Hey, Hey, Hay! VI

Hey, Little Cow! Aren't you a cutie!

I've painted a lot of cows.  No, really... a LOT of cows.  I counted. I've done 30+ paintings with cows. Take a few seconds, click HERE, and scroll through. Yeah... lots. The other day I realized it had been a while since I've painted one.  Nearly 4 years! 

This particular little "Black Baldy" heifer has been on my canvas several times.  I was glad to bring her back one more time... or maybe two... or three...

I've recently taken a liking to translating a paintings into different mediums. So...

Watercolor still scares the bejeezus out of me. Mine never turn out like I imagine they're supposed to, but I'm getting better.

Quilted Fabric Collage is exciting and new to me.  I'm not sure they have a purpose... a fancy potholder I suppose. I do love using the little scraps and threads to bring out the image.

Original Oil Painting on 8"x 8" Wrapped Canvas
Click Hey, Hey, Hay! if you'd like to purchase this little cow painting.

Creative Companions 2023

I would love to invite you to view the final product of a project that my two artist friends, Julie Brandt and Cheri Wollenberg, and I have finished.

Click the link to see the Blurb book we made.  
Once it opens, click the "Preview" button that's just under the bottom right corner of the picture of the book cover. You'll be able to flip through all the pages to see the whole project. You can "turn the pages" by clicking on the right side of the pages of the book.

Enjoy!

H

https://www.blurb.com/bookstore/invited/10121375/79dc3f6c5d98f3ebb12cf45cc6b297dc25036ea4

Creative Companions 2023 by Eaton, Brandt, Wollenberg | Blurb Books Find Creative Companions 2023 by Eaton, Brandt, Wollenberg at Blurb Books. 3 Artist Friends committed to create a monthly painting with an art companion piece. www.blurb.com

Three artist friends made a yearlong commitment to create one artwork with one companion piece each month.  They would meet on Zoom at the beginning of each month to reveal their pieces, encourage each other’s endeavors, receive their new topic, and enjoy each other’s company. 

 The Formation of Creative Companions:
1.   Idea Proposed 
2.  Conversation Held 
3.  Excitement Built 
4.  Ideas Brainstormed 
5.  Plan Formed 
6.  Guidelines Generated 
7.  Rules set 
8.  Name Chosen 
9.  Questions Asked 
10. Guidelines Changed 
11.  Rules Tossed Out

Creative - adj. 
relating to or involving the imagination or original ideas,
especially in the production of an artistic work. 
Companion - n.     
1. a person with whom one spends time 
2. a pair of things intended to complement each other.  

Whooooo's Got Pretty Orange Eyes?

I haven't painted much lately.

I've had the I-can't-think-of-anything-to paint syndrome.

Is that like "writer's block" only for brush and canvas instead of pen and paper?

My Creative Companions project is finished.

We're taking a little break from our Weekly-ish Art Challenge.

The on-line LifeBook 2023 painting class is over.

So... I was on my own to decide what to paint next. How about going back to the beginning?

These are the first six paintings I ever did.  

The first four were from the 6-week beginning painting class.  

1st 2/07 - Trees in summer

2nd 2/07 - Same trees done in autumn colors

3th 2/07 - Value study in black and white

4th 3/07 - Seeing the color in black and white

5th 3/07 - My choice... An owl from my backyard

6th 3/07 - Same owl, second attempt

How about another owl!  

It's always such a treat to spy an owl in the trees around our place.  We hear them often but rarely catch a glimpse of one.  When we do see one, he's staring  glaring down with such an attitude of disdain and superiority.  I just love him anyway. Ours rarely give permission for their photographs to be taken, but every once in a while, I get lucky.

While I don't know this particular orange-eyed owl in the painting personally, I do like his spicy attitude.

Original Oil Painting on 8"x 10" Wrapped Canvas.

Click Orange Eyed Owl if you'd like to purchase this painting.

I Like Thursday 12/23

 Thank you to Leeanne of Not Afraid of Color for reminding me to notice things I like. 

I like that first fire of the year.
Actually I love every fire in the fireplace.

 I like the weird mushrooms that appear in fall.
My friend says these are good to eat. 
Ummm... no.

 I like visiting art museums.
These were my 3 favorite paintings
at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City.

 I like the deer that live in our woods.

I like the tree at the end of our driveway.
It's fabulous in every season.

I like like it even after the leaves fall.

I like my painting workspace.

I like my pretty little flock of backyard hens.

I like this guy.  He likes me too.

LeeAnne's  get-to-know-you writing topic this month:

Tell us a funny story about a Thanksgiving you spent... we all have things happen unexpectedly at holidays  so share a funny moment you have had over the years.   I am completely blank on a funny Thanksgiving story, so I'll tell our funny Thanksgiving weekend tradition.  We always decorated our house and tree for Christmas on Thanksgiving weekend. For many years there would be a moody teenager on the couch being less-than-helpful and less-than-joy-filled.  There came a day once the kids were grown-ish that we realized that neither kid was a moody teenager.  That's when my husband it was tradition, so he'd take that role and lay on the couch while we did the decorating.

Do you send Christmas cards?  Are they unique like a photo from this year, or say, hallmark boxed ones?  When will you aim to send them out?  Oh, I basically never did for years and years. As a teacher, December is such a hectic time, I just never got around to it.  I still forget to get around to it in time, but... for the last couple of years, I've done a Valentine card. That's been kind of a fun thing. At the top of the card, it's said something like "Merry Christmas... Happy New Year... Happy Valentine's Day!"  It was kind of an accident the first time, but I liked the surprise of it. I think I'll do it that way again.

Extra credit: do you do craft projects with your old cards? When I was teaching, I always saved them.  My students would use them their art projects. 

Describe your perfect Christmas party, where, who's there, what food and drinks are served, etc  Only family... Our 6 little ones do plenty of running and laughing and squealing.  Food would be kid friendly. Drinks would be soft drinks or juice (with lids for the kids).

1. Real or fake tree? Fake and pre-lit.
2. Star or angel? Nothing.
3. Tree up before or after Thanksgiving? That weekend.

Unwrapping gifts on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?  Christmas morning was always our tradition.  But as we now share our kids with their in-law families, we're fine doing it on a different day when we need to.  

Do you prefer Christmas or New Years? Christmas Do you have a usual way to spend NYE and or NYDay? Not a very interesting answer, I suppose. Just being home.

Would you rather kiss in Paris or kiss in a tent in the woods on NYE? How about my house (which is in the woods) instead of a tent.

Would you rather be at a big fancy party where you all scream happy new year at midnight, or at home on your sofa or with a couple friends playing cards etc  100% I'd rather be at home, preferably sound asleep at midnight.

Reindeer on December 23rd

Isn't he a handsome guy!

My Creative Companion topic was "Winter's Eve." Hmmm...Now I had to think about that one for quite a while. 

[My thinking process]

I didn't want to go Christmas-y, but I couldn't get away from the "Eve" part. 

According to my Google Merriam Webster:

Eve-

1. evening  

2. the evening or day before a special day  

3. the period immediately preceding 

We see a couple or even a dozen deer every time we walk down our road in the evening... or 'eve.'  I think how cold they must be as winter nears.

I wonder what their "cousins" are up to at the North Pole as winter days are nearing their big night.

.

I remember being in Wyoming for my 50th birthday and going on a wagon ride through an elk reserve.  I asked why they would sit in the patches of snow when they didn't have to.  The guide told me they were hot with all their fur and were just trying to stay cool.

[My working process]

Pexels.com is a great place to find free photos to use as references.  (Thanks to Frans van Heerden who took the reference photo I used.

I get the main lines on the canvas then start with the background. Before you know it, a reindeer is on my easel. My painting area has everything right where I need it. (Why do I have 100 different brushes when I use about 5? I don't know.) I love having a photo viewer.  (You can get one at any estate sale you go to. --I've picked up 5-6 over the years.--  It will most likely still be like new and in the box with the $129 price tag still attached.  You'll spend about $7.50 if you go on the last day of the sale when everything's priced to go.) I put my reference photo on a thumb drive and voila.  You can see I have another one on the right. (It has the reference drawing propped against it in this photo.)  There's a different reference photo on that one.

While I paint I usually listen to an audio book... or music, country or some 80s rock... Sometimes the television is on if it's evening and Ron's watching a ballgame or flicking through channels. Or, maybe, I'm letting my mind wander and wonder about what I'm painting and composing a little jingle in my head about it...

What do the reindeer do on the twenty-third?

They eat well, relax, walk through the snow

 take it easy, have a nap, and just lay low.

But what of the elves in charge of the herd?

They're the ones who must persist

 to tend to each detail on the long checklist.

They clean out each stable and muck every stall

 make last preparations for the next night's long haul. 

They bring plenty of water and hay and oats.

 massage sore muscles and brush shaggy coats.

They test every harness and each jingle bell.

trim every hoof and check antlers as well. 

There's much to take care of on the twenty-third 

when your an elf in charge of the reindeer herd.

For my companion piece, I thought I'd just whip out a watercolor of this reindeer... It was a disaster. So I thought I'd "fix" is with colored pencils... then pastels... then paint pens... All disasters... Finally used acrylics to cover all the previous attempts... Better, but pretty boring and near ready for the bin... But... then... I was thinking how my handsome guy had become so silly looking and thought how the reindeer must party after their big flight. How about a few stickers! Ha ha ha... a party animal!

My friend LeeAnna loved him, so I put him in the mail and sent him on his way to her.

Original Oil Painting on 9"x 12" Wrapped Canvas

Click Reindeer if you'd like to purchase this painting.

Stargazer Lily on a Stem

I've always loved stargazer lilies. They are easy to grow. They have a gorgeous bloom. They smell fabulous.  What's not to love!

I'm planning to teach another senior adult oil painting class soon, and this is what we'll work on.  Before I paint in front of a group, I want to be completely prepared so there are no surprises. (Well... there's always something unexpected, but I try to be as prepared as I can.)

Click the video below to watch the process in 1 minute.

Shifting gears a little bit... How about a completely different version!  I've recently become obsessed with "collage quilting." I didn't even know that it was a thing or that there was a name for it.  I first became aware of it when my blog friend LeeAnna showed one that she'd done.

I hesitate to show it because so many of my blog friends are real quilters, and I'm aware that mine is so elementary.  Oh, well; comparison is the thief of joy.  I loved making it and love how it turned out.

Original Oil Painting on 6"x 8"

This one will be available for sale after it gets used as an example in the class.

A Weeping Willow, In Memory

 

What an honor it was to be asked to recreate this willow tree painting.  I first painted one like it a couple of years ago.  (You can see that one HERE.)

I love painting commissioned pieces.  I love knowing why a particular painting is wanted. Every story is different and often surprising. This one took my breath away. 

The message came through my Etsy shop as a simple request. I was asked if I might paint this weeping willow again. The chat went along in the usual way... what size... the cost... when I could get to it and have it finished... All very pleasant.

Once all was agreed upon, I got the next message... "My son passed away last week.  He had a willow tree tattoo and he loved the sun. So it's a fitting symbol of his life." He went on to share the son's young age and his name.

As I said, what a privilege to be asked to paint something so meaningful. Of course, I immediately dropped all other projects and focused on this one. 

Sometimes art is just play.  Sometimes art is emotional. Sometimes art is important. 

When I sent a picture of the finished painting, the reply email contained a photo of the beautiful young man with his weeping willow tattoo, and my own tears spilled.

And, a third time I say, what an honor and privilege to get to paint this weeping willow tree.  I hope that over time my simple brushstrokes of paint on canvas bring a bit of peace and remembrance.

Oil Painting on 12"x 16" Wrapped Canvas

[SOLD]

Strawberries in a Bowl

I started this painting... hmmm... maybe 2 1/2 years ago. I read about my quilting friends having UFOs (which I think stands for UnFinished Object or something like that... They never really say). They seem to have a lot of them. I'm really not too bad at having unfinished painting projects.  I usually start something and finish it before going on to the next one.

My painting partner Julie and I used this little still life when we taught two beginning oil painting classes.  I think you'll notice a pretty obvious clue as to when this class took place.  (I suppose there's no need to blur out faces when you can't see them anyway!)

When we team-teach, we also team-paint.  One will talk about a step in the process while the other paints it, then we switch.  The other talks about the next step while the first works on the painting. We paint quickly and don't particularly finish anything as the purpose is just to model the process. Anyway, we end up with a couple of unfinished paintings (UFOs, I suppose.)

After the classes, I brought one of them home and put it in the art room intending to go back over the whole thing, spruce it up, finish it. 

But... life... terrible ice storms... grandson born... time in the NICU... kept granddaughters... COVID... dad got COVID... time in hospice...  family in town... life stuff, you know... The little painting got under art room stuff and was forgotten.

The other day I read a meme that said something like this, "Statistics show that people who have messy art spaces and too many art supplies tend to live longer lives than those who point it out."

Anyway, after rediscovering it, I gave it new life. 

Original Oil Painting on 8"x 8" Wrapped Canvas

Click Strawberries in a Bowl if you'd like to purchase this little painting.

I Like Thursday 11/23

Thank you to Leeanne of Not Afraid of Color for reminding me to notice things I like. 

I like turning in to my driveway... especially in fall.

I like having a dozen happy hens... and Pete (the rooster).
Don't count too carefully... Just pretend there are only 12.

I like knowing I've been trained in CPR & AED.
Boy, I hope I never need to use either though!

I like discovering mushrooms that popped up overnight.

I like okra blossoms.  They're the prettiest.

I like what happens to the trees in our yard during fall.

I like a sitting outside by the chiminea on a crisp fall evening.

I like living where we never know who will show up in the yard.
(But, I don't like that our neighbor drained his pond
and all these guys are searching for a new home.)

I like what happens to the trees in our yard during fall.
Wait... Did I already say that? Well, it's worth saying again.

LeeAnne's  get-to-know-you writing topics this month:

Would you rather go on a hayride or visit a corn maze? Hayride - 100%. Why? No offense to corn mazes,b but I'm five feet tall... stores aisles, library shelves, crowds... I can never see over the top of anything... My whole life is a corn maze. 

Have you ever done either one?  Yes, several as a teenager. Do you have stories to tell?  Yes, but maybe I'll not. 😜

Would you rather go apple picking or carve pumpkins at home? Yes, both!
Have you done either or both of these? Yes, I've carved pumpkins, but I've never picked apples at an orchard.  I'd love to! Do you always get pumpkins in the fall? Now, that I have grandkids, I imagine we'll always have some pumpkins to carve. Or grow them yourself? No. I don't have the space required for a pumpkin patch.  I tried growing pumpkins on the hillside once.  The deer enjoyed eating the blossoms very much.  Do you keep the insides for eating?  No. Not a fan of pumpkin. Remember any pumpkins that caught your eye in your area? I think it's fun when a farmer paints the end of a round hay bale to look like a jack-o-lantern.

Would you rather attend a Harvest festival or an Oktoberfest party? I'll choose harvest festival... even though I don't really know what that is.

Would you rather go leaf peeping in New England or see the Thanksgiving Day parade in NYC? I've never heard the phrase "leaf peeping," but I love that!  I choose that!  We have our own fabulous leaves right here in Arkansas, but I'd love to drive through New England in autumn. When my son's band marched in the Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2009, we were there.  We arrived 5 (yes five) hours early to stand on the parade route.  By the time it started the crowds behind us were 5 people deep.  Did I mention I've never been so cold in my whole life?

Would you rather host a cheese and wine night or a cookie decorating party?  Since I don't love cheese and I don't drink wine, I suppose I'd go to the cookie party. Can't go wrong with cookies!!

Pumpkin Pie

One time I tallied my paintings by season and discovered that I had done more with an autumn theme than nearly all the other seasons combined. It's hard not to want to put a golden, orange, and red landscape on canvas.

The older I get, the more I appreciate fall.  I think that during my first 50 years, I was just too busy during fall to notice it... back to school and getting the year going, parent conferences to hold, band practice to get kids to, football games to attend, Fall Harvest events... I'd see a senior adult fall foliage trip in the church bulletin and wonder who would drive around for no reason.  Now I think, "Honey, want to go for a drive to see the leaves?"

Our Creative Companions challenge was "It's Fall, Y'all." I've painted so many autumn landscapes... I've painted pumpkins and gourds and colorful leaves and scarecrows and candy corn... What else says "fall" when you see it? Ahhh... or taste it!

So, first I was off to Wal-Mart to buy a pie and Cool Whip. (No, of course, I didn't bake it!  Who does that really?) Then I asked the neighbor down the road if I could borrow her pumpkin for a couple of hours.  She didn't mention that it was a weird request and said that was fine.

Next, I got my grandson to come with me in his little jeep to carry the big pumpkin home. 

I carefully cut a slice, added a perfect dollop (great word) of whipped cream, and set up the still life. I took a ridiculous number of photos (this way, that way, move the plate, move the pumpkin, blur the back, don't blur, add a fork, take away the fork, reshape the dollop, turn the plate, move the lamp for a better reflection of the pan on the table...)

Finally, Ron could enjoy eating the slice of pie (I'm not a fan.) and I could choose the right photo then put paint and brush to canvas.

For my companion piece, I collected leaves from around the yard and did some leaf stamping. That was fun. How had I gone nearly 60 years without knowing how easy and how much fun leaf stamping could be. I did some more of it with my little pumpkin-hauling partner.

Original Oil Painting on 10"x 10" Wrapped Canvas

Click Pumpkin Pie if you'd like to purchase this painting.

My Garden Harvest (October 1 - that's it for 2023)

Temperatures have been dropping into the 30s, so I decided to call it and bring in all the green tomatoes.  Most of them will ripen on the counter. 

Our garden completely exceeded all expectations this summer. It was both fun to harvest and a lot of work, but our freezer is full. 

I could have a blooper reel of my uncropped photos.  There's a certain yellow family member who wants desperately to "help" me, especially when there are herbs in the day's harvest. Do you see it?