"Springtime Prairie Cabin" by C Caton

"Springtime Prairie Cabin" By C Caton

Just completed, April 2013 -  A beautiful Spring day at the little prairie cabin...The trees have leafed out, the wildflowers are blooming, and the grasses are coming out of their winter doldrums!

I can't really tell you how other people paint, but when I do it, it's pretty much a "paint-as-I-go", unplanned thing.  I've never sketched out anything ahead of time, as there is usually a quite elaborate story going on through my mind as I paint, much of which I actually leave out of my paintings so that you can imagine your own.    In a sense, I suppose that most of my paintings are just a backdrop...Here is a beautiful day - for a picnic?  Flying a kite?  Reading your favorite book under the tree, surrounded by wildflowers?  Children running about?  Taking a stroll down the lane?  Collecting a basketful of flowers for your vase?  

"Maple Valley" By C Caton

"Maple Valley" By C Caton, Completed January 2013

A peaceful country home tucked in among the hills, wildflowers, and trees - just a quiet, simple life.  SOLD

"Grass" By C Caton

"Grass" By C Caton

Just playing around with a new brush that I bought recently, getting the hang of it.  This one has a fair amount of metallic paint in it, and it doesn't really come across in photos as it does in person. SOLD

Looks great on a variety of wall colors!

Completed August 2012

"The Yellow Ribbon - Coming Home" By C Caton

"The Yellow Ribbon - Coming Home" By C Caton

The long wait is almost over, and Mom and the kids are joined by the neighbors across the way in waiting with eager anticipation for the first glimpse of their returning loved one!

These days, the yellow ribbon is most often used to signify a deployed soldier - but over the years, it has been used and has meant a missing loved one due to a variety of reasons - from hostages to returning parolees to soldiers. 

Completed August 2012 - SOLD

"Fresh Eggs! Ripe Tomatoes!"

"Fresh Eggs!  Ripe Tomatoes!"  by C Caton, June 2012
It's summertime in the country, and this little girl is setting up her egg and tomato stand in front of her family home!  SOLD

"The Things that I Need"

"The Things that I Need" By C Caton, June 2012

I've just completed this one, and also a poem to go with it -

"The Things that I Need"

These are the things that I need today -

A sturdy roof and a place to play.

A plot of clear ground and some seeds to sow,

Then the time to sit back and watch them grow.

A swing in the tree for hours of fun,

To relax and unwind when my work's all done.

These are the things that I need today -

And it's all right here, so here I'll stay!

By C Caton, 2012

SOLD

(To see close-ups, just click on the pictures)

Another old one - "The Straight and Narrow Path"

"The Straight and Narrow Path" By C Caton, 2008

I was searching through some discs tonight, and stumbled across some photos of my early watercolors (watercolor and watercolor pencil).

I actually still have this one!  It is from 2008, and was one of my very earliest ones...hard to believe that it's only been 4 years, seems like so long ago.

"Towards Tomorrow"

"Towards Tomorrow" - If you leave out all of the drama, trauma, and complications, what you're left with is an uncomplicated, peaceful prairie sunset with the cows and you looking on towards tomorrow!

  Completed May 2012

I'm having a dreadful time photographing this one, and I'm afraid that in spite of my best efforts there is still some glare. 

"Red Desert Hills"

"Red Desert Hills" - Not a real place, just painting along...A lovely red desert with the clouds creating their fleeting shadows.  Completed May 2012

"An Evening Stroll"

"An Evening Stroll" - It's a beautiful evening, and the cowboy and his lady are just heading out for a stroll!
Completed May 2012   20"x16" on canvas

A personal favorite of mine, and is in my own collection.

Abstract #4

Okay...So you know how I said I wasn't going to do anymore of these for a while?  Well, I went to buy more canvas the other day, and while I was there I picked up a few new paints.  Of course I had to try them out right away, and so here we go. 

I rarely use paints straight out of the tube, and I it always thrills me to no end to have a new tube or two of paint to mix up and see what happens.  SOLD

Mary had a Little Lamb

"Mary had a Little Lamb"

Mary had a little lamb,
whose fleece was white as snow.


And everywhere that Mary went,
the lamb was sure to go.


It followed her to school one day...

This song got stuck in my head one day, and the next thing I knew I was painting it.  Here is Mary, giving her little lamb a talking to, trying to get him to go back home - Completed April, 2012   8"x10"  SOLD

One More Abstract

Here's one more, then I'm back off to do my thing - it's been fun, but I miss my own little painted world!  I may do some more sometime, but I think that's it for now.  SOLD

Abstract #2

And another warm-up piece - SOLD

Abstracts

I was asked recently to do some abstract paintings for a project - not my normal style, but I've had a lot of fun doing them!   First, I was doing them as a sort of "warm up" for the project pieces - then after I finished the project, I decided to make a few more. 

This is one of the "warm up" pieces, but I like it.  SOLD

"Dinner Time!"

"Dinner Time!" - Thank goodness for the dinner bell when your family's here, there, and everywhere!  Mom's ringing the dinner bell while her family scrambles in from far and wide.   Just completed, April 2012  SOLD

To see the larger photos, just click on the picture! 

After April Showers

"After April Showers" - Come the May flowers and they are all blooming wildly in this painting!  A mother and daughter are out to pick a basketful to brighten their home. SOLD

Looking Back...."To School"

I've been promising to post some of my old work, and so here we go.  This one was, I believe, probably one of the first 10 that I ever did.   It is done in watercolor and the Derwent Watercolor Pencils (which I love - they're great!)

"To School" - A reminder of "the good old days" - The kids back then didn't have ipods or lap tops or cell phones, but the way to school still had its distractions!   Someone has left behind their Spelling Primer, by the tree swing on their way to school. 

This one was also one of the first few that I sold.   I numbered my first pictures on the back - I'd put "By Carolyn Caton, Her first painting, second painting", etc.   It was one of those.

*Note:  I had a computer crash recently, and unfortunately some of my records are still on that computer.  This one is from either 2007 or 2008 - once I get my data retrieved from the old computer I'll know for sure!   The photo was taken in 2008, but it may have been done in 2007. 

"Hardy Souls"

"Hardy Souls" -  I love plant life of all types - especially flowers and trees - but I also do have a soft spot for those who can survive where few others can.  

The inspiration for this painting actually came from my own little pair of cactii that sit in a window, and who I all too often forget about.   The last time that I watered them, I thought about what hardy little souls they are - and set about painting their cousins.

Uncomplaining, tough and sturdy.  They manage to survive and even thrive where so many others would not - even on the neglected window ledge of a distracted artist!

This one really is best viewed in the larger image (just click on the photo to do so).   It is 24"x18" and is the largest painting I've done to date.     Completed April 2012, and is in my own collection.

A Welcoming Entrance

"A Welcoming Entrance" - I've been painting a lot of spring flowers this year - I can't help it, as I really love this time of year.  Flowers add so much to a place, whether it be a home or a field or a roadside ditch, the world is a much better place with them in it.   They just seem to add a great deal of warmth and welcome to any place, but most especially home. 

Along the way home, clumps of daffodils, hyacinths, grape muscari wave their welcome and show off their colors just to delight you.  The trees - not to be outdone - put forth their brightest, greenest foliage of the season, not yet touched by Summer's perils (heat, drought and insects). 

(For a closer look, just click on the photos)

This is probably my favorite right at present, and is in my own collection.