Coastal Discovery Museum

Copyrighted © 2008 by Linda Warner Constantino.8"by 8" oil on gessoboard.

I am not sure but I think this is one of the original homes at the Coastal Discovery Museum on Hilton Head. It is located by the marsh and is part of a homestead donated to the museum.

I painted quickly this day and it is fine line one walks when painting any kind of architecture. In a moment too much detail and too much adhering to perfection seems to suck the life out of the building or makes it look very amateurish rather than simple and painterly. I tried to stay simple and loose. I like the way the sunlight looks on it but I am still chasing the quality of my brushstrokes.

Marina Marsh

Copyrighted © 2008 by Linda Warner Constantino. 8" by 10" oil on gessoboard.Sold

I went out to paint today with a few friends. It was initially very foggy and then lifted rather quickly though it remained partly cloudy. I started one painting and wiped it off. I was trying to paint too much. Finding the lowest "visual denominator" is always a challenge. Then tide started moving in rapidly, too. So between the weather and the tides I was painting "to beat the clock."

I painted a bit larger for this one to help me prepare for a 16" by 20" painting that I will be working on in the studio. As ever it was great to be outside painting!

Wildflower Garden

Copyrightd © 2008 by Linda Warner Constantino. 7" by 5" - oil on gessoboard.

Here is a little study I did from a photo taken this past summer up in St. Andrews-by-the-Sea in Canada. I was attracted to the geometry of the roof tops against the wildflowers in the garden. I love doing these quick little sketches because they suit my attention span. I am interested in so many things. Recently I bought some pastels and will try some studies in them. I think I am just an art supply "junkie." Each medium has its own set of characteristics that attract me for different reasons.

Tangled Banana Palms - Landscape

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Copyrighted © 2008 by Linda Warner Constantino.6" h by 8"w - Oil on linen panel.

I was actually painting another scene when this view caught my eye. I decided to paint it. I had to work quickly as rain was imminent. I liked the way the greens were kind of tangled together against the pink stucco. This is on a cute little side street in Savannah where there are endless views to paint.

Cinta Senese Pigs - Landscape

Copyrighted © 2008 by Linda Warner Constantino. 6" by 8"- oil on canvas panel.Click on image to view larger. Click here to purchase.

These are not just any pigs. These are Cinta Senese pigs that are an endangered species domesticated at Spannocchia the Italian organic farm I was at this past spring. It was a grayish day today so I went for my photos to do this painting. I tried to place the paint on this one and try not to fuss with it too much.

Speaking of Spannocchia I have gotten the dates firmed up for next summer's Plein Air Painting in Tuscany workshop that I will be teaching there. It will be from June 21 through June 28, 2009. I should have the prices firmed up in the next week or two. Email me me if interested.

Clouds II - Landscape

Copyrighted © by Linda Warner Constantino. Oil on canvas panel - 6"h by 8"w. Click on image to view larger. Click here to purchase.

Thunderhead clouds are like the "mountains of the South." You sense their massive size just by looking. These clouds were like out of a Cecil B. DeMille movie. I kind of felt like some kind of miracle was going to happen at any moment! :)

I painted is on a different surface than I usually use.I usually use a #13 Classens double primed linen. This is a medium surface canvas panel. Photoshop picks up the texture more. If I try to hard to downplay it it looks blurry. This is pretty true to how it looks.

Purple Clouds - Landscape

Copyrighted © 2008 by Linda Warner Constantino. 5" by 7" oil on linen panel.Click image to view larger.

The clouds were so dynamic yesterday. Sunny one minute stormy the next. The marsh at the Wildlife Refuge is so flat.It reminds me of the tundra in Alaska where I once lived. Here I was just trying to catch a sense of these clouds.

I came across some newsworthy items for daily painters. There is an excellent write up about Duane Keiser and his new collectors' blog by Katherine Tyrrell of Making a Mark.She includes a kind of historical synopsis of his development.

Karen Jurick is planning a workshop possibly in nearby Savannah. Check out her site for more information.

Lily Pads - Landscape

Copyrighted © 2008 by Linda Warner Constantino, oil on canvas board 6"h by 8"w. Click on image to view larger. Click here to purchase.

I painted at the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge this morning. Acres and acres of marsh and lily pads! I did not know where to start. I did this little close up just to get acquainted. You cannot paint lily pads without thinking of Monet. Of course his paintings are gigantic and in some ways I think it would have been easeier to paint them on a larger canvas. What I was trying to do was a quick reponse to what I was seeing. Actually the bugs were bad. There are often challenges beyond the canvas in plein air painting! So here is my own little homage to Monet. I have even more respect for him now.

Dophin Head on Hilton Head

Copyrighted © 2008 by Linda Warner Constantino. Oil on linen panel. 7"by5"Available for $100 plus shipping. Email me if interested. Click on image for larger view.

I got a late start in the morning for this painting and it had to be the hottest day of summer so far, so I painted quickly because I could feel the sun burning the back of my legs. I was standing by the water and the tide was coming in too. Sometimes having to paint fast keeps me from fussing too much and helps keep the painting painterly.

"The Greenery"

Copyrighted ©2008 by Linda Warner Constantino. Oil on belgian linen mounted on board. 7"h by5"w. Click on image to see larger view. Available for $100 plus shipping. If you would like it framed add $40 more. Email me if interested.

The Greenery is my favorite nursery on Hilton Head to buy plants. I am like a kid in candy store when I go there conveniently forgetting about having to dig the holes for what I purchase when I get home.

There are so many scenes to paint here that it took a bit of looking and thinking about what to paint. I was teaching and demonstrating at the time and the goal was to make sure to have a focal point. I liked the urn not because it was obvious but it was a beautiful buttery color surrounded by all the other colored plants.(Our painting group:Peter, Me, Francie)

If you would like to check out my other blog: Plein Air Painting in Tuscany I am putting up paintings for sale on Ebay and donating a portion to the Spannocchia Foundation.

"Boat Dock on Hilton Head"

Copyrighted © 2008 by Linda Warner Constantino. Oil on Belgian linenboard - 5" by 7". I found the view of this little marina full of shapes and the colors of the morning. I tried to capture the scene as a celebration of shapes in a more abstract way.

"Hudson's Dock on Hilton Head" - Sold

"Hudson's Dock on Hilton Head" - Sold

Copyrighted © 2008 by Linda Warner Constantino.Oil on linen on board.

I went out painting this morning very early because it is very hot out down here right now. I painted with my friends Peter and Francie. I teach them but also paint at the same time because I think it is very helpful. We tried a different palette today than in the past - ultramarine blue, cerulean blue, cadmium yellow pale, yellow ochre, cadmium red light, permanent thalo red rose or violet, plus white. I think switching out colors sometimes can give the painting such a different mood.

It felt so great to be outside painting. We even saw otters playing down by the water.

Copyrighted © 2008 by Linda Warner Constantino. 6" by 6"oil on linen board. I have always loved the skies here in South Carolina. They roll in and change so dramatically forcing me to paint very fast. I think they are one of the most challenging landscape elements to paint. This is another limited palette painting(3 colors plus white). I continue to be baffled by how many colors I can make. I hope you enjoy.

"StormyDay on the River" - Sold

"StormyDay on the River" - Sold

Copyrighted © 2007 by Linda Warner Constantino. 12" by 12" framed.

The clouds were so dynamic on this day, constantly changing. It even rained a little.

This painting is for sale framed on eBay and the selling price includes free 3-day priority shipping if you would like it in time for Chistmas,

2nd Annual Less is More Show - Laguna Plein Air Painters Association

Copyright 2007 by Linda Warner Constantino. 5'h by 7"w. Oil on linen on board.

The small painting above has been accepted to the "

Less is More Show

" of miniature work held by the Laguna Plein Air Painters' Association. The work will be on exhibit from November 17 through December 28th.

I pass this little palmetto tree every time I go for a bike ride. I always noticed the way it caught the dappled light and it stuck in my head until I had to paint it. It sort of reminded me of the kind of light that comes in a cathedral window.

"Morning Marsh" -Sold

"Morning Marsh" -Sold

Oil on canvas board, 6"H by 8"W. Copyright © 2007 by Linda Warner Constantino.

I was set up on the shore of Pinckney Island under the trees for this painting. It was perfect because I did not need an umbrella to shade me and my easel. What I did not realize was how fast the tide would come in. When I started the painting there were green marsh grasses covering the foreground, then two hours later water totally covered the grass and my easel was in a puddle of water. Even so it was a gorgeous, sun-filled morning with enough of a breeze to keep the bugs away.

There is something so elementally satisfying about painting outside or en plein air as they say. Words seem inadequate to describe the double pleasure of being outdoors and painting. That is all I can say.