Working Puzzles

We have 6 beautiful grandbabies. The youngest is about to turn 1, and the oldest hasn't turned 5 yet. We are blessed  beyond measure.

We love to have all 6 here together. There is lots of chasing and squealing when we do.

One family of three has blue eyes. The other family of three has brown eyes.  We call them our Browns and our Blues.

We love to have one family at a time here. We have routines that they know, love, and expect.

And we love to have time with just one by himself or herself sometimes. 

This little sweetheart is the 4th in our line up. She's my little puzzle worker.

My weekly-ish challenge was "Toys." Puzzles are toys, so I met the challenge... and added a little person too! 

 

Original Oil Painting on 10"x 10" Wrapped Canvas
[NFS]

A Miracle Named Millie

It's a happy day when I get an e-mail that begins with 

Hello, do you remember me? 

You did a painting for me a few years ago and I was hoping you could do another.

Well, of course I remember! What an honor to be remembered and asked again! 

When she reminded me of which painting, Someone to Watch Over Me, it all came back. Oh, yeah! This is the girl who wanted the painting with so many things that were symbolic or meaningful for a specific reason... 

Could you make the little girls overalls pink? Could you make it a fall scene outside? Could you put hearts on her shirt? Oh, and there needs to be a woodpecker somewhere in the painting...

My brain said, Ummm... Uhhhh...   My fingers typed, Of course, I can!  I'd love to. Then I immediately wondered what I had gotten myself into and wondered how I could pull it off.  But, I did meet that challenge and sent her a lovely meaningful painting that I LOVED doing.

So now she wanted another. Yay!

It's the same cat as before but the little girl is the little sister to the first one. Could you put gold hearts on the wall in the background? Could there be rainbows on the her shirt? Could my mum's special heart quilt be included? Oh, and there needs to be a woodpecker somewhere in the painting...

My brain again with the Ohhh... Ummmm... My fingers again typed, Of course, I can! I'd love to. Then again wondered what I had gotten myself into and wondered how this could even be done.  I told her that I'd need to think on how to do it, and she replied with more confidence in me than I had in myself.  Encouragement is a magical thing, isn't it.

I don't know exactly what all the symbolism means, but I know each request was important and for a reason. I LOVED doing it.

Original Oil Painting on 11"x 14" Wrapped Canvas

[SOLD]
 

A Good Book to Read

A patch of sunlight...

A favorite quilt...

A quiet corner...

A good book to read...

What more could you want?

I painted this for the weekly art challenge "Looking Down."  I think the intent was probably to paint something from the perspective from above, but I went with the subject looking down. I love this image (and this little one).

Original Oil Painting on 12"x 16" Wrapped Canvas

[NOT FOR SALE]

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]

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.
[GIFT]

The Swing

When I finish a painting, I'm usually ready to hand it off to its new owner before it's even dry.
But, I'm going to enjoy this one as long as I can.  I used a palette knife and lots of paint.  I can't wait til it's dry so I can touch the rough bark on that tree trunk, run my fingers over the tall grass, feel the wispy leaves of  willow-like tree...

Original Oil Painting - 24"x 36" 
[SOLD]

Snow Day

What is it about a face?

Our eyes are automatically drawn to eyes.  Even the infants I take care of in our church nursery each week look directly into my eyes.  Why is that? There are plenty of other interesting things to look at!

It's the same way with a painting.   As I worked on this one, I was pleased all along the way.  I loved being able to create the cold wintry feeling of the sky.  I loved the line snowy evergreens and the scruffy bushes in front of them.  I loved how the house and its drive set down in the background - important yet blending in. I loved the shape of the pond.  I loved the colors  in the snow that keep it from being a flat white.  I loved the wrinkles in the clothes, the little one's hat, his hands, and his attitude... but if the momma's face wasn't right, none of the other things mattered.  

I tried to believe all that other stuff was important. I signed it and went to bed thinking it would be fine; but for some reason I didn't clean up my paint palette.  I guess I knew... if I didn't love the 2-3 square inches of canvas with eyes, nose, mouth, cheeks, teeth, eyebrows, chin... none of the rest mattered. 

So... armed with a tiny brush, a Coke, and some determination, I turned the painting upside down (so I would focus on shapes and colors instead of "face") and gave it one more hour. 

Every feature was in the right place... so what was it?  The tiniest stroke off the nose, the least highlight on the chin, barely a stroke on the edge of the smile, a faint lightening of the eyelid, slight shading on the cheek,  The difference is so slight... and so important... 

Now... I love the face...

As a side note... I've loved that pretty face since I first met her when she was a bright-eyed 9-year old in my class.  

[SOLD}

Almost Home

What's this story behind this?

I always want to know the story.  A painting without a story is... well, for me it's just missing a crucial element.

Making up a story can be just as good as knowing the real story though.
So... what do you think?

A.  Little Tucker wandered across the field to see if his favorite neighbor had made any of his favorite cookies lately.  She had, and he got one.  But then she had to walk him home to face his worried mother.

B. Little Tucker couldn't wait to try out his brand new camouflage boots.  Aunt Victoria took him on a hike across the field to see if they really did make his feet disappear in the grass.

C.Little Tucker and his mom took a carrot or an apple into the pasture every morning when they went to pet Grandpa's horse.

Which one do you think it is?

Last weekend I got to visit my daughter and son-in-law, and they took me to the Smithsonian National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C.  I loved it!   (at least I loved 3/4 of it.... I can get enough of the other 1/4, art from the 13th-16th century, in a hurry.)
I caught my self asking questions about the story behind the paintings..  "What were these people thinking?  Why would the artist choose to paint this scene?  Who do you suppose these people were?  (Yes, I realize that I could probably Google the answers to some of these questions, take an art history class, or read an art book.  But, we kind of enjoyed making up the stories.

[SOLD]

 "Japanese Footbridge" - Monet
Do you think Mr. Monet walked across that bridge every day?  
Did he plant those waterlilies just so he could paint them?
Did they just show up one year and surprise everybody, so they called up their friend Claude to come over and bring a canvas and some brushes?

"Girl with a Watering Can" - Renoir
Who was this little girl?  
Do you think she was hot in those long sleeves and that lace?
How did she know Mr. Renoir?
Did Pierre-Auguste put snacks in that little watering can to bribe her to keep still?

"Lake Luceren" - Bierstadt
Was this scene just part of Mr. Bierdstadt's neighborhood?
Did he have to wait for the season and weather to be just right?
How did Albert manage a canvas that big?

"Green Plums" -  Decker
What's a green plum?
Did Mr. Decker pick these from his own tree?
Are you sure, Joseph, that they aren't just apples?
(By the way... I loved this simple painting more than any other in the museum...)

"Banks of the Seine, Vétheuil - Monet
Sorry, Mr. Monet... Your painting is lovely, but not nearly as lovely as the young lady in purple standing with me... :)





So... if you really want to know which is the real story behind "Almost Home".... It's "B" 

Apple of My Eye

Where did that phrase come from?

Here's your figurative language lesson for the day... "The apple of my eye" is an old phrase - used by Shakespeare in Midsummer Night's Dream and in the Old Testament of the Bible.  The apple was the most widely common spherical shape.  It was used as a symbol to refer to the pupil of the eye which was important yet vulnerable and in need of protection, the eyelid.  It is thought that the object or person would would be looked upon with such love and devotion that the entire pupil would be filled with the image so that there was no room to see anything else.  

"Apple of My Eye" - definition - Exceedingly precious .... I believe that's a pretty good phrase to describe this little one.  

One day maybe we'll put a hat on this sweetie and paint her again like her momma in Vacation Hat or her gramma in Wedding Hat.

One of my favorite books is Dictionary of Word Origins: A History of the Words, Expressions, and Cliches We Use by Jordan Almond.  Yeah... I know, I'm kind of weird, but I think learning the history and origins of figurative language is pretty interesting to learn about... :)

[SOLD]

Annabelle & Her Kitty

What do you suppose they're looking at?

I love it when an in image leads me to wonder, ask a question, then use my imagination... 
However you choose to make the story go, it begins with a little girl and her kitty watching... watching...

[SOLD]

The Playroom

When is finished... finished?

I hadn't painted a child in a while, and I couldn't wait to start this little one.  It was one of those images that I knew as soon as I saw it, that I wanted to put the story on canvas.  

At first it came together quickly, and I even signed me name once it made me smile.  But, for some reason, I'm having a hard time calling it finished.

From the very beginning, I started making changes -- not a good plan for a beginner like me... She was wearing a whitish shirt,holding a whitish,  with a white rocking chair, in front of a white wall, so I felt ok with adding some color there, but it became like the domino effect -- each change required another change.  
Her bow was red to match the pattern in her shirt, but now I had to change the bow to match the purple shirt.  The string of Mardi Gras beads were purple, but now I had to change them to keep from overdoing purple.  I changed the book to yellowish, but then it looked just like her hair.  At one point It was "finished" but looked plain like a JCPennys portrait, so I asked the little one's mom to take a picture of the chair with some of her favorite toys scattered around, and she did send several choices.  That presented the next obstacles that no one but a struggling painter would need to fret over.  Since the photos of the toys weren't taken at exactly the same time of day, the shadows were all wrong to match the existing shadows on the painting.  Then where to put them so they'd look scattered not placed. (Well, I knew right away where to place the ball - right in front of the rocker that I never could get to look right anyway!) Of course, her favorite ball just had to be purple - oh well, bluish would have to be close enough. Why didn't I plan this out before I started? I could have given her a pink shirt!  Finally in a bold act, I got out some green and bright orange and made that book into Go Dog Go!  That's just a favorite of mine.
At that point, it made me smile every time I looked at the painting.  I signed my name.
Then I showed her to a couple of people.  My daughter, who is usually very helpful and spot on with helping me find errors that need to be fixed said, "Something's not right about her eyes.  Why are they closed?"  They're not closed!  She's just looking down!  Then another relative asked, "Who's the little girl supposed to be?" Not good... if the question has to be asked, then something's not right...
So... when is finished finished? 
I loved the story this image presented... a little one surrounded by her things... it made me smile.
But now, I've tossed the canvas onto the table beside all of yesterday's mail and last week's bills... sigh... Do I go back and work on it?  Or, do I go back to the time when she just made me smile and let her hang on a wall?

[SOLD]

Hello, Buttterfly

How long do you think this little one had to be still to get a monarch to flutter so close?

Original Oil Painting on 16"x 12" Wrapped Canvas.
[SOLD]
Contact me if you'd like a giclee or print in another size.

First Snow

What do you suppose these two little ones were thinking as they looked out their window to see a blanket of white?

Aren't they sweet!

"First Snow" has been featured in several Etsy treasuries.  (A treasury is a collection of related art pieces or vintage items.)  What an honor to know that this little image has made people smile in so many different ways.
The curator of a Groundhog's Day treasury must have thought the little ones were looking for Mr. Groundhog, and I bet they were!  Click Groundhog... Please Come Out and Play Today.
There are two treasuries that celebrate dogs in Dog Days of Summer, and another Dog Days of Summer.
 Little Girls' World is a treasry about little girls and their best friends.
Another is also called First Snow.

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

"First Snow" can be purchased in several forms.
Contact me if you'd like to purchase this image as a giclee, a print, or note cards.

Blow on It!

I wonder who decided that the dandelion would be a weed instead of a flower. I'm pretty sure that this little one believes she's holding a flower.

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

"Blow on It!" can be purchased in several forms and sizes.
Contact me if you'd like to purchase this image as a giclee, a print, or note cards.

Honk!

What is this little guy thinking?

What are these geese thinking?

Is it a confrontation or a game?

Are they interested or annoyed?

I like to think that they're just getting to know each other. Maybe the geese are teaching the little guy a few goose words. I want to believe that they even understand each other for those few magical minutes.

I love the process of painting.

First comes choosing the subject. For me it has to be an image that stands alone to tell a story. That's followed by deciding on the best canvas size, drawing in a few key shapes, and blocking in some color. Like most kids, paintings have to go through an ugly stage. Maybe this is when they (both the kids and the paintings) need the most love! I do love that ugly stage. I've learned to trust that eventually blobs of color will take shape and empty spots on the canvas will become forms. The frustrating part comes when it seems right, but there's just something not right. For a second opinion, I hold it up to a mirror... oh, the shadows are missing or going the wrong way! Or, I look at a photograph of it on a computer screen... oh, there are no highlights! Or, I show it to my painting mentor... oh, yeah, the edges are too harsh! Finally it just needs to be left alone and not looked at. I think that's when the painting fairies sneak in and... voila...

The funny thing for me is that once a painting is finished and I've given the satisfied sigh... I'm over it and ready to move on. I'm ready to sell it or give to some who wants to enjoy it. I want to have an excellent product, but it's the process that I crave more of.

"Honk!" has been a little different, however. I still love looking at it and imagining what was going through the little minds of that little boy and that gaggle of geese!

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