Magnolia - SOLD

If you live in the South you can probably smell this right now.  I love magnolias.

You Are Loved - Sold

16" x 20" acrylic on stretched canvas

I am in a Bible study where I read this passage last week:  Luke 9:51-56 (The Message)

When it came close to the time for his Ascension he gathered up his courage and steeled himself for the journey to Jerusalem.  He sent messengers on ahead.  They came to a Samaritan village to make arrangements for his hospitality.  But when the Samaritans learned that his destination was Jerusalem, they refused hospitality. When the disciples James and John learned of it, they said, "Master, do you want us to call a bolt of lightning down out of the sky and incinerate them?"

The study is about John and I could not help but laugh that the disciple who called himself "the one that Jesus loved" was also a hot head.  He gives me hope.

At Valentine's and always, "you are loved".

I Couldn't Love You More - SOLD

I have been painting a lot of commissions for Christmas.  I love painting for people who tell me they are happy with their paintings or that I have captured a certain "spirit" or personality.  Those times make my day but I find that I get very "serious" when painting commissions.  Mostly, it is self imposed pressure because I want to please the person I am painting for.  I have to fight being too "tight" or reverting back to a way of painting that I have tried to move away from.  As I have mentioned before, it is very hard to paint freely or loose and at the same time try to incorporate the needed color theory, rules of thirds, exciting brushwork and value patterns that make a good painting.  I constantly read and study painting techniques and attend workshops as often as I can. In fact, next week I will attend the Sarah Towery Art Colony at Lake Martin which I have attended for over 10 years now.  I love painting with many other artists that I have known over the years and I am especially happy to be painting with a wonderful teacher, Julee Hutchison.  But today I strayed - I took the advice of another artist and took an old painting and painted over it.  Someone told me recently that I should paint more intuitive paintings and that is what I did.  I painted a very loose vase of flowers with a lot of pushing and pulling of paint.....adding and removing until I found what I wanted.  There are some places where the old painting peeks through and adds interesting detail.  Rarely ever do I say, "I love this" but today I do. I couldn't love it more.

Sometimes people will ask me to replicate something I have already painted and sold.  That is really impossible because paintings can be similar but there are always nuances that cannot be repeated.  I know this one will never be repeated, it is one of a kind.

Happy Mother's Day - SOLD

Love painting flowers on a beautiful day like today.

Flowers for My Valentine - SOLD

Out of the Blue - SOLD

For my artist friends - have you ever just "felt" the need to paint something not knowing why you are drawn to it.  It might be the colors, the composition, the way you are feeling at the moment or you just want to try it.  Sometimes I paint something that I think is specifically for someone.  Maybe the painting will resonate with them and they will know it immediately or maybe it is just for me to have the opportunity to play with the colors and see what happens on the canvas. Sometime I find myself asking, "where did that come from?"  That is the way it was with this little painting.  It is very different than the things I usually paint.  I am experimenting with acrylics more and more and have found a new love for them and that is what I used with this.  

Framed - NFS

I rarely ever paint for a frame but I found this frame at some quaint little shop on one of my many trips with my previous job and I loved it.  I then took a picture of some flowers on display in a flower shop and I think they were made for each other.  There is a part of me that wants to keep this for myself because it works so well with my colors so I think I will.

Friends and Flower Pots - SOLD

In case you haven't noticed, I am painting like a mad woman.  I recently retired and have attended two weeks of art instruction from two separate artists.  Each artist will tell you that it takes painting miles of canvas to get better and I am knocking out some miles these days.  I even dream in color!  I had lunch with a friend recently and we found the cutest little colorful pots on sale and I thought they would be great for setups for still life painting.  I am not sure why I even thought that as I do not even like to paint still life but I wanted to "branch out" and get some miles.  I added a few pink gerber daisies, set up the still life and got started and hated it!  Then I remembered a technique taught by a fellow artist, Julie Oliver.  The technique is called Fracturing.  Julie uses a palette knife and a little squeegie tool to complete the process.  It takes longer to paint the painting but I love the results.  As she states, it creates an active surface. You can order a short video on her site that describes the technique and she will instruct you on how to create the simple tool.  If you have any questions email me and I will try to help as well.

If you would like to see more of Julie's wonderful work visit her website here  http://www.juliefordoliver.com

Still Life

This week I painted with an awesome group of ladies from Rome, Georgia and with artist, Guido Frick.  Guido is from Germany and is an impressionistic artist whose mentor was Sergei Bogart.  He paints with a very loose, colorful style that is very unique.  Everyday the class took place outdoors and Guido's speciality is Plein Air painting.  The very first day we painted a still life and even that was set up outdoors.  I found him to be a very generous artist, one who shares freely and is able to give constructive, individualized critiques.  I would highly recommend his class.  If you would like to see more of his work visit his website at guidofrick.com

Flowers for a Friend -SOLD

 

Sarah Towery Art Colony - I have been studying all week with a wonderful, giving, artist ---Julee Hutchison.  Check out her work at JuleeHutchison.com    Julee is one of those artists who instructs with years of wisdom and she possesses the ability to "hone in" on the needs of each artist she is instructing.  Her work is amazing and she has the ability to speak volumes with her paintings with limited strokes that are calculated and meaningful.  I have attended the colony for 11 years and found this year to be the most rewarding.  I painted with 20 other artists that I feel privileged to know and learn from.  Expect to see more here!   Thanks for visiting. 

God's Dinner Table- SOLD

I have a friend, Rodney Campbell who I have mentioned here before who is a fantastic photographer.  Rodney recently sent me one of his photos to paint.  I love the way he captured the hummingbird and the little bumble bee in the same shot and the colors are wonderful.  His photo is a brighter green - I toned the green down and then realized this painting would work really well in my house :)

Flowers for You SOLD

This was a Daily Paintworks Challenge, warm and cool colors. The proceeds from this sale will be donated to the Oklahoma tornado victims. 

  This is a 8" x 10" oil on stretched artist canvas.  It was helpful to have something to concentrate on this weekend to paint as my husband had open heart surgery this week and it has been very trying.  Painting is so healing and helps to keep me centered.