Painting #18 Lonely Tulip

A simple object was chosen today after the time-consuming cat for yesterday. Whew! That one wore me out! The tulip in the darling, little round vase was my choice. I took artistic license with the colors, making the background red violet with the warm pink tulip in the foreground.

Lonely Tulip     5 x 7" oil on panel  

Funny how a simple color combination can evoke a memory..........this one does for me. As a young teen, I was getting interested in fashion. Being the youngest with three older sisters, new clothes were a rarity for me, as hand-me-downs were plentiful. My mother was a seamstress at a local shop named, De-Cindi Fashions. They made clothing for Bobbie Brooks. Their rejects were made available to employees and I got a pink/burgundy plaid skirt with a pink top to match!  To this day , when I see those color combinations, it cheers me up and makes me smile.            Ahhhh,,,,,,, the simple pleasures of life!

#15 Good Morning, Sunshine

Sunshine! What a beautiful thing! Even when it is barely in the teens outside, I find it so uplifting to see the sun shining brightly. My husband bought these tulips for me yesterday and I wanted to capture them in the glow of the morning sun and the stained glass windows of my dining room.

It is a very high key painting; quite different from yesterday's, but it was how I felt today. I learned a bit from it and although it isn't perfection, it turned out okay. I think tomorrow's painting will be much simpler.....

Good Morning, Sunshine     5 x 7" oil on panel  

Here's hoping there is a ray of sunshine in your day..........

#11 "Hangin' on by a thread..."

Some colors are just elusive to me. I needed a studio buddy today to be there to hold my arm with the brush and just say "STOP!".................."look"...........................then "listen"........ to what your instincts tell you. All of that after a good break to cleanse the eyes and relax the arm and brain!

Instead, I was alone and chose to "fiddle" with the colors, etc..., until I had muddied most of it up. All I can say is, I sure put in the work today.

The bright side is, I am thoroughly enjoying the process ( most of the time). It is pretty impressive to see how much work I have done in January already.

"Hangin' on by a thread..."      5 x 7"      oil on panel     

The colors aren't quite right on this but I can't seem to get them like the painting.

Some pigments  are just that way.

Thanks for looking....

Painting #2 lemon w shadow

Guess I am making lemonade today in the studio, that is, after I paint it! I was planning to make a needed trip to a gallery in Dayton to pick up some of my paintings, so I never quite got into the right brain. Add several distractions, well, you know...

Hopefully, I will get a chance to redeem myself tomorrow, after I work on installing the photography show at Artspace/Lima.

30 Paintings in 30 Days!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012!!!

Meeting interesting people is a big bonus to traveling and enjoying the incredible world we live in! I was blessed with a particular one recently at a painting workshop. Her name is Kristen. We challenged each other to paint 30 paitings in 30 days. In order to make sue we stuck to it, Kristen warned me that if I missed a day, she got a free painting of mine! It is on!

Allowing myself just over an hour, by setting the alarm on my phone, here is what painting #1 looks like. I am such a detail person, this is really going to be a huge challenge. I am hoping it will train my eye to observe better; all the little nuances of change in value and temperature.


I also needed a place for them to dry and to be able to isolate them in my cluttered chaos I call "Studio", so I gathered scrap from the garage and made something along the line of what Carol Marine said her husband, David, made for her new studio in Oregon. Thanks, Carol!

I would rather that it was darker and more nuetral but the price was right so it will do for now. I knew I didn't dare take precious time from painting , like I normally do, and then never seem to have time to paint!

Today was a HUGE success, in the fact that I showed up and did the work. ( a friend told me I have a million excuses, so I am trying to ignore them)

I have so much to learn and so little time left, so I need to focus. I would love hearing how many of you manage your time better to actually do things that bring you pleasure and joy!