Studio Glimpses Archives - Mary Ahern Artist

March 11, 2026

Here is my garden in the winter. This room in my basement probably used to be a root cellar since it is unheated and was just an unfinished concrete block space with a thick old fashioned door when I bought the house in 1989. I converted the room to be my darkroom, where I had the sink & water supply to the left. I had rough cabinets built on the two other sides where I had my Leica enlarger, etc. Once I went digital, I donated my darkroom and eventually converted it yet again to a plant room. The sink & water were still there so I just had to add the lighting which was pretty easy. LED lighting is the best since it doesn’t give off much heat, which keeps the plants healthier. I keep the lighting on timers and add and reduce to maintain the daylight hours outdoors. I’ve had pretty good success with my rooting and cutting propagation. Not so with seeds though. Having this room filled with plants to visit all winter helps me considerably as I crawl towards spring.

These daily studio notes lead toward my 2026 solo exhibitions in New York City and Poughkeepsie, NY.

March 10, 2026

Since the 1980s, I’ve worked with computers to create art. I sold computer graphics systems to the broadcast television industry. These were electronic paint systems and character generators used for titling. Since then, I’ve continued to create comfortably with computers with a variety of programs, one of which is, of course, Photoshop. Although all my work is now created on canvas with oil paints and brushes, I usually try out compositions and color ideas in Photoshop. Most often, I just find it easier to experiment with pixels rather than paint. It doesn’t mean that I copy exactly what I’ve seen on my computer screen, it’s more like a general idea of treatments I might experiment with This lets me arrive at conclusions more quickly. It’s a workflow I’m most comfortable working in. Probably unusual for many artists who are doing oil paintings but because of my background, it works well for me.

These daily studio notes lead toward my 2026 solo exhibitions in New York City and Poughkeepsie, NY.

March 9, 2026

We headed home on the red eye from LAX to JFK. Leaving spring warmth of weather in the high 70s to return to snow in my garden. But there is always something to make your heart sing, even in the cold. My witch hazel, Hamamelis mollis, ‘Arnolds Promise was in full bloom when I walked the garden. It was radiating a bright yellow glow into the depressing browns of winter. Gardening is all about optimism. Each season invites you to plan your garden for the future. I take cuttings of my plants, root them, and invite new plants into my garden. Seeds sprout new growth and energy. They signify rebirth. What’s more optimistic than that?

The view of my garden just before leaving for California

We were greeted by this joyful view of our witch hazel upon our return home.

These daily studio notes lead toward my 2026 solo exhibitions in New York City and Poughkeepsie, NY.

March 8, 2026

Bridges in gardens add so much interest to the ambiance of the setting. In my home garden, I designed the dry streambed after seeing the arroyos out west. I added a bridge, painting it a teal blue as a nod to Monet’s bridge, which he had built over his famous water lily pond at his home in Giverny, France. His bridge, in turn, was a nod to the Japanese garden bridges over koi and water lily ponds. No artist lives in such complete isolation that they are not inspired or influenced by what they see around them as they pursue their art. Artists are always gathering inspiration while living their lives, by going to museums and exhibitions to see the work of other artists. Gardens, mine and others, are one of the things that inspire me the most and drive me time and again to paint my flowers.

This bridge is located in the spectacular Japanese garden at The Huntington Museum and Gardens in Los Angeles, California.

A beautiful setting for this red bridge over the water feature at the Descanso Gardens in Los Angeles, California.

My teal bridge was a small tribute to Monet’s bridge over his Lily Pond in Giverny, France. His bridge, in turn, was a nod to the Japanese bridges he’d seen in art prints, which began to be available in Europe in the 19th century.

These daily studio notes lead toward my 2026 solo exhibitions in New York City and Poughkeepsie, NY.

March 7, 2026

At The Huntington in Los Angeles, we were fortunate to have time to view the art. Imagine my surprise when I walked into one room, and found there were two Turners on display. What a treat for me. I was able to spend as much time as I wanted since there were not too many people there at the same time. When I’ve seen his work at other museums in New York, London, and Paris, the galleries are so crowded that you are not comfortable looking closely at his brushstrokes and use of paint. Not all of his subject matter appeals to me, but all of his paint handling does. I love the atmospheric qualities he creates, the layering of thin paints over and over each other. Looking closely, I can see the pentimenti of decisions he’s made over time. I learn more each time I study Turner’s work closely. Fifty years of painting and still learning.

The Grand Canal: Scene – A Street in Venice, c. 1837
Joseph Mallord William Turner
(British, 1774-1851)
Oil on canvas

These daily studio notes lead toward my 2026 solo exhibitions in New York City and Poughkeepsie, NY.

March 6, 2026

While we were in California, we spent a great deal of time in various museums and botanical gardens. “The Huntington is a world-renowned cultural and educational institution, that provides transformative experiences for a community of the curious”, states their website. “It was founded in 1919 by Henry E. and Arabella Huntington, it supports research and promotes public engagement through its expansive library, art, and botanical collections.” The Chinese and Japanese gardens were outstanding. We were fortunate to have time to also view their art collections. This particular piece grabbed our attention.

This lithograph was created in 1898, defining the structure of the Government. I remember learning this in my high school civics class.

Division of Powers:
1. Legislative – 1. House of Representatives. 2. Senate
2. Executive- 1. The President of the US.
3. Judicial-1. Supreme Court 2. Interior Courts.

Each box clearly defines the structure of the United States democracy.

Wall Text:
Civil Government
From The New Education
Minneapolis: The Diamond Litho-Publishing Co.,
1898
Color lithographed on paper
A movement to establish free public schools for all children —regardless of class, gender, or race—developed in the United States by the 1850s. Although universal in concept, the effort excluded and marginalized nonwhite groups. Civic education formed an important part of this new common curriculum.
Proponents felt it would prepare young citizens for participation in a democracy. Instruction included understanding how systems of public administration were organized to govern society. This training became increasingly important for instilling civic values and patriotism in rising immigrant populations.
Jay T. Last Collection of Education Prints & Ephemera

These daily studio notes lead toward my 2026 solo exhibitions in New York City and Poughkeepsie, NY.

March 5, 2026

On our last day in LA we visited the Descanso Gardens where the vast collection of Camellias were in bloom. I have done many paintings focusing on camellias and I never get tired of them. Each has their own special personality and even that changes during the lifespan of the flower in bloom. The giant white Calla Lilies (Zantedeschia aethiopicaare) are hardy to Zone 7, so of course, I have them in my own garden in NY. I made an oil painting of one of them which is on my website here.

These daily studio notes lead toward my 2026 solo exhibitions in New York City and Poughkeepsie, NY.

March 4, 2026

Since the 1970s, I’ve been following the efforts of the Guerrilla Girls fighting for equality in the arts for women. I went to see the Guerrilla Girls exhibition at the Getty Center in LA the other day with Hubby Dave. He said he’d had a vague awareness of the group without being able to put them in a historical context. He knew they were addressing the issues of the devaluation of women in the arts in general, in sales, in pricing, in museums and in the acknowledgement of women’s history in the context of our culture. As a feminist himself, he’s very aware of the prejudice that women have and continue to endure. Our visit to this show together triggered great conversations over dinner.

Too much violence, abuse & voyeurism in our culture today?

Check out what the Guerrilla Girls found in these Old “Masterpieces”

If you keep women OUT they get resentful.

Hubby Dave sat through the entire video presentation. I wish more men were like him, who were open to hearing uncomfortable statements about the embedded discrimination women still experience.

Here’s me, standing behind this larger than life construction of one of the iconic images the Guerrilla Girls have used in their publications throughout the years.

These daily studio notes lead toward my 2026 solo exhibitions in New York City and Poughkeepsie, NY.

March 3, 2026

Walking the trails in the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, I came upon this colorful bed of early spring blooming poppies. They were cheerful to see. But what really interested me were the closeup centers that attract pollinators and where the details and nuances of the individual flowers are on full display. These poppies are harbingers of the season and a talisman of continuing life.

These daily studio notes lead toward my 2026 solo exhibitions in New York City and Poughkeepsie, NY.

March 2, 2026

At the botanical garden in Santa Barbara, California, I stumbled upon this spiral labyrinth with a seating feature. Different than a maze since, it is not meant to offer different paths but a place to meditate while walking to the center and back. This configuration reminded me of the Fibonacci series of numbering I had embedded in a spiral over and around the image of a nautilus shell I had digitally imaged. This shell is also a representation of the Fibonacci series. The Fibonacci numerical sequence is created by adding the two numbers preceding it. For instance, 0 + 1=1. From there the numbers continue on to infinity, 0,1,1,2,3,5,8,13, etc. This configuration is found often in nature, like this nautilus shell and also in the center of sunflower.

This small labyrinth is probably more for sitting and meditating rather than walking. Although, there seems to be much foot traffic based upon the soil .

After digitally creating this nautilus shell, I applied the Fibonacci series of numbers over and under the image. The shell is also a representation of this numerical system.

In nature, there are many representations of the Fibonacci series. This sunflower is one of them.

These daily studio notes lead toward my 2026 solo exhibitions in New York City and Poughkeepsie, NY.

March 1, 2026

Visiting the Getty in Los Angeles can give you floral envy if you’re from the New York area like me. While the LA gardening zone is listed as 10B, which means they don’t usually have temps below 30 degrees Fahrenheit, which is below freezing, where I am in NY, it is Zone 7, where we do freeze. Seeing the Leucospermum in the gardens in LA, gave me a jolt until I realized that I grow specimen Chrysanthemums I love which bloom late through October-November, extending the blooming season considerably for me. Some tropicals I grow in my garden and then overwinter in my former root cellar/darkroom, now redesigned as a plant room, is cool in the winter but never freezes. Some plants overwinter well, others don’t. I might try the Leucospermum one year. Until then, I’ll stick with my Chrysanthemums.

This stunning flower is a Leucospermum. It is a photo I took at the Getty in LA in February.

Learn more about these flowers on Wikipedia

In order to get rather close to the effect of the Leucosperman from South Africa, I am able to grow specimen Chrysanthemums. They bloom late in the season in my Zone 7 garden on Long Island, NY. I buy cuttings from, Kings Mums plus I overwinter my plants & root cuttings in the spring.

Leucospermum growing in the February garden at the Getty in LA Calif.

These daily studio notes lead toward my 2026 solo exhibitions in New York City and Poughkeepsie, NY.

February 28, 2026

Living in New York with our Zone 7 climate, the only Birds of Paradise I see are in greenhouses since they’re tropical plants and would not survive in our Northeastern winter freezing temperatures. I’ve only seen them as specimen plants but since I’m currently visiting California, I was surprised to see these stunning flowers growing in abundance in many of the parking lot islands throughout the shopping areas. They sure add a cheerful note to the landscape. I have often thought of featuring one of these flowers in a painting, but generally, I don’t like to paint such aggressive and angular forms. I lean toward the soft feminine rather than the angular male imagery. But the colors in the Bird of Paradise, AKA Strelitzia reginae are so stunning, one day I’ll be compelled to paint them.

I took the photo in a parking lot in a shopping center in Santa Barbara California. I’d never seen this flower untl now as a commonly grown mass planting.

This spectacular Bird of Paradise as an individual specimen begs to become an inspiration to one of my studio paintings. I took this photo at the Getty in LA.

These daily studio notes lead toward my 2026 solo exhibitions in New York City and Poughkeepsie, NY.

February 27, 2026

As an avid gardener, and also a person with a degree in horticulture with a specialty in landscape design, I was so impressed with the gardens at the Getty in California. They are works of art, no less than the work hanging on the walls indoor in the museum. If you know my work, you may also know my affinity for circles. You can imagine how much my heart leapt for joy when I saw the spiral plantings in the pond garden designed by Robert Irwin. All my work is inspired by gardens, mine and others. Having just come to California from a blizzard in New York, which dumped a foot and a half of snow in my garden, these sights of spring made my heart sing for joy.

This garden was designed by Robert Irwin and is a centerpiece in the central garden at the the Getty in LA.

These gorgeous bougainvillea are trained into tree plantings with the assistance of rebar. They are sculptures in nature.

These small succulent plantings display patterning and texture. They remind me of the embroidery of my Dutch aunts using thread and a variety of stitching patterns.

These daily studio notes lead toward my 2026 solo exhibitions in New York City and Poughkeepsie, NY.

February 26, 2026

One of the things I do as an artist, is look at the work of other artists. I study their use of paint, thick/thin, wash or impasto. The types of brushstrokes, bold, tight, long, short. The way they their edges meet, sharp or diffused. I also look at their palettes, the selection of colors which often set the mood of a painting. Each painter has their own signature in the way they apply paint. It’s just like a non-artist’s signature, none of them are ever the same. There are endless lessons to be learned by studying closely the work of other artists. These works were at the Getty in Los Angeles, California.

There is so much I like in van Gogh’s work and also so much that doesn’t resonate with me. We don’t share at all the treatment of paint. But we do share the fact that we’re both Dutch and love flowers.

The only painting we usually see by Edvard Munch is “The Scream”. But, as I looked closely at the surface of this painting, I related so closely to the thinness of his washes of pigment. They were so subtle and beautiful up close.

I love that museums now post information about the paintings and the artists. When I started going to museums, that was not the norm. Museums didn’t cater to educating their visitors. Now everyone can learn so much more about the artist and the work with the information posted with each painting.

Sorolla used such a quick way of capturing fleeting moments in his art. He has such a virtuosity with paint that he captures very quickly the subtleties and the moments of what he is sharing with us.

Sorolla seemed to have little patience for long, drawn-out, detailed work. The speed in which he seemed to work always has impressed me, and given me a goal to work towards. I too am not very patient.

These daily studio notes lead toward my 2026 solo exhibitions in New York City and Poughkeepsie, NY.

February 25, 2026

Sometimes you have an opportunity to travel for a few days to attend an event and take a mini-vacation. Since the blizzard and continuing freezing temperatures we’ve had this year in NY, I’m lucky to be attending an event in California. The temps in NY have been in the 20s and 30s during the day and here right now where I am in CA it is in the 70s & 80s during the day and 50s in the evening. What a delightful difference!

Just north in LA, I stopped to spend a few hours at the J. Paul Getty Museum. It is an architectural marvel, an inspiring garden and a museum with significant artwork. I spent some time in the Impressionist section plus time with their two Turners. Berthe Marisot was represented with her painting, The Shuttlecock, which she painted in 1841 in Paris. It exhibits her trademark loose and immediate brushwork that she paints with bravado. The delicate palette spoke to me and was perfect for this painting of a young girl inviting you into her life. As an artist, I continually study art history and techniques in museums and books. It gives me inspiration and helps me to develop my eye and to view different methods of expression. Museums are great research institutions for artists.

Looking closely at the brushwork shows the immediacy of her work. She shows confidence in her decisions.

The rather small painting is displayed with an ornate frame as was usual for this era and type of work.

Berthe’s signature is found at the bottom left of the painting.

This is the wall plaque with information about the painting and the painter.

These daily studio notes lead toward my 2026 solo exhibitions in New York City and Poughkeepsie, NY.

February 24, 2026

During the winter, one of the treats is having my Amaryllis come in bloom after the holidays are over and before the spring starts to pop color. I’ve had these two plants for a few years. Each of my amaryllis bulbs spends its summer outside in my garden, but still in its pot. They prefer to be snug rather than planted in big spaces. I keep them in the dark in my plant room until I put all the holiday decorations away. Then, I bring them into the dining room where they get southern sun through the windows and they begin to come back to life. Oh, and BTW, their real name isn’t Amaryllis, it’s Hippeastrum.

These daily studio notes lead toward my 2026 solo exhibitions in New York City and Poughkeepsie, NY.

February 23, 2026

I’m really getting tired of winter. For the last few years, we haven’t had much snow in my Long Island area. This year, I can’t say that again. The hours I spend in the studio each day, bring me back to the other happy three seasons I enjoy here in the Northeast of the US. Today, I overpainted the center of the iris painting with opaque pigment since I wanted to try a different treatment. Now have to wait for the paint to dry before I can work on it again.

Snow scene — This is the view on my deck after the latest snowstorm. Notice how nice the aluminum print of one of my artworks looks hanging on the oak tree. It’s a well needed accent of color in the dead of winter. These aluminum prints are available on my website and last for many years through all seasons.

This is the latest stage of my circular painting. I keep changing the center, but haven’t yet been satisfied with the outcome. I’ll keep trying new styles until I find one that makes my heart sing.

These daily studio notes lead toward my 2026 solo exhibitions in New York City and Poughkeepsie, NY.

February 22, 2026

Since I am very comfortable with technology, I use different programs where it makes me more efficient and productive. I’ve always used a grid system to upsize my drawings to canvas. Now I use Procreate in that capacity. Once I finished the composition in Photoshop, I imported the file into Procreate on my iPad and created a grid. Then, on the underpainting, I use pastel to transfer the grid and flower outline to the canvas. Using a wash of Titanium White and 50/50 Galgyd/Gamsol to continue to my painting process.

Composition in Procreate with grid lines.

First I use a T-square to replicate the grid in Procreate. Using pastels I draw the outline of the flower.

Using a thin wash of Titanium White, I paint the flower outline with impromptu changes as I view it on the canvas

These daily studio notes lead toward my 2026 solo exhibitions in New York City and Poughkeepsie, NY.

February 21, 2026

Today I began painting the color scheme for the underpainting using some of the inspiration from the space image I’d selected. My medium is a recipe of 50/50 Galgyd/Gamsol which I applied to the Cadmium Red, Naples Yellow Light, Titanium White, and Cadmium Yellow light paints onto the pre-primed cotton duck canvas. I love painting with fan brushes and used my largest #12 Simmons for layer over layer over layer of color. The freedom at this stage of the painting when there are no lines or images to acknowledge give me so much enjoyment. My glass palette is next to me on a white ceramic table that has lived with me in various roles for decades. Many dinners were served on it in past lives.

Adding some color to the canvas as the underpainting. This is a 36×36″ square canvas.

I’ve never had this happen before with these brushes but I can’t say that anymore. I’ll contact the manufacturer and see if they’ll replace it. Brushes aren’t inexpensive.

This is the corner of the table where I dip my brushes into these mixtures and mediums. It has a nice crusty look to it doesn’t it!

These daily studio notes lead toward my 2026 solo exhibitions in New York City and Poughkeepsie, NY.

February 20, 2026

I always work on my compositions on my computer since that’s the most efficient way for me to create. Since I’ve been working with computer graphics systems since the early 1980s, I am completely comfortable and also very open to experimentation on my computer. Since I want to make a square painting, I cropped the flower in multiple ways and finally decided on this treatment. Then I tried many combinations of images I have from NASA and selected the color treatment I wanted for the painting. Using masking in Photoshop, I added the space imagery behind the flower to give me an idea of how that would look. I liked the outcome and will use this as my model.

These daily studio notes lead toward my 2026 solo exhibitions in New York City and Poughkeepsie, NY.

February 19, 2026

When choosing a flower from my large collection of flowers in my Photos app, it takes quite some time for me to come down to a final selection. A few considerations I’m faced with are, what colors are interesting to me at the moment? What haven’t I explored before? Will I want to stand in front of this flower for endless hours? And is this choice something I would be proud of for eternity? I came across these photos I’d taken of a Southern Magnolia tree at the Clark Botanic Garden in Albertson on Long Island. The subtle smoothness of the petals, along with the striking center, stole my heart. I made a decision that this is what I’ll be working on next.

I don’t have many Magnolia photos to choose from, but all of them are inspirational to me.

This is my choice for the model for my next painting. I’m excited to begin.

These daily studio notes lead toward my 2026 solo exhibitions in New York City and Poughkeepsie, NY.

February 18, 2026

For the last 35 years that I’ve been creating and maintaining my garden, I’ve taken many thousands of photos. In my Mac Photos app, I have sorted them into garden photos, flower photos, closeups of flowers and then into closeups of individual flowers. This collection is the backbone of my art. It is the inspiration behind all my paintings. Now that I’m planning my next painting, I again returned to my collection for inspiration.

This is part of my sorting system in my Photos app on my Mac which I use to find the inspiration for my paintings. Each category has multiple images.

These are some of the images of photos I’ve taken and added to my Tropicals category.

These daily studio notes lead toward my 2026 solo exhibitions in New York City and Poughkeepsie, NY.

February 17, 2026

I do quite a bit of planning before starting new paintings. I have a large collection of images from the NASA Astronomy Photo of the Day website. I use these images as inspiration for the underpaintings on which I’ll then paint my flowers. The images of the cosmos are so inspiring to me. They help me to keep in perspective the chaos we too often live with. These images help ground me in reality and give me comfort. They are an important part of the thoughts I embed in all my art.

These daily studio notes lead toward my 2026 solo exhibitions in New York City and Poughkeepsie, NY.

February 16, 2026

Another day in the studio working on the center of this painting. I decided to add some detail to the center of the seed pods, which is what happens as they mature in size. For years, I studied and worked in botanical illustration, but I’m not aiming for accuracy in my current work. I am interpreting what I see and know about flowers, but I don’t want to reproduce them in paint. I am instead trying to provoke thought and conversation about their and our purpose and place in the universe.

Today I decided to add some detail to the center of the seed pods. It’s a beginning, not an end.

By adding more detail to the center of the flower, it will be more visible from a distance.

These daily studio notes lead toward my 2026 solo exhibitions in New York City and Poughkeepsie, NY.

February 15, 2026

When I stood back this morning to look at the painting I worked on yesterday, it didn’t seem so very different. But when I walked up for a closeup, I didn’t like the pollen I’d sprinkled. So, during this painting session, I overpainted the center. It wasn’t that easy since I paint in thin washes of color, so it took quite some time to erase the dots. Glad I use a quick drying medium recipe so I can work on the painting everyday.

In this painting session, I overpainted the pollen from the previous day and added some more purple to the base of some of the stamens.

Color accuracy in my iPhone photos is not consistent. You can see the difference in the closeup on the left to the colors on this photo.

These daily studio notes lead toward my 2026 solo exhibitions in New York City and Poughkeepsie, NY.

February 14, 2026

The way a painting looks is so very different based on the distance you stand from the work. I wanted to paint the center sprinkled with the pollen that falls from the ends of the stamens. Depending on the age of the flower, the pollen changes color and texture. I’m not trying to make a botanically accurate painting, but one that speaks in rhyme about the anatomical parts of flowers. Only the center in this painting is based on flowers.

By the end of my studio time, I wasn’t convinced that I was happy with this pollen treatment in the center. I’ll take another look tomorrow.

This is the center of an aging Peony center.

These daily studio notes lead toward my 2026 solo exhibitions in New York City and Poughkeepsie, NY.

February 13, 2026

Looking for inspiration for the center of my painting, I isolated various peony centers from my photo collection. As with all of nature, including humans, no two flowers look the same. There are infinite ways to visualize the life-affirming reproductive centers of flowers. Time of day, whether the flower has been fertilized, and the length of time since blooming, all affect the structure. I decided to interpret in paint the seed pods of tree peonies since they are so dominant and visually striking.

These daily studio notes lead toward my 2026 solo exhibitions in New York City and Poughkeepsie, NY.

February 12, 2026

Each time I finish a piece of artwork regardless of what medium I’ve used, I document the work. I call this “productizing”. Each piece is given an Index number that will follow it throughout it’s existence. It title the work and at times the name has changed but the Index number never does. I use apps to track the work and a spreadsheet for quickly looking up the details of the work. The process I use is one I’ve developed over decades.

Since I’m always running out of wall space, each time I complete another painting, I rehang my studio. I’m deciding where to move my paintings to so for the moment, they’ll just gather together in the corner of my studio.

One of the ways I document my work, keep track of where it is located and what exhibitions I’ve placed the work in is Arwork Archive. I’ve used it for many years and it has been a terrific app to help me stay organized. I highly recommend the product. ArtworkArchive.com

These daily studio notes lead toward my 2026 solo exhibitions in New York City and Poughkeepsie, NY.

February 11, 2026

Today was one of those days when nothing remarkable happened in the studio today so I’m showing you some of the ugly but important views. There are some things that either make working somewhat less challenging and others that are a necessary component of the process of painting. Since I stand when I paint, the foam mats I have on the floor in front of my easel help ease the pain on my legs and back as I stand and move back and forth to view from different distances what I’m working on. On the table, next to my glass palette are the jars holding my mediums and brush cleaners. The mediums are what help me to control how thick or thin I apply the paint and is a critical part in the look and style of my work.

The foam mat I use in front of my easel is something I bought online. It’s a series of jigsaw like squares that link together. I used two layers of them to give. me the sponginess I was hoping for to relieve the pain of standing for hours.

Every artist has their own mediums and. materials they use to create their work. I am no different. I have recipes of the different products and amounts of each to create the mediums I use at each stage of my paintings.

These daily studio notes lead toward my 2026 solo exhibitions in New York City and Poughkeepsie, NY.

February 10, 2026

I had read somewhere that the irises of our eyes are like fingerprints, none of them are alike. This intrigued me, so when I stumbled upon a business that photographed your irises, I handed over my charge card. The setup was just like going to the ophthalmologist for an eye exam. I put my chin in a cupped holder facing a large piece of equipment, which was the camera equipment. The camera was moved into position very close to each of my eyes. It took longer to write up the order than it took to take the image. Later, I received an email with a download link to retrieve the digital images of my irises.

As expected, my right and left eyes didn’t match, although they had mostly the same colors. For my upcoming show in NYC in November, I decided to make a painting inspired by my irises. Those iris photos are the inspiration for the painting that is currently on my easel.

I haven’t matched the blue of my eyes since that wasn’t my goal. Today I began adding some of the neutral highlights that distinguish each eye.

I’m using fan brushes to scumble the paint, keeping the edges soft and blended.

These daily studio notes lead toward my 2026 solo exhibitions in New York City and Poughkeepsie, NY.

February 9, 2026

There are more tools that you need in the studio besides paint and brushes. After you finish a painting, there are additional tasks that need attending. One of them is preparing the painting for hanging on the walls. For that, one needs what’s called D hooks with screws, a ruler and marker to know where to put the screws & hooks, a drill to make holes in the wooden stretchers & tighten the. screws, wire to string from the D hooks, and a wire cutter for obvious reasons. I’m glad I found a very lightweight battery-operated drill quite a while ago, since it’s easy to handle and less dangerous around delicate artwork.

Another thing I do when I finish a painting is to write the Index # I’ve assigned to the artwork, the title, size, and medium. I also write the “© Mary Ahern” copyright insignia and sign my official signature on the wooden stretcher bars at the back of the canvas.

These daily studio notes lead toward my 2026 solo exhibitions in New York City and Poughkeepsie, NY.

February 8, 2026

Today was a day for planning on where I was heading for a painting I’d started. I had plans in my mind about what I was imagining would work but I had some hesitation. So I decided to try a few potential solutions on my computer rather in my studio with paint. Having worked with computer graphics since the early 1980s, I’m very comfortable, let’s say, extremely comfortable, working out compositing issues and possibilities with pixels.

First I headed to my photo library on my Mac for candidates, then brought them in to Photoshop to try them out. It quickly became apparent to me that the intial vision I had for the painting wasn’t going to make me happy so I zigged and zagged into a completely different direction. By testing solutions in this way, I saved myself many hours, days and potentially weeks trying choices with canvas and paint. Now, I know what will work for me and I will just be able to move forward towards that goal.

In my photos app on my Mac, I’ve been taking photos in my garden for over 30 years so as you can imagine, I have thousands to choose from. Many of these photos are closeups. To make it easier to view them, I’ve made albums of the varieties so I can more easily make choices of candidates for my artwork.

Since I wanted to see how just the centers of the flowers would look on a circular canvas, once I made a few selections from my collections, I zoomed in and cropped them into circles. This is such a comfortable workflow for me.

These daily studio notes lead toward my 2026 solo exhibitions in New York City and Poughkeepsie, NY.

February 7, 2026

In the studio today I painted another thin layer of oil paint on what will be the underpainting of my next painting. An assortment of blues, along with a green and an ochre, helped to add some interest to the background of the painting that will eventually be painted over by my next flower interpretation. The paint was applied by an assortment of Simmons bristle fan brushes of different sizes.

The other project in the studio has been deciding on the name for my latest painting. When I started it, I used orange Clivia flowers for inspiration. When I found them less than inspiring, I switched to some orange double hibiscus. With a mind of its own, the painting decided it would rather be shades of pink and purple. Now, I’m working on picking a name for the painting. Any ideas?

The pigments I’m using on this underpainting are, Ultramarine Deep, Thalo Blue, Cerulean Blue, Cobalt Turquoise, Courbet Green & Titanium White. The inspiration for this is imagery from the NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day website.

I was planning on titling this painting Cosmic Orange Hibiscus but by the time I finished the piece, it decided it wanted to be a different color. So now I’m thinking of titling the painting, Cosmic Pink Hibiscus. What do you think?

These daily studio notes lead toward my 2026 solo exhibitions in New York City and Poughkeepsie, NY.

February 6, 2026

Busy today in the studio working on 3 different paintings. I oiled out the just completed hibiscus painting with a recipe of 50% Galgyd/Gamsol. I pour the mixture onto the flat canvas, use a large brush to spread it, and to get even, full coverage. After 5 minutes, I rub the surface of the canvas with a Viva soft paper towel to buff the extra mixture off and create a mild but even glow.

The second painting had me sketching in the outline of the flower using pastel that I’ll be painting over the initial layers on the round canvas. And the third project was unwrapping and gently sanding a fresh 30×30″ canvas. Then I began brushing on the beginning of an underpainting using an image from NASA as inspiration. I love being productive!

Three painting is different levels of completion. Left to right, hibiscus painting is nearing completion, the circular painting is drying for the next stage, and the new canvas on the easel has a first coat of underpainting.

Ready to unwrap a new 30×30″ gallery wrapped canvas. I like using the thick stretcher bars to give the paintings added strength.

Sanding the surface with a fine sandpaper block takes off just enough of the roughness to the gessoed surface of the new canvas. I always do this before I begin painting.

These daily studio notes lead toward my 2026 solo exhibitions in New York City and Poughkeepsie, NY.

February 5, 2025

On my YouTube Channel I have a playlist titled, Take a Minute. These are short videos that offer a brief sanctuary from the rush of daily life. These short videos provide a meditative pause—a moment to breathe, reflect, and find calm amid the chaos. Let yourself settle into stillness and allow space for healing.

This is the video I made in the studio today.

Click here to visit my YouTube channel.

These daily studio notes lead toward my 2026 solo exhibitions in New York City and Poughkeepsie, NY.

February 4, 2026

Ever sign a painting, only to discover you missed a spot? That was me today. I work on gallery-wrapped canvas and paint all the edges to skip framing, but when I lay my ‘finished’ piece flat, there it was—one unpainted bottom edge staring back at me. Matching the colors and brushstrokes was trickier than expected. Good thing I keep detailed notes on each painting!

February 3, 2026

Another day in the studio working on the underpainting. Played with a variety of blues, the turquoise, the ones that lean towards green and the warmer blues. Played with the values by adding bits of white to lighten, burnt umber to darken. Muted the blues with a bit of yellow ochre and added highlight oranges with Winsor yellow deep. Worked with a variety of bristles, sable, and fan brushes to vary the mark-making.

February 2, 2026

Today I took delivery of a new canvas and began a new painting. There weren’t many places for me to buy a 36″ round canvas but I found this one online at Dick Blick. It came boxed very carefully, I’m glad to say. My first concern is finding the center and creating the correct proportions for the underpainting. I dug out a compass from my wayback stash and it was the perfect solution. Then I proceeded to put the first layer of oil paint down. Very productive day in the studio!

Take a peek at this short video for studio glimpse!