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.