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Wednesday, August 29, 2012

The Hill, "Rural Landscape Oil Painting" by Marina Petro


The Hill
20" x 24"
Original oil painting on canvas
Landscape Series
Only one in the entire universe...and it could be yours!

Details and purchasing information HERE or EMAIL me for other purchasing options and inquiries. 
Certificate Of Authenticity provided with every original painting.


The inspiration for this painting is a scene I pass almost daily on my way into the city of Saratoga Springs, NY.   I live just a few miles out of town in the beautiful countryside.

Today's Quotation:  A very young painter is seldom alone. If he is an art student, he is in an art school with other students. He does not yet know that one day he will have to face himself as a solitary creature enclosed in a space of four walls... and that he will have to be a self-propelled being, with no one at his side. 
-Pierre Alechinsky


Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Love That Plum, "Still Life Fruit Painting" by Marina Petro


Love That Plum
6" x 6"
Original oil painting on archival Raymar canvas panel
Still Life Fruit Series
Only one in the entire universe...and it could be yours!


Details and purchasing information HERE or EMAIL me for other purchasing options and inquiries. 
Certificate Of Authenticity provided with every original painting.


I titled this painting "Love That Plum" because I love this plum. I think it is the best plum I've ever painted and one of my favorite fruits to eat. We are in 'plum' season again and I am really hoping to hit the jackpot and find one with a leaf still attached. Maybe I'll get lucky...they are difficult to come by.

The background for this painting is a swatch of fabric I found at a local fabric shop. 

A bit of plum knowledge here...Did you know that plums may have been one of the first fruits domesticated by humans? Three of the most abundant cultivars are found only around human settlements and not in the wild. Plum remains have been found in Neolithic age archaeological sites along with olives, grapes and figs...

Today's Quotation: "None of us will ever accomplish anything excellent or commanding except when he listens to this whisper which is heard by him alone."
-Thomas Carlyle

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Illumination, "Landscape Oil Painting" by Marina Petro

"Illumination"
5" x 7"
Original small oil painting on canvas
Landscape Series

Only one in the entire universe...and it could be yours!

Details and purchasing information HERE or EMAIL me for other purchasing options and inquiries. 
A Certificate Of Authenticity is provided with every original painting.

I just finished this painting last night. It is a 'paint over.' The original painting had some similarities...the light illuminating the mountain and an impression of flowers in the foreground. It was really awful...at least I thought so and it had been sitting around here hiding in shame for a very long time. 

I decided to just hold my breath and jump into it....I started with the sweeping blue and white (whatever it is?) on the upper left and then put the clouds in on the upper right....changed the colors with some light glazing with warmer tones in the foreground...fooled around a little bit more, and here it is. I like it now...a lot...

As soon as I post this I will be working on another small 'paint over' which I began last night. So, what am I doing home on a Saturday night in Saratoga Springs during the most exciting weekend of the racing season....The Traver's Race...??? Oh, well...

Today's Quotation: Learn the backward step that turns your light inward to illuminate your self. Body and mind of themselves will drop away, and your original face will be manifest. 
-Dogen


Friday, August 24, 2012

Destination Mars, "Skyscape Oil Painting" Night Sky by Marina Petro



Destination Mars
5" x 7"
Original oil painting on canvas
Celestial Skyscape Series
$97 Framed
Only one in the entire universe...and it could be yours!


Details and purchasing information  HERE or EMAIL me for other purchasing options and inquiries. 
Certificate Of Authenticity provided with every original painting.


I thought I'd already found all my little lost paintings that were making an attempt to stay hidden and close to home. Here is another one I just discovered while making a feeble attempt to reorganize my studio a bit the other day. I also discovered a frame that fit perfectly.

So, here's another peek into what happens when I simply begin to paint with nothing in mind...brush to paint to canvas....always spontaneously. I have so many  ideas with regard to how I want to proceed with my paintings. The frustrating part is there's only one of me...

Today's Quotation: "Creativity is not a talent; it's a way of operating." 
-John Cleese


Sunday, August 19, 2012

Light Bearers, "Abstract Night Skyscape Painting" by Marina petro


"Light Bearers"
10" x 10"
Original oil painting on 1.5 inch gallery wrapped canvas
Celestial Skyscape Series
$159
Only one in the entire universe...and it could be yours!

Details and purchasing information  HERE or EMAIL me for other purchasing options and inquiries. 
Certificate Of Authenticity provided with every original painting.


Thought I'd take a break from some of the more detailed paintings that require actual thinking and use of my overtaxed analytical left brain. Well, folks, it didn't actually work out that way. This painting had what I thought was a great start with the first sitting and I was excited about getting back to it. When I went back to work on it again, I impulsively painted over some of the 'really nice' passages in an attempt to make them nicer. That led to everything else needing to be tweaked and here is the finished painting....totally different with not a hint of its beginning....and another glimpse into my brain... 

Today's Quotation: "Art is a form of supremely delicate awareness... meaning at-oneness, the state of being at one with the object." 
-D.H. Lawrence

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Cosmic Serpent, "Space Fantasy Snake Painting" by Marina Petro

Cosmic Serpent
30" x 40"
Original oil painting on 1.5" gallery wrapped canvas
Celestial Fantasy Series
Only one in the entire universe...and it could be yours!


Details and purchasing information  HERE or EMAIL me for other purchasing options and inquiries. 
Certificate Of Authenticity provided with every original painting.


Once again, I didn't have anything in mind when I began this painting. I was initially attracted to the firey reds and oranges,  began painting in the upper left corner...and it went from there...

The serpent is one of the oldest and most widespread mythological symbols. Snakes have been associated with some of the oldest rituals known to humankind and represent dual expression of good and evil. 

In religion, mythology, and literature, serpents and snakes represent fertility or a creative life force. As snakes shed their skin through sloughing they are symbols of rebirth, transformation, immortality, and healing. They are also represented as potent guardians of temples and other sacred spaces.

I gave this painting its title and then discovered via Wikipedia just now that the Cosmic Serpent is usually depicted with its tail in its mouth. Perhaps mine is getting ready to do just that…or, perhaps just released it's tail from its mouth. It is refusing to tell me...

Read more about Serpent Symbolism here...

Today's Quotation: "The only thing that makes one an artist is making art. And that requires the precise opposite of hanging out; a deeply lonely and unglamorous task of tolerating oneself long enough to push something out." 
-David Rakoff

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Sun Kissed, "Fruit and Floral Still Life Painting" by Marina Petro



Sun Kissed
8" x 8" 
Original oil painting on canvas
Fruit and Floral Series
Only one in the entire universe...and it could be yours!

Details and purchasing information  HERE or EMAIL me for other purchasing options and inquiries. 
Certificate Of Authenticity provided with every original painting.


Isn't this a real mood lifter? I chose one of my favorite fabrics to use for the backdrop for the fruit. I have a tendency to be relatively compulsive and would be very happy to keep using this fabric over and over and over again until I 'get it out of my system.'  But, for the sake of variety, I don't. 

Today's Quotation: "The unthankful heart... discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessing." 
-Henry Ward Beecher



Sunday, August 12, 2012

White Magic, Horse, "Equine Oil Painting" by Marina Petro


White Magic
16" x 20"
Original oil painting on canvas
Equine Portrait Series

Only one in the entire universe...and it could be yours!

Details and purchasing information HERE or EMAIL me for other purchasing options and inquiries. 
Certificate Of Authenticity provided with every original painting.


Well, it's happened. I have nothing to say. It's been a quiet day. I packed up a large 30" x 40" painting to ship tomorrow morning. My back is aching from lifting and navigating the artwork around packing materials and all that is involved in making sure it arrives safely....and I am wondering whether it will fit in my car now. It is a really big box. I'll find out tomorrow morning...

Today's Quotation:  "When your horse follows you without being asked, when he rubs his head on yours, and when you look at him and feel a tingle down your spine...you know you are loved."
-John Lyons 


Saturday, August 11, 2012

Apple And Pear, "Still Life Fruit Painting" by Marina Petro


Apple And Pear
6" x 8"
Original oil painting on canvas panel
Still Life Fruit Series
$100
Only one in the entire universe...and it could be yours!

Details and purchasing information HERE or EMAIL me for other purchasing options and inquiries. 
Certificate Of Authenticity provided with every original painting.

"Apple and  Pear" was painted fairly smoothly without many difficult areas. Perhaps I am getting better at all this!!?? My current horse portrait is still on the easel impatiently waiting for me to finish him. I haven't been in the mood to over-use my poor, tired, analytical left brain....so....I started another spontaneous  celestial-skyscape painting...at least that's what it looks like at the moment and what I am going to get back to working on right now....


Today's Quotation: "Wait for the last possible moment to make a decision."
-Frank Partnov from his book, Wait: The Art and Science of Delay


Friday, August 10, 2012

Moonsilver, "White Horse Equine Oil Painting" by Marina Petro

Moonsilver
16" x 20"
Original oil painting on canvas
Equine Art Series
Only one in the entire universe...and it could be yours!


I accept installment payment agreements. 
Details and purchasing information HERE or EMAIL me for other purchasing options and inquiries. 
Certificate Of Authenticity provided with every original painting.


"Moonsilver" is presently galloping around  Frankie Flores Gallery in Saratoga Springs, NY. I am not riding her .....just in case you were wondering. After being thrown from a horse some years ago and ending up in the hospital for a few days, they'd have to duct tape me to a horse and put padding all around the horse, as well, if I considered riding again.  I do miss it though...

I will be at Flores Gallery tonight for the Opening Reception of , "Thundering Hooves, " along with Connie Bush, Francine Stuart, Mary Frances Millet, Chelsea Bard, and of course, Frankie Flores. Hope some of you can make it there. 

Today's Quotation: "A horse is the projection of peoples' dreams about themselves--strong, powerful, beautiful--and it has the capability of giving us escape from our mundane existence." 
Pam Brown


Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Seer, "Horse Painting" Equine Portrait by Marina Petro


Seer
16" x 20"
Original oil painting on canvas
Equine Portrait Series
Only one in the entire universe...and it could be yours!


Details and purchasing information HERE or EMAIL me for other purchasing options and inquiries. I am open to accepting installment payment agreements. 

Certificate Of Authenticity provided with every original painting.


Over the next few days I will be posting the few original equine portraits I have available. Most of the others have been adopted by very happy collectors. "Seer" is one of my favorites.



Horses are "in the air "in Saratoga Springs, NY and will continue to be until around Labor Day when we wave goodbye to them and the tourists and horse lovers that swarm (in a good way) our beautiful city. The Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track in Saratoga Springs, New YorkIt opened on August 3, 1863, and is the oldest organized sporting venue of any kind in the United States.  It is typically open for racing from late July through early September. Read more about our beautiful race course here...

Today's Quotation: To see the wind's power, the rain's cleansing and the sun's radiant life, one need only to look at the horse.
-Author Unknown


Monday, August 6, 2012

Whisper, "Horse Art Print" Equine Art by Marina Petro


Whisper
16" x 20"
Giclee Art Print on Canvas
$175
Equine Portrait Series
Original Has been sold - Prints are available on paper and canvas


Details and purchasing information  HERE  or EMAIL me for other purchasing options and inquiries. 

Here is another of my earlier equine portraits. Actually they are all pretty recent as I've just begun painting horses for about a year and a few months.  There's one more on my easel at the moment. When I complete it I think I will relax and either paint some skyscapes or flowers....horses are a bit more difficult and require more of an analytical process....at least for me. 

I was still in my studio on Beekman Street in the Arts District of Saratoga Springs when 'Whisper' was being created. I had just completed the painting and it was still on my easel when I asked my daughter, Joy, if she would 'studio sit' for me that evening and greet visitors. While she was sitting in front of the canvas, she said she had a sense that the horse was behind her whispering in her ear....This is what she heard...and that's how Whisper was got its name...It brings tears to my eyes and I'm not sure why....

Never said goodbye
Till next time
Will miss you
Hush
I heard you
Whisper

Today's Quotation: "The essential joy of being with horses is that it brings us in contact with the rare elements of grace, beauty, spirit, and fire.
-Sharon Ralls Lemon


Sunday, August 5, 2012

Dreamer, "Horse Art Print," "Equine Portrait Giclee by Marina Petro


Dreamer
16" x 20"
Giclee Reproduction on Canvas
Equine Portrait Series


Details and purchasing information  HERE  or EMAIL me for other purchasing options and inquiries. 

"Dreamer" was the very first horse I attempted to paint. You can read the story HERE. The original painting sold almost immediately to a very happy collector. The most difficult part of the painting was the eye and the mane. After I painted in the eye, I sat there looking at the reference photo for a very long time...a really long time...getting up and down and piddling around with other things,  in an exquisite state of avoidance... totally intimidated with the prospect of painting the mane...all that hair...

These are the times I miss my teacher more than ever. What he would have said was, "Marina, use this brush or that brush, start here or there, do this or that..." and then I would proceed like a good little girl. I was blessed with his presence for three years.

Anyway, I was on my own now...I grabbed a brush, dipped it in paint, held my breath and finished the painting. I still wonder how he would have directed me....

Today's Quotation: "Art is a form of supremely delicate awareness...meaning at oneness, the state of being at one with the object."
D.H. Lawrence