Old Barn & Fence in Summer

My weekly-ish challenge was "Barns" this time.  Now that (finally) is a comfortable subject to put on canvas!  When I started painting back in 2007, I painted a lot of barns.  I went back to look and do a little math.  About 1out every 15  of my first 350 paintings was a barn.  (Click HERE to do a quick scroll through of my barn paintings... There are a lot of them!) 

Then... I don't know why... I quit.   I've only done 2 or 3 out of the last 200 paintings. 

What a pleasure to learn that I was "assigned" to do another!

I found the reference image I used on unsplash.com.  There were many barn images available, but I was drawn to this one immediately.  What a surprise I got when I went back to get the link and give credit to the photographer, Mick Haupt. He wrote "Exploring through the Ozarks with the family and had to stop and capture this rustic barn. Enjoy it and paint this scene. Rushing, Arkansas."

Oh, my goodness!  Well, no wonder I was drawn to it! It was taken right here in my own Ozarks! Thanks Mick!

Original Palette Knife Oil Painting on 11"x 14" Wrapped Canvas
Click "Old Barn & Fence in Summer" if you'd like to purchase this little painting.

Field of Blue Flowers II

My painting partner Julie & I will be teaching a landscape painting class for senior citizens in a couple of months.  It takes a lot of thought and planning, but we have so much fun with it.

Part of the preparation means being really familiar with this painting and very confident with painting it so that it becomes second nature.  We don't want to be figuring out what might work while there are a dozen new painters watching.

That means we'll each paint it again... and again... and again... paint it big... paint it small... paint it on canvas... paint it on canvas board... paint it in stages to use as models... paint it until all the kinks in the process are worked out... We hope!

This one was done last month and was a prize of the hen-coop contest.  

It was on a tiny 5"x 7" canvas.

This one was done a few years ago and is now hanging in its forever home.  

It was on a big 18"x 24" canvas.

 Julie & I first painted it in 2019 during a weekend at 

Welcome Home Retreat. (Click HERE to see photos and read about that!)

There's a great YouTube lesson that was out teacher for it.

We're hoping for as much success with this class as we've had in the previous sessions.

2019 - Still Life - Apple

2019 - Nature - Bluebird

2020 - Floral - Day Lilly

2021am - Landscape - Autumn

2021pm - Landscape - Autumn

2022am - Still Life - Strawberries

2022pm - Still Life Strawberries

Oil Painting on 11"x 14" Wrapped Canvas

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Hat & Lavender

My weekly art challenge was "Something to Wear," and I was having a complete creative block for coming up with an idea. So I turned to YouTube for some inspiration and some at-home private instruction.

Thanks to MariArtHome for a step-by-step YouTube lesson on making this tiny painting.

5"x 5" Oil on Canvas Board

Click Hat & Lavender if you'd like to purchase this little painting.

Garden Harvest (July 16-31)

Red and green are Christmas colors... unless you're a gardener.  

Then they're the color of summer.

Guard in the Garden

Guard in the Garden

Or Guarding the Garden

Or as I would say it, Guardin' th' Garden

I don't think of myself as having any accent at all.  Some (as in everyone) would say that I do.  I'm going back home this weekend for my 40th class reunion.  (How did 4 decades slip by so quickly?) My husband says he'll be listening to see how long it takes for me to slip back into my accent.  Oh, I may have been away for a long time, but I can drop my -ings, flatten my i sounds, make two syllables out of the a sound, and slide right back into that drawl without even realizing it.

I know this is a whimsical painting, but before it's judged too harshly for proportions being off with the cabbages too big.  Let me just bring up a photo from the cabbages my sister and I grew a few years ago.

My friend and art mentor, Cheri, and I took several months off from our weekly-ish art challenge, but she decided it was time to start again.  Her word for me was "garden"... or did she say "guardin' "... Hmmm... 

Original Oil Painting on 8"x 10" Wrapped Canvas

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Cherry Tomatoes on the Vine

Another summer is giving its best.  Hopeful blooms turn into vegetables to be harvested. These little cherry tomatoes hold all the joy and color of the season of sun.

This painting as well as these words were inspired by Sara's Preserving Summer on this month's Inspiration Collaboration.

Original Oil Painting on 6"x 6" Wrapped Canvas

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Quiet Summer Resting Place

Because I'm the artist, I get to decide...  

I didn't paint any ants or spiders or other creepy-crawlies. I certainly painted no snakes, nor are there any hiding behind the rocks. Yes, I did paint a bit of poison ivy, but there are no thorn bushes or burrs anywhere in sight.  You can't see them, but I'm sure there are butterflies and frogs and probably lizards with blue tails. There's also plenty of birdsong and cicada noise in the air.  It's about 76 degrees with a very light wind. 

If this scene looks at all familiar...

... it's a smaller version of what's going on behind my house.

Yeah... I know... It looks like I have hardly done a thing in a month. 

I will now list my excuses for that...

* The garden keeps me busy in July.  (That's a good thing!)

* I've been working on other projects. (Good things too!)

* It's hot!  It is not 76 degrees in the real world.

* It's muggy!  The humidity is just ugh.

I will get back to it!  Soon!

If I stand under that window and look behind me, this is what I see. That's the reference for both this painting and the mural. 

No need to look for the stream.  That would be a bad place for a stream as it would flow directly into our back door. Remember that I have and artistic license, and I'm not afraid to use it.

A pretty healthy crop of poison ivy grows up there where I had to stand to take the photo of the mural.  I really should get up there and clean that out... (*See list of excuses above.)

Original Oil Painting on 12"x 24" Wrapped Canvas

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Sunflower Shine

At midday, when the sun is high in the sky, the color shimmers off each petal as it reaches upward.  All day long, their faces follow the sun's path across the sky.  I stand quietly at the edge of the garden and watch their silent nods, a show that gives me pause, reflecting on a season well spent.

Photo by Sara Harley

I was inspired by both the image and the writing from this month's Inspiration Collaboration image.  Sara wrote, "Late in the day, when the sun is lower in the sky, the light bounces off our small outdoor fish pond and into our home. For a short time, the glow dances across our living room ceiling in shimmering aerial ballet. I sit quietly in my chair and watch the silent performance, a shape shifting show that gives me pause, reflections and afterglow of a day well spent."

Original Palette Knife Oil Painting on 10"x 10" Wrapped Canvas.

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Pink Daisy II

I celebrated 12 years as a painter last week.
In honor of that, how about 12 things I love about painting:

• I love putting the highlight sparkle in eye of a person or animal.  (As soon as I do, I always say, "Well, hello! I've been waiting for you!")
• I love to paint on a really big canvas.
• I love signing my paintings in the bottom right corner. (Sometimes it has to be bottom left.)
• I love painting with purple and adding turquoise or orange in unexpected places.
• I love using a chisel brush to make straight lines, a palette knife to create texture, and a fluffy brush to soften a background.
• I love when the painting muse appears with a great idea.  (But, sometimes I have to find the next idea on my own. I can't always count on the muse; she has a lousy work ethic.)
• I love to touch a finished painting that was done with a palette knife.
• I love stepping away from what I'm painting then looking back at it with fresh eyes. (That gives the painting fairy a chance to do her magic.)
• I love it when someone wants one of my  paintings for their own wall.
• I love to paint alone.
• I love to paint with creative artist friends. (Thursdays 11:30-3:00)
• I love watching others learn and grow as painters. (Mondays 4:00-7:00)

Look at that proud face!

Original Oil Painting 8"x 10" Wrapped Canvas
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Someday

I've got peace like a river...

I've got peace like a river...

I've got peace like a river...

in my soul.

Guess what...

This is my 400th painting.

I can not believe it!

Although I love the very first painting I did back in 2007, I do think I've improved as an artist over these 11 years and 400 paintings... ha ha... just a little bit! 

This painting began with a tutorial by Kevin on using the palette knife.  It also started out as a disaster.  I carefully followed instructions and ended up with a sky that looked like a tornado was about to drop down at any minute.  There was a definite tone of anger and a foreboding mood. Usually, I would have worked with it, but this time... I wiped all the paint right off, set my mind set on the tone and mood I wanted, and used my artistic license (which comes in handy). I also gave myself permission to use brushes as well the palette knife.  In the end I hope I created a feeling of peace instead.

I'm so glad this one ended up being #400.  
Peacefulness is a good representation of life right now.

     Someday…

     The other day… Hmmm… last Wednesday, I think…

     I was on my knees planting onions in the garden. 

    A light mist was in the air, but it didn’t matter.

    All was silent

        … except for the birds... and squirrels

        … and the tinkle of the wind chime...

     I looked around…

     I saw five colorful little chickens 

         pecking around under the dogwood on my right…

     I saw the cat in the flowerbed filled with daffodils on my left…

     I saw the dog lying under the little red bench in front of me…

     …And was taken aback by this thought.

             ...It’s Someday…

     Someday I’ll have time.

     Someday I’ll have a lush garden.

     Someday I’ll have chickens in the yard.

     Someday I’ll have a row of daffodils and irises.

     Someday I’ll make my own schedule.

     Someday I’ll make time to notice the sky.

     Someday I’ll learn which birds make which sounds.

     Someday I’ll relax.

     I literally sat back, looked around, and thought,

        “Oh, my goodness… I’m living a poem..."

Oil Painting on 12" x 16" Wrapped Canvas

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Blowing Bubbles (Again!)

Let's try this again.

This an example of what happens when you want to be finished... you try to convince yourself it's fine... you focus on all the things that ARE right... "I love the bubbles and the shirt and the toes and the..." hoping the face will miraculously be become right too.
... sigh... 

When will I ever learn?

If you flip back and forth between the two, you'll see the little nips and tucks that made the difference.

* Reshaped the ear

* Moved the eye down and back

* Took some off the lips

* Skinnied up the neck

* Shaved off the chin

* Straightened the nose

* Backed up and softened the jawline

* Lowered and softened the brow

* Lightened the cheek

* Highlighted instead of shadowed the nose bridge

Goodness gracious!  Seems like I just made a whole new face!

I still love the bubbles and the shirt and the toes and... but now I love the face too.

I may sound a little like I'm giving a speech at the Oscars, but I have a few people to thank. First, my art friend Nelvia so gently let me know it wasn't quite finished. Next, my art partner Jolene helped me find each needed tweak during our weekly paint time. And of course my neice Bev trusted me to put her little one on canvas. Thanks, guys!

Next, I think I'll paint something low stress like maybe a lime.

Blowing Bubbles

If you've read even a few of my blog posts, you know that I love to paint stories; I love the story this painting tells. 

I'll begin with the main character.  Meet Judah. Judah is happy and independent and wants to do whatever the big kids are doing. He belongs to my beautiful niece Bev. 

She is the artist behind Inspired Traditions. (You must go visit her shop in late fall when she has all of her items listed.)   Bev and I have kind of a deal; I paint one of her kiddos, and she gives me one of her latest projects.  I think it's a win for both of us. 

You can see the paintings of those brothers and sister here:

Blow on It!" 

"Hello, Butterfly" 

"Peek-a-boo Pine"

Next... the setting.  Judah is sitting in front of one of the cabins at Lake Ouachita.  My family has stayed in those cabins every summer since his mama was a very little girl.

So many memories... so much family fun has happened on the sidewalks in front of those cabins over the years.

And finally the plot... the bubbles. Judah found the bubbles in his Lake Bag of goodies. (Every G4, Generation 4, cousin gets one.)   


Once he sat down and began to blow bubbles, I knew this would become his painting. 

 Original Oil Painting on 12"x 16" Wrapped Canvas.
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