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.

Irises for Christmas

 I've been exploring different ways to celebrate all of our favorite things at Christmas.

 When I  finished the watercolor work I began to add waterproof ink to add more detail to the image. This shot really shows the difference between watercolor and mixed media work.

I liked the stained glass look on the finished piece but you'll find the image both ways on merchandise in my Iris store.

Sunflowers for Christmas

 The idea of sunflowers for Christmas sounds pretty crazy but I had just finished a big acrylic painting of sunflowers and was trying to switch gears and start designing some Christmas cards. These are watercolors and it's probably no surprise that as I began working the shape of the Christmas tree, I found myself continuing to paint sunflowers.

I kind of like the way it turned out but as you can see see I scanned it at a couple of different stages in case I overworked it. Scanning your project each step of the way is a great back up plan. I wish I'd thought of it years ago and it's the best tip I can give anyone to save them from frustration and disappointment.

Sunflowers

I keep working on this painting and am never quite satisfied with it. The texture makes it feel wonderful if you run your fingers across it and I felt great while working on it so for me that's even more important than what it actually looks like.
I'm posting it today and hoping to hear what you think of it, I don't always trust my own judgement on these things.

High School Poetry

It always amazing what turns up when I decide to sort things out around here. Today it was bits of poetry that I wrote back in the 1970's


          "Many small lines of pen and ink, many years of my life
            tied up with small strings"

This piece is called "And Then to say, I Love you"

"Passing in the night, words and gentle movements
painting shadows across the mind of the child love

The beauty of the evening is only surpassed by the
beauty of our moment

Knowing even your secret thoughts-being together is
the best thing that can happen to anyone

Crimson evening bathed beautiful by the pale
light of the moon

Today is the best we've ever known, making it
as if I've just seen life for the first time

It seems that eternity begins as the pleasures
gently wash away the pains and the hurt

How else is it to be said unless it is felt?
Translated by your every mood into
those beautiful movements

Yet morning brings the sun into the
lives of all of us and then my love
How will it be?

Treasure hunts and daydreams

It's windy and a little overcast today so it's a good day to finish up projects in the house. I made the card from an old drawing I "found" while sorting through another old bin and I finished another pair of slippers.
Now I'm cleaning the studio space for tomorrows painting group...who knows what I'll "find" next. That just sounds so much better than saying I'm hunting for the dining room table under all of my projects, doesn't it?  

Last bits of Color in the Garden

There are all kinds of plants in this tangled mess but I though the color was kind of nice anyway so I thought I'd shoot a picture before I start cleaning it up and sorting it out for the winter.

The woodpecker continues to work on that blue house but I couldn't catch it with the camera today.

Moving on to other projects, knit slippers and more

 Here are a few paintings I brought in for the winter. There's no wall space available so they stand in the corner like naughty children until I find a way to make them play nice in here.

 This should be my living room but my machine has other ideas so I joke that it's my "making a living" room now. Oddly enough, company is NOT amused.

Still, the slippers are comfy and warm and everyone I know really loves them in the winter.

Before and After with Pink Lilies

Banish the Darkness

 I felt that the flowers were getting lost in the dark background and they really seem to "pop" against the lighter one. What do you think?

There's still a lot more work to be done but I'm happy with the progress and am enjoying the process. I'd start writing about how it feels when I paint or what I'm thinking as I work but I'm not sure that would really interest anyone but me.

She's Got a Knife!

 I've been working on this painting off and on for a number of years and just haven't come up with a background that I really like.

 Sometimes it's hard to decide when it's time to move from brushes to palette knives so I go back and forth between them as I try to find a texture and colors that will set off the flowers without over powering them.

Work continues...