To Church We Go... Again

Can I have that back?

That's not a question I often ask after delivering a painting to its new owner... but I did this time.

I already wrote about how I came to do this painting on a blog post from April 5th. The Pop in this painting is my brother; we share a birthday, and I thought I'd make this a gift for him.  As it turned out, my niece (the mother of these two little ones) was visiting when I went to deliver the painting.  To make a long story short, I said I'd just whip up another one... Oh, if only it were that easy!  I always think it will be for some reason

Actually, it wasn't too hard, but although they were supposed to look exactly alike, I liked the second one sooooooooo much better.

So, I just asked for the first one back.

I wiped out the Nana's face and made it fuller which made her look happier.

I straightened her front leg which made her look thinner.

I thickened her back calf which made her stand straighter and look younger.

I added a vertical fold in the fabric of her blouse which made her seem to stand straighter.

Then I went to work on the Pop.

I added some to the top of his head which made his head not look so squished.

Then I went back to work on the second one after seeing what was better in the first.

I added some bright to the sun-side folds of his pants. 

I straightened the roof line of the church.

And I finished out the last tree.

Then I let Pop choose his favorite to take back home.

Which do you think he chose?

Sunset Silhouette

How long does the sunset last?

Actually, I Googled that.  Apparently that depends on where you live.  A sunset lasts between two and twenty minutes. 

I live in a forested area, so we don't get to see sunsets very often.  But, what a treat when you happen to be in the right place at the right time!

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Summer Color

What color is summer?

Summer is greeeeeeeeeeeen! 

And, sometimes in summer we get lucky enough to see lots of colors all in one place.

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Lily

How could I forget this little face?

I painted her a long time ago... back when I was just beginning and learning about teeth and hair and folds in clothes and wrinkles in skin and shapes of eyes and making arms look round.

Somehow she never got to star in her own blog post... 
Better late than never!
What a cutie!

:) My Marcia

My Marcia...
My sister-in-law... my sister-in-heart...
My biggest fan...
My biggest supplier of inspiration...
I will miss you so...

My first Etsy sale as WordWeaverArt... sits in your kitchen window...

My first attempt at a painting a baby... your sweet Abby...

My first attempt at painting folded cloth and adding shaded areas... your sweet Eve...

My first attempt at glass... you said its colors were perfect... it needed to hang in your bathroom...

You loved your giclee for  over a year... Then you saw the original... We traded... I sold the giclee instead... 

That first baby growing up... Your Abby

A housewarming surprise when you moved to NW Arkansas...  Listed as "Feeding the Ducks,"  but I wanted to call it "Celebrating Life" for the good times of enjoying life after chemo...Memaw with her Eve...

Just down the road from you...hung in your living room all year round even though it had Christmas stockings

Your Jacob...

Wearing your favorite blue... bigger now... your Eve...

Although it's still "for sale"... it hangs on your wall while it waits... your Jacob...

Pretty little flower girls... just did it to sell... permanent loan wasn't enough on this one... sold several giclees... original in your living room...

A big surprise... it was supposed to be about the little one... you made me go back and 
un-fix Anthony's pointer finger to paint it with the crook... your Gideon...

Your Leah...

Your Stephen...

Painted once for me... again for her mama... again for her Memaw...Your Leah...

Your Leah...

The picture you always say is your favorite... that you hope doesn't sell for a long time... that you refuse to take home with you because you like to see it when you come here...

How blessed are we to have had you for a sister...

Three Silly Goats Gruff

What made you smile this week?

These goats, especially the guy on the end, have made me smile every time I looked at them.  Once that one, Percy, was finished, it was hard to concentrate on the other two.  He just kept grinning at me and my paintbrush.  He's become my friend, and I just may have to paint him again!

Hmmm... What else...?

• Painting with my Tuesday-night painting friends... It's the best thing ever to have friends who paint together, encourage each other and laugh a lot.
• Watching my 10-year olds work so hard on their state tests... They couldn't have tried harder, and I'm so proud of them!
• Going to our church children's choir spring musical... 
• Seeing the daffodils by the driveway that finally got to bloom...
• Taking a selfie with my momma.
• Seeing the Facebook post of my nephew hugging his little girl on his return from Afghanistan.

A big thank you goes out to "Southern Gal" for letting me paint her goats, Gabby, Gladys, and Percy!  Visit her blog to read about and see more pictures of these goats and their babies.

Original Oil Painting on 12"x 16" Wrapped Canvas
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To Church We Go!

Do you ever paint your family?

All the time!  It's just that I have all these good looking brothers and sisters who've provided me with all these beautiful nieces and nephews who have given us all these adorable kiddos!  

The pop here just happens to be "Little Curt"... only a little older. :)
And the big brother was the star of "Mama's Kiss" a few years ago. :)

This is another example knowing I wanted to paint this from the first minute I saw it.  When my niece posted this picture, I immediately told her how much I loved it.  She told me the picture's story which was even better than I'd imagined.  They were on their way to Christmas Eve services.  My reaction?  "Oh, Katie!  I love that... but do you have to live in San Francisco!  Could we pretend you live in Wisconsin so there would be snow?  Maybe your church could be a little white wood building with a steeple on top? And, there could be twinkling lights in the trees?"  But, no... that's a different story.  I love this one just the way it is.

This is also another example of me getting myself in trouble by trying to change things.  There was originally a large space between them; the nana and the little one were actually quite a bit further behind the other two.  I knew I'd have to deal with the shadows, but I didn't think further.  By moving them closer together, it messed up the placement of where the trees fell. Although unexpected, that one wasn't too hard.  The big problem came after I realized that the two in front were smaller because they'd have been farther away.  Unfortunately, I didn't catch that little issue until after I was quite a ways into the painting... Anyway, after a little time of depression over it, I got back to it.  Some things are worth the trouble.

Although I've never seen this little church, I am so thankful for it.  It welcomed my own "little one" into its open arms when he moved to California last year. :)

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Flower of the Sun

When will warm weather come?

We had 13 snow days this winter!  And, that doesn't count the weekend wintry days!  It doesn't count the number of inside recesses we had due to cold or rainy weather either.

I'm ready for some summery days and thought painting something summery might help.

My dad grew this sunflower.  He grew two or three rows of them.  He thought he'd make his own bird food.  Well, he did... but it didn't work out like he thought.  Once the seeds in the middle of the flowers matured, the birds helped themselves.

Click Flower of the Sun if you'd like to purchase this little painting.

:) Happy 50th to Me!

A selfie in the Tetons!

The Cat and His Boy

Who's got your back?

What a sweet and peaceful image of a comfortable friendship!  I think that Cody THE Cat has got his friend T.J.'s back here.  

As I was thinking of a just-right title for this painting, I kept coming back to the friendship and the fact that the cat seemed to be responsible for, watching over, protecting the little one.  It reminded me of Nana the big Newfoundland dog who was the children's nursemaid in Peter Pan.  Then I thought of the fifth book from The Chronicles of Narnia, The Horse and His Boy.  It fits. This cat does not seem to believe he belongs to the boy; in this cat's mind, the boy is his.

Cody THE Cat showed up at my sister's family's farm and pretty much took on the role as overseer of all who come and go there.

I'm kind of a fan of every inch of this canvas.  

I was worried about getting enough depth in the background, so I started at the back and worked my way forward.  It's always a little scary (and exciting as I get more confident in my own abilities that it will work) to put a line of trees on top of a perfectly beautiful sky.  Then again, to set bigger more detailed trees down right on top what's already a lovely line of autumn trees and bushes.  Then again, again, to put that dark shadowy line at the base of what was a really nice background. Whew!

When I tackled the water, I took the opposite approach.  I started at the front or bottom and moved back or up.  I created nice water with the ripples and movement.... sigh...  it takes a deep breath and some confidence to put brown lines and smudges of golds and rusts and greens in the water.  Then once the color is there, to rake it back and forth to make it look ripply takes an even deeper breath and a self reminder that it can be completely painted over and redone when / if it gets completely ruined. When it worked out, I thought I'd feel relief, but I felt more disbelief... Whew! 

One step at a time... adding sticks and weeds... tedious... then a pole... bright red... and straight across my pretty ripples... excruciating!  
Who says painting is relaxing?  And, what are they painting anyway?

The next challenge was in color.  T.J.'s shirt was actually blue, the same blue as the pond.  And Cody THE Cat was practically camouflaged as he was the same color as the leaves!  I took a few liberties there (a.k.a. cheated).  I didn't think either would mind.

How odd that the easiest part of this painting was the little fella at the center of it all.

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Cardinal in Winter

Did you just make that up?

I don't usually make things up in my paintings.  I pretty much paint what I see.  Whenever I start making things up, it usually leads to trouble - shadows don't match, proportions are off, colors don't agree... I'm rarely successful  with painting from my mind.

I finished this little bird once.  It looked just like the photograph... and it looked awful, just wrong... as if I'd made something up.

The snow on the branch was so thick that it looked fake.  The blank space around the little cardinal looked unfinished.  The angle of the limb didn't make any sense. The little guy had his eyes closed. His back feathers looked drab. So... I took a completely finished and dry painting and started making things up.  
- I gave him a little slit of an eye.
- I grew a few little background twigs in front of and behind him.
- I scraped off a couple of inches of show.
- I skinnied up the main branch.
- I added some purple to his dark feathers on top.

Then I signed my name.

It's been a harsh winter here in Northwest Arkansas.  We've had some beautiful snows.

Click "Cardinal in Winter" to purchase this little painting.

Mama Cow

What just happened?

Surprise!  
A baby!  
She has a brand new baby!
So sweet!
She hadn't even had time to lick the little thing all over yet.

I wish I could say she was happy to show off her little calf, smile her little bovine smile to show her pride in the little thing.

But the truth is, I think she was down right annoyed that I was staring, coming too close, clicking pictures.

I just couldn't help it.  You don't get to see a newborn too often.

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:) Happy Art-Birthday to Me

It's been seven years...
I took my first art lesson seven years ago.
I kept painting.
Eventually I called myself a painter.
I kept painting.
Finally I call myself an artist.

:)
Here's to those first "Summer Trees."

What Rhymes with Orange?

What rhymes with orange?

Nothing!

Some words are annoying; they refuse to rhyme!
It shouldn't be allowed; it should be a crime!

Roses are red, violets are purple...
... hmmm
Roses are red, lilies are orange...
...nothin'
Roses are red, bells are silver...
...uhhh
Roses are red, a poem has rhythm...
...nope...
Roses are red, of course, what else...
... but
Roses are red, a ring is a circle...
... uh
Roses are red, like beautiful music...
... un-uh
Roses are red, like the heart of a woman...
... really
Roses are red, I'll smile for a month...
... still no
Roses are red, so don't cause chaos...
... forget it

Roses are red, violets are blue,
Words that rhyme are the ones I'll stick to.

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Lime Slices

Do you Pinterest?

I'm not addicted, but I look around every so often.  You never know what tip you might come across!  

One of my favorite Pinterest  posts was for "lime cubes." I bought a bag of limes at Sam's (so you know it was a huge bag 'cause everything from Sam's comes in huge quantities). These limes were gorgeous so I took a bunch of pictures of them. ("Splash of Lime" was the first painting to come from this bag.) Next, I cut them and squeezed all the juice into ice trays. Now, when I want a little lime flavor, I just add a lime cube!  Thanks Pinterest!  

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Red Barn & Wheelbarrow in Winter II

Do you like re-runs?

I do... IF... it's something I loved the first time around. 
If it's an episode of  Big Bang Theory or Andy Griffith or The Cosby Show, it doesn't matter how many times I've seen it; I'm happy to watch it again.
There are a few movies that I can watch again and again like When Harry Met Sally or It's a Wonderful Life or The Grinch; it doesn't matter if I have half the lines memorized.


So, that thought brings me to this painting...

... a re-run.

But, I loved it the first time, and I love it again - this time on a smaller canvas.
When my little Tuesday evening painting group wanted to paint a red barn, I gave it another go along with them.

I have to say, however, that between the painting of snow and the snow that has caused us to miss 8 snow days of school already this winter, I'm ready to paint something warmer! :) 

Original Oil Painting on 12"x 16" Wrapped Canvas
Click "Red Barn & Wheelbarrow in Winter" if you'd like to purchase this painting.

Splash of Lime

What did you have in mind?

This is not what I had in mind... I bought a bag of limes, and when I dumped them into a bowl, I thought they were gorgeous.  I set up some for still life references and took a bunch of photographs.  One was just a few slices on my cutting board... scatter of circles I decided to do first.

Once finished it was flat, the stripes of the cutting board that you could see made no sense.  So, I decided a nice light cool blue would make the limes pop; it looked like some giant lime balloons floating through the sky. I almost never paint with blue, and I had a blob of it on my palette that had been just sitting there for a while.  It seemed like a good choice.  Nope... nothing; I added some white in one corner and some dark blue in the other.  At that point, the limes popped, but it made no sense at all.  
Then...
I picked it up by the darker "side" so show it to my husband. Odd, I didn't paint it vertically, but it made me smile... Ok, so weird, but imagined the sugar-plum dream from The Nutcracker and the line "while visions of sugar-limes danced in their heads" from Twas the Night Before Christmas. Hmmmm....interesting... I took it by the lighter "side" and thought of Jimmy Buffet looking for his lost shaker of salt... kind of dreamy, made my mouth water for something sour.  Who knew... I love it!


Wonder how it all started?  Yeah, it came a long way...

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Good Mornin' Glory!

How do you decide what to paint?

I get asked that question a lot. Well, if someone commissions me to paint something, that's one way.  If my little painting group is painting something, I do that with them.  When I come across an image that I absolutely love, I put a picture of it in a folder called "Possibilities" on my computer.  Sometimes, I go to that folder and shop around for something I still love.  

So, why did I do this one?  ...because I needed a break from the stress of painting humans. ...because green and purple are my favorite colors ... because it's odd and different.

I wanted to experiment with the loose type of painting that I see artists using... thick blotchy paint... smears of color scraped on with a palette knife... 
...yeah... so that didn't work out for me, did it...

Click Good Mornin' Glory! if you'd like to purchase this painting.

We'll Just Have Salad III

Is this deja vu?

No, I didn't accidentally post these gals again.  The ladies are back for yet another encore!  There must be something about those patient eyes that make people want to look again and again.  (You can read what I wrote the other times by clicking We'll Just Have Salad and then We'll Just Have Salad II.)

You would think I'd have this down by the third time, but nope... still had challenges to work through, especially with the black cow.  I miss having a teacher who can just say, "Use cerulean blue instead of white," or "Try moving her eye sparkle to the other side," or "Look at the sides of her nose again," or "Maybe a white eyelash with an upward twist."  Sometimes I miss painting with you each week so much, Cheri!

So, anyway...
Look at the difference a few tiny changes makes!
Isn't she friendlier now!

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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.  

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