This little painting started out as a plein air piece.  I was at Innis Wood  metro park the other day with a friend to do some plein air work.  We both settled on the ground near the entrance to get the best view of these beautiful daffodils.  I had the sun in my face but not on my surface.  I blocked in the shapes then proceeded to paint.  My efforts at the end of my session were not what I had hope for.

When I get home, I wiped it off, but much of the paint had already dried because I had used a medium and it was a breezy day(this helps to dry also) so I was left with my original sketch and some of the dark background. So I tackled it again and am happy with the results. I think it has a freshness and looseness about it that looks like a plein air painting. I also think that having the dark background already in place helped to unite the painting.  I like the effect of the dark background peeking through in some of the spaces.

In Honor of Spring

Just a Jonquil

The jonquils that I planted last fall in the front of the house bloomed beautifully this year.  I was able to grab one of them before they all got destroyed in the last thunderstorm and do this little painting.

I love the smell of them, and the bright yellow after such a drab winter.

Speaking of Roses

Coral Petals

This little painting is from a photo I took of some roses when I was visiting Whetstone Park of Roses last summer.  I always think of my mother when I visit this garden.  She had a large rose garden on the farm and when she was here visiting once I took her here to see the roses.  She was very impressed.  I especially like the warm shadows reflected on the lower petals.