Still Life With Wasp, Oil, 6x8

Go with the flow... this morning, after breakfast, I was enjoying looking at the leftover watermelon (I know - leftover WATERMELON?) in the sun, and I decided to paint the plate. As soon as I got set up this wasp or bee or whatever decided this would be HIS breakfast, and no amount of shooing would dissuade him. So... I stuck him in the painting (no, not literally). Such a glorious day, but it turned so windy that in the evening I had to hunt for this painting as it had blown off the front porch where I had left it to dry - it was face down in some grass, so IRL it has bits of fauna sticking to the paint! (which will just flake off when the paint is dry).

What was interesting to me was how light the sides of the melon were that were in the sun - mostly lighter than the plate, and all the colors in the shadow side of the fruit... as well as the plate.

Perfect Day, 11x16, Oil

While this is outside the usual size of a Daily Painting, I did it in 2 or so hours from life, so I'm including it on this blog. I went to Fogland Beach in Tiverton, on Friday and it was just about a perfect day. A bit of a breeze, and this lady just in her glory in her beach chair. She read, she napped, she waded into the water to cool off, she sipped her iced tea. I think I could correct the folding chair legs & support a bit but otherwise I'm leaving it. Getting a bit crazed about my Open Studio Tour this weekend...
I tried to post this yesterday but Blogger wouldn't take any posts (mine or Paco's) while I was trying. And I wasn't about to let the computer take up too much time while we had sunshine! Hope you all had a good one...

Bella Sinclair Award

I've been honored by Manon Doyle, who I know I've mentioned before (a beautiful artist and a beautiful soul) with the Bella Sinclair Award! I'm thrilled! And humbled, because I look at Manon, and so many of you out there, and think... "What the heck am I doing swimming with this talented crowd?"

The Bella Sinclair award honors friendship, sisterhood, sharing and caring. I don't know... as artists, are there just more generous, accepting, encouraging people among us? I feel so blessed to have the artist friends I have.. my blogger and non-blogger artist friends alike.

I, also, would like to raise a toast to our 'sisterhood', and thank each and every one of you who has shared in my ups and downs, since we've met! I'll nominate a few (that have not already been nominated for this) artists, and please check out their fine work:

Gwen Bell - because she's quick to show support, and I love her direct, bold viewpoint when she does her still lifes and her beautiful and sensitive pet portraits.

Nancy Medina because she's generous in her kind advice and positive attitude (and I read and reread her emails and comments!).

Mary Sheehan Winn because she's a true 'sista' of the Sisterhood - never lingering on what went wrong, always looking for the best way forward, and her color KICKS.

Katie May because even though she's a relative newbie, she has the heart of a long distance runner (or painter!), and she's the kind of girl who's right there for you, and I love her artistic viewpoint.

Melissa (of Melissa and Emmitt) because she has never failed to encourage and support, no matter how busy she is (and man, can she fill a day with ART!).

And last but not least, Paula Villanova, who is the one you want covering your back, as she is true, positive, and never fails to lend a hand (or a comment, thank God), and is my travel partner-in-crime and a fantastic artist to boot.

Now, there are at least a dozen more fellow bloggers that I love and feel a sisterhood connection to.... I hope you check out my links column and visit them, too... INCLUDING Manon, who... it goes without saying... 'sista'....

And Ice Cream Castles In The Air, Oil, 6x8

Today started foggy, rainy and gray. And... then the big dark clouds drifted away and left these puffy, creamy clouds in a beautiful blue sky. So I took Paco out to the front yard and plunked down to paint this little painting from life. One lone sailboat (guess everyone else is at work) danced back and forth in front of Gould Island. After many interruptions (Paco found a dead mouse, he got himself practically 'hung' on his leash, he ran around my easel and toppled it) I finally came up with this. Paying a lot of attention to deliberate brush strokes, color transitions in the water, the sky and the two islands (the big piece of land in the background is Aquidneck Island), and in the clouds. Happy enough, considering how many times I had to jump up...

Off With His Head, 6x6 ) Oil

I had this gorgeous begonia (a different one, but same color as the last post) and I must have been a bit rough with it, because when I turned the light on the 'scene' and backed away - the whole 'head' of the flower fell off! This was try #2, the first was a wipe-off - I couldn't get the red to pop enough. This is better but still, not as 'zingy' as I'd wished. I 'grayed down' the aqua cloth, but I think maybe it should have been lighter, too. Ah, well, hopefully a summer full of begonias await.
Updating (finally) my studio blog and Paco's blog, too, of course!

Tuberous Begonia, 6x6 Oil

Yesterday it was so wet & rainy, I went up to Oceanside 17 Gallery in Hull to paint with my friend Franny Andahazy, and also my friend Jeanne MacFarland. I had a windowsill full of gorgeous red tomatoes and begonias that had had 'mishaps' in the recent storms, with a few aqua bottles, and I loved their color together. So we packed them up and made a still life. I wiped off my first attempt - too many items - and got an order from Jeanne: Do Another One. So I did, but I edited out the tomato, and the recognizable parts of the bottle... for me it was all about that big red flower. Left the background indistinct.

Of course Paco came with, but my daughter Molly picked him up and babysat for the afternoon - while visiting HER friend Molly - thanks to the 2 Molly's for a peaceful painting session. This is Paco with Jeanne in front of the Daily Painting Wall at Oceanside - Jeanne's forearm is next to my painting of a teacup & sugar cubes you may remember! OK. Paco's Blog is updated today, too - 2 posts!

Up To No Good, 11x17 Oil

A little blurry - I will try to replace it on the blog with a sharper photo. Today began with the SUN (we think... we haven't seen it in so long we're not sure...) and soon the western horizon started with a line of clouds, which are now forming the thunderheads that will douse us with rain this afternoon. I was thinking Colin Page again, trying to get the most out of his workshop. I used decisive brushstrokes and looked for nuances and color changes in every shape. Also his sparkle in the water, with a light touch, of many shades of white (yellow-white, rose-white, green-white, blue-white). As the winds pick up the sailboats are having a rough time of it, but this morning was beautiful.

And Paco slept against my ankle so I couldn't move away (or back) without him knowing it. Even though he was too hot and I had to keep wetting him.

Kane's Coconut, 8x8 oil

As an anniversary treat my husband took the day off and took me anywhere I wanted to go. First stop, Kane's Donuts in Saugus, where Paula and Nina Villanova went and enjoyed the World Famous Donuts introduced to Paula by Katie May McElwain (all bloggers, BTW). We had the pup with us (no pics of Paco there, because the 'gentleman' waiting on us practically growled as Paco cried for me at the door), and I should have gotten a shot of that. All of the donuts looked like blue ribbon examples of their breed. But I am fond of coconut, so I painted one today. If you are ever in Saugus - let me amend that by saying if you are every driving BY Saugus, be sure to stop in and get a sugar fix at this cute little place! Could I have picked a harder donut to paint? But I was channeling Colin Page (not Colin Powell....) and treating the white coconuts as 'sparkle'... all different 'colors' of white dancing on the top of the cake...

From The Garden, 6x8, Oil

The strawberries are ripening (if they all don't mold out - seriously!), and if they survive Paco, they're delicious. He loves ripe strawberries more than almost anything! and this Peony was supposed to be all fluffy pink, but had a wrong label at the garden store - we like them anyway! I worried about the lavender, pink and reds together, but was in the mood for a challenge. My days have been filled with dog poop, and I was just thrilled to be able to paint a Daily Painting. I think my pup-ternity leave should be over next Monday - Planning on being back in the painting saddle.
It's my 32nd anniversary today (yay!) and I'm thrilled that after a nice dinner out tonight, Tim's taking the day off to just go driving with me tomorrow. It promises to be a sunny day, and after basically 4 weeks of gray, rainy weather - we're keeping our fingers crossed! So... probably no Daily Painting tomorrow! Thank you to everyone who is checking in to Paco's Blog, too!

Quiet Day

After giving my talk on "Blogging Your Art" (my first talk, BTW ... shake... sweat..) I took yesterday to just 'chill'. I stayed in my yard with my watercolor sketchbook and Paco and just painted what I could see. The floral paintings all came out too blurry in the photos - just too small, I guess - these are about 3x5 inches. Anyway, the group was very enthusiastic, and asked good questions, so it was fun!
Tea in the morning, tea in the afternoon....
My sweet little island (well, not MY island, but I can see it from the house, so I look at it hundreds of times a day!), so different looking in every light...

Colin Page Workshop

This weekend I attended a Colin Page (above) workshop at the North River Arts Society in Marshfield, MA. The class was overwhelmingly filled with my 'peeps' from the South Shore - and we had a lot of laughs as well as good lessons in observation and working with values and color.
The first day we were at Scituate Harbor, it being primarily a Plein Air workshop, and I struggled with this little lobster boat (they MOVE!). I was thinking of Colin's loose but definitive brushwork for the background trees, and his 'sparkle' in the water. The hardest part was the 'dark white' of the side of the boat in shadow.
I thought what I loved about this painting above was the 'pop' of blue inside the boat, but what turns out to have grabbed me was the color changes in the water from blue to lavender to 'muddy' green... Also the man who owns this boat came to talk to me, and it turns out that THIS boat was built in Warren, RI, where my studio is! How about that?
The second day it rained, so we painted indoors. Oh, what was I thinking with this figurine (it was Colin's and actually had a smiley face painted on its belly)????? I was happiest with the blue pitcher in the background...
I painted this because there was nowhere else to sit when it turned out I had to move after we'd started painting. I have an allergy to turps except Gamsol, and there was someone using Turpenoid, so when my eyes started burning and lips started tingling I knew I couldn't paint the pink carnations in a jar I'd chosen. I was almost in despair over this (all blue? stripes? a painted pitcher????) but Colin helped me eliminate the non-essentials and calm down and just DO it. :) If you ever get a chance.. it's a worthwhile workshop!

Plein Air Practice

This coming weekend I'm taking a workshop with Colin Page, and I'm VERY excited! I believe we'll be doing plein air, and I'm a liiiiittle rusty with that, so I thought I'd do a study every day this week to kind of warm up. Of course the weather promises to be grey, misty, rainy and chilly (CHILLY! It's JUNE!) this week. So today I set up in my back entry and painted the view from there. I'm at the bottom of a hill, so that in itself is a challenge. The quality of the photo is bad - overexposed on the real view, very dark on the painting. Ah well, a long way to go!

Air and Water, Watercolor, 3x4 each

Yesterday was a negative in terms of physical health - the neck got worse because I thought it was getting better and started lugging things around.... But in the morning I just sat at my dining room table with my little watercolor sketch pad and tried to pry off the 7 year old encrusted caps to the paints! I just observed the changing light and color of the Sakonnet River, the play between water and sky back and forth - blue-ish, green-ish, yellow-ish and back. It all depended on the thickness of the cloud cover, and the angle of the sun. For the life of me I couldn't get my camera, in any mode, to focus on these subtle wash paintings. So, even though they are loose, they are not THIS fuzzy... if I get better ones today, I'll substitute. Thanks, for looking and all your well wishes!

Age

Here's how it goes as you get older: You wake to a beautiful, pearl blue dawn, whisper a prayer of thanks, and slide to the edge of the bed to sit up and... DOH! Sizzling pain in your neck, cascading down over your shoulder - for what? One bone in your spine got slightly out of line as you sat up????? So now you can't hold your head up straight, and your whole vision is tinged with red from the pain. Studio? I don't think so! Well, this was my day yesterday, and though I did try to paint (don't tell Tim, I promised I wouldn't!) because I couldn't help it! Nothing worked out that I tried, so I spent the whole day in a beach chair in the garden with ice on my neck, and a steady stream of Advil in my bloodstream. So here's what the garden looks like (from a watercolor journal from 2 years ago - everything's still the same!):
And below a splashy rendition of my beloved geraniums:
And Harry the cat, my special baby, claiming his right to Paco's newest sleeping crate (Harry THINKS he's a Dog Whisperer, but I bet there are those who would disagree!

Cumpcake, 6x6 Oil

Well, it looked a bit better BEFORE I dropped it and smashed it against the easel and had to repair it! When I was a little girl my best friend was this adorable little girl whose first language was Portuguese. She only spoke English at school, and for some reason she stuck 'm's in a lot of words, one I remember is 'cupcake'. She called them 'cumpcakes'. ;) Hey, she was little!

Anyway today was my first 'real' full day at the studio with Paco. All I can say is I STARTED putting paint on the panel at 4 p.m. There is a video and short take on Paco's Blog.

Path Thru The Dunes 6x8 Oil

If this looks familiar to my friends, it's because it's a 'work-down' (as opposed to a work-up, where you make a small painting larger). I did a bigger, square painting plein air, in acrylics last year. This path is in Westport, MA, at Horse Neck Beach. It was fun to take the design and crystalize it - make it smaller and more poster-like. I actually like the smaller one better. I'll see if I can find an image (or take a picture) of the larger painting so you can see. Yes, I like painting from life better, but sometimes it's about the design, and the texture of the paint (which I am not sure shows up so much in the photo!).

Memorial, acrylic 11x14

Today's post is actually a larger, plein air piece from last year, done in Cohasset, MA with Paula Villanova and Ros Farbush. It's like a 'hero's field' with a flag for each deceased veteran. I think we need to always honor those who fought for our country, and especially the ones who gave their lives. I always think of the most recent casualties, and how their families must miss them, and how holidays are such poignant times for them. Now, from my age, I also think how many young people go into the service with such high ideals and hope for doing good, and how they learn fast how hard this thing they've chosen to do is. Well, I hope everyone had a good 3 day weekend, too.

And Paco does indeed have his own blog now: Paco's Pugtails... I know, crazy. huh?

This weekend is the Festival of the Arts - worth going to even if I didn't get into the juried show ;) The art in the show is great, and I do have about 10 pieces in the 'Art Sale' barn. There's music, demo's, high quality crafts, hands-on stuff for kids, and food. Worth the trip if you're in MA, RI or even NH. In Marshfield, off Rte 3A - you'll see the signs.

I didn't do a Daily Painting yesterday or the day before, because I've been working on a fundraiser for the North River Art Society's annual Festival. They gave you a pillowcase (of course I took TWO) and you could do... whatever. Sounded fun, but I'd never decorated a pillow and was waaaay out of my league. I did countless sketches, dyed the pillowcases blue (another first for me) and changed my mind about what to do with them a thousand times. Ended up with a starfish theme.

Yellow Mums, 6x6 Oil

Finally getting back in the grove and able to paint! Yesterday Mary Sheehan Winn and I painted together and she can attest that painting with Paco is no small feat! I was going to wipe this one off, but now, in light of the upcoming Summer shows and Open Studio Tours, I think I'll keep it. I think it's OK, but not wonderful, there's no life to it. You should check out Mary's at her blog, as well, it's far more of what I originally set out to do, and then ended up tight and boring.

Also - if you're on the Cape anytime now through May 31, please stop by the Cape Cod Art Associaiton, where I'm showing some of my Daily Paintings. Yes, they are priced slightly higher than on the blog ($125 and $150), but that's because of the frame. Below is a shot of the main wall.

Long Time Gone....

First of all I want to thank everybody who sent encouraging comments to me - I've been a whole month 'immersed' in the baby dog! Now, I think it's a good investment of my time, since he's going to be my companion for (hopefully) many years, but it's been hard not to paint. It's getting better, and he's a little doll. (**Valerie you were sooooo right!)

This painting is a 6x6 acrylic - my starfish paperweight that I keep on my yellow kitchen windowsill. There are so many layers of greeny blues that I've hesitated to tackle it. As it is, when it was finished my son said "that's great - it looks like I could pick it up!" while my husband said "umm... you can hardly tell what it is...."

Among the things that have kept me away from posting recently is the plethora of Spring juried shows. After 2 total smackdowns of my Big Sky from the Littlest State series, that I'd worked on so hard this winter I think I'm going to NOT enter juried shows for a little while. Take a break. I'm in really good company this year, but still, I think I'd rather just paint for my own sake, and not rely on jurors to affirm my art. We'll see how long this lasts, as I am at heart rather competitve!

More than you need/want to know: last week I saw a Medium, and it was very cool. She said - without prompting - that I must work in a creative field and that I need to try a different direction. I had been thinking earlier that day about the very cool art I've encountered in the blogsphere (you know who you are!) and how I'd love to experiment a little more, like them. For instance - HOW does Manon Doyle (see link to the right) get those loose, lovely ethereal images? Oh, there are so many that I check in on and wistfully linger at! So I'm giving myself not only permission but an order to experiment more and not say 'no' to any new artistic whim. Today I'm painting pillows, and my theme is aquatic (thinking starfish, again)... we'll see....

And Paco needs his own blog, I think.... any thoughts for a title?

Geraniums Waiting, 6x8 oil

Finally today I got to drag out my portable easel and attempt to paint my geraniums that I got this weekend, but can't plant for a few more weeks. I admit it was tough with Paco racing under the easel, pulling on my jeans legs, knocking into the tripod legs and then making off with a brush that fell as a result! So the result isn't as finished as I'd like, but at least I got to paint!

Yesterday was dedicated to dropping off 3 large paintings (the sunsets from my studio blog) at the South Shore Art Center for the Festival Juried Show. I'm not counting on anything there. But Tim helped me carry them in, and so Paco got his first visit to his 'Dad's' office, below. I think he was a 'hit'. Then he went for his first walk on Wollaston Beach in Quincy, MA, and his first lunch at Tony's Clamshack. After we dropped off he had his first ice cream at JJ's Soft Serve, and then saw his first BIG dog (Jack Dicerson's - he lent me a crate for a grown up Paco). So it was a lot of 'firsts' - but no painting yesterday. Tomorrow.......
(Sorry, my laptop is CRAZY these days - it deleted the bottom image, and when I tried to re-insert it - it won't let me move it from the top - so... obviously, the top image is Paco & Tim, the bottom one is the geraniums in the entry....
........

Going Crazy! Acrylic 20x30

Yesterday I painted with talented artist Franny Andahazy in Hull. Well, Paco came too, and despite the fact that he SOMEHOW jumped into my palette after I'd loaded the cad red and orange onto it (so he had one orange and one red front paw, one orange back paw and what LOOKED like lipstick). I was not able to concentrate too well after the Big Cleanup, but other than that he was very good. I was playing around with new texture in this big sunflower painting - channeling Van Gogh ;), letting it be about fun and color. Maybe after I work on it a little , doll it up a little, I might like it better. There are things about it (the squishy, free brushstrokes on the petals, the layered color of the background) that I do like, but it's like my left and right brain were doing battle.

Below... Paco as we were visiting his 'birth mother's' grandmother, after our session, where he ran around her yard and snatched Grape Hyacinths from their stalks, and lastly, a snuggly spot in my husband's jacket on a chilly morning - no other place would do...

This is for Karin Jurick's DSFDF Challenge - a statue of Diana, I think. I did it the day before Paco, but now that I upload it I see that her left leg is pointed in the wrong direction. Well, I have a full day today (introducing Paco to some painting friends) so I'll try to correct this in the studio tomorrow. Funny how you can look at something and it looks OK, then when you look at it in a photo anything that's 'off' glares out at you. New Paco photos soon - I promise. He's so smart and cute!

New Parrsboro Sunset, 11x14, Acrylic

Well, I say it all the time but this looks better in person. I didn't do a small daily painting yesterday, but did try to work on this smalled version of a big oil (see my Studio Blog). You wouldn't believe, given the simplicity of the subject, how difficult it is. It so easily slips into being trite. Now... even if no one believes me, I have painted that magical night when the sky erupted into the most unbelievable colors - even I as a huge sunset fan - had never seen. This is acrylic, and I did many, many layers, and used lots of medium, and IRL it has a luminous quality (or maybe I'm just drinking my own kool-aid!).

Big Little Beach Girl In April, Acrylic 6x8

The afternoon we got the puppy I hung out at Nantasket Beach in Hull, and we saw this little girl with big dark glasses and new pink Crocks striding around with her hands balled up in her sleeves. I shot a photo, and did this yesterday while *you-know-who* was napping somewhere other than my lap. I think the beach is unclear, and although it would mean changing reality - in that I shot the photo looking UP the mile long deserted beach, I may add a strip of water and sky to the very top of the painting. What's that saying - If it looks right but it's wrong... it's right, and if it looks wrong but it's right, it's wrong. Go ahead.. think on that one ;)

And I've been tagged 3 times for awards within the past 2 weeks, and I'm HUGELY honored! I promise I'll make good on passing them along... but this week it's all I can do to churn out a few Daily Paintings! Thank you!

Pearls, 6x6 Oil

My son 'babysat' for me today so I could go to the gym and the studio for a little while! I stood there wondering what on earth to paint. I've had this bag of pearl onions for a while (you have that in YOUR studio, don't you?) so I tore it open and spilled a few onto a white cloth. What, was I CRAZY? White onions on a white cloth? Well, I looked and looked and fooled around with the lighting, and saw lavender in the cloth, green, yellow and pink in the onions.... so I quickly set about getting some paint on the board. I felt an urgency... I didn't have all day, my son was being generous, but I know that the puppy is feeling VERRY comfortable by now and is a ball of energy, and can wear you out, so I didn't want to stay too long at the studio. I came home and he'd turned into Cujo and was trying to terrorize everyone and everything in the house! All of a sudden, an hour later, he flopped into his little bed with his snuggly toys... totally done in! Sorry. I promise this will remain an art blog, not a pug blog, I just couldn't resist this photo of him. Names are down to: Kumar (we have a cat named Harold), Paco, and Nacho....

Sorry For The Interruption of Service

I've been a little preoccupied this week with our new addition... He doesn't have a name yet, but we're working on it! I'll be on 'pupternity leave' for a few days till life settles down, but already I'm chomping at the bit to get back to painting! The couple of days before he arrived I TRIED to paint, and it was so awful I couldn't post them. Even the DAY I picked him up I thought I could get 2 plein air sessions in, and Paula and Ros were so kind not to LAUGH at my attempt, then I just gave up and sat in the sun and talked the afternoon away! It's been like a whirlwind since he arrived, and I do not have the kind of house where you can block off a room when you need to do other things (like go to the grocery store or shower), it's been... an adjustment. But I know we'll figure it out and he'll be great. Even the cats have decided not to kill him.... yet. ;)

First Forsythia, 6x8 Oil, Plein Air

This is a wimpy photo (the blue of the water is much richer in person and the yellow stands out in more contrast, but I've fiddled and fooled around with the image I'm practically cross-eyed. I have been stuck in a storm of technology, appliance and auto crises, and I can hardly THINK let alone paint! Yesterday, on the long stretch of Metacom Avenue through Bristol and Warren that leads me to my studio, I kept hearing what I thought was a plane flying low overhead. Then I noticed I was hearing it every time I had to stop at a red light. Rolled down the window, and realized it was MY CAR. By the time I got to the studio it was making this grinding noise all the time, not just when I was stopping. So I crawled home at 20 mph (SORRY, anyone who was behind me!) and dropped it at the mechanic. The list of things that was wrong with my brakes went on.... and on... and now I'm car-less for a day. Sorry to unburden!

When I got home it was a gorgeous day - like a wind storm on the back side of the house - calm as can be on the front porch - so I hunkered down on the front steps and painted this less-than wonderful painting of an old forsythia. Behind the forsythia is the road, about 3 feet lower than the grass, and the sea wall that keeps the river from my steps. Bear in mind that it is the FIRST plein air attempt of the year!

Gerbera and Seashell, 6x8 Oil

Well, I'm back in the blogging saddle! I took a few days off to get ready for Easter and get my house organized, and it was almost painful being away from my paints. And then today, the first day back, it was such a struggle to do the Daily Painting! I'm seeing many things I would do differently as I upload the photo. But... I'm going to leave it, and move on to other things. I started Karin Jurick's latest 'Challenge' yesterday, too, and will post that soon. I hope you all had a good weekend!

Red Gerbera, 6x12 Oil

Sorry! The TOP image is the one that should've gone with this morning's post - about the teacup - many apologies for missing the boat on that one. The BOTTOM image is today's Daily Painting - it's a red Gerbera Daisy in a putty color vase. I struggled with all those neutrals, but I wanted the flower to be the JOLT of color in the painting. In other news: can't they not sell Easter candy till Saturday?????? Too tempting.

Ah... I don't exactly know how this one will come out - I'm trying to upload a photo that my friend Franny Andahazy sent me of my Daily Painting. We painted with Margaret McWethy at the Oceanside 17 Gallery in Hull, MA yesterday, and Margaret selected the subject. Sorry for the glare on the right side.. this was the most correct photo in terms of color. It was fun doing something different, and getting 3 artists' take on something. Next week I'll post a photo of everyone's Daily Painting just to see how 3 sets of eyes and 3 artists minds have a different 'take' on a subject!

Pour Me A Pelligrino, 6x6 Oil

I mixed it up a bit by putting the San Pelligrino bottle behind the blue glass. I have these glasses in green, blue and aqua. They also come in purple and bright green, new this year. I may get them, but being extra wide they seem to chip in the dishwasher, so... maybe not. This was particularly challenging because the bottle showed through the glass, AND had a design of it's own on the label. I think it's kind of 'in your face' close, but maybe not. I was going to do some pansies today but I forgot them at home! I used Carol Marine's 'trick' for the elipses - and, you know... it was easier!

Fiesta Tea, 6x8 Oil

My mind's on other things today, and I only managed (barely) to get a Daily Painting done, and get to the gym. Other than that.... nada... And now that I SEE this posted I can see things that are 'off' and I wish I could fix, but I'm home from the studio so it'll have to wait. AND I added a better image to yesterday's post, so if you go to my blog you can see the better color on the newer glass of tea. Back to this one - I love mixing up Fiesta Ware, and for some reason this orange and seafoam mixture is appealing to me. I hate doing the elipses, but I make myself because it's good 'art exercise'. Anyway this missed the Tea Show, because the drop off was today (surprise! Maybe I should check my calendar more regularly!), and even yesterday's Daily Painting was too wet to put in :(

My morning tea...*** Edited to add - it looks more like the top one! I got Photoshop and was trying to learn it with the bottom one - looks like I should stick with iPhoto till I get the whole hang of it, huh?

A Little Kiss, Oil 3x3

A tiny Daily Painting to start the week! A dear friend gave me a mug on which was printed paintings she had done that featured the color red (her favorite color), and it was filled with cherry hershey kisses (Oh, HELP me!). I am making good progress on my larger pieces, which are all 30x30 or 30x40, and have skies as subjects. I'll post the first truly finished one on the Studio Blog.
This little kiss is $45, email me for info.

Brown Betty Teapot, 10x10 Acrylic

There's a show coming up with a 'tea' theme, and since I love tea I've been dying to start painting for it. Yesterday I didn't get a Daily Painting in, but I did a semi-abstract about the fogbound river, and put it in my Studio Blog. This teapot is one I 'inherited' from my Dad. I actually bought it for him, thinking he'd like the deep brown color. I, on the other hand, haven't bought anything brown in decades. So I hesitated to paint this boring brown teapot, but as I painted it I saw that it acted like a mini mirror, and the 'brown-ness' just supported all the other things (cloth, windows, etc) in the room. Every time I make tea in this I think of my dad, how I miss him, and *chuckle* how he never, ever made his daily tea in this pot! The gift seemed like a good idea at the time:)

To Your Health, 5x7 Oil

The top image is a little injection of levity... a photo of a gnome a friend 'doctored up' for me, changing the rake to a paintbrush, and now he's my 'studio gnome' for luck - and who couldn't use that? (See the paint smudges all over him? :)

Underneath is a shot glass from Frank Llyod Wright's school in Arizona called Taliesin. It's great when you do Daily Paintings, because when friends travel they bring you fun things to paint! Pretty much that's all I'll do with a shot glass... but wouldn't it look great with a little daisy in it?

Birdie #2, Oil 6x6

Today I gave this little bird another try. It's funny, but it's like figure drawing, you have to keep doing it to be ABLE to do it! And I love the shapes of birds. So I think this one's a little better, but I don't think I'm 'there' yet!

St. Patty's Daffodils, Oil 6x8

OK, this is what I painted at what I thought was a group painting session on St. Patty's day, which turned out to be a surprise birthday party for me. (My Facebook avatar is a photo of me from that afternoon... beware!)

Little Bird, Oil 6x6

This little sparrow was a gift this week, and I thought it would be a good subject for the first day of Spring. I haven't done a bird painting in a while, and I think I'll do more of these to get comfortable again with bird shapes and gestures (not that a resin bird can have a 'gesture').

More Pink Tulips! 8x10 Oil

I painted at Denise Zompa's studio today, and didn't bring anything to paint - but she fortunately had these beautiful tulips in a pitcher. I'm 85% happy with this - I may re-do the right two flowers.

Fab-U!

I was tagged by artist/blogger Karen Rike! Thank you, Karen, for the honor! By tagging me, she is saying she thinks my blog is fabulous! Please check out Karen's blog, and enjoy her loose, lush paintings!

This tag asks me to list five favorite blogs, tell five things about myself and list the rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you
2. Post the rules in your blog
3. Write five random things about yourself
4. Tag random people at the end of your post, with links
5. Let each person know they've been tagged

So here goes:
Barbara Kaciek, who does amazing paintings of fruit, skies that will blow you away, and very cool nude-landscapes (nudescapes?).
Jala Pfaff's paintings have a serenity and clarity of vision that is inspiring.
Diane Hoeptner's flowers are exuberant, colorful and lush!
Katie May because I think she's inspiring and courageous in her painting, and generous in her support of other bloggers.
Nancy Hartley, who does oils and monoprints, with a sense of fun and whimsey!

OK, now 5 things about myself (as if I don't wear my heart on my sleeve enough with my blog!):

1. I am a cat-whisperer...
2. I love a clean house... but never think this has anything to do with ME cleaning it...
3. I'm so klutzy I fell off my bike going .5 mph last year...
4. I'm a firm believer that pancakes are simply a 'vehicle' for butter...
5. I wanted to be a nun when I was in 4th grade (I really just wanted the veil...)
   

Single Tulip, 6x8 Acrylic

My son Conor bought me a bunch of tulips for my birthday, and I snuck one out and put it in a little jar. The jar didn't come out exactly as I planned, but glass is so endlessly fascinating to me! I can't wait for the Spring tulips to bloom! Makes me want to go to Holland!

You Say 'Tom-A-to', 6x8

Oh! A bit blurry! I actually painted with a group of friends yesterday, and I don't want to say we were OVERcelebrating St. Patty's day, but I actually took a photo to post of someone ELSE's daffodil painting. So here's another one, that I had done last week at Franny Andahazy's studio/gallery, and had left there. Somehow I'll get back up to her studio again and get a photo of the painting I actually did yesterday. Which wasn't bad considering I was painting with a brush in one hand and a champagne flute in the other! ;)

Peel-A-Lemon, 6x8 Oil

Inspired by the blog posts I've seen recently of tangerines half-peeled, I wanted to do one today. Only I forgot my tangerine at home and only had lemons at the studio - SO! I put it in the Black Box, and had a really tough time with the fruit of the lemon (is it white? pale yellow? orange-y? greenish? YES!) But it was a fun exercise. I did a lot on my sky paintings from my studio blog. - and OH, I forgot to mention there, that this amazing artist, Thomas Sguoro, is just about BLIND - he has macular degeneration, and his vision is extremely limited now. So check it out again, and think - .... could I do that?

Two Silhouettes

I took a couple of days off to celebrate my birthday (something I highly recommend) with my family, but at the end of the week last week, instead of the usual little Daily Paintings I became fascinated with silhouettes. Now, I couldn't have told you that's what I was thinking of, I was thinking 'shapes' against a background. The top image was from a photo I took from a hotel room last year looking down in the early a.m. with filtered light - no shadows - of an intersection and a lone pedestrian crossing. The dark shape of the man, with the grid and cross patterns behind him was something I really liked. I could definitely do more with this, but I just liked doing it to this point. The bottom photo is of a family at the beach last year, and they were back lit. When I was done what I really liked was the water, surprisingly!

On my actual birthday (Saturday) my husband does this thing where I get to decide everything about the day*, and one of the things we ended up doing was going for a long walk in Bristol, RI. We noticed the Bristol Art Museum had a show of Thomas Sgouros' work, and we went in. I couldn't stop saying "WOW." On my Studio Blog I've posted some images of his, as well as another study I did of a mother and babe at the beach.

*One of the other things I decided we'd do is see Slumdog Millionaire, which I had to watch with my hands over my face - I don't 'do' torture! Fair warning about that movie!

Two! Two Posts In One!

SOLD

Apologies for no post on Monday's painting - it is coming. I painted with my friend Franny and left the painting with her without taking the photo. So it's coming. Today I painted Marachino (sp?) Cherries, and I couldn't decide which way to go with them. I actually painted 3 6x6's today, but wiped one off and painted the 'cherries in a row'. I couldn't decide which way I wanted to paint the 3 last cherries in the jar, so I did them on a plate and then without the plate.

No Daily Painting Today

Just fooling around with this painting of my cats hesitating at the doorway, when they see snow still on the ground. I'm calling it "Who's The Decider?" Acrylic, 20x24.

Underneath is my cat Isabelle taking a nap(?) but HOW can she be comfortable like this? Both cats camp in dining room chairs right near my taboret while I'm painting acrylics at home. I love having them nearby, and they seem to enjoy having me around, too. When I take a break (to put laundry upstairs or something exciting like that) Harry bounds off the chair and follows me, wherever I go, and I love that.

I painted a Dunkin Donuts iced coffee today, but after one wipe off, and 2 hours, the elipses did me in. Sorry - better tomorrow!

Peep Double Date, 6x6 Oil

My son named this one for me. I'm back in the saddle, back at the studio (well, I was there yesterday, too, but 3 wipe-offs later I called it a day). I want to thank all of you who commented on my last post, on the blog and through email - it was overwhelming, the wonderful support from all of you, artists and non-artists alike. What a wonderful community the blogsphere is. It meant so much to me. I have centered myself, and am focusing on painting what I like, with an EYE to doing a series, and I'm just going to see where that leads. I'll post one of these on my Studio Blog.

Harry Sketch, 8x8 Acrylic

Ever feel lost artistically? I've been floundering for the past few days. I had a few really good, happy days in the studio last week, and then Friday I had a very nice woman who runs a local gallery, and is a good artist herself, come by and look over my work, for possible portfolio submission. She was as nice as could be, and gentle (for the most part ;) in her criticism but I saw my work through fresh eyes and said to myself "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?????". I seem to be all over the place in subject matter, style, etc. I used to joke and say I had MSD (Multiple style disorder) but it seems less funny now. There's a local art league that I tried for last year and didn't get into (2nd submission). Their advice: paint, paint, paint and don't give up. ( Ok. If one more person now tells me I'm "prolific" I'm going to run screaming from the room. They say "prolific"... not 'good'.)

This same art league had a portfolio submission talk yesterday AT the gallery run by the woman I mentioned, and 4 people talked about what it 'took' to get a 'yes' from them. Although they all agreed there must be good 'bones' - composition, value, color, mastery of medium and 'heart' - they all emphasized different things. One was primarily a 'formalist' painter and had a sort of checklist of requirements (thick and thin, light and dark, etc) that had to be there for her to give a 'yes', another said it was the energy, and whether or not the art 'hit' him (I think I agree that this is the way most judges go, to be honest), and the other two - well, it was a little rambling, and to tell you the truth I can't even remember what their points were.

Now.... why did this get me so low? Well, for one thing I went on their website and looked at their members, and there were some early members who I think would not have passed this rigorous selection process. And I find this often. And I have such fragile self esteem that I have a hard time rising above this and just going forward. So. No oil painting today. Just a little acrylic sketch of my baby, Harry, napping next to me as I paint. This, actually, is what makes me happy. I probably should just let the rest go, and just do what makes me happy. How boring was this??????? V-E-R-Y! Sorry!