Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Pumpkins...

This semester's OLLI class was this  week!  I absolutely love guiding seniors along the way to complete a painting. Just look!  They're masterpieces!!! We had such a good time, and each of them should be so proud.

These ladies worked so hard!

We even made the newspaper!!!

When I teach one of these classes, I always create a few models and examples.

As is always true, theirs are priceless.

My examples, however, are for sale in my Etsy shop.

AND...

*** DURING THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER THESE PUMPKINS AND ALL PAINTINGS AUTUMN RELATED WILL BE ON SALE 50% OFF! 

Click HERE to have a look! (Or send me a message. 😀)

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.

The Road Home

Poor Mr. Frost... He had to choose.

Lucky me... I'll take both!

If you find yourself in this exact spot, you're almost here!  If I know you're coming, I'll be on the porch waiting for you! When you get to the fork in the road, turn right.  It's hidden by the trees, but my house will be right there.

As it turns out, however, this painting isn't about turning right. 

Come for a stroll with me down the other way. We'll pass the garden... laugh at the chickens... walk around the pond where we'll avoid (or crunch) pinecones... count the deer in the meadow and watch them scatter... snap a photo of the favorite dogwood (no matter what season)... turn onto the next country road and continue ambling along until reaching the bend in the road where we'll turn back. It takes about 500 steps there and 500 back.

Original Oil Painting on 10"x 20" Wrapped Canvas.

[SOLD]

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

[SOLD]

Experiment - "Painting" with Fabric

Well, This is different!

I have some friends who are real-live serious quilters, and I know they sometimes have a look at my blog posts.  When I see the precision in their angles and straight lines... Well, I'll just say that I'm not in competition there.   I'm more of a play-around-with-fabric-sometimes kind of girl. 

A while ago, one of those amazing quilter friends, LeeAnne,  posted an image of a landscape done with fabric scraps.  I was mesmerized and went back to look at it again and again. (You can see it HERE.) With a little advice and encouragement from her, I started placing scraps of color.

This is what I see when I stand beside my mailbox.  I love seeing that huge gorgeous tree in every season. It served as my inspiration for this experiment of painting with fabric.

My weekly-ish challenge was "Standing."  I was reminded of this Advice from a Tree... Stand Tall and Proud.

Little White Church in Autumn

Painting with a palette knife is such an experiment every single time... every smear of paint onto the canvas.

This Little White Church also challenged me to experiment in color.  I loved the church in the reference photo, but it was set in a winter scene.  I wanted an autumn setting, so I had to make up colors and scenery throughout the process. 

Because I most often think on the left side of my brain, I'm never too comfortable at making things up.  I think I'm pleased with the final result. I do keep looking back to make sure though.

This painting was my response to my weekly-ish challenge with my art mentor.  The challenge was "Little White Church."

**Thanks to Sara Harley for letting me use her photo as a reference.

Original Oil Painting on 11"x 14" Wrapped Canvas

[SOLD]

 

Beside Still Waters II

 

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:

He leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul:

                                                                           Psalm 23: 1-3 

This image must speak to my soul.  I find it soothing and like having it on my wall.  Whenever it sells, it makes me happy/sad to see it go to a new home. Then after a while I paint it again and put it back on my own wall for a while.

2009

2017

2020

My painting partner Julie and I are preparing to teach a landscape class for seniors this next week.  I can't think of a better landscape image to use.

My weekly art challenge was "Quiet" this time.  "Quiet" can be a (lack of) sound or a feeling.  This landscape captures both the sound and feeling for me.

Thanks to Robert Woods for making how-to-paint books over 30 years ago that are still great references today.

Oil Painting on 9"x 12" Wrapped Canvas

[SOLD]

Beside Still Waters (Mini)

Yes, I know it looks familiar, but who doesn't make time for a rerun of something you enjoy! I do love this scene from one of Robert Woods old how-to-paint books.  I painted it about 10 years ago... again about 5 years ago... again about 1 year ago... and again a few months ago... and now this little mini version.

For one thing, I love it.  It's just got all the things I love about home... Rolling mountains, pastures, woods, fall colors, a creek, a fence that hints that there must be cows or some other farm animals back there behind those trees...

A second reason to paint it is that my painting partner, Julie of JujuBeePaints, and I will be using it as we teach a group of senior citizens in a beginning oil painting landscape class in a few weeks. I needed to practice painting it before doing it in front of students.

Finally, I did this tiny version for my art exchange group.  There are about a dozen artists from 3-4 different countries and 8-9 different states who take part in the group.  Every quarter we're given a theme then paired up to exchange a postcard-sized piece of art and letter. The theme this month was "Home or Showcasing Where You Live." This scene looks very much like Northwest Arkansas to me, so I thought it would be perfect to send to my paired partner, Darlene in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Oil painting on 5"x 7" Canvas Board

[GIFT - ART EXCHANGE]

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]

Red Barn at Autumn Sunrise

It's usually cool blues, greens, and purples that give a calming, peaceful tone, but I wanted to try to create that with warm reds, yellows, and oranges. 

I think it does bring a soothing moment, but only a moment... because if it's a farm, there are jobs to start taking care of as soon as that sun comes up.

Original Oil Painting on 11"x 14" Wrapped Canvas

[SOLD]

Autumn Pleasure

The older I get, the more appreciation I have for fall.  Maybe it's because I have more time to appreciate it now.  Before, I only thought of fall as those hectic weeks of getting the school year started. Recently though, I have taken such pleasure in this time of year.

I asked my husband, "What do you look forward to about autumn?"  

He said, "Driving down the driveway when all the trees turn gold. Seeing the big yellow tree behind the house. Feeling the brisk air when you need a jacket but only a light one."

Ahhh... good answers! 

Our view when coming down the driveway.

The big yellow hickory tree behind our house.

We are lucky to live in a part of the country that gets all kinds of beautiful fall colors.  I picked up the leaves for this little painting around our home one day last autumn. 

So many amazing colors... what a pleasure!

 

We look forward to watching our leaves change once again during the next few weeks.

These pretty leaves were painting in response to this month's Inspiration Collaboration Image photograph by Sara.

Original Oil Painting on 8"x 10" Wrapped Canvas

[GIFT]

Green Pastures & Still Waters

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:

He leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul:

                                                                           Psalm 23: 1-3 

For me, this is an image that fills the senses.  

I can see the mountains, 

     hear the rustle of leaves, 

          feel the breeze, 

               taste the water, 

                    smell the fresh air.

I find it to be tranquil and soothing; I hope you do too.

Thanks to Robert Woods for making How-to-paint books over 30 years ago that are still great references today.

Painted in response to Inspiration Collaboration's June Inspiration Image Beyond The Stream by Sara Harley.

Palette Knife Painting on 12"x 16" Wrapped Canvas

[SOLD] 

Happy Fall, Y'all !!

Look at that happy little thing! You just have to S.O.L. (Smile Out Loud... Is that a thing?)

First of all, I think that her name should be Cheri, the Cheery Little Scarecrow Girl.  I'll name her after my Cheri, my art teacher, my mentor, my friend.  She's the one who set up this still life and guided me in painting it.

When I began painting lessons in 2007, I went to Cheri's house every Monday night for about four years. After she retired and moved, we painted together maybe once a year if I was lucky.  

Last month I had the opportunity for weekly painting lessons in her new place, Inspire Studio and Art in Shawnee, Oklahoma. For four weeks I'd get to paint one-on-one with the most amazing artist!  I was equal parts thrilled and terrified, filled with excitement and filled with dread.  You see, I knew I'd get better and I'd learn; however, I  also knew that she'd push me beyond what I was sure were my artistic limits.

She did.  

I had to swallow down, "But,I don't think I can do that..." a dozen times... a dozen times each lesson!

As you can imagine, yes, indeed I was able to do whatever she thought I could. 

Now... sigh... if only I can remember and put into practice half of what I learned!

My view while painting this still life.

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