Harvesting a Rainbow (August)

Autumn Hay Wagon

The word I was given for this month's WordSpark challenge was "Rectangular." The world is full of rectangular things... buildings, doors, windows, boxes, crackers, dollars, books... My mind kept returning to those rectangular hay bales that I grew up with. 

Now days it seems that most farmers have switched to the big round bales, but the hay bales of my memories are the small rectangular ones.

I learned to drive in a hay field... Didn't every kid? At least nearly every kid I knew did. When you were too little to hoist the 60 pound hay bale from the field into the truck bed an onto the stack, you got put behind the wheel.  You could sit on the very edge of the seat to reach the pedals. There wasn't much you could hurt if you got it wrong... Worst case scenario, you ran into a hay bale or got hollered at by your brother for going too slow or too fast. Who needed driver's ed when you had a hay field!

I combined the ideas from a couple paintings I did over a decade ago and used a palette knife to make an old-time autumn scene that felt charming to me. I wonder if the farmer put the little sister at the reigns of the hay wagon.

For the complement piece, I moved the scene up a few decades. Modernized the house, brought in a pick-up (Ours was a red GMC.), chopped down the big tree, and built a road.

I've been trying to draw more lately.  I rarely draw.  I'm good enough at it, but I'm trying to find some joy in doing it. (Was that more positive than just saying that I hate drawing.) I'm getting better.

I don't know that you'd automatically know that "Rectangular" must have been the prompt, but it will do. There are many rectangles in each piece. You can count them!

Also, my Weekly-ish challenge was "Wheels," so this painting did double duty!

Original Oil Painting on 9"x 12" Wrapped Canvas.

Click Autumn Hay Wagon if you'd like to purchase this painting.

Spilled Peaches

What is happening to me with this crazy palette knife craze?

Perhaps I'm just in a style phase and it will pass.  

I hope not, because I love it.

What would Thomas Decker think? Would he be horrified? 

I hope not.

Basket of Peaches, oil on canvas, c. 1885, Joseph Decker

I can't fully explain why, but of all the wonderful and amazing works of art in Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art here in Northwest Arkansas, it's my favorite painting.

I suppose it's because there's an elegant simplicity about it.

Whenever we visit other museums, I always look to see if one of his paintings is there.

I used it as inspiration and set up my own basket of peaches still life.

I painted these versions in 2012 and 2020.

ME: (after opening my file of still life images for peaches) Hon, which one should I use?

RON: They all look the same.

ME: No! Look they have different backgrounds and different arrangements.

RON: Ok. The red one.

ME: Which red one? Red on the table? Or red on the background.

RON: Um, the  first one.

ME: But, it doesn't have very good shadow in the background.

RON: Then the next one.

ME: Well, it only has two peaches in front.  Don't you like three better?

RON: Sure.

ME: What color of background then?

RON: Why do you ask me this?

Ha ha... Good question. Why do I ask him?

The reason I revisited my Peach Still Life Folder? My Weekly-ish painting challenge was "Just Peachy." 

Original Oil Painting on 11"x 14" Wrapped Canvas

Click Spilled Peaches if you'd like to purchase this painting.

Peek-a-Boo Kitty in the Pumpkins

Sometimes a painting holds deep meaning. 

Sometimes a painting represents emotion through symbolism.

Sometimes a painting shows an important memory.
Sometimes a painting is just fun.

Which category do you think this kitty in the pumpkins painting falls into? 

My Weekly-ish Painting Challenge was "Pumpkins."  It was fun to paint with colors that I don't often use.

Original Oil Painting on 9"x 12" Wrapped Canvas

Click Peek-a-Book Kitty if you'd like to purchase this fun little painting for your own wall.

Kaleidoscope 2024 - August

I'm taking an on-line mixed media art class called Kaleidoscope from Willowing Arts. 

https://www.willowing.org/

Since I've almost exclusively used oil paints to create in a realistic style for 17 years, every lesson takes me far outside of my comfort zone. No lessons use oil paint, and almost no lessons use realistic subjects.

But, I'm trying!!!

And, I'm learning!

 

Flowers & Shadow

I love smearing paint with a palette knife.

The *WordSpark* for my little painting group this month was "Shadows." As is usually the case, I was completely blank as to what I might paint for the topic.

I was walking through the garden center at Walmart, (the part where it's inside, but open to the sky) when I noticed the most lovely perfect shadows this plant was casting on the concrete.  The plant was on the floor marked down to $4 because nearly every stem was broken. But... some scotch tape to hold the stems upright-ish... some wire to prop the dead-ish ones up... some artistic license to fix it up was all it took!

My companion piece was fun to create.  

• I started with scraps of collage paper in purples. 
• Then I fussy-cut (a term I learned from my quilting friends) the flowers off of a paper party napkin.
• Next I created a "found poem" about shadows from a page of Charlotte's Web. (It's the scene where Charlotte was sending the rat, Templeton, to the fairgrounds to get her a word so she could weave it in her web one last time.)
• A found poem is done by taking a sheet of text and marking out everything you don't need until you end up with words that make up a description/feeling/image/poem of what you do need.

The Cool of the Evening

In the cool of the evening, shadows darkened the air. 

Without saying anything, he started off. 

The shadows came as a welcome relief.

The sky seemed high, and you could hear music.

The man felt refreshed.

Original Oil Painting on 12"x 12" Wrapped Canvas

Click Flowers & Shadow if you'd like to purchase this painting.

Harvesting a Rainbow (Late July)

I Like Thursday (8/24)

I like having a visitor show up on the porch, giving him a snack.

 Fancy-like and her (big) chicks weren't sure about the visitor.

I like pickles... but this much?  Can I eat these in a year?
And there's another batch in the making?! 
The garden gave me sooooo many cucumbers this year!

 I like taking a photo of my harvest every day.

I like making these fun little quilted zipper bags. 
I started sewing a bag for my great nieces and nephews each year
at our family reunion when there were just 6 of them. 
Now there are 36!

 I like that every part of my garden is surrounded by a fence...
You can see why...

I like the colors and shapes of each day's harvest.

I like this crazy cat. 
He want to be a part of any project, every project.

I like spending 4 days at Lake Ouachita with my family each year.
This was our 34th year. 
There were 25 of us then. There are 70 of us now. 60 were able to be there. 

 

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

Which events do you watch more on the summer Olympics?  I haven't even watched one minute of the Olympics. Sometimes life just takes over and decides your schedule. Sitting down in front of a television hasn't been part of it.  Did you ever think you had a shot at competing in any sport? Never. Which one is closest to something you might be able to do well? Ha! Nothing! 

Would you like being part of the group of competitors? No. They've given up so many of life's many choices in order to do one specific thing the best. I wouldn't want to have spent my life so focused on one thing. Staying in the Olympic village?  Nah. Meeting people from all over the world? Sure. I love that they are kind in competition, and  respect each other. :) Have you ever

gone to view the Olympics?  I haven't.

How are you coping with the heat dome this year?  I work in the garden (picking, weeding, trimming) early mornings or evenings after there's shade. I am grateful for air conditioning.

What is your favorite meal of the day?  Is it acceptable to say it depends? Ok... I'll go with breakfast.  I make an omelet for Ron nearly every morning. (I have the eggs, and I have all the things that go in an omelet... see photos above!) We have breakfast and do two puzzles together, New York Times Wordle and Connections. Do you have a favorite food for

that meal?  This time of year, it's a sandwich layered as follows: toast, tomato, bacon, tomato, a little scrambled egg, toast.