Sunflower Bouquet (Palette Knife)

I was in the mood to play with paint, and this felt like a good image for doing that.  The only materials I used, were  palette knives and a cheap beginner's oil paint set because I wanted to let myself be lavish with the amount of paint I applied each time I laid it down on the canvas.

True, sunflowers aren't exactly in season right now.  That's okay.  I used so much paint, it may be next summer before it's completely dry!  Mmmm.... I can't wait until it does dry so I can run my fingers across the texture of the paint on the canvas.  And, yes, whenever I'm in an art museum, I have to remind myself not to touch!

What fun!  How long did it take? Oh, a little more than one football game. (Go Hogs! Woo Pig Sooie! Well, they lost, but we're loyal anyway.)

It was also fun to revisit a reference photo that I'd painted ten years ago.  

In 2010 I wrote, "A flower is just more beautiful if you put the seed in the ground yourself, watered the sprout, kept the weeds away, and noticed the first bloom."

Very true. I love that.

Original Oil Painting on 9"x 12" Wrapped Canvas

[SOLD]

Flamingo on Water

 

Flamingos are so fun to paint... bold and colorful and swish-y, so I've painted several over the years.  This is actually the second time I've painted this guy... but... The last one was really huge, 16"x 16", and this one is really tiny, 6"x 6".

 I've been thinking about what I want to do creatively in 2021.  I know that if I write my thoughts down like a to-do list, that will make them real goals instead of just fleeting ideas. One of those ideas (which is about to become a goal since I'm putting it in writing) is to paint more small paintings, ones in which I practice putting a stroke of paint down in the right place, leaving it alone, and moving along. I need to play with paint more. That's what I tried to do with this one.

Original Oil Painting on 6"x 6" Canvas Board

[GIFT]

Click Flamingo on Blue if you'd like to see the bigger one.

A Sprinkle of Color

We face a very important choice before we dip... What flavor?

We face another decision after we dip...What will we sprinkle (or pour) on top?

Me? It's cake batter ice cream with almonds and Heath bar sprinkles... or French vanilla with almonds and raspberries... or soft serve vanilla with caramel and Snickers pieces...

What do you choose?

This painting was done in response to the November art challenge, A Pop of Colour, from Inspiration Collaboration.

Original Oil Painting on 6"x 8" Wrapped Canvas
[SOLD]

Autumn in Northwest Arkansas

 

Someone to Watch Over Me

I want each my paintings to tell a story on canvas. 
I feel like this one does.

I love it when out of the blue I get an e-mail asking if I might be able to do a special painting for someone.  Once I learn the reason... the story, I begin to bond with the story that the blank canvas will begin to tell.

Before I can begin, though, there are details to work out:  Which photo will be used? (The best photograph doesn't necessarily make the best painting.) What size of canvas will be right? (It depends both on the subject and on the commitment of wall space.) What shape of canvas will be right for the composition? (Square, vertical, horizontal) What is the timeframe? (A few weeks or as soon as possible?)

I want to make clear that none of my paintings is ever going to be an exact duplicate of a photo. I like having freedom to use my artistic license when needed.  While I won't make up random things, I can make tweaks. So the last question is always, "Is there anything you would like to see changed, removed, or added?"  

This time I got some pretty specific requests.

Could you change the neighborhood outside the window to a fall scene?

Could you incorporate a red heart or some red hearts somewhere?

Could you add a redheaded woodpecker?

Wow... ummm... okay... those are some pretty specific requests.  My e-mail reply probably said, "Sure!" My mind was probably reeling with, "How in the world am I going to accomplish those!"  But, because I knew the story... the reasons, I knew I'd find a way. And, I did.

I hope that the real story is honored by the story put on canvas.

We'll see if this works... 

I thought you might like watching the process. Let me know what you think!

Original Oil Painting on 11"x 14" Wrapped Canvas

[SOLD]

Beethoven's Fifth

When Sara and I were creating Inspiration Collaboration, we were careful to avoid the word “challenge” because we didn’t want to give a tone of it being work or that participating would be hard.  

That said, getting my first look (a few days early) of Sara’s inspiration image 5 + 1, all I could think was, "Oh, my... this is going to be a really... big... challenge..."  

My train of thought... 

    What!? Oh dear... No way... 

        Ok... I can do this... Think...

            Lines... black lines... five... parallel... continuing off sides...

                A bird... small like a dot...

                    Bold... beautiful... simple... powerful...

Sometimes the art fairy who brings great ideas shows up like a gentle tinkling of bells...

But other times... 

                    BaBaBa Baaaaaaaaaaaamph! 

                          BaBaBa Baaaaaaaaaaaaamph!

Original Oil Painting on 10"x 20" Wrapped Canvas

If you'd like to purchase this painting for your own wall, click Beethoven's Fifth.

Evening Walks

Autumn evenings are fine for walking the dog and enjoying the neighborhood. 

Some neighbors line up to say hello.

Others just go on about their business.

They might even offer a chair and ask you to stay a while.

Or they might show up back at your own house.

Inspiration Collaboration - November 2020

Four new images have been chosen to inspire you to create art of your own.  Click HERE to read the thoughts behind each one.

It's easy to be a part.  Click HERE for instructions.  We look forward to seeing what you create!