Vacation Hat

Isn't she lovely!

When I see this picture, I hear Stevie Wonder's voice singing "Isn't She Lovely!"  from 1976!  Need a reminder?  Click and listen... it will take you back a few decades...

I loved working on this piece.  It just seemed to fall into place.  The hardest part was the skin... I'd never had to paint so much of it!  The key was to keep it from looking flat.  (I laughed that I'd never spend so much time studying an armpit!)  I had the same situation with the beach behind her.  Although it was flat, I needed it to have dimension.

I also played with manipulating parts of the piece - like fixing her necklace that was twisted.  Also, the scene behind her is actually what was in front of her.  That worked out fine until... I realized that the scene reflected in her sunglasses was the beach... the scene that was now behind her... confusing?  Yeah... So...  I just fuzzed out the reflection and called it done!

And, isn't she lovely?  No, wonder... her mother is my "Wedding Hat" lady!

And just for fun... she's also the mother of my "Li'l Punkin'" guy!

:) Smoky Mountains

No, I didn't paint this week...
But... I took many photos that may become paintings!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Little Fella in a Big Fedora

How do colors and shapes come together to make eyes, nose, cheeks, chins, wrinkles, and folds? 

Here's how I do it - one step at a time.  The hardest part is having faith - knowing that the "ugly stage" is normal and necessary - believing that it will come back together in the end.

Little Fisherman

What is a triptych?


I always wanted to try one of these three-paneled paintings.One of the hardest parts for me was choosing a picture that would work.  


This little fisherman has been the star of several of my paintings.  He was also in "Honk!" and in "Hello, Butterfly!"

Original Oil Painting on 6x12, 9x12, 6x12 Wrapped Canvases
[SOLD]

Wedding Hat

What does it take to be brave enough to wear a hat?

Isn't she lovely!  And best of all, she's not some random lovely lady, she's my very own sister.  I always kind of thought of her as my own Sister Maria (from The Sound of Music).  Maybe that was because she took care of me a lot when I was little or because I always thought she looked like Julie Andrews.


I experimented with several new challenges while painting this portrait.  
First of all, it was the first time I had tried combining two pictures.  In the original photograph, she was standing  in a department store - clothes racks didn't seem as pleasant as the lush tropical backdrop from the actual wedding. 

It was also the first time I'd dabbled in removing information - who wants to see reading glasses or price tags!    The last thing is that this was the first adult I'd tried to put on the canvas.  Although I like the finished product, I discovered that this was not my calling. 

Gulf Fritillary on Echinanea

Who doesn't love a butterfly?

A butterfly is the one insect that nobody wants to swat.  I've learned recently that butterfly populations are diminishing.  And, one of the reasons it's happening is because people keep their yards so manicured that butterflies can't find the weeds that they love to lay their eggs on.  This sounds like a good excuse to use for not mowing the lawn!

Thanks to my friend Lisa for letting me paint her gorgeous photograph. This little butterfly was enjoying himself on a flower in the Botanical Gardens of the Ozarks.

Orange Lilies

Tiger Lily  or Day Lily? 


Take your pick!  I love hardy flowers - those that come back year after year, that manage to survive and be stronger than the weeds, that are able to thrive without much attention. I guess that's why I've always been drawn to lilies. They grow and multiply and never to fail to announce that summer has finally come.

Click GREAT (and say that word like Tony the Tiger would say it!) to enjoy an Etsy treasury (collection of related vintage items and art pieces) celebrating all kinds of tigers - including these tiger lilies!

Red Barn in Springtime

What's right?  What's wrong?

Right... it's peaceful... the grass is green, the daffodils are blooming, the barn is red, the sky is blue...

Wrong... a real farmer's working barn would have old equipment all around... there would be cow poop surrounding the barn area... there would have been fences or else the animals would have trampled and eaten the daffodils...

So... I've lived the real-life one.  But, I love the idea of the beautiful (almost enchanted) one.  It would be a good place to set a story.  

Enjoy an Etsy treasury (collection of related art pieces) celebrating Pinks and Red or another celebrating Trees by clicking. Go to a horse-themed collection is titled Horseback Riding. Also enjoy My Springtime. Then have a look at other treasuries like Life in the Country..., Country Cozy or Country Sampler for a little bit of everything country.  Finally, stop by Spring Babies where each selection shares the same lovely spring green.

[SOLD]

Spiky Yellow Sunflower

             

What's the symbol of summer?

There are many, but surely the sunflower is one of them!

This one grew tall and beautiful in my garden until the squirrels couldn't stand it any longer and climbed up the stalk for a feast on its seeds.

Enjoy an Etsy treasury (collection of related art pieces and vintage items) named for and in created to celebrate the 

Sunflowers.

Pink Bearded Iris

How may colors do irises actually come in?


I grew up on a farm, so there was no time or effort wasted on frilly, persnickety flowers.  But one flower that thrived was the iris.  We had a long bed that stretched down the fence row.  It never required a thing.  Oh, how I'd love to have transferred that row of gorgeous irises to where I live now.
I mentioned it in my poem "I Am From Home" in an earlier entry.


This was painted for the June challenge on Studio Atelier.  It's always fun to see the different variations on the chosen image.  All the same, yet all different.

Dogwood

Do you have a favorite tree?

When we built our house, there was a scraggly tree right beside our deck. Our builder left it but warned us that it would probably die because of the trauma that building around it would have caused to its root system. But... it didn't die. And to our delight and surprise it gave us a show of fabulous dogwood blossoms the next spring and every spring since. A couple of winters ago, however, our part of Arkansas suffered a devasting ice storm that left many trees toppled and stripped of branches. We wondered if the damage had been too much for our faithful little dogwood. Sure enough, its blossoms were just as beautiful as always. It's a survivor!

Original Oil Painting on 9"x 12" Canvas Board
[SOLD]

Cabin in Greens & Purples

What's the view outside your window?

Do you think the pioneer that built this cabin knew what a fabulous scene would appear on the hillside every year?  Or do you think it was a big surprise that first summer when the purple flowers bloomed?

That thought was what drew me to this image.  It was done as the June challenge for A Day Not Wasted.  Have a look and enjoy the variety of styles... all the same, yet all different.

When we built our house it was summer.  When we moved in it was autumn, and we got the most wonderful surprise with the rich yellows, golds, and reds.  Then when the first spring came, we got an even bigger surprise when we discovered all the dogwoods blooming just outside our back window.

[SOLD]

Original Oil Painting on 12"x 16" Wrapped Canvas

Amelia*

How do you capture the person, not just the physical likeness?


How sweet is this little one!
Some parts of this painting came so easily for me.
For one, I learned that I love painting with purple - so uncomplicated!.  Just add white as needed... how simple!
Second, I learned that it's the imperfections that add to - not detract from - the story I want to paint... little wisps of hair sticking out here and there, a collar rolled over...


When I was given this commission, I had one overarching desire.  That was to honor who she was without emphasizing what she had.  The physical characteristics which are indicators of Downs Syndrome were a part of her, but they did not define her.  I so wanted to honor this little one through my humble brush strokes... a beautiful, sweet, happy child.

'[SOLD]

Ben's House

How can you keep stripes even?


I loved this technique.  I broke an old hair comb, clipped out every other tooth, then had my perfect tool to keep my boards evenly spaced.


I love simple little cheats!

Amy

How do you paint shades of red?


This was really my first attempt at red, and it was frustrating.  Adding white makes pink... not a lighter shade of red... hmmm... I learned that a light orange helped with the lights adding some purple helped with the darks.


And, then back to the paint recipe for flesh... Well, obviously what worked for Abby and for Tanner didn't work for Amy.  The other thing that was a huge lesson for me on these three paintings was having to study the differences in facial features.  Noticing is half the work.  On my very first painting lesson on February 22, 2007, my teacher said, "I want to teach you to see in a different way."  I love seeing things through a painter's eyes.

Purple Iris

How long does it take to see the silver lining?


I always love hardy flowers like daffodils, lilies,and irises, but this one has a special story. 
A friend gave me a box of iris bulbs as a house warming gift for the house we were building. Unfortunately, we moved in during the week of September 11, 2001. As every American knows, that was a tumultuous time for many reasons. There didn't seem to be time to think through the perfect spot for planting the iris bulbs. Finally I poked them in the ground on a hillside beside our little pond just so they wouldn't dry up and be wasted. 
Every spring after that their flags (leaves) grew up strong and healthy, but never was a single bud or flower produced.
Then two years ago our part of the country suffered the worst ice storm in history. Our beautiful trees were broken and mangled. It took the summer to get the limbs cleaned up. The canopy of limbs was sparse to say the least.
But... surprise... the next spring the irises bloomed and were fabulous! 
The loss of tree limbs was the opportunity for sun that the irises had been patiently waiting 10 years for.


Visit Spring Irises or  Awesome Finds From Arkansas to enjoy an Etsy treasury (collection of vintage items and art pieces) that celebrates purple!  Or visit I Is For.  It's a clever collection of things that begin with the letter i.  And, of course, you have to see Stunning Iris Displays!


Click to purchase "Purple Iris."

Baby Under the Blanket

When do you use your artistic license?

I believe that it was in working on this painting that I discovered I had an artistic license, and I was allowed to use it!  Very freeing!


This sweet little baby had a right hand that was giving me fits!  There's no telling how long I spent trying to get those little fingers right.  Finally my teacher suggested using my artistic license to pull that blanket down a little further and cover them up.  What a thought! No one would ever know the difference, and I could sign my name and be finished.


FYI... this little one grew up to be my "A,B,C,D...E!" girl and the picture for the very first blog entry I ever did.


You can purchase a giclee of "A,B,C,D...E!" by clicking the title.