Virtual Paintout - Isle of Man (II) - January 2013

I've always wanted to paint haystacks but the ones you see in the fields nowadays are usually wrapped in ugly white or blue plastic. So when I ran across these attractive triangular ones in Street View, I decided it was now or never. This is a small 5" x 7" panel -- I would love to start over on a larger canvas but it's already Sunday evening!

"Haystacks at Balladoole"
5x7 inch, oil on canvas panel

Virtual Paintout - Isle of Man - January 2013

I have been searching for the name of these yellow flowers which line the roads on the Isle of Man. I had already painted them when the Virtual Paintout was in Ireland. They might be "yellow gorse". The link to the location is on my  Flickr Photostream.

"Yellow Gorse near Cranstal"
5x7inch, oil on canvas panel

Virtual Paintout - Slovakia II - December 2012 - more time

I kept working on this until I was happy with the result. I was in too much of a rush to submit a first version to the VPO on the last day of December. This has also got me thinking I'd like to plan a trip to the country this spring!

"Slovak Spring"
34.5x26.5cm, oil on canvas
(private collection, Brussels)