:) ZipLineArt

Something exciting for WordWeaverArt today...

Go visit ZiplineArt !  It's a wonderful brand new site.  Go have a look!  While you're looking around there, click on "Artists" and guess whose name you'll see?  Yep!  Right there on top, "Artist Helen Eaton." Now that's just exciting on many levels!

I am so proud for the owner of ZiplineArt.  I'm honored that he wanted to use three of my images to begin his art selling venture.

The thing that stops and humbles me is to see my name right there listed as "Artist Helen Eaton."  You see, I never thought of myself as  artistic or artistically talented; I simply took lessons and learned skills. My painting improved with practice. I feel like I use the math/logic side of my brain rather then the artistic side, so I was careful for so many years to say, "I do oil painting," or "I'm a painter."  That may not make sense to anyone else, but it's kind of emotional for me to see that word "Artist" beside my name... I like it... and I need to own it... I AM an artist... no matter which side of the brain gets the workout...

:)Thanks ZiplineArt!

Click Kalaloch if you're interested in purchasing this painting or prints of it.

See the original post at "Kalaloch."

To purchase prints or the original of this painting, click Raggedy Ann. 


See the original post at "Raggedy Ann."

And clicking Canoe in the Smokies  here will take you to the site where prints or the original of this painting are available.

See the original post at "Canoe in the Smokies"

Three Silly Goats Gruff II

Did you miss them?  

They're BAAAAAaaaaack!

I loved the short time that Gladys, Gabby, and Percy hung on my wall the first time!  What a treat to have them back for a while!

My relationship with these guys began the first time I saw their photograph on a blog that I follow.

I had the best time painting them.  They practically talked to me while I was working on them.  Then they just made me laugh when they hung on my wall.  But, alas... someone bought them... 

Imagine my delight when I received this e-mail:

Helen,
     Hi! My name is Rebekah and my mom is Renee from the blog Southern Gal. My family (my husband and two little girls) are in the middle of a huge transition. It is our dream to have a little homestead of our own, but for right now that dream has to be put on hold. The three goats you painted so beautifully are mine, Gabby, Gladys, and Percy. Tomorrow Percy leaves us as we prepare for a temporary move into town. His "girls" will follow soon. I am quite emotional over this, not just because animals have a way of ripping your heart apart, but because of how him leaving causes the lifestyle change we are about to make to hit home. Over the next few years, David and I are planning to be very frugal  and saving money to buy land so we can build our own little homestead. But right now we have to leave behind our goats, chickens, bees, and garden.
     To get to the point, I want more than anything else I am planning for my new home to hang this painting of our three goats in a special place. I just feel like it would help us remember this sweet time with our very first farm animals and motivate us to realize our dream. I know the painting sold, but could you paint the goats again? You did an amazing job. We would cherish it forever. 

Now, what could I say? YES!
I hope Rebekah and her family have a big smile when they see "Three Silly Goats Gruff II" in person.

Original Oil Painting on 12"x 16" Wrapped Canvas
[SOLD]

Black Swallowtail on Pink Flower

How long did that take?

I get this question a lot, and I've gotten it a lot with this painting especially.  Maybe that's because it's over-sized. (16"x 20")
I don't really count up the hours; it might be depressing to realize how much/little I charge per hour. :)

Let me think through the stages.

• See a friend's photograph on Facebook and get permission to use it.
• Choose a canvas size and draw it up. (I am NOT a draw-er and totally admit to cheating on this step.  I put the canvas on my whiteboard at school and show the image from my computer to draw in the main lines.)
• 1st sitting - Paint in the dark spaces of the background then add the green shapes on top of that. Block in the black and pink areas.  (They basically look like blobs.)
• 2nd sitting - Try to make the greens look like blades of grass and leaves. Add dark greens, light greens.  Make long graceful strokes.  Blend.  Fail miserably... Looks like a mess... Wonder if I've forgotten how to paint... Remind myself that every painting -not unlike every child- goes through an ugly stage. Give up.
• 3rd sitting - Work on the butterfly.  Add buff to the black to create light, blue and orange to create life and reflection.  Layer on the yellows and oranges. It's a good start. Work on individual petals of the flower... without success.
• 4th sitting - Determine to make the grass and leaves pop.  Get brave with more greens, use a bigger brush, blur the hard lines between the background and the main character of the painting. Touch up the butterfly. Give it some legs and antenna. Try again on the flower petals and flower center.  Lay in the yellow (same cad yellow from the butterfly) center.
• 5th sitting - Background... looks good.  Butterfly... looks good. Flower... looks good. Painting... doesn't work... sigh... stand back... sigh... squint... deep breath.. okay... It looks like someone did a great background, cut out a great flower and butterfly then glued them onto the background.  There's no sense of harmony.  Sit down and get brave again.  Add black (which I rarely use straight) from the butterfly into the dark areas of the background.  Add red (alizarin) from the flower liberally into the darker edges of the leaves and grass blades and into the background.  Add green (from the grass) into the flower petals... which by the way was a disaster... Paint over the flower with straight alizarin and white covering the rose color completely... Almost there... but... remember purple! Purple is the most amazing superhero! How did I forget!  Add purple touches to the butterfly wings.  Add purple to the shaded parts of the flower.  Add purple to the shaded parts of the background. Sign my name in the bottom corner.

How long did that take you to paint that painting?  Probably around 10 hours. I'm faster than I used to be. :)