Down for the Count

There is something about painting warm on cool in the same color family that I am drawn to. And then there is painting cherries, which is always fun. And when you finish you can eat them.

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Tea for Me

Sugar, tea, lemon ... what's next? Scones maybe? (Actually I'm not really sure what a scone is.) I enjoyed doing this little painting. (I think the lemon on the saucer looks a little darker than it shows here. But that might just be wishful thinking.)
My paying job is keeping me hopping, but this time I'm fitting in time for a quick painting now and then. I think it's going to help a lot when I finally have the time to devote to my daily painting. I won't feel so rusty. And soon I am going to have to devote serious time to preparing for the March Fort Isabel show, when I will be the featured artist.

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How Sweet It Is

I saw this little sugar bowl and immediately wanted to paint it.

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Rose Bud and Rose Hip

It seems right to have this little painting of the new year's rosebud and the old year's rose hip today. I hope you all have a great New Year and don't make any resolutions you can't keep. I resolve to paint more (and better) this year and to really get down to marketing my art. Painting is only half of it, and sometimes I think it's the easy half (but only sometimes).

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Out of Africa

I bought this African Medicine Head when it was deaccessioned from a museum. I love it, it's an amazing piece of art. I've wanted to paint it for a while and finally decided the time was right.
Because it is (basically) brown, I set it up with some brightly colored paper around it to bounce a little color and warm it up, I also had a cool secondary light that added some blue highlights in the shadows. Then I exaggerated all the color I saw.
I thought about how I wanted to paint it for quite a while, deciding which details were important and which could be ignored or only hinted. In fact I probably spent more time thinking the painting through than actually painting it. I enjoyed this so much, I do believe I will paint a larger work using this and some of my other African art.

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Little Bird Two

I painted this little bird again today. I just couldn't resist it.

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My Little Bird

I've been meaning to paint this little pottery bird for a long time now. Don't know why I waited. It was a joy to paint. I just may paint it again tomorrow. I don't know what it was intended for, it's too small for a planter and too short for a vase, but it's adorable whatever it is.

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Got Gumbo?

If you want to have gumbo, you really ought to have okra.
The theme for the January group show at my Covington gallery is "Mardi Gras Gumbo". I'm going to do a larger painting with okra and decided to paint this little one first. Kind of a trial run.

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Polka Plums

Another one of my gallery works, 16x16. I haven't decided on a final title for this yet, any suggestions? A cheery work, because the last few days have been so rainy and dreary. We have already broken the record for the wettest month ever. I'm really tired of rain.
I got my cast off today. Start therapy on Monday. It's going to be a long process getting back to normal. But it was fantastic to take a shower without a plastic bag over my arm. Ah, life's simple pleasures.

Where's the Partridge?

Still in that holiday mood, and still having fun with titles. I just noticed I painted the leaves a bit less green than on the last one. Well, they were getting a tad dry.
I've gotten all my shopping done, have you? But I have to admit -- I do not do much in the way of holiday decorations, and my husband does all the holiday cooking, so I've got it easy. Still have to wrap the packages though.

Jolly Holly

I'm in a Holiday mood.

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Probably because I got the best Christmas present ever. My wonderful husband got me a Sorg easel, and we put it together this weekend. It's counter-weighted so it's very easy to raise or lower the painting I'm working on. Granted, that's overkill for the daily paintings, but it's fantastic for working on something larger. I've wanted one for a long time, but didn't have room for it until I built the studio.
Here's a picture of the easel with my very own sweet Santa!!

Portrait Swap

This is my half of the portrait swap on Karen Jurick's Different Strokes from Different Folks Challenge. I've been working on it for a couple of days. First I did it in a very traditional style. It was good, but not much fun. So I redid it very loose. That was a fun exercise, but not what I really wanted. Then I did this one. Somewhere between the two, painterly, but not too loose. I admit it was a challenge. The photo was not one I would have chosen. I love the subject, but I would have lit it differently to get more shadow contrast and definition. I don't know who this is, but I hope she likes it, and I can't wait to she what she does with mine.

Dangerous Liaisons, SOLD

Some paintings are just more fun to title than others.

Rose Red

Another gallery painting (16x16). Many people tell me they find roses one of the most difficult subjects, but for some reason they are not for me, and I love painting them.
Monday the doctor replaced my over the elbow cast with a below the elbow cast. I can bend my elbow again! It still hurts some to straighten it, but it's gives me so much more use of my hand.

Pretty Faces

Today was cold, rainy and dreary. I wanted to paint something to lift my spirits. Voila. Pansies.

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Raise Your Hand

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. A full table surrounded by people I love. My husband outdid himself with the dinner. I'm still stuffed. (Of course, that might be because I'm still eating.) Everyone oohed and aahed over my new studio. It was a beautiful day.
Now back to painting.

By the way, I'm offering a Free frame with every painting purchase in my Etsy store until Dec. 18. It's my little present to you.

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Remember Me, SOLD

And now for something completely different.
I've been looking at this little patinated bronze statue for awhile now, and decided to paint it today. The challenge for me was painting something so detailed while still keeping it loose. I also wanted to work on lost and found edges without blurring or blending, just by allowing the lost edges to be the same value as the background. You'll notice that both shoulders have a highlight, but the right one contrasts with the background and the left one is very close to the same value.
I really enjoyed the change of pace this painting gave me. I hope you enjoy seeing it.

Come Together, SOLD

I did something a little different today leaving most of the outline showing. I've been wanting to do his and see if I like it. Maybe yes, maybe no. I'm going to have to experiment a little more.

I have a question for all of you. I've been told by several people that my work is like Carol Marine's. I consider this a great complement. But I also realize that it is possible to be too much like her. I believe that there are some distinct differences in our work, but I might not be the best judge. (I realize I'm asking this question with an apple painting posted, and Carol is the queen of apples.)
So please tell me what you think. Too much like Carol Marine or not.

Mr. Right

Today I decided to just focus on a single red apple, and here is the result. I'm pretty happy with this, maybe I just needed the right apple.

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Apples to Come

I'd been struggling with apples. For a while I just wasn't painting them because the last few times had been, shall we say, less than successful. Today I decided that the time had come to wrestle the beast. After two wipers, I managed to do this one. Not everything I want it to be, but a good beginning. I intend continue to paint apples until I feel good about them.

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The Ins and Outs

These are Satsumas, a Louisiana orange that tends to be rather green when ripe.

I'm happy to announce the winner of my Blog Anniversary Giveaway. Linda Trudeau DiCarlo, an art educator, chose "Pear Alliance". Linda doesn't have a blog, but she told me she posts her paintings on her Facebook page. Congratulations Linda.

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Sweet and Sour

Another gallery piece (12x16). This one done before I broke my wrist.

Three Sisters

Another one of my gallery works (16x16). I painted this today and I'm fairly pleased with it. I'm perfecting the techniques to deal with working one handed, but everything takes longer. I've been making a mental list of things that are easy, difficult and impossible to do one handed. Unfortunately, the only thing on the easy list is loading the dishwasher. It doesn't seem fair does it.

I Painted Today

Not the most successful painting I've ever done, but I feel good about the effort. I can't begin to tell you how much trouble I went through to do this. I attached several sheets of paper towel to a clipboard so I would have something to wipe my brushes on. I ran low on white paint and was not able to open the tube to get more. I had to put a pillow in my lap to support my arm, because I kept leaning forward to take the weight off my shoulder and my back was killing me. Cleaning my palette and brushes was a challenge. I didn't realize how much I use my left hand in painting. I could go on, but I'm typing with one hand.
I want to thank everyone for the kind words of support and concern. This too shall pass. Just not as fast as I might like.

Bad News, Good News

The bad news is that I broke my left wrist, the good news is that I'm right handed. No painting today, but hopefully soon.

Karin Jurick's Challenge

It's been too long since I had time to participate in Karin's Challenge. I thought it would be a great exercise for me while I'm still struggling to get back in the groove. Painting something completely different from my usual makes me think more about what I'm doing and how to achieve what I want. As usual her challenge was... well... challenging. And fun. I didn't tone my canvas before I started painting, and I think that was a mistake, but otherwise I'm pretty happy.

Siblings

Today I painted with a little more success than yesterday. It will be a struggle for a few days until I get back in the groove. Next week will be better, because I will have more time to paint and won't feel rushed and tired.

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Finally

Well, I did finally manage to paint today. Not this. This is one of my gallery works (16x16) that I did a some time ago. The one I did today, I wiped. I'm not surprised. I can't go for two weeks without painting and then pick it right back up where I left off. But I didn't want to go any longer without posting. Maybe tomorrow I'll be able to do one that I'm not ashamed to post, but for now enjoy this.
I'm really pleased with this one. I set myself the challenge of finding all the color I could in a white flower. It's amazing how much you can see if you open up to it. I kept reminding myself that white light has all the colors in it. I don't have a title for this one. Any suggestions?

No Ordinary Squash

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Well, I've caught my husbands cold. And between working my tookus off and sneezing my head off, I'm not getting much painting done. But I painted this the other day, and I wanted to show you. I'm inordinately pleased with this one. Not just because it's good, but because last year about this time, I tried painting one of these and it was not good. I find that my "wipers" of today are better than the ones I was satisfied with last year.
It's amazing what a year of daily painting can do.
Which brings me to
THE GREAT BLOG ANNIVERSARY GIVE-AWAY
November 14th is my First Blogaversary! To celebrate one fantastic year of blogging I will be GIVING AWAY one of my daily paintings (winner's choice) to one of my subscribers. If you're already subscribing, congratulations. You're already in the running. But why not tell your friends about my blog and this opportunity. Not only will they get to see my paintings and read my ramblings, rants and raves, but they will have the chance to win a painting!

Move Over

I'm managing to squeeze in a little time to paint. The new studio makes it easier because I don't have to spend as much time setting up and putting away. If I get interrupted, I can slid me palette into the freezer and pull it out a little later. I'm going to try putting an unfinished canvas panel in the refrigerator as well. I don't know about brushes. Has anybody tried that?

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Plump, Ripe and Juicy

I'm working my long hours again. It seems like I just did this. I will continue to post as often as I can.

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Dig In

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Actually I painted this yesterday in a rain enforced break from moving into the studio, but I didn't have time to post it. So you get to see it today along with photos of the studio all set up.


From the door, showing my painting set up and behind it the worktop and canvas bins. (No I'm not setting up a still life with my soft drink. Though that's a thought.)


This shows my drawing table. I've had this table for more than 25 years.
When I'm working on a portrait or a complicated large still life, I like to sketch it out on paper first and this table comes in handy for that.
It is sooooo good to finally be in the studio.