Little Beach Lovers, Kiawah Island SC

Whenever I do a more complex piece, I like to take photos along the way.  Here's a little video of my process from blank canvas to finished painting.

This painting passed all of Buff's quality control for packing and shipping.

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

Jacks & Ball

I've been thinking about some of the simple toys and games that I played with and loved when I was a kid. 

One of them was Jacks.  I was pretty good at it, but my mom was really, really good.  She'd toss up the jacks, look over where they'd fallen, then bounce... grab one... bounce... grab two... bounce... grab three... bounce... grab four... game over.  It didn't matter how close or far apart they were.  Her bounces were always the perfect height for her to collect the jacks she was after.  

I don't think I liked jacks nearly as much when I was the mom.  If you've ever stepped on a forgotten jack in the carpet...Ugh... Worse than a Lego, for sure!

I'm thinking of painting a series of these simple toys from childhood... crayons... marbles... Any other ideas?

Original Oil Painting on 6"x 12" Wrapped Canvas.
Click "Jacks & Ball" if you'd like to purchase this little painting.

UPDATE:

I'm making this a special, BUY TWO, GET THE THIRD FREE!

**DEAL** Buy two, and I'll send third along for free! 

Crayons link: CLICK CRAYONS HERE

Jacks link:  CLICK JACKS HERE

Marbles link: CLICK MARBLES HERE

Gardening with Grandpa

I suppose that there were always rocks and weeds in Grandpa's garden, but I didn't have to paint them in, did I?

I have great memories of the garden. When I was very small, I got to ride on Prince, the big brown mule, while Grandpa plowed the long rows. (I know that tillers were usually used by that time, but Grandpa and Prince worked the rows just as they had done for years.)

My strongest memories from the garden involve dealing with its produce. Strawberries to slice and cover with sugar to freeze... Peas to shell... Beans to snap... Cabbage to shred and salt for kraut... Tomatoes to blanch for canning... Egg plant to, hmmm, I don't remember what we did with the egg plant...

This particular painting was done based on an old black and white photograph sent to me by my aunt. The photograph was developed in September of 1960. There were actually 4 grand kids in the garden. (Look carefully behind the guy in the front.)They were far enough away and just blurry enough not to be sure which ones they were. I'm going to choose to believe that the two in my painting are my brother and sister... can't be me... I wasn't around yet in 1960.

Summer Memories will take you back and make you remember when... Visit Ahh, Dirt Beneath My Nails Again,  Grow Your Own Food, Find Me in the Garden Part 3,  A Green Thumb, Almost time to Get Your Hands Dirty, or Soon Enough, Etsy Treasuries (collections of art pieces and vintage items) that celebrate springtime gardening. Or, visit one of these treasuries - I Do, Do You?  or  April Trends. There's Farm House for a wonderful collection celebrating farm life.  It was an honor to see my painting with those of Sunday Fresh Finds: Etsy Fine Landscape Art.  Then, visit Happy Birthday Grandpa or Grandparents.  It might make you want to give your own Grandpa a call.  Finally enjoy the buildings in Funky Structures and Not.

[SOLD]