Several months ago I was commissioned by the Innis Arden Golf Club in Old Greenwich, Connecticut, to create an historically-inspired painting for their clubhouse. The mandate was to portray the club as it existed at the turn of the 20th century, when it was a 9-hole private course located on Sound Beach (now Tod's Point), at the waterfront estate of J. Kennedy Tod. 

I was unable to travel to the site, so, with limited e-mailed reference material -- a small black and white photograph of golfers Sound Beach in 1901, a copy of a 1900 hand-drawn course map, new color photographs of the Innis Arden Cottage (which is now a community treasure on part of the town beach), and sleuthing on Google Earth -- I developed a plan to place the golfers in accurate perspective to the home and figured out the direction of sunlight  for that location. 

I could take some artistic liberties to help tell the story. I chose the time of day (morning light) and season (late summer/early autumn), taking clues from the golfer's clothing. No one living today would know exactly what the golfers looked like and what specific plantings were around the home.  At the same time, the painting needed to be an accurate impression of the site. Without the historic cottage and a specific pair of entry gates -- the painting could be three golfers anywhere along a coastline.

Over several months, rough sketches and color studies, more photographs and videos created on iPhones were sent back and forth by e-mail with the client.  My very patient husband stood in as a model for the kneeling golfer, as the reference photo was very dark, and I wanted to place him in a different direction to improve the composition.

An online artist friend who lives in a nearby town kindly sent me some of his personal photographs of the area which helped me recheck the colors of sea, sand and sky.

The finished painting measures 30 x 40 inches and will hang in the main entry of the modern-day Innis Arden Golf Club, which is a few miles away from Tod's Point.

Sometime during the next year, I will see it in it's new home and give it a protective coat of varnish.  Some things, you just have to do in person!

I learned my color palette from a lineage of artists that traces its roots to Claude Monet. 

It was a thrill to see his actual palette on display at the Musee Monet Marmottan in Paris. (I found out photos were not permitted AFTER I took this one. Luckily my camera was not confiscated, and none of the museum attendants caught me photographing ALL the paintings downstairs.)

I could see the familiar hues of yellow, red and blue --  though their names have changed over time. But what thrilled me was the mixtures they created.  And what surprised me was the paint mixtures on the ages old palette seemed so untouched, uncleaned, and yet so fresh!

When I finish painting at the end of a day, I scrape my palette and save the pure colors and then I scrape up all the bits of color with a palette knife into new mixtures and save them for another day. Though I don't have anything particular in mind for them, I am always amazed at how the same limited number of colors I use can make so many different shades.

In today's batch alone, I came up with 7 different greens! When artists use the same consistent color paints, the finished painting has a color harmony. 

So when people say to me, "I love your color!" it's because it all comes from the same colors.

I wonder if Monet kept his palette scrapings?

Northern California weather has been extraordinarily mild and dry this winter. I know this is not a good thing for our snowpack water supply, but it has given me the opportunity to get outside and paint.

I joined a "Meet-Up" group of plein air painters on the last Sunday of January in Sonoma County and had a great experience. The group loosely convened about 1 p.m.and wandered off in many directions. We gathered back together late in the afternoon and showed each other what we had accomplished.

Here's a  photo of my finished painting "Marsh and Mountain" on the easel.  You can see my pencil sketch up in the corner. 

It's now ten days later, the paint is dry, the painting is framed and ready to be shown to prospective collectors at an event this weekend.

After a busy holiday season, it feels great to be back in front of my easel. I am now working on a large commission painting of golfers in the landscape. The first step is a pencil sketch, followed by a small color study for approval by the client. The image you see here is only 6" x 8" - just big enough to capture the mood and color notes. The final painting will be 30" x 40"!

I will never forget the feeling I had making this painting - my eyes, my hand and my brain were completely connected. It was the very first time I completed a painting in COLOR!

It was just a few years ago, and I am ever grateful for the lessons I learned. On this day when we offer thanks for the bounty and blessings in our lives, I want to add thanks to the people who enrich my life - by teaching, by encouraging, by appreciating and by supporting my endeavors in art.

I just discovered a new type of frame - called a floater frame. Instead of mounting a painting through the back of the frame, which hides the painting edges, you "float" the painting on a solid board and the edges show.

This is very effective with small paintings, and gives them a lot of presence on a wall.

I was able to secure this frame at a great price, so I am happy to pass along those savings. 

"Tennessee Valley" is a oil painting that measures just 6 x 6 inches, and is on sale for only $150 at Moss & Moss, in Mill Valley, California.

I came to touch the time-worn railings and floor, to smell the turpentine, to flick the brushes  and stare at the jars of pigments -- to walk and shop in the same art supply store as Cezanne and Picasso. This is Sennelier, housed on the Left Bank of the River Seine in Paris, directly across from the Louvre museum. 

My recent trip to France provided lots of visual inspiration - the flowers at Giverny, the countryside of Normandy, the seaside towns of Deauville, Trouville, Honfleur and Entretat. Everywhere I went, the beloved Impressionist artists had been before.

But visiting Sennelier, a family-owned business since 1887 - that was retail heaven!

MOSS & MOSS is a great "antiques & etcetera" shop in my hometown of Mill Valley, California, owned by a delightful couple with great talents. Larry plays the grand piano and Marjorie creates beautiful vignettes to display the merchandise. One Friday a month they have a jazz and wine reception, and it's a popular place to stop by on the way to dinner in any one of the great restaurants in town. I am very delighted that they have chosen to carry my paintings and prints. It's a treat for me to see how they are displayed, and very exciting to get the phone call saying, "Linda, we sold another one!" Visit MOSS & MOSS at 1 El Paseo, just off Sunnyside Avenue.