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

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

Flamingo II

Fun facts about flamingos

• That backwards bending knee is actually an ankle!
• They live 20-30 years!
• Their feathers are colored differently based on on what they eat!
• They build their nests out of mud!
• They spend a quarter of their day cleaning their feathers!

How about that!

This particular flamingo lives at the Tulsa Zoo.  

Original Oil Painting on 10"x 20" Wrapped Canvas

Click "Flamingo II" if you'd like to purchase this painting.

Flamingo Reflection

Elegance & Simplicity... my favorite combination...

One evening as I was scrolling through Facebook (like ya' do...) I came to my friend Marquita's Christmas-in-Florida pictures.  I clicked to open then kept scrolling through (like ya' do...) when... Wait! Go back! Where was that one!  The next thing I typed was a quick private message to Marquita. "I love, Love, LOVE the picture of the lone flamingo with his reflection.  Would you give me permission to use that as a reference photo for a painting?"  Lucky for me, she must have been online doing her nightly scroll through Facebook, and she responded right away with a, "Yes, ma'am, you sure can."

Sometimes it happens.  

An image just calls out to be put on canvas.  

I love that. 

I looked through my paintings to find ones where that had happened, where I randomly saw an image and knew I had to paint it.

I wondered if there were some commonalities in what I loved so much that it was worth asking for permission to use it.

The daughter of a nephew.
Saw it on Facebook.

The daughters of two nieces.
Saw it in another niece's wedding photos.

The daughter and father of a friend.
Saw it on Instagram.

The daughter of a sister of a niece-in-law.
Saw it on Facebook.

A friend.
Saw it on Facebook.

My brother, sister-in-law, & their grandsons.
Saw it on Facebook.

Hmmmm.... It's pretty clear that I have a thing for images that show people from the back.

From a friend's hiking photos.
(A possum is my "spirit animal"... long story...)

From a blog friend's blog post.

From a blog friend's blog post.

From a blog friend's blog post.

From a blog post of someone I didn't know
(until I asked to paint his photograph).

So... Why did I find this image so captivating?

Elegant simplicity.  

Just one single beautiful flamingo... still water... no trees or reeds or waves or other flamingos or rocks. 

Elegant simplicity.

Original Oil Painting on 16"x 20" Wrapped Canvas

[SOLD]

Peyton & Anna

These were the instructions I was given:

• "I have an idea that I want you to paint. These will go in their bedrooms.  They need to have their names on them and maybe a flower or a bird as a kind of decoration. The oldest is named Peyton, and she likes purple.  The youngest is named Anna, and she likes pink." 

Well... no one said they had to be plain and boring... so... voila!

What a fun project!  I couldn't wait to get started! I completely set aside what I was working on and got busy creating "something purple and something pink with flowers or birds to make them special."

I hope the one who asked for this is surprised and pleased at the same time.

I hope the little girls who receive them for Christmas are too.

Original Oil Paintings on 6"x 12" Wrapped Canvas.

[SOLD]
Click here to order a custom name painting of your own.

Flamingo on Blue

This is the second in my "Make Friends with Blue" series. 😁😁

I met this particular guy (or gal) in the flamingo exhibit at the Tulsa Zoo a couple of years ago.  I loved the exhibit, and I thoroughly enjoyed painting him (or her) with bright, bold colors.

You know how sometimes a certain sense will bring up a memory? 
... like... the smell of marigolds = my grandma's front porch...
... or... the taste of Cheese Whiz = my first classroom as a teacher...
... maybe... the sound of pop corn kernels falling into a pot = Sunday evenings when I was a kid.
... or... the sight of a flamingo = summer school  in college and having Christopher Cross on the stereo.

If you're anywhere near my age, you might be able to relate to this one!

"Think of Laura, but laugh don't cry

I know she'd want it that way."

Or...

"It's all right. I think we're gonna make it,

I think it might just work out this time."

Good painting happens when his songs pop up on my Pandora.

You know that each one of those memories is just a snip of a whole story! So share!  What smell, taste, sound, or sight brings up a specific memory for you?

Original Oil Painting on 16"x 16" Wrapped Canvas

Click "Flamingo on Blue" if you'd like to purchase this painting.

Flamingo Portrait

Painting with pinks and oranges and reds was fun!  I've got to find more reasons to use them!  Maybe I'll do another flamingo or two.  

I became enamored with flamingos when we went to the Tulsa Zoo a couple of months ago.  (If you were there that day, you might have noticed us... We were the ONLY couple there who was neither pushing a stroller nor pulling a wagon!)

While I worked on this, I kept having Christopher Cross songs go through my mind...   

It's funny how images and songs bring back long forgotten memories...   When I was in college, I took a course called Art for Elementary Teachers.  One of our assignments was to create a monochromatic piece (an entire piece using only one color in varying dark to light shades).  I borrowed this album from a guy I knew, drew a grid right on it, and re-created... well copied...the image on a poster. Although I did change his eye to red... Hmmm... Well... Looking back I'm pretty sure that was plagiarism... Oops!  Since that was over 30 years ago, I'm hoping the statute of limitations has run out.  For what it's worth... I'm pretty sure I got an A... although now I'm feeling kind of bad about that... 

My apologies to the guy whose album cover I ruined and to Christopher Cross for stealing borrowing his image.  

I still love your music, Mr. Cross!

Original Oil Painting - 12" x 16"
Click "Flamingo Portrait" to purchase this painting.