New Work
Several years ago, I began painting using a limited palette on a toned ground, which gives my paintings a different look that I really like. The colors are usually some variation of the three primary colors, red, yellow, and blue, along with white and a dark, such as Burnt Umber. It is amazing how many colors can be created from just these few!
As with the other paintings, click on one to get the larger image.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
her new email is:
website last updated:
Copyright 2008 Nan McCarthy, All Rights Reserved.
|
Indian Summer 9" x 14" Private Collection One glorious fall day when my sister and I were out motoring in her '76 Triumph Spitfire, we took a ride around Kezar Lake in North Sutton, NH. We came around a bend in the road and happened upon this view. Thinking it would make a good painting, we stopped so that I could take some photos. I joined several photos to create the composition for the painting. Signed Giclees Available |
 |
 |
Pretty in Pink #1 (Peony) 5" x 7" This is the first time I have painted a flower using the limited palette. It took a bit of adjustment, as the colors needed were quite different from the ones I use for my landscapes. I chose the photo of the peony, because I liked its vibrant colors and the sharp contrast between the bright light and dark shadows. |
|
Daffodil 8" x 10" (Including Mat) Sometimes, as a change of pace, I start with a watercolor painting and add details using colored pencil. After a long, snowy winter, when I came across this daffodil photo in one of my albums, I just knew I had to paint it. The green oval mat was a perfect complement to the painting. |
 |
 |
Pepper Pair #1 8" x 10" (Including Mat) Before these peppers went into the salad, I decided to take some photographs, thinking they would be fun to paint. I put them on the blue cloth, because I liked the idea of using the three primary colors for the composition. |
Lighthouses of New England
I recently completed a series of paintings featuring lighthouses that I had photographed in my travels around New England. Some of the photos go back almost 30 years, but they looked like they would make good paintings if I ever had the time to paint them!
|
Edgartown Harbor Light 8" x 10" This cast-iron lighthouse is located on a sandy spit outside Edgartown Harbor on Martha's Vineyard. The tower was moved from Ispwich, MA, in 1939 to replace the lighthouse destroyed in the hurricane of 1938. |
 |
 |
Castle Hill Light 5" x 7" Located on the east side of the eastern passage into Narragansett Bay, RI, Castle Hill Light is built into a rocky cliff. The red beacon was first lit in 1890. |
|
New London Harbor Light
5" x 7" This lighthouse was built in 1801, replacing the original lighthouse dating from 1760. The octagonal sandstone tower rises 90 feet above an outcropping of rocks on the banks of the Thames River in New London, CT. |
 |
 |
Whaleback Ledge Light
5" x 7" Located at the entrance to the Piscataqua River off the coast of Kittery Point, this lighthouse protects Portsmouth Harbor. Two earlier towers were destroyed by gales; the current lighthouse was constructed in 1872. |
|
White Island Light
5" x 7" This lighthouse is located on one of the Isles of Shoals off the coast of NH. It was built in 1859, replacing a structure built in 1820. Writer Celia Thaxter lived here as a child. |
 |
 |
Gay Head Light
5" x 7" Private Collection Located on Martha's Vineyard, this cylindrical brick tower was built in 1856, replacing the octagonal wooden tower dating from 1799. |
What is a Giclee ?[zhee clay, French, to spurt or squirt] A method of using an inkjet printer to produce reproductions of art from a digital file that was created either by scanning or photographing the original work. |