Art Exhibit

 I was re-arranging paintings in the living room today and realized that there are 20 of them! That's quite an art show anyplace, especially in a room that's 11 x 14 ft, don't you think so?

 I'm about out of wall space for the bigger paintings so these 3 "live" in the corner...at least for now...

Pointless

 I looked out the window a while and tried to decide what to work on today.

 Yes, I went back to my little pointillism experiment it seems like a perfect next step from the painted furniture I was doing with dots in the 1990's.

Fall Settles In My Garden

 Well, this explains why we're going through so much bird food. There were 2 more squirrels on the ground cleaning up everything this one kicked out. They were having quite a party.

 There have been quite a lot of birds too but I never seem to catch them in a photo.

 There's a bit of color in the back yard but nothing really pretty.

We're looking forward to campfires when the weather allows.

Along for the ride

 This painting has started to take some interesting turns

 I don't know where it's going but I am enjoying the ride

 Some strokes are made with my fingers and sometimes I use a brush

I'm finding myself considering pointillism and doing a bit of research on the subject

The Devil is in the Details

 When I can't quite decide where a painting is going, I step back and grab my camera.

 Taking detail photos of various sections of a painting can help you look at it in new ways.

 Some bits look more promising than others but I've already got a number of ideas to pursue when I go back to work.

This shot was a bit too close up to be useful for much other than an indication of how heavily textured the painting is so far.

Jack of all trades, Master of none

 Sometimes I'll use small canvas panels as palettes in case the way the paints are laid out begins to go somewhere and develop into a painting.

 As I sat down to work I thought about my Grandma, when introducing me to people she'd say"Yes, she's a Jack of all trades and master of none". It used to bum me out but I have to admit the old gal was right. I've been so obsessed with painting ever since I was a kid that I never really learned how to do anything.

 Believe it or not, I'm OK with that. It means that I keep trying things whether I succeed or not and every day is an opportunity to surprise someone...including myself.

I picked up a brush when I went back to that painting, I'm not sure if it's going anywhere yet but I'm enjoying it. I think I'll go all Jackson Pollack on it next. I'll have to work out in the yard so it should amuse the wildlife and the neighbors...
Anyone up for a little "drive by art"?

A little dab will do ya

 3:00 AM too awake to sleep, too tired to to do much else and 3 numb fingers making it all but impossible to hold a brush. This experience is common to a lot of us and since painting always makes me feel better I apply it with whatever works, didn't have much luck with the knife or the spoon so I just used my hands which improved the circulation in them as well so don't give up. There's always something you can do and it helped me get back to sleep as well.

 Sometimes I just dive into the paint and see where it takes me. Open, happy and relaxed it's easy to "go with the flow". I find myself wondering why people find it hard to get to the place where the creativity happens...It's a natural state for me.

 It's not looking like much yet but you never know what will happen next and sometimes encounter the most surprising images as the colors dance around each other.

 Excuse the glare on some of these photos the light fixture is right over the table and the paint was wet at this point.

I've been lucky, a lot of people believe in my work or just the passion that goes into it. Just last weekend a friend brought some paints-Thanks Ron!

The New Painting Settles In

 Yes, I found a bit more wall space to hang that tulip painting as I list the pattern books for the knitting machine for sale on eBay. It will be funny to see what sells first-the painting or the books but this is a busy little corner of the living room these days.

Meanwhile I'm enjoying "playing" with the painting on Zazzle and discovering how many different ways it can be used to design products. I love the idea of turning it into something useful and challenge myself to keep trying new things with it.

Sorting it all out,cleaning and organizing

There's always a point in between projects when you need to deal with all of the things that have been tossed about or neglected while you're working.
Clearly this is NOT my favorite part of the process but needs to be done.

The up side of this is that you "find" the most extraordinary things and of course the down side is that it's tedious.

The one thing an artist hates is anything boring...oops!!! Like this post today.

Oh well, there is always that fish game on the page or a bit of shopping so you haven't wasted a trip.

Keep checking in, you never know what you'll find next.

To Market, to market-the big finish

 Here's a wide shot of the chaos as I continue to work at the dining room table.

 One last look at the inspiration photo from my garden alongside the painting.

 I'll try listing this on eBay first. The next attempt will be on etsy. It isn't about preferring one to the other, it's about using my free listings first.

I've attached the inspiration photo to the back along with a little information on the painting.

Getting into it now

Yes, I'm at that point when I stop caring what the photo looked like and I'm just enjoying the paint. Relaxing and starting to feel good...

Tiptoe through the tulips

 The great thing about being a painter is that you can take a photo of your garden and celebrate the things you love while ignoring the weeds and the other things you don't.

These days I'm focusing on the best ways to capture the intensity of the colors as well as the curve and shape of the leaves and petals...more the feeling than the way it actually looked. I'll be at this one quite a while. Don't worry, I'll try to keep it interesting.

The Biggest Sunflower

If you've been reading my blog for a while you may have noticed that I'm becoming very fond of sunflowers.

I hadn't thought of it much until my sister in law brought over this photo taken back in 1997 at my old house. We never measured the height of the sunflowers but you can see they were I good deal taller than I was...no wonder they've kind of grown on me...

Nothing to show for it

It's been a busy couple of days but I haven't any pictures or scans to show you. All the artwork was on out going mail and all the yarn projects (pom poms and hat) have been given away.
I went back to painting the doors and trim in the house and spent time outdoors helping my husband repair one of the out buildings.
Time's gone by fast but there's not much to show for it. I'm also doing a lot of cleaning and sorting as we endeavor to make some more space around here before we're cooped up for the winter.
Life's like that sometimes but I can't wait to get back to my paints so keep checking in, things should get interesting soon!

Making Your Own Calendar, Mine's Got iris

 There are many places where you can make your own calendar. Mine are on Zazzle but there are lots of other options available.

 The first thing I discovered was that I didn't have 13 watercolors of Iris (12 for the inside and one for the cover) so I sat down to take a couple of days and paint a few which did me good on a number of levels. I highly recommend it (but then painting is my answer to everything) you might want to give it a try and see if it helps keep your mind off your troubles too, it's been proven to help relieve all sorts of pain. It feels great when it goes well and it helps you blow off steam if it's going badly. Either way, you win.

 I'm beginning to enjoy the stained glass look you get when you layer waterproof ink on top of watercolor. This one was done on the corner of an envelope and Yes, I did mail it along with the previous watercolor. I'm still doing all of my watercolors on note cards made of heavy duty watercolor paper so that I can share them with my family and friends as well as using them to design fun products we can all use. I find it more satisfying than a gallery show and still aspire to be a Dixie cup or Kleenex box so everyone can enjoy the work I've been doing.

I spent a little more time on this one doing some shading and trying to indicate the curves of the petals but without live ones to work with or the ability to adjust my lighting there wasn't much I could do along those lines. That's OK, I'll give it another try next season. As always I wish you happy painting and brighter days ahead.

An old shirt, seashells and an idea

People often say they want to be an artist but can't afford art supplies. I say all you need is time and imagination.

I borrowed this shirt and laid out some shells that had been given to me years ago. I'll bet you're wondering why...

I thought this would make a cute Christmas card design for the people who gave me the shells and for my friends that go south in the winter. What do you think?

Remembering the Garden with Tulips and a Smile

 Now that the weather has cooled off and I've wrapped up the garden for the season it's nice to look back on the photos I took and see what I can do with them.

 I'm starting with acrylics and am pleased with the progress so far.

 So far the biggest challenge has been laying in the leaves and trying to give them a bit of dimension as I attempt to capture the curl of each leaf.

There's a lot more to be done but I'm going to get some rest and rethink my approach and the mood I'll want this painting to convey. The feel of the sunlight and the wind...and so much more.