He's My Friend - SOLD

  My assistant is a wonderful dog named Max.  Max is full of energy at times and he encourages me to walk.  He also will just sleep at my feet while I am painting and he provides great company.  Pets can make us happy.  There is actually a growing body of scientific research that shows that our pets can also make us healthy, or healthier.

That helps explain the increasing use of animals - dogs and cats mostly, but also birds, fish and even horses in settings ranging from hospitals and nursing homes to schools, jails and mental institutions.  

Though one might not immediately think of goats as a logical choice as a pet, these animals surprisingly exhibit many character traits that make them wonderful animal companions.  They are intelligent and curious animals and having one as a pet can be a truly enriching and wonderful endeavor.  

A friend provided the reference photo for this painting of her father and his pet goat.  I loved the interaction, the colors, the emotion and the relationship it displayed.  I hope I was able to convey that in this painting.

Then and Now - SOLD

A friend asked me to combine two of my paintings into one.  Two ladies standing beside each other on the beach, two who could actually be the same person.  Back "then" (the lady on the left) might have had a little firmer body, maybe more height and darker hair.  Today (now, on the right) she might look a little different but we she is still the same in many ways. Hopefully more wise, more patient and has a better understanding of what life is all about. There is nothing more peaceful than standing beside the ocean at whatever age.  

Three Wise Men - SOLD

Someone recently purchased my three ladies on the beach and asked me to paint another painting to go along with that one but this time consider painting men.  I take a lot of pictures on the beach during the summer so  I found a couple of men and created a composition that reminds me of men on the beach standing in the waves talking about?????   Well, in my experience it is football.

He Came - Gift

I feel so fortunate to have the opportunity to paint for others during this Season.  I have been asked to paint children, grandchildren, churches, animals and Christmas trees.  I am honored.  When someone tells me that my art "touches" them - well, that is the highest compliment.  This painting is my gift to give back. This was a give away on my Facebook page.  I give away a painting every month or so.  Please visit....Marcia Hodges, Artist on FB.

The wonderful story of Christ coming to earth to save us and bring everlasting peace.  What a gift!

Merry Christmas to all.

Feels Like Home- SOLD

For many of us there are special churches in our lives that just feel like we are "home" when we walk in.   Peace, quiet safety and the presence of God are there.

Oh Christmas Tree - SOLD

The Magic of Santa - SOLD

Santa Claus is full of magic.

Christmas Angel - SOLD

Sometime I am drawn to a reference photo in such a way that I feel compelled to paint it.  Even when I have several Christmas commissions to complete and I am dedicated to doing that.  I saw this photo on Pixabay and really just wanted to paint it today.  I wonder if any other artist feel this way ----that your painting illicits some feeling or memory from your childhood or maybe it is being painted for someone else who will react to it emotionally.  Whatever the reason, it is almost mystical and it makes it even better when someone writes to me and tells me that a particular painting "touches them".  I am really thankful for that. 

Mills - SOLD

This little guy belongs to the cutest family!  There are four boys and I have had the honor of painting each one of them.  The oldest of the crew is living in Haiti and has been since his birth.  Both of his biological parents died and he was adopted by the Junkin family.  It has been a long, hard road to get him home.  If you would be interested in making a contribution to assist with the final steps to get him home to to family, please contact me at paintingbythelake@gmail.com

You're A Dear

Teaching art to my grandkids today and we are working on loose interpretations of our favorite animals.  I love to see the deer in my backyard except when they are eating my monkey grass.

Prayer Warrior

Angels Everywhere - NFS

I am having a Thankful luncheon next week for some of the most amazing women in my life.  Women I have had the pleasure of knowing for 2 - 35 years.  Each one of them are special to me and have traveled along side me in my life journey.  I am creating an angel for each one of them with a message on the back from their angels.  A few are below.  I am going to use these smaller versions as ideas for larger paintings after Christmas.

You Said You're Going to Do What?

This is Serious But We Can do it

I've Got This

I Am Waiting on Your Next Move

I Remember You - SOLD

I recently was asked to paint a picture of a friend's father and I was so touched by the story and the reference photo.  The man in the photo is battling with the terrible disease of Alzheimer's.  This terrible disease makes it hard to remember recent events and can sometimes cause a person to feel disoriented and withdrawn.  There is no treatment that can stop or reverse its progression, though some may temporarily improve symptoms.  This gentleman loves his chickens and finds joy in their companionship.  I so hope this painting displays that and is a reminder that he is still the same man he always was.

Tripp - SOLD

What is cuter than a little guy who loves baseball!

Ring Around the Roses - SOLD

A Dozen Roses - SOLD

My husband came home with a dozen roses for me this week for no reason.  Smart man!

Ann Margaret and Ford - SOLD

One Happy Single Girl - SOLD

I am so fortunate to have several commissions to work on for Christmas and many times before I start a large painting, I will complete a small work just to play with colors and shapes.  This morning I also had work to do in the yard.  Every rose bush has had a trim and I salvaged four little roses.  I placed one in my favorite white vase to sit on my desk and it kept screaming to me, "Paint me!"  The other 3 said "Good Bye" as they are definitely the last of the season.  

6" x 6" on board

Cat Woman

The DPW challenge this week is to paint a feline friend.  I do not know cats very well as I am allergic to them so I cannot get up close and personal but I do love to watch them from a distance.  I love the way the walk (or stalk) and the almost shy way they come up and rub up against your leg.  I think their eyes are so expressive and I often wonder what they are thinking behind those fixed stares.  

I read that cats have distinct personalities depending on how much of each trait they possess.  They can be affectionate and sociable, sociable and chatty, the movie star, 
shy and aloof loners or the leader of the pack.  According to the definitions I think this Cat Woman is the leader of the pack.  Described as acutely intelligent with a takeover personality and is not a lap cat.  This personality will investigate newcomers, people or other animals to make sure they are up to their standards.  The look on her face tells me she is a pack leader.

Cow Girls - SOLD

I have several commissions to complete and have my canvases ready and ideas flying around my head but there are times I just need to paint without a serious agenda to just "loosen up" and be free with the brush so that I can carry that attitude into a more serious painting.  That helps keeps freshness and lack of "fussiness" out of my brush.  The challenge at Daily Paintworks this week was to paint cows and try to capture their personalities.  I really liked these three I found on Paint my Photo by Joke Rietveld.  I felt they truly had personalities.

I'm Just A Mess - SOLD

This weekend we went to the Farmer's Market, Pepperplace in Birmingham.  I love all the fresh vegetables and the mason jars of wildflowers.  I used these wildflowers with my pumpkin painting earlier and almost let them wilt before I painted their portrait alone.  They were dropping little pieces of pollen and small leaves all over my desk and I was painting using several colors and no gloves.....so we both were "just a mess".

Pumpkin In the Wildflowers - SOLD

I love Fall and I love all the colors, pumpkins, wildflowers, cool weather and expectation of the new season.

Pelican Pete - SOLD

Mountain Village - SOLD

Another painting from Telluride Colorado.  This little scene was only maybe a mile from our house.  We had limited time so these factors seem to help with the freshness of the scene and limited strokes.

Aspen Sunday

I just returned from a  week long trip to Telluride Colorado with 4 friends.  We painted with a  friend and fellow artist from Telluride, Julee Hutchison.  It was such a grand experience enjoying the wondrous views and it made the time special to be with such great artists and to be with one who knew where the most picturesque sites could be found.  Plein air painting does have it's challenges though.  The first day we spent hours finding "the perfect spot".  In that perfect spot, a gust of wind caught several of our easels.  My easel fell over, my umbrella broke and my painting landed face down in the dirt.  Not to mention I was suffering from Altitude sickness.  Even with those frustrations, how could I not marvel at the beauty all around.  We painted one day adjacent to Ralph Lauren's land, Tom Cruises' home and many little areas where John Wayne filmed.  This painting was one I did near a field of aspen trees. 

Lovin' Life - SOLD

This commission was requested by the wife of this young man who is turning 80!  He does not look like he is 80 years old (whatever that looks like) but he does look like someone who knows how to enjoy life.  

Kissed by a Butterfly

I have a very artistic friend who takes amazing photos.  She waited patiently for a butterfly to land on one of her flowers and she was successful in capturing a beautiful moment.  I am so thankful Marsha Thomas would allow me to use her photo to create my interpretation of being kissed by a butterfly.

True Love - SOLD

Love Song - SOLD

I love a good love song! 

Mercy - SOLD

Mercy is a broad term that refers to benevolence, forgiveness and kindness.  In a article for the National Catholic Reporter, Vinita Hampton Wright reflects on what mercy looks like in everyday life.   Wright realizes that mercy is about small moments in most cases.  

"For example, mercy gives you his seat on the bus, acting as if he was about to get up anyway rather than making you feel that he is doing you a favor.  Mercy does not let out that sigh - you know the one-the wordless disapproval toward the person in the check-out line ahead of you whose card didn't swipe, or who can't find her coupons, or whose toddler is having a meltdown.  Mercy offers quiet sympathy and does not convey with her body language that this holdup is ruining her day.  Sometimes mercy chooses to not send back the food that isn't just right, simply because the waitress looks overwhelmed."

PEACE - GIFTED

I painted this large 36" x 36" painting for a show I am going to be in next month.  I found an internet based program that allows me to view it in a room.  Most of the rooms available for viewing are very contemporary but I think it gives a good example of how the painting could be used.

Seeking the Sacred SOLD

There will always be flowers for those who want to see them. - Henri Matisse

Acrylic 8" x 8" on gallery wrapped canvas

The Artist

I fell in love with a photo reference I found on Paint My Photo by Rosemary Clark2.  I loved the way the light played around the scene and I hope I was able to capture that.  Painting light is hard to do especially from photos.  I really like the spirit of this artist and hope I am still painting when my hair is white......actually it might be now but I know a very good colorist.

Blue Roses - SOLD

I've Got My Eye On You

The Challenge at Daily Paintworks this week was a bird challenge.  I usually paint a small painting every morning to "loosen up" so I thought I could paint this little bird from a photo reference from Wendy Sinclair.  I actually thought I could whip it out since it is on a 6" x 6" gessobord but I was very wrong.  Many times what seems like it would be easy completely fools me and it takes much longer to "get happy" with a painting because it does not come easy.  Some paintings just want to be painted and they come very easy.  I felt like this guy was mocking me.

Redeemed - SOLD

I do not want to paint sunflowers that look like circles with daisy petals.  Many times it is harder to paint in an impressionistic manner than to paint an exact replica, for me anyway.  To copy a picture is similar to coloring in a coloring book for me and I find my paintings do not have interest or individuality.  Some people call that being "tight" in their painting style. I fought that urge to paint the sunflower exactly like the photo reference I was using but I told my brush to be free and I think the sunflower was redeemed.

Holy Ground - SOLD

8" x 8" on gallery wrapped canvas (1 1/2" depth on sides - painted)

Absolute Chaos - SOLD

Well I have felt that my life has been in "absolute chaos" for the past month with my son, daughter in law and their 4 children staying with us during house renovations.  When you get older and have no children in your home and you settle in to little routines, having 6 people move in complete with legos, thousands of legos - well it can really change things around.  We actually made it very well.  I love them all and my daughter in law helps me organize and rearrange so that my life if more manageable.  I have kinda of a artistic personality that is not exactly like that.  They all left today and my house seems so much bigger but so much quieter...........too quiet.

Serenity - SOLD

I love the Serenity Prayer:  

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

courage to change the things I can, 

and the wisdom to know the difference.

Beauty and the Beach - SOLD

My friend and I visited Cancun a couple of years ago. We had been watching all the young ladies walk by in bikinis and lamenting the fact  that those days were over for us.  We remembered when we were the young girls who drank milkshakes and ate tons of fries and never gained an ounce.  Then we saw these three ladies enjoying the ocean and their friendships and they were totally comfortable with who they were and did not even care that their bikini bodies were long gone.  They inspired us!  They brought us back to reality and the fact that life and bodies change but the inner beauty and wisdom that comes with age is priceless.  I painted another version of these three about 2 years ago and the painting seemed to resonate with so many of us more "mature" women.

Three Amigos

This week the challenge at DPW was to paint fruit.  I set 3 apples in a roll on my drafting table and sat down to paint them in acrylics.  I was uncertain about the colors I was seeing in the shadows of the apples so I asked my granddaughter was she saw and she said, baby blue mixed with purple and white.  She was right on target.  She does this consistently.  She truly has a gift to see colors.  That is one of the hardest things for me as an artist to actually "see" not paint what you think you know.

4" x 6" canvas board

Living Faith - SOLD

I meet with a wonderful Spiritual Director each month who consistently encourages me to live faith and practice the presence of God.  

Color Me Happy - SOLD

My friends laugh at me all the time because they say I take picture while just walking down the street but one day I passed this flower pot outside a business and I fell in love with the flowers, the dark background of the building and the way the light was so bright on the sidewalk.  I painted this little 6" x 6" to see if I would like to paint a larger one and I do and I will.  It does make me happy

Catch of the Day - SOLD

One of my friends took a photo of another friend's grandchild after his great catch while fishing.  I fell in love with this little guy - his stance, his half smile and the way he was watching that fish so closely with a little question in his expression as to what to do next.  I always love painting children but because four of my grandchildren and their parents are staying at my house while their house is undergoing renovations, I have children more on my mind than ever.  I had forgotten what day to day energy it takes for parents to raise, nurture, feed, dress, bath, and answer one thousand questions on a daily basis.  I am so proud of my son and his wife and the way they handle this parenting quest every day with patience and love and Christian direction.  Wow!  I hope some small part of my parenting skills measure of to theirs and in some way I helped in this legacy.

Independence Day - SOLD

Every year my good friend and I go to the beach for a week and I am constantly snapping photos to use later.  (My daughter was with me one time and told me my photo shooting was getting out of hand).  Anyway, Deb and I saw this cute little girl playing by the water and she had on the cutest red, white and blue swimsuit with stars on the top.  I loved the suit and the little girl.  I am painting for a show coming up and I certainly wanted to include Ms. Independence Day.

Redhead - SOLD

I have been so honored to have been asked to paint several commissions for the last two months.  I have also been given some wonderful time with my grandchildren to teach them how to paint but today was a great day because I was able to sit down at my easel and paint something for me.  Rodney Campbell gave me permission to paint his lovely redheaded woodpecker.  Rodney captures nature at it's best and brings beauty to the most common moments.  Check out his Facebook page