HAPPY NEW YEAR!

             Late Day Fishing (study) 16" x 20" - Oil on Canvas

Confession time - I’ve lost my mind - crazy - wacky - what was I thinking?  Have signed on for Leslie Saeta’s 30 in 30 Challenge Oh My Goodness!

Will go on record here as having always wanted my posts to the blog to be the best I can do. Pieces I’m proud to share.  Not for this challenge!  These will be whatever is finished in the day’s allotted time! I may include the word “study” indicating it could get more attention later or, if it’s working, maybe will do  a larger piece.  

Actually I’m excited!  My theme for these 30 paintings is BEAUTIFUL BOUNTIFUL FLORIDA - covers lots of territory, right?  Well - no snow or mountains - but a plethora of subject matter without wandering far from home.

My reasons for committing to this challenge are (1) paint every day (2) try and paint faster - I am the slowest painter in the state of Florida!  (3) boldly push color (4) concentrate more on edges (5) make every brush stroke expressive (6) have fun!  

Today’s painting came from looking through old sketchbooks. This piece was designed for a paint-along class I taught a number of years ago!  So, yes - I had painted it before but had no doubt sold, given away or painted over whatever was done with the class!  So - thought this would go fast - Wrong!   Lesson learned today? - paint smaller tomorrow!!  

Oh, I am so out of my comfort zone!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

From our home and my  studio to yours  MERRY CHRISTMAS and a wonderfully creative 2017! Wishing you, your families, your pets and your friends, good health, blessings and joy with  lots of laughter filled days!

Thanks to all who stop by and especially to you who take time to leave a comment or two!

FOUND is a copy of Walter Hunt’s magnificent painting which became very popular for prints in the 40’s - 60’s.  When Frank was a little boy such a print hung in his bedroom.  Rather than reading bedtime stories to him and his little sister, his mother would make up stories about the collie and the lamb.  Both he and my sister-in-law love this painting and the memories it evokes.

In the fall my  version of FOUND  was shown in the Punta Gorda Visual Art Center’s Festival of Art featuring the art of England, Ireland, Scotland & Wales with month long events celebrating the Victorian Era. This is an oil painting on paper with pastel accents - something I hadn't tried before
but will again.

SUNLIT COCONUTS - Juror’s Choice Award for Excellence

What a thrill having two of my paintings juried into the  Southwest Florida Annual Painting Exhibit - November 17, 2016 to January 26, 2017 at the Gallery at Rookery Bay National Marine Estuarine Research Reserve,  300 Tower Road, Naples, Florida.

The next delight was finding that SUNLIT COCONUTS was being featured  for the poster advertising the show!  

At the beautiful reception held November 17, Juror Anica Sturdivant presented me with the Juror’s Choice Award for Excellence - a monetary award (2nd place) and I did a happy dance!!  This was my first foray into the art community of Naples in Collier County, Florida but not my last.  An honorable one year  membership to the United Arts Council of Collier County was included with the award!  What a lovely way to end the year.  

TIME OUT

                                          6" X 6" Oil on Panel

               Randy Higbee photo - ready to frame TIME OUT

In October TIME Out was juried into the 7th Annual Randy Higbee Gallery 6" Square Show and sale! What an honor to have “Time Out” displayed on the wall with the work of so many artists I admire  from all over the country!  The Gala Reception will be held Saturday evening, December 3 from 6 to 9:00 p.m. at the Randy Higbee Gallery, 102 Kalmus Drive, Costa Mesa, CA.  How I wish I could be there!  You can see the show HERE and purchase a painting if you fall in love!  Hint:  TIME OUT is on Page 21!  Check out all the red dots and the show hasn’t yet opened!  What fun!  

TIME out will proudly hang in this “Rustic” style King Of Frame selection.  Thank you, Randy Higbee!   

  

SUN KISSED KITTY

                                     5" x 5" Oil on Canvas

So pleased this kitty painting is off to Tampa for the fifth annual FIVE BY FIVE presented by the Arts Council of Hillsborough county.  This show encompasses a "Fantastic Evening of Performing, Literary and Visual Arts".   As the Arts Council's biggest night of the year, all that’s fantastic about the arts is celebrated! The event takes place at the Tampa Museum of Art on the evening of Friday, October 21 from 8:00 to 11:00 p.m.   Proceeds from sales of the art benefit individual artists’ programs presented by the Arts Council of Hillsborough County.   For me this is a wonderful opportunity to again show my work in a major art museum! 

JO'S WATERFALL

16" x 20" Oil on Stretched Canvas

 From  Improve My Paintings Website 

Yesterday when pulling out some paintings for varnish, I realized I had never varnished or posted this one painted a couple of years ago in a Johannes Vloothuis on-line workshop! Before the classes with Jo, I was never confident with plein air or even studio landscape painting. I continue to take his paint along classes offered by North Light  whenever time permits. If you go to the website, you will see my sincere testimonial. His book LANDSCAPE PAINTING ESSENTIALS is also available from North Light.

Well, back to this painting. We summer in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of Western NC where cool cascading waterfalls seem to appear around every turn, so how could I resist this challenge to “paint along” using the provided reference photo. As a slow painter It was a real effort trying to keep up and complete this piece in just over four hours of instruction! The recording is in my video file and may take another look at it. However, I am  pleased with this painting and am framing it for our wall as there are falls near us offering the same late day glow. Thank you, Jo!

DARK KISSES # 2

                          16" x 20" Oil on stretched canvas

In February 2013, DARK KISSES was posted on the blog with the explanation  these kisses are my husband's favorite chocolate and thus, the painting was for him.  However, it did catch a collector's eye and found a new home leaving the wall space bare over the candy jar.

Solution - paint a similar piece.  This time the table edge is included and the empty wrapper is gone . Both of us like this one better.   The crystal and reflective foil  papers  still present a challenge but fun to paint!

DARK KISSES #2 has been juried into the Primavera Show at the Punta Gorda Visual Art Center where it is currently on display through April 30.

HIDE AND SEEK

  Oil on Stretched Canvas 18" x 24"

In late October I was invited by the Palmetto Historical Park and Manatee County Agricultural Museum to participate in their “Florida Cracker Cowboy Art Show” to be held in early March.  What fun - and time to come up with an idea!  

The Florida Cracker Cowboy is an important part of Florida’s heritage and in Manatee County cattle is the #1 commodity where 196,507 acres are used for livestock agriculture.  Manatee County ranks 9th in the state of Florida for the number of beef cattle raised.  When most think of “Florida”, palm trees and beaches come to mind - not  necessarily cowboys/cowgirls!  

The Show opened Saturday, March 5  with a lovely sit-down luncheon-reception in the Carnegie Library where each artist was introduced and it was explained the art is displayed  throughout the park.  Wikipedia has photos of the individual buildings here.  There is a pretty brick walkway connecting them. When I walked into the Ag Museum and found my painting so prominently displayed on an easel in the front entry - I was thrilled!  

Thanks so much Diane Ingram and Melissa Dagenais for an outstanding reception and a wonderful exhibit.  So happy my painting is included!

This show runs through April 16 at 515 10th Avenue West, Palmetto.  

A Bird in the Hand

                        18" x 24" Oil on Prepared Masonite

Sculptures, statues and statuettes are fascinating for me  whether in a park, in a garden, standing alone,  on a pedestal or on a table.   This little garden sculpture catching a late autumn afternoon sun was so appealing.  After much thought, the bright red cardinal seemed a perfect finishing touch.

At least for a moment, our still little girl has A BIRD IN THE HAND!

SNOW FROLIC

                           16: x 20" Oil on Stretched Canvas

 From our house and my  studio to yours  MERRY CHRISTMAS and a wonderfully creative 2016!  Wishing you, your families, your pets and your friends, good health,  blessings and joy.

Thanks to all who stop by and especially to you who take time to leave a comment or two! 

SNOW FROLIC, inspired by a little girl who always wanted a pony, is part of the Swain County Art Center,  Bryson City, NC  permanent collection.

JUICY

                                                     6" x 6" Oil on Panel

JUICY was juried into the Randy Higbee Gallery 6" Square Show - a  national  exhibit  and sale!   This paining originally 6"x 12"  (as posted  October, 2014) was cropped for a  better composition.  How I would enjoy attending the Gala Reception December 6 in Costa Mesa!   Guess California is just a little too far from Florida!   The Exhibit runs through December 23.

Juicy  will proudly hang in this  King of Frame Santa Rosa Floater Frame.

MISTY AUTUMN ROSES

                               Oil on Board 12" x 12"

Raindrops have been falling here in the valley for days.   These Autumn Roses have been my escape from the gloom,  however, the mood may have found it's way into the paint with edges softened by my misty view.     A companion piece is on the easel so please return for still one more petals painting. 

Earlier this month my painting pal, Zena King, and I enjoyed
Mark Menendez's TARGET COLOR MIXING workshop in downtown Waynesville  and were reminded how valuable the color wheel really is!  So much easier to grab the paints and start squeezing without too much thought as to which "color arrangement" would best compliment the composition.  After all these years much is intuitive.      A valuable workshop  day spent going back to the basics.   The lessons on quadratones and the quadratic/tetradic  color arrangement were  most interesting.  Mark is an amazing instructor and his color mixing DVD  is available at his on line store and also at North Light.

More complex paintings are underway but in the meantime, I'm enjoying the rain and the roses!

GRASPING THE THORN

                            Oil on wood panel - 10" x 8"

"But he that dares not grasp the thorn should never crave the rose"

 Anne Bronte

How my blog has been neglected over the summer! Shame on me! The season's activities have indeed seemed at times as if I were grasping thorns! However, brushes are back in use and some new ideas and techniques are underway which I hope to share soon.

In the meantime - roses and more roses. Here is the first - a sort of "warm up". A mini rose garden outside the studio is such an inspiration and, while I “crave” to paint the rose, I find it quite  challenging.

SUNLIT COCONUTS

                              Oil on Masonite - 24" x 30"

Palms and coconuts are popular subjects for artists here in Southwest Florida  especially since such paintings  are  in demand in  local galleries.  However it's my opinion the intrigue in painting them is the challenge posed by the intricate variety of fronds, shadows they cast and the never ending and ever evolving fibrous outgrowth palm trees produce along with the coconuts themselves.

So is the coconut  a fruit, a nut or a "drupe" (drupe being  a fruit with a hard stony covering enclosing the seed )?   We are told the coconut  can be all three, a fruit, a nut and a seed. 

Palms consistently show  up in my paintings but this is a first attempt to capture  ripening coconuts with  bright sunlight casting dancing  colorful shadows.  I may revisit SUNLIT COCONUTS  but for now its ready for a signature!