Lemons II

Which tubes of paint have to be replaced most often? 

I paint with greens more than any other color.  It isn't really intentional.  I just paint what I know and what I love.  I like to paint things that look natural... landscapes, flowers where they're growing outside, kids engaged in something that holds their attention (often outside).  So that leads to using lots of greens.

I love green.  It's my favorite color, but sometimes I notice those other beautiful paint tubes that don't get squeezed often enough.  That's actually the reason I chose to paint these lemons.  I wanted to play with the yellow color family.  Blue is actually my least favorite color, (I know, I know... most people love blue best!) but it seemed like the perfect complementary color for my lemons.

Click Lemons, Lemons to visit an Etsy treasury (collection of related art pieces and vintage items) featuring lots of Lemons.

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Hey Cow!

How do you get a cow's attention?

Several years ago a friend told me about a silly game her family would play when driving down rural roads.  The rules are simple.  When you get near a cow, you roll down the window and yell, "Hey, Cow!"  If the cow looks at you, you get a point.  (Perhaps I should mention here that this friend is one of the most creative people I know.  She's also a teacher of gifted and talented students.... and this was the game she came up with... sigh...)  But the funny thing is, my husband and I have gotten a kick out of playing it ever since!  Yes... two grown people - even without kids in the car - will slow down and yell, "Hey, Cow!" then laugh hysterically whenever the cow looks.

This little heifer lived in a field beside the bed and breakfast near Pigeon Forge, Tennessee where we spent part of our Christmas vacation this year.  When we'd return home each day, she'd be there by the fence. Even though it was cold and frosty, we'd slow down, roll down the window, and yell, "Hey, Cow!"  
...She's looking right at me, so I guess I get a point, don't I... Yea!

We took many photographs of the Smoky Mountain scenery and wildlife, but this little cow got to be the first put on the canvas.

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Animas Forks

What makes an image special?

I love an image that tells a story and makes me wonder... a picture that really is worth a thousand words.

At a recent family gathering, I was looking through a book of my cousin's vacation photos when I turned the page and discovered this image.  
It stopped me, and the questions began...
Who lived here?
How did they make their livings?
Why did they leave?
Did they know how beautiful their land was?  
Was their life hard here?

He told me it was a ghost town near Silverton, Colorado called  Animas Forks.

Then more questions...
Were there families and children running between these cabins?
Were there just rough miners with picks and shovels?
How did they manage in the winters?
Was it ever lovely and charming when the people still lived there?

I knew from the first second I saw the "story," I wanted to put it on canvas.  

Visit an Etsy treasury (collection of related art pieces and vintage items) celebrating the beautiful sky blue colors at Sky Blue Weather.

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Bowl of Tomatoes

What is it about some paintings that make you want to keep looking and looking?

I wish I really, really knew the answer to that so that I'd make sure to do it again and again.  
I read what master painters and artists I admire say... 
"It's about lost edges..." 
"It's in the harmony of color..." 
"It's the drama of the point where the darkest dark meets the lightest light..."
"It's the pleasing placement of subjects - always an odd number..."
"It's a movement created by lines..."
"It's the highlights and shadows..."
"It's the texture of the paint..."

I do believe all those things, and I do try to keep them all in mind as I paint.  But, I suppose I'm too much of a beginner to the world of art to comprehend why some paintings work and some don't quite work.
I can't speak for anyone but myself, but I love this painting.  I finished it yesterday, and I just can't quit looking at it.  Yes, I'm going to offer it for sale on Etsy, but I'm going to enjoy it on my own wall every day until someone decides to give it a permanent home.  

Visit a  lovely Etsy treasury (collection of related art pieces and vintage items) that includes "Bowl of Tomatoes" called March into Life!

"Bowl of Tomatoes" was done as a submission to the Paint and Draw Together January Challenge.  Each entry was done from the same reference photo image.  I love to scroll through and see how every painting is exactly the same... yet each is completely unique and different from the others.

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